Stranger

Chapter 30

She fucking missed her shot.

That's all she can think about, the whole ride. She had the chance, face to face with the son of a bitch, and she blew it. She choked. Why the hell did she choke? She knew what she was going to do before she'd even made it up the steps. Her fingers were itching to press down on the trigger. What the hell happened?

And to make things even worse, John's in trouble. The car swerves, left, right, left again.

"Dean, we're no good to him dead if the car crashes," Nevaeh says. "She's most likely keeping him alive, to trade him for the gun. We just need a plan."

Sam shakes his head. "If that were true, Meg would've mention a trade. Dad, he might be—"

"Don't—" Dean cuts in.

"I don't want to believe it any more than you, but if he is... all the more reason to kill this damn thing. We still have the Colt. We can still finish the job—"

"Screw the job, Sam!"

"Dean, I'm trying to do what he would want. He would've wanted us to keep going—"

"Quit talking about him like he's dead already! Listen to me, everything stops until we get him back. You understand me? Everything."

Sam looks over at Dean. "So, how do we find him?"

"Maybe we go to Lincoln. Start at the warehouse where he was taken."

Nevaeh shakes her head. He isn't thinking straight. "Dean, demons don't leave trails."

"You're right."

Nevaeh sits up. "We're gonna need help."

Sam looks back at her. "From who?" He asks, but she's already dialing his number.

•••••••••••••

"Here 'ya go."

"Thanks, Bobby," Nevaeh lifts an eyebrow, examining the flask. "Is this holy water?"

"That one is. This is whiskey," he says, taking a swig.

"Of course it is," she shakes her head, smiling. She missed him so much.

"Bobby, thanks. Thanks for everything," Dean thanks him, once again. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure if we should come."

"Nonsense. Your daddy needs help."

"Yeah, but the last time we saw you, you did threaten to blast him full of buckshot. You cocked the shotgun and everything."

Nevaeh snorts. She still remembers that scene like it was yesterday. That was a sight to see. She'd stayed inside, looking out of the window and laughing until her father made her come outside and leave. You'll never see that son of a bitch ever again.

Sam points to a page of the book he's been flipping through, and hands it to Nevaeh. Magic circles.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? John just has that effect on people."

"Yeah, I guess he does."

"None of that matters now. All that matters is that you get him back."

"Bobby, this book... I've never seen anything like it." Nevaeh says, flipping through the book, her finger in between the page that Sam showed her. Sam nods, agreeing.

" 'Key of Solomon'? It's the real deal, all right."

"And these uh... these protective circles work?" Sam asks.

"Hell yeah. You get a demon in one, they're trapped. Powerless. It's like a satanic roach motel."

"Man knows his stuff," Nevaeh smiles up at him.