"Twenty-four hours, your boy's still not here. I'm leaving," Crowley growled, turning toward the door.
"You'd really give up your claim to Hell just because you don't want to wait around an extra day?" Jo asked, giving him a look of disbelief.
Brushing off his suit, Crowley made a face at Jo. "If you must know, yes. My hide means a great deal more to me than Eden does. I can get hell back some other time, when Lucifer's not expecting it."
"Lucifer's army isn't going to get here for another week, at the rate its moving. You have time, Crowley," Meg said. She was lounging at one of the Roadhouse's tables with her heeded boots resting on its polished surface, cleaning the dirt out from under her nails with a knife. Her sister, sitting next to her, made a disgusted sound at shoved at Meg's feet.
"Yes, and if there were a chance the Vigilante might still be alive, Crowley and I might risk sticking around," Ruby said. Meg kicked at her.
"Just wait."
Crowley sighed and collapsed onto a bar stool. "As you may recall: patience isn't one of my virtues…well, I don't have any virtues, but if I did I'm sure patience wouldn't be one of them."
"He's alive, Crowley," Meg said.
"So you've said," Crowley snapped, turning in his stool to glare at Meg. He sat with his back to Ellen and the bar, leaning against it. "But unfortunately, that's not good enough anymore. Ruby, grab your things and give your charming little sister a kiss, as I expect it's the last time you'll see her alive."
Meg let out a sudden bark of laughter.
"What are you laughing at?" Crowley asked, exasperated.
"The Vigilante's right behind you, meatsack."
Crowley turned to see a blue-eyed angel standing behind the bar, pinning him down with a stare that almost intense enough to perturb even Crowley. The angel looked away with disinterest, gaze turning to Meg.
"I wasn't aware you had a sister."
"Oh, yeah," Meg rolled her eyes, pointing at the female demon beside her, "Bucket of sunshine, that one is. Can't believe I've never mentioned her."
Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest. "You're no barrel of fun either, sis."
"Crowley?!" a new voice growled, the man it belonged to emerging from a door behind the vigilante.
Crowley groaned. "Great. As if I didn't have enough of headache after listening to the witch sisters bickering all morning. Dean Winchester. Ah, I see Moose is with you as well," he nodded curtly at the taller man coming in behind Dean. "Hello, boys."
Sam groaned when he saw Crowley.
"You're Crowley," the angel observed, studying the demon with more interest. "I thought you'd be taller."
"Oh, I can tell I'm just going to love you," Crowley said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I thought you would be...I don't know, scarier."
Castiel raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to reply, but Ruby cut him off.
"What smells like week old reuse?" she asked, scrunching up her nose in disgust.
"That would be Sam and Dean," the Vigilante said, smiling slightly.
"Thanks, Cas," Dean rolled his eyes.
"Cas?" Crowley asked, looking between the two with raised eyebrows, "Would that be short for something?"
Castiel ignored the question. "I assume you're here to see me for a reason, Crowley?"
"I am indeed. I'm here to offer my help."
Dean snorted.
"Shut it, Squirrel. I mean it. I want Lucifer out of the picture."
"We've already established that he's telling the truth," Meg supplied.
"How can you help?"
"I can offer one hundred demons for the battle."
Sam laughed. "Seriously, Crowley? That's the best you can do? You're the King of Hell."
"I wasn't done, Sasquatch. I can also help you find Lucifer's spies in the city."
Castiel studied Crowley with interest, then shrugged. "I could find them myself. This is my city."
"Maybe, but I'd bet I could help you find them faster. Look, you'd be great bloody idiots not to accept my help, but if I'm not welcome, Ruby and I will pack up our things—"
"Who are Lucifer's spies, then?" Castiel cut in.
"I don't know all of their names, but I have my own spy in the city—a girl named Bela Talbot. Brilliantly clever girl. She lives on the upper north side—the penthouse suite of the Colt hotel. Go find her, give her this ring, let her know if she tells you everything she knows about Lucifer's presence in the city, I'll render our contract fulfilled."
"Bela Talbot," Castiel repeated thoughtfully, taking the ring Crowley held out to him.
"Be careful, though," Crowley smirked, "She's a bit…."
"Understood. Dean, Sam, are you coming?" Castiel asked, turning back towards the door they'd came in from.
"Wait, you're going now?" Meg asked. She stood up. "But you just got back!"
"The hunters are waiting outside the city, Meg. We need to take care of Lucifer's spies before they can come in. It would be prudent to keep them as a surprise," Cas explained.
"Fair point." Approaching Cas, Meg pulled him into a quick hug. She pulled away before Castiel even had a chance to reciprocate. "Good to have you back, Clarence."
"Aw," Jo grinned, "I knew you missed him, Meg."
Meg turned a furious shade of bright red. "Shut up, Jo! Did not!"
"And I believe that's our cue to leave," Cas said, giving Dean and Sam a look.
"Great," Crowley grumbled. "I'll stay here with the bickering women."
Ellen looked like she agreed with Crowley. "Have fun, boys."
.
.
Sam, Dean, and Castiel stood in the middle of the dark street, looking up at one of the tallest buildings in Eden.
"Penthouse suite, huh?" Dean asked, "How exactly are we supposed to get up there? I mean, I don't think a place like this is gonna let us just walk in, what with Sam and I smelling like shit from the sewers and Cas being the infamous Vigilante…"
"Good point," Sam nodded.
Cas rolled his eyes. "I don't know if you'd noticed, Dean, but I do have wings."
"Oh, I definitely noticed," Dean smirked.
"Did you just wink at him?" Sam asked, pulling a bitchface. He looked between Dean and Cas suspiciously. "So are you guys sure you're not..."
"What? No! Shut up. So Cas can fly, but what about me and Sam?"
"I'll carry you."
"Oh, fuck no. Not a chance. We'll find another way."
The angel turned to the more reasonable Winchester. "Sam?"
"I don't mind it," he shrugged.
"Traitor," Dean growled under his breath.
"Sam, I will fly you up to the balcony, then I will return for you, Dean."
Pouting, Dean crossed his arms and watched Cas prepare Sam for the flight. On one hand, he felt a surge of jealousy watching Cas wrap an arm around Sam's waist and take off, but on the other, he did not want to fly.
And then there was that whole other problem of they way he couldn't help but admire the way the muscles of Castiel's wings rippled when he took off, and that just led him to remember the other day by the lake...
Cas was back behind him in seconds, and by that time Dean was completely enveloped in his little daydream. He jumped about a foot in the air when there was a sudden flap of wings beside him, and he turned on Cas with a scowl. "Do I need to get you a bell?"
Castiel rolled his eyes and moved to pull Dean closer, but Dean sidestepped out of his reach. "Uh, you know what? That's okay, Cas. I'll, uh, stay here and…um. Keep watch, and you and Sam can deal with Bela."
Cas chuckled, smiling fondly at Dean. "Dean. Come here." Reluctantly, Dean stepped closer to Cas.
"I mean it, Cas. I don't want to fly."
Castiel kissed the cringe off Dean's face, rubbing the hunter's waist in a soothing, circular motion. "You know I won't drop you, right?"
"I…yeah, I just…don't—"
Castiel cut him off with another kiss, this one much longer and much less chaste. Dean sighed and leaned into it, opening his mouth to give Cas more access when the angel demanded it.
Cas ran his hands up Dean's back, and then down over his ass.
Not giving Dean time to react, Cas used his grip to haul Dean up into his arms, bridal-style. Dean squeaked, then looked horrified at the sound he'd just made.
"Put me down, Cas!" Dean hissed, squirming and trying to get out of Castiel's grip. "How the hell are you this strong?"
Castiel rolled his eyes for what felt like the millionth time since he'd been reunited with Dean. "I'm an angel, Dean," he said, impervious to Dean's frustrated wiggles. "Just close your eyes and hold on to me, and it'll be over before you know it."
"No, wait!" Dean let out another unmanly squeak when Cas took flight. He scrambled to wrap his arms around Cas' neck and buried his face in the angel's neck.
When Castiel landed on the suite's balcony, Dean didn't let go, his arms wrapped in a vice-like grip around the angel's neck. Castiel folded his wings and awkwardly shifted Dean's weight in his arms. "Uh, Dean? We've landed."
Sam looked over at them from where he'd been picking the lock to the balcony door and snorted loudly. "Wow. You two are adorable."
Dean, his face still buried in Castiel's neck, made an annoyed grunting sound.
"You guys really are cute," Sam began, chuckling, "And Dean, I'm never letting you live this down, but we're kind of in the middle of something?"
Reluctantly, Castiel set Dean down and Dean stepped away, blushing furiously.
Sam succeeded in picking the lock. There were curtains covering the two glass doors, but light escaped through the crack beneath the door.
"Here goes," Sam said, knocking on the door before pushing it open. "Bela Talbot?" he called as he stepped inside, Dean and Castiel at his heels.
They found themselves in a cozy living area, but there was no one in it. Sam stepped toward the attached kitchen, peering around the room before turning back to Dean and Cas. "I don't think anybody's—"
At that moment, a woman stepped out from behind the corner, holding a knife to Sam's neck before anybody could react.
"Next time you try ambushing someone, I'd suggest being a little quieter," she purred into Sam's ear.
"We're not ambushing you," Castiel said, holding his hands up. "I'm the Vigilante, and this is Sam and Dean Winchester. They're hunters. Crowley told us where we could find you."
"Crowley, huh?" the woman asked, peering around Sam's shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "I'm going to need more proof than that, Blue Eyes."
Castiel held out the ring. "He said if you help us, he'll consider your contract with him fulfilled."
The woman, who could only be Bela, removed her knife form Sam's neck. "In that case, I'm more than happy to help however I can. As long as it doesn't involve risking my own safety, of course."
"We just need information," Sam said, stepping away from her and rubbing his neck.
"That, I can do," Bela said. She was beautiful, with long brown hair and sensuous movements. "Have a seat, boys. Would anybody like some drinks before we get started?"
Cas and Sam shook his head, but Dean shrugged. "Sure, what've you got?"
"Brandy?" Bela asked, raised her eyebrow. She raked her eyes obviously up and down Dean's body, making Castiel ruffle his feathers indignantly.
Dean noticed the movement, remembering their earlier conversation, and smirked at Cas. "Problem?" Dean asked Cas in a whisper. Cas just glared at him in response.
Bela traipsed over to the corner of the room, pouring two drinks out of a glass container, and walked back over to hand one to Dean.
Bela sat on one of the couches and crossed her legs. She gestured for the guys to have a seat. "Alright, then. What can I do to help?"
"We need to know the identities of Lucifer's spies in the city."
"Oh, is that all? Most of the lower profile spies are already long gone, disappeared to go reunite with Lucifer's army."
"But there are some in the castle as well, are there not?" Castiel asked, sitting in the chair across from Bela.
"There are," she nodded, "There are five spies still remaining in the castle, last I heard. Three court officials: Sullivan, Walker, and Johnson."
Castiel nodded. That wasn't much of a surprise.
"There are two court angels as well."
Castiel's eyes widened. "Court angels? Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. Now, what were their names? Zachariah and Uriel, I believe."