11. Lebanon, Kansas

Castiel and I don't lay low for very long.

We get a call from Dean, and Castiel and I agree to drive to him once I get my truck back. I'm worried, since Dean never told me what happened. My mind goes to all sorts of things. My biggest thing is Sam, if something happened to our baby brother.

After a long drive, I begin to wonder where the Impala is. But this is where Dean told us to go. At first, I wonder if Dean's meeting us in a field or something, but getting out of the truck, I realize we're heading for a bunker. I follow Castiel's lead.

The bunker is breathtakingly massive and makes me wonder how my brothers came across such a find. That can definitely be asked later. Right now, Dean needs us.

I walk into a room I can only assume to be a library. I see my older brother packing weapons into a duffel bag. Castiel and I exchange looks.

"Dean," I say quietly.

Dean looks up to notice he has visitors. "Cas. Now, look at you, all suited up and back in the game. And then there's you, sis. Couldn't resist coming back, could you?"

"We came as soon as you called," I say neutrally. I look around and notice some dishevelment in the library. There's a broken lamp on the floor, a broken chair, and so many books and papers everywhere I begin to think a tornado hit.

"Dean, what happened?" Castiel asks. "What's wrong?"

The change in Dean's face tells me something bad has happened. It was a rarity to see him look so defeated and broken.

I notice another missing variable. "Where's Sam?"

"We have a lot to talk about."

Castiel and I look worriedly at each other before sitting across from Dean. Dean looks not nervous, but...I don't know how to describe how he looks. Maybe ashamed is the best word as he tells Castiel and me what's happened.

I know that Sam had undergone trials to shut down Hell, but I didn't know that Sam had been dying. Dean had called on an angel to heal him, and supposedly the only way to heal our brother was if the angel possessed him. The angel supposedly told Dean his name is Ezekiel, but we know different now.

Dean let an unknown angel possess our dying baby brother.

My upper lip twitches. It's taking all my will power to not jump across the table and shake Dean vigorously.

"You let an angel possess Sam?" I hiss through my teeth.

"Sammy was dying. What was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, I don't know, not let the angel nest in him?"

"He said it was the only way, and I believed him. Now Sam's gone. Kevin's..."

"Dean, I'm sorry," says Castiel.

I wring my hands. I've never met Kevin, and I guess I never will now. Dean obviously cared for whoever this Kevin was to him, I can see it in his eyes.

"Yeah, well...Sorry don't pay the bills, does it? It sure as hell ain't gonna bring Kevin back. We got to find that son of a bitch."

"Dean. If the angel possessing Sam isn't Ezekiel, then who is it?"

"A dead man walking."

"What, you're gonna destroy him?" I ask.

"Damn right."

"You kill an angel, its vessel dies, too," Castiel reminds Dean.

"Think I don't know that? If I don't end Sam and that halo burns him out and I...God, I was so damn stupid."

"You were stupid for the right reasons."

"Yeah, like that matters."

"It does. Sometimes that's all that matters. Listen to me. Sam is strong. If he knew an angel was possessing him, he could fight. He could cast the angel out."

"Maybe. But as far as I know, he's in the dark. I don't know how we clue him in."

"Do you remember Alfie?"

"The kid angel? Yeah. Why?"

"Before he died, he told me the demons were able to dig into his mind, access his coding. We might be able to do that here. Might be able to—to bypass the angel and talk directly to Sam."

"And you think that would work?" I ask suspiciously. I don't understand what any of this really means, but I have to trust that Castiel knows what he's talking about.

"I don't know, but I think we should try."

"Okay. Um, where do we start?" I rub my arms. "Do we just track him down?"

"That's another step. We need to do one thing before that."

"Which is what?"

"We need to get a demon to help us," Dean mutters.

"And where do you think we're gonna find one?"

"Our dungeon."

"This place has a dungeon?" My eyes widen. I look between Dean and Castiel. "Well, let's get him to help, then." I move past my brother, going down the hall.

"Do you even know where you're going, Josette?" asks my brother.

"Not a clue." I stop and wait for Dean to redirect me. "How do you not get lost in here?"

"You memorize paths after a while. Come on."

Dean leads Castiel and I into a room which I think is strictly storage.

"Do you really think Crowley's going to help us willingly?" Castiel asks.

"Crowley must be the demon," I note to myself.

"Nope, hence why we're gonna bait him a little bit." Dean finds a syringe and sticks himself.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Our demon in the dungeon is craving the good stuff. Human blood. Almost has an addiction to it. We get his help, he gets this."

I wrinkle my nose. And then I wonder why I left the life. It's because of weird shit like this. Once Dean makes the syringe full, he pulls open the dungeon doors. This place is insane. Who founded it?

The three of us step inside, and the hairs on my arms stand on end. I don't need to see the change in eyes to know that this man is a demon. He's dressed all in black, neatly I might add, and he looks scruffy. He's shackled to the chair, surrounded by a large Devil's trap.

"Hello, boys," says Crowley. I pick up on the accent. "Oh, and who's this little lady? Not another stray you took in, I take it?"

I tilt my head. "Not a stray. Family, actually."

"Mummy and Daddy did get busy, didn't they?" He smirks. "The name's Crowley."

I cross my arms. "Josette Winchester."

"Here's the deal," Dean says, breaking up our introduction, "you're gonna tell us how to hack an angel, and I'm gonna give you some of the good stuff." He holds up the syringe. "Human blood, fresh from the tap. Word is you're jonesing for it."

"Please," Crowley snorts. "I'll pass."

"What do you want, then?" I ask.

"Well, for starters...A massage. Between the sitting and the shackles, a body gets a little stiff."

"Yeah, don't think so."

"Mm, as much as I'd love you to give it to me, Josie, God no. Get Kevin. His tiny fists can really work wonder—"

"Kevin is dead," says Castiel.

The news seems to take Crowley off guard. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't pretend to care. You tried to kill him."

"I told him this was gonna happen. I was the only person who tried to warn him. I told him to run."

"From what?" asks Dean.

"You. How many times am I gonna have to say this? People in your general vicinity don't have much in the way of a life-span. Shame the lot you pull in isn't smart, they would've had a chance of living."

I see Dean clench a fist. "She was smart, she was just desperate."

"Smart and desperate are two separate things. Desperation leads to recklessness, something she knew all too well. And look where it got her."

I'm clearly missing something here, even Castiel knows what Dean and Crowley are subtly discussing. I figure it's best to not ask questions right now.

"Bet your sister saw that, knew that before this, but was stupid enough to come running back in the end," Crowley continues to dig into my brother. "Now, I can't teach you how to crack open an angel. It's more...art than science. But I can do it for you. All I ask in return is a little field trip. Dying for some fresh air. Chains on, naturally."

"No."

"No? Of course not. Because if I'm plan 'A,' I'm sure you have a totally viable, much better plan 'B.'"

"You can't be considering this," Castiel says as we're pulled aside.

"With the chains on, he can't do anything," Dean explains.

"It's Crowley. He can always do something."

"Looks like we need a tiebreaker. Go get moose, squirrel. Unless..." Crowley must see the looks Dean and I have. "Unless, of course, you can't. That's why you're here, isn't it? The poor giant baby's in trouble again, isn't he?"

"Are you done?" I ask impatiently.

"Depends. Do we have a deal?"

I sigh. "Fine, yeah."

"Excellent. When do we leave?"

"Soon as I can scrounge up a ride," says Dean.

"Um, hello, how else do you think Castiel and I got here?" I tell my brother. "As much as I don't appreciate having a demon in my truck, I'm willing to lend my ride."

Dean unchains Crowley from his chair, then hands over the chained demon to Castiel. I'm side by side with my brother as he leads us out of the bunker labyrinth and outside.

"What? No Impala copy?" asks Crowley.

"Not exactly an easy find nowadays," I say. "Don't hate on my ride, and I won't have reason to hit you."

"Spunky, isn't she?"

"You have enough gas in the tank?" asks Dean.

I nod. "I should."

"Riddle me this, boy wonder," says Crowley, and I can only assume he's talking to Castiel. "Why do you need an escort?"

"When you betray us, I'll be the one to carve out your heart," Castiel growls.

"Oh, Cas, such a flirt."

"No budding romances in my truck, please," I snap.

"Shotgun," Crowley calls.

"Uh, wrong," says Dean before I can get a word out. "You're in the back."

Castiel smirks and tries to get up front.

"Sorry, Castiel, you need to take a backseat too," I tell him. "You're better suited to watch over him anyway." I look pointedly at the demon.

As Dean and I slip into our respective seats, I can feel my seat get moved in the back as Castiel and Crowley fight to get comfortable.

"Hey. Watch the leg," snaps Crowley.

"You're on my side," Castiel grunts.

"Hey!" I shout, looking in the mirror. "We can do this the nice way, or the not-so-nice way. You choose, boys." I'm answered with silence. "Good dogs." I snicker, turning on my truck's engine. "So, how're we gonna track this angelic douchebag who's possessing my brother down?" I look through the mirror at Crowley. "You agreed to help, so start spilling."

**So, if you've watched season 9, you'll remember that Cas picked up his own ride. Well, since Josette found him, his pimping ride doesn't exist in this book. That was a hard thing to figure out, but this is what it came to.

Oh, and if you picked up on the subtle dig that Crowley did to Dean, I know you've read "Reckless." If you didn't understand it, well, I referenced another Supernatural fic OC. There is always the chance that I reference the characters from "You Found Me" and "Reckless" at some point during the book. So, if you're ever confused, it's because you probably don't know those other two badass girls.

P.S. That's a hint to highly encourage you read those to understand those little digs and whatnot :) You don't have to to understand this book, but it's better so that you can understand everything.**