Chapter 7

Alex hobbled over to the car that his parents allowed him to drive. Since it was his left ankle that had gotten twisted, it didn't affect his ability to drive and so his parents were willing to let him drive to school. It worked out even better when Kelly and Mason's parents agreed to let him drive all three of them to school.

Alex waited for Kelly and Mason while leaning on the car. He noticed Tercelli and his crew walking towards the truck and just leaned against it. Tercelli noticed him and called out, "Hey midget sorry you can't play Friday night."

Alex merely gave a hard stare at Tercelli and his crew while they laughed. His non response halted any other fun they might have had when he looked away to watch the doors for any sign of his friends. Mason came out first stating that Yanez kept them back for five minutes to finish his lecture on the history of the Greeks. "Kelly didn't come yet?"

Alex shook his head and looked at the door. "No. She hasn't come yet."

"Probably running late," Mason offered. "Sometimes when she's nervous, she takes a bathroom break."

Alex glanced at Mason with a slight frown as he processed what his friend was telling him. He knew that Kelly tried to keep the three of them out of trouble. Hearing from Mason that she sometimes got sick when he was nervous made him question whether or not it was a good idea to be looking for those guys from yesterday. He started toying with the idea of looking for her when she burst out of the building at top speed carrying something in a bag. She looked a bit out of breath as she came up to the car. Alex asked, "You okay Kel?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kelly panted out. "I just had to grab a few things." She opened the bag and showed them a pair of binoculars and walkie talkies.

"Kel where did you get this?" Mason asked in a surprised tone.

"From my locker," Kelly gave the answer in a matter of fact tone.

Alex chuckled, "Never thought you to carry stuff like this in your locker, Kel. This is great."

Kelly blushed a little under Alex's praise and replied, "I always had a fascination with law enforcement ever since we had the career fair before you came to the school. I kind of like the idea of doing the S.W.A.T. thing."

"Right. I remember when we played cops and robbers. I always had to be the robber," Mason replied teasing Kelly a bit. He earned a scowl from her as he laughed.

Alex said, "I still think it's cool. Come on. If we start from the center of town and work our way out and check the motels and stuff, I bet we could find them." He hobbled over to the driver side and got in the car after adjusting the crutches on the passenger side.

Kelly got in beside him and asked, "You plan on looking for them by looking for their car?"

"Yeap. There can't be that many 1967 black Chevy Impalas around town now," Alex replied.

"No but we should consider the possibility that they may have left town already," Mason replied as he got in.

"Well we can try," Alex replied as he started the engine. "Thing is, I got a feeling that they are still in town. There was something about them that was… I don't know…"

"Weird? Freaky?"

Alex turned to look at Mason who was shrugging his shoulders at the suggestions that he had made. How could he explain the feeling he got when he was around them? How could he explain that the woman acted strange right in front of them? They would listen to him but since they didn't catch it, they might find it weird and think he was crazy. He replied, "I just know."

Alex put the car in reverse and backed out of his spot. When he was clear he put the car in drive and drove towards the exit. Instead of turning the car in the direction of home, he turned towards the center of town. He passed by an SUV that had a driver wearing dark sunglasses. He didn't notice it when the driver waited until he passed to turn on his engine and follow him.

"So Alex, you have any idea why those three are here?" Mason looked out the windows keeping an eye out for the Impala. He noticed that Kelly was looking towards the right so he focused on the left. "You don't think they are feds maybe?"

"I don't know Mas," Alex replied. "Could be that they are investigating that murder."

"Why would feds investigate a cult killing? It's not like it was caused by a serial killer. I would think they would have put something out for the public," Kelly ventured as she scoured the streets for the black car. She felt bad that she had lied to her mom when she texted her that she, Mason and Alex were heading to the library in town to study. Yet she wanted to know more about them too. She didn't want to say anything but she thought the woman had acted a bit funny when she handed that piece of paper to Alex's mom. She suspected Alex may have seen it too and that was why he wanted to find them.

"Probably," Alex replied as he drove through the streets relying on Kelly and Mason's input to give him the right streets on the list of motels that he printed out during study hall hour.

It took two hours to scour the motels near the center of town. Now they drove through the streets, casting a wider net. Alex knew that his parents would worry if he didn't call in. He stopped the car to call them and let them know that they were still in the library. His mother grilled him with what they were doing and he answered using the cover story they developed during lunch. When his mother was satisfied he hung up and put the phone on its holder. He looked at his friends and said, "Well she's going to check with your parents. Hope they bought our cover story."

"My mom believes me when it involves schoolwork," Kelly replied as she munched on the wrap that she had bought at the diner.

"Same here," Mason replied. "If anything my mom would be suspicious of yours."

Alex chuckled as he turned the car down the street. He stopped at the light and waited for the signal change. Sudden something bumped the back of the car. Alex turned around to find a black SUV bumping him. In fact the SUV was trying to push them into the intersection. Thinking fast, Alex put the car in reverse and stepped on the gas. "Hang on."

Kelly looked behind them to see the SUV hitting the back of the car. It was instinct to scream, but she didn't. She looked at Alex who was trying to keep them from being pushed into the intersection. Looking at Mason she saw that he was trying not to panic himself. She looked at Alex as he concentrated on keeping his foot on the gas. "What is that guy doing?"

"I don't know," Alex replied. He glanced at the traffic signal. It had changed to green. He quickly flipped the car into drive and stepped on the gas. The car shot forward and Alex crossed the intersection. It looked like their search was coming to a close.

The SUV jerked forward when the car it was pushing shot forward. The SUV took up pursuit, keeping a close tail on the vehicle. It then shifted to the lane next to its quarry. The driver accelerated and jerked the wheel in a pit maneuver attempt on the car.

His orders were clear. He was to bring in the kids by any means necessary but alive. It would be difficult since they were in the car but if he could disable it, his men could grab them. He didn't flinch when the first attempt failed. The kid was good. He would try again. He increased his speed when the car increased its speed. To taunt the kids, he increased his speed and rammed them in the back.

He laughed as the car increased speed and got in a different lane. Amateur but amusing. He kept up easily. He attempted a second maneuver that had the car fishtail to the side. Almost again.

The second time he felt the pit maneuver, Alex felt the car fish tail. He corrected and accelerated. He knew he was breaking speeding laws and was surprised that he wasn't being chased by cops. Something was strange with this town. At least Kelly and Mason weren't freaking out. It gave him confidence to continue what he was doing.

Suddenly the car got hit with a pit maneuver again and this time the car skidded to the side. Kelly couldn't help but whimper in fear as she tried to hold on to the door handle. Mason was flung like a rag doll in the backseat despite the fact that he was wearing a seatbelt. When the car skidded, he was slammed to the side he was sitting on. He couldn't help was cry out in fear, "Alex do something!"

Alex was trying to keep control of the car and get out of the skid. He tried not to panic as the car skidded sideways until it came to a stop. The engine died and Alex tried to get the engine to turn over. A roar made him look up and he saw the black SUV coming towards them. He couldn't gauge the speed but he could guess that it wasn't going to be pleasant. He shouted, "Kel, Mas, try the doors!"

Kelly tried hers but the door wouldn't budge, "It's stuck Alex."

"Mine too," Mason replied, "And I can't undo my seatbelt!"

Alex looked around. The only thing he had were the crutches. "Kel, break the window." He then undid his seatbelt and ignoring the pain in his ankle, he twisted around to help Mason. He reached into his pocket where he kept the knife that Nebi told him to carry at all times. He flipped it open and tried to reach for the seatbelt. "Mas give me the belt."

Mason handed the belt to Alex surprised that he had a knife in his pocket. He handed the belt to his friend and peered over his shoulder. He saw the SUV getting closer. He said, "Alex he's coming!"

Sam looked over the car. It was locked and the alarm was on. Sam peered in through the windows and found nothing unusual. The only thing in it was a cup of coffee that was probably cold and stale by now. The car was clean, squeaky clean but then again it was a rental. The only sign that Angela had been near the car were the footprints and the coffee. He walked over to where Dean was inspecting the actual crime scene and asked, "Find anything?"

"Diddly squat. I have no idea why Angie would have thought that coming here would help," Dean replied as he stood up from his kneeling position.

"Well Dean she does have amplified senses. She might have seen something or… smelled something," Sam replied hesitantly. It was rather weird talking about Angela's abilities to Dean. He wasn't sure if Dean was even aware of all the abilities she had shown thus far.

"I wouldn't put it past her to smell something. She can tell when I put on yesterday's socks and find a way to make me suffer for it. Neat freak," Dean muttered. "You find her?"

"Car's locked. It's like she just parked it here and took off." Sam looked around the empty field as if looking around, she would pop out and surprise them or something.

Dean for his part did his own share of looking. They had gotten to the crime scene within half an hour of leaving the coroners. Well it was a little bit longer than that since Dean felt the need to make a pit stop for some pie and they needed to fill up on the tank. Once they got there, there was no sign of Angela with the exception of the car she had rented that morning. That had Dean wondering if she used one of her credit cards or paid cash for the thing. No matter what, she always seemed to have a nice stash of cash and a few credit cards that she claimed were only for emergencies.

Now she was gone and it was like she just disappeared. Feeling frustrated, Dean fished out his cell phone, "The hell with it."

"What?"

Dean dialed the number for Angela's cell phone. "Fourth time's a charm. Maybe we'll get lucky."

They did get lucky. They heard her phone ring from somewhere on the field. Sam frowned and asked, "You hear that?"

Dean waved his hand. Apparently he had heard the ringtone that Angela used for his caller ID. He walked around looking for it trying to find the source of the sound. He motioned to Sam to start looking. When the call went straight to her voicemail, Dean hung up. Meanwhile Sam got the idea and pulled out his phone. When Dean hung up, Sam dialed her number. The phone's ringtone changed.

Upon hearing it, Dean gave a strange look at Sam. "Dude, she thinks that of you?"

Sam gave Dean the bitch face while he was listening to the ring tone. He couldn't believe that she used that as a ringtone. It wasn't as if Dean's was any better but it fit Dean. With him it was like she was trying to make him embarrassed just like Dean. Funny thing was when it was just her, it was fun but if Dean happened to overhear… that was another story.

The voicemail picked up again and Sam hung up indicating that it was Dean's turn. He flipped his phone shut and listened for the ringtone. He followed it towards the source. He found her phone nestled in the weeds and dirt and it was going off. Sam brushed the weeds away to pick up the phone. He nearly dropped it when he saw the blood on it. "Dean?"

Dean walked up and asked, "You found it?" He then saw the blood and Sam's concerned face and realized that Sam was probably thinking she was hurt, possibly bleeding and would need help. It bothered Dean too since she had been blunt honest about it especially her dislike and reluctance of it. Still he had to reassure his brother. "Sam. Sammy, it doesn't mean that it's bad. She probably got a paper cut or something."

"Or she could be in trouble Dean."

"Angie can take care of herself Sam. You know that." Dean looked his brother in the eye as he took the phone out of his hand. "Sammy I need to be focused here. More likely the witch bitch took her thinking that she was on her trail. We find the witch, we find Angie."

Sam was thinking more about the time he was captured with Angela by that vampire and he watched as she had been drained nearly dry. That she recovered so quickly from that at all was a mystery as well as the case at the military academy. She was capable since she gave Gordon a nice one. He nodded in agreement with Dean. "Right. Where do you want to start looking?"

Dean gave a slight nod in approval. He replied, "Only thing I can think of is one of those supernatural searches. That and going over the reports. We might find something we missed before. Come on Sam. This is your area."

Sam nodded and replied, "We should get back to the motel then. What about the car?"

Dean looked over at the rental. He shrugged his shoulders, "Leave it here for now."

Driving along the streets back to the motel was uneventful at most. Dean was concerned that Sam was taking this way too hard but he could hardly blame him. Even after Angela joined them, Sam still had dreams about her alone and dying alone, along with occasional visions of other things related to the yellow eyed demon. Dean couldn't understand why fate seemed to be picking on them especially with this chick. He disliked seeing his brother suffer and sometimes wanted to end the arrangement and ask Angela to leave but then he worried that it would be worse and if the truth be told, he had grown used to her company too.

Sam was watching out the windows to see if maybe Angela was just walking down the street and maybe forgot she dropped her phone or something that level of crazy. The bit of blood had him worried but once Dean pulled him into focus, his gut began to tell him that she was all right. He didn't want to explain it to Dean that sometimes, when they would split up, he would get that feeling he would get when he knew Dean was in trouble and vice versa for Dean. It sounded too weird and even in the Winchester family there was such a thing as too much weird.

Finding it pointless to keep looking at the moment, Sam opened one of the files to study the crime scene photos. He was in the middle of examining on when Dean braked hard. He looked up at his brother. "Dude."

"Asshole cut me off." Dean muttered.

Sam looked for the offender and saw that it was a black SUV and it seemed to be following a small grey car. He watched as it went down the street till it stopped with the grey car at the signal. Suddenly the SUV accelerated just as it was Dean's turn to go. When it hit the back of the car in front of it, Sam said, "Dean, turn right."

Dean was already more than halfway through the intersection when Sam made his request. He turned and said, "Sam, we can't…" He saw the SUV pushing on the car and the car trying to reverse. A quick glimpse and he saw the occupants of the grey car. He accelerated to the next corner and made a turn to back track. He came around just as the light changed and the grey car sped forward. He followed the SUV.

Sam held on to the side of the Impala while Dean followed the SUV. It was not normal to be chasing after cars trying to off another but what he didn't realize was that Dean had seen the grey car was occupied by the kids they had met the day before. "Dean! Ease up on the turns."

"If I do Sam, then those kids from yesterday are in trouble."

"What?"

"The kids from yesterday. They're in the car that's being chased." Dean didn't take his eyes off the road. It was true that they could get pulled over but for some strange reason, there wasn't a cop on the street. An uneasy feeling started to creep up Dean's spine.

The SUV was doing what it could to try and run the kids off the road. Dean was relieved that the kids turned off the streets and onto a dirt road with open fields. However it seemed like the SUV was aware it was being chased and did what it could to keep the Impala from following. It made a move that forced Dean to swerve and he ended up off the road. He was pissed at that and immediately backed up to get back on the road.

It took them a few precious minutes to get back on the road but Dean gave the Impala a free head and she ate up the road like it was nothing. They caught up with them and the grey car was stalled and the kids were trying to get out. The SUV was edging closer. Dean didn't want to ram it head on. That would mean extensive repairs and he had just fixed his baby and Angela gave her a spit and shine every other town.

"Dean, do a pit maneuver," Sam suggested. "Hit the rear. It won't hurt the car much." He knew how much the Impala meant to Dean and had suggested doing something that would give the least damage.

Dean got the hint and accelerated to catch up to the SUV. He timed it right and gave a hard tap to the left rear end of the SUV. The vehicle fishtailed but ended skidding to the side. It then skidded out towards the left side of the road. Dean pulled the Impala up, effectively making it a barrier between the SUV and the kids. Dean jumped out and pulled his gun and pointed it at the SUV. Meanwhile Sam jumped out and went towards the kids.

One was stuck by the seat belt and his friend was trying to reach in and cut him free with a pocket knife and the girl was trying to break the window with a crutch. Sam pulled out his hand gun and using the butt, broke the glass. He asked, "You all right?"

"Mas is stuck," the kid Alex said. "I can't reach."

Sam nodded, "Come on," and he held out his hand.

Alex said, "Kel go first."

The girl Kelly reached for Sam's outstretched hand and allowed herself to be pulled out. When she was out of the car she moved away but stayed close. She watched as Sam tried to get Alex out but he was refusing to go.

Sam realized that Alex was loyal and concerned for his friends and saw that he wasn't going to leave until the kid Mason was out. Sam reached in and took the knife and cut the belt. He pulled the kid out and grabbed Alex. He had Alex almost out when a gunshot rang out.

"Hurry up Sam!"

Sam continued to pull Alex out of the car trying hard not to cut the kid on the glass. When a stray shot pinged on the damaged grey car, Sam yanked the kid out and felt bad when Alex cried out when his bad ankle bounced off the car. Once he had Alex out he said, "Go, run!"

Alex's ankle hurt but he was compelled to obey Sam's order. He grabbed Kelly by the hand and pushed Mason towards the back of his wrecked car. He was scared especially with the sound of bullets ringing out. He pulled Kelly towards him and as he fell, he pushed Mason to the ground.

Sam made sure the kids were off when he whirled to see his brother in a shootout with the driver and two other guys. Sam pulled out his gun and took cover and returned fire. Realizing that he needed to move to get a better vantage, he began to move. It came like a flash as the bullet burned into his side. He grunted.

Dean heard the grunt of pain. "Sam!" He was then hit in the arm and he returned fire.

Suddenly the driver of the SUV looked and saw something. He then shouted to his men and to Dean's surprise they jumped back into their vehicle and sped away. He gripped his shoulder and made his way to Sam who was clutching his side. Suddenly another vehicle pulled up and out jumped four men dressed like feds or beat detectives. Two of them swarmed over him and Sam pointing their weapons at them.

One who was the leader came over and looked at them along with the fourth. He didn't move his head but continued to look at Dean and Sam. His face was indiscernible since he was wearing dark glasses and his bronze skin gleamed. "Check the kids."

"Hey you leave them alone," Dean spat. He sat up but a weapon was shoved in his face.

"They will be in good hands." The bronzed skinned leader looked over to where the fourth was approaching the kids. "You two on the other hand… your intentions must be known. Bring them with us. The usual method."

Dean was going to protest when something struck his neck and he swore, "Sonofabitch." He felt his vision blur and he blacked out.

A/N: So things are heating up and Sam and Dean are playing highway chase with an SUV. They save the kids but are they out of the woods? Who is the mysterious group of suits that chased the bad guys away? Find out next time on The Order of Melchizedek...