Gunpowder and Lead

LXXI

[Gods and Monsters]

ABANDONED CHURCH

People were hanging from chains. One man was bound to a chair, bleeding slowly into a goblet. Footsteps approached and Michael cut a small slice in the man's throat, which bled grace into the goblet full of blood. Michael took the goblet and nodded approvingly. "A little of this... a little of that" he added more grace from a vial, "...and..." He swirled the goblet, then forced the man in the chair to drink. "Yes. Good boy."

Michael watched as the man choked and gasped, then flamed out. "Hmm. Too much "that". How disappointing." Michael dragged the man's body from the chair and dropped it on the floor. There was a pile of bodies. He nodded, then looked to the line of people in chains, spun his knife, and cheerily said, "All right. Who's next?"

BUNKER

Mary and Bobby were going over weapons.

"Who goes to Duluth in October. Sure Michael didn't touch down in Orlando?" Bobby asked.

"Jo was pretty specific. Duluth," Mary replied.

"Yeah, well, angels ain't exactly known for their veracity."

Mary cleared her throat and looked behind Bobby, as Castiel entered. "No offense."

"None taken. I tend to agree with you," Castiel answered.

Mary handed a gun to Sam and Kennedy, who were at their computers, Nadia on her mother's lap.

"Here you go," Mary said.

"Thanks," Sam and Kennedy replied.

"Hey, what's that?"

Sam said, "So we've been searching through police reports in Duluth. Cops just turned up a pile of corpses that was dumped near some train tracks just north of town and their eyes were burnt out."

"So Michael. We should go now," Castiel said.

"No. This isn't just Michael we're talking about," Sam reminded him.

"It's Dean," Bobby replied.

"It's Daddy," Nadia added.

"Dada," Robert said.

Kennedy smiled, realizing her son had said his first word.

"Yeah. Cas, you know why you can't come with us, right?" Sam told the angel.

"My angelic presence would be sensed by Michael, thereby nullifying your hopes of a sneak attack," Castiel said.

"Yeah, sorry."

"And, you need us to stay here and babysit Nick, Nadia, Robert and Jack."

"It's not babysitting, Cas," Kennedy said. "Well, for Robert and Nadia it is."

"Only in the sense that they're not infants, but they both have to be supervised. Jack is lost without his grace, Nick is... he's just a mess."

"Well, it-it's not his fault. Cas, Nick was housing, you know. He-he deserves a shot at rebuilding his life." Sam reasoned.

Castiel pursed his lips. "And yet every time I look at him, all I can see is the supreme agent of evil."

Jack entered. "You talking about my dad again? Look, I understand. Being around Nick - it's hard for me, too."

"Uh, Jack, we're going to need you to sit this mission out. Not a permanent thing," Mary told him.

"I know last time, I sucked when it mattered, and I need to improve. So... that's what I'm gonna do. Nadia, Robert and I will do something fun."