Fic: Unraveling (Part 4)
Dec. 11th, 2011 11:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dauntperplexity[Masterlist] [Part 3]
Dean was at his desk going through the newest set of pictures that he had to choose from for the next issue. Someone grabbed a picture off of his desk and he was ready to breathe fire. He let out an irritated sigh when he saw that it was Lisa.
She sat on the edge of Dean’s desk and squinted to look at the photo. “So, what is he like?” she asked.
“Who are you talking about?” he asked, snatching the picture out of Lisa’s hands. He stacked it on top of the other photos and moved them out of Lisa’s reach.
“Dark Angel? What’s he like?”
“I don’t now. Like a superhero?” He wanted the conversation to end.
“Come on, Dean. Spill.”
“There’s nothing to spill.” Dean pulled open one of his drawers and stuffed the pictures into it. He stood up and walked away from his desk, hoping that Lisa wouldn’t follow.
She was vigilant, and kept up with Dean’s quick steps. “So, you guys don’t exchange stories or anything?” She quickened her steps to make her way around Dean. She crossed her arms over his chest. “He just shows up, you snap his picture, and then he leaves?”
“That is exactly what happens, Lisa.” He grabbed her by her upper arms and moved her out of his way. “He’s a busy guy. He doesn’t have the luxury of sitting and chatting with someone when there is always someone needing saving.” He continued walking through the aisles and away from her.
“You’re such a freaking liar, Dean,” she said chasing after him.
Dean spun around and glared at Lisa. “Why do you sound like a jealous girlfriend?”
“Hey, Dean. I need the name of the source that we quoted for the tax accountant article.”
Dean turned around and saw Cas standing behind him with papers and a pen in his hand. He smiled at his partner. “It’s somewhere on my desk. I’ll get you that right now.” He followed Cas as he walked past Lisa and toward his desk.
“Thank you,” Cas said not realizing that he was being used as a diversion.
“We’re finishing this conversation, Dean!” Lisa yelled.
“Yeah, sure. When I’m done helping Cas, we’ll finish it,” he yelled back. He definitely wasn’t going to finish the conversation if it meant helping Cas with dozens of mindless tasks.
“I mean it, Dean!” Lisa yelled.
“Sure thing,” Dean yelled back. He followed Cas back to their area of the pen. When he was sure that he was far enough of Lisa, he let out a loud sigh. “Thanks, Cas. I needed that save.” Dean spun back around and leaned closer to Cas so he could whisper.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you don’t. We’ll just chalk it up to your impeccable timing.”
“Okay. So the source,” Cas said.
Dean sat down in his chair and flipped through a few stacks on his desk. “Yeah, I have it somewhere on my desk.”
“I’m guessing I’m here to help you find it,” Cas said.
“No,” Dean replied. “I got it.”
“Dean,” Cas said with a sigh. He grabbed one of the many unorganized stacks on Dean’s desk and began to rifle through the pages. He knew he’d be there for a couple of minutes. “You need a better system.”
“Shut up,” Dean said, pushing Cas. “Just give me a sec and I swear you’ll have it.”
Dean and Cas continued to flip through dozens of pages looking for a name. If Cas was irritated, he didn’t show it, which was another reason why Dean liked having Cas as his partner. Anyone else would have just abandoned him. Dean found the page he was looking for and was about to tell Cas when someone yelled from across the pen.
“Can we have everyone’s attention, please?”
Almost everyone stood up and looked toward the source of the voice. They saw two strangers standing at the elevators wearing suits and holding silver briefcases. Even Crowley left the comfort of his office to search for the person brave enough to interrupt his employees while they were working. “Who in the bloody hell are you two?” he yelled.
The two men started making their way into the pen. “We’re here to see Dean Winchester.”
Dean stood up and looked at the two men. They didn’t look familiar to him at all. “That’s me,” he announced.
“You’re Dean?” the shorter man said. “I thought you’d be older.”
“That’s what it says on my birth certificate.” He walked out into the open. “So, who the hell are you two clowns?”
“Dean, don’t,” Cas said, holding Dean back from approaching the two strangers. He could tell that they were trouble.
“It’s okay, Cas.”
“You?” the taller one said, coming up behind the shorter man. “You’re the one who has been getting the pictures of Dark Angel?”
“What about it?” Dean walked out into the open area of the pen. He could feel Cas following behind him.
“I want you to tell me who he is,” the shorter man said.
“I don’t know who he is.”
The shorter man sighed and looked at his partner. He shook his head. That wasn’t an acceptable answer. “I’m going to ask you again, Dean.” They continued to walk toward Dean.
Dean stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. “That isn’t going to change my answer. I’m not going to figure out his identity in the next five minutes.”
“Will this help?” The taller one reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. He pointed it straight at Dean’s heart. His partner also pulled out a gun and started pointing it at everyone else.
“Gun!” Ash yelled and the entire floor started screaming.
Dean’s hands immediately shot into the air. “Whoa, put the gun down. I told you, I don’t know who he is.”
“Liar.”
“And even if I did know, what makes you think that I’d tell anyone. Especially you.”
“Everybody on the ground!” the shorter man yelled. “Grab him,” he said, nudging his partner’s side.
“Don’t touch me, douchebag,” Dean growled when the man threatening him reached forward and grabbed his arm. He tried to pull away, but the grip only tightened. It made him angrier.
“Dean, don’t give him a reason to hurt you,” Cas whispered as he slowly made his way to his knees.
Apparently, Dean didn’t hear a word he said, or he chose to completely ignore him because he continued to struggle. “Who are you guys?”
“I’m Azazel,” the shorter guy said. “This guy over here is my brother, Alastair.”
“Awesome, now what the hell do you guys want?”
“We already told you,” Azazel said, impatient. “You give us Dark Angel and we’ll let everyone go.”
“I don’t know how to give him to you.”
“Come on, Dean. Is one superhero really worth your coworkers? Your friends?”
“I said I don’t know,” he said through gritted teeth. Being put on the spot like that made him unsure if he’d actually be able to determine which was worth more. He was glad he didn’t have to make the decision.
“Well, then at least tell me how to reach him.”
“You haven’t tried 1-800-superhero?”
“Dean!” Cas yelled when he knew that he was trying the captor’s patience.
Alastair pulled back and socked Dean once in the jaw. He pulled back and hit him once more for good measure. “You keep talking, I’m gonna have to bash your pretty face in.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“Shut up.”
“You want me to talk, so I talk and I get hit. Then you tell me to shut up. And I get hit again. Make up your minds. But at least I know I won’t look as bad as you.”
Alastair reached down, grabbed Dean by his shirt, and lifted him to his feet. “You know what, smart mouth, I can do this all day.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I can take a hit.”
“We’ll see.” He punched Dean one more time, sending him to the floor.
“All right, everyone move to the open area over there,” Azazel said, pointing with the gun. He wanted to keep everyone where he could see them. “Not a sound from anyone or this guy gets it.” He kept his gun pointed at Dean’s forehead as everyone started to move. “Alastair, go.”
Alastair grabbed the briefcase he was holding and ran toward the elevators. He pulled the fire alarm to clear out everyone else in the building. Then he walked into Crowley’s office.
Azazel waited until everyone was settled before he tucked the gun back into its holster. “So, Dean, let’s have a conversation.”
Everyone on the floor was forced to endure listening to Dean’s smart aleck remarks that resulted in him getting punched in the face. Their captors have received two phone calls from hostage negotiators during that time. They looked out the window and saw a large crowd of people at the base of the building. A SWAT team had been called in.
Alastair and Azazel didn’t care about the media attention they were getting, and they didn’t bargain with the negotiators. They only wanted one thing and they knew that the only person who could get it was in the building with them.
An hour passed and no one looked like they were going to budge. Dean had no way of getting help from Dark Angel and the brothers looked like they could keep the hostage situation up for hours.
Dean knew he needed to do something. He looked out at everyone and saw how terrified they all looked. This was his fault. He knew he had to make sure that they were safe, but he had no idea what. He was pretty sure that he had a concussion from all the hits he had taken. Alastair was using him as a punching bag again.
Alastair dropped him back onto the ground. Dean slowly made his way up to his knees. His vision was swimming. “Okay,” he said, coughing up a mouthful of blood. He spit the blood out on Alastair’s shoes. “You, me, and your brother, we’ll talk.”
“Really?” Azazel said, incredulous. He expected Dean to hold out a little longer.
“Yeah,” Dean replied. He licked his lips and cringed at the taste of blood.
“Good boy. Let’s—”
“But first,” Dean interrupted. “First, you have to clear everyone out.”
“Dean. The hell are you doing?” Ash hissed.
“It’s cool, Ash. Let everyone on this floor go free and I’ll tell you what I know.”
“Singing a different tune now, aren’t we, Dean?”
“Well, you obviously want to talk to Dark Angel. None of the people in here know how to get to him. I do. So, you guys let them go, and I’ll tell you how to get a hold of him.”
“Should we trust him, Azazel?”
Azazel shrugged. “He is supposed to be the good guy.”
“No funny business,” Alastair said when he saw Dean squirming next to him. He kicked Dean in the leg.
“Yeah, well my knee hurts.”
“Deal with it.”
Dean rolled his eyes at Alastair and looked to face Azazel. “I won’t say a word until I’m sure they’re all out of this building.”
“When did this become a negotiation?” Azazel asked.
“The second you said you wanted something from me. They all get out of here, unharmed. Then we talk. They can’t help you.”
“Then why keep them alive?” Azazel said, waving the gun around.
“Because, you don’t want to add murder to your charges. All you have right now is a hostage situation, the second you kill someone, the worse it becomes for you guys.”
The brothers looked at each other and weighed their options. “Fine,” Azazel said. “You’ve convinced us. Everybody out.” No one in the office moved. “Now! Move!”
“No,” Sarah screamed.
Dean looked up and made eye contact with his frightened coworker. He tried to keep as calm a façade as he could. “Sarah. I’ll be fine. Go.”
Alastair grabbed Sarah’s arm and shoved her in the direction of the elevators. “No funny business. You can kiss your boyfriend when this is all done,” he said.
While everyone was walking toward the elevator, Cas made his way over to Dean and knelt next to him. He held Dean up and inspected the bruises already forming on his face. “Dean, don’t. You can’t.”
“Cas, it’s okay.”
“You don’t have to play the hero.”
“Someone has to. At least until Dark Angel realizes what’s going on here. Hopefully he’ll catch wind of what’s going on soon. I don’t want my mug to be ruined forever.” Even though his teeth were stained pink, his smile was still charming.
“All right,” Alastair said. He grabbed Cas’s arm and tried to pull him away. He was surprised when the smaller man was able to push him away. He growled and grabbed Cas by his hair. He smiled when he heard a whimper. “Time’s up. Get out.”
Cas wanted to go back to Dean’s side, but he knew that he couldn’t. Not the way he was at the moment. “Dean, be careful. And be smart. Please.”
Dean flashed him his signature smirk. “Yeah. Cas, just make sure everyone gets out of here safe.”
“I… I can do that,” Cas whispered. He looked to everyone who was standing around nervously. “Okay, everyone let’s get to the stairs.”
“Cas,” Lisa whispered.
“It’ll be all right, Lisa,” Cas said. “They won’t hurt Dean anymore. We need to get out of here.” Cas looked to Crowley, hoping that he’d help with the leadership part of the escape.
Crowley saw what Cas wanted and nodded. “All right, let’s get a move on,” he yelled. He and Cas stayed back as everyone ran down the stairwell.
LRLRLRLRLRLRLR
Cas ran out of the building behind Crowley. Once they stepped out of the building, they were surrounded by cops who escorted them safely away from the building. The cops, along with a SWAT team, lead the group of people past a perimeter they had set up. Through all the chaos, Cas was able to slip away unnoticed.
He ran down the street and down an alley that was different from the one he usually went into to change. He snapped his fingers and he changed from his trench coat and suit to his cloak and slacks. He sent the clothes back to his apartment, not wanting to risk someone finding them.
He then let out his wings, went invisible, and flew back to his work building. He saw a crowd of people gathering around it. He shook his head. There was no reason for this situation to be a spectacle. He stayed flying around the outside of the building. He concentrated on trying to see if anyone was left in the building.
He was relieved that everyone had got out safely. Well, almost everyone.
He flew up to his floor and looked in through the windows. He couldn’t see anyone on it. He knew that left one option.
He flapped his wings and went straight to the roof where he’d met Dean so many times. Like he usually did, he made himself visible right before he touched down.
He saw Dean standing in the middle of the roof bracketed by the two men. He was relieved to see that no other injuries were on him. “Dean,” he said with a sigh.
Dean sent him a small smile. “Good timing, Dark Angel,” he replied.
It was unnerving for Cas to have Dean call him anything other than Cas or Castiel. “Are you hurt?”
“A little bruised. It’d be worse if Alastair over here didn’t punch like a girl.”
Alastair reached over and grabbed Dean by the neck. “Why you little—”
“Alastair, calm down,” Azazel said. He slapped his brother on the wrist and waited for him to let go of their hostage. “Well, I must say, I’m surprised we got your attention.”
“Why?” Although he was talking to Azazel, he never took his eyes off of Dean. He needed to get him away from the danger, and fast. Then he’d be able to deal with the two men without having to worry.
“You must really care about Dean-o here.”
Cas squinted and finally turned to look at Azazel. Of course he cared about Dean. They were partners. Friends even. But he couldn’t tell him that. “Why wouldn’t I care about him? It’s my duty to protect the people of this planet.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Azazel replied, walking toward him. “But there is something special about him.”
Cas hated that Azazel was able to read him so easily. “Just let him go. This is between me and you. This has nothing to do with him.”
“Like hell it doesn’t!” Dean yelled. He tried to run toward Cas, but Alastair grabbed his arm to stop him.
“Dean, please,” Cas replied calmly. He knew that if people got angry and frustrated then the situation could quickly spiral out of control. He took a step in Dean’s direction needing to be closer to him. He knew he would feel a lot better if Dean was at his side. He contemplated just sending Dean downstairs, but he knew how angry Dean would be if he did. He could imagine Dean yelling at the cops and SWAT until he was able to get back into the building. He knew Dean would probably end up arrested.
“Don’t move,” Azazel said. He pointed the gun at Castiel.
Cas raised his arms to show that he wasn’t a threat. “Please, put the gun away,” he replied. He made himself a big enough target. He wanted to keep it pointed at him. “Please. I don’t want to kill you.”
“Well,” Azazel said with a smirk. “We can’t say the same about you. You see, Dark Angel, we’re a little pissed.”
“More than a little, Azazel,” Alastair corrected. “You keep getting in the way of our business.”
“I don’t know who you are,” Cas replied. Well, he knew who they were, but he wasn’t sure why they wanted to talk to Dark Angel.
“I’m Azazel,” the man closer to him introduced. “And that man over there is my brother, Alastair.” Azazel pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. He held it out to Cas. “You may recognize this symbol.
Cas’s eyes stared at the paper. And there it was, the symbol that he had been seeing all over the city and in certain parts of the world. “You…” he whispered when the pieces fell into place. “You’re the Sinister brothers.”
Azazel folded the paper again and ripped it to shreds. “In the flesh.”
“You’ve heard of us?” Alastair asked. He sounded proud.
“Unfortunately,” Cas replied. “Nothing good, though.”
“That was the point, angel,” Azazel replied.
“Your name has come across a lot of the troubles I’ve had to deal with over the last few weeks.”
“Well, your trouble has been causing us trouble.” Azazel walked up to Cas and looked into his eyes. He then began walking in a circle around him. “You keep stopping or scaring all of our partners. They stop doing business with me, I stop making money.” He stopped after completing a full circle. “I like making money.”
“Then maybe you should go about it in a more legal way.”
Azazel surged forward and stood toe to toe with Cas. “Do not preach to me, Dark Angel,” Azazel yelled. “We did not come here to be preached at.”
“Then why are you here?” Cas said. He was still trying to stay calm.
“We heard a rumor,” Alastair said.
“What kind of rumor?” Dean said.
Cas rolled his eyes. He wanted Dean to keep the attention off of him. “Dean. Quiet. Please,” he said with a sigh. “What kind of rumor?” he repeated.
“Well, we sort of made a deal with the devil. He gave us some things.”
“And?” Cas asked.
“We want to know if we can actually kill an angel.”
Cas looked around Azazel when he saw Dean stepping away from Alastair. “Dean.”
Dean ignored Cas and continued to distance himself from Alastair. “There isn’t anything that can…” His voice trailed off when he saw something slip out of Azazel’s sleeve. “Cas!”
Azazel took the opportunity of Dark Angel looking at Dean, thinking he was in danger, to pull out a blade and stab the superhero in the side. He smiled as he saw Dark Angel’s eyes flash a brighter blue. He knew it was from pain.
Azazel looked over his shoulder and saw Dean frozen in place. “You were saying?”
Dean shook himself out of his stupor. He looked back and forth between Castiel and Azazel. He surged forward, torn between helping Dark Angel and throttling Azazel. “Castiel!” he yelled. He tried to move forward but looked back and saw Alastair holding on to his arm.
“Hold still, Dean,” Alastair whispered.
“Hell no,” Dean replied, he said struggling to get out of Alastair’s hold. “Castiel!”
“Is that your name? Castiel? It’s beautiful,” Azazel whispered. He reached up and ran his fingers through Cas’s hair.
“I…” Cas whispered. He looked down and saw the sword sticking out of him. He tried to heal the wound, but he couldn’t. There was something blocking his powers.
Azazel twisted the blade and he received a cry from the angel’s lips. He reached up and put a hand behind Cas’s neck with an unusual gentleness. He pulled Cas toward him, pushing the blade deeper into him. “I wonder if I could use this to cut your wings off. I wonder,” he whispered in his ear. He pulled the blade out with a jerk of his wrist. He held it up between the two of them and saw that it was only the handle. “Huh,” he said, stepping back. “Shotty craftsmanship.”
Cas fell to his knees when Azazel was no longer holding him up. He body seized as he tried to take in a breath.
“Castiel!” Dean yelled when he heard the sound of Cas’s knees hit the ground. “Talk to me. Are you okay?” Dean yelled. He continued to fight to get out of Alastair’s hold.
“Stop moving,” Alastair growled, struggling to keep Dean away from him. “Azazel!” he yelled, needing his brother’s help.
“Just get rid of him, Alastair,” Azazel sighed.
“How do you want me to do that?”
“Get creative. You’re the torture master.”
Alastair sneered at Dean. “That I am.”
“Just don’t toy with him. We need to get out of here, quick. The bombs will be going off soon and I want to get far enough away to see the explosion.”
Alastair pulled his arm back and threw a right hook right into Dean’s temple. Dean stumbled to the ground. “Still think I punch like a girl?” he hissed.
Dean spit out the blood pooling in his mouth. He smiled, knowing that with his teeth pink he looked like a maniac. “Yeah. I do. Now more than ever.” He knew that was getting Alastair angry. He was trying to get the brothers to focus on him. He was trying to buy Castiel some time.
“Alastair, get on it with it,” Azazel said, impatient.
“Right.” Alastair punched Dean again in the face, causing him to sprawl out on the ground. He then took the opportunity to kick the man in the ribs. He stepped back to look at his handy work. “Are you afraid of heights, Dean?”
Dean looked up at Alastair. “Why?”
Alastair grabbed Dean by the front of his shirt and dragged him to the edge of the roof.
Dean tried to fight out of Alastair’s hold when he realized what he was going to do. He wasn’t able to do much since he was so disoriented from all the shots he’d taken to the head and when he tried to fight, he wanted to throw up. He took one last glance at Castiel on his hands and knees in the middle of the roof before he was tossed over the roof.
To answer Alastair’s question, he was afraid of heights.
[Part 5]
Dean was at his desk going through the newest set of pictures that he had to choose from for the next issue. Someone grabbed a picture off of his desk and he was ready to breathe fire. He let out an irritated sigh when he saw that it was Lisa.
She sat on the edge of Dean’s desk and squinted to look at the photo. “So, what is he like?” she asked.
“Who are you talking about?” he asked, snatching the picture out of Lisa’s hands. He stacked it on top of the other photos and moved them out of Lisa’s reach.
“Dark Angel? What’s he like?”
“I don’t now. Like a superhero?” He wanted the conversation to end.
“Come on, Dean. Spill.”
“There’s nothing to spill.” Dean pulled open one of his drawers and stuffed the pictures into it. He stood up and walked away from his desk, hoping that Lisa wouldn’t follow.
She was vigilant, and kept up with Dean’s quick steps. “So, you guys don’t exchange stories or anything?” She quickened her steps to make her way around Dean. She crossed her arms over his chest. “He just shows up, you snap his picture, and then he leaves?”
“That is exactly what happens, Lisa.” He grabbed her by her upper arms and moved her out of his way. “He’s a busy guy. He doesn’t have the luxury of sitting and chatting with someone when there is always someone needing saving.” He continued walking through the aisles and away from her.
“You’re such a freaking liar, Dean,” she said chasing after him.
Dean spun around and glared at Lisa. “Why do you sound like a jealous girlfriend?”
“Hey, Dean. I need the name of the source that we quoted for the tax accountant article.”
Dean turned around and saw Cas standing behind him with papers and a pen in his hand. He smiled at his partner. “It’s somewhere on my desk. I’ll get you that right now.” He followed Cas as he walked past Lisa and toward his desk.
“Thank you,” Cas said not realizing that he was being used as a diversion.
“We’re finishing this conversation, Dean!” Lisa yelled.
“Yeah, sure. When I’m done helping Cas, we’ll finish it,” he yelled back. He definitely wasn’t going to finish the conversation if it meant helping Cas with dozens of mindless tasks.
“I mean it, Dean!” Lisa yelled.
“Sure thing,” Dean yelled back. He followed Cas back to their area of the pen. When he was sure that he was far enough of Lisa, he let out a loud sigh. “Thanks, Cas. I needed that save.” Dean spun back around and leaned closer to Cas so he could whisper.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you don’t. We’ll just chalk it up to your impeccable timing.”
“Okay. So the source,” Cas said.
Dean sat down in his chair and flipped through a few stacks on his desk. “Yeah, I have it somewhere on my desk.”
“I’m guessing I’m here to help you find it,” Cas said.
“No,” Dean replied. “I got it.”
“Dean,” Cas said with a sigh. He grabbed one of the many unorganized stacks on Dean’s desk and began to rifle through the pages. He knew he’d be there for a couple of minutes. “You need a better system.”
“Shut up,” Dean said, pushing Cas. “Just give me a sec and I swear you’ll have it.”
Dean and Cas continued to flip through dozens of pages looking for a name. If Cas was irritated, he didn’t show it, which was another reason why Dean liked having Cas as his partner. Anyone else would have just abandoned him. Dean found the page he was looking for and was about to tell Cas when someone yelled from across the pen.
“Can we have everyone’s attention, please?”
Almost everyone stood up and looked toward the source of the voice. They saw two strangers standing at the elevators wearing suits and holding silver briefcases. Even Crowley left the comfort of his office to search for the person brave enough to interrupt his employees while they were working. “Who in the bloody hell are you two?” he yelled.
The two men started making their way into the pen. “We’re here to see Dean Winchester.”
Dean stood up and looked at the two men. They didn’t look familiar to him at all. “That’s me,” he announced.
“You’re Dean?” the shorter man said. “I thought you’d be older.”
“That’s what it says on my birth certificate.” He walked out into the open. “So, who the hell are you two clowns?”
“Dean, don’t,” Cas said, holding Dean back from approaching the two strangers. He could tell that they were trouble.
“It’s okay, Cas.”
“You?” the taller one said, coming up behind the shorter man. “You’re the one who has been getting the pictures of Dark Angel?”
“What about it?” Dean walked out into the open area of the pen. He could feel Cas following behind him.
“I want you to tell me who he is,” the shorter man said.
“I don’t know who he is.”
The shorter man sighed and looked at his partner. He shook his head. That wasn’t an acceptable answer. “I’m going to ask you again, Dean.” They continued to walk toward Dean.
Dean stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. “That isn’t going to change my answer. I’m not going to figure out his identity in the next five minutes.”
“Will this help?” The taller one reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. He pointed it straight at Dean’s heart. His partner also pulled out a gun and started pointing it at everyone else.
“Gun!” Ash yelled and the entire floor started screaming.
Dean’s hands immediately shot into the air. “Whoa, put the gun down. I told you, I don’t know who he is.”
“Liar.”
“And even if I did know, what makes you think that I’d tell anyone. Especially you.”
“Everybody on the ground!” the shorter man yelled. “Grab him,” he said, nudging his partner’s side.
“Don’t touch me, douchebag,” Dean growled when the man threatening him reached forward and grabbed his arm. He tried to pull away, but the grip only tightened. It made him angrier.
“Dean, don’t give him a reason to hurt you,” Cas whispered as he slowly made his way to his knees.
Apparently, Dean didn’t hear a word he said, or he chose to completely ignore him because he continued to struggle. “Who are you guys?”
“I’m Azazel,” the shorter guy said. “This guy over here is my brother, Alastair.”
“Awesome, now what the hell do you guys want?”
“We already told you,” Azazel said, impatient. “You give us Dark Angel and we’ll let everyone go.”
“I don’t know how to give him to you.”
“Come on, Dean. Is one superhero really worth your coworkers? Your friends?”
“I said I don’t know,” he said through gritted teeth. Being put on the spot like that made him unsure if he’d actually be able to determine which was worth more. He was glad he didn’t have to make the decision.
“Well, then at least tell me how to reach him.”
“You haven’t tried 1-800-superhero?”
“Dean!” Cas yelled when he knew that he was trying the captor’s patience.
Alastair pulled back and socked Dean once in the jaw. He pulled back and hit him once more for good measure. “You keep talking, I’m gonna have to bash your pretty face in.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“Shut up.”
“You want me to talk, so I talk and I get hit. Then you tell me to shut up. And I get hit again. Make up your minds. But at least I know I won’t look as bad as you.”
Alastair reached down, grabbed Dean by his shirt, and lifted him to his feet. “You know what, smart mouth, I can do this all day.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I can take a hit.”
“We’ll see.” He punched Dean one more time, sending him to the floor.
“All right, everyone move to the open area over there,” Azazel said, pointing with the gun. He wanted to keep everyone where he could see them. “Not a sound from anyone or this guy gets it.” He kept his gun pointed at Dean’s forehead as everyone started to move. “Alastair, go.”
Alastair grabbed the briefcase he was holding and ran toward the elevators. He pulled the fire alarm to clear out everyone else in the building. Then he walked into Crowley’s office.
Azazel waited until everyone was settled before he tucked the gun back into its holster. “So, Dean, let’s have a conversation.”
Everyone on the floor was forced to endure listening to Dean’s smart aleck remarks that resulted in him getting punched in the face. Their captors have received two phone calls from hostage negotiators during that time. They looked out the window and saw a large crowd of people at the base of the building. A SWAT team had been called in.
Alastair and Azazel didn’t care about the media attention they were getting, and they didn’t bargain with the negotiators. They only wanted one thing and they knew that the only person who could get it was in the building with them.
An hour passed and no one looked like they were going to budge. Dean had no way of getting help from Dark Angel and the brothers looked like they could keep the hostage situation up for hours.
Dean knew he needed to do something. He looked out at everyone and saw how terrified they all looked. This was his fault. He knew he had to make sure that they were safe, but he had no idea what. He was pretty sure that he had a concussion from all the hits he had taken. Alastair was using him as a punching bag again.
Alastair dropped him back onto the ground. Dean slowly made his way up to his knees. His vision was swimming. “Okay,” he said, coughing up a mouthful of blood. He spit the blood out on Alastair’s shoes. “You, me, and your brother, we’ll talk.”
“Really?” Azazel said, incredulous. He expected Dean to hold out a little longer.
“Yeah,” Dean replied. He licked his lips and cringed at the taste of blood.
“Good boy. Let’s—”
“But first,” Dean interrupted. “First, you have to clear everyone out.”
“Dean. The hell are you doing?” Ash hissed.
“It’s cool, Ash. Let everyone on this floor go free and I’ll tell you what I know.”
“Singing a different tune now, aren’t we, Dean?”
“Well, you obviously want to talk to Dark Angel. None of the people in here know how to get to him. I do. So, you guys let them go, and I’ll tell you how to get a hold of him.”
“Should we trust him, Azazel?”
Azazel shrugged. “He is supposed to be the good guy.”
“No funny business,” Alastair said when he saw Dean squirming next to him. He kicked Dean in the leg.
“Yeah, well my knee hurts.”
“Deal with it.”
Dean rolled his eyes at Alastair and looked to face Azazel. “I won’t say a word until I’m sure they’re all out of this building.”
“When did this become a negotiation?” Azazel asked.
“The second you said you wanted something from me. They all get out of here, unharmed. Then we talk. They can’t help you.”
“Then why keep them alive?” Azazel said, waving the gun around.
“Because, you don’t want to add murder to your charges. All you have right now is a hostage situation, the second you kill someone, the worse it becomes for you guys.”
The brothers looked at each other and weighed their options. “Fine,” Azazel said. “You’ve convinced us. Everybody out.” No one in the office moved. “Now! Move!”
“No,” Sarah screamed.
Dean looked up and made eye contact with his frightened coworker. He tried to keep as calm a façade as he could. “Sarah. I’ll be fine. Go.”
Alastair grabbed Sarah’s arm and shoved her in the direction of the elevators. “No funny business. You can kiss your boyfriend when this is all done,” he said.
While everyone was walking toward the elevator, Cas made his way over to Dean and knelt next to him. He held Dean up and inspected the bruises already forming on his face. “Dean, don’t. You can’t.”
“Cas, it’s okay.”
“You don’t have to play the hero.”
“Someone has to. At least until Dark Angel realizes what’s going on here. Hopefully he’ll catch wind of what’s going on soon. I don’t want my mug to be ruined forever.” Even though his teeth were stained pink, his smile was still charming.
“All right,” Alastair said. He grabbed Cas’s arm and tried to pull him away. He was surprised when the smaller man was able to push him away. He growled and grabbed Cas by his hair. He smiled when he heard a whimper. “Time’s up. Get out.”
Cas wanted to go back to Dean’s side, but he knew that he couldn’t. Not the way he was at the moment. “Dean, be careful. And be smart. Please.”
Dean flashed him his signature smirk. “Yeah. Cas, just make sure everyone gets out of here safe.”
“I… I can do that,” Cas whispered. He looked to everyone who was standing around nervously. “Okay, everyone let’s get to the stairs.”
“Cas,” Lisa whispered.
“It’ll be all right, Lisa,” Cas said. “They won’t hurt Dean anymore. We need to get out of here.” Cas looked to Crowley, hoping that he’d help with the leadership part of the escape.
Crowley saw what Cas wanted and nodded. “All right, let’s get a move on,” he yelled. He and Cas stayed back as everyone ran down the stairwell.
Cas ran out of the building behind Crowley. Once they stepped out of the building, they were surrounded by cops who escorted them safely away from the building. The cops, along with a SWAT team, lead the group of people past a perimeter they had set up. Through all the chaos, Cas was able to slip away unnoticed.
He ran down the street and down an alley that was different from the one he usually went into to change. He snapped his fingers and he changed from his trench coat and suit to his cloak and slacks. He sent the clothes back to his apartment, not wanting to risk someone finding them.
He then let out his wings, went invisible, and flew back to his work building. He saw a crowd of people gathering around it. He shook his head. There was no reason for this situation to be a spectacle. He stayed flying around the outside of the building. He concentrated on trying to see if anyone was left in the building.
He was relieved that everyone had got out safely. Well, almost everyone.
He flew up to his floor and looked in through the windows. He couldn’t see anyone on it. He knew that left one option.
He flapped his wings and went straight to the roof where he’d met Dean so many times. Like he usually did, he made himself visible right before he touched down.
He saw Dean standing in the middle of the roof bracketed by the two men. He was relieved to see that no other injuries were on him. “Dean,” he said with a sigh.
Dean sent him a small smile. “Good timing, Dark Angel,” he replied.
It was unnerving for Cas to have Dean call him anything other than Cas or Castiel. “Are you hurt?”
“A little bruised. It’d be worse if Alastair over here didn’t punch like a girl.”
Alastair reached over and grabbed Dean by the neck. “Why you little—”
“Alastair, calm down,” Azazel said. He slapped his brother on the wrist and waited for him to let go of their hostage. “Well, I must say, I’m surprised we got your attention.”
“Why?” Although he was talking to Azazel, he never took his eyes off of Dean. He needed to get him away from the danger, and fast. Then he’d be able to deal with the two men without having to worry.
“You must really care about Dean-o here.”
Cas squinted and finally turned to look at Azazel. Of course he cared about Dean. They were partners. Friends even. But he couldn’t tell him that. “Why wouldn’t I care about him? It’s my duty to protect the people of this planet.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Azazel replied, walking toward him. “But there is something special about him.”
Cas hated that Azazel was able to read him so easily. “Just let him go. This is between me and you. This has nothing to do with him.”
“Like hell it doesn’t!” Dean yelled. He tried to run toward Cas, but Alastair grabbed his arm to stop him.
“Dean, please,” Cas replied calmly. He knew that if people got angry and frustrated then the situation could quickly spiral out of control. He took a step in Dean’s direction needing to be closer to him. He knew he would feel a lot better if Dean was at his side. He contemplated just sending Dean downstairs, but he knew how angry Dean would be if he did. He could imagine Dean yelling at the cops and SWAT until he was able to get back into the building. He knew Dean would probably end up arrested.
“Don’t move,” Azazel said. He pointed the gun at Castiel.
Cas raised his arms to show that he wasn’t a threat. “Please, put the gun away,” he replied. He made himself a big enough target. He wanted to keep it pointed at him. “Please. I don’t want to kill you.”
“Well,” Azazel said with a smirk. “We can’t say the same about you. You see, Dark Angel, we’re a little pissed.”
“More than a little, Azazel,” Alastair corrected. “You keep getting in the way of our business.”
“I don’t know who you are,” Cas replied. Well, he knew who they were, but he wasn’t sure why they wanted to talk to Dark Angel.
“I’m Azazel,” the man closer to him introduced. “And that man over there is my brother, Alastair.” Azazel pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. He held it out to Cas. “You may recognize this symbol.
Cas’s eyes stared at the paper. And there it was, the symbol that he had been seeing all over the city and in certain parts of the world. “You…” he whispered when the pieces fell into place. “You’re the Sinister brothers.”
Azazel folded the paper again and ripped it to shreds. “In the flesh.”
“You’ve heard of us?” Alastair asked. He sounded proud.
“Unfortunately,” Cas replied. “Nothing good, though.”
“That was the point, angel,” Azazel replied.
“Your name has come across a lot of the troubles I’ve had to deal with over the last few weeks.”
“Well, your trouble has been causing us trouble.” Azazel walked up to Cas and looked into his eyes. He then began walking in a circle around him. “You keep stopping or scaring all of our partners. They stop doing business with me, I stop making money.” He stopped after completing a full circle. “I like making money.”
“Then maybe you should go about it in a more legal way.”
Azazel surged forward and stood toe to toe with Cas. “Do not preach to me, Dark Angel,” Azazel yelled. “We did not come here to be preached at.”
“Then why are you here?” Cas said. He was still trying to stay calm.
“We heard a rumor,” Alastair said.
“What kind of rumor?” Dean said.
Cas rolled his eyes. He wanted Dean to keep the attention off of him. “Dean. Quiet. Please,” he said with a sigh. “What kind of rumor?” he repeated.
“Well, we sort of made a deal with the devil. He gave us some things.”
“And?” Cas asked.
“We want to know if we can actually kill an angel.”
Cas looked around Azazel when he saw Dean stepping away from Alastair. “Dean.”
Dean ignored Cas and continued to distance himself from Alastair. “There isn’t anything that can…” His voice trailed off when he saw something slip out of Azazel’s sleeve. “Cas!”
Azazel took the opportunity of Dark Angel looking at Dean, thinking he was in danger, to pull out a blade and stab the superhero in the side. He smiled as he saw Dark Angel’s eyes flash a brighter blue. He knew it was from pain.
Azazel looked over his shoulder and saw Dean frozen in place. “You were saying?”
Dean shook himself out of his stupor. He looked back and forth between Castiel and Azazel. He surged forward, torn between helping Dark Angel and throttling Azazel. “Castiel!” he yelled. He tried to move forward but looked back and saw Alastair holding on to his arm.
“Hold still, Dean,” Alastair whispered.
“Hell no,” Dean replied, he said struggling to get out of Alastair’s hold. “Castiel!”
“Is that your name? Castiel? It’s beautiful,” Azazel whispered. He reached up and ran his fingers through Cas’s hair.
“I…” Cas whispered. He looked down and saw the sword sticking out of him. He tried to heal the wound, but he couldn’t. There was something blocking his powers.
Azazel twisted the blade and he received a cry from the angel’s lips. He reached up and put a hand behind Cas’s neck with an unusual gentleness. He pulled Cas toward him, pushing the blade deeper into him. “I wonder if I could use this to cut your wings off. I wonder,” he whispered in his ear. He pulled the blade out with a jerk of his wrist. He held it up between the two of them and saw that it was only the handle. “Huh,” he said, stepping back. “Shotty craftsmanship.”
Cas fell to his knees when Azazel was no longer holding him up. He body seized as he tried to take in a breath.
“Castiel!” Dean yelled when he heard the sound of Cas’s knees hit the ground. “Talk to me. Are you okay?” Dean yelled. He continued to fight to get out of Alastair’s hold.
“Stop moving,” Alastair growled, struggling to keep Dean away from him. “Azazel!” he yelled, needing his brother’s help.
“Just get rid of him, Alastair,” Azazel sighed.
“How do you want me to do that?”
“Get creative. You’re the torture master.”
Alastair sneered at Dean. “That I am.”
“Just don’t toy with him. We need to get out of here, quick. The bombs will be going off soon and I want to get far enough away to see the explosion.”
Alastair pulled his arm back and threw a right hook right into Dean’s temple. Dean stumbled to the ground. “Still think I punch like a girl?” he hissed.
Dean spit out the blood pooling in his mouth. He smiled, knowing that with his teeth pink he looked like a maniac. “Yeah. I do. Now more than ever.” He knew that was getting Alastair angry. He was trying to get the brothers to focus on him. He was trying to buy Castiel some time.
“Alastair, get on it with it,” Azazel said, impatient.
“Right.” Alastair punched Dean again in the face, causing him to sprawl out on the ground. He then took the opportunity to kick the man in the ribs. He stepped back to look at his handy work. “Are you afraid of heights, Dean?”
Dean looked up at Alastair. “Why?”
Alastair grabbed Dean by the front of his shirt and dragged him to the edge of the roof.
Dean tried to fight out of Alastair’s hold when he realized what he was going to do. He wasn’t able to do much since he was so disoriented from all the shots he’d taken to the head and when he tried to fight, he wanted to throw up. He took one last glance at Castiel on his hands and knees in the middle of the roof before he was tossed over the roof.
To answer Alastair’s question, he was afraid of heights.
[Part 5]
