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Chapter 6

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"Ms. Daniels." Henriksen oozed as he entered the office. "An unexpected pleasure."

"If you say so. Agent, you are holding one of my clients in an unlawful manner…" Mara stood and faced him as he swept in and settled directly in front of her, leaning back slightly against the desk. She took a small step back as he landed closer than preferred in her space.

"Ms. Daniels, let me stop you right there. Sam Winchester is a dangerous criminal, and a definite flight risk. He is right where he needs to be." He swooped around the desk and picked up a file. "Perhaps we should discuss instead the aiding and abetting charges we are filing against you for your assistance in helping Dean Winchester escape and elude recapture?"

Mara smirked. If Henriksen expected her to be surprised, he was going to be disappointed. She had known this would be his angle - Dean had even brought the possibility up when trying to dissuade her from this course of action. She had merely smiled a big innocent smile at Dean and responded, "I'm a lawyer. I know how to lie convincingly." She grinned internally at the memory of Dean's unexpected burst of laughter. His face had transformed with the laughter, and she suddenly knew why she'd been warned that he was a charmer. Those few seconds of carefree joy gave her a glimpse into another facet of the man entirely, one that wasn't all hard edges and angst caused by the hardships of the life he led. She wished she could provide more such moments for him, and felt inordinately proud that she had caused that one.

Refocused back on her target, Mara sat down again and began building her house of cards. "I was in no way aware of, nor did I assist in the escape of Dean Winchester, or of him eluding captivity. The information he requested from me was strange, but in no way helpful to his case or cause. And when you compelled me to share my findings, I did so to the best of my ability…"

"You sent us to the wrong cemetery!" Henriksen barked, moving back in front of his desk to loom over her intimidatingly. "Explain that, counselor!" Mara saw Reidy tense out of the corner of her eye and noted that he seemed more focused on Henriksen than herself. A possible ally indeed.

"I did no such thing!" she retorted calmly. "I told you what I remembered. If it was wrong, it was certainly through no fault of my own. Furthermore…"

"You. Lie." Henriksen was in her face now, hands on the arm rests of her chair.

"Christo." she whispered, but there was no reaction. So much for the possession theory, Bobby. Guess the man is just bat-shit crazy. In a louder voice, trying not to panic she requested, "Please move back." Everyone remained stuck in the tableau for a minute, and then Reidy was at Henriksen's elbow, gently trying to maneuver him backward.

"Victor…" he started hesitantly, but Henriksen whirled and was now crowding his partner.

"Reidy, you are either with me, or against me." He took a deep breath at the wide-eyed reaction from Reidy and added almost pleadingly, "You've seen the evidence. She's lying."

"I don't know if she is or not." Reidy replied, "But you need to take it down a notch, or you'll ruin any case you hope to make." He could tell Victor was not listening though, as he had turned back to the desk to dig through the files. Triumphantly snatching up a page, he thrust it in front of Mara.

"I got a copy of the letter you sent Dean from the prison. You clearly wrote 'Green Valley Cemetery'. Yet you sent us to Mountainside. Reidy, hand me your cuffs. I want this woman taken into custody, now." Mara stood up abruptly, even as Reidy hesitated, looking from one to the other.

"You cannot legally arrest me. I am leaving."

"Like hell you are!" Henriksen grabbed her arm tightly, twisting it up behind her back. "Reidy! Cuffs!"

Mara looked over at Reidy, pleading with her eyes for him to make the right call. He hesitated briefly, then straightened and turned to Henriksen. "No. We're doing this the right way or not at all. Let her go." Henriksen stared back at Reidy, feeling betrayed. He was even more shocked when Reidy unholstered his gun and held it loosely down along the side of his body. Suddenly he pushed Mara away from him, and she fell with a cry and a loud smack as her head hit something on the way down. Whipping around, he pulled his own gun and fired on his shocked partner, who had instinctively focused on going to help the lawyer. Enraged beyond all reason at what he felt he had been pushed to, he whirled and ran for the door, not bothering to stop and check on either of the fallen people. These damn Winchesters had caused this, and it ended tonight!

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Deacon thought he might deserve a medal for his acting. After inconspicuously wandering up to the fence near the old former main gate, now always kept locked, he pulled out a cigarette and accidentally dropped his lighter. Bending over to pick it up he tossed a gate key through the fence, he then continued his pantomime of smoking (something he could not bring himself to actually do). Thankfully this was a common place to find guards smoking, and without inmate access it had only a token patrol area and no cameras. When he glimpsed a dark head detaching itself from the trees across the road his stomach tied itself into more knots, but he had called out loudly to the guards assigned to patrol the perimeter closest to the old cell block, telling them he thought he had heard something from the offices and asking for back-up. They followed him promptly, heading away even as Dean made his approach, scooping up the key and sprinting to get through the gate before being noticed. A gunshot faintly echoing from the office building ahead lent credence to Deacon's false alarm, but terrified him in what it could possibly mean. He and the other guards slowed and crept forward, guns drawn, trying to determine where the threat was. Searching the building took time, but eventually they arrived at the FBI's commandeered offices, and were shocked to find a woman and man both unconscious on the floor, the man -Greedy? Reidy, that was it! - was bleeding from a bullet hole in his side. The woman was Mara, and he really hoped she was okay. He watched impatiently as the guards tried to wake both of them, suspecting Henriksen was behind this but needing confirmation before haring off in pursuit. Mara groaned and he knelt beside her, encouraging her to open her eyes and praying she had enough of her wits about her to not show recognition when she did. "Ms. Daniels," he said softly, "can you open your eyes for me?" It took a few minutes, but Mara's eyes finally opened, squinting against the light then flying wide in recognition. A second later she clearly remembered she wasn't supposed to know him and she closed them again, moaning convincingly. "Ms. Daniels," Deacon repeated, infinitely relieved and also impressed by her subterfuge, "please, can you tell me what happened?"

Mara's head felt like it was going to explode. She remembered Henriksen being out of control, of Reidy defying him, being thrown…"Reidy!" she exclaimed, wincing again as her voice caused the pain to ratchet up.

"He's been shot." Deacon said calmly, willing her to continue.

"Henriksen." she whispered, pausing and taking a breath. "I'm pretty sure he shot him."

"Did you see where he went?"

"He's gone?" she struggled to sit up, panicked. Looking abruptly into Deacon's eyes she conveyed her fear for where he had gone. Nodding, Deacon stood and strode for the door, instructing his fellow guards to call for medical assistance, and then he took off after Henriksen. To hell with whether he lost his job, or even his freedom. Sam was not dying tonight, not on his watch!