09x04 - Smash the Mirror - Part Three: Eruption
Episode number: 09x04 of Season 9 Fan Fiction (S9FF)
Title: Smash the Mirror
Subtitle: Eruption
Author: dracox-serdriel
Word count: 2,842
Rating: R
Warnings: violence, language
August 22, 2013 @ 11:00am (T - 127 hours)
Todd Sterling sat in the motel room. He was so terrified that he was literally shaking.
"Sorry, it's a little early for me to be talking about crap like this," Dean said. "You're telling us that we kill you tonight, and you know this because you had a vision?"
"I was given a vision," Todd replied. "There's a man in the mountains, he conjures up something that shows you your future."
"And you just stumbled onto this guy?" Sam asked.
"No, a friend told me about him. Look, I was desperate. I've been getting death treats. I just wanted to know if they were real."
"We haven't been threatening you," Dean snapped.
"I know, I know, so I figured, the vision must be bogus, right? But what if I'm wrong? What if you guys are here to kill me?" He added lamely, "Please don't."
Sam looked at Dean. Apparently Todd even got on the younger Winchester's nerves, which said something.
"Look, chuckles, we're not here to kill you, okay?" Dean said. "You think you can lead us to this place you're talking about?"
"I think so, yeah, but you can only find him there at dusk. If you go too early and wait, he won't show."
"Then let's meet up around five, you lead us there," Sam said. "You'll be okay for the rest of the day without us, right?"
Todd nodded, "Yeah, sure. Thanks, thank you."
With that, Dean nearly shoved Todd out the door.
"You think Shaggy's scarefest is related to crazy heart-ripping ritual?"
"Dean, when are there ever two crazy things going on at the same time?"
"Okay, so missing hearts and visions. Sound like a tribute to you?"
"Huh, that actually makes sense," Sam replied.
"Don't be so surprised," Dean shot back.
"No, I mean, someone hands out death omens and scares the crap out of anyone stupid enough to ask for one. They freak out and die, and wham: tribute. Like that truth goddess we ran into a few years ago."
"Let's hope this time it's not another crazy cat lady."
Sam's phone rang.
"Agent Bonham," he answered. "What? When? ...Yeah, thanks, Sheriff. Ash, right. ...Actually, I do have one request. Could you pull files about any recent deaths in the general area, no matter how mundane they might seem? ...Great, thanks. We'll see you there."
"What's up?" Dean asked as his brother hung up.
"Another body."
August 22, 2013 @ 3:00pm (T - 123 hours)
Carl the coroner lay on his own slab.
"I got files on all recent deaths, but local ones only, sorry. All I could get on short notice," Ash said.
"Thank you," Sam replied. "And I'm really sorry about Carl. He seemed like a good guy."
Dean wondered how his brother made shit like that sound so genuine.
"I have to inform next of kin. Worst part of being sheriff," Ash excused herself.
Sam flipped through the files.
"We do we got?"
"Dean, it's been three seconds."
"Give me a file, then, brainiac."
The Winchesters began shifting through the papers togheter.
"Animal attack in Salida," Sam said.
"This one isn't relevant, dude died by cancer."
"This guy drowned in his bathtub, and this other one died of heart-related complications."
Dean asked, "You mean like, ripped out of his chest?"
"More like scared to death. At least, that's what his photo looks like."
Dean looked at the file. 'Scared to death,' was putting it mildly. It was more like, 'Terrified and petrified from the inside out.'
"That ain't right," Dean commented.
"Says here he was an aspiring film producer, working on a story called Haunted Cliffs and Hellhounds. Guessing his genre is horror."
"Huh, what about the others?"
"The drowning victim... was a competitive swimmer and sailor."
"Animal attack lady... trained tigers and elephants for the circus," Dean said. He paused and looked up from the file for a moment. "Fucking seriously? They write shit like that down?"
"Small town, I guess. I mean, how many tiger tamers you think this area has?"
"I thought this was a tribute thing. Doesn't this sound like, you know..."
"Trickster deaths?" Sam completed. "Yeah, but, Gabriel's dead, so..."
"He's not the only one. Bobby said there's a crapload of them."
"Okay, so, maybe the others had tricks played on them, too?" Sam suggested.
"If that's the case, this guy has taken, what, seven people now?"
"Eight, if we count the one three years ago."
"We got the makings for a Trickster-stabbing stick?" the elder Winchester asked.
"I keep one in the car. I'll call meltdown-Todd and make sure he's still capable of getting us there," Sam said.
"You think Todd's gone guano?"
"He honestly believes he's only got one day left. I mean, what would you do, Dean?"
August 26, 2013 @ 3:00pm (T - 27 hours)
Dean's head was placed on Cas's bare chest. As he sat there, looking up to the ceiling of their room, Dean wondered if he should tell him. Before he could really process the idea, Cas shifted. Suddenly Dean was on his back, and the angel had his feet in his hands, rubbing them.
"Sometimes," Cas said, quietly like a confession. "I feel like there's so much I have to make up for. There's not enough time to - "
"Stop," Dean cut him off. He took Cas's hands in his own. "Just, stop. You're forgiven. You've been forgiven. You understand?"
"Dean - "
"I know what it's like, Cas," Dean interrupted again. "I've been where you are. I promised my dad I'd take care of Sammy, and I failed. He died in my arms, so I sold my soul to bring him back. Then I broke the first seal. Sam took the heat for starting the Apocalypse, but the reality is, it was me. How many angels died during that, Cas? Hell, you died twice because of it."
"I remember," the angel said.
"Here's what I know. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead. Worse than dead. And we both need to put all that crap behind us, because that's where it belongs. We should know better than anyone else that you never know what's coming next. So you're forgiven. Always and forever. Okay?"
Cas responded with a kiss.
August 22, 2013 @ 6:00pm (T - 120 hours)
Todd Sterling stumbled around, helplessness seeping out of every pore on his body.
"Todd, are we almost there?" Dean asked. "You said it wasn't that far."
"It's not," Todd responded in a panic. "It's not here anymore. It's moved!"
"No," another voice said.
A figure appeared in the distance, barely lit in the falling sun.
"That's him!" Todd exclaimed.
"Houdini?" Dean shouted flippantly.
"You were here last night," the figure said to Todd. "I wonder, did you tell these gentlemen about your offering?"
"Don't listen to him. He's the one who conjures the visions!"
"Hey, asshat!" Sam called. "Who are you?"
"Didn't you tell them about Carl?" the figure asked.
"What about Carl?" Dean asked.
"Oh, to get a vision conjured, one must bring a recently harvested heart from a worthy warrior," replied the figure. "Todd here chose Carl."
With that, Todd charged at the figure. It vanished.
Dean and Sam readied their guns.
Sam asked, "Is that true, Todd? Did you kill Carl?"
Incoherent and shaking, Todd kept repeating, "He made me, you know that? Death threats, I couldn't take it. I had to know!"
Pop! The figure reappeared not far from them.
Bang! Sam shot and missed.
Pop! Bang! Bang! Pop! Bang! Bang! Pop! Bang! Bang! The dance continued, until -
Pop! Bang! Bang! Both Dean and Sam shot, narrowly missing the figure, but the bullets sunk into Todd, who failed to take cover.
"Woo-hoo, would you look at you two, there!" someone said. The voice was giddy and familiar. "Some veeer-ree-nice sharp-shooting there, kids."
Dean and Sam lowered their guns. They knew only one guy with that voice.
Gabriel stood apart from them. "Nice to see you two again."
"You're dead," Sam said. "Lucifer, he killed you."
"Boys, I was never dead. You shoulda known. I mean, how many times did you think you'd killed me? Huh? Huh?"
Dean wanted to speak, but he couldn't make noise come out of his mouth.
"Do yourselves a favor. Stay away from this place," Gabriel continued. "It doesn't concern you, you'll just hurt yourselves. Okay?"
With a wave of his hand, Sam and Dean (and even the Impala) were back at the motel.
August 22, 2013 @ 7:00pm (T - 119 hours)
Sam carved several new stakes, as their stockpile had mysteriously vanished from the trunk. Meanwhile, Dean spoke with Cas on the phone.
"Yeah, I know that but we just saw the guy," Dean said.
"Dean, Gabriel was one of the first angels I looked for when the civil war in heaven started. He's definitely dead. Lucifer killed him."
"Okay, then, what the hell?" Dean asked.
"Gabriel copied the physical appearance of one of the tricksters to hide himself from the other angels. This must be the real trickster, the one he copied."
"Well, the Legion of Doom all thought he was Loki," Dean said, thinking out loud. Then he yelled to Sam, "Sam, you think this could be Loki?"
"I'm guessing so, yeah," Sam replied.
"Tricksters are like clockwork when it comes to ritual, especially sacrifices," Cas explained.
"Uh, okay..."
"It means that he will return to the same place at the same time every day," Cas said. "If you plan on killing him, being able to find him is generally imperative."
"When you're right, you're right. Thanks, Cas," Dean said before he hung up.
"I spoke to Joseph Kane, and a few others who knew our heartless victims," Sam said. "And besides the usual, no one had major enemies or grudges, but they did all take long hikes, go camping, that kind of thing, so it's possible all of them were just targets of opportunity."
"Nerd brothers, nerd angels," Dean muttered.
"Dean, it's possible the situation is more complicated than simple tribute. A bunch of people killing to see how they're going to die? Takes major mojo to screw with that many people."
"We agreed. There's never more than one crazy thing at time, right?"
"Yeah," Sam replied, his uncertainty lingering in the air.
"Then we're dealing with a trickster, and he looks like Gabriel, so it's Loki. Let's stab him and get the hell outa here."
August 23, 2013 @ 10:00am (T - 104 hours)
Sam and Dean knocked on the door for apartment 2B.
"Why are we here? We already know what we're ganking and when and where," Dean complained. "What more do we need?"
"Todd's girlfriend," was all Sam said in reply.
Jenny Kemper opened the door. Somehow, Todd had landed a total babe.
"Hello?" she said.
"Agents Bonham and - "
" - you're the FBI?" she interrupted.
"Yes," Sam replied.
She opened her door and walked them in.
"Todd said... he told me you'd be coming by if he..."
"We're very sorry, Jenny, but Todd died last night," Dean spoke.
He omitted who killed him, just in case she had a strong right hook or a frying pan.
"Todd told you something yesterday, didn't he?" Sam asked.
She replied, "Yeah, he, uh, said Max Bruit told him about some magician who could show you your future. Todd said Max called all his friends two weeks before he died, saying 'I'm going to die on this day at this time, so you need to come say goodbye.'"
"Did Todd mention if Max told anyone else?" Dean asked.
"I guess, I don't know. I didn't believe him till yesterday, when he... I can't really explain, but something was all wrong. He had been getting death threats for a few months... they'd been getting serious, I knew that, but..."
Jenny wasn't crying. It was like the words jammed up in her throat, and she couldn't continue.
"Did Todd tell you why he was being threatened?" Sam inquired.
"No, he said it had something to do with 'a job.'"
"When did the threats start?"
"About six months ago," she replied. "We just got back from a three-week vacation."
"Where were you on vacation?" Dean asked.
"Connecticut, then New York City," she sputtered. "Is this important?"
"Yes, it's very helpful," Sam replied. "Did Todd have any relatives or friends in the area, anyone else we should talk to?"
"Steven Gaines, they're old friends."
"Thank you, Jenny, for your time," Sam comforted her. "And we are very sorry for your loss."
She followed them to the door and shut it behind them.
"Max Bruit," Dean repeated on their way out of the building. "That's the name of the guy who died of cancer."
August 23, 2013 @ 4:00pm (T - 98 hours)
Sam's patience was gone. Dean had done nothing but complain about unnecessary research, and meanwhile, he turned up nothing all day on Todd Sterling's past.
"You know what, Dean? Just take a break or something."
Dean stomped into the bathroom.
Sam picked up his phone and dialed the sheriff.
"Hi, Ash. I'm looking into acquaintances of Todd Sterling, specifically a guy named Steven Gaines. I can't find an address for him. Do you know - "
"Actually, yup," Ash interrupted. "My brother is friends with him."
"Great, we need to talk to him."
"He lives in a cabin, a three hour hike out from town. Doesn't have a phone. I don't think anyone would get you out there this time of night."
"You be willing to take us tomorrow?"
"No, but Jason Oakes, the forestry guy, he will," Ash replied. "Hey, I'll set it up for you. He'll call."
"Thanks," Sam hung up.
He sank back in his chair, happy to have a break and some peace and quiet for five minutes. A few moments later, Dean burst back into the room.
"You want something to eat?"
"Yeah, I'll have a burger, and we have Plan B now."
"We need a plan B?"
"Todd took us out there last night, and we didn't find the place. You really think we're going to have better luck just blindly walking around?"
"Fine, genius, then what's plan B?"
"I found someone who was close with Todd, he might know where the place is."
"Might know? That's plan B?"
Sam shot a glare at Dean. "You got another idea?"
Dean left on his food run without another word.
August 26, 2013 @ 4:00pm (T - 26 hours)
The kitchen had become Dean's favorite place in the bunker, at least before he and Cas had their room ready. Dean felt like he could actually cook, and he found teaching Cas about food oddly enjoyable.
"Okay, so when you cook a steak, you start like this in the pan," explained Dean.
"You preheated the oven," the angel reminded him.
"The pan-broiling comes later, after we sear the steak."
It felt so domestic, stealing kisses between seasoning and sauces. He couldn't complain about a thing.
August 24, 2013 @ 6:00am (T - 84 hours)
Jason Oakes led Sam and Dean, who lagged behind, to Gaines's cabin.
"No more cases involving hiking," Dean snarled. "Or walking around at dusk looking for stupid - "
" - you all right back there?" Jason yelled. "We've got a long hike ahead."
They came up empty the night before on finding the damn trickster, and now they had more banging around in the woods ahead of them.
"This sucks."
August 24, 2013 @ 12:00pm (T - 78 hours)
Drained. That's a word Sam and Dean could agree on. Six hours of hiking, and the guy wasn't even in his cabin. He hadn't been there for weeks!
"What did you grab?" Sam asked.
"Looks like some kind of spell book, but it's got all kinds of crazy in it. Like he copied it down, but scribbled other crap in with it. Could be a summoning spell, but no name is listed. So all we've got is this guy is probably Loki," Dean replied.
Sam smiled when he said, "Well, that and this journal."
"You jerk, you swiped something?"
"Yeah, and if it's true - and that's a big if - Todd Sterling and a crew pulled some kind of Ocean's Eleven deal in New York City."
"Let me guess, six months ago?"
"You'd be right."
"And I'm guessing some serious bad went down?"
"Right again. They abandoned half their crew to burn to death when the thing went sideways on them."
"So, we're thinking bad karma?"
"All those weird deaths nearby," Sam began. "Ciena Swafford, the animal trainer. Gilbert DeWitt, the dude who drowned. Tirth Sparkman, the film guy. Oh, and according to this, Todd Sterling was a former sniper."
Dean laughed. "Sorry, but us killing a sniper by friendly fire. That's funny."
"Right. Steven Gaines must've been in on the heist, or attempted heist, I guess."
"So, is he dead too?"
"No idea," Sam mused. "But now we know that all the recent trickster-deaths are connected."
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Part Four: Broken
Primary Post: 09x04 Smash the Mirror
Primary Post: Season 9 Fan Fiction (S9FF)
Title: Smash the Mirror
Subtitle: Eruption
Author: dracox-serdriel
Word count: 2,842
Rating: R
Warnings: violence, language
August 22, 2013 @ 11:00am (T - 127 hours)
Todd Sterling sat in the motel room. He was so terrified that he was literally shaking.
"Sorry, it's a little early for me to be talking about crap like this," Dean said. "You're telling us that we kill you tonight, and you know this because you had a vision?"
"I was given a vision," Todd replied. "There's a man in the mountains, he conjures up something that shows you your future."
"And you just stumbled onto this guy?" Sam asked.
"No, a friend told me about him. Look, I was desperate. I've been getting death treats. I just wanted to know if they were real."
"We haven't been threatening you," Dean snapped.
"I know, I know, so I figured, the vision must be bogus, right? But what if I'm wrong? What if you guys are here to kill me?" He added lamely, "Please don't."
Sam looked at Dean. Apparently Todd even got on the younger Winchester's nerves, which said something.
"Look, chuckles, we're not here to kill you, okay?" Dean said. "You think you can lead us to this place you're talking about?"
"I think so, yeah, but you can only find him there at dusk. If you go too early and wait, he won't show."
"Then let's meet up around five, you lead us there," Sam said. "You'll be okay for the rest of the day without us, right?"
Todd nodded, "Yeah, sure. Thanks, thank you."
With that, Dean nearly shoved Todd out the door.
"You think Shaggy's scarefest is related to crazy heart-ripping ritual?"
"Dean, when are there ever two crazy things going on at the same time?"
"Okay, so missing hearts and visions. Sound like a tribute to you?"
"Huh, that actually makes sense," Sam replied.
"Don't be so surprised," Dean shot back.
"No, I mean, someone hands out death omens and scares the crap out of anyone stupid enough to ask for one. They freak out and die, and wham: tribute. Like that truth goddess we ran into a few years ago."
"Let's hope this time it's not another crazy cat lady."
Sam's phone rang.
"Agent Bonham," he answered. "What? When? ...Yeah, thanks, Sheriff. Ash, right. ...Actually, I do have one request. Could you pull files about any recent deaths in the general area, no matter how mundane they might seem? ...Great, thanks. We'll see you there."
"What's up?" Dean asked as his brother hung up.
"Another body."
August 22, 2013 @ 3:00pm (T - 123 hours)
Carl the coroner lay on his own slab.
"I got files on all recent deaths, but local ones only, sorry. All I could get on short notice," Ash said.
"Thank you," Sam replied. "And I'm really sorry about Carl. He seemed like a good guy."
Dean wondered how his brother made shit like that sound so genuine.
"I have to inform next of kin. Worst part of being sheriff," Ash excused herself.
Sam flipped through the files.
"We do we got?"
"Dean, it's been three seconds."
"Give me a file, then, brainiac."
The Winchesters began shifting through the papers togheter.
"Animal attack in Salida," Sam said.
"This one isn't relevant, dude died by cancer."
"This guy drowned in his bathtub, and this other one died of heart-related complications."
Dean asked, "You mean like, ripped out of his chest?"
"More like scared to death. At least, that's what his photo looks like."
Dean looked at the file. 'Scared to death,' was putting it mildly. It was more like, 'Terrified and petrified from the inside out.'
"That ain't right," Dean commented.
"Says here he was an aspiring film producer, working on a story called Haunted Cliffs and Hellhounds. Guessing his genre is horror."
"Huh, what about the others?"
"The drowning victim... was a competitive swimmer and sailor."
"Animal attack lady... trained tigers and elephants for the circus," Dean said. He paused and looked up from the file for a moment. "Fucking seriously? They write shit like that down?"
"Small town, I guess. I mean, how many tiger tamers you think this area has?"
"I thought this was a tribute thing. Doesn't this sound like, you know..."
"Trickster deaths?" Sam completed. "Yeah, but, Gabriel's dead, so..."
"He's not the only one. Bobby said there's a crapload of them."
"Okay, so, maybe the others had tricks played on them, too?" Sam suggested.
"If that's the case, this guy has taken, what, seven people now?"
"Eight, if we count the one three years ago."
"We got the makings for a Trickster-stabbing stick?" the elder Winchester asked.
"I keep one in the car. I'll call meltdown-Todd and make sure he's still capable of getting us there," Sam said.
"You think Todd's gone guano?"
"He honestly believes he's only got one day left. I mean, what would you do, Dean?"
August 26, 2013 @ 3:00pm (T - 27 hours)
Dean's head was placed on Cas's bare chest. As he sat there, looking up to the ceiling of their room, Dean wondered if he should tell him. Before he could really process the idea, Cas shifted. Suddenly Dean was on his back, and the angel had his feet in his hands, rubbing them.
"Sometimes," Cas said, quietly like a confession. "I feel like there's so much I have to make up for. There's not enough time to - "
"Stop," Dean cut him off. He took Cas's hands in his own. "Just, stop. You're forgiven. You've been forgiven. You understand?"
"Dean - "
"I know what it's like, Cas," Dean interrupted again. "I've been where you are. I promised my dad I'd take care of Sammy, and I failed. He died in my arms, so I sold my soul to bring him back. Then I broke the first seal. Sam took the heat for starting the Apocalypse, but the reality is, it was me. How many angels died during that, Cas? Hell, you died twice because of it."
"I remember," the angel said.
"Here's what I know. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead. Worse than dead. And we both need to put all that crap behind us, because that's where it belongs. We should know better than anyone else that you never know what's coming next. So you're forgiven. Always and forever. Okay?"
Cas responded with a kiss.
August 22, 2013 @ 6:00pm (T - 120 hours)
Todd Sterling stumbled around, helplessness seeping out of every pore on his body.
"Todd, are we almost there?" Dean asked. "You said it wasn't that far."
"It's not," Todd responded in a panic. "It's not here anymore. It's moved!"
"No," another voice said.
A figure appeared in the distance, barely lit in the falling sun.
"That's him!" Todd exclaimed.
"Houdini?" Dean shouted flippantly.
"You were here last night," the figure said to Todd. "I wonder, did you tell these gentlemen about your offering?"
"Don't listen to him. He's the one who conjures the visions!"
"Hey, asshat!" Sam called. "Who are you?"
"Didn't you tell them about Carl?" the figure asked.
"What about Carl?" Dean asked.
"Oh, to get a vision conjured, one must bring a recently harvested heart from a worthy warrior," replied the figure. "Todd here chose Carl."
With that, Todd charged at the figure. It vanished.
Dean and Sam readied their guns.
Sam asked, "Is that true, Todd? Did you kill Carl?"
Incoherent and shaking, Todd kept repeating, "He made me, you know that? Death threats, I couldn't take it. I had to know!"
Pop! The figure reappeared not far from them.
Bang! Sam shot and missed.
Pop! Bang! Bang! Pop! Bang! Bang! Pop! Bang! Bang! The dance continued, until -
Pop! Bang! Bang! Both Dean and Sam shot, narrowly missing the figure, but the bullets sunk into Todd, who failed to take cover.
"Woo-hoo, would you look at you two, there!" someone said. The voice was giddy and familiar. "Some veeer-ree-nice sharp-shooting there, kids."
Dean and Sam lowered their guns. They knew only one guy with that voice.
Gabriel stood apart from them. "Nice to see you two again."
"You're dead," Sam said. "Lucifer, he killed you."
"Boys, I was never dead. You shoulda known. I mean, how many times did you think you'd killed me? Huh? Huh?"
Dean wanted to speak, but he couldn't make noise come out of his mouth.
"Do yourselves a favor. Stay away from this place," Gabriel continued. "It doesn't concern you, you'll just hurt yourselves. Okay?"
With a wave of his hand, Sam and Dean (and even the Impala) were back at the motel.
August 22, 2013 @ 7:00pm (T - 119 hours)
Sam carved several new stakes, as their stockpile had mysteriously vanished from the trunk. Meanwhile, Dean spoke with Cas on the phone.
"Yeah, I know that but we just saw the guy," Dean said.
"Dean, Gabriel was one of the first angels I looked for when the civil war in heaven started. He's definitely dead. Lucifer killed him."
"Okay, then, what the hell?" Dean asked.
"Gabriel copied the physical appearance of one of the tricksters to hide himself from the other angels. This must be the real trickster, the one he copied."
"Well, the Legion of Doom all thought he was Loki," Dean said, thinking out loud. Then he yelled to Sam, "Sam, you think this could be Loki?"
"I'm guessing so, yeah," Sam replied.
"Tricksters are like clockwork when it comes to ritual, especially sacrifices," Cas explained.
"Uh, okay..."
"It means that he will return to the same place at the same time every day," Cas said. "If you plan on killing him, being able to find him is generally imperative."
"When you're right, you're right. Thanks, Cas," Dean said before he hung up.
"I spoke to Joseph Kane, and a few others who knew our heartless victims," Sam said. "And besides the usual, no one had major enemies or grudges, but they did all take long hikes, go camping, that kind of thing, so it's possible all of them were just targets of opportunity."
"Nerd brothers, nerd angels," Dean muttered.
"Dean, it's possible the situation is more complicated than simple tribute. A bunch of people killing to see how they're going to die? Takes major mojo to screw with that many people."
"We agreed. There's never more than one crazy thing at time, right?"
"Yeah," Sam replied, his uncertainty lingering in the air.
"Then we're dealing with a trickster, and he looks like Gabriel, so it's Loki. Let's stab him and get the hell outa here."
August 23, 2013 @ 10:00am (T - 104 hours)
Sam and Dean knocked on the door for apartment 2B.
"Why are we here? We already know what we're ganking and when and where," Dean complained. "What more do we need?"
"Todd's girlfriend," was all Sam said in reply.
Jenny Kemper opened the door. Somehow, Todd had landed a total babe.
"Hello?" she said.
"Agents Bonham and - "
" - you're the FBI?" she interrupted.
"Yes," Sam replied.
She opened her door and walked them in.
"Todd said... he told me you'd be coming by if he..."
"We're very sorry, Jenny, but Todd died last night," Dean spoke.
He omitted who killed him, just in case she had a strong right hook or a frying pan.
"Todd told you something yesterday, didn't he?" Sam asked.
She replied, "Yeah, he, uh, said Max Bruit told him about some magician who could show you your future. Todd said Max called all his friends two weeks before he died, saying 'I'm going to die on this day at this time, so you need to come say goodbye.'"
"Did Todd mention if Max told anyone else?" Dean asked.
"I guess, I don't know. I didn't believe him till yesterday, when he... I can't really explain, but something was all wrong. He had been getting death threats for a few months... they'd been getting serious, I knew that, but..."
Jenny wasn't crying. It was like the words jammed up in her throat, and she couldn't continue.
"Did Todd tell you why he was being threatened?" Sam inquired.
"No, he said it had something to do with 'a job.'"
"When did the threats start?"
"About six months ago," she replied. "We just got back from a three-week vacation."
"Where were you on vacation?" Dean asked.
"Connecticut, then New York City," she sputtered. "Is this important?"
"Yes, it's very helpful," Sam replied. "Did Todd have any relatives or friends in the area, anyone else we should talk to?"
"Steven Gaines, they're old friends."
"Thank you, Jenny, for your time," Sam comforted her. "And we are very sorry for your loss."
She followed them to the door and shut it behind them.
"Max Bruit," Dean repeated on their way out of the building. "That's the name of the guy who died of cancer."
August 23, 2013 @ 4:00pm (T - 98 hours)
Sam's patience was gone. Dean had done nothing but complain about unnecessary research, and meanwhile, he turned up nothing all day on Todd Sterling's past.
"You know what, Dean? Just take a break or something."
Dean stomped into the bathroom.
Sam picked up his phone and dialed the sheriff.
"Hi, Ash. I'm looking into acquaintances of Todd Sterling, specifically a guy named Steven Gaines. I can't find an address for him. Do you know - "
"Actually, yup," Ash interrupted. "My brother is friends with him."
"Great, we need to talk to him."
"He lives in a cabin, a three hour hike out from town. Doesn't have a phone. I don't think anyone would get you out there this time of night."
"You be willing to take us tomorrow?"
"No, but Jason Oakes, the forestry guy, he will," Ash replied. "Hey, I'll set it up for you. He'll call."
"Thanks," Sam hung up.
He sank back in his chair, happy to have a break and some peace and quiet for five minutes. A few moments later, Dean burst back into the room.
"You want something to eat?"
"Yeah, I'll have a burger, and we have Plan B now."
"We need a plan B?"
"Todd took us out there last night, and we didn't find the place. You really think we're going to have better luck just blindly walking around?"
"Fine, genius, then what's plan B?"
"I found someone who was close with Todd, he might know where the place is."
"Might know? That's plan B?"
Sam shot a glare at Dean. "You got another idea?"
Dean left on his food run without another word.
August 26, 2013 @ 4:00pm (T - 26 hours)
The kitchen had become Dean's favorite place in the bunker, at least before he and Cas had their room ready. Dean felt like he could actually cook, and he found teaching Cas about food oddly enjoyable.
"Okay, so when you cook a steak, you start like this in the pan," explained Dean.
"You preheated the oven," the angel reminded him.
"The pan-broiling comes later, after we sear the steak."
It felt so domestic, stealing kisses between seasoning and sauces. He couldn't complain about a thing.
August 24, 2013 @ 6:00am (T - 84 hours)
Jason Oakes led Sam and Dean, who lagged behind, to Gaines's cabin.
"No more cases involving hiking," Dean snarled. "Or walking around at dusk looking for stupid - "
" - you all right back there?" Jason yelled. "We've got a long hike ahead."
They came up empty the night before on finding the damn trickster, and now they had more banging around in the woods ahead of them.
"This sucks."
August 24, 2013 @ 12:00pm (T - 78 hours)
Drained. That's a word Sam and Dean could agree on. Six hours of hiking, and the guy wasn't even in his cabin. He hadn't been there for weeks!
"What did you grab?" Sam asked.
"Looks like some kind of spell book, but it's got all kinds of crazy in it. Like he copied it down, but scribbled other crap in with it. Could be a summoning spell, but no name is listed. So all we've got is this guy is probably Loki," Dean replied.
Sam smiled when he said, "Well, that and this journal."
"You jerk, you swiped something?"
"Yeah, and if it's true - and that's a big if - Todd Sterling and a crew pulled some kind of Ocean's Eleven deal in New York City."
"Let me guess, six months ago?"
"You'd be right."
"And I'm guessing some serious bad went down?"
"Right again. They abandoned half their crew to burn to death when the thing went sideways on them."
"So, we're thinking bad karma?"
"All those weird deaths nearby," Sam began. "Ciena Swafford, the animal trainer. Gilbert DeWitt, the dude who drowned. Tirth Sparkman, the film guy. Oh, and according to this, Todd Sterling was a former sniper."
Dean laughed. "Sorry, but us killing a sniper by friendly fire. That's funny."
"Right. Steven Gaines must've been in on the heist, or attempted heist, I guess."
"So, is he dead too?"
"No idea," Sam mused. "But now we know that all the recent trickster-deaths are connected."
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Primary Post: 09x04 Smash the Mirror
Primary Post: Season 9 Fan Fiction (S9FF)