The crush of the crowd was fast upon them. Cas felt Dean getting pushed away from him. Gabe was still nearby. The people down below were screaming. The stairwell seemed to be filling with smoke from several floors down. They were all pouring out of the stairwell and back into one of the halls. Dean had snaked back through the crowd and had grabbed a hold of his arm. "Stay close." His voice gravelled out in Cas' ear.

People were pouring into the hall from the other stairwell too. Gabe shouted over the noise. "Where should we go?"

Dean was pushing past people. He did not let go of Cas though, and somehow he still had the two duffle bags too. His was now slung across his back. "Do the condos have fire escapes?"

"Yes, there are two per floor. They line up with the condo that would be just past my place and the place on the opposite side of the building, across from Gabe's place." Cas informed them. "The architect threw them in because they made the building blend in better with the others in the neighborhood. I never thought that they were actually usable."

Dean seemed to be surveying the hall to determine which door would lead them to the fire escape. Once he had made his determination he raised his gun and shot out the lock. The crowds that were around them, screamed more and shrank away from them. "It's okay." Dean called out. "We just have to get the door open so that we can get to the fire escape." The crowds seemed to calm a little. Dean dragged Cas into the now open room with him and Gabe followed. They made their way to the far wall and the windows. "Where is it?" Dean turned to Gabe and Cas.

"This way." Gabe made his way past them to the bedroom and to the window. "Here." There was an eight foot by four foot metal landing with a hole leading to thin metal stairs. Cas looked down and saw the distant lights of fire engines making their way to them. Good more people.

The lower levels appeared to be glowing with the fire that was there. They descended, past row after row of landings, the clinking of the metal steps above and around them. Cas could smell the smoke now, wafting up to his nose. The heat hit him next as they drew closer to the burning floor. It was still several floors above the lobby. A blast punched the air just as they got to the fire. It blew the windows from their frames with such force that Cas nearly fell back off of the landing. "Whoah, hang on, Cas." Dean reached back and grabbed him. "We need to pick up the pace before anything else explodes."

They got past the fire. It was above them now. The sound of the others scrambling down the fire escape above them was unnerving. Cas felt like he needed to go faster than was possible. Then he saw the dark form below them and just past the lobby entrance. It looked like A. "Dean!" He shouted as he grabbed him and yanked him down. A raised his gun up and fired off a shot. It ricocheted off of the wall just above them. Dean pulled out his gun and fired back. Then he aimed at the window to his left and fired.

The glass shattered and Dean yelled, "Go in!" A was pressed back inside the lobby doorway. He leaned out and fired again. Dean shot back. The crowds below were scattering. The people above them were rushing back up the fire escape. Cas and Gabe went into the condo window. Dean followed them in. A shot glanced off of the window frame in Dean's wake. "We can't stay in here. The floors up above aren't going to last long.

Cas and Gabe were making their way to the hall with Dean just behind them. He kept casting glances back at the window to be sure that A had not gotten to the window behind them. They went out into the hall. Dean whispered as they made their way to the stairwell, "Let me go first. He could be down there."

"Be careful, Dean." Cas whispered back. They slipped into the stairwell and began slinking down along the wall. There was a roar of sound coming from above them as the ceiling began collapsing several floors up.

"I feel like we are being herded. Why aren't the goddamn fire sprinklers coming on?" Dean was still pressed against the wall as they made their way to the door that would open onto the lobby. There was another door to the left though too. "Where does the other door go?"

"Down to the garage and the lockers" Cas answered.

"Do you have your keys? Can we get to your car or your bike?"

"I have the keys to the bike. It is closer too." Cas felt like each second that they spent there was growing more and more dangerous.

Dean opened the door and they went in, just as they heard footsteps coming from above. Gabe let the door close quietly behind them and then they ran down the short flight of stairs and across the too quiet space toward the lockers. "Gabe, will you be able to find your way out of here without us?"

"Trying to get rid of me already, Dean?"

"You'll be safer if you separate from us. He's not after you."

Gabe seemed to consider it for a moment and then he nodded his agreement. "Be safe. I'll send help back in for you." Dean motioned him past. Cas watched him leave and then glanced back at the doorway to the garage. A had not entered yet. What was taking him so long? They rounded the corner to Cas' locker and Cas pulled out his key. He stooped to open it and fumbled just a little. He got the door open though, just as he heard the quiet sound of someone approaching, the steps echoing in the silence.

From just behind him Dean fired his gun again. "Get her started. I'll cover." Cas rushed for the bike and started her up. A shot hit the inside of the locker. Dean leaned out just slightly at the edge and returned fire. Then Cas saw the distant set of headlights come on across from them. The vehicle began moving toward them.

"Come on Dean." Cas revved up the engine and Dean jumped on behind him. As they tore from the locker Dean turned and fired off another shot behind them toward A, who was taking cover by a parked car. The vehicle coming toward them was getting dangerously close. Cas took the turn up to the surface a little too fast. He felt the bike start to slide. Dean held tight. They didn't lose control. The bike shot up out of the garage and Cas sped through the dark street toward what he hoped would be traffic. He could lose the car in traffic.

Dean shouted over the noise of the wind. "It had to be his brother. There's no way that A could have been so mobile after the injuries that he had."

Cas was weaving around some cars stopped at a red light that he ignored, barreling ahead past the noise of honking. "Is he still following us?"

"Yes."

"At least now there is only one of them." Cas shouted back. He took a turn shot to the end of an alleyway and then turned again onto a main street. Too empty. Find some goddamn cars, Cas. The sound of squealing tires pierced the night. He could feel Dean turn a little. He held out his gun and fired off another shot at the car.

"I think that the driver is A," Dean shouted. And then, there it was, a glorious sight, late night traffic. There were road construction signs littering the sides of the ramp to the freeway. Cars were crawling. Cas accelerated and shot up the ramp. The car tapped them just a little before he had to brake. Cas felt himself losing control again. The bike shook. He slid to the side in a long arch. He had to put his foot down. The angle though gave him a path into the nearly parked cars that got him away from A, or A's brother. The blast of horns ripped through the night. Regaining control, he wove in and out of the spaces between the vehicles. The too bright lights of the construction poles were looming in the distance. After that, the traffic would pick up. He chanced a glance back and saw that A was crashing through the cars behind them, to get to them. There were horns honking and the sounds of metal scraping away. Cas was getting distance though. He was winning this race. He sped up more as the cars around him had started to move along at a faster clip. He powered on through the vehicles, and as he glanced back, he saw that the car had gotten a little trapped. He could breathe again. He leaned forward into the wind and felt Dean do the same. It was a posture of relief, albeit a temporary one.

The fire would destroy the complex. And out of those ashes what would be reborn? Cas had already assumed that he would have to take Lil from this place. That some sort of deep hiding would have to happen. He and Dean drove in a straight path down the freeway for a little more than half an hour before Cas decided that enough distance had been achieved for a safe exit. They had been heading in the wrong direction. Sam's house was north, and they were heading south. He took the next exit and followed the surface streets north. He intended to take those streets as far as he could before venturing onto another freeway. He did not slow his pace, despite the change in the road. Dean squeezed his arm. "Pull over."

He slowed, and settled the bike near a curb. "What?"

"We should call Sam." Dean pulled out his phone, sent the call, and then held the phone to his ear. After a few moments, "Voice mail."

Cas felt his stomach drop at Dean's words. Something was wrong. Sam would answer. There was no way that he wouldn't answer. "We need to go." Dean nodded back, clearly seeing the situation for what it was. They tore off again, this time Cas reformulated his route. There was a freeway entrance two miles up the road. He was calculating time in his mind. Adding the minutes that they spent speeding away. Could A have made it to Sam's place? How could he know where Sam lived? Of course he would know. It would be easy to know it, just as it would be easy to know that Dean was Sam's brother, just as it would be easy to know just how connected the three of them had become. The wind bit into his face, a chill that seemed to mock the night of fire. He was willing the distance to lessen. There was too much distance. He could do too much with the time that we have given him.

They were on the freeway, racing back and forth through the lanes. The cars around them were moving at a decent clip. There was no traffic holding things up. Within minutes though they hit the city center, more exits, more entrances, more cars to navigate around. The brake lights ahead burned red against them. Cas took the far shoulder and accelerated past several cars before edging back into the carpool lane. The lane was mostly clear. The lanes to the right were slowing, braking, and shifting to the left. He was seeing the fire with each car that he passed. The fire that stole his little world tonight, the fire that could have stolen everything that really mattered, but instead only took things. The fire. And his mind hit on something else. His world and Dean's world had both gone up in flames. The difference, Dean lost his mother. Cas wondered what he would lose before the night was through with him.

Review, Fav., Follow, Rec. Ah, the drama and a chase scene. I was worried about being able to create enough tension here. I think that it worked out pretty well. Hopefully, you agree. There will be a little more intensity in the next chapter. I am just finishing it up today. I hate being just barely ahead of my posted chapters. Not sure if anyone noticed the funky title yesterday. I capitalized the A in it, not because I have a need to disregard the rules of capitalization. I thought about throwing down a comma after the A just to further make it clear that A was on the run, but decided against it. I probably should just keep these little tidbits to myself as they make me sound all weird. Oh well...

Now for the thanks. Thanks taytay127 for the thoughts. I guess what you are saying is that I should just kill some of them off now, right? Hmm, who should die? Thanks Mummabro for the sharing of the hopes:) Thanks Chris4. I appreciate the compliment. Smalls907 sorry to be stressing you out so much; however, it sounds like you are okay with it;) Winchestersliveon, thanks first for all of the favs and follows (same to Valerie-Lynn). Also, would it really be so bad if someone else dies? I am still a little unhappy with my decision to kill off M. I had whole chapters with her that went a different way. If this weren't a real world AU, I would try to resurrect her. As far as the rest of the characters, well, you'll have to wait and see. Love and unicorns to you all. 'Till next time.