Bobby didn't pop up again for a couple of days. Sam, Dean, and Lily decided to head to the cabin in Montana since it was closer and more of Bobby's stuff was there. They made some calls and did some research, trying to get back on the leviathan trail. They weren't having much luck.
When Bobby finally reappeared, he was struggling. He was still weak from trying to help Annie, and thinking about Dick Roman was getting him worked up. He was finally able to fill them in on what he had seen in Dick Roman's office before he died. Sam and Dean sat at the table, while Lily sat on the arm of the sofa, facing them. Bobby just stood.
The leviathan were building slaughterhouses. And humans were the meat. They were also building research centers that would find cures for every disease and cancer. They would make people complacent, and fat, by feeding them whatever had been in the turducken sandwich Dean had gotten stoned on just before Bobby died. Then they would cure them, then lead them to the slaughter. The plan was to knock humans off the top of the food chain, and put themselves there.
But Roman was also digging. They still had no clue what that was about. He had active dig sites all over the world, looking for something. But what?
As they talked, Sam's laptop dinged.
"It's an e-mail...," Sam said. "from Frank.
"Frank's alive?" Dean asked.
"That jackass," Bobby complained. "always stealing my thunder."
"Sam and Dean," Sam read aloud, "if you're reading this, I'm dead... or worse. This e-mail was sent because some prince is trying to hack into my hard drive right this second. So unless it's you, you got trouble. My drive is full of compromising info. Your new aliases, hangouts, where you stored your car..."
Dean's eyes got wide. "Baby?"
Lily walked over to Dean and put a hand on his shoulder as Sam summed up the rest of the e-mail.
"Even though he encrypted the crap out of his drive, he says we should assume that someone can hack into it eventually. He did put a tracking device in it." After a few clicks, a map came up with the location of the drive. "All right, let's see where Frank's drive is."
Sam clicked the location, and the name popped up: Richard Roman Enterprises.
"Perfect," Dean said. "It's in the middle of the Death Star."
"There was more in Frank's e-mail," Lily said. "I saw another link."
Sam went back to the e-mail. Frank said if the computer being used had a webcam, this link would let them see through it. Sam clicked, and soon the image of a red-haired woman came up on the screen.
"Think she's a leviathan?" Lily asked.
"Only one way to know," Dean said. "Well, alright, off to Chicago." He stood and Bobby began to protest. He tried to convince them that he should go into the office and scope the place out, but the boys weren't having it. They were afraid he would go vengeful if faced with Dick Roman, and they told him he would be sitting it out. He was not happy.
The three took turns driving to save time and avoid long stops. Sam was able track down the identity of the hacker and got her address. They went there first. Lily parked by a side exit in an alley, and the guys climbed out before she even turned the engine off. She moved to get out, but Dean closed her door just as she opened it. She stared up at him with her mouth open in shock, then rolled down the window.
"What are you doing?"
"Stay here. We may need to get out of here fast. In five minutes, turn the engine back on, just in case."
"When did I become the get away driver?"
"You're already sitting there. Just stay put."
Lily settled back in the driver's seat, but she wasn't happy. "You're gonna hear about his later."
"I'm sure I am," Dean said as he walked away.
Dean called her a few minutes later to tell her that they were in and the apartment was clear, but he still wanted her to stay in the car. The next call came almost half an hour later. The hacker had come home, but she was freaked out, and agreed to help them. She needed a few things and Dean asked Lily to go pick them up.
"Awesome," Lily said as she put the car in drive, "now I'm an errand girl."
Lily got what they needed and made her way up to the apartment. Sam answered the door and took the bag from Lily, stepping aside to let her in, then locking up. As Lily walked into the living area, she saw Dean and the woman sitting at a table. The woman was on a laptop.
"Lily," Dean said, "this is Charlie. Charlie... Lily. She does what we do."
Charlie looked up from her laptop and gave a somewhat shy smile. "Oh... Hi."
"Nice to meet you, Charlie."
"Likewise."
Dean stared at Charlie for a moment as her smile lingered, then he turned back to Lily. "Charlie has volunteered to go into Dick Roman's office and hack his e-mail for us."
"Ummm... Isn't that dangerous?"
"Very," Charlie said, "but if you guys can't stop him we'll all be eaten anyway, right?"
"Right... But..."
Dean cut off. "We already told her she didn't have to help. She wants to."
"Okay," Lily said, "what's the plan?"
They filled Lily in and went to work getting everything set up, including a van with surveillance. It was late that night by the time they were ready and got the van in place. Lily drove the car behind them and parked it a block away, just in case, before joining them in the van.
Charlie waited outside of Roman Enterprises until the guys were ready for her to go in. Dean saw something in the surveillance camera. In a pocket on Charlie's bag... It was Bobby's flask. Bobby managed to get it there so he could hitch a ride inside. Dean was upset, but he said they had to go through with this. He talked to Charlie through an earpiece and told her that it was a good luck charm, and a family heirloom. She took a drink from it for courage, but still couldn't move until Sam gave her a pep talk.
Through some fancy camera work, they made it look like Charlie got out of the elevator on the fourth floor. In actuality, with some help from a forged, specially coded magnetic I.D. strip, she made her way to the executive floor. One hitch, a guard was in the way. There was no way around him. Dean wanted Charlie to flirt her way past him, but she said it wouldn't work because the guard wasn't her type... he wasn't a girl. Dean seemed surprised, but pressed forward. He told her he would walk her through it. And he did... a little too well. Sam wouldn't stop laughing as Dean fed Charlie each line as if he were Cyrano de Bergerac. Lily held her laughter, but couldn't suppress her smile.
Charlie eventually got in and copied Roman's e-mails onto a flash drive, which she brought back to her desk. She sent Sam the files and they looked over them together. Whatever Dick was digging for, he had stopped. Something was being flown in from Iran, and it would be there soon. Charlie sent a delay notification to Roman that looked like it was from the airline so the guys could get to it first. Her work was almost done. She would wipe any references to leviathan, Dick Roman, or the Winchesters from Frank's drive, then call the guys when she was gone.
The guys ditched the van and got back in the car. Dean drove to the airport. Lily sat in the back. When they arrived, she moved to get out, but Dean turned to her. She knew before he opened his mouth.
"Yeah, yeah," she said. "I stay in the car for a quick getaway."
Dean smiled at her. Sam got out of the car, but Dean stayed in long enough to say, "I love you," with a sly smile.
"I love you, too, ass hat. Get out of here."
Lily climbed into the driver seat and waited. When the guys came back out they had a large case. They casually walked over, and Dean tapped the trunk. Lily got out with the key and opened it.
"Any idea what's inside?" she asked.
"No clue," Dean said.
"So now what?" Sam asked.
"See what we've won," Dean said.
Dean opened the case which held something wrapped in cloth. He unfolded the cloth, and they all stared.
"Did we just... steal a.. a hunk of red clay?" Sam asked
"That's a good question," Dean said. "Why don't we answer that a few thousand miles away from here, though? Now where is Charlie?"
Dean called Charlie's phone, but she didn't answer.
"Crap! Come on, Charlie!"
"We have to go back for her, Dean," Lily said.
"I know."
Dean punched the accelerator and drove back to Richard Roman Enterprises as fast as he could. The guys ran toward the building and Lily jumped behind the wheel. Dean didn't tell her to, and she didn't wait for the orders. If Charlie wasn't answering, it was because she couldn't. They would have to leave fast.
She saw Sam run out first with Charlie in his arms. Lily got out and opened the back passenger door so Sam could get Charlie in the car.
"Get in with her," Sam said to Lily.
Lily got in and helped Sam get Charlie in. Dean came running up behind. Sam turned to his questioning eyes. Why was no one in the driver's seat?
"Engine's running," Sam yelled. "Go!"
Dean ran to the driver's side and flung himself in. Sam barely got his door closed before Dean took off. Lily sat in the back with her arm around Charlie, who was clearly in a lot of pain.
"What happened in there," Lily asked.
"Bobby happened!"
"I'm sure our little borax bomb didn't help," Sam said.
Charlie was still holding her arm with a pained expression. Dean looked in the rearview mirror.
"Charlie, talk to us. You okay?"
"No. Why didn't you kill him?"
"'Cause we can't yet," Sam said. "But we will."
"The really evil ones always need a special sword," Charlie grumbled. "Oh, okay. I'm gonna pass out now."
Charlie lay down and her head fell into Lily's lap. Lily was a little surprised at first, but she brushed Charlie's hair back and saw she really had passed out.
"Guys, she needs a doctor."
Dean drove to the hospital and they stayed up all night waiting for her in the emergency room. Her arm was broken when Bobby attacked a leviathan. The guys told the doctor she had missed the last step on the staircase and fallen on her arm pretty hard. It seemed to pass as believable.
They drove her back to her apartment to quickly grab a few things, then took her to the bus station.
"So listen," Sam said, "we can't thank you enough."
"Actually," Charlie said, "you can. Never contact me again, like, ever. Deal?"
She extended her hand to Sam, who shook it.
"Deal," he said.
She shook Dean's hand, then Lily's. But she held onto hers a little longer.
"You can call me," Charlie said with a smile. "Thanks for taking care of me in the back seat."
"You're very welcome," Lily said, smiling, "but, uh..."
Dean put an arm around Lily and pulled her close to his side, giving Charlie a lopsided grin.
"Oh," Charlie said. "My mistake. Can't blame a girl for tryin'. Peace out, bitches."
They watched as Charlie handed off her bag and got on the bus. Dean and Sam talked about what to do with Bobby. Charlie had left the flask in the car, so they talked before they got back to him. What he had done was on the verge of vengeful spirit behavior, and they all knew what came next. But this was Bobby. Dean suggested they figure out what was in the red clay dirt they stole from Roman. Then they would worry about Bobby.
Completely exhausted, they all agreed to take turns driving and sleeping until they got to Lily's cabin. When they finally arrived, they all went straight for showers. Dean crashed on the sofa while Lily used the master bath, and Sam used the guest bath. When Lily was done, Dean got in. She took the opportunity to make sure that Bobby's flask stayed in the living area, away from her bedroom.
Lily climbed in bed and waited for Dean. She watched him slide under the covers, and didn't even give him a chance to settle.
"So... Winchester..."
"Jacobs..."
"You worried about a little competition from Charlie?"
"What?"
"Got a little possessive there, didn't you?"
"Hey, I was just trying to help you out of an awkward situation."
"Sure... You know, I was actually expecting some smart ass comment from you about two chicks. I kinda thought you'd be intrigued by the idea."
Lily slowly straddled Dean as she spoke, leaning over so their faces were close, and his eyebrows went up a little at her suggestion. He smiled, but then put his hands in her hair.
"Normally, maybe... but I don't want anyone else touching you. Male or female."
Lily kissed him, and his hands slid down her neck before he pulled away.
"Hang on," he said. "Where's the flask?"
He started to sit up, but Lily pushed him back down. "I left it in the living room."
"That's my girl."
His lips returned to hers, and they made love before falling asleep in each other's arms.