Sorry for the late updates. I've been busy with work, life and having the lack of motivation. Hopefully this chapter will be worth it. Thanks for the continued support.
Chapter Eleven
Ever since the Winchesters left Baltimore, the three kept their heads down whenever they were with people. They had just kept the car moving, only stopping for breaks and fuel. The brothers, already acting as though their run in with the local police was nothing more then a badge of honor, had a different effect on the youngest. Christina was dealing with the fear of being all alone without her brothers after she had spent years trying to find them, to also getting paranoid of seeing Gordon once again after he was coming after Sam, claiming Sam was a monster.
She now stood in front of the diner's bathroom mirror trying to stop the pain that was building behind her eyes as she couldn't find the right moment to talk her brother Dean alone without Sam overhearing. The little sleep she was getting was also making the pain in her head slightly unbearable, but she was a Winchester which means she was stubborn when it came to asking for help. Of course she was always stubborn. She took a few slow breathes before heading out into the dining area to sit back down with her brothers.
"No accessory? Nothing?" Dean asked making Christina momentarily stop and look confused as to what she had walked into, before she sat down next to Sam at their table.
"Shut up." Sam hissed back but worked on pulling up a new tab on his laptop right as Christina sat back down. "Anyways let's talk about something else. Architect Sean Boyden leaps off the roof of one of his buildings and plummets to his death."
"The fame got to his head and decided to swan dive off the roof to clear it." Christina said her tone a little out of character as she sounded more cynical then empathetic. She grabbed a fork and started to eat the rest of her food keeping her eyes down as to not talk to her brothers as she continued to fight inside her own head.
"Actually it was to 'get away from the black dog that was chasing me'." Sam said after he hesitated slightly before correcting her.
"Did he really say 'Black dog'?" Dean asked glancing at his sister and could recognize the internal struggle she was dealing with as he had seen Sam do that several times before he left for college. "Or maybe he has a fear for Rottweilers."
"Well, we can can always go talk with animal control." Sam said closing his laptop and finishing up his coffee. "We'll then take it from there."
After a nod of agreement, the three Winchesters stood from the table. Sam walked off to pay for their meal. Dean took this opportunity and gently grabbed his sister's wrist before she could walk off.
"What's wrong." His tone said he wasn't asking her. He had to be like this to his brother growing up, since Sam was the exact same way when something was bothering him.
"Not here or now." Christina said her voice fighting to not burst into tears. "Sam's here."
Dean didn't need anymore information for he now understood. He felt slightly guilty since he had put a lot of pressure on his sister it seemed. They both had to hide a secret, a secret that involved their brother, and he still didn't know her well enough to know how something like keeping a massive secret would effect her. "It's going to be okay. Also you can always talk to me. About anything."
"That's good to know. I've got a lot on my mind." Christina said and the two quickly left after Sam and leaving a tip on the table for their waitress.
~DSCWIN~
Christina glared at the back of her older brother's head as he was shamelessly flirting with the rather large chested secretary of the small animal control building. She took in a slow breath when she heard her cover name being called but Dean didn't hear his name being called as well. She rolled her eyes and headed alone to speak with the head of the control center.
"I'm still rather confused as to why FBI agents are so interested in this case involving an animal attack." The man said trying to be subtle with flexing his chest slightly once Christina sat across from him.
"We just go where ever we're told to go." Christina answered trying her hardest not to cross her legs but instead crossed her ankles and adjusted her position slightly so she sat at a slight angle. "We're also on a need to know basis."
"Well, what we know was that this man called us around midnight claiming he was being followed by a large animal. But when we got to his place of residence he had already tossed himself off his roof. Or he was thrown off."
"And the animal he called about?" Christina asked jotting down notes in her small notebook she carried with her.
"There wasn't an animal when we got there. The only proof there was an animal was the fact the gentleman's front door had been broken clean off its hinges."
"Could he might have mistaken a black bear for a dog?" Christina asked trying to narrow down what they were hunting if anything.
"Well if it was a bear there would be footprints because it had rained earlier last night." The man leaned back in his chair folding his arms across his chest in another attempt to flirt with Christina, but she kept her eyes on her notepad quickly jotting down everything the man was saying. "Besides I've lived here for nearly thirteen years and I've never seen a bear."
"Very well. Uh..." Christina braved a look up at the desperate man and cleared her throat. "Would I be able to get a recording of his phone call by chance? My boss would like a copy."
"Of course, I can have my secretary to give you that." He stood up while Christina stood up to brush at her skirt wishing she could wear a nice pant suit instead. "I can even get her to give you my number as well."
"Thanks. I don't believe that would be necessary." Christina said stashing her notepad in her pocket. "But I do appreciate that recording." She quickly left the room feeling icky that a man, who was clearly older like her late father, was hitting on her made her sick to her stomach. Seeing her brother busy getting the secretary's number just added to her getting sick to her stomach. "Agent Smith." She said walking over and glaring at her brother who stopped flirting and quickly straightened up his tie as it was slightly askew, most likely from the woman playing with it. "May I remind you we are on an investigation?"
"Yes... I'm sorry." Dean blushed slightly making the receptionist swoon even more.
"Good. Now I've collected some of the information and would like it if you would collect the recording from our victim."
"Yes...I can do that." Dean stammered again before watching Christina walk out of the building and to the Impala where Sam was sitting alone. He had wanted to go and talk with the police about getting the camera footage from the building, as they were just across the street from Animal Control. He decided to go alone since Sam wasn't being investigated and Dean needed supervision to stay focused on the case at hand.
"How did it go?" Sam asked once Christina sat down in the back.
"Burnett, obviously fake C's and pretty sure she's cheating on her boyfriend or husband." Christina sighed leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes against the small hunger headache she was beginning to feel.
"No, I mean what did you two uncover with our Architect?" He asked turning around and seeing a smirk in his sister's lips since she knew exactly what Sam was wanting to know.
"Guy called last night claiming he was being chased by an animal. But when they got there the only thing out of the ordinary about the house was that his door was broken into from the outside. Plus they couldn't see any trace of there ever being an animal besides the door." She sighed and looked at her brother. "What did you find out?"
"Cops sent a copy of the surveillance from the day and night of the attack. So I was going to watch it to see what can be found." Sam seemed to just realize that Dean was not back in the car. "Where's..."
"Probably getting the secretary's number or other ways of communication. Also hopefully he's getting the call recording of our victim calling them to report the dog attack. Maybe we can hear something the cameras missed."
"You thinking that we're dealing with an invisible creature. Like a ghost of a animal?" Sam asked spotting Dean strutting down towards the Impala with the look that he was smug about something.
"Not sure what to think." Christina admitted feeling her stomach roll as she was getting hungry. "But hopefully we may have gotten the answer."
Dean opened and slid inside the Impala holding up a piece of yellow paper in between his fingers.
"So, what did you find out?" Sam asked glancing down at his own notes.
"Her name is Madison. She likes long walks on the beach and yes, they are real."
"Not what he means, Dean." Christina said a little annoyed at her brother.
"Didn't Christy tell you anything? She was the one that left to talk to the head honcho."
"Glad to see you noticed me gone." Christina said with a slow sigh. "Did you get the recording?"
"Yes." Dean said. "I had her send it to my email. Also, she gave me her MySpace page. What is that anyways? Is that a porn sight?"
"Oh there is a lot you need to learn, bro." Christina chuckled. Even Sam smirked as he was already planning on looking at Dean's email once they got back to the hotel. "How about we discuss this over lunch? I'm getting a hunger headache and I don't wish to be hangry later on."
Both Sam and Dean nodded their heads. They too were getting hungry. Dean started his car and carefully pulled out of traffic.
~DSCWIN~
"You don't understand!" The victim's desperate pleas for help slowly crackled through Sam's laptop speakers. "There is this dog after me! I can hear it everywhere."
"Sir, how much have you been drinking? Are you sure we need to help you?" The operator's voice seemed confused and the soft tapping of the keyboard made it clear they were still trying to help the first victim.
"Look I was told that I have 'til midnight to have and ever since eleven thirty I've been seeing this large black dog after me. It just growls and it appears nobody else could see it. Look, I'm really in need of help."
"Sir, we have authorities on their way. They will be there in five minutes."
"It will be too late." Soon the high pitched chiming of a clock sounded twelve times in the phone call and the victim's voice changed. "It's here...Please. Please hurry!"
The Winchesters sat and listened. The unmistakable sound of wood being broken was followed by the terror of the victim's screams before the recording ended with the screams stopping suddenly.
"Sir, sir do you need help still?" The young operator asked, their voice growing in panic.
Sam reached over and turned off the recording and saw both of his siblings deep in thought. "So, what do you think?"
"Cujo is a real thing." Dean said.
"I doubt it was Cujo." Christina said pulling out her notepad. "There wasn't any evidence anything was there during or after the attack. Except for a Shitzu named Ronny later that night around the time of the swan dive. But even then that wouldn't explain the broken door."
"Well, let's watch the surveillance and see what we can determine." Dean said and Sam quietly pulled up the footage.
They watched in silence making sure they make sure none of them missed anything. They watched the victim, while on the phone with the emergency dispatch, fumbling with his keys, managed to get into his apartment, and then slam the door closed. For several minutes they watched an empty hallway when they saw the elevator open up.
For Sam and Dean they didn't see anything even when the door began to crack by itself. After a few minutes they watched as the door broke apart by itself and they leaned back in their chairs. "Well that just proves that this is our case. But could we should see if we can find out why this man was targeted."
"Honestly I think I know." Christina said looking slightly pale in the face. "As a kid growing up, people talked. One of these people told us naive girls that if you want something in your life to go sell your soul to the devil and your wildest dreams come true. Of course what they said was to go to the cemetery at midnight with a piece of paper you want to happen, strip completely naked and then say 'Devil I require things I can't achieve.'" She shook her head and let out a sigh. "Of course that's what I think happened. Only now I know how to summon a demon, not the devil, and no I have never done that."
"How did you figure this guy summoned a demon?" Dean asked and even Sam looked like he was wondering the same thing.
"Come on, this guy's friend said he was a down on his luck architect. Then one night instant success? That was ten years ago. The 'devil came back for his due'. I mean there was a story back in the mid to late thirties about a black man who bought his and his wife's freedom by selling his soul to the devil and he gained the ability to play the guitar like no man alive. Then on the tenth anniversary he said he was being chased by dogs. His wife found him ripped to shreds in the bungalow by his wife and friend. He died in her arms after telling her what he saw."
"So now we'll have to see where this bar is and see if your guess is right." Dean said then raised his hands. "Not that your idea is not right. It's just to make sure all our bases are being covered."
"No I get it." Christina said with a customer service smile on her face. "You will just owe me one week of me driving the Impala and a week of bar hopping with me when you find out everything that I just said to be true."
Dean looked over at Sam, hoping he would help him but Sam was shaking his head keeping himself from bursting out laughing. "Fine, but after this case is done. Deal?"
"Deal. Sam bear witness to this deal so he can't weasel himself out of this." Christina said shaking hands with Dean before sitting back down. "Now, we're done with this slight detour let's get back to business and try and find the area this guy sold his soul."
"You know I didn't realize she gets bossy when she's excited about something." Dean said making Sam chuckle and slowly nod.
"It's who our sister is, Dean. Let's just get this done and she'll go back to her normal self." After a few minutes Sam turned and had a large smile on his face. "After she finishes her one week of driving."
