Burned, torn and frayed

Chapter 13 - Dean

It was one thing to enter a vampire nest or a lair full of werewolves and surprising them.

But for some reason, walking down the stairs of murderous vigilante knowing full well that he and however partners he had were waiting for them sharpened all of Dean senses to the point that it was almost painful.

Each of his and Sam's even lightest steps on the metallic stairs felt like someone was bashing a pair of cymbals right next to him. He came to a stop at the turn of the stairs, the room full of crates, columns and dark corners instantly felt like a death trap in which he could end up looking like a porcupine full of arrows way too fast.

A zipper being closed made him theorizes that maybe an exchange of projectiles wasn't necessary.

"Hey, Robin Hood!" he spoke up loudly

Sam's head snapped toward him, his eyes throwing him an incredulous look. "Dean, what are you doing?!" he whispered

"We're not the police! We simply want to talk!"

Dead silence met them for a few seconds before an arrow was shot only a foot from Dean, piercing the concrete with ease. "What do you want?"

"As I said, we want to talk!"

"About what? Why shouldn't I just kill you where you stand?" said a modulated voice

"Because we mean no harm!" Sam finally joined in

"Why should I believe you? You could very well just run and inform the police of this lair's location"

"Because we know you're trying to stop the firemen killer."

A long silence met them once again when the voice was once again heard "What are your names?"

"Dean and Sam Winchester."

"Why do you want to help? I don't need it"

"Didn't look that way when you came back stumbling from that burning building an hour ago."

"Dean! Listen, we just wanted to see if there is something we could do. You haven't been active lately and we wondered what had happened"

"As I said, I don't need your help"

"Alright! Fine! We'll just get out and you won't ever see us again." said Dean, taking a step back.

When no pointy projectile flew across the room, he and Sam took that as an agreement and started walking up toward the exit

"Wait!" the voice suddenly said

Both brothers stopped and looked at each other, intrigued

"What?" asked Sam

"You said you wanted to help? There might be something you could do for me"

"What is it?" Dean encouraged him to go on

"The firemen's killer... I might have a way to lure him somewhere in the open," he said, walking out of the shadow with a phone in his hand. His hood projecting a shadow over his face, he walked up the stairs and held out the device.

"I'll call you when the trap is set up."

The brothers shared a look once again and nodded at each other before bringing their attention back to the vigilante "Alright. We'll stay in the city for a few more days than"

"Good. Now go. And don't tell anyone about this place. I'll know if it's you"

"Sure man. See you later."

Once back in the lair, the Winchester stayed silent for a minute, digesting what had happened "Well, that went far better then what I expected" sighed Dean, the adrenaline starting to come down a bit

"Why? Because you expected to have a fight down there?"

"To be honest, I didn't really know what to expected"

"Right... Well, at least we confirmed he is alive and well."

"I still wonder why he hasn't been seen in a while"

"Do you remember what the other voice was saying when we entered?"

"Yeah. The guy was saying something about letting another archer kill him. Maybe he got his ass kicked and didn't walk out with a straight mind"

"I guess... I'll search if there has been a sighting or rumor of a fight between two archers lately"

"Want to do it over a meal? I'm famished"

"Sure." agreed Sam as Dean turned Baby's key