Chapter: Ten

~~~~~~~~~~

Kate followed her nose, pausing every so often to judge the strength of the scent. She found herself growing excited by this hunt, much like the excitement she’d felt years earlier when she’d found Daniel Elkins. Several floors up, Kate stopped at the start of a long hallway.

Two men and two women were standing outside the room she thought her nose was leading her to. They carried bags and beer, a sure sign of a party about to start.

She listened and watched. While she wanted that hunter badly, she knew better than to attack potentially five hunters alone. At least one would be prepared and the two men in the hall were dressed like hunters she’d seen.

The door opened and she recognized the voice that spoke. Definitely the right room. “Dave! Man, you’re early!”

“Events went faster than I’d thought they would. Brought Rose and Hayley if that’s okay.”

“It’s fine.” He did some sort of ritual with shot glasses with each one and then the group was going into the room.

From the way the one young woman was looking at the tallest, biggest of the two men in the hall, Kate thought there’d be a little recreational activity going on between the two sometime soon. Possibly between the second couple, too. She growled with disappointment, made a mental note of the room number, and went off in search of other entertainment for awhile.

~~~~~~~~~~

With a late lunch eaten, Becky felt fatigue slide over her. She’d gone too long today without a moment to herself, so she decided to steal a few minutes alone, heading back to her room to rest. She closed and locked the door, leaning against it a moment before moving to the table and setting her clipboard down on it.

Her stomach was all upset. Maybe from the task she still had to complete? Apologizing to Sam and Gwen kept a tight knot in her stomach. She simply wasn’t certain how to go about it. Every time she came up with an idea, she dismissed it as stupid.

Going into the bathroom, she washed her face, carefully patted it dry, then stared at her reflection. She thought she looked as tired as she felt, with shadows under her eyes and a dullness to her gaze. Would anyone miss her for awhile? Her staff was finally under control and as the afternoon had gone on, each event and discussion had run smoother than the one before it. She was actually looking forward to feedback when the weekend was over.

She smothered a yawn and decided to take a half hour nap, then re-do her makeup and be downstairs in time for the ‘drinks with Dave’ event. She had yet to sit down with him and get to know him like she’d had vague plans of before the Winchesters had shown up.

“Hey there, sunshine.”

She whirled. The woman from earlier was leaning against the doorway into the bathroom, trapping Becky in the space. Her eyes did that weird gleam again and Becky swallowed hard. How had she gotten in there? She hadn’t been there a minute ago and Becky remembered putting the extra lock on. “What do you want?” She glanced at the wall separating the bathroom from the bedroom. “I don’t have much cash --”

“I don’t want cash, Becky. I want you.”

Becky had no weapon, nothing she could use to defend herself. There wasn’t even a hard plastic tissue box cover she could throw. “You don’t want me.”

The woman smiled. “That’s where you’re wrong. I do. We can do this the hard way or the easy way, but either one will have the same result.”

“What result is that?” Her throat was dry and the words barely came out a whisper.

Her mouth opened and Becky yelped as fangs filled the woman’s mouth. She backed up against the wall, terror spreading through her body.

This wasn’t the Supernatural reality that she’d ever envisioned for herself.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dean didn’t begrudge Sam a hunt. If he wanted to get away from the hotel, that was fine. It’d keep him from being pissy. Dean, however, had plans and not just the plan for Jo. He had Dave and his bodyguard coming up while Jo and Gwen were occupied. It had been a long time since he’d done anything like this with anyone besides Sam, Gwen, Jo, Ellen, Bobby, and occasionally Jodie Mills.

Frankly, he liked Dave and it might be nice to make a friend of sorts, give the guy some guidance in wooing that woman he’d been eyeing.

Gwen had stopped by long enough to drop off a shopping bag, use the bathroom, and inquire if he was feeling okay. For someone Sammy had blabbed the plan to, she didn’t look like she cared what he did as long as no one got hurt in the process, muttering something about beds and lying in them as she’d gone out the door.

After that, he’d had time to relax before he had to check the suite and make sure the bedroom doors were closed and anything related to hunting was locked down. However, since this was a Supernatural convention, he didn’t think Dave or his bodyguard would bat an eye if he made a masking tape devil’s trap in front of the door into the suite. Jo always kept masking tape in her bag. He’d never gotten around to asking why, but assumed she had a good reason. She usually did.

Dean found the tape and spent awhile working on that and getting the details right. Tape wasn’t an ideal medium, but he thought it didn’t look too bad once he was done. He turned on the tv, half expecting Jo to come back just because she was supposed to be in discussions and things the rest of the day.

There was a knock on the door and he checked the peephole. Dave and his bodyguard Goliath stood there. He tried to remember Goliath’s real name and couldn’t. Chas? Charlie? Chris? Something with that sound to it. He’d have to find out. They were early, but he didn’t mind. Dean opened the door, did a check with holy water under the guise of a ‘Supernatural’ theme and the party got started.

They’d gone through most of the snacks and a chunk of the beer when Goliath -- Chris was his name, Dean had found out, and he was a former Marine -- glanced down at his watch.

“Crud. Dave, we’re late. Super late.”

“Late for what?”

“The drinks thing. It started forty minutes ago. We need to haul ass.”

“Yeah, it’s like dinnertime,” Hayley supplied, though they’d been steadily munching on the snacks they’d brought with them. It had been obvious in seconds that she had major hots for Chris. She’d barely looked at anything or one but him.

Dave frowned, removed his arm from around Rose, and picked up the con schedule on the table. “I thought that was tomorrow.”

“No, that’s tonight.” Dean remembered it was tonight because it was one of the things Chuck had gotten tickets for them for. He glanced at his own watch. Time had gone by fast. Dave really was a cool guy and he thought he’d given him an edge up with Rose since Marissa wasn’t there to interrupt. “My wife’s probably already there.” Maybe. Unless she’d found something else she’d rather do or go to.

“I couldn’t get tickets,” Rose said, tucking her hair behind her ears. “Wanted to, but they were sold out.”

Interesting. How had Chuck gotten them tickets then?

Dave smiled at her. “Like you need a ticket to see me. All you gotta do is call, sweetheart.”

Not a bad line. It worked, too. Rose looked like she was going to melt in a puddle right there, her eyes all shining with happiness that reminded Dean of how Jo looked at him sometimes when she thought he wasn’t watching.

She stood. “So, Hayley and I’ll meet you at the mixer?”

He sighed. “I guess better late than never, right?”

“Go on,” Dean told him with a gesture at the door. “I’ll clean up.”

“You sure? ‘Cause we can stay and help.”

“No, I got it.” It’d occupy him until Sam got back, which should be sometime soon, unless he’d found something really interesting. If that was the case, he should be calling real soon. He closed the door behind them and began to make a game plan for cleanup.

~~~~~~~~~~

She entered the room as quietly as she had with Daniel Elkins, reveling in that ability. The scent of the hunter was ripe and full and she’d seen his friends leave. There was no one else in the suite. He was alone, his back to her.

Delicious revenge.

Kate studied him. As she watched, he picked up several beer bottles. She cleared her throat to get his attention, hitting him as he turned. He stumbled back against one chair, the chair tipping over and him falling to the floor with it. The bottles went flying, one hitting the wall and smashing. “Well, well. Look who I found.” Kate stepped over to him, smiling a little at how quickly he scrambled for the knife in his boot and brandished it at her.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Now, don’t tell me you don’t remember me?” She licked her lips. There was a trickle of blood at his mouth from where she’d hit him. It smelled scrumptious and she wanted to drink him down completely. “You’ll hurt my feelings.”

He slowly got to his feet and took a step back. “Prepare to have your feelings hurt, sweetheart, because I don’t know who you are or what you thought you were doing walking in here.”

She followed him. A little further and he was going to be up against the wall. “You’re looking a little rougher than you did a few years back. Hard life?”

He continued to back up. “You know how it is.”

There was no recognition in his eyes yet and Kate didn’t know if she should be insulted by that or not. Wasn’t she memorable? Had Luther not been memorable? Or had this man killed too many of her kind now to distinguish one from the other in memories? “I do. You hunters come and destroy everything, like you destroyed my mate, my pack. You never stop coming after us. Luther told me how it is and I didn’t believe him because he kept us safe, but then it all fell apart and over a gun that shouldn’t have killed him and did.”

Bingo. There was the recognition. His eyes narrowed. “You’re that vamp we were going to trade for the Colt.”

“The name is Kate. And you’re the hunter who would have killed me.”

“Still will kill you.”

“With what? That piddling little knife?”

“If I gotta.”

She smiled, sliding her gaze down him and back up. “I like an optimist.”

He shrugged. “Just the truth.”

“Maybe I’ll kill you or maybe….” He, too, was wearing a wedding band and she wondered if his wife was the brunette or the blonde, considering the scents. His had been more so on the blonde named Jo, so Kate extrapolated that Jo was his wife. How satisfying would it be to turn him and make sure his wife was there when the bloodlust came upon him? How satisfying would it be to make this hunter hers? “Maybe I’ll turn you. You can’t replace Luther, but you’ll be a decent substitute once you accept it.”

“Been there, done that, sister. Killed the vamp who attacked me. But if you think you’re tougher than he was…. Give me your best shot.”

Kate attacked.

~~~~~~~~~~

He was doing a long glance around the suite to determine where to begin cleaning up, when someone cleared their throat behind him. Turning, he found himself stumbling backwards and tangling with a chair as he fell hard to the carpeted floor. The woman there looked slightly familiar, though he had trouble placing her until she gave him the clue he needed.

Not good. Did Sam know there were vampires here? Did Gwen and Jo?

His knife wasn’t going to cut off her head and there wasn’t anything present he could use, not like Sam’s impressive use of wire on Gordon. Her plan for him pissed him off. Turn him? Not if he had any say in it.

She didn’t play any nicer than other creatures he’d tangled with, fighting fast and dirty. He returned the favor, slashing at her with the knife until she knocked it from his hand with a blow to his wrist that left his hand and arm feeling numb. Kate punched him and he was uncomfortably aware that the same adage for rape applied here: don’t let your attacker get you on the ground. Of course, with vampires, it didn’t matter where they pinned a person. Floor, wall…. They had a pretty good bet of winning most fights.

He was grabbed, Kate using her own momentum to push him off-balance and onto his back on the floor. Dean struggled to draw in a breath through lungs that felt on fire from the impact. She straddled him, bit her wrist, and lowered it, a triumphant gleam in her eyes. Dean turned his head, struggling to keep her from smearing her blood on his mouth. Having had the experience once, he didn’t care to repeat it even with the cure available.

The door to the suite banged opened. “Whoa! Hey, sorry, Dean. Didn’t realize you had company again.”

“Dave,” he gasped as Kate slowly withdrew, not bothering to hide the fact that her wrist was smeared with blood. He didn’t question how Dave had opened the door because he was a welcome sight and had arrived just in time, although Dean was surprised Kate didn’t keep going anyway. She’d seemed determined to turn him and he didn’t think she’d be afraid to make a scene. “Thought you had that…thing. Where’s Chris?” Dean scrambled to his feet and wiped his cheek with his sleeve. His sleeve came away bloody.

Chris appeared in the doorway. “We couldn’t leave you to clean up alone. Bad guest manners and all.”

Dave gestured at Kate. “Who’s your friend?” His gaze fell to her wrist and traveled back up, a frown creasing his brow. His tone indicated he was in doubt over the friend part and was wondering how she’d gotten in so fast when they’d been gone only a couple minutes.

“She’s not a friend.”

Kate stood in a smooth movement. “Oh, now don’t be silly…Dean. I told you once before that I like to make new friends.” Her expression shifted to a pleased smile that was ghastly to see. “I think we’ll be good friends really soon. Lifelong friends.”

“Doubtful.”

“Maybe I’ll go get to know your wife, then. Her name’s Jo, right? Pretty little blond?” With a coy wave of her fingers, she brushed past Dave and Chris and was gone.

Dean bit back a round of curses. He’d actually forgotten she and her pack were out there in the world somewhere. Maybe they should start making lists of every monster they’d ever crossed who was still alive. Could be useful to know who and what was going to be coming after them on any given day.

“What was that about,” Chris asked.

“Old business. I need to make a call.” Stepping into one bedroom, he dialed Sam. It went to voicemail. “Sam, get back here. Got a little vamp problem. Get some dead man’s blood, and pick up the machetes, saffron, skunk's cabbage, and trillium from the trunk. I think we’ve got all of that in there still. We need the recipe for the vampire cure too, just in case. And the herbs. Might want to hurry.” He tried Jo next, but she didn’t pick up either. Had Kate already gotten to Jo and Gwen?

Heart pounding in his chest, Dean texted Jo to call him, then texted Gwen and continued to call Sam. Jo sent him a text that she was in a discussion that was running over and to stop sending her texts. Relief calmed him somewhat and he stepped back into the main room.

Dave was putting his phone away. “Just tried calling Becky again to let her know I missed the drinks thing and she’s not answering.”

Chris checked the locks on the door. “I told you, she’s probably busy. She was everywhere today.”

“Weird is all.” He started picking up empty beer bottles and dumping them in one small trash can. “She tells me to call if I need anything and then never answers.”

“Becky can be flaky,” Dean told him, dialing Sam again and ending the call as it went to voicemail.

“Really?” Chris glanced his way. “She’s been perfectly professional since we’ve been in touch. At the last promotional thing we went to, professionalism seemed to be a suggestion.”

Becky professional? She must have matured one helluva lot since they’d last seen her, though her behavior with Sam and Gwen didn’t bear that out. He tried Sam again, then texted Gwen.

With a last toss of a bottle, Dave set the trash can down. “Enough small talk. What the hell was with that woman, Dean? We were gone like three minutes at most and come back to find the place wrecked and you looking like you went ten rounds with a cyborg.”

“That’s an exaggeration. I don’t look that bad.” Was it a bad thing that he knew by how he felt how badly he’d been beaten -- or not beaten? This was a measly beat-down compared to some he’d had, barely worth noting. “Don’t even need stitches or anything.”

“How do you know?”

“I’d feel it.”

“You’re a pretty in-shape guy,” Chris observed. “How’d that woman get the drop on you and do this much damage in minutes?”

“Not to mention, why was she trying to smear blood on you?”

All good questions and all ones he didn’t want to answer. “Look, I --” His phone chose that moment to ring with Sam finally calling him back. “I have to take this.”

They crossed their arms. “We’ll wait,” Dave said.

~~~~~~~~~~

It had taken three side trips and some bad flirting Gwen would’ve laughed at to learn that the cursed object Sam was trying to find had been stolen. He put a note on that in the file Gwen had given him and when he was done, he called Gwen.

“Hey, sexy,” she answered in a tone that had him thinking that perhaps there was hope for some together time in the room after all. She sounded like she was in a good mood. “What’s up?”

“Dead-end on the cursed object. Stolen a couple weeks ago. Clean break-in, no signs of force, and no clues.”

“Too bad. It looked promising.”

“It did. As for the other matter,” he moved the phone to his other ear, “it turns out there’ve been killings recently that look like --”

“Vampire kills.” Gwen’s voice was matter-of-fact and he frowned at his phone.

“Yeah. Someone got to the nest first, or to the food scouts.”

“The beheaded vics were vamps.”

Another call came in and he glanced at it before sending it to voicemail. It was just Dean. Probably calling to demand he come back and help with the stupid plan again. “How do you know that?”

“Oh, I saw Sophie and Teddy. They cleared out a small nest.”

He stirred his coffee. “You couldn’t tell me that earlier?”

“There was always a chance that the beheadings weren’t related and I didn’t want to interrupt you while you were hot on the trail.”

“They were related. One of the heads was found this morning.” His phone buzzed with a call. Dean. Sam rolled his eyes, sending it again to voicemail. “How are the discussions going?”

“Jo got in a couple fights.”

“Physical?”

“Verbal. First, one girl went on about some woman named Cassie and how she was who Dean should end up with at the end of the series.”

“Interesting. I guess the girl didn’t notice that Cassie dumped Dean twice? Once before the books and once during the book she was in?”

“She said it didn’t matter, that love was love. Then another girl started talking about how Bela was better for Dean than Jo and Cassie both, but especially more than Jo and it got personal.”

“Bela?” He laughed, imagining Dean and Bela together. Each vague idea ended with Dean shooting her. “Dean would’ve killed her. Or I would’ve. She was a treacherous bitch. A couple times she helped us, but usually followed it up immediately with a knife in our backs.”

“She sounds delightful.”

“I’d rather not discuss her. Anything else going on?”

“Dean’s steadily racking up demerits with Jo.”

Sam believed he’d predicted that from the moment Dean had revealed his plan. “What now?”

She explained and he could kick himself for not remembering Risa was really Abigael’s vessel. “Huh. I’d forgotten Risa was a vessel.”

“Apparently Dean was hoping Jo’d forgotten, too. She also realized he’d told Marissa she was enjoying spending time with her. Oh, and…Jo got roped into portraying herself tonight at the mixer. The vendor playing Ellen talked it up and Jo figured that since she was being herself anyway and already planned to be there, she might as well help the woman out. You know. Be herself since no one else can be her the way she can be herself?”

He glanced around the restaurant and poured himself more coffee from the pot his server had left on the table. “Trying to take your approach is she?”

“Trying. I think she just couldn’t bear the idea of someone failing to portray her accurately in her presence. I can see her stopping the person and telling her she has it all wrong, critiquing the performance, and making some poor girl cry.”

“Could be.” His phone buzzed a third time. Dean once more. “Gwen, listen, Dean’s calling me over and over.”

“Determined, isn’t he? I just got two texts in a row from him, but they don’t make much sense. Something about ‘her here, bring machete’ Maybe he’s had a few drinks?”

“I don’t think so, but maybe. Listen, I’d better see what he wants now.” ‘Her here, bring machete?’ What was he up to now? Could be anything knowing Dean. He disconnected and called Dean back. “Dean, hey --”

“She’s here, Sam.”

“Who’s here?” The words weren’t slurred or anything and he didn’t sound drunk.

“Her. That vamp whose mate we killed.”

“Narrow it down for me. We’ve killed a lot of vampires.”

“Narrow…. With dad, Sam. The Colt. Dad shot him to keep him from killing you.”

Oh, that vamp. Yeah, he remembered that incident. “She’s here? Are you sure?”

“I just said that. If Dave hadn’t shown up, I’d be dead or turned right now…the bitch.”

“Huh. They do remember scents and we did major damage to that pack as I recall.” He began putting papers away and motioned for the check. “It must have been her pack Teddy and Sophie put down then.”

“Teddy and Sophie?”

“They’re hunting here. Together. As a couple.”

“Well isn’t that just peachy? Get the blood, the machetes, the herbs…. Listen to the message I left, then get back here. I’ve got to somehow get rid of Dave and Chris, who are asking way too many questions, and get Jo and Gwen up here before Kate finds them.”

“Tell them she’s a psycho ex-girlfriend who thinks she’s a real vampire. As weird as some of our fans are, they’ll probably believe it.”

“I’ll think of something. Get here. ASAP.”

“On my way.” Sam listened to his voicemail, making notes of what they needed. He paid for his meal, then got the notebook he’d been compiling of various cures and rituals from the trunk. He perused the list of herbs needed for the cure. They had most of them, but he needed to stop and buy a couple before heading back. Sam hoped they wouldn’t have to make it for anyone. Seeing Dean once projectile vomit blood from the cure had been bad enough.

~~~~~~~~~~

The world was different when Becky woke. It was filled with sounds, sights, and smells that were amplified and hurting. Becky’s stomach clenched in painful spasms. One thought slipped through her mind: find Sam. She had to find Sam.

He’d know what to do.