1Chapter Three
"Visions...impressions?" Sam looked from Dean to the people he was indicating. The tall brunette with the dark tattered jeans and the T-shirt and leather jacket was smiling brightly as she talked at an even pace to a now smiling Ambre nodding along with her. "Dean, nothing is happening over there." The other two that Dean had mentioned had just made it over and it appeared that Nessa was introducing the two of them to Ambre. There was no way that Dean could be thinking straight.
"Look lets just get you back and bed and we can work all this out." Sam finally said with a sigh. He didn't know what else to do.
"Give me your cell phone." Dean completely ignored him his eyes darting back and forth from the foursome of women to the elevators and back again. If Nessa was here then that meant something else wouldn't be far behind. Black winged devils most likely. They blended in well. Well, better then the chain devils or the shades. They'd just look like suites to everyone else.
"What? why?" Sam started watching as Dean's eyes danced here and there thoughtfully. God why couldn't Dean just take the time to explain this? To make it fit...to make it all make sense for him. It would have made things so much easier in Sam trusting his sick sibling.
"Give it here." Dean said through clenched teeth his muscles bristling into rigid taunt knots of fear as the elevator dinged and he waited for the doors to open. Sam watched the doors and Dean with mounting fear and tension as he fished out the cell. Dean held out his hands breathing a sigh of relief as he watched the couple that exited the elevator take a left away from Nessa and Ambre and toward a different ward.
As soon as Sam popped the metallic device in Dean's hand, his brother had it open and was pressing three buttons. Sam had that one figured out before Dean even had the phone up to his ear. "Dean what the hell?" Who the hell called 911 in a hospital? And why in the world would Dean do that?
"911, what is the nature of your emergency?" The operator called out loud enough for Sam to have heard it. He clinched his fist and teeth at the same time wondering if Dean had truly lost his mind. Maybe he had been wrong to not let Ambre get the doctor. Maybe Dean needed to be sedated. He watched as Dean looked back to the elevators as if waiting for all hell to break loose.
"You've got to send some help!" The desperation in Dean's voice carried the over tones of lies told to further investigations over and over but for some reason Sam had a feeling it wasn't all for show. There seemed to be a hint that a bit of it was for real. "We're at the Huntington Memorial Hospital...Third floor. Someone just open fired with a gun or something." Dean hung up without further explanation.
"Dean if no one actually does that then..." God they would trace the phone call. Sam was going to be up the creek.
"Its going to happen." Dean nodded as he heard the elevator ding again and looked away from Sam to the opening doors feeling his heart skip into over drive. He caught the glint of the black suites exiting the elevator. Three normal enough looking guys...who were anything but.
"Dammit, I hope you've got a piece...cause your about to need it." that was the only explanation that Dean was going to give as he brought his good arm up and yanked the IV out tossing the bag hanging on the stand to Sam in one deft movement. "Hold that for me." He flashed Sam a forced smile feeling his muscle ready for the fight little by little...feeling that needed release from the adrenaline growing from the pent up frustration of having to lie to everyone...from trying desperately to convince himself that this was right...that he wasn't losing his mind...that even though he was all alone on this one...that he was right...that he was right. Dean offered only one statement of warning as he got the IV stand in position to swing. "And Sam...they have knives...don't get hit."
"Wha-" Sam didn't even get a chance to finish the question as Dean brought the IV stand up in his arms and swung it into the approaching man in a suite without batting an eyelash.
"Heya guys...wrong floor." Dean got out as he connected the bottom of that stand with the first of the pack making their way toward the guardians and Ambre. The contact with the black guardian gave him a satisfied whisper of release as he locked eyes with the beast. He had taken him off guard...completely off guard and that made Dean smile...really smile. The IV stand sent the man back a few steps and got a snarl from the whole pack...something just inhuman enough to get Sam's attention. Dean arched both eyebrows knowing that they had just given his brother enough of a growl to get him on board. "Nessa! You've got company!" Dean screamed hoping that that got the guardian's attention and him some help.
The whole of the lobby was about to erupt in gun fire that much Dean knew. Nessa wasn't exactly subtle. He felt her eyes settle on him as she turned her attention to the impending fight breaking out in the elevator lobby. "What the...Cowboy?"
Nessa turned her attention to the elevator lobby her breath catching in her throat as she recognized the harmless guy from the elevator slamming his IV stand into a black winged Devil. How the hell he knew what the thing was was beyond her. But he was obviously trying to hold it and the two behind it off...trying to help. Why the hell would he do that? There was nothing about him that screamed Magus or otherworldly creature...maybe he was just in the know... Maybe he was in with Foci Command...though there was nothing about him that indicated that they could use him in any capacity. Nessa wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth though. She nodded to Rachel and Selena. "Go help them." She breathed taking Ambre by the arm now.
And the guns were out. With one nod from Rachel and Selena the guns came loose from their own wrist straps and slid into each of their hands. "Drop." Selena screamed at Dean who immediately released the IV stand that the black wing had now grabbed a hold of. Dean grabbed Sam on his way to the floor and dragged him down with him as the bullets erupted through out the ward.
Nessa pulled her own piece in one hand as she heard Ambre scream trying to fight her way out of her hold realizing that she had been feeding her a line of shit a moment ago...trying to convince her to come with her. "Shut up!" Nessa screamed at Ambre spying the stairwell with a jerk of the feeble girl in her grasp. "I'm trying to get you out of this alive...doesn't mean I won't knock your ass out if you don't cooperate."
Dean saw Nessa moving for the stairwell with Ambre and pushed himself to a crouch before grabbing Sam again and jerking him up under the barrage going on nearby. "Stay with me, Sammy." Dean screamed as he crawled out of the line of fire pushing Sam ahead of him. Once they were clear Dean jumped to his feet staggering slightly into the wall from his still not perfect condition. He pushed off the wall with a growl not willing to give up.
Dean pushed past Sam breaking into a run for the stairwell that Nessa had just disappeared into with Ambre.
Nessa wrapped both arms around Ambre and jumped the guard rail using her wings to gain her enough resistance to float down the stair well faster then they could have taken the stairs. She looked up with a gasp when the door over head slammed into the wall and then smiled in utter amazement.
Dean took one look down the center of the stairwell and without missing a beat or even warning Sam he grabbed the guard rail with both hands and jumped over the edge plummeting towards the guardian...relying on her to break his fall.
"Son of a..." Nessa swore as she brought her fire arm up and aimed at Dean. Ambre screamed again...this time right in her ear throwing off her aim and the shot went wide before Dean's body slammed into hers and he wrenched a fist into her face snapping her head back. Nessa couldn't believe this guy. Arms occupied offered little resistance to his next barrage of punches until her feet touched the floor and he yanked the gun from her hand simultaneously pulling Ambre out of her grasp. "Who are you?" Nessa was actually a little impressed. He was either nuts or just that good.
"Doesn't matter." Dean breathed. He watched her move in his direction, knew she would have another gun out if he didn't convince her that he meant business. "Don't even think about pulling another piece. I know you regenerate...but I doubt you can heal a bullet to the brain...now unload and put the guns on the floor."
"You are making one hell of a mistake, Cowboy." Nessa breathed her smile quickly fading into a frown and then into a think line of anger. The amusement had left her altogether.
"Yeah well you wouldn't really know...unload 'em now." Dean got out in clenched teeth cocking her gun back again. He watched in satisfaction as she took out the other pistol from her wrist strap and shoulder strap. "The one on your ankle too." He kept the gun level with Nessa's head following her movement with each shift to make sure that should he have to fire that that bullet went where he intended it too.
Nessa paused in amazement that he seemed to know where she kept everything. "You seem to know all about me and I don't know a thing about you." Nessa said as she complied tossing her ankle gun into the floor.
"Better to keep it that way." Dean breathed then looked to Ambre who was trembling beside him, not sure what to do. Sam had just made it down the stairs winded and wide eyed. "Sam, gather up the guns..." he gave just a slight pause honestly feeling bad about his next move, but he couldn't take her with him...she would try to take over and would over power and possibly kill the both of them to protect her charge. "Sorry Ness." He fired three shots. One into each arm and the third into her chest.
She slumped to the floor out cold. Dean knew she would wake up that she would regenerate...that the other two guardians would help her. He hadn't killed her. But none of the three of them knew that except him.
"Dean what the..." Sam had just finished gathering the weapons when he watched the shots hit their mark and the girl slump to the floor apparently dead.
"Sam, come on we don't have time for this." Dean couldn't help but let his gaze freeze on Nessa as his heart wrenched. She had once sacrificed herself for them all and now he had practically handed her over the authorities with out a second thought. The only redeeming moment of comfort was that had they not been her responsibility before he knew that she would have done the exact same thing...and as he told her then...She hadn't been able to keep any of them safe from the get go. She just didn't know how ill prepared she was today. In the end he could rationalize that he was almost doing her a favor.
"You're going to make time...when we get to the car!" Sam screamed knowing that they had to get the hell out of here before the cops showed up.
"Sure." Dean nodded as his hand wrapped around Ambre's again. He felt the shivers and cills race through him from the contact and the moments reprieve from the fighting. Dean's actually let his gaze settle on her a moment and felt his breath hitch again. "I'm sorry about this Ms. Gallagher. But we're going to get Shay out of the house and into protective custody. So don't worry about that. You're both going to be alright. I just need you to trust me...just a little." Dean's voice finally betrayed the compassion and tenderness of his former self for just a moment before he kicked the exit door open and pulled her roughly along with him...letting Sam break into the lead so he could show him where the car was.
"Sam, Call Bobby. I need you to send him to 420 Juliard Rd to pick up a Shay Davidson. He can tell him whatever the hell he has to. I just need him to bring him to Ben Joiner's in Chattanooga, TN and tell him we'll meet him there." Dean caught sight of the Impala in one piece and smiled. He was glad to have it back. Every since the explosion outside of Huntington at that Amish farmstead he had missed his car.
"Why are we headed to Ben's ?" Sam got out as they all reached the car.
"Be careful there." Dean said to Ambre as he helped her into the backseat. "I know none of this makes sense, but Nessa and those three guys coming out of the elevator they were there for you. We're just bringing you along to make sure that you're safe and we mean you no harm at all. We'll have you and you're fiancé together in just a few days so just kinda sit back and relax and Miss I'm really sorry about all this."
Dean then climbed into the passenger seat as Sam looked intent to drive the both of them out of here. "We're going to Ben's because he has something we need. I'd explain it." Dean cut his eyes to Ambre indicating that he didn't want to say it in front of her for the moment.
"Right." Sam replied as he cranked the car. "Here call Bobby yourself. You seem to be the one with all the information there. You know we're going to have to have a long talk right?"
"I know." Dean nodded starring out the windshield as he dialed the number. He didn't want to have that talk and he didn't want to tell the truth...he just wanted to live through this again and this time take that son of bitch Alturoc down. The less involvement everyone had to have the better. Dean could do as much of it by himself as possible...he just had to get to Ben's and get that anti scrying potion into Sam and Ambre and Shay. Luckily Dean had already developed a tolerance to the intoxicating effects so he didn't think he would have any problem once they got there and got the first dose into the everyone.
Still he felt the guilt from excluding everyone...if only to protect them from knowing what almost was. He'd rather Sam thought he was nuts then to explain what had happened...to the whole world...to their father...to him...to Ambre...to Nessa...Dean swallowed the lump in his throat as Bobby answered the phone. "Bobby hey." Dean started.