Day 38: Breakfast

[deadlyjuliet]

What a singularly delightful evening he'd had. It was dampened, of course, by two things, but those were small things and he supposed he could overlook them for now. First was that his powers had still not returned. If he truly were on punishment as he thought, though, he couldn't very well expect those to come back. Second was that the little

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[littlegoblinjr]

There was something about the look on Brian's face when he started talking about his friend. Harry wasn't sure what to make of it but he knew he didn't want to ask much more than he already had. Unfortunately he was still confused about just what had happened and had to ask, "He just disappeared from a crowded diner, left a pile of bodies behind and then reappeared in another town?"

He was understandably skeptical about the sequence of events. If it weren't for the mention of people suddenly dying he might think it was a prank or a normal kidnapping but everyone in the building being killed just didn't make any sense. And Brian had said he was waiting out the front of the building so whatever killed them had to have done so very quickly and quietly to prevent Brian from noticing and anyone from escaping.

"Did you find out what the hell happened? It could be related. Makes about as much sense as anything else as far as I can tell." It was possible Brian was just plain crazy and his story was so much bull. But in his experience when your best friend since high school turns out to be a spider-power costumed vigilante and you end up fighting a huge sand creature and a guy possessed by some sort of alien, well the definition of crazy became a lot more complicated. Hell, even if he was crazy it didn't automatically mean Brian was making things up.

He missed the days when things had been simple. When it had been him and Peter just trying to get through school without flunking or getting beaten up. Now he was trying to figure out whether he should ask if Brian's friend could have been involved in his own disappearance (Harry's best friend had thrown a grenade at his face, it seemed entirely possible) while ignoring his father's presence.

[theroadsofar]

Dean gave a "yeah, pretty much" shrug. Put like that, of course it didn't make sense. And it wasn't like he could go around explaining in technical terms that a demon took them and, to top it off, not just any demon, but that yellow-eyed son of a bitch they'd spent their whole lives trying to track down.

"I'm workin' on that," was all Dean would say, all cocky smiles. Even if he was stuck in a place he thought might be the same thing's piece of work, he needed to be more sure before he started gossiping like a chick about the hunting business. "That's why I'm askin' around, seein' if anyone else had the same signs like the diner."

Whoever Harry was, he was no hunter - Dean could see, even beat to hell as he was, that the guy could probably handle things from just the way he held himself, but he hadn't reacted to the mention of signs, otherwise they'd have been trying to talk about demonic omens or whatever. Still, even if he wasn't a hunter, there was some badass in there: Dean couldn't imagine getting half your face melted off and still sitting there (relatively) calmly like Harry was without being that much of a badass. And he was asking all the questions that were important, with "are they related" at the top.

He wasn't that bad a guy, Dean admitted, all things considered. Too bad he wasn't a hunter, they could've worked together.

[littlegoblinjr]

Right. Well at least Brian admitted it didn't make any sense. But Harry felt a little bit of hope about the whole mess. This was the first he'd heard about how people were brought here - assuming it was related. If they could work out how they got here maybe they could use that to find a way to get out. Assuming it was possible for him to leave. Harry wasn't even going to think about that unless he absolutely had to. Even if someone had a way to escape right now he couldn't leave until he knew for sure what had happened to Peter so anything else wasn't worth worrying over.

"Good luck with that. I've never heard anyone else talking about what happened before they arrived here but it's not something I've been asking about." That wasn't the least bit encouraging but Brian didn't seem like the kind of guy who needed someone else's support. He was cocky enough about the whole thing it wouldn't matter what Harry said, he'd just keep going. It was reassuring to see that sort of confidence.

Harry turned back to his tray which was still mostly untouched figuring he should try and get something down. Eating left handed was still difficult but he could cope. After a minute he commented "You seem to be taking this pretty calmly. Your friend disappearing and everything. I'd expect most people to freak out, especially over finding an entire diner massacred."

[theroadsofar]

Dean didn't miss a beat, reaching up to scratch the side of his cheek, his eyes having a far-away look that could either be him lying his ass off or thinking back to what happened. "I'm sure when it really sinks in, it'll kick me in the ass. I was pretty freaked when he went missing, don't get me wrong. But way I see it, I'm not gonna do him much good if I'm rockin' in a corner, y'know?"

It wasn't like the urge wasn't there. Despite Dean's game face, he knew that all the stress from the bullshit from the last couple of days was getting to him and sooner or later, it was gonna explode like a time-bomb. He wasn't like Sam, who was in that pussy school of thought where you just talked it away like that really helped. No, Dean wanted to beat the crap out of something instead of being on the receiving end for a change. But "freaking out", like Harry expected? He'd have to keep putting it on hold until after he found Sammy - then he maybe could give himself two seconds in some dump's bathroom to vent or break a mirror or whatever he needed to get that crap out and then things could go back to normal.

For a year, at least. Dean found himself looking forward to that with an almost desperate eagerness, despite knowing perfectly well Sammy would find out about the deal sooner or later. Kid might be a nerd but he was also damn smart. There was no way Dean could trick him for a year.

"So what about you?" asked Dean, trying to shift the conversation away from himself. It wasn't exactly normal to go admitting that the whole massacred-diner wasn't the part that bugged him or made him really stop in his tracks. "You said a friend of yours is missin' too. What's he like?"

[littlegoblinjr]

Harry didn't think it was possible for there to be people so calm and practical about this sort of thing. Finding a pile of bodies would freak him out plenty and he liked to think he'd seen enough not to scare easily. But if someone he cared about like Peter or MJ had just disappeared maybe he'd manage to overlook that too. Speaking of his friends.

"Peter? He's-" Harry hesitated not sure what to say. He'd forgiven Peter for lying to him and for whatever had happened to his father - for all that Norman refused to leave him alone even now his death hadn't been entirely Peter's fault and it hadn't been entirely unwarranted. But he'd thought that was the end of the secrets. Now after everything Eddie had said it was hard to believe that and made harder by Peter's absence. Harry couldn't ask him for an explanation and he couldn't even get some reassurance that they were still friends.

In spite of what Peter may have been keeping from him, Harry didn't want to give away his secrets. His identity as Spiderman was a big secret and even if Peter and MJ weren't here it was possible someone might be able to go after them if he let something slip. Harry really didn't want to hurt his friends anymore no matter what else had or did happen.

Brian wouldn't want specifics and he was probably just curious if there were any similarities between Peter and his friend. He just needed to be careful what he said. Shrugging, Harry smiled easily as he replied "Peter and I have known each other since high school. We roomed together in college. He's a real science nerd, always had his head in a book or something. You know the type."

That was safe enough. Nothing too personal and no mention of Spiderman not even that Peter supposedly took his photos which wasn't hard to find out.

[theroadsofar]

Dean snorted. Yeah, he knew the type. "So where was the last place you saw him?" Here, he assumed, but maybe there was a clue or something Harry could use to track him.

Dean knew his first priority was Sam, but if this Pete was missing like Sam was, then he had to check it out if he could. Over and over all these months he kept saying in his head I'm sick of hunting and I'm over it but he knew deep down he'd never be able to drop this gig; for starters, there was a lot of people out there who didn't have any help, only the slim chance a hunter like him might stray into town and second, it was all he knew how to do. Dean didn't really have high hopes for Pete but he had to at least try to find this guy...or his body, 'cause he supposed at least that would be closure (or whatever) for Harry.

Pushing his empty cup to the side, Dean folded his bandaged arms on the table, leaning forward.

"If he's still here, they could be in the same place. I'm thinkin' you and I are on the same track." Last time this happened, Sammy had said there were other people who'd vanished with him in Cold Oak, like Ava and Andy. Dean thought back to the idea of Andy dead - friggen stoner Obi-Wan with a sweet taste in cars - and knew that was one more thing he'd have to deal with. Dean just hoped that this time they wouldn't be too late and find their friends and family were already killing each other, all so Yellow-Eyes could get his jollies on.

[littlegoblinjr]

"Just a few nights back when we were trying to find a way out." Harry frowned remembering that night. It had been fun when it was just Peter and him exploring the area around institute. It hadn't seemed half as dangerous then as it did now, more like a game than something that could actually hurt him. Funny how things changed.

Harry eyed Brian skeptically when he suggested Peter and his friend might be in the same place. "I'm not sure. I heard something about Peter being taken by the guy in charge around here." Just so long as Brian didn't ask how he'd heard that or from who or most importantly why the head doctor would take Peter specifically. There was no way he could explain that without giving away Peter's secret and while Brian seemed an OK guy that didn't mean Harry was about to trust him with everything.

He might have a point though. If Peter had been taken because of something to do with Brock then why was he still missing? Brock was back to being locked up like the rest of them so it made no sense to keep Peter. Unless he'd been taken for another reason. If he'd just disappeared like people had spoken of on the bulletin board then it was possible he was in the same place as Brian's friend. Who'd disappeared without warning once before. It certainly couldn't hurt to help each other out.

"It's possible. But that doesn't help us much. We have no idea where they could be or even where to start looking." That was the other problem. Even if all the missing people were together there was the entire institute and the surrounding areas to search. And clues as to where they could be. He didn't even have anything as apparently useless as a pile of bodies and a bad smell to go off.

[theroadsofar]

Dean had played this game more times than he could even count: it was easy to get lost in all that you didn't know that it was hard to take that step backward and look at all the cards you did have on the table. Biting his lip, Dean thought quickly, chewing the inside of his cheek as he went through all the steps he would've gone through if their positions were reversed.

Was that the last time Harry saw him or was that the last time anyone saw him? That was the question he was concerned with.

"Probably need to ask around and find out who's seen him last and where," Dean said, looking up to meet Harry's good eye. With the bandages partially covering one of his own eyes, he realized they were almost on equal footing in that department. "If he's still around Landels, they gotta be keeping him around here, like in a cell or something," unless he was dead, but Dean had a feeling bringing that up wasn't gonna win him any points with Harry, "Either way, someone had to do the taking, so that mean's there's an eye-witness account, even if it's one of the bad guys."

The problem was if that someone was a something, like a demon. Dean felt he could get an answer out of one, even if they were manipulative, lying sons of bitches, but he didn't really have the tools right now for a little friendly interrogation. First thing was first: they'd have to find out who the demon was, if it wasn't Yellow-Eyes, and then they could worry about trapping the damn thing. Or he would, 'cause there was no way in hell he was gonna invite Harry along for his very first exorcism. But this all meant squat if they couldn't get a fix on this Pete's very last known location: if he'd been alone when he was taken and if a demon really was responsible, there would be some kind of sulfur, even if there weren't any bodies. They'd work backward from there.

Assuming this was even his usual hunt. Dean was pretty sure his own kidnapping had to be supernatural, but he wasn't sure yet about Pete's. Could be human, which meant it wasn't really in his league. Still, looking at Harry, Dean knew he was gonna help him and see this through even though he had his own damn problems. The head guy in charge was Martin Landel, but did they know for sure he had Pete or did he just issue an order and let his grunts do all the work? Dean's expression was curious:

"How'd you hear about the Head Doctor being the one responsible? Sounds like a good lead to me."

[littlegoblinjr]

"That's a good idea, thanks. I'll see what I can find." Harry should've thought to ask who had been with Peter last on his own. It would be simple enough to put up a notice on the bulletin board and to ask Logan (if he was even still around) if he'd been with Peter the night before he disappeared. It was a fairly obvious first step and the fact he'd needed a stranger he'd just met to point that out to him was plain embarrassing.

He knew he should've kept his mouth shut about what Brock had said the moment he'd spoken. Why had he thought Brian wouldn't ask how he knew that? "Someone who was working for him mentioned something," Harry answered vaguely. It was mostly true, Brock had been working for Landel at the time anyway.

If Brian pressed for details it would be difficult to come up with any sort of explanation that didn't bring up what had happened with Eddie - which he wanted to avoid thinking about until he had the bastard himself in a similar position - and Peter's connection with Brock. Telling someone that there was someone here possessed by an alien that had once possessed his best friend and apparently wanted his friend as some sort of twisted prize wasn't going to win him any friends.

"I'm not sure if it's just a story to throw me off. I haven't seen or heard anything that supports it." Much as he didn't want to try and explain where the information had come from Harry was also unwilling to ignore the possibility entirely. If it were true that Landel himself had Peter somewhere he'd never forgive himself if he didn't find Peter because he didn't look into it. "I need to follow up on it." Which might mean getting more information out of Brock and that would have to wait until he recovered. Not good but he didn't have another choice.

Changing the topic he asked, "What about your friend? If you're not even sure he's here it'll be harder to find anything." That was distinctly unhelpful but if Brian had any ideas about finding his friend Harry might be able to help. It was a fair trade for his willingness to help find Peter.

[theroadsofar]

Dean was fairly sure Harry wasn't telling him everything; he might not be able to read every single person, but he'd be damned if he couldn't spot another liar. Part of the job, really, and under normal circumstances, he would've been pressing Harry hardcore. Eventually he'd have to. But if he was gonna work with this guy for longer than a day, he needed him cooperative, especially if he might have a link to Sammy. His eyes narrowed slightly but he let it slide for now.

"A lead's a lead," was all Dean would say before changing the subject...which was back on Sam. Dean's smile was a little more forced, maybe a little bit more desperate. "I've been tryin' to contact him on the bulletin board since I got here; if he sees it, he'll bite. Otherwise I gotta do this the old fashioned way and try to hunt him down myself."

Which was gonna take forever: Dean wished he didn't have to go through all these options, but the hunter in him was already going through the possible checklist. Sammy could be dead in Landels or with the Impala, Sammy could be prisoner here, Sammy could be frantically tearing up the place outside of Landels looking for him, Sammy could've went to Bobby's for help, the list went on...but all the other options he could deal with except for Sammy being dead. Everything else had the possibility of breaking him out or finding him. Dean could live with being missing himself so long as his brother was okay - and he was okay, he kept telling himself, not caring about odds. That bitch demoness wouldn't go back on the deal. Not if she wanted to keep breathing top-side.

Dean just gave another shrug.

"I'm also looking into if anyone's seen him, but if he's here, he's probably only been here a day or so like me," Dean admitted, no longer all smiles, just a deadly serious earnestness. "I'll find him though."

[littlegoblinjr]

Harry nodded sympathetically. It was difficult keeping track of people here. For all that they were allowed to frequent only a few areas during the day it could be ridiculously difficult to find someone you were looking for. And if you were stupid enough to sleep through an entire day so you weren't sure exactly when the person you were looking for had last been seen it was even more difficult.

There wasn't really anything left to add to the topic and Harry was about to change the subject, try and find out a bit about Brian himself when the intercom blared to life. Great. Now he had to move when he was almost comfortable here. The painkillers were still working so his injuries were reduced to a low-grade ache instead of being as bad as they could be but moving was going to be awkward. Sighing he reached for the crutch but didn't make any attempt to rise just yet.

"I'll keep my eyes open, maybe I'll see him around," he offered. "And if I find out anything about Peter's disappearance that could relate to him too I'll try and share." Maybe he was being too quick to trust Brian but what choice did he have? They had a shared interest in finding their missing friends and it made sense to help each other out. Besides Peter had been awful fast to trust Logan and while that had worked out fine the basis of that initial trust was that Logan apparently knew 'another version' of Peter. It was impossible to prove that sort of story so they'd just had to hope Logan was being truthful. Likewise it couldn't hurt to give Brian a chance and see if he found anything or if Harry spotted his friend for him.

Of course if he was going to keep a look out for this friend there was one thing he needed to know. "What's your friend's name? I'll need to make sure I've got the right guy if I spot him."

[theroadsofar]

Dean paused for a fraction of a second. Give out Sam's real name or an alias? Did he trust Harry or not?

The answer was no, he didn't trust Harry. But neither did he want to give him nothing either. He'd have better results if he worked together with someone, even if he didn't give him all the facts.

"Malcom. Malcom Young," he supplied. If Sammy was here, he'd recognize the name for what it was - or he hoped so,'cause if Sam didn't know who a member of AC/DC was, Dean was gonna be pissed. He'd taught the kid better than that; he could have his friggen Bon Jovi, but he also needed to know his real rock. "I'll look into a Pete too."

[littlegoblinjr]

The name wasn't at all familiar to Harry, not that he'd expected it to be. He briefly considered asking Brian to keep an eye out for Logan too but when he wasn't sure if the other man was still alive it seemed a waste of effort that would be better spent looking for Peter. Doing so might require him to explain what had happened too and that was not a topic Harry was ready to discuss with anyone.

Just in case by some coincidence Brian stumbled on wherever the missing people were kept Harry quickly elaborated, "His name's Peter Parker. He's about my height, blue eyes, brown hair." There wasn't much else to say about Peter himself, he didn't stand out in a crowd. Asking Brian to let Harry know if he just happened to see Spiderman about would be just a little suspicious. That would have to be enough.

[theroadsofar]

Peter...Parker?

Oh, yeah, he got it. Either "Pete" had been saddled up with a name from geek parents or it was an alias. If there was anything he could respect, it was the need for an alias...although, honestly, it'd be easier to find the guy when the only one he had to worry about with an alias was himself. Dean couldn't help reacting at the name, the corner of his mouth twitching for a second, as if struggling not to snort. "Peter Parker" was kind of a crap alias though if you weren't trying to attract attention.

"Okay, that should help," Dean managed to keep his voice level. He stood up and moved away from the table. "I'll see you around."