Cas

Dean finished stamping out my holy fire prison in a fair amount of time. Sometimes, it was exasperating to be caught that easily, simply surrounded by fire, but it is what it is. I took in the old creaky house. "We should split up and each takes a floor. Dean, you take this floor; Sam, you go upstairs. I'll do the basement."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Wait. Shouldn't we first see if there is anything else in this house? We surely did not expect Josie and the Pussycats to be here. Who knows what else is here."

Sam nodded. "I have to agree with Dean. We don't want any more surprises."

I gave them a flat look. "When we reached the house, I said that there were three humans inside, but they were, most likely, the reason we were here. It turned out not to be so. I did not feel anything else. We are safe," I assured them.

They shrugged simultaneously. "All right. I'll finish this floor and you and Sammy can do your thing. Yell if anyone finds anything. And Cas? I'll undo a few angel wards." And with that, we split.

Seeing as the angel wards were still up for the time being, they would not let me search everything in an instant, so I was going to have to humanize the task until Dean did away with them. Holding back my sigh of irritation, I descended the stairs to the basement. There were a few old rusty shelves with scattered boxes stacked upon them. A dusty book shelf sat in the back. The wood must be rotted, because it leaned a tad to the left. Dirt and grime covered the concrete floor and an old, musty, pink, flower print couch sagged sadly in the space underneath the stairs. Rolling up the sleeves to my trench coat, I opened the first box.

Nothing, but papers. The second and third boxes were the same. The fourth and fifth box held children's toys. Four boxes held china and silverware, but no tablet. Resigned, I searched the book shelf; nothing but moldy books relating to horses, dogs, and other various animals. I could conclude that the tablet was not down here.

Back upstairs, Dean was finished and also came up empty handed. When Sam rejoined us, he didn't have the angel tablet, either. "I was told it would be here."

Just then, I was no longer in the house. This room was completely white: the chairs, the walls, the floor, and the desk, in which a fair haired woman sat, also in a white suit. "Castiel. We have a problem," she stated.

"I agree. You were incorrect about the location of the tablet."

She frowned. "Not, I was correct. You let it slip from your fingers."

"The girls have it," I said dumbly as realization dawned upon me.

"Now you need to find them to get it back," she commanded. "Also, I was informed they have some tricks up their metaphorical sleeves. Be warned."

"And what tricks would that be?"

"Tricks? Cas, what are you talking about?" Dean asked and I could see I was no longer in the woman's office.

I shook my head to clear it. "Nothing. So, the tablet isn't here. We were made fools of. Those girls did have it."

"I was starting to think that," Sam told us.

Dean looked confused. "We watched them pack their bags. There was not a tablet, book, or any suspicious package. Where would they have hidden it?"

"Their car?" Sam offered.

"Ok, let's check there." I headed toward the car and waited for them to follow. They grabbed the medical supplies and joined me outside. Dumping everything in the trunk, Dean opened the driver's side door.

"Can you pinpoint them?" he asked me. When I nodded, all he said was "Good" and climbed in. When we settled, I told them we were headed east to a town called Dustin.

Two hours later, we reached the town. Dean looked back at me in his rearview mirror. "Are they still here?"

I checked and nodded. "They are eating at a restaurant called 'Debs'. I believe they are staying the night here."

"How do you tell that?" Sam inquired.

I pointed at the town's hotel, The Dust Inn, parking lot where a blue Volkswagen convertible rested. Dean took a hard left and pulled in. Parking his car around the back, Dean suggested we stay here tonight as well. No one disagreed, so a room was ordered and we asked the office manager for directions for Debs. Sam and Dean put their supplies away while I demon proofed the room. After this, we headed to the diner.

It was fairly uncrowded when Dean, Sam, and I entered. Searching the space, I spotted the red head sitting by herself in a booth, elbows propped on the table. She held a phone in one hand and was nonchalantly chewing French fries as she texted. There were two other plates on the table, meaning the other two girls were around. I indicated to Dean of her whereabouts. He smiled, elbowed Sam, and together, we walked over. Sam and Dean slid into the seat across from her. At first, she didn't look up.

"That was the fastest I have ever seen the two of you get business done. I thought you said she would fight you on your decision, but never mind." She shrugged.

"I do not have any idea what you are talking about." Dean put his elbows on the table and leaned into them.

Lydia dropped her phone and it clattered on the table before ending up in the seat beside her. "Dean!" she squeaked. "H-h-how did you f-f-find us?" She asked, nervously glancing around.

"Should have gotten charms to block you from angels," Sam sang.

"Funny you say that, because Lace and Evie were doing-"

"Where is the tablet?" I demanded, cutting her off.

Groaning, she slapped her forehead. "That is what this is about? We already told you that we don't have your stupid tablet."

I slapped the table with both hands, startling her and causing her to look up at me. "You are lying, Lydia Townsend, from Chicago. Tell me where it is."

Dean stood up and threw my hands off the table. "Easy, Cas. Scaring her isn't going to help anyone."

My anger was getting the best of me and I knew it, but it was hard to control. "We need it, Dean," I hissed. "We need it now. She has it and she knows it."

Dean opened his mouth, but behind us, a snarky voice interrupted. "Well what do we have here?" I turned to see the demon girl tapping her foot, with her arms crossed, eyebrows raised.

She looked the same as she did four hours ago. Her blue eyes were locked on mine and I noticed how pretty she truly was. When no one answered her, her hands moved to her hips. "Excuse me, but are you struck stupid by my beauty or something?"

Evelyn snorted and said "Or something.", but I answered with a "Yes."

Lace's face fell to shock for a brief instant. Then she glared. "Oh. Hardy har har. Hilarious. What are you losers doing here?"

Dean decided to take this one. "We know you guys have to tablet and we need it."

"Lace," Evelyn said, "I think these guys are brain dead. I could have sworn we told them we didn't have it. Maybe I'm just delusional."

"Huh…" Lace pretended to stroke her invisible beard. "You know, that sounds about right. I remember saying we did not have their tablet." Then she shrugged. "Hell, who knows. We may have entered an alternate dimension for a moment and imagined we told them this."

"Or aliens took over their bodies and they don't remember. Either way, we should ask if it feels like they have been probed."

Lace cackled. "My bet is that the angel and the cripple were-"

"And you're so done, Lace." Lydia interjected.

"Girl, I was just getting started. Lucky this is a public place, though."

"I'll toast to that. Anyway, the musketeers are here, because they think we are lying."

"Would we lie to you guys?" Lace asked us.

"In a heartbeat," Dean told her.

She laughed off the insult. "Touché…"

Sam became a little agitated. "Enough fooling around here, guys. Where is it?"

"Just a tad touchy…" Evie noted.

Lace looked thoughtful. "…demanding…"

"…nearly always frowning…"

"…doesn't like to take orders…"

"…must have Daddy issues." They concluded in chorus.

Sam slide out of the booth. "I'll be in the damn car."

Evelyn leaned into the now empty seats and grabbed her belongings and handed Lace hers. Lydia packed her stuff up as well and threw a twenty and some ones on the table. Lace and Evelyn linked arms and sauntered to the exit, Lydia following. "Sorry we could not be more help, fellas," Lace said over her shoulder. She waggled her fingers at us and left.

The second they were out the door, Lydia ran back over to us. "Mary Winslow's park around midnight. Just you, Dean. I'll tell you everything you need to know. Come alone or I'll walk away for good." And she ran back to her friends.