Supernatural in Real Life 2-Attack of the Killer Clowns

Chapter 6

"Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way," Gabriel says slowly, turning back to the clown, "would you mind telling us what you are? You know, besides a murderer?"
The clown continues to glare at him, not saying anything.
"Pretty please?" Gabriel continues, a joking smile on his face. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?" When he gets no answer, he sighs. "Look, you know I'm an angel. I could turn you to dust right now, and I wouldn't feel a damn thing. So, answer my questions, or I will kill you. Deal?"
The clown is silent.
"Alright, new tactic," Gabriel says under this breath. Louder, he continues, "If you tell me what you are, I'll let you go."
The clown is still silent.
"Okay..." he mutters. "Can you talk? Just, like, say something? Anything?"
The clown is-you guessed it-silent.
Gabriel sighs. "Dude, seriously. Say something or I'll go all archangel Heaven-powers on you, and trust me when I say, you will not like that."
If you guessed the clown spoke, you would be wrong. But seriously, at this point, no one is guessing the clown spoke.
I frown. "I don't think this is working," I observe quietly.
"No dip, Sherlock," Gabriel replies sarcastically.
"No, it's Montoyo. You wouldn't let me be Sherlock, remember?"
Gabriel chuckles. "True. So, what do you want to do now, since Mr. Clown won't talk?"
I shrug. "I don't know. I've never done this before!"
"Well, it's your case," Gabriel reminds me. "You're the one that wanted to keep going at it, so it's up to you to be productive and do stuff."
"Fine." I purse my lips while I think. "Um... We could go see the companies the clowns worked at. Ask them if they've noticed anything strange."
"That sounds like a Jared-like idea," Gabriel says. "Wow, you learn so fast."
I beam proudly. I haven't learned anything, with this being my second case and all. It just seemed like the smart thing to do. If this is me now, does that mean I'll be better at making plans than Jared after a while?
"Do you think there's a clown company place that's open this early, though?" Gabriel asks me.
I glance down at my watch, only to realize I don't have my watch on. I look around the room, but there's no clock in here, either. I know it's has to be pretty early, though; we haven't been here too long.
"Wanna check?" I suggest, not wanting to be stuck back at the bunker just yet. "We could ask Xander where the clowns worked and see if any of them are open now or soon."
Gabriel shrugs. "Better that than nothing," he agrees. "What about him?"
We both turn back to the clown, who is still staring at Gabriel in the creepiest way possible. I look back at Gabriel quickly, the clown sort of freaking me out.
"I'm sure they'll take care of him," I reply. "If he really is possessed, it'll be pretty bad for him when he's stuck in jail for something someone made him do, though."
Gabriel shrugs. "Oh well. Nothing we can do about it now. It's probably a better use of our time trying to stop any other innocent person from being possessed, if that's what's going on." He glances back at the clown and frowns. "I just don't see what it could be. It's not a demon; I know that much. Unless there's someone recruiting extremely angry spirits that would want to take over a clown, there's no way this could be possession. But I don't see how this couldn't be possession, though." He sighs. "You know, this was a lot easier before you decided to keep digging."
"If I hadn't decided to keep digging, you would have assumed it was possession, and you would have been going after it all wrong," I remind him. "So really, you should be thanking me."
"No, I actually really liked doing this the wrong way," he admits. "It was a lot easier."
"Well, unfortunately, you can't do it the wrong way," I say, "so you're stuck doing it the hard way."
He gives me an exaggerated frown. "I know, but I don't like it. Come on, let's go see what Officed What's-his-face has to say about where the clown come from."
Unfortunately, every clown comes from a different company, and there was even an independent clown. Gabriel and I share a look, both of us realizing this is going to be a lot harder than we thought. Looks like we've got a lot of places to check. We walk out of the building silently, not wanting to say anything when someone could hear us.
"So, we going now, or...?" I ask as soon as the doors close behind us.
"We don't even know where we're going," he reminds me. "Fortunately, Richard had no friends, so he's saved enough data from not texting people that I can Google it on his phone."
I laugh, watching as Gabriel pulls out his vessel's phone. He types something quickly, scowling as he has to retype it a few times because of his typos. He finally turns the phone around, showing me what I quickly realize is the website for a children's party place. The office hours start at six, which gives us about an hour and a half to kill.
"What do you want to do until then?" I ask.
Gabriel shrugs. "We could go to a club," he suggests. "I'm sure there's at least one open now."
I frown. "I've never been to a nightclub before," I admit.
Gabriel grins. "Well, what are we waiting for?"
He taps my forehead with two fingers before I can protest, and we're suddenly inside a dimly lit building. There are people dancing everywhere; some of them with partners, some with friends, and some by themselves. I look over at Gabriel accusingly, and I notice he's now wearing jeans and an AC/DC t-shirt. I look down at myself, and I'm in a short, skin-right dress with a low top and thin straps for sleeves. I quickly reach up to my hair, attempting to lay it over my chest self consciously. Gabriel snaps his fingers, and it's suddenly up in some sort of fancy style that I can't see. I glare at him angrily.
"Gabriel!" I whine, attempting to pull up the top of my dress without pulling up the bottom. Obviously, it doesn't work.
"What?" he asks innocently.
"What the hell, man?"
He grins. "You like it?"
"No!" I practically scream.
"If it means anything, I think you look beautiful," he tells me.
"If it means anything, we both have boyfriends," I remind him.
He sighs. "I know, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun!" Noticing my expression, he quickly adds, "In the most innocent way possible, of course."
I glance down at my dress. "This doesn't look 'innocent' to me."
Gabriel rolls his eyes. "It's a nightclub. This is what people wear." He gestures to the crowd, many of them wearing something similar. "Although no one wears it as well as you do."
"Alright, I'm asking Lucifer to get me out of here," I announce. I attempt to pray to my boyfriend, but Gabriel grabs my arm, and I stop.
"Aw, come on, Bailey, don't be like that!" he pleads. "We've been cooped up in the bunker for a week. I think we both deserve a little fun time, don't you?"
I hesitate, then nod. "Okay, fine. But we leave exactly at six, okay?"
Gabriel grins. "Deal. Come on, let's get a drink."
"I'm eighteen," I remind him. "I can't drink."
He rolls his eyes. "Stupid laws. You're going to drink, and no one is going to stop you." He snaps his fingers, and two cards appear in his hand. He hands one to me, and it's a fake ID claiming I'm twenty-one. "Alright, let's go." He tries to drag me with him, but my feet stay planted. He turns back to me, seeming slightly annoyed. "What?"
"I've never had a drink before," I admit.
Gabriel shrugs. "Well, there's a first time for everything!"
"Gabriel, seriously," I mutter in a warning tone.
Gabriel frowns. "Fine, no drinks. But at least come dance with me, okay?"
"How many times do I have to remind you that I have a boyfriend?" I ask in annoyance. "And that you have a boyfriend," I add as an afterthought.
Gabriel rolls his eyes at me again. "Seriously, Bailey, I know! I just want to have some fun. I'm tired of being stuck in the bunker doing nothing, and this might be our only chance to get away from the supernatural world for a while. I'm not trying to steal you from Lucifer, and I'm not trying to cheat on Jared. I just want to do something fun!"
I look at him, debating whether or not to go along with it. He has a point. I don't know how often we have time off of cases, and I can only imagine how little they go to parties or clubs.
"Alright," I agree hesitantly. "But if at any point I decide I want to go back, we are, and if you try anything, remember that I have an angel on speed dial that will kick your ass without hesitation."
Gabriel grins, not seeming affected by my threat. "Great! Come on." He pulls me over to the dance floor, where we hear some song I've never heard of before. Gabriel pauses for a moment, then shakes his head. "Alright, this is not going to fly." He snaps his fingers, and Highway to Hell by AC/DC starts playing. He looks at me, waiting for my reaction, and I can't help but smile as well.
"I have to admit, you've got good taste in music," I say.
Gabriel circles his shirt with his finger. "Hellooooooo? Rock fan?"
I laugh, and Gabriel's smile seems to come to life. He starts playing air guitar, almost as if he's in the band. I laugh harder, and Gabriel screeches the lyrics as loud as he can. By this point, I'm laughing too hard to talk, but I manage to calm down just enough to sing along. When the song ends, we both laugh, collapsing into each other.
"Oh my god, that was great," I say. "That was really, really great."
"Bet you're glad I made you come here, huh?" Gabriel says in the most I-told-you-so way possible.
"I will be on one condition," I say. He waits expectantly. "Play Carry on my Wayward Son."
He snaps his fingers, and the song starts blasting through speakers I can't find. We both sing loudly, not caring that people are staring at us. During the guitar solo, he strums the air rapidly, clearly showing that he doesn't know how to play guitar. I laugh harder than I can remember ever laughing before. When the words come on, we both sing, knowing that we're completely out of tune but not caring. This is more fun than I've had in a while, maybe ever. The song final ends, and he starts a new one with the snap of his fingers.
"Heat of the Moment!" I squeal excitedly. Gabriel nods, seemingly glad I approve of his choice in music.
We jump around like chimps on crack, singing the lyrics loudly and off key, but always on time and with the correct words. I guess I'm not the only one who has listened to this song a bunch of times. Gabriel plays a bunch more songs that I know, mostly being AC/DC because they're the band of the fandom. In the middle of Back in Black, Gabriel freezes, his face falling.
"What's wrong?" I ask worriedly.
A watch suddenly appears in his hand and he looks at it quickly before it disappears. He clears his throat and look back at me.
"Well, Lucifer's up," he says slowly. "And he's not happy that I stole you in the middle of the night."
Looking at Gabriel, I can see actual fear in his eyes. He must have faced thousands of different monsters, and yet the thought of an angry brother still frightens him. I can only imagine why.
"Should we go back?" I ask him nervously, not sure I want to see an angry Lucifer.
Gabriel thinks about this for a moment. "He'll be pissed if we go back now," Gabriel says. "But if we don't go back now, he'll either cool off if he knows you're safe, or he'll be even more angry because it took me so long to get you back. It's up to you."
"What time is it?" I ask, not sure I want to go back too early.
"Like, sevenish."
"Seven?" I repeat incredulously. "We were going to leave at six, remember? We should have been back by now anyway!"
"I know. We just both lost track of time. I wasn't planning on keeping you here so long, I swear. If you still want to check out the clowns, we can. If not, we can go back. It's up to you."
I hesitate and then sigh. "Alright, let's go see some of the clowns."
Gabriel teleports us to a large circus tent. He hands me a fake FBI badge, which looks to be the same as the one I had earlier. I go to slide it in my pocket before realizing I'm still in the dress. I had forgotten about it while Gabriel and I were dancing, which was more like rocking out like we're high than actual dancing, but I can't help but notice it now. My self consciousness  comes back, and I find myself wishing Gabriel had left my hair down again.
"Can I get this thing off?" I ask him, gesturing to my dress.
He smirks. "Sure, go ahead."
I smack him on the shoulder as hard as I can, which hurts my hand way more than I let on. "Seriously, Gabriel."
He sighs. "Fine. But for the record, you seriously rocked that dress." I find myself blushing, though I try to hide it by looking away. He snaps his fingers, and we're both back in our formal outfits from our trip to the police station. My hair is still up in the style he put it in, but I don't complain. At least now it won't get in my face.
We head inside the tent, my hand on my badge which is inside my suit jacket. The tent looks much larger on the inside than the outside, which is surprising because it looked huge from the outside as well. The walls are brightly colored, surrounding the circus acts around us. There are contortionists stretching, holding their leg to their head as if it's nothing. There are people using trapezes, swinging in ways that make me fear for their safety. There are clowns juggling, though none of them seem to be evil murders like their ex-coworker. In the center of it all is a woman with a clipboard, looking around the tent in a completely normal, non-circus way.
I elbow Gabriel, who is still looking around, and gesture to her with my head. He nods and allows me to lead him to the lady. When we approach her, she looks up, seeming startled. Before she can say anything, I hold up my badge, and Gabriel does the same.
"I'm Agent Montoyo, and this is Agent Fezzik," I introduce us by our new names. "We're here to ask you about the clown that used to work here? A, uh, Randy McDonald?"
The woman nods. "Yes, he used to work here. Crowd favorite, actually. I can't believe he did that." She shakes her head as if clearing those thoughts out of her mind before she looks back at me in a more cheerful way. "I'm Kaylee, by the way. I keep this circus running, basically. How can I help you?"
"We just have a few questions to ask you," I say. "Was Randy acting strange the day he, uh, killed someone?" I wish I had a nicer way to ask that.
She nods. "Oh, definitely. He seemed fine enough when he came in. Had his new outfit with him, and he seemed pretty happy about that. He put it on, and he just... Left. He didn't say anything; just put it on and walked out. We tried calling after him, but he didn't do anything. I figured he was going to come back the next day, tell us what happened, but then I saw him on the news and I realized that wasn't going to happen."
I nod to sow my understanding, suddenly feeling like Jensen. "And do you happen to know where he got his costume from?"
She nods, but seems taken aback by the question. "Uh, yeah, it a new place. It was called something like 'Come Alive Costume World" I think. Weird name but it's cool."
"Thank you. Um... If you could just make sure no one gets anything else from there, that would be great."
"Why?" she asks, confused.
I quickly think of a lie. "We've had some trouble with them before. They use their costumes as drug bags, and the costumes are either unknowing drug mules or druggies themselves."
"What?" Kaylee says in disbelief. "Randy wasn't on drugs. There's no way-"
"I'm not saying he was," I interrupt. "I would just like to make sure it doesn't cause any future problems."
"Um, okay. I'll make sure of that."
I smile gratefully. "Thanks. And we'd appreciate if you kept this away from the company. Just as a precaution. They probably wouldn't be too happy if they knew that we told you."
"Okay, sure. Um, thanks, I guess."
I nod by way of acknowledgement. "Great. Thanks for your time. We'll be on our way now."
We're silent again until we're out of the tent, when he turns to me and says, "You're too good at this lying thing. Seriously, first the LARPing and now the drug mules? Bravo."
I smile proudly, though I feel like it's not something I should be glad about. "What do you think? Something to do with the costume?"
Gabriel shrugs. "Not sure. It's a good thought, though. Want to go check another place, see if their clown bought something from there?"
I nod. "Yep, sounds good."
We check out two more businesses where clowns worked at, and we figure out that the costumes are a link between them all. Standing outside the last of the buildings we checked out, we check in on what to do now.
"We've got one connection, at least," Gabriel observes.
"Should we go back to the bunker now?" I suggest.
Gabriel hesitates. "Depends on how much I value my life."
"What are you talking about?" I ask, confused.
"Lucifer is mad that I stole you in the middle of the night," he reminds me. "Now add the fact that he told me to take you back about..." A watch appears on his wrist just long enough for him to look at it, "A while ago, and I'm sure he's going to be pissed. Not really because I brought you with me; if we tell him a were working a case, he'll probably be fine with it. Just the fact that I didn't come back when he told me to is going to make him explode."
I frown. I had forgotten about that. "Well, we can't hide out here forever."
He nods. "Unfortunately. Alright, come on. Let's get you back."
He places two fingers on my forehead and teleports us back to the bunker, where we're far from welcomed with open arms.