Mistaken Identities, 9/? DA/SPN
Oh god. Seriously.
Beta'd by Pixel_0 who deserves so many fecking fruit baskets for putting up with my crap-ass stupid ness *hugs*
Back to Chapter 8
Chapter 9
“All I want to know are the whereabouts of 452?” White explained as though it was the simplest thing he could have asked. But Alec kept his head down, refusing to answer. Dean’s ears were ringing, and the words echoed, and echoed, and echoed...
But White wasn’t talking to him.
Dean had been discarded for the moment. He wasn’t even sure if that was a good thing; at least when he was receiving the brunt of the torture he didn’t have to watch while anyone else got hurt.
As soon as the panel beneath had brought them up high enough, both Alec and Dean had been grabbed and pulled aside before Dean had been manhandled back into the familiar metal chair, and Alec was being held down by four guards, two on each side.
Every time White asked the question, it would be followed by a jab with the tazer and various points on Alec’s body, though mainly his chest to allow White the satisfaction of watching the transgenic grimace in pain.
“Maybe your friend will break more easily?” White asked, but before Dean or Alec could react, White had changed direction, and arched the tazer down on Dean.
“Leave him alone!” Alec bellowed, but White ignored him, only jabbing the tazer further into Dean’s chest. His body convulsed with the electricity, and Alec felt bile rise up in his throat as he was forced to watch the spectacle. “Damn it, White, he has nothing to do with this!”
“No, but you do.” He retracted the tazer, and Dean fought to catch his breath, slumping in the chair.
“Let him go.”
“Dean Winchester has a brother, doesn’t he?” White asked, ignoring Alec’s plea, tightening the grip and forcing Dean’s head back.
“If you hurt him, I swear to god I’ll kill you,” he threatened, growling in anger.
“Maybe you and he aren’t so different after all.” He looked over at Alec, “What do you think 494, brother a good bet?”
“If you go near him, Max will rip your head off,” Alec said calmly, stating the obvious truth.
“Ah 452, something told me she’d have something to do with this. She usually does when you’re involved.”
“You knew she had something to do with this the second you took that picture and sent it.”
“I’m so glad Mr. Cale passed the message on. Tell me, how does he fit into all of this?”
“He doesn’t.”
“Seems he might have a connection to Eyes Only, who definitely has a bias in regards to mutant-freaks.”
“From where I’m sitting, you’re the only freak,” Dean growled, and with a lasting sneer-his apparent calling card-White left, leaving the remaining guards to put the captives back inside of their cell.
Alec looked over to Dean, who-all things considered-actually looked as though he could handle himself if needs be. He caught the man’s eye, trying to send him some kind of message that this could get messy, but he could only hope his level stare was enough.
The mechanism to unlock the cuffs clicked into place, and the metal binds retracted back into the seat, but with both captives surrounded by guards...
Alec sat there, waited until three of the guards were around him, before shooting up, head hitting one of the guard’s chin, sending him to the ground-dazed-while the other two sprang into action. But Alec did too; he was standing best he could, the chair still attached to his arms and legs, and with expert agility, he spun around fast enough to catch both guards in the shins.
Dean had been faring well too. Though he was only dealing with one guard, he had the disadvantage still. His legs were unsteady, and his balance teetering; he was half hoping Alec might hurry up and help, but the guard’s beefy arm snaked around Dean’s neck. And Alec stopped suddenly, aware of the gurgling as his older double choked beneath the grasp.
“Let him go,” he ordered, but the guard sneered and gestured for the guard on the ground-the first knocked out-to get reinforcements.
“I let him go; you do as you’re told. Simple as.”
*-*-*
“There’s a good girl,” the guard muttered when Max remained still. She had heard the footsteps from behind even if her captor had not, and more importantly, she recognized those footsteps.
There was a great whoosh of air, a smack, and the guard’s arm fell slack enough for Max to not only get free, but to spin and land a kick in the man’s midsection too, sending him to the ground.
“I told you to stay put,” Max grumbled, bending over the guard to make sure he was out and staring up at Sam, who stood there, panting, with a crow bar in his hand.
“Yeah, you did,” he replied with a sly grin.
*-*-*
“All right, okay, just don’t hurt him,” Alec said carefully, his palms held up in surrender.
Mock surrender.
The guard sneered, much like his boss, and tightened his grip for a moment, so that when he let go Dean dropped to his knees, gasping for air, grabbing his own neck that he knew would bruise.
“Try anything and next time I’ll make-”
But the guard’s threat was cut off by the blur of Alec’s form in front of him as his hand struck out and squeezed the burly git’s throat so much that his throat convulsed, and he fell to the ground clutching at it much like Dean had been.
“Asshole,” Alec muttered as he helped Dean to hit feet.
“Watch the wrists, will you?” Dean complained once he was upright, only swaying once at the altitude of standing up after being on the ground. Alec steadied him instantly and turned to him.
“There’s a way down to the sewers, if we can get there it’ll be easier to get away.” Dean nodded at Alec’s information. “We have to run, can you handle it, or do you want me to carry you?”
“Dude, I’m running,” Dean replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, and Alec smirked, before taking off, Dean sprinting best he could behind him.
The green of the sewer’s mould seemed to glow with what little light streamed through crevices in the walls and the occasional lamplight there to help workers when down there. Dean, for his part, had kept up well with Alec’s fast stride. Though granted, Alec himself was slowing down to accommodate for Dean’s injuries.
With every step they took, Alec was expecting the cavalry to come rushing in and apprehend them once more, and he was fairly sure Dean couldn’t survive another onslaught.
“Oh shit,” Alec cursed when he looked back and saw Dean start to fall. He ran back, his speed letting him reach Dean in time to catch him.
“Sam?” Dean muttered, eyes drooping.
“It’s Alec, remember?” Alec stressed, looking around-expecting them to be followed at any minute. He looked back at Dean and saw the man’s head rolling backwards. Come on man, don’t do this, stay awake!
“I’m up,” Dean mumbled, but it was clear he was far from it. Alec grunted, but otherwise seemed unperturbed by the bundle now in his arms as he grabbed hold of Dean, holding him carefully; he was wary of any wounds he might not have seen. He looked around him once more, before heading off through the maze-like corridors of the sewers beneath the factory. Still carrying Dean.
He panted for breath, adjusting Dean in his hold as he did so, but his ears caught footsteps in the distance, and as he looked ahead he saw shadows. Two figures. Most likely White and one of his men, coming from the direction he was headed in.
That meant they were surrounded. No way out.
And if White found them now, after having managed to escape this far, they would be dead in an instant and be damned about gathering information on 452. He would slaughter them on the spot with no mercy.
He shuddered, pressing himself further back, and laying Dean down carefully, in an upright position so that the unconscious man’s head drooped slightly on his own shoulder as he lay against the wall.
Alec stood in front of him, steeling himself for the fight about to come.
“Bring it on,” Alec whispered to himself as the shadows grew in length and got closer and closer to Dean’s and his hiding place.
*-*-*
“I thought you said your dad was a military man,” Max whispered.
“He was,” Sam said, frowning and wondering where that had come from.
“Then why don’t you ever listen? I told you to stay put and yet there you are.” Max glared.
“That guard would have killed you.”
“Yeah, and he could have killed you,” Max said, rolling her eyes, but she put a finger to her lips as Sam went to reply. “Shh, you hear that?”
Sam shook his head.
“Well I do,” Max replied and stalked off with Sam following her lead.
*-*-*
When Sam first saw his brother, his first instinct was to cry out, maybe call his name, gasp, or make some kind of sound, but he couldn’t. His voice caught in his throat, and any noise could warrant company they didn’t want, so instead, he simply ran closer. He hesitated for a moment, before crouching down and trying to rouse Dean, whispering his name and shaking his shoulder gently.
Alec let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and smiled at Max, who was more than happy to see him.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, not unkindly.
“Didn’t feel like staying with White any longer,” he smirked.
“What’s wrong with him?” Sam asked when he received no response from his brother, looking up at where Alec and Max stood. He then carefully lifted his brother’s eyelids. He watched for the warranted response, seeing that even in the dim light, Dean’s pupils reacted accordingly.
“He passed out-he’s gotta be dehydrated, and I know he hasn’t eaten since he was with you,” Alec explained with a sigh. “The fact that he didn’t collapse earlier...”
Alec left the comment open, and Sam knew Dean hadn’t eaten for a lot longer before White had attacked, thanks to his run in with the scarecrow. How he had lasted this long was a mystery, or rather, credit to how well skilled John had ensured his boys were in such a world.
Be it or good thing or bad thing, Sam didn’t dare care. His first and only priority was his brother. He grabbed Dean’s shoulder tighter this time and shook with more vigour; his whispers turned into hissing as he called his name, aware that they couldn’t dawdle, but all three of them might need to fight, and they couldn’t risk Dean being left out cold.
On the third shake, Dean came to with a start, jerking from the hold of his brother’s hand on his shoulder, eyes wild for a moment, trying to take in his surroundings with his eyesight glazed as it was from exhaustion.
“Sam?” he croaked out finally, much to his brother’s relief, and his mouth quirked into a small smile. “About time,” he muttered simply, leaving Sam to laugh (either that or cry) before frowning, aware that the situation was serious, and had to be handled, now.
“Dean, we have to get out of here, can you walk?”
He nodded, using the wall and his brother’s supporting arms to get on his feet.
Before falling straight back down again.
Sam grabbed him in time, but the fact that Dean’s whole weight was on him only worried him. His brother wasn’t pulling away, if anything, he was holding on tighter.
“Dean?”
“Just...give me a minute,” he muttered, and Sam let him slip to the floor gently, leaving him for a moment to stride back to where Max and Alec stood.
“They’re getting closer,” Max said simply. “A guard jumped me on the way in, and they’re bound to be looking for you and Dean,” she told Alec, who nodded.
“Wait, a guard jumped you?”
“Didn’t they do the same to you?”
“Guys?” Sam cut through their banter, gesturing over to his fallen brother. Both trangenics looked back down the passageway of the sewer
“Maybe we should-”
“No!” Sam cried. “We’re getting him out of here, now!”
“If we hide, he can take a break. He needs to rest, Sam, we don’t know the extent of his injuries-”
“If he rests, he won’t wake up again,” Sam said through gritted teeth
“Bullshit,” a weak voice called from behind, and they spun to see Dean on his feet, though barely. He was still leaning heavily against the wall, his own teeth bared like Sam’s but against the pain rather than anger.
“Dean!” Sam reprimanded, trying to pry his brother’s fingers from the wall, having already decided that he would carry him.
“We’re getting out of here, Sam; I have to get out of here.”
The look in his brother’s eyes made him falter, for a second Sam could have sworn he had seen desperation, maybe even fear, before he reeled in any emotions laid out before them. Sam nodded, understanding his brother’s reluctance to stay any longer. He made to carry him, but Dean quickly swatted him away. “I’m walking out of here, Sam.”
“You can barely stand-”
“Says you.”
“Dean, I know, okay, just let me carry you, it’s quicker, and it’s better.”
“You can’t carry me, Sam, you know you can’t.”
Sam paused, he had already wondered if he could keep his stealth when carrying his brother’s added muscle, and lagging behind was not an option.
“Great time to be walking around with Manticore Transgenics then isn’t it?” Alec quipped, slightly unhelpfully.
“You need to fight; you can’t do that if you’re carrying me,” Dean said and turned back to Sam, “I’m walking out of here, Sam; I have to walk out of here.” His words, strong as though were, still did not hide the shivers running down his spine
“Guys, I don’t mean to rush you but there guards on the way to kill us-leaving is a really good idea right now.”
“I’m not really that annoying am I?” Dean asked, changing the conversation to retort to his double, having decided in his captivity that Alec did indeed annoy him.
“No, not quite,” Sam said, though he knew his answer was based on the brotherly bond he didn’t share with Alec.
“Alec’s right, we have to go, now,” Max added, having checked their exit twice now.
“So let’s go,” Dean said simply, leaving his brother to growl. Sam strode forward and grabbed his brother’s arm, tossing it around his neck, giving Dean both the support, and the freedom he craved. His pace was gentle enough for Dean to keep up but still bearing in mind that they were being chased.
Any advantage of a head start was cancelled out by their wounded.
They had barely been walking more than ten minutes before Sam’s stride had slowed considerably, and Dean’s legs were fumbling more and more. They had to stop, and Sam let his brother lean back against the wall
“They’re coming, we have to leave!” Max cried as she ran back to them.
“Keep going without us,” Sam began but just as he did, Alec came running forward, gasping out “White,” and gesturing back to the way he had come.
“Back that way?” Dean asked, eyes closed, leaning against the cold wall.
“We can’t; we’re cornered. We don’t have enough time to get out, not if one of us is carrying him,” Max began, and seeing Dean’s look, “And especially not if you’re walking.”
“So what do we do?!” Sam asked, far more stressed now than he had been for some time.
“We’ll have to fight.”
“Max...” Alec began, worried that fighting could make the situation even more problematic. Max tried not to flinch at the change in his nature, normally he was itching for a chance to kick ass, but now?
“Alec, we don’t have a choice.”
“We can’t win, they have guns, and even if they can get out,” he gestured to Dean, now leaning heavily on Sam, rather than the wall, with his eyes glazed. “Without us, they won’t make it far, you know that.”
“So I’ll stay, there’s no way White would pass up the opportunity-”
“I’m not gonna leave you here!”
“They’re coming,” Sam muttered, seeing the shadows in the distance dance off of the green sewer walls.
“Just go.”
“Dean, shut up.”
“Sam, it’s okay; he hasn’t killed me so far.”
“But there’s nothing stopping him doing that now; you’re getting out of here,” Alec stressed and then looked back to Max.
“He wants you, and he’s been trying to use me and Dean to get to you, so I’ll stall.”
“What? Alec-”
“So it’s okay for you to put yourself in danger but not me? Come on, Maxie, I can handle White.”
“You’ve done so well until now,” she muttered, out of slight fear more than actual anger. “I’ll take them out, then I’m coming straight back here to help, okay?” she conceded, and Alec grinned.
*-*-*
“494,” White muttered as he saw the figure facing the walls. His lack of hunched shoulders proved to him that it wasn’t the Winchester man, and the sheer fury behind the transgenic’s eyes when he turned around proved to him thus.
“Don’t tell me your friends have left you all alone?” White taunted, and Alec sneered. With Ames distracted, Max led Sam and Dean past him towards the exit ahead. Satisfied that they were relatively safe, Alec turned back to White.
“As long as they’re far away from you.”
“But as long as you’re here, I’ve got 452 in the palm of my hand.”
“Butter fingers.”
“No, I won’t let you escape again; you won’t slip through my fingers this time.”
“What do you want with Max anyway? Got a secret crush you’re not sharing with the class, Ames?”
“I set my standards a little higher.”
“Funny, I’ve got a feeling Max would say the same thing about you. It’s that slime-ball act you’ve got going on, not very appealing.”
“Distracting me will only prolong your stay, 494.”
“Did I hit a nerve?”
“Not even close.”
“You know I can beat you any day of the week, right?”
“Is that what you want? A fight?”
“Scared? Intimidated? Did you pee your pants a little?” Alec taunted.
“If you’re so eager to fight me, why don’t you?”
“Because I have common sense, and if I fight you now, it could risk exposure, and we don’t want that any more than you do.”
Alec continued to taunt White, circling him carefully and studying every movement. White was waiting for backup; he just didn’t know that Alec was too.
Just as the transgenic was beginning to wonder how much White’s eyes could narrow at his own meagre attempts to stall, Max appeared, leaping in front of him. And at the same time, White’s guards rushed in. She knocked White down and started on the guards closest to her, while Alec flanked her movements, switching from right to left depending on where Max wasn’t. He dealt a kick to the first guard who came near, using the body to spin himself and punch a second guard square in the jaw upon landing, falling back on another, while Max handled her own.
Finally with a mild lull in the fight, they shared a glance and made a break for it, just as White was picking himself up and growling for his colleagues to “Get them!”
*-*-*
“How much further?” Sam asked, worried about the extent of Dean’s injuries and how Sam’s running couldn’t be helping much. Alec looked back at him and then strode forward.
“I’m faster, I can carry him; you two go in front, make sure no one’s coming.”
“What?” Sam asked, surprised, having already assumed that he would be carrying his brother, but Max jumped in.
“It makes sense. Alec can protect him if White catches up, and I can keep an eye on you. Come on,” he ordered, running forward to ensure the guards were still out cold.
*-*-*
“You know, I don’t think our plan would have worked,” Dean muttered, seemingly more lucid, as Alec helped support him through the tunnels, while Max and Sam took the lead.
“No?” Alec teased, walking as quickly as possible.
“We have no idea how many guards there are, no way of getting away, I mean, what the hell were we thinking?”
“Oh my god, I don’t want to die?”
“Dude, you sound like a girl,” he pressed, trying to clear the tickling in his throat.
“Good job your brother turned up with Max then, huh.”
Dean nodded.
“’s not fair, I’m supposed to be the one who saves his ass,” Dean complained and tried to clear his throat once more, but one cough turned into an entire fit until Alec was forced to stop and let Dean hunch over, the fever taking its toll.
Unfortunately the pause was all that was needed.
Suddenly Alec’s charge was grabbed from behind, and he cursed himself for letting him fall back when he saw Dean crash into the wall behind them. He turned to see White standing there, breathing heavy and glaring as usual.
“Trying to escape?” he sneered, as they stepped around each other in a circle, both waiting for the other to make his first move.
“You could say that,” Alec glared, worried at the silence that proved Dean had obviously stopped coughing.
“Where is she?” White asked, cutting to the chase, and Alec laughed.
“You really think after all of this I’m gonna tell you?”
“You wouldn’t want Mr Winchester to suffer any more now would you?” White threatened, but before he could continue, his head snapped to the side, and in surprise he fell to the ground.
“Yeah? Well Mr. Winchester’s tired of being your leverage,” Dean hissed, voice cracking in his burning throat, and Alec grinned appreciatively at the sight. There stood Dean, fists in defensive position having just kicked his captor hard in the forehead, the burst of adrenaline still pumping through his veins.
White began to get up but Dean was there, ready. He kicked out again, landing a harsh blow to White’s chest before Ames managed to grab Dean’s ankle, pulling the man down. Just as Dean was out for the moment, Alec appeared to pick up the slack; fists flew as he and White went at it, and Dean gathered himself up off of the floor and joined in the fray.
Years of training, and now days of anger boiling was coming back to him. He knew the cost of this burst of energy might make it near impossible to walk out of there unaided, but he didn’t care. This man had kept him tied to a chair, had tortured him physically, and attempted to mentally. All because of a case of mistaken identity and a clear sociopath tendency.
He could kill him right now, and he wouldn’t have any qualms about it. Not for some time at least.
Every now and again a punch would catch him off guard-Alec too-and with the fight dwindling down, it wasn’t safe for either of them. Dean’s hearing was zoning in and out as his strength began to leave him, and he caught sight of his brother rushing in with Max by his side, just as White’s leg swung down, caught him in the knees, and tripped him to the ground.
Alec growled, and Max ran forward, helping her friend to beat the crap out of the agent, as long as the agent in question continued to take the offensive.
Sam pulled his brother to his feet, but nearly unconscious as he was, Dean couldn’t keep upright, and it was up to the younger Winchester to drag the elder out of their, casting a worried glance behind him as he pulled his brother along.
“No, Sam, stop,” he muttered, his breathing ragged, as he tried to turn in Sam’s grasp and get back to White.
“Dean they can take care of it, Dean, dammit, stop!” Sam cried as his brother continued to struggle. Sam was terrified he might hurt Dean, but he couldn’t let him go back; it was suicidal.
“He has-Sam let me go-I have to get it back.”
“Get what back? Dean, Dean!”
He broke free suddenly, momentum taking him further as he landed mere feet away from White, currently on the ground.
Dean saw a glint of gold from the man’s breast pocket and lunged at him, pinning him best he could as he reached for the necklace. White launched himself at Dean, about to grab his neck when Alec’s foot was on their captor’s neck, and Dean was holding the pendant so tightly that the grooves were leaving impression on the palm of his hand.
“Jesus, Dean,” Sam muttered, pulling him away once more as the fray only continued to worsen. “What the hell were you thinking?”
But Dean stayed silent in his brother’s arms.
Max had already disposed of the two guards that had strayed near by their escape route through the man-hole, and her hearing couldn’t pick up anyone else. Clearly White had been too busy following Alec and Dean to think about meeting them at the destination they were headed for.
Reaching the base of the ladder, Sam glanced at his brother.
There was no way Sam could safely get the both of them up there, and if he tossed Dean over his shoulder, it ran the risk of him falling, or both of them falling.
Sam could brace his own fall, but could Dean?
He sighed and jostled his brother in his hold.
“Dean? Dean, you have to wake up,” he muttered, still looking around to ensure the coast was clear. Relief washed over him when he saw his brother’s clouded gaze looking back from the ladder in question and Sam’s looming features. Making the connection, Dean started to squirm out of his younger brother’s arms, grabbing hold of the steel rods and pulling himself up best he could.
Sam was on hand to push and ready to catch Dean should he fall.
The injured man’s hands shook, and his feet fumbled for a hold, but Sam was already climbing up right behind him and urging him forward-only two more steps to go until they’d be above ground. He reached up over his brother and shoved the man-hole cover across, letting Dean climb through and hoist himself up as far as he could.
Dean collapsed back on the gravel and paid no heed to the tiny rocks digging into his skin, preferring instead to focus on stopping the big black dots in front of him from spreading across his whole vision.
He heard his brother mutter, “Come on Dean,” and felt the hands grab him once more, but instead of helping him stand up, Sam lifted him up, placing him in fireman’s carry, and ran as fast as possible to the hidden Impala.
*-*-*
“You gonna kill me?” White asked, his hand brushing away the blood from his lips, staring up at the two transgenics, glowering at him.
“You deserve that much,” Alec spat, but Max’s hand twitched in his direction. Enough to signal that no, there would be no killing today.
“This isn’t mercy, it’s forward-thinking,” she said coldly and walked off. Alec followed solemnly, about to speak when he saw a flurry of movement in the corner of his eye.
White was on his feet, rushing forward.
But Max had seen it too.
At the last minute she struck back, her left knee bent down, as she punched his abdomen, winding him, and forcing him to the floor.
“Idiot,” she muttered, ignoring the throb in her knuckles from the hard hit. At the voices of guards in the distance, she and Alec shared a knowing look before the both of them took off out of the sewer and to safety.
“This isn’t over!” White wheezed, clutching at his stomach. “You hear me? This isn’t over!”
TBC
Go to Chapter 10 (final)
Beta'd by Pixel_0 who deserves so many fecking fruit baskets for putting up with my crap-ass stupid ness *hugs*
Back to Chapter 8
Chapter 9
“All I want to know are the whereabouts of 452?” White explained as though it was the simplest thing he could have asked. But Alec kept his head down, refusing to answer. Dean’s ears were ringing, and the words echoed, and echoed, and echoed...
But White wasn’t talking to him.
Dean had been discarded for the moment. He wasn’t even sure if that was a good thing; at least when he was receiving the brunt of the torture he didn’t have to watch while anyone else got hurt.
As soon as the panel beneath had brought them up high enough, both Alec and Dean had been grabbed and pulled aside before Dean had been manhandled back into the familiar metal chair, and Alec was being held down by four guards, two on each side.
Every time White asked the question, it would be followed by a jab with the tazer and various points on Alec’s body, though mainly his chest to allow White the satisfaction of watching the transgenic grimace in pain.
“Maybe your friend will break more easily?” White asked, but before Dean or Alec could react, White had changed direction, and arched the tazer down on Dean.
“Leave him alone!” Alec bellowed, but White ignored him, only jabbing the tazer further into Dean’s chest. His body convulsed with the electricity, and Alec felt bile rise up in his throat as he was forced to watch the spectacle. “Damn it, White, he has nothing to do with this!”
“No, but you do.” He retracted the tazer, and Dean fought to catch his breath, slumping in the chair.
“Let him go.”
“Dean Winchester has a brother, doesn’t he?” White asked, ignoring Alec’s plea, tightening the grip and forcing Dean’s head back.
“If you hurt him, I swear to god I’ll kill you,” he threatened, growling in anger.
“Maybe you and he aren’t so different after all.” He looked over at Alec, “What do you think 494, brother a good bet?”
“If you go near him, Max will rip your head off,” Alec said calmly, stating the obvious truth.
“Ah 452, something told me she’d have something to do with this. She usually does when you’re involved.”
“You knew she had something to do with this the second you took that picture and sent it.”
“I’m so glad Mr. Cale passed the message on. Tell me, how does he fit into all of this?”
“He doesn’t.”
“Seems he might have a connection to Eyes Only, who definitely has a bias in regards to mutant-freaks.”
“From where I’m sitting, you’re the only freak,” Dean growled, and with a lasting sneer-his apparent calling card-White left, leaving the remaining guards to put the captives back inside of their cell.
Alec looked over to Dean, who-all things considered-actually looked as though he could handle himself if needs be. He caught the man’s eye, trying to send him some kind of message that this could get messy, but he could only hope his level stare was enough.
The mechanism to unlock the cuffs clicked into place, and the metal binds retracted back into the seat, but with both captives surrounded by guards...
Alec sat there, waited until three of the guards were around him, before shooting up, head hitting one of the guard’s chin, sending him to the ground-dazed-while the other two sprang into action. But Alec did too; he was standing best he could, the chair still attached to his arms and legs, and with expert agility, he spun around fast enough to catch both guards in the shins.
Dean had been faring well too. Though he was only dealing with one guard, he had the disadvantage still. His legs were unsteady, and his balance teetering; he was half hoping Alec might hurry up and help, but the guard’s beefy arm snaked around Dean’s neck. And Alec stopped suddenly, aware of the gurgling as his older double choked beneath the grasp.
“Let him go,” he ordered, but the guard sneered and gestured for the guard on the ground-the first knocked out-to get reinforcements.
“I let him go; you do as you’re told. Simple as.”
*-*-*
“There’s a good girl,” the guard muttered when Max remained still. She had heard the footsteps from behind even if her captor had not, and more importantly, she recognized those footsteps.
There was a great whoosh of air, a smack, and the guard’s arm fell slack enough for Max to not only get free, but to spin and land a kick in the man’s midsection too, sending him to the ground.
“I told you to stay put,” Max grumbled, bending over the guard to make sure he was out and staring up at Sam, who stood there, panting, with a crow bar in his hand.
“Yeah, you did,” he replied with a sly grin.
*-*-*
“All right, okay, just don’t hurt him,” Alec said carefully, his palms held up in surrender.
Mock surrender.
The guard sneered, much like his boss, and tightened his grip for a moment, so that when he let go Dean dropped to his knees, gasping for air, grabbing his own neck that he knew would bruise.
“Try anything and next time I’ll make-”
But the guard’s threat was cut off by the blur of Alec’s form in front of him as his hand struck out and squeezed the burly git’s throat so much that his throat convulsed, and he fell to the ground clutching at it much like Dean had been.
“Asshole,” Alec muttered as he helped Dean to hit feet.
“Watch the wrists, will you?” Dean complained once he was upright, only swaying once at the altitude of standing up after being on the ground. Alec steadied him instantly and turned to him.
“There’s a way down to the sewers, if we can get there it’ll be easier to get away.” Dean nodded at Alec’s information. “We have to run, can you handle it, or do you want me to carry you?”
“Dude, I’m running,” Dean replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, and Alec smirked, before taking off, Dean sprinting best he could behind him.
The green of the sewer’s mould seemed to glow with what little light streamed through crevices in the walls and the occasional lamplight there to help workers when down there. Dean, for his part, had kept up well with Alec’s fast stride. Though granted, Alec himself was slowing down to accommodate for Dean’s injuries.
With every step they took, Alec was expecting the cavalry to come rushing in and apprehend them once more, and he was fairly sure Dean couldn’t survive another onslaught.
“Oh shit,” Alec cursed when he looked back and saw Dean start to fall. He ran back, his speed letting him reach Dean in time to catch him.
“Sam?” Dean muttered, eyes drooping.
“It’s Alec, remember?” Alec stressed, looking around-expecting them to be followed at any minute. He looked back at Dean and saw the man’s head rolling backwards. Come on man, don’t do this, stay awake!
“I’m up,” Dean mumbled, but it was clear he was far from it. Alec grunted, but otherwise seemed unperturbed by the bundle now in his arms as he grabbed hold of Dean, holding him carefully; he was wary of any wounds he might not have seen. He looked around him once more, before heading off through the maze-like corridors of the sewers beneath the factory. Still carrying Dean.
He panted for breath, adjusting Dean in his hold as he did so, but his ears caught footsteps in the distance, and as he looked ahead he saw shadows. Two figures. Most likely White and one of his men, coming from the direction he was headed in.
That meant they were surrounded. No way out.
And if White found them now, after having managed to escape this far, they would be dead in an instant and be damned about gathering information on 452. He would slaughter them on the spot with no mercy.
He shuddered, pressing himself further back, and laying Dean down carefully, in an upright position so that the unconscious man’s head drooped slightly on his own shoulder as he lay against the wall.
Alec stood in front of him, steeling himself for the fight about to come.
“Bring it on,” Alec whispered to himself as the shadows grew in length and got closer and closer to Dean’s and his hiding place.
*-*-*
“I thought you said your dad was a military man,” Max whispered.
“He was,” Sam said, frowning and wondering where that had come from.
“Then why don’t you ever listen? I told you to stay put and yet there you are.” Max glared.
“That guard would have killed you.”
“Yeah, and he could have killed you,” Max said, rolling her eyes, but she put a finger to her lips as Sam went to reply. “Shh, you hear that?”
Sam shook his head.
“Well I do,” Max replied and stalked off with Sam following her lead.
*-*-*
When Sam first saw his brother, his first instinct was to cry out, maybe call his name, gasp, or make some kind of sound, but he couldn’t. His voice caught in his throat, and any noise could warrant company they didn’t want, so instead, he simply ran closer. He hesitated for a moment, before crouching down and trying to rouse Dean, whispering his name and shaking his shoulder gently.
Alec let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and smiled at Max, who was more than happy to see him.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, not unkindly.
“Didn’t feel like staying with White any longer,” he smirked.
“What’s wrong with him?” Sam asked when he received no response from his brother, looking up at where Alec and Max stood. He then carefully lifted his brother’s eyelids. He watched for the warranted response, seeing that even in the dim light, Dean’s pupils reacted accordingly.
“He passed out-he’s gotta be dehydrated, and I know he hasn’t eaten since he was with you,” Alec explained with a sigh. “The fact that he didn’t collapse earlier...”
Alec left the comment open, and Sam knew Dean hadn’t eaten for a lot longer before White had attacked, thanks to his run in with the scarecrow. How he had lasted this long was a mystery, or rather, credit to how well skilled John had ensured his boys were in such a world.
Be it or good thing or bad thing, Sam didn’t dare care. His first and only priority was his brother. He grabbed Dean’s shoulder tighter this time and shook with more vigour; his whispers turned into hissing as he called his name, aware that they couldn’t dawdle, but all three of them might need to fight, and they couldn’t risk Dean being left out cold.
On the third shake, Dean came to with a start, jerking from the hold of his brother’s hand on his shoulder, eyes wild for a moment, trying to take in his surroundings with his eyesight glazed as it was from exhaustion.
“Sam?” he croaked out finally, much to his brother’s relief, and his mouth quirked into a small smile. “About time,” he muttered simply, leaving Sam to laugh (either that or cry) before frowning, aware that the situation was serious, and had to be handled, now.
“Dean, we have to get out of here, can you walk?”
He nodded, using the wall and his brother’s supporting arms to get on his feet.
Before falling straight back down again.
Sam grabbed him in time, but the fact that Dean’s whole weight was on him only worried him. His brother wasn’t pulling away, if anything, he was holding on tighter.
“Dean?”
“Just...give me a minute,” he muttered, and Sam let him slip to the floor gently, leaving him for a moment to stride back to where Max and Alec stood.
“They’re getting closer,” Max said simply. “A guard jumped me on the way in, and they’re bound to be looking for you and Dean,” she told Alec, who nodded.
“Wait, a guard jumped you?”
“Didn’t they do the same to you?”
“Guys?” Sam cut through their banter, gesturing over to his fallen brother. Both trangenics looked back down the passageway of the sewer
“Maybe we should-”
“No!” Sam cried. “We’re getting him out of here, now!”
“If we hide, he can take a break. He needs to rest, Sam, we don’t know the extent of his injuries-”
“If he rests, he won’t wake up again,” Sam said through gritted teeth
“Bullshit,” a weak voice called from behind, and they spun to see Dean on his feet, though barely. He was still leaning heavily against the wall, his own teeth bared like Sam’s but against the pain rather than anger.
“Dean!” Sam reprimanded, trying to pry his brother’s fingers from the wall, having already decided that he would carry him.
“We’re getting out of here, Sam; I have to get out of here.”
The look in his brother’s eyes made him falter, for a second Sam could have sworn he had seen desperation, maybe even fear, before he reeled in any emotions laid out before them. Sam nodded, understanding his brother’s reluctance to stay any longer. He made to carry him, but Dean quickly swatted him away. “I’m walking out of here, Sam.”
“You can barely stand-”
“Says you.”
“Dean, I know, okay, just let me carry you, it’s quicker, and it’s better.”
“You can’t carry me, Sam, you know you can’t.”
Sam paused, he had already wondered if he could keep his stealth when carrying his brother’s added muscle, and lagging behind was not an option.
“Great time to be walking around with Manticore Transgenics then isn’t it?” Alec quipped, slightly unhelpfully.
“You need to fight; you can’t do that if you’re carrying me,” Dean said and turned back to Sam, “I’m walking out of here, Sam; I have to walk out of here.” His words, strong as though were, still did not hide the shivers running down his spine
“Guys, I don’t mean to rush you but there guards on the way to kill us-leaving is a really good idea right now.”
“I’m not really that annoying am I?” Dean asked, changing the conversation to retort to his double, having decided in his captivity that Alec did indeed annoy him.
“No, not quite,” Sam said, though he knew his answer was based on the brotherly bond he didn’t share with Alec.
“Alec’s right, we have to go, now,” Max added, having checked their exit twice now.
“So let’s go,” Dean said simply, leaving his brother to growl. Sam strode forward and grabbed his brother’s arm, tossing it around his neck, giving Dean both the support, and the freedom he craved. His pace was gentle enough for Dean to keep up but still bearing in mind that they were being chased.
Any advantage of a head start was cancelled out by their wounded.
They had barely been walking more than ten minutes before Sam’s stride had slowed considerably, and Dean’s legs were fumbling more and more. They had to stop, and Sam let his brother lean back against the wall
“They’re coming, we have to leave!” Max cried as she ran back to them.
“Keep going without us,” Sam began but just as he did, Alec came running forward, gasping out “White,” and gesturing back to the way he had come.
“Back that way?” Dean asked, eyes closed, leaning against the cold wall.
“We can’t; we’re cornered. We don’t have enough time to get out, not if one of us is carrying him,” Max began, and seeing Dean’s look, “And especially not if you’re walking.”
“So what do we do?!” Sam asked, far more stressed now than he had been for some time.
“We’ll have to fight.”
“Max...” Alec began, worried that fighting could make the situation even more problematic. Max tried not to flinch at the change in his nature, normally he was itching for a chance to kick ass, but now?
“Alec, we don’t have a choice.”
“We can’t win, they have guns, and even if they can get out,” he gestured to Dean, now leaning heavily on Sam, rather than the wall, with his eyes glazed. “Without us, they won’t make it far, you know that.”
“So I’ll stay, there’s no way White would pass up the opportunity-”
“I’m not gonna leave you here!”
“They’re coming,” Sam muttered, seeing the shadows in the distance dance off of the green sewer walls.
“Just go.”
“Dean, shut up.”
“Sam, it’s okay; he hasn’t killed me so far.”
“But there’s nothing stopping him doing that now; you’re getting out of here,” Alec stressed and then looked back to Max.
“He wants you, and he’s been trying to use me and Dean to get to you, so I’ll stall.”
“What? Alec-”
“So it’s okay for you to put yourself in danger but not me? Come on, Maxie, I can handle White.”
“You’ve done so well until now,” she muttered, out of slight fear more than actual anger. “I’ll take them out, then I’m coming straight back here to help, okay?” she conceded, and Alec grinned.
*-*-*
“494,” White muttered as he saw the figure facing the walls. His lack of hunched shoulders proved to him that it wasn’t the Winchester man, and the sheer fury behind the transgenic’s eyes when he turned around proved to him thus.
“Don’t tell me your friends have left you all alone?” White taunted, and Alec sneered. With Ames distracted, Max led Sam and Dean past him towards the exit ahead. Satisfied that they were relatively safe, Alec turned back to White.
“As long as they’re far away from you.”
“But as long as you’re here, I’ve got 452 in the palm of my hand.”
“Butter fingers.”
“No, I won’t let you escape again; you won’t slip through my fingers this time.”
“What do you want with Max anyway? Got a secret crush you’re not sharing with the class, Ames?”
“I set my standards a little higher.”
“Funny, I’ve got a feeling Max would say the same thing about you. It’s that slime-ball act you’ve got going on, not very appealing.”
“Distracting me will only prolong your stay, 494.”
“Did I hit a nerve?”
“Not even close.”
“You know I can beat you any day of the week, right?”
“Is that what you want? A fight?”
“Scared? Intimidated? Did you pee your pants a little?” Alec taunted.
“If you’re so eager to fight me, why don’t you?”
“Because I have common sense, and if I fight you now, it could risk exposure, and we don’t want that any more than you do.”
Alec continued to taunt White, circling him carefully and studying every movement. White was waiting for backup; he just didn’t know that Alec was too.
Just as the transgenic was beginning to wonder how much White’s eyes could narrow at his own meagre attempts to stall, Max appeared, leaping in front of him. And at the same time, White’s guards rushed in. She knocked White down and started on the guards closest to her, while Alec flanked her movements, switching from right to left depending on where Max wasn’t. He dealt a kick to the first guard who came near, using the body to spin himself and punch a second guard square in the jaw upon landing, falling back on another, while Max handled her own.
Finally with a mild lull in the fight, they shared a glance and made a break for it, just as White was picking himself up and growling for his colleagues to “Get them!”
*-*-*
“How much further?” Sam asked, worried about the extent of Dean’s injuries and how Sam’s running couldn’t be helping much. Alec looked back at him and then strode forward.
“I’m faster, I can carry him; you two go in front, make sure no one’s coming.”
“What?” Sam asked, surprised, having already assumed that he would be carrying his brother, but Max jumped in.
“It makes sense. Alec can protect him if White catches up, and I can keep an eye on you. Come on,” he ordered, running forward to ensure the guards were still out cold.
*-*-*
“You know, I don’t think our plan would have worked,” Dean muttered, seemingly more lucid, as Alec helped support him through the tunnels, while Max and Sam took the lead.
“No?” Alec teased, walking as quickly as possible.
“We have no idea how many guards there are, no way of getting away, I mean, what the hell were we thinking?”
“Oh my god, I don’t want to die?”
“Dude, you sound like a girl,” he pressed, trying to clear the tickling in his throat.
“Good job your brother turned up with Max then, huh.”
Dean nodded.
“’s not fair, I’m supposed to be the one who saves his ass,” Dean complained and tried to clear his throat once more, but one cough turned into an entire fit until Alec was forced to stop and let Dean hunch over, the fever taking its toll.
Unfortunately the pause was all that was needed.
Suddenly Alec’s charge was grabbed from behind, and he cursed himself for letting him fall back when he saw Dean crash into the wall behind them. He turned to see White standing there, breathing heavy and glaring as usual.
“Trying to escape?” he sneered, as they stepped around each other in a circle, both waiting for the other to make his first move.
“You could say that,” Alec glared, worried at the silence that proved Dean had obviously stopped coughing.
“Where is she?” White asked, cutting to the chase, and Alec laughed.
“You really think after all of this I’m gonna tell you?”
“You wouldn’t want Mr Winchester to suffer any more now would you?” White threatened, but before he could continue, his head snapped to the side, and in surprise he fell to the ground.
“Yeah? Well Mr. Winchester’s tired of being your leverage,” Dean hissed, voice cracking in his burning throat, and Alec grinned appreciatively at the sight. There stood Dean, fists in defensive position having just kicked his captor hard in the forehead, the burst of adrenaline still pumping through his veins.
White began to get up but Dean was there, ready. He kicked out again, landing a harsh blow to White’s chest before Ames managed to grab Dean’s ankle, pulling the man down. Just as Dean was out for the moment, Alec appeared to pick up the slack; fists flew as he and White went at it, and Dean gathered himself up off of the floor and joined in the fray.
Years of training, and now days of anger boiling was coming back to him. He knew the cost of this burst of energy might make it near impossible to walk out of there unaided, but he didn’t care. This man had kept him tied to a chair, had tortured him physically, and attempted to mentally. All because of a case of mistaken identity and a clear sociopath tendency.
He could kill him right now, and he wouldn’t have any qualms about it. Not for some time at least.
Every now and again a punch would catch him off guard-Alec too-and with the fight dwindling down, it wasn’t safe for either of them. Dean’s hearing was zoning in and out as his strength began to leave him, and he caught sight of his brother rushing in with Max by his side, just as White’s leg swung down, caught him in the knees, and tripped him to the ground.
Alec growled, and Max ran forward, helping her friend to beat the crap out of the agent, as long as the agent in question continued to take the offensive.
Sam pulled his brother to his feet, but nearly unconscious as he was, Dean couldn’t keep upright, and it was up to the younger Winchester to drag the elder out of their, casting a worried glance behind him as he pulled his brother along.
“No, Sam, stop,” he muttered, his breathing ragged, as he tried to turn in Sam’s grasp and get back to White.
“Dean they can take care of it, Dean, dammit, stop!” Sam cried as his brother continued to struggle. Sam was terrified he might hurt Dean, but he couldn’t let him go back; it was suicidal.
“He has-Sam let me go-I have to get it back.”
“Get what back? Dean, Dean!”
He broke free suddenly, momentum taking him further as he landed mere feet away from White, currently on the ground.
Dean saw a glint of gold from the man’s breast pocket and lunged at him, pinning him best he could as he reached for the necklace. White launched himself at Dean, about to grab his neck when Alec’s foot was on their captor’s neck, and Dean was holding the pendant so tightly that the grooves were leaving impression on the palm of his hand.
“Jesus, Dean,” Sam muttered, pulling him away once more as the fray only continued to worsen. “What the hell were you thinking?”
But Dean stayed silent in his brother’s arms.
Max had already disposed of the two guards that had strayed near by their escape route through the man-hole, and her hearing couldn’t pick up anyone else. Clearly White had been too busy following Alec and Dean to think about meeting them at the destination they were headed for.
Reaching the base of the ladder, Sam glanced at his brother.
There was no way Sam could safely get the both of them up there, and if he tossed Dean over his shoulder, it ran the risk of him falling, or both of them falling.
Sam could brace his own fall, but could Dean?
He sighed and jostled his brother in his hold.
“Dean? Dean, you have to wake up,” he muttered, still looking around to ensure the coast was clear. Relief washed over him when he saw his brother’s clouded gaze looking back from the ladder in question and Sam’s looming features. Making the connection, Dean started to squirm out of his younger brother’s arms, grabbing hold of the steel rods and pulling himself up best he could.
Sam was on hand to push and ready to catch Dean should he fall.
The injured man’s hands shook, and his feet fumbled for a hold, but Sam was already climbing up right behind him and urging him forward-only two more steps to go until they’d be above ground. He reached up over his brother and shoved the man-hole cover across, letting Dean climb through and hoist himself up as far as he could.
Dean collapsed back on the gravel and paid no heed to the tiny rocks digging into his skin, preferring instead to focus on stopping the big black dots in front of him from spreading across his whole vision.
He heard his brother mutter, “Come on Dean,” and felt the hands grab him once more, but instead of helping him stand up, Sam lifted him up, placing him in fireman’s carry, and ran as fast as possible to the hidden Impala.
*-*-*
“You gonna kill me?” White asked, his hand brushing away the blood from his lips, staring up at the two transgenics, glowering at him.
“You deserve that much,” Alec spat, but Max’s hand twitched in his direction. Enough to signal that no, there would be no killing today.
“This isn’t mercy, it’s forward-thinking,” she said coldly and walked off. Alec followed solemnly, about to speak when he saw a flurry of movement in the corner of his eye.
White was on his feet, rushing forward.
But Max had seen it too.
At the last minute she struck back, her left knee bent down, as she punched his abdomen, winding him, and forcing him to the floor.
“Idiot,” she muttered, ignoring the throb in her knuckles from the hard hit. At the voices of guards in the distance, she and Alec shared a knowing look before the both of them took off out of the sewer and to safety.
“This isn’t over!” White wheezed, clutching at his stomach. “You hear me? This isn’t over!”
TBC
Go to Chapter 10 (final)