TWENTY
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 22nd, 2009
"I really hope you mean as much to Dean and Sam Winchester as my duty means to me," Lilith cooed as she stroked Reggie's face. She got up from the rusty bed the hunter was tied to and skipped from the room.
Reggie screamed through the gag in her mouth what sounded like a string of profanities as Deumos entered. The blonde bartender stood at the base of the bed and shook her head. "You shouldn't insult her like that. The fact that you're still alive is a miracle." Reggie kicked her bound legs at her and screamed some more. "No one can hear you. At least no one who will help you." Deumos strode from the room and slammed the door closed behind her.
"Why don't you just kill her?" Verin was asking as Deumos entered the bar.
"Because I want them gone from this city. And the only way I'm going to get what I want is to give them something they want in return," Lilith replied in a sing song voice. "They're going to want her and now I have her." She climbed up onto a bar stool and began tapping on the counter. "I want one of those yummy strawberry milkshakes, Deumos." The demon hurried behind the bar and immediately got to work.
Verin was shaking his head at Lilith. "Since when do we bargain with these monkeys?"
"You're trying my patience, Verin," Lilith warned.
"I just don't understand why we can't just bluff the whole thing?"
Lilith turned and glared at the dark-skinned demon, her gaze a frightening opaque. "I don't care if you understand. You're going to follow my orders, Verin, and my orders are that Reggie remain alive. If you don't like that, just say so and I will remedy the situation."
Verin gulped and took a step back. "Whatever you wish, Lilith." She nodded and smiled at Deumos as she placed a glass in front of her, filled to the top with pink liquid.
"Yum," Lilith said as she began to suck from her straw.
Dean threw a duffle bag filled with guns into the trunk of the Impala and spun around. "I don't care, Cas. They have Reggie and the only way they aren't going to kill her is if we leave town," Dean yelled at the angel. Castiel stood stoically as he watched Dean jam another duffle bag into the trunk. "I won't let them kill her because of us."
"You're letting your feelings for her cloud your judgment," Castiel growled. "If you leave, there will be no one to stop Lilith from opening another seal. Every seal is important, Dean. You need to remain steadfast in your duty to the rest of humanity. You need to stay here and stop Lilith."
"You do it then! You stay and fight Lilith for this seal. Sam and me, we're leaving town." Dean slammed the trunk closed and crunched through the snow back to the apartment building. He couldn't hear the angel following behind him, but he could feel him there.
Sam met them on the stairs. "The place is clear. I just have to put the rest of Reggie's stuff in the Plymouth and we're good to go."
"Thanks, Sammy." Dean turned and almost ran into Castiel . "Get out of my way, Cas."
"You're making a huge mistake, Dean. I pulled you from hell because The Lord commanded it. So that you could stop Lilith from raising Lucifer. If you leave, she is one step closer to completing that task."
Dean pushed past the angel and Sam followed. "I don't care!"
"You should care. When Lucifer comes to Earth, all the innocent souls will burn. Burn just like you did in hell," Castiel snapped. Sam groaned and turned to look at the angel, but he was gone.
"Let's hurry it up, Sam," Dean said, already climbing behind the wheel of the Impala. Sam hurried over to Reggie's Plymouth and dropped her bags into the trunk. He glanced at Dean and then back at the car.
"Are we leaving Reggie's car here?" he called. Dean nodded and Sam headed to the passenger side of the Impala, climbing in just as Dean put it in reverse.
"We have to leave it here. For now, anyway," Dean explained as he peeled out of the parking lot, the tires screeching as they spun on a patch of ice. They sat in silence as Dean drove through the city. Sam stared out the window, watching as the buildings sped by outside.
"Sorry," Dean finally said.
"For what?" Sam asked, turning to look at his brother.
"When we thought it was Ruby, I was all for leaving her to the wolves." Dean glanced at Sam and then back at the road again.
"Dean, don't. I care about Reggie, too." Dean snorted and shook his head. "If we can save her life by leaving, then that's what we have to do," Sam continued, ignoring Dean's reaction. "There's still plenty of time to stop Lilith from bringing Lucifer out of hell. Once Reggie's safe, we may still be able to stop her from opening this seal."
"You two are a bunch of idiots, you know that," a voice snapped from the backseat. Dean jerked the wheel and the tires squealed as he hit the brakes, bumping onto the shoulder of the road.
Sam spun in his seat. "Ruby? Where the hell have you been?"
"I've been out getting information, following up on possible leads." Ruby snapped. "So I hear you've got a bit of a hostage situation going on. How the hell did you not see that one coming?"
"You're not helping, Ruby," Sam said, glancing at Dean. "These leads you were following? Can they help us?"
"They might. If you want to keep your new "friend's" pretty little head on her shoulders and still try and stop Lilith from opening the seal in Ridley Creek State Park."
"Then spill it, you stupid wench," Dean growled.
"Temper, temper," Ruby chided. "You might want to be a little nicer to me, Dean. Since I have the information you need to save Reggie without getting both your asses vaporized." Ruby sat back against the seat, a smug, satisfied expression on her face.
"Alright, fine. I'll be nice. Just tell us what you know," Dean relented.
"They're holding her at a dive bar in South Philly and it's crawling with demons."
"So how are we supposed to get inside?" Sam asked, irritation edging his voice.
Ruby glared at him, hearing his tone. "I don't know, Sam, but perhaps that's something you two geniuses can figure out for yourselves. You should be happy I got any info at all."
"I am thankful, Ruby, but you have to realize the current circumstances. If Lilith finds out we're not leaving town…" Sam looked at Dean for confirmation that they were indeed going to stay. Dean nodded at him and Sam turned back to Ruby. "We'll only have a small window of opportunity to get Reggie out of there alive. That's not exactly going to be easy."
"No, it won't, but at least it's more than running away with your tails between your legs."
"She has a point," Dean said. Both Ruby and Sam gaped at him. "What?" Dean asked.
"Since when do you agree with me on anything?" Ruby asked incredulously.
Dean shrugged. "Never, but I guess, today, pigs can fly."
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 23rd, 2009
"Are you sure this is where they have her?" Dean asked again. It had been almost an hour since Ruby had directed them to the small dive bar. It looked run down and the sign bearing the bar's name, Paulie's Tavern, hung crookedly above the door. They'd parked the Impala several streets back and were standing in the shadows in an alley across the street.
"I'm as sure as I was the last five thousand times you asked me," Ruby snapped.
Dean rolled his shoulders and cocked his gun. "It doesn't look so crowded from here."
"Unless you've developed x-ray vision or some other kind of ability that allows you to see through walls, how can you be sure?" Ruby shifted back into the darkness as a tall, gangly man dressed in coveralls stepped out of the bar's door and onto the street, lighting a cigarette.
"Okay, so what do we do? How are we going to get inside?" Sam asked, trying to break the tension that crackled through all of them.
"You said there was a back room to this place. That's got to be where they're holding Reggie," Dean started.
"If she's even still alive," Ruby muttered. Sam glared at her and she rolled her eyes.
"I say we head around back and find a way in on that side. Once we get in and get Reggie, then we just blast our way back out," Dean continued, clearly ignoring Ruby.
"Oh, that sounds brilliant," Ruby stated, throwing her hands in the air in frustration.
"You know, we don't really need your help, Ruby, so if you're so concerned about your own ass then maybe you should just sit this one out," Dean growled.
"I just don't think we should go in half-assed or we're all bound to end up dead," Ruby snapped back at Dean.
"I'm open to suggestions," Dean replied.
"We wait. Scout out the place a little more," Ruby retorted.
"Right! That's a brilliant idea! Much better than mine," Dean spat.
Sam couldn't take it anymore. "Enough," he snapped. "I think Dean's right. We should check out the back exit and see if there's a way in on that side." Dean grinned, but Sam continued. "But Ruby's right, too, Dean. We can't just go in guns blazing or we'll all get killed. We need to wait a little longer and see what we're up against."
"Alright, fine," Dean grumbled, tucking his gun into an inside pocket of his jacket. "I'm going to work my way around to the rear and check out the building from that end."
"Don't do anything stupid, Dean," Ruby growled as they watched him slip out onto the street and disappear behind a parked car. "He isn't going to do anything stupid, right?" she asked, turning to Sam.
Sam sighed. "I sure hope not."
Reggie struggled against her bindings, twisting and turning until she felt the stitches in her arm and back pull. Wincing, she stopped, waiting for the stinging to subside. She tilted her arm, noting that the bandages wrapped around her bicep were still a pristine white. Well, I haven't busted a stitch yet, Reggie thought bitterly. She glanced up as the door to the room she was in opened. A small, blonde girl skipped into the room, a grin stretched across her small pink lips.
"Hello, Reggie," Lilith purred as she came to a stop next to Reggie. "How are you doing? I hope you don't mind all this, but I needed your help with something."
"Screw you," Reggie yelled through her gag. Lilith shook her head and made a tsk-tsk sound.
"Oh, Reggie. There's no need for you to be hostile," Lilith scolded. She reached up and stroked Reggie face with her small hand. "You are quite an exquisite creature. So pretty." Lilith hopped onto the bed, sitting just below Reggie's bound legs. "I really hope Dean and Sam don't disappoint me. It'll be a shame to have to waste such a precious body."
Reggie rolled her eyes, jerking away from the demon's touch, and tried to talk through the gag. Lilith grinned again and reached up, yanking it from Reggie's mouth. "Dean and Sam aren't going to leave, Lilith. They're going to stop you from opening the seal here and send your creepy ass back to hell," Reggie spat.
"I sure hope, for your sake, that you're wrong, Reggie," Lilith stated, scooting off the bed. She stared at Reggie, as if contemplating something. Finally, she nodded and beamed up at Reggie. "I think you've underestimated the power you've developed over Dean. He likes you a lot. I think, to guarantee your safety, Dean will do as I ask and leave."
Reggie made an attempt to respond when the little girl reached up and tucked the gag back into her mouth, silencing Reggie, humming as she did. There was a loud crash from outside the room, and both hunter and demon turned towards the door, listening intently. There were several more loud bangs and the sound of gunfire. Reggie watched in shock as Lilith froze at the door, her host's pink cheeks paling, looking nervous and sick. Lilith turned, with a shocked look on her face, and glared at Reggie for a moment before disappearing through the doorway, leaving Reggie alone once again.
Ruby and Sam waited in silence, watching the entrance, waiting for any indication of what was inside. About a half an hour later, Sam's cell phone began to buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at the caller I.D before answering. "Hey Dean."
"So there's only one way in back here and it looks to be bolted shut with a lock even Dad wouldn't have been able to bust. There's one window but it's so badly covered in grime that I can't get a good look inside," Dean reported.
"So we're going to have to go in the front." Sam rubbed a hand across his face.
"Looks like it."
"Okay. Get back here and we'll figure out a plan." Sam hung up and tucked his cell phone back into his pocket.
"We're not ready to go in there, Sam," Ruby warned.
"We don't have a choice. The longer we wait, the riskier it gets. Lilith could find out we never left and Reggie's dead when she does." They heard the sound of footsteps approaching and held their breaths. A second later, Dean slid around the corner, the collar of his jacket turned up against his neck. "Hey," Sam greeted his brother.
"So, I think we should move now. The longer we wait, the more we risk being seen skulking over here."
"I think we should wait," Ruby hissed.
"Noted. Sam?"
Sam looked down at his feet, staring at the dirty street, unsure of what to say. He knew they needed to move quickly, but that they were also unaware of what was awaiting them inside. "I think we might as well get this over with," Sam finally muttered.
"Okay then. Let's go!" Dean pulled his gun out again and checked the chamber. Sam checked his gun, noting the two rounds of rock salt already loaded. Ruby groaned, but took a position behind Sam. The three of them rushed out into the street, hunched down, stopping behind a parked minivan just past the alleyway. Dean motioned Sam to go first and followed him across the street, where they stopped to crouch behind a black sedan. Ruby followed a second later.
"Looks like there are at least three inside that I can see," Sam whispered. "The blonde and the guy who attacked us at the apartment, and a short, white man in a tuxedo."
"You and Ruby take care of them. I'll head into the back and get Reggie," Dean directed. Without waiting for a reply, he took off running, heading right for the entrance to the bar. Sam hurried after him. He could hear Ruby following close behind them.
They burst through the door and Dean fired a round into the man in the tuxedo, causing the demon to stumble backwards off his chair. Ruby launched herself at the black man and Sam fired a round at the blonde bartender, who ducked. The bullet shattered the glass wall behind her, a waterfall of booze poured down as bottles of liquor exploded too. Dean rushed towards the back of the bar and out of sight. Sam could hear glass shattering and furniture breaking as Ruby wrestled with the man, but didn't spare her a glance, his eyes still focused on the bar.
He raced to the bar and aimed over it, but the blonde was already gone. Sam turned and fired a round into the black man's back, causing the demon to drop to the floor. Ruby held him down as Sam began exercising the demon with his mind, the pain barely registering with him anymore. It took only moments for the man to cough and jerk as black smoke billowed from his mouth.
"That was good, Sam," Ruby said as she got up from the floor, brushing her hands across the thighs of her jeans. Sam nodded at her, but didn't speak. The demon in the tuxedo lay on the floor a few feet away still out from Dean's round to the chest. Sam grabbed the man's lapels and sent the demon inside back to hell before it had time to register what was happening. Sam stood up and looked around the bar. There was a crash from the direction Dean had gone and Sam rushed towards the sound. Just as they passed the bathrooms, Dean appeared, carrying Reggie in his arms.
"Everything okay?" Sam asked as he moved back out into the bar. "What was that crash?"
"I kicked the door open," Dean said nonchalantly. "Let's get the hell out of here." Dean maneuvered past the scattered tables and bar stools and shoved the door open with his foot, Sam and Ruby close on his heels. They ran to the Impala and Dean helped Reggie into the backseat. No one spoke as they jumped into the car and Dean peeled away from the curb. The road was almost completely deserted, making their getaway a little easier.
Dean looked into the rearview mirror at Reggie. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Reggie replied. Ruby looked over at her and Reggie met the demon's gaze. "I'm guessing this was because of you?"
Ruby nodded. "I heard about the attack and was on my way to check on you guys when I found out they grabbed you from the hospital."
"Then I guess I owe you a thanks."
"Don't mention it," Ruby said, shrugging. She turned and looked out the window. "Pull over up here," she stated. Dean glanced at Sam, but obliged and pulled over to the side of the road in front of a bank. Ruby opened the door and got out.
"Where are you going, Ruby?" Sam asked as he rolled down the window.
"I'll be around, don't worry," she called, disappearing down a dark side street.