AN: Thank you eiralu for the review and the appreciation for Cas' friends. Thanks also to BeautifullyDamagedSimplyMe, Mummabro, and Master's daughter for the thoughts. Hope this chapter works for you all. I'm still not sure how I feel about it.
The ceilings in the office were quite high. In the far corner there was a spider web. There was a small fly caught in the web, or at least that is what Cas thought he was seeing when he noticed the dark spot that showed up in the web that morning. He had been meaning to get it cleaned out of the high corner. He had mentioned it to his secretary in the hopes that the cleaning crew would be able to get a ladder in there to clear it out. It had been a week though since he had first mentioned it and still nothing had happened. "So, it seems that our little M has developed an attachment to you."
Cas tried to slip his body into a casual position. He chose to lean back a little. He stretched his legs out a bit and put his arms down on his thighs. Hands tell a tale. He looked at his hands and willed them to keep silent. He planned to move his hands into his pockets, but he would have to wait. It would seem like a nervous move to tuck them away now. Control. Keep control. "She is a very engaging person." Cas offered. Simple sentences, Cas. Why is he here?
"She is that. Not always the best judge of character though, is she?" A looked steadily into his eyes. His eyes were piercingly grey with flecks of gold. They were startling in their uniqueness. Cas didn't show his fear. He pressed back his responses and emotions into the remotest corners of his mind.
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"Hmm, how to proceed with you." A seemed to be thinking out loud. He leaned in a little closer to Cas then. "So, I could take either path with you Mr. Novak. Which will it be? I could treat you like a simpleton, no-nothing, waste of my time, or I could treat you like the top-of -his-class man of intellect that I think you are." A waited.
"I appreciate a little simplicity in the explanations that I receive. Also, I was not the top-of-my-class." Cas took a risk with a longer response. He thought that it sounded confident. He hoped that it sounded confident to A.
"Close enough." A stood up and moved to the back of his chair, lifted it and slid it closer to Cas before sitting again. "My employer has asked me to make sure that all of the files used by your firm have been secured. I met with M on Monday and again yesterday to do just that. While we went through the files, I noticed that she had checked out some items that were unexpected." He paused and seemed to be trying to gauge a reaction from Cas, but Cas did not have one for him.
"What were they?" Cas asked to jump start A again.
"For some reason, she had checked out some very old files on some very old drugs." He paused again, but this time, only briefly. "I have concluded that the files were mislabeled and that she got them on accident when she turned in the requisition form. This hardly matters though. What does matter is that they are missing." A did not break his gaze with Cas.
"Where are they?" Simple, simple, simple. Cas moved his hands into his pockets now. He knew that if he didn't that they would tell a tale of nervousness.
"You are a joker, aren't you? A real funny man." A laughed then with false glee. It was jarring and a little scary to hear the blast of it erupt from his too serious face. Despite his efforts, Cas flinched.
"I am afraid that you are going to have to tell me what is so funny to you. I am having a hard time following." Less, Cas. Stop talking so much.
"Ah, so you want to waste my time too. You see, M tried that line early this morning, and I am afraid that it just didn't fly. I told her that maybe I should just talk to you directly. I told her that I thought that maybe you might have the files, slipped them aside when you were giving her the moon eyes." A was still looking for a tell on Cas' face. Cas could feel A's eyes boring into his forehead, like he was willing the tell-tale sign of dishonesty that would come with a furrow or a twitch of the eyebrows. Cas kept his brows in check. He hadn't flirted with M. A had misread the relationship. Somehow this made things easier for Cas.
"I don't know which files you are talking about, and even if I did, I don't have any of your files. M would always take them away when our little work sessions were done." Cas was comfortable with this much sharing. He had to send out the denial with as much detail as he could to make it seem honest. It was honest. He didn't have any files from Niveus.
Then A took an unexpected path. "You have a very nice home. So many nice things in there." Cas' face reacted. He felt his hands grip into fists deep in his pockets. The fact that they were hidden did nothing to hide his emotions. "I thought that I would find the files there. No such luck though."
"You were in my home?" Cas was trying to maintain control. There was no controlling the higher pitched voice that came out, though.
"Of course. I do believe that it is within my right to break into your home and look through your things. Now, like I said, I found nothing, which is quite unacceptable. So, Mr. Novak, where are my files?"
"I don't have them. M always took the files home. There was never a time that she would let them out of her sights." However, Cas suddenly remembered that she had. When Dean and Sam came out to lunch with them, the files had stayed behind in the office. Maybe someone had gotten to them then. Dean? How could he? He was with us the whole time. He could have paid someone. What about Sam? Realization was dawning and it was dawning while A watched. Cas dialed down his thoughts.
"Well, either you are as clueless as you sound, or you are an exceptional liar. Either way, the ball is now back in M's court so to speak. I told her that Niveus has misplaced the paperwork that allowed her to remain on the drug trial for her little condition. I imagine that we will find that paperwork when she finds that file. My employer was very serious about the need for this file, so don't assume that I will suddenly show mercy where she is concerned. I will get the files, and I think that you will help me with that, despite the fact that you know nothing."
"How?" Better, Cas. Keep it short.
"I'm sure that you'll find a way. If not, then I will have to show you just how creative my employer wants me to be."
"You can tell Lucky that I don't have it. I don't steal from my clients." Cas pulled his hands from his pockets and took hold of the armrests. He leaned forward now too. "As for your creativity, I must admit, that I have never been directly threatened before. I also must admit, that I don't think that I would be a very passive victim. So, there is that." Cas stood then. He was trying to appear formidable.
A stood too. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying, I don't have the file, and if you don't believe me, then bring it. I'm ready." Cas was ready, or so he thought, until A had him. His hands found their way around his neck and he was propelled back onto the table. For all of the violence of the maneuver, the action was largely silent. Cas reached up to the two hands wrapped around his throat. He tried to pry the fingers away in desperation, to no avail. He tried to lift his legs up to kick A back. He would have even tried to land a swift kick to the table itself as it would make an alerting noise. Instead he silently faltered and slashed away at air. His vision was getting spotty. There was darkness and a sky full of stars. Then, he was released. Oxygen filled his lungs. The stars retreated. He was gasping.
"Well, now, if that was you being ready, I can't wait to catch you unawares. Now, get me my files, or I'll come back to play with you some more. Remember, I know where you sleep. I think that it also goes without saying, that should you tell anyone about our little conversation, I have an insurance policy. My friend is just waiting for the word. He has always wanted a taste of M pie. Not to mention the little bonus girl in the house." A sauntered away, casting back a glance as he reached the door. "Thanks for the entertainment."
Cas slipped from the table then and lay in a heap on the floor. Fear was his blanket. His world was covered in its darkness. There seemed to be nothing that he could do to push back the all-consuming dread, and the knowledge that he did not have what was needed to fix this.
Fav., Follow, Review. My favorites have been creeping up pretty steadily. Thanks for the love. I just love the feedback.