Prison Break (Sequel to "Wanted")

Chapter 6

"I'm gonna be 100 percent honest, sir," Charlie says. "We have no idea what to do right now."

The three agents are back in their rental car, still sitting outside the crime scene as they talk to Michael over the phone. He'd been aware that there was a crime scene and that no one was hurt, but that was about it, and the details really threw him off. They threw everyone off. As nice as it was of him not to murder anyone, Charlie did not spend the entire plane ride to California reading up on Dean Winchester's case file for him to just pretend it never happened.

"One more time," Michael says. "He wrote a note on the wall in Sharpie?"

"Yes," Kevin says.

"And he signed it in his own blood," Michael continues.

"So he says," Ash replies. "They're taking it to the lab now to check."

"And all he said was that he was done killing people and that he wanted to speak to Castiel?" Michael asks.

"Pretty much," Charlie says. "That, and if you need to get in touch with him, he'll be watching you press conference."

There's a brief pause, and no one in the car dares speak. Castiel could crack a joke to his brother at any time and just get an eye roll in return, but Cas isn't here right now. Not only is he not here, but he's being targeted yet again by a serial killer. Now probably isn't the time for any type of joke, especially in Michael's presence.

"Well," Michael says finally. "I'm at a loss, too."

"Should we call him?" Kevin asks.

"Absolutely not," Michael says immediately. "He asked for Castiel, and he will hang up within seconds if he hears anyone else's voice. We wouldn't even get the chance to track him."

"Then we bring Castiel in," Ash suggests. "Let him take a crack at it."

"First of all, we are not bringing him anywhere," Michael says. "And certainly not to California, where we know Winchester was just hours ago."

"Then he doesn't have to be here," Ash says. "But this phone number is the only lead we've got. We have to take advantage of it."

"No," Michael says firmly. "That's his whole game right there. If he gets to talk to Castiel once, he'll want to do it again, and he'll break into more and more houses to do it. That would be asking him to hurt someone."

"I don't think so," Charlie says. "Not this time. The whole country's looking for him. He's gonna want to keep a low profile, and breaking into houses is not going to help."

"I said no, Bradbury," Michael snaps. "That's an order."

"But —"

Kevin slaps her on the arm. "Yes, sir. We'll just stay here and keep a lookout."

"Good," Michael says.

"Wait," Charlie says, earning a look from both her co-workers that very clearly says shut the fuck up. "You and I both know that Winchester isn't going to be taking any type of public transportation right now. He is somewhere within walking distance of this crime scene, and we are already here. There's only a matter of time before the hype wears down and he'll have no problem hopping on a bus or a train whenever he feels even vaguely threatened, and we're gonna lose our shot. If we could just track his phone —"

"You are not asking Cas to call him, Bradbury!" Michael practically yells into the phone. "That is final!"

"Fine," Charlie says. "But when he inevitably sees in the news that the Bloody Valentine killer struck and didn't kill anyone or take anything, he's going to know that it was Winchester leaving a note, and it wouldn't take a genius to know that the note was for him. If he finds out that you didn't at least give him the option to call... well, you might be down a brother at this year's Thanksgiving dinner."

Kevin smacks her again and mouths, "What the fuck?"

There's silence on the other end, and Charlie knows he's considering it. She's already taken the big risk here, talking back like that. She might as well follow through, hope that she can get him to agree.

"He's a strong guy," Charlie says. "He can handle this. He can at least handle knowing about this. You can't just go through life holding your little brother's hand -- especially not when there's a serial killer on the loose."

For a long few moments, Michael doesn't say a word. Charlie almost starts to wonder if maybe she should have taken no for an answer. Ash and Kevin certainly seem to think so, if their expressions are anything to go by.

Finally, Michael just says, "You're on thin fucking ice, Bradbury," and then he's gone.

"What the hell was that?" Kevin demands. "Are you trying to get fired? No one talks to Michael that way!"

"Relax," Charlie says. "He won't fire me." Hopefully.

"How do you know?" Ash asks. "He sounded pissed. Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't fire you on the spot."

"Cas would kill him if he did that," Charlie says. "Everything Michael does is to keep his family safe. That's the only reason he won't let Cas call him."

"No, he has a point," Kevin says. "That would just be starting up the same game they played last time."

"Did you even read the case file?" Charlie asks. "He would kill people just to get Cas's attention. There's no reason he wouldn't start doing that now if we can't get him on the phone. And, given that he is probably within walking distance of us right now, I'd say we should do whatever it takes to track him down sooner rather than later."

"Fine," Ash says. "It's your funeral."