So here I am a year and some months later, updating this fic! I swear that this has been on my mind almost every single day and I've been so upset that I haven't been able to update in a long while! I'm going to try to update a lot more frequently now (not sure if anyone is still following this haha oh well) because I really want to eventually finish this. I really enjoy it a lot!

Please remember that "xxx" is a POV change whereas "..." (none of the latter in this section) indicates a time change within the same POV.

Chapter 13: The Secret Lair

It took Laurel and Hardy forever to show up at my place. I mean, really, how long does it take for two guys to head straight over to a girl's apartment? Apparently a long-ass time—it had been around a half-hour before they showed up at my door. Cas looked odd, to say the least, with the black suit and red tie, so I of course had to make a remark about it.

"Hey, whoa, no one told me we were supposed to match today!" I grinned at them as I walked out of my door, making sure they didn't see the mess that was my apartment. What? I haven't been able to be organized ever since I found out I could ice Bela! A girl has her needs!

"Nice to see you, too, Megan." Crowley's answer was so predictable that it hurt, and Cas looked at me as if—well, I'm not entirely sure. He just looked exhausted and fed up with the entire world. I mean… I've had bad hangovers before, so I completely empathize.

My hands shoved into my blue jeans pockets as I started walking ahead of them, not bothering to see if they followed. I saw Crowley's car and already bolted for shotgun before Cas could say yay or nay, and when I turned to stick my tongue out at him, I noticed a small smile appear on his face despite the eye roll he gave me. I do have to say that I was a bit antsy about making it back to Lucifer's former lair and searching for the secret passage because who knows who the hell got over there ever since our last visit. For all I knew Lucifer could be back and waiting for me, which would be exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. Ugh, why must life be so complicated?!

Once the two of them finally caught up and we were on the road, it was a bit quiet so I decided to blast the radio because I'm not about all that awkward silence; no. Eventually, though, Crowley turned it off in a miffed manner and gave me a long look before turning his focus back onto the road. I awaited him to speak, because I knew that look: it was one of suspicion and doubt.

"So you're certain that there's some sort of secret lair, yes?"

"Certain? No. I'm just saying there is a possibility that the rumors were true. I could lie and say that I'm one-hundred-percent on this if you really want me to."

"No, darling, that is quite all right," he answered with an eye roll.

"C'mon, Thief of Hell, loosen up! Clarence back there is normally the uptight one," I noted and crossed my arms before yawning. Boy, they were boring me today.

"Sometimes we have to be serious in order to get things done in a timely manner," Crowley retaliated, eyes still on the road. Yeesh, seems like somebody has something on their mind today.

xxx

Yes, I had a lot on my mind at that point. Cas was acting weird every time he got off the phone, and even though he said it was from the station, it just made me feel… odd. The two men he was talking to all the time made sense because of their jobs, but it was still slightly worrisome for some reason. Now, darlings, I wasn't afraid that Cassie-dear would rat me out—don't get me wrong. I just had a lot on my mind, is all. While we drove I wanted to stay focused on the task at hand and didn't want to deviate from it, so Meg was being a bit more irking to me than usual. Wasn't her fault, really; I just had a one-track mind at that point. Anyway, let me divert our attention to the important parts of this story, since a tangent is probably not what you want.

We finally made it to abandoned building and headed inside with flashlights since the sun's rays weren't enough to reveal any secrets untold, and I honestly felt like we were going nowhere right about then. That is until Meg came across a wall that had some sort of graffiti written across it. It looked like mostly gibberish to me, but she swore to us that it was a symbol of their "group." That was when we all got to feeling along the edges and crevices of the old and unstable wall for anything that would lead us to a secret entrance. Unfortunately after a few minutes we hadn't come across anything. I let out a sigh of frustration and I could see it on Meg's face as well. It was a look that was always etched across Cas' features so I wasn't sure what was going on with him.

"This seems utterly pointless," I finally said what was on my mind this entire time. I saw Meg cross her arms and let her weight shift to one leg as she looked at me incredulously.

"Are you kidding me? This is a SECRET lair. That means it's not easy to find, Crowley! Yes, let's just give up the first opportune moment, huh? You seriously that unmotivated?" She let out a frustrated sound and then went back to checking out the wall and fiddling with some of the furniture that was overturned on the dirty and uneven floor. I was about to take a seat on one of the chairs nearby when I heard Cas grunt. Meg and I looked at each other and then at Cas, who was attempting to move a long couch that was still upright.

"A little help, please? This seems pretty stuck—"

Meg then rushed over to the furniture and crouched down to look underneath, a loud laugh then starting to echo throughout the room as she hopped back onto her feet and hit Castiel hard on the shoulder with a grin. The look on his face was priceless, if I do say so myself!

"Ow! I said help me, not hit me!" he yelled, confused with Meg's actions as I was. I raised an eyebrow and watched her as she jumped around like a small child on Christmas Day. Did we just hit jackpot somehow?

"Jackpot!" Well, all right, then. She pointed down at the bottom of the couch and looked at me with wide, twinkling eyes. "The couch is latched to the floor! This has to mean something. Do we have any tools? What am I saying—you're a fucking thief! Of course you do!" Okay, so this seemed pretty promising. And I of course, as Meg put it, have "tools." I proudly showed them my pride and joy that was hidden under the trunk of my car's floor and I could feel the disapproval coming from Castiel.

"Oh, come on, I thought you knew I was a bloody thief, for Pete's sake!" I laughed and patted Cas on the back before pulling out what I needed to un-latch the couch from the floor. I did notice the small smile that appeared on his face, anyway, so I knew that he wasn't judging too hard.

xxx

I didn't approve of the tools for many reasons and one of them being that a plethora of them are illegal. It was Crowley, though, so I'm not entirely sure what I expected. In all honesty, all this thievery was becoming a norm for me and I didn't mind it all that much anymore (Please don't ever tell my superiors that I uttered this—I will deny it to my grave!) When we made it back to the couch, Meg and Crowley were going straight to work on the latch. It seemed as though he really did have all the tricks in the book because the deed was done after one fell swoop. He was triumphant and proud, showing me his work like a puppy that presented their owner with a ball. How on earth could I stay cross-armed and with a stern look on my face at that?! I decided I would show how impressed I was in the most toned-down way possible so his head wouldn't get too full of his ego.

"All right, good job—" And just then I felt my phone buzz with a text. Oh, great. What now? I knew I would have to look at it discreetly at some point just in case it was Dean being blunt with his wording on the whole "spying" thing. "—Looks like you're actually useful for the greater good, Crowley," I decided to joke to hide the true meaning behind my pause. The man scoffed at my answer and waved me off with his hand before he walked over to one edge of the furniture and picked it up to the best of his ability.

"A little help would be nice," he spoke with some strain on his voice due to the weight of the couch. Meg and I jumped right in to move it, and after a few struggling moments we were able to get it out of the way. Lo and behold, there was a hatch right where the couch was mere seconds before!

"Well, I'll be damned…" Meg whispered with a hand over her mouth. "It's real! It really is! Okay, okay, we don't know what could be in there, so we gotta be extra cautious. All right?! Pretty boy, you're a cop so you know how to be careful, and Fancy-Pants over here is used to this as well. But! What I want you guys to do is take that and amplify it by one thousand! There could be who knows what kind of traps down there." I felt like she may have been exaggerating a little bit, but I didn't want to doubt her and cause our demise, so I obliged. Crowley seemed to understand and offered he go down first. "Fine by me," Meg answered, relief evident in her voice. Crowley going in would make it easier for me to sneak a peek at my phone, so I concurred.

{ text: Dean } anything?

{ text: Me } no nothing unusual yet. I'll keep you updated.

"Hey there, Clarence, you mind putting that phone away and paying attention to the glory that is a secret passageway? Sheesh, as a cop I thought you'd be all over this!" Meg interrupted my thought process and I quickly put my phone away with a chuckle and a nod. "Mhmm~" she hummed in response with a wink before heading down the passageway following Crowley. It seemed a bit cramped and dusty in there, so I was hoping that Crowley wouldn't mind that his clothes wouldn't be in tip-top shape by the time we were done with this mission. I noted that it was a little strange that I was concerned more about his clothes than anything else at this point, but I shrugged it off as if it were nothing.

xxx

"You seriously have to stop checking your phone ever few seconds, Dean. This is the first time I've seen you not enjoy your burger." We decided to eat out at a diner and got the usual, but the surprise was that Dean wasn't even touching his burger after a few bites. I knew he was focused on talking to Cas about the case, but the guy even said that there was nothing going on at the moment and that he would keep us updated. So why in the world was my brother still adamant about looking at his phone?

"You know, it's not going to make him reply faster."

"Yeah, Sammy, I know. I just can't shake this feeling."

"What, that you're sick or something?" I asked, already finishing my salad when normally Dean would have been done minutes ago. I pointed at his burger and he waved me off before picking it up and taking a bite out of it.

"No, dumbass. I feel like Cas isn't telling us everything," he replied with his mouth full per usual.

"Why in the world would he not tell us things? He's a cop, Dean."

"Yeah, I know, but you'd think that something would have turned up by now. I mean, he has been hanging out with Crowley a lot, right?" As much as I believed my statement, Dean did have somewhat of a point. I still couldn't figure out the why if Cas was actually lying to us. It just didn't make any sense.

"Okay, I feel that way as well but remember that the guy wasn't found guilty of being a thief. Maybe he's just a regular guy who likes hanging out with Cas as friends. Ever thought of that as a possibility?"

"You bring up great points, Sammy," Dean bickered, "And yet I can't stop staring at my phone. His answers are always so short when it's over the phone or text. I know it could be because he's around Crowley and doesn't want there to be any sort of suspicions—" that was the point I was about to make, actually. "—but, like I said, it's weird. Okay? And quit talkin' 'bout my burger. I'll eat it as I like!"

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, unable to come up with a response to Dean's argument besides a scoff. Sure, this all sort of made sense, but it doesn't add up. There wouldn't be a reason for Cas to hide important information from us, right? I mean, what on earth would he have to hide?