The Hunt
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: See chapter 1
A/N: This would have been up yesterday, but the site wasn't cooperating.
oooOOOooo
Dean handed Sam the piece of paper Kristine left. "Read it."
Hey guys, I hope you manage to find out there's a problem here. I'll call you as soon as I can, but in the meantime, I'm leaving this key for you. Dean knows what it's for.
"What is they key for?"
"Her safe deposit box at the bank on Main Street."
"The bank probably doesn't open for at least a couple of hours." Sam said.
"I know. But that gives us a little time to sleep."
"At Kristine's?"
Dean nodded. Sam said nothing.
oooOOOooo
Sam wasn't particularly comfortable with the idea of sleeping in Kristine's house. Not because of what may have happened, but because she wasn't there. He salted the doors and windows before settling in the guest room as added protection. He suspected Dean needed to feel close to her, but he would never say that to Sam. He might not even recognize his reasons for choosing to stay at her house. After a few minutes his discomfort was beaten by his exhaustion, and Sam fell asleep.
Dean sat on the edge of Kristine's bed and leaned forward with his hands on his knees. He rubbed his face and yawned, then looked around the room. He was worried about Kristine, but felt oddly comforted surrounded by her things. Sleep came easily, but didn't last long.
He was in the kitchen when he heard Sam cry out. Dean took the stairs two at a time, calling his brother's name. Sam was sitting on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands when Dean reached him.
"Sam?"
The younger man looked up.
"What happened?"
"Vision." Sam closed his eyes against the little bit of light coming from the window. Dean reached over to close the curtains more securely. Sam nodded his thanks.
Dean let him take a few moments to gather himself. "Sam –"
"I still saw Kristine running from a fire in this house. Patrick was there, but he wasn't in his wheelchair."
"That has to mean Kristine comes back here." Dean said thoughtfully. He looked at his watch. "The bank should be open. I've already taken a shower; I'll head over there myself. Why don't you try to get some more sleep?"
"I'm okay." he tried to stand, but fell back onto the bed.
"Yeah, you look okay. Just stay here; I won't be gone long."
Reluctantly, Sam nodded.
When Dean got to the bank, he asked for Mr. Harvey, as Kristine had directed him to do when she set the scheme up, never thinking they'd need to put it in motion. He was the branch manager and had been instructed by Kristine to give the Dean access to her safe deposit box should he come to the bank with her key. Dean knew the man was probably breaking any number of rules, but the Ryan family was well connected and owned most of the town. It just happened that Kristine was the only remaining Ryan, unless Patrick counted and right now, Dean didn't think he did.
"I'll give you some privacy." Mr. Harvey said as he set the safe deposit box on the counter.
Dean waited until he was alone then opened the box. He found another envelope that contained another single sheet of paper. There was a set of numbers written on it that he recognized as coordinates. It was a trick his father had used more than once and Dean felt a momentary pang of grief.
oooOOOooo
"Sammy?" Dean called as he walked into Kristine's house. "Sam, you awake?"
"In here." Sam called as he walked out of the kitchen. He looked a little better than when Dean left him earlier. "What did you find?"
"She left coordinates."
"Dad really did train her, didn't he?" Sam said wryly.
"Where's the laptop?"
"Upstairs. I'll get it."
Dean paced while Sam booted up the computer and tracked down the coordinates.
"This doesn't make sense."
"What?" Dean peered over his shoulder.
"The coordinates point to here."
"She wants us to stay. She's planning on coming back." Dean went back to pacing.
Sam watched him. "I don't get it. She shut down the safe house and sent all the hunters away because she knew something was going to happen? And she just assumed we'd get wind of it?"
"Alicia said she was supposed to get a cleaning crew into the house when they were gone; in a day or two. A day or two? It looks like they headed out all of a sudden and not that long ago. So Kristine knew something was on its way, but she had the timing wrong?"
"But why send the very people who can help her away?"
"The hunters who come here need of rest and sometimes medical care. Maybe she didn't want to put them in danger."
"And the part about her just assuming we'd find out?"
Dean shrugged, still pacing. "She probably wasn't really counting on that."
"So what do we do? Just sit around here and wait? For how long?"
"I don't know. She told Alicia she'd be gone for two weeks."
"Why didn't she just tell us to stay here in the message she left with Alicia?"
Dean looked thoughtful. "That's a good point. Maybe she was afraid Patrick would get hold of it?"
"So she already doesn't trust Patrick? Wouldn't he know she has a safe deposit at her bank?"
"It's not her bank."
"What?"
"Most of the Ryan money is at the bank on Holden Avenue. I convinced her that she needed to have some things in place that not even Patrick knew about."
"All this covert stuff is giving me a headache." Sam said, rubbing his forehead.
"That's probably still vision hangover. You doin' okay?"
"Yeah. Maybe I just need to eat."
"Come on, let's go to the diner."
oooOOOooo
Even Dean couldn't survive on only a couple hours of sleep. After eating and talking to Ellen again, the brothers went back to Kristine's. Sam didn't say anything, but Dean knew he still wasn't feeling well and he was mildly worried. The visions always had residual effects, but they didn't usually last this long. It was unusual for the visions not to stop once the brothers were in the location Sam saw in them.
Sam stood in the doorway to the kitchen watching Dean. He was at the table, a cup of coffee in front of him, touching one of the string bracelets he wore on his wrist. The first was to symbolize his brother; it was something Sam gave him before leaving for college and matched the one he wore on his own wrist. Dean never said so, but Sam knew the second one was for Kristine.
"Stop spying on me." Dean said, with only a hint of frustration in his voice.
"I'm not spying." Sam insisted as he walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. "I'm observing."
"Yeah? And what do you observe?"
"You're worried."
"Of course I am."
"Is there anyone she would have contacted?"
Dean shrugged. "I've been trying to think of someone. I just don't know."
Sam sat down across from him. "We've got to get smarter about this. We can't just sit around for a week in case she comes back. We need to figure this out and start being proactive."
"Thanks for that newsflash." Dean sighed and his tone softened. "Her contacts were our contacts and the yellow-eyed demon pretty much took care of all of them. She has random hunters in and out of the house, but as far as I know, there was no one in particular she trusted. This isn't like the Roadhouse; they don't come here just to chill and have a few drinks. They come here because they're sick and at the end of their rope."
Sam nodded, remembering that was how he felt the first came here. A moment later he stood up. "Kristine is probably too smart to use her real credit cards, but I'll hack into some places and see if I can find anything."
"Good idea."
They exchanged a look when the doorbell rang.
"It's probably the sheriff wondering why we're squatting in Kristine's house." Sam muttered as they walked to the front door.
Dean looked through the peephole as Sam stood off to his side with a gun at the ready.
"It's not the sheriff. It's Kristine's lawyer."
Sam raised his eyebrows as Dean opened the door.
"I would have thought you'd contact me as soon as you hit town." the man said, pushing his way inside. Sam did his best to hide the weapon.
"Oh yeah? Why is that?" Dean asked.
He sat down on the couch. "Because I just might have information about your girlfriend."
Dean ignored the girlfriend reference. "You know where Kristine is?"
Jeremy Robbins was a partner in the law firm his grandfather founded almost sixty years ago. He had been assigned to the Ryan account when his father cut his own case load ten years before. Setting his briefcase on the coffee table, he opened it and pulled out a sealed manila envelope.
"No, I don't." Jeremy looked at the brothers and held up the envelope. "But I know she left town suddenly and right before she did, she left this with me. She told me if she didn't get in touch in a week I was supposed to find you and make sure you got this. It was a week yesterday and I happened to hear you boys were here."
Dean glanced at his brother and reached for the envelope. It contained only a cell phone. Dean looked at the lawyer.
"She said you'd know what to do with it and didn't tell me anything else." Jeremy sounded worried. "I don't know what, exactly, she's involved with but I know it started when her sister died. Julia set up some odd things over the years and Kristine has followed in her mother's footsteps. Everything that goes through my office is legitimate, but I tend to only handle business matters for her. Other matters are handled by someone else."
The brothers exchanged another look and Jeremy stood up.
"Do you know where Patrick is? Sam asked quickly.
"No, I haven't seen him for quite a while. Now I have a meeting to get to. If there's something else I can do, you have my number."
After Jeremy was gone, Dean flipped open the phone. "She programmed two numbers in."
"No names?"
Dean shook his head.
"If I had done that, the first number would be one I would have access to."
Dean sat down on the couch, staring at the phone as if mesmerized.
"You want me to call?" Sam offered.
Dean shook his head again and Sam waited. A moment later he sat on the couch next to his brother. Dean hesitated, but forced himself to make the call.
oooOOOooo
The phone rang so many times Dean was afraid it wasn't going to be answered and they would be at another dead end. He was barely aware of his brother sitting next to him and everything seemed to disappear around him the longer he listened to the ringing. Finally it transferred to voice mail and a robotic voice instructed Dean to leave a message. He kept it simple.
"It's me. Give me a call."
The brothers didn't move. Dean wasn't sure his legs would support him if he tried to stand and Sam just wanted to be close to him to offer whatever comfort he could. Dean didn't generally respond to a hand on his shoulder or other physical displays of support, but always appreciated having his brother close by when he was scared or worried.
What seemed like hours later, the cell phone Kristine left for them began to ring. It was still in Dean's hand and he looked at the caller ID. There was no information.
"Hello?" he answered hesitantly.
"Dean."
He immediately recognized Kristine's voice and almost collapsed with relief.
"Where are you? Are you all right?"
She struggled to remain calm. "It's Patrick; he –"
"We know all about that." he said quickly. "Are you safe?"
"For now. How –"
"It's not important how we found out right now. Just tell me where you are."
"I saw him last night. I don't think he saw me, but he may not have to see me to know where I am." Kristine said. "Dean, he – he killed someone who helped me. I –"
Dean understood her panic, but he couldn't help her if he didn't know where to find her.
"Kristine." he said more harshly than he wished was necessary, but then his tone softened. "Tell me where to find you and I'll get there as soon as I can."
She took a deep, shaking breath and told Dean where she was hiding; it was a small town about eight hours away and she wasn't even settled in yet.
"We're leaving right now." Dean said, casting Sam a look. The other Winchester rushed upstairs for their bags. "It's going to take a few hours, but we'll be there. If you have to leave, call me. Don't forget to salt the doors and windows."
"Okay."
Dean heard the fear in her voice. It was one thing to know that the monsters existed; it was something else entirely to have one after you.
oooOOOooo
"You okay?" Sam asked after they'd been on the road for a while. He couldn't help but notice the tension in Dean's posture.
"I'm fine." he glanced at his brother. "So once we get there –"
"Yeah, I was wondering about that. Do we bring Kristine back home?"
"So your vision can come true?" Dean asked. "I don't think so. We'll just have to take care of Patrick."
"And by take care of you mean --?"
"Whatever I have to do."
Sam looked at him. "What does that mean?"
"Just what it sounds like."
"You'll kill Patrick? With what? He's possessed, Dean."
Dean clenched his jaw.
"Let's come up with a better plan."
"We try to exorcise him first, but if that doesn't work –" Dean stared out of the windshield.
Dean protected his own like nothing else Sam had ever seen and even on his best days, he could be scary. Ever since their father died, Dean had become increasingly erratic and seemed to take a perverse joy in each kill. Sam thought he understood once Dean shared John's secret with him. On top of losing a father he admired, he had to come to terms with his brother's potential for becoming evil. It was a something John should have either told them much earlier, or not at all. It certainly shouldn't have been shared with Dean just before the man sacrificed himself to the demon they'd tried to find for over twenty years.
That was something else Dean had to cope with; somehow John's death resulted in his own life. They still hadn't completely figured out the sequence of events, but the only weapon they knew of that could kill the yellow-eyed demon was gone and so was John. It was obvious that John's death was not natural.
Sam knew that Dean's shoulders were broad, but even his brother couldn't carry everything that he was being asked to. And on top of dealing with everything from just the last few months, he was now faced with potentially having to kill someone he liked in order to save someone he might be in love with. Sam didn't know how much more Dean could take.
oooOOOooo
It was dark when the Impala passed the town limits sign and Dean's nerves were frayed. He and Kristine agreed not to risk any more phone calls unless there was an emergency and he hated not knowing what was going on. Following the directions she'd given him earlier, Dean drove to the motel and parked near her room. Sam quickly got weapons from the trunk while Dean surveyed the area.
The motel appeared not to have been updated within the last twenty years and was not in the best part of the small town. He would have worried for her safety here even without a demon on her trail. Dean scanned the windows of the thirty or so rooms in the long building and only one was dark.
"Sam."
His brother joined him and followed his gaze.
"Her room is the only one without a light on." Dean said.
"Do you want to call her or do we just go in?"
Dean moved forward and Sam quickly fell in step beside him. He stood on one side of the door with Dean on the other, each holding their weapon at the ready. After exchanging a look and nodding their agreement, Dean knocked on the door. They exchanged another look when there was no answer and no sign of movement inside. Sam nodded and Dean kicked the door, quickly dislodging the cheap lock. The door opened and slammed against the wall.
"Son of a bitch!" he yelled. He wasn't sure which was worse; Kristine not being in the room or what he saw in front of him.
She was against the far wall, suspended from the ceiling on makeshift hooks. Even in the brief moment he took to survey the situation, Dean could see that her wrists were already bruised and bleeding. Her head was hanging down and he saw blood on the wall behind her.
"Help me get her down!" Dean yelled to Sam as he rushed forward.
Even as tall as Sam was, he had to stand on a chair to reach Kristine's bonds comfortably. While Dean supported her weight, Sam cut the ropes that held her and helped lower her into his brother's arms. They sank to the ground and Sam rushed into the bathroom for water and towels.
"Kristine?" Dean called softly, touching her cheek. He laid her flat on the floor as Sam joined them. Sam gently cleaned her wounds so he could better assess her injuries. He glanced at his brother, who seemed to be in shock.
"Dean?"
There was no response.
"Come on, man. I need your help here."
Dean didn't respond.
"Why don't you look around?" Sam suggested, noticing that Dean still hadn't taken his eyes off Kristine. "I got this."
Still, he didn't move.
Sam hated pulling this card, but in his best John Winchester voice he said, "Dean! Take a look around; survey the situation."
Never able to disobey an order, Dean cleared his mind and made his way to his feet to do as he was told. Sam shook his head sadly and quickly turned his attention back to Kristine. She opened her eyes a moment later and tried to pull away from Sam.
"It's okay, Kristine." he said gently. "It's Sam Winchester. I'm not going to hurt you."
"Sam?" she whispered.
"Hey." he smiled at her. "Just lie still and I'll take care of you."
"Dean?" she asked a few minutes later.
"Right here." he said, kneeling next to her. The room was as secure as it was going to get for now. "Did Patrick do this?"
"It's not him." she managed to say; her mouth bruised and swollen. "He's possessed."
"We're gonna get you out of here." Dean said, taking her hand. "Somewhere safe. Do you know where Patrick went?"
She shook her head, a slight moan escaping her lips.
He looked at Sam. "Can we move her?"
"I don't think there's anything broken."
"Let's get out of here, then. We'll work on a plan once I know she's okay."
Sam only nodded.
Dean saw a duffle bag in the corner and nodded toward it. "Can you grab that?"
"Yeah." Sam said, then helped Dean get Kristine up. He picked up the duffle bag and glanced around the room, looking for anything else that might be important, while Dean carried Kristine to the car. He settled her in the back seat as Sam put the bag in the trunk. After handing Dean a blanket, Sam got behind the wheel. Dean climbed into the back with Kristine, laid the blanket across her and cradled her head on his lap.
Sam pulled onto the highway continuing away from Ashville. He kept one eye on the road and one eye on the rearview mirror. He wanted to stop in the next town, but knew it was smarter to keep going. At a crossroads, he chose a different direction and drove until he found a motel with its vacancy sign flashing.
Dean waited in the car with Kristine as Sam went inside to rent a room. She had fallen back to sleep and Dean wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. He had been mentally kicking himself for freezing up in the motel room earlier and was thankful Sam had taken control of the situation. He and Sam had been in some tough situations before and there was always a moment of panic when he'd see his younger brother hurt and bleeding, but he'd never completely lost it the way he did with Kristine. He knew he couldn't ever let that happen again.
oooOOOooo
"Hey."
Dean looked away from the window when Kristine came from the bathroom. They'd been in the room for almost two hours and the brothers had secured it as much as possible before Sam went out to find them food.
"Hey." Dean said softly.
She managed a hot bath and now made her way slowly to the nearest chair. Dean knew better than to rush to her side, but it was hard for him to watch her struggle. They had her clothes with them, but slipping into a t-shirt would have been too difficult so she was wearing one of Dean's button-up shirts.
She ran her fingers through her wet hair. "Where's Sam?"
"He went out to find food a couple minutes ago. How are you feeling?"
"I've been better." she said. "Everything hurts."
Dean saw how she held one arm close to her chest.
"I'll take a look in the first aid kit and see if there's something stronger than the ibuprofen you had earlier."
"No." she said quickly. He looked at her surprised. "I don't want to end up passed out."
"Your mouth is still swollen." he observed. "Sam got ice before he left. You should probably be lying down."
"Later."
Dean looked at her, a little concerned. He gave her the ice bag and got another dose of ibuprofen and a bottle of water.
"Looks like your brother got us pretty well set up." Kristine commented as she placed the ice gingerly on her face. "You okay?"
"Me?" he avoided her gaze and set about making coffee.
"Yeah. You."
"Sure."
"Liar."
Dean smiled to himself. Kristine was a lot like Sam; she didn't always let him hide behind his bravado. He turned around to face her.
"So you want to tell me what happened?"
"I really only want to tell the story once so how about we wait for Sam?"
"Okay." he glanced around the room.
"Dean?" she called softly. "Would it be too difficult for you to sit with me?"
He smiled nervously, but took the chair across from her.
"How are you?" she asked again.
Dean's eyes flicked away, he looked at everything in the room but her. She waited patiently.
"I don't want to talk about how I am." he said nervously. "I'm barely holding it together most days and right now –"
"Right now what?"
He looked at her with tears in his eyes. "I just want to take you and Sam – run off and hide somewhere until I can figure everything out. But I can't – Sam won't do it. Whatever the hell might happen to him – he wants to face it head on and do all the good he can along the way. He's got it in his head that if he saves as many people as possible, that will change his destiny."
"And you?"
"Destiny." Dean scoffed. "I know my brother. There's nothing evil about him."
"But you're scared."
He stood up hearing the Impala's engine outside. Kristine watched as Dean immediately transformed back into the stoic hunter. He opened the door for Sam and busied himself reapplying the salt.
Sam glanced at Kristine, then looked back to his brother. He saw Dean's mask and wondered what the two had been talking about.
"There's a diner not too far from here and I took a quick look around the town." he put the bags he was carrying on the table and looked at Kristine. "I didn't know what you might feel like, so I got you a burger and some soup."
"Thanks." she said, painfully reaching for the container of soup.
"Is your arm all right?"
"Just sore."
"Let me see." he knelt down in front of her and gently extended her arm. "Dean, why didn't you reapply the bandages to her wrists?"
Dean said nothing. Sam glanced at him, but decided not to let it go and turned his attention back to Kristine. "I think there might be an infection starting. I want to apply some antiseptic and get the bandages back on."
He unwrapped a plastic spoon for her and walked across the room for the first aid kit. Dean set cups of coffee on the table and Sam held out the supplies to him. "Dean?"
"Uh – " he rubbed his hands on his jeans. "I'm gonna run down to the soda machine."
Sam and Kristine exchanged a look as Dean opened the door and carefully stepped over the salt line.
"Something happen here?" Sam asked Kristine as he knelt down in front of her again to tend to the wounds.
"It's been a long day."
Sam looked at her wondering exactly what that meant.
TBC
