Disclaimer: Still not mine but my dream lives on.
7. Bella's
It was easy to find out where Police Chief Swan lived. The phone book just had a number, not a street address, but the brothers were resourceful – Smalltown USA was easy pickings for the likes of the Winchesters. Dean had set Sammy on an elderly woman at the park who was sitting on a bench with a little Pomeranian at her ankles. He had wandered agitatedly back and forth in front of her a couple of times, and the kindly woman had asked him what was wrong. Dean had to chuckle about it, old ladies were suckers when it came to Sam. More than once an old lady had pinched his cheek and told him what a 'darling' he was. The story Sam had fabricated was that he was passing through, had taken his dog, Dean, to the park for a walk, and the damn thing ran off on him. He'd looked for an hour, but couldn't find the dog, and had gone to the Sherriff's office to file a report about the runaway mutt, and to give him a contact number if Dean was found. But there wasn't anyone at the office, and no one answered the phone. Sam laid into the puppy eyes then and had the grey-hair eating out of his hand.
"I came back to look some more. I just can't go without doing something. But it's getting late and I don't know what else to do." Sam sounded absolutely pitiful and Dean tried to bite back his snickers from the driver's seat of the Impala not ten feet away.
"Oh, you poor dear," the lady had fawned. "It's a small town, and if something happens, everyone just calls Charlie at his house. It's in the phonebook, Dear."
"But I want to give him a picture too, so he'll know the dog if he's found."
"Oh…Well Charlie doesn't live too far from here. Just a couple of blocks over and up Maynard Street. You can't miss it if his cruiser is in the yard." The old lady pointed off in a westerly direction.
"Really?" Sam smiled hopefully at her. "I can just go there and talk to him?"
"Of course, Dear." The old lady stood up and patted Sam's hand. Dean nearly lost it in laughter. "Charlie's a good man, been Chief for years. Of course you can go there and ask him for help."
"Thank you Ma'am." Sam patted the old woman's hand in return and smiled at her. "You've been a big help. Thanks."
Sam sprinted back to the car while the old woman watched him go. She had a fond look in her eyes as Sam swung himself into the Impala.
Dean started the engine, and chuckled outright. Sam glared at him, and turned to toss a friendly wave at the elderly woman who'd told them where the Chief lived.
"Dude. What is it with you and old chicks?"
"Just drive dickhead. Chief Swan lives on Maynard Street." Sam cursed at him.
"You sure you don't want to go back and get Angela Lansbury's phone number?"
Sam gave him a withering stare, which only made Dean laugh harder as he put the car in gear and tossed a wave at the old woman himself.
"Jerk. I hate being the mook."
"But when it comes to little girls and old women, you are sooo good at it little brother."
"Jerk."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
They had to pick up some supplies.
There was one Funeral home slash Mortuary in the whole town. They had searched the obituaries in yesterday's local weekly newspaper, and there were funerals to be held tomorrow and the following day. While Sam was in the office distracting the funeral director/mortician, about the interment details of his Great Uncle Herb, who had the later funeral spot, Dean snuck into the basement of the building to where the grisly part of the business was done. Dean didn't relish in what he was about to do, it was just a necessary evil that came with the job.
On a metal gurney and partially covered by a white sheet was Herb Masterson. A large built guy, Herb had been taken out by a heart attack at age sixty-eight. It looked like the mortician had already drained the dead man of his bodily fluids, and there were machines that were pumping a liquid into the corpse. The smell of formaldehyde was thick in the air.
On a metal work table against the wall was what Dean was looking for – a large plastic jug filled with thick red-black liquid.
Score! Don't have to drain him myself.
Dead man's blood – the only known poison for a vampire. It wouldn't kill a vamp, and given enough time it would work its way out of their system. But it gave humans a distinct advantage in a fight with the living dead. If the blood of a dead man entered their system, they were overcome by terrible and debilitating pain. They were instantly weakened and unable to defend themselves, giving the hunter the opportunity to cut off their head. Herb's blood was what Dean was after.
He pulled an empty soda bottle from the inside pocket of his jacket and tipped some of the contents of the large jug into it. The coppery metallic scent assaulted his nose and he turned his head slightly to reduce the discomfort. Dean wasn't a squeamish guy, not by a long shot. Give him a shovel and a can of gasoline and any corpse that wasn't resting in peace got fricasseed. But seeing a dead guy on a metal slab like that and being pumped full of chemicals? That would never be him. Another couple of weeks and he'd be ripped to ribbons so bad that draining him wouldn't be necessary. Then there would just be the traditional salt and burn, and that was the funeral of the hunter. No speeches, no hymns or prayers, just a mangled body wrapped in a sheet and laying on a pyre.
Dean righted the jug and twisted the top on the bottle in his hand. He took a deep breath to steady his racing heart and noticed his hands were trembling slightly. He slid the bottle back into the inside pocket of his coat and made a fist to stem the shaking. He pushed the thought of the Hellhounds away. He was not going to go out letting Sam see him quivering and scared shitless. The most he could hope for would be for Sam or one of the others to find a way to get his soul out of the pit so he could move on and find his eternal rest. His Dad had fought his way out of Hell, and so could he.
He snuck back outside and stashed the bottle of blood in the trunk of the Impala. Dean pressed and held the 'One' button on his phone and turned it off after the first ring. It was Sam's signal that he was out and in the clear. He leaned against the side of his car and tilted his face up to meet the drizzle that was falling. Letting the mist wash away the panic attack that was threatening to build, he waited for his brother to come out and worked on putting his game face back on.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
They found the Swan house no problem. Old chick was right when she said you couldn't miss it if the cruiser was in. There was also a red, beat up old junker of a truck in the yard. The brothers circled around and parked the Impala around the bend in the road. Luckily, Washington State was more populated with forest than people, and all the houses were surrounded with trees and thick undergrowth. One house couldn't be seen from the next and the classic Chevy was pulled off the road and easily hidden in the dense foliage. Making their way back, they stayed hidden in the woods while they watched the house – trusty machetes leaning against the trunk of the tree beside them. They could see Bella puttering around in the kitchen, probably making supper. They couldn't see the Chief but didn't doubt he was home. Eventually, Chief Charlie wandered into the kitchen, and it looked like the two of them sat down to eat. Dean's stomach audibly growled and Sam shook his head at him. A short time later, they watched as Bella stood in front of the kitchen window, seemingly doing the dishes after their meal. Dean was getting thoroughly bored, and wondered at the logic of their plan to kidnap the kid. Vamps could track like a mother fucker, and once one had your scent, they wouldn't give up so easily if they wanted you bad enough.
Dean nudged Sam's arm and whispered, "Dude. Go back to the car and get those scent amulets of Josh's."
Sam rolled his eyes. "Dean," he huffed, "Josh made those. They probably don't work."
"It's better than nothing, even if they only disguise our scent a little bit, it might give us a bit of a head start."
Their plan was to call in a fake emergency. As soon as Charlie left, the brothers would go into the house and take the girl. They'd gag and blindfold her and hightail it to Bobby's for her to dry out. Vampire intervention was what he'd jokingly called it earlier. If she was brainwashed or if it was a chemical thing that the vamp did to her that was making her want to be his love toy, the Winchester's hoped that a couple of days away from the influence would clear up her system enough for her to get her head back on straight. During her convalescence with Doctor Bobby, the boys would haul-ass back to Forks to see what happened between the Seattle Vampires, the Cullens and the Volturi. If there was any karma to be paid forward for all the lives they'd saved over the years, Dean was hoping that a lot of the bloodsuckers would gank each other, making Dean and Sam's job of clean-up easier.
Hello Godzilla, have you met Mothra and Rodan?
It was starting to get darker. The constant cloud cover made evening darkness fall all that much faster. Sam hurried through the short span of woods back to the car and came back minutes later. Sam handed him a small wooden disk threaded onto a thin leather chord. It didn't look like anything special, just a disk cut from a redwood dowel and a small squiggly symbol on both faces. Dean gave it an experimental sniff before pulling it over his head. It just smelled like dry wood to him and he questioned himself on the wisdom of using Josh's knowledge of witchcraft. Granted, Josh knew more about crafting than either he or Sam did, but both brothers had been at the mercy of Josh's 'talents' over the years. But Dean trusted Josh not to purposely screw around with their safety, and Josh had given them the amulets months before for a suspected wampus cat case they'd worked. Turned out to be an actual mountain lion doing the damage, and the boys walked away from the case never even putting the amulets on. They never found out if they worked or not. Josh claimed they neutralized the wearer's scent completely, hiding them from scent driven predators. Dean shrugged to himself, they couldn't hurt.
"Get ready to place the call." Sam whispered.
Dean pulled his cell out of his pocket and flipped it open. He pulled the piece of paper with the Chief's home number out of his pocket and started punching in the numbers when headlights flashed through the trees. Both hunters instinctually withdrew deeper into the growing shadow. A shiny silver Volvo pulled into the driveway and the lights turned off and the motor cut out. Dean instantly put up his mental blocks and flipped the phone shut.
"Shit." He cursed. Of course their luck would be against them. It wouldn't matter if they lured Charlie away if Edward was around. There was no way they were going to get the girl out of there without her possibly getting hurt – not with Eddie there. And it was likely that Eddo would put up a hell of a fight if they stormed in. Dean wasn't afraid of the kid, he just wanted to put off the fight for a more opportune place and time. Charlie's living room wasn't an opportune place. They didn't want Charlie's to look like the scene of a murder-kidnapping. They just wanted to get the girl out without a trace.
Edward climbed out of the car and headed up to the front door. Charlie answered when he knocked, and allowed the bloodsucker into his home. There wasn't a doubt in Dean's mind that Charlie and the rest of the residents of Forks were clueless about the vampires in their midst. The Cullens did a great job of fitting in, letting their oddness add to their 'mystery'. Dean had been in more po-dunk towns in his life than he cared to remember, and nothing was more of a novelty in a small town than a new and 'different' family. He'd been that 'different' family all his life.
The door closed behind Edward and Sam let out the breath he'd been holding. "What do we do now? We can't get her out with him there."
"We'll wait until later. I doubt Eddie is allowed to spend the night. When he leaves, we'll make the call and go in and get her."
An idea hit him, and he started creeping out of the woods.
"Dean!" Sam hissed from behind him. "What are you doing?"
"That cell phone we taped to the car has got to be near dead by now. I'm gonna go switch it out with mine." Dean slunk further another couple of feet. "Watch my back." He whispered without turning around to make sure his brother heard him.
Edward was parked behind the red monstrosity, with the cruiser next to the truck. The cruiser offered a little bit of cover from the front windows of the house. He dropped down on the damp ground next to the passenger side door of Edward's car, using the Volvo as further cover. He peeked up through the windows of the silver car to see if anyone was near the windows of the house when he caught a flash of red light from inside the car. He chanced a glance in and saw a tiny silver cell attached to a charger in the cigarette lighter.
Yahtzee.
Dean had a better plan now. If he got the number for Edward's phone, they could track him wherever he went, and they wouldn't have to worry about coming back to his car to change out their own cell phones. And if he went somewhere without his car, he'd likely have his phone on him. Dean peeked out through the Volvo's window again. No one there.
He plucked his lock picking kit from his pocket and went to work on the Volvo's door, hoping to hell the kid didn't have an alarm kit installed. He felt the lock spring free, and looked back to where his brother was hiding in the woods. Dean couldn't see Sam, but knew he was there, just out of sight.
Dean lifted the handle of the door, ready to run for it if an alarm went off. He gingerly cracked the door open and let out a sigh of relief when all remained silent. Dean snaked an arm into the car and snagged the cell, pulling it clear of the charger. Letting the passenger door rest against the frame, Dean dropped back on the ground and flipped the phone open, making note of who the carrier was from the little trademark on the front. He hurriedly pushed in the numbers for his own cell, feeling the plastic vibrate in his jacket. He took a quick glance at his phone to make sure the number appeared on the screen before tucking it back down into his pocket. Checking to make sure no one was in sight, Dean replaced the phone back into the charger, relocked the door and gave it a gentle bump to make sure it was fully closed. Rolling onto his back, he slid under the car to retrieve Sam's cell from where he'd taped it last night.
He peeked out again, ducking back down when he saw Charlie walk past the picture window. He counted to twenty and looked again. The coast was clear. Carefully, he made his way back to where Sam was hiding, handed him his recovered phone, and told his brother about the new way to track Edward.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
They stayed hidden in the woods on the peripheral of the house – just watching. Again, Dean was bored stiff on a stakeout. He didn't even have the luxury of watching from the car. They just stood there in the constant drizzle under the forest canopy, waiting for Edward to leave.
Eleven o'clock on the button, and Edward walked out the front door and got in his car. Dean chuckled, "Told you Cuddles had a curfew." Dean watched as Eddie pulled away and raced down the street. As soon as the kid rounded the corner, Dean heard the engine of the Volvo whine as the douchebag floored it.
Piece of shit import.
Dean cast his gaze over the house – an upstairs light just came on and it drew his attention. Bella's slim silhouette passed in front of the half open window and disappeared, then another window lit up next to hers.
"She's getting ready for bed." Sam whispered. "We'll wait a few more minutes before making the call." Dean nodded in confirmation. The sooner they got this over with, the better.
It was twenty after eleven. Dean pulled his cell from his pocket and was about to dial Chief Swan's number and wake him up when Sam nudged his shoulder and held a finger to his lips. Pointing to the woods on the other side of the yard, Dean saw what grabbed Sam's attention. Tall and deathly pale, he glowed in the dark like a neon sign.
Edward.
Neither hunter dared make a sound. In the deathly silence of the night, the barest whisper would be heard. In a flash, Edward sprinted across the yard, scaled the side of the house to the second story window and darted inside.
"Holy shit!" Sam hissed. "Did you see that?"
"Bet Charlie doesn't know about Eddie's sleepovers." Dean said with disgust. How could the girl do this to herself? He was a walking, talking corpse and she was doing the nasty with him anyway? It brought a whole new level of grossness into the whole necrophilia thing.
It was only a minute later, and instead of hearing the springs squeaking like he'd expected, he saw Edward climb back out the window and perch on the ledge. He held his hand inside, and a second hand came into view, griping the vamp's hand for support. Edward helped Bella onto the ledge, where she wrapped her arms around his neck and he leapt off the side of the house with her on his back. He landed lightly, like a cat, and with her arms still around his neck, he sprinted for the woods. Edward just broke Bella out.
"Crap!" Dean cursed as the two disappeared into the trees.
"Come on." Sam grabbed his elbow and pulled. "We'll go back to the car and get my laptop. We'll call the phone company and get the GPS turned on so we can track him."
Worry bubbled up from the pit of his stomach. "Fuck Sammy, what if they turn her tonight?"
"We'll find her Dean." Sam said with false confidence. Sam turned and headed back towards the car, Dean following in his wake.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
They made it back to the car in complete silence. Sammy was busy booting up his laptop so they could call the cell company and get the GPS turned on. There was a message on his phone when he powered it back on – that was standard procedure now when on a stakeout. No one needed to hear "Enter Sandman" at an inopportune moment. He felt a pang at seeing it was from Caleb. He hadn't actually spoken to his friend in days, just phone tag.
'Deuce! Answer your damn phone once in a while! This gig with Ethan and Eli is a gravy job. We'll be done tomorrow or the next day at the latest. How's that job you and the runt are working on? Find out what's doing it in Seattle yet? Let me know if you guys want a hand when I finish up here. Talk to you later man.'
The message clicked off and Dean flipped his phone shut. He should call Caleb back and tell him what was going on, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Damien would try to talk him out of going up against such a large coven of vampires with just the two of them. In truth it was a stupid plan to find the girl and kidnap her right from underneath their noses, but he just couldn't not try. If she was brainwashed, and they changed her, that would be on his head. He would take that guilt to the pit with him where it would eat at him for eternity – that he didn't save her because he was scared.
No. He would try to save the girl. He would do what he had to do – he would do his job.
Sam said something but he didn't catch it. "What was that Sammy?"
"I said that at least we know Josh's scent amulets work."
"How do you figure?"
"Edward ran past us barely thirty feet away. He would have smelled us if the amulets didn't work."
Good job Josh. He thought acerbically. You finally got something right.
Sam tapped at a few more keys on his laptop. "Okay…You're up."
A/N: Is everyone still with me?