Fic: People Are Strange (6/6)
Fic: People Are Strange (6/6)
Series: Special Projects
Summary: Dean and Chloe head to Houston to help out an old friend while Sam and Sarah do their own sleuthing.
Author: pen37
Beta: Strangevisitor7 and Clarksmuse
Fandoms: Smallville/Supernatural
Characters: Chloe, Sam, Dean, Sarah
Pairing:Chloe/Dean Sam/Sarah
Rating: pg-13
This is a part of the Special Projects series. You can find the rest of the series here.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
Sam trusted the Impala more than the little puddle jumper that he and Sarah chartered to fly into Guerra, Texas. Particularly since he wasn’t sure that they had enough fuel to circle the tiny airport endlessly while the dude in the tower climbed down and shooed cattle off the runway.
By the time he was back on the ground, Sam was inclined to agree with Dean’s healthy respect of planes. He stumbled to the belly of the craft and let the pilot pull their suitcases out and hand them over.
“You sure you don’t need to charter a return trip?” The pilot raised his eyebrows at them.
“No!” Sam visibly calmed himself. “I mean - we’re fine, thanks.”
Sarah put a hand on Sam’s arm and flashed a smile at the pilot. “We’re actually meeting a friend, but thanks for your concern.”
“I’m going to hop over to Laredo and pick up a charter for the return trip,” the pilot said. “I may be there a few days, if you change your mind.” Then he turned back to the plane in an obvious dismissal.
The two of them looked at each other and shrugged. Then Sam picked up their bags and headed for the tower. As they walked, Sam pulled out his phone and started punching in Bobby’s number. “I called Bobby before we left this morning,” he said. “He’s been down here poking around a few days. He said he would pick us up and let us know what he found, but just in case he forgot, I need to let him know that we’re here.”
“What does he drive?” Sarah asked as she looked toward the tower with eyes shaded.
“A classic Chevelle,” Sam said.
“Like that one?” Sarah asked as she pointed off into the distance.
Sam followed her direction to see Bobby’s car parked next to the hanger. The old hunter was leaned against the hood, with his nose stuck in a book that was doubtless about demons.
“Bobby!” Sam called out and waved.
At the sound of his voice, Bobby looked up. His weathered face split in a grin. When they got near, he moved to take one of Sam’s suitcases and then shook his newly-freed hand in greeting.
“This is Sarah,” Sam nodded at her.
“Sarah.” Bobby shook her hand as well. Then he turned to Sam and gave him an assessing look. “So you’re chartering your own planes now.”
“Don’t get me started,” Sam rolled his eyes. “Dean took the Impala. So this was the fastest way we had to get here. I’m not thrilled by the money situation, but it’s there, I may as well use it.”
“Oh stop it!” Sarah chided. Off both of their surprised looks, she rolled her eyes. “Look, take it from someone who grew up with money: It’s not something that you guys salt and burn. Just . . . think of it as a tool. Just like your guns.
“When you get right down to it, a gun isn’t evil. It’s just a tool. In the wrong hands, you can do a lot of bad with it. But in the right hands - hunters don’t get sent down to middle-of-nowhere Texas on short notice without it.”
“I never thought of it that way,” Sam said quietly.
“Yeah? I got that.” Sarah turned to Bobby and cleared her throat self-consciously. “So what’s going on down here that we needed to get here so ASAP that we chartered a plane?”
At her question, Bobby’s face grew hard. “We’re going to have to take on a side job.”
Sam felt a sinking sensation in his gut. “What’s going on?”
In response, Bobby pushed his hat up and rubbed his forehead. “I checked along the hunter’s grapevine to see if anyone had heard of this Mackenzie guy. Turns out, your information was pretty accurate. He’s been a hunter on both sides of the Rio Grande for a while now.
“And just like Dean said, he specialized in blood cults. Nasty stuff. And he had a reputation for shutting a cult down and making sure it stayed down, if you take my meaning.”
Sam swallowed and nodded.
“Anyway,” Bobby continued. “Word along the wire was that he’d started taking smaller jobs: Wailing Women, Chupacabras and El Cucui. Things he could work on with an inexperienced partner.”
“Sounds about right,” Sam nodded. “Dean said that he was training his youngest son for the family business.”
“Well, last anyone heard of either Mackenzie was down here in Guerra. Thing is, I can’t find a trace that they were here. But there is something here. Something that’s causing some pretty serious wrecks out on El Tecolote Road.”
He swallowed, and gave Bobby a hard look. “What’s going on?”
“Angry spirit, near as I can tell,” Bobby said. “Now that you two are here, you can help me find out more about it. And maybe in the process, we can figure out what happened to the MacKenzies.”
Sam and Sarah exchanged uneasy glances.