"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Dean looked up from the controls of the boat and fixed Sam with an exasperated glare.

"I swear to god, you ask me that one more time and you're gonna be swimming across, Sam." he said.

"You can't blame me for being nervous, we're not exactly a boating family." Sam retorted and Dean just shrugged.

"It's got an engine – how hard can it be?"

Sam closed his eyes and threw up a silent prayer that the gods of fate weren't listening for once. He was seriously beginning to loose count of how many times 'how hard can it be?' had turned into a near death experience.

As the engine kicked into life Sam opened his eyes again and shifted in his seat so he could grab hold of the side of the boat.

"Ready?" said Dean, glancing over his shoulder.

"No."

Dean just smirked and opened the throttle deliberately wide so they pulled away at speed. Sam lurched back and winced as his hip connected with the hard wood of the seat. The noise of the engine and the sound of the waves as they sped through the water would have drowned out any retort, so he had to settle for glaring at the back of Dean's head and making a note that he owed him one.

He hadn't asked exactly how his brother had managed to persuade the boat's owner to lease it to them for the night and he probably didn't want to know. He had at least made sure they weren't stealing it, as they could do without the risk of more police attention, and Dean had reassured him that it was all above board.

Except for the small fact they were using it to break in to Alcatraz of course.

Sam shook his head. Only they would end up in a situation where they had to break in to the world's most infamous prison.

He winced again as the boat lifted briefly out of the water and came back down hard, jarring him against the wooden seat for a second time. Why on earth didn't they make boats with padded seats? At this rate he was gonna be black and blue before they even encountered the spirit.

Dean meanwhile was having a whale of a time. It was a pretty nice boat and the old guy had been happy enough to rent it out, especially as Dean had paid him over the odds. It still chafed to be doing things legally but he had to admit since the cops already had their names – albeit not their real ones – it wouldn't do to attract anymore attention.

If only for the sake of Sam's blood pressure.

The instructions on how to use it had been straightforward enough, and he'd always been good with anything that came with an engine. Now, as they sped across the bay towards the looming shape of the island, he had to admit that boats were kind of fun. Although glancing at Sam he had a feeling his brother wasn't enjoying the experience as much as he was, for some reason.

Even though he was having fun, Dean still kept his mind on the job. He'd deliberately not turned on the lights at the front of the boat, wanting to make their approach as stealthy as possible. They'd waited until it got dark before setting out and although it was a clear night there was no moon, for which he was grateful. The Golden Gate Bridge was easily visible to one side, lit up as it was, and there were a few lights showing on the island as well but that was about it this far out into the bay. There hadn't exactly been much info on the security of the place so they were winging it and just hoping that no one considered the old prison a big security risk these days.

As they neared the island Dean cut the engine and they drifted towards it slowly. He turned round to Sam.

"Pass me that rope, would you?" he whispered and Sam got up, grabbing the rope and handing one end to Dean.

"What are you doing?" he said, his voice as soft as Dean's, and his brother pointed to a small wooden jetty to their right.

"I'm gonna tie her up over there, so she doesn't drift away. Last thing we need is no way of getting back when we're done."

Before Sam could suggest that he be the one to make the jump Dean had climbed onto the edge of the boat and gracefully launched himself through the air. Sam held his breath until he heard the quiet thump of Dean's boots hitting the wood. There was a slight rustling sound and then Dean's voice drifted across.

"Catch."

Sam's quick reflexes saved him from a smack in the mouth with the end of the rope and he quickly threaded it through a metal ring fixed to the side of the boat and pulled. Between them they got it right up against the jetty and Sam tied off the end before hopping over the side and joining his brother on the wooden platform.

Dean reached over and grabbed the bag they'd brought with them, crouching down and feeling around inside until he found both flashlights. He handed one to Sam and as he straightened up they both stood still for a moment, listening for any signs of movement.

So far their arrival appeared to have gone unnoticed.

"How do you want to do this?" whispered Sam and Dean glanced at him.

"I saw a path leading up this way when we were here earlier." he said, gesturing to the right. "It's probably longer than the main road but less exposed."

Sam nodded, then realised that wasn't particularly visible in the dark.

"Ok. We should take it slow though, we've got no idea how many guards they might have here overnight."

"Gee, thanks for pointing that out. And here was me gonna sprint up there waving my arms round and yelling just in case they hadn't spotted me. Good job you pointed out the flaw in that plan, Sammy."

There was a brief pause.

"You done or do you want to stand around here and run through the routine a little more?" said Sam dryly, and even in the dark he could imagine the expression on his brother's face.

Dean said nothing though, despite the effort it took, and instead set off the right. Sam shook his head and quickly followed close behind.

Their eyes had adjusted to the darkness so they left the flashlights switched off for now, not wanting to risk being seen from above. The ground was uneven so they had to tread carefully and as a result it took them a good 40 minutes to reach the top of the path.

As the outline of a ruined wall loomed up in front of them Dean dropped to a crouch, sensing Sam do the same behind him. He winced a little as the stitches in his side pulled and found himself hoping that, for once, the spirit was gonna go down quietly.

Like that ever happened.

Reaching the wall he put one hand on the rough stone and cautiously peered over the top. He could see the outline of the main prison building and noted that most of it was in darkness. The light they'd seen from the water came from over to the left where there was a small hut, most likely housing the security guards assigned to watch the old monument at night.

He fervently hoped they were of the old and deaf variety.

Dropping his head back down he turned round, resting his back against the wall and leaning towards Sam.

"There's a hut on the left, probably where the guards are. If we follow this wall a little further we can sneak in from the back, that way they shouldn't see us."

He was close enough to see Sam's answering nod and without further discussion they moved quickly, but quietly, to where the main part of the prison began. Dean kept his hand running lightly along the wall so he felt when a big gap appeared. Risking the flashlight he kept the beam low and saw that the wall had collapsed inwards, leaving a hole big enough for both of them to get though.

Glancing at Sam he moved a little so his brother could see it and then ducked his head and stepped through. He was relieved to feel floor underneath his feet and stepped to one side to allow Sam to get clear.

Now they were both inside Sam switched his flashlight on too. He swung it round, still keeping the beam as low as possible, and realised they were on one of the upper levels. He shifted slightly, adjusting the weight on his back of the bag he'd insisted on being the one to carry, and turned to Dean.

"So what now?"

"Did the article you read happen to mention where the wall they repaired was?" he asked and Sam gave a wry grin.

"What do you think?"

Dean sighed. Of course, that would be too easy.

"Alright, we'll check up here first then work our way down. I just hope they haven't had more than one wall needing work on it or we're gonna be here all night." he said and Sam grimaced.

"Don't even joke about it." he said.

Dean smirked and indicated with his flashlight that Sam go to the left. Sam however waited till Dean met his eye and tried to telegraph with a look that he be careful. The message must have got across as Dean nodded and clapped a hand on Sam's shoulder briefly in his own version of 'watch your back' before heading off to the right.

As he crept along Dean scanned every inch of the wall he was following for signs of fresh brickwork. He really hoped it wasn't gonna be in the last place they looked, he was already thinking longingly of the comfortable bed and cable TV back in the hotel.

"Some vacation." he muttered under his breath.

Sometimes it really did suck to be a Winchester.

Sam was having no better luck on his side of the building. He ran a hand through his hair frustratedly and mentally crossed his fingers.

"Come on, give us a break just once." he said under his breath.

At that moment he felt a rush of cold air on the back of his neck and whirled round just in time to see an appartion appear in front of him. The spirit grinned menacingly and even as Sam braced himself it lifted his hands.

"Ok, so not what I meant." was all he had time to say before he felt himself flying through the air. Hitting the wall behind him he slid down and lay in a heap, trying to get some breath back into his body. As he watched the spirit make it's way towards him he realised there was only one logical course of action.

"Dean!"

Dean's head snapped up as he heard Sam yell his name.

"Well that's not a good sign." he said, already breaking into a run.

There were many ways Sam had of saying his name and that was definitely the one that translated as 'help, something is about to kill me!'

He rounded a corner and skidded to a halt as he saw Sam slumped on the ground with a shimmering image in front of him.

"Hey!" he called, attracting its attention, and when it turned round he saw the ghost was wearing a prison guard's uniform.

"You're kidding me – it's a prison guard?" he said in disbelief but there wasn't time for any further thoughts as it was now heading his way.

He backed up, keeping an eye on what Sam was now doing behind the spirit's back. As soon as he saw his brother bring up the shotgun he dropped to the ground, wincing as the shot reverberated round the building. He heard the ghost shriek and felt the rock salt fly over his head. Looking up a couple of seconds later he saw it was gone.

Sam staggered to his feet and grabbed the bag he'd dropped, keeping the shotgun in his hand. Dean got to his feet too and quickly went over to him.

"You ok?" he said and Sam nodded.

"Yeah, just bruised my pride. You think the guards heard that?" he said, straining to hear if there were any noises from outside.

Dean grimaced.

"Depends if they're deaf. Come on, we need to find those bones before this guy comes back. Or before they guards come to find out what the hell that was."

As they jogged along the walkway both of them were alert for any sign of the spirit coming back. Sam was so focused on that he didn't notice anything else until Dean suddenly grabbed his arm, making them both skid to a halt.

"Hey, that look like fresh cement to you?" he said, pointing his flashlight at a section of wall they'd just passed.

Sam looked at it with a narrowed gaze and nodded.

"Could be. Hold this." he said, handing Dean the shotgun.

Dean kept watch as Sam took the crowbar out of the bag and began to break away the newer cement. He winced at the noise it was making but reflected it was a bit late to worry about being quiet after firing the shotgun.

He just hoped the guards were too lazy or too hard of hearing to come and investigate.

"I think I got something." said Sam suddenly and Dean turned round. Aiming the light at the now broken wall he saw the glint of something white. He squinted and frowned.

"Looks like bone but it's kind hard to see. No way we're gonna get through the rest of that brickwork though, not if the bones are that far back."

Sam stared at it for a second. Dean was right, he'd barely scratched the surface and the longer they had to dig for, the more chance of being discovered.

"Hang on, what about coming at it from the other side?" said Dean, stepping through into the cell that the wall backed onto.

"That might work." said Sam, straightening up.

He was just about to hand Dean the crowbar when there was a loud grinding noise and, without warning, the old metal door of the cell slammed shut narrowly missing Dean's foot.

"Woah! What the hell?" said Dean, putting the shotgun down and grabbing hold of the bars. He yanked on them but nothing happened.

Getting over his own surprise Sam pulled at them frantically from the other side but they weren't shifting.

"Perfect. Now what?" said Dean, meeting Sam's worried gaze.

"Look, you keep digging on that side. I'll draw him away from here and hopefully give you some time." said Sam and Dean shook his head before he even finished speaking.

"Oh no, no way Sam. You're not playing bait."

Sam raised his arms frustratedly.

"You got a better plan?" he said and Dean cursed. Once, just once would it kill the universe to give them a break?

"Ok, fine – give me the damn crowbar." he said and Sam hurredly handed it through the bars.

"You got the other shotgun?" Dean said and Sam nodded, taking it out of the bag which he then managed to squeeze through to his brother.

"Just keep moving, ok – try not to let him get too close."

Sam nodded, not bothering to mention that he already knew that. He was aware Dean was just worried about him. Not that he was particuarly thrilled at the fact he had to leave his brother locked in a cell with the spirit's bones.

If it didn't decide to follow him then Dean was a sitting target.

Before Sam could say anything else he saw something out of the corner of his eye and turned to see the spirit shimmer into existence.

"No one escapes. No one." it rasped and Sam raised his eyebrows.

"Wanna bet?" he said and with one final look at Dean he turned round and took off.

"Be careful!" Dean yelled, seeing the spirit fly past after his brother seconds later.

"Dammit!" he said, banging his hands against the bars.

This was so not going well.

Forcing himself back to the task in hand he picked up the crowbar and attacked the wall with renewed vigour, ignoring the pull on his side.

If the ghost hurt Sam he was gonna do more than just salt and burn it.

Right after he killed his brother for coming up with such a dumb ass plan.