It took them five minutes to upgrade Dean's limited Sight to the point he could see the cards like Sam and Gabe, but once they did he got a nasty surprise in the form of Gabriel's dogs.
Gabe had neglected to warn Dean that having a fully powered Sight also gave him the ability to see the Pack.
Gabriel had far too much fun getting his more behaved members of the pack to sneak up behind Dean and bark, scaring the hell out of him.
From there it took them a few days to reach Midnight's bar.
Gabriel was mostly going to visit a fellow cynic, John Constantine.
John wasn't a fan of heaven, and he had screwed over Hell almost as many times as the Winchester family had. The only reason he got along with Gabe was because the second time they had a drink together Gabe had used up twenty favors to give John an extension without asking for anything in return.
Constantine had been surprised about the whole 'demon bounty hunter', but unlike the Winchesters he hadn't tried to condemn Gabriel for it out of hand. He knew what it was like to have no way out, only to take the first chance that one had to escape.
If he could get out of hell by doing some angel's dirty work, then he would do the dirty work. As a suicide who had been brought back, John was doomed to hell once he died. The knowledge of his fate and the things he saw drove him to be a compulsive smoker, and it had recently lead to cancer.
So whenever Gabriel was in the area, he usually called him up for a drink. He was one of the few John called a friend, if only because they both enjoyed pissing off what John liked to call 'half-breeds'.
Gabriel had done something many would claim impossible. He had gotten John Constantine to laugh his ass off from the looks the demons gave Gabriel when he used his favorite insult...and then gave John a whole list of them to use on the demons he 'deported' back to hell.
Gabriel lead the way to the bar, and let Sam go first. He subtly had his hand on his brother's back so he could See the card clearly, and then did the same for Dean.
"Bird on a ladder," said Gabriel.
Loki had gone ahead, mostly because he could. He was the one to introduce Gabe to the place to begin with.
Dean took one look at the demon-possessed people, and it was only the fact that he outnumbered that kept him from trying anything.
"Welcome to Midnight's. A haven for those who rise and fall. It's neutral territory and any hunting will have to be done outside the bar, otherwise Midnight or his bouncers will kick your ass out and possibly ban you. They do allow hunters here, but only the ones that aren't complete idiots...so please, watch what you say Dean."
"Oi."
"Winchester! Bout time you showed up!" said John. He liked Gabriel, he honestly did. Guy had a sense of humor that appealed to John greatly and so did his attitude towards heaven and hell.
If it weren't for the fact that Gabriel only barely believed in God, John would have dragged him to the church were the arch angel herself hung out just to see the look on her face when Gabriel royally insulted her. She was just that annoying.
"Constantine! Meet my brothers... this handsome fellow is Sam, and the ugly midget is Dean," said Gabriel.
"Hey! You're identical twins, so why the hell is he the handsome one?!" protested Dean.
"Well anyone who shares my face is obviously better looking and besides we're both taller than you by at least several inches," said Gabriel without hesitation.
Loki let off a bark of laughter at that one. Gabriel could never resist goading Dean about the fact he was the shortest of the three.
John snorted in amusement.
"So what brought you to my part of the world?" he asked.
"Celebrating Dean's recent awakening of the Sight. He still can't get used to the Pack sneaking up behind him," snorted Gabriel.
John snorted even more. He had seen Gabriel's Pack, and if they could be tamed enough to act like normal dogs, or at least half-feral ones he wouldn't mind having one as a pet. If only to annoy the angel called Gabriel he talked to.
"So you two hunters? What's your specialty?"
"We tend to deal with demons, but we don't really specialize."
"Right, right... Gabe mentioned a demon killed your mother. Which reminds me, I've been keeping half an ear to the ground Gabe, and according to rumors there's less than fifty of these...demonic psychics you mentioned still in the game. So far hardly any of my contacts are willing to talk about it, but what little they did tell me isn't good."
"Yeah, I've heard. Something about a demon army that includes the seven sins of humanity. If Azazel does try to tap me, I'll just stay in my house until the whole nonsense blows over...or I shot him with one of my special guns from outside my door."
"You and that weird tent of yours. So how's Loki?"
"Right behind ya Johnny," said Loki carrying the drinks.
John knew Loki was really an angel. His eyes were a dead give away. However the sad fact was that Loki was one of the few angels who didn't give two shits about the fact he had screwed up when he was a kid trying to escape his Sight. Which put him several pegs above the other angels he had to deal with.
There was also the fact that Loki tended to annoy demons with Gabe, including one that really pissed John off whenever they ran into each other by the name of Balthazar.
"So what is it exactly you do?" asked Sam.
"I'm an exorcist."
"John's a suicide. He has the Sight since he was a kid, and since he had no idea what he had he tried to escape it. Thing is, he was brought back and now he's pretty much determined to re-earn a place in heaven because of his mistake. If he dies before he gets his place, he goes straight to hell...and he's pissed off nearly as many demons as dear old dad has," said Gabe.
There had been no love lost between John Winchester and his youngest. They had tolerated each other for short periods if they had to, but otherwise they wanted nothing to do with each other.
Constantine snorted.
"I've been told repeatedly that I'm the one soul that Lucifer would come out of the pit himself to collect."
"And I'm telling you, Lucifer doesn't give two shits about humanity, let alone know how to get past the seals on his cage. If he did, he would have been out of hell causing death and destruction eons ago. Humanity is little more than bags of pus to him," said Gabriel, paraphrasing something Crowley had told him.
"He doesn't care about humans...so how do you think he feels about his own creations, some of which are humans who fell?" said Loki.
"It's what they've been telling me. Either of you mind?" asked John, taking out a cigarette.
"Go ahead," said Dean.
"Seriously Johnny, that extension Gabe got you will only last for so long before the damage returns with all that crap you keep putting into your system," said Loki.
"So what's your deal? I mean aside from the demon killing your mother?"
"Demon killing mom was the original reason John and Dean got into the game. But Sam here, he was trying to be normal. Give up hunting...then Azazel showed up and killed his fiancee Jessica like he did mom, so Sam was reeled back in."
"And what about you Gabe?" asked Dean.
"Me? I want some damn payback for dealing with fucking England and the bullshit he put me through. Now don't get me wrong, I love having magic...makes things ten times easier. But if I had to choose between that shitty life I had to deal with before making the deal and keeping my magic, or being raised with Sam like I should have been, I would have chosen being raised like a hunter every time. I hate England and I really hate magicals."
"Gabe here tends to buy pictures of people from England as shooting practice and makes dummies that look like them for the pups to maul while they're teething," said Loki far too cheerfully.
"Which reminds me... you tame those things down yet?"
"Not yet... though we're hopeful. The recent set of pups has only mauled their handlers twice in the last month. Five seems to be a good point," said Gabriel.
"How much you want to bet it'll be six or seven before they calm down enough to have as guard dogs?" said John.
"Hmm...probably the next batch. Once I know they're safe I'll be sure to drop one off for you Johnny."
"Wait, you want one of those things?" said Dean incredulous.
"I piss off a lot of demons by deporting them back to hell. Having a spirit hound around to keep them off my ass while I deal with them is a small price to pay," said John flatly.
"Again, Johnny here is higher up on the demonic shit list than either of you combined," said Gabe.
"Which reminds me... Gabe said that your dad had a lot of occult crap too dangerous to have out..." said John.
"He's got several storage lockers full of it. Some in curse boxes. Why?" asked Dean.
"You do realize you can sell it here right? Midnight takes the oath of neutrality very seriously," said Gabriel.
"Make some quick cash, not have to rely on credit card scams..."
"Isn't that the reason why Midnight makes everyone pay in cold hard currency instead of getting a credit card reader?" asked Gabriel amused.
John snorted. The one time Winchester Sr. came to the bar and tried to use a credit card, he had been fairly put out when he learned that they only accepted cash.
Midnight was neutral, not an idiot. He didn't want some cop in his bar trying to track down credit card fraud. And the last time some idiot tried to pass off a counterfeit bill...well, he still tended to quack like a duck for an hour when someone said the right phrase.
"No way... Dad would haunt us if he found out we sold some of that stuff in his lockers," said Dean.
Gabriel snorted.
"After what that asshole did, he ended up in hell anyway. I doubt the demons would let him escape just to haunt you," said Gabe.
"What do you mean?" asked John.
"John Winchester was a total hard ass and an idiot. He refused to even consider the idea of using another demon against Azazel, let alone try to use my unique connection to the crossroads demons to find out where Azazel is. And the second he learned I had magic, natural magic at that... there's a reason I kept two states between us," said Gabriel.
"From what I've heard of John, he would be stupid enough to think he can kill dear ol' Lucy with the Colt if he ever broke out," said Loki with a snort.
"Lucifer?" said Sam.
"Lucifer isn't a demon, no matter how many he might be able to create. He's an arch angel, the first of the Fallen for his hubris and because he refused to bow to humanity. And the Colt was only meant to kill demons, never angels. The guy who made it probably wasn't even aware that angels even existed."
"And how would a pagan god know this?" asked Dean sarcastically.
John blinked.
"Hold up a minute. What do you mean, pagan god?" he said.
"Dude, he's a trickster. Doesn't the name give it away?"
"No, Loki's not a pagan god. He's a half-breed...the angelic variety to be specific," said John.
Gabriel couldn't help it, he started cackling.
"Oh, you got it half right Johnny. Loki's not a half-breed, or a human who's slated to become an angel. He's a full-blood. An angel who took a vessel. See this bar is full of people who are slated to either ascend to full angel status or fall into full demon. But Loki...he's a full angel who hides as a trickster god. You should have seen Crow's face when I first started hanging around him. Like he smelled something really foul," said Gabriel.
Crowley had been around his personal collector long enough to filter out the smell of divinity, but he still didn't like having Gabriel around after another visit with his boyfriend.
"I still say that aura trick of yours was cheating," pouted Loki.
"Would someone explain, please?" begged Dean.
"First time I met Loki, he was looking for the Hound of Judgment to see if I was worth being targeted by his particular brand of lessons. Thing is, I surprised him by seeing right through his disguise and figuring out who he really was the second time we ran into each other. One thing lead to another and now he's my boyfriend," said Gabriel flatly.
"How did you two end up together anyway?" asked John. He never would have thought a half-breed or a full angel would consent to date a human, let alone one that had been tainted with demon's blood.
"The English morons were trying to reel him back to their country through a rather obscure ritual, and I happened to be hanging out with Gabe here at the time. Only way to break it was to change his magical signature which would cause the ritual to backfire on the idiots using it. Sure you want the details?" said Loki with a leer.
"So every time you two... you know... his signature changes?" said Dean looking a little green around the gills.
"Why Dean-o, didn't know you were a prude..." said Loki grinning.
"Yeah Dean, considering the laundry list of women you've been with since you hit puberty..." said Gabriel also leering.
"What is this, gang up on the older brother day?" complained Dean.
"Don't worry, it's Sam's turn tomorrow," said Loki.
"Hey! Leave me out of this!"
And so the world turned another day. Constantine and the Winchesters met for the first time, hitting it off over annoying demons for the hell of it and poking fun at Gabriel and Loki...and they got a new ally that wouldn't judge them over the screwed up things they did.
Yes, Constantine was a bit of a prick, but so was Gabriel when he was cranky or stressed out. And he was still easier to get along with than John Winchester ever was.
Constantine knew what it was like to really screw up and have it hang over your head for the rest of your life. Especially when people insisted on reminding you of your mistakes and never caring about your side of events.