It's been a few days since I've been staying at what I've found to be called the bunker. Sam is still harsh toward me, but getting better. I rarely see Dean, but he's just as normal as he has been. Castiel still hasn't returned.
I have to admit, even though I don't sleep, the beds in the bunker are incredibly comfortable. Most of the time I just sit in my temporarily assigned room and relax into the memory foam. Dean's tried to offer me food and drink a few times, but I don't need it and would rather stay in my room.
As I lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling, a knock sounds at my door.
"It's open," I say.
Dean opens the door and leans against the doorway. "Hey, Mallory, Cas is back. I think it's probably time for you to come out of your room and negotiate some terms."
A pit of nerves forms in my stomach. I still can't tell if I can trust these three or not. Dean feels pretty comfortable to be, ever since he said he trusts me, I'm confident that I can trust him to some extent. Castiel wasn't bad until he intimidated me to get what he wants. Sam...I don't want to be within ten feet of him, and fortunately, I have yet to bump into him around the bunker.
"O-okay," I nod, then get up and follow Dean down the hall and up the steps, into the foyer. I spoke too soon about not bumping into Sam.
"I thought we agreed you were leaving that in the dungeon," Sam grumbles, frowning at me.
"Hey, take it easy!" Dean barks. "She's going to help us. Stop being an ass." He turns to me, as I'm practically hiding behind his substantial frame. "Don't worry about Sam. He's soulless right now which makes him a douche. He'll be better soon enough."
Sam doesn't say anything else. Castiel regards me civilly.
"Mallory, I'm glad to see you're getting acquainted. I'd like to apologize for my statements the other day. I was frustrated and out of place. However it did get me what I wanted, so I'm not that sorry -"
"Cas," Dean sighs.
"It's okay, Castiel. Thanks," I nod.
I sink into a chair and stare at the table. Dean passes me a glass of whiskey, just like a few nights ago.
"You'll want that for this conversation."
I take the liberty of choking down the whole glass to build my confidence.
"Dean tells me you have conditions for helping us," Castiel pipes up. "I'd like to hear them."
"Basically, I want my soul restored and I want protection for a little while when this is all over and I'm living in the mortal world on my own," I explain. "Reapers are going to be after me. If I'm human, I won't be able to defend myself against them. I want training in weapons and I want help when I ask for it."
Castiel nods. "I think that's reasonable. You know that you can still keep both sides of your existence intact after your soul is replaced, right? You don't have to be full human."
"I don't do any good as a reaper. I don't have any morals. I don't feel much. I want to experience humanity for what it is."
"Give it some more thought. I'll be training you in what your father already should have, and I think you'll change your mind after you get to do some...good, as you call it."
"So we're going to house a reaper and an angel?" Sam scoffs. "Real dream team here, guys."
Suddenly, my liquid confidence manifests itself.
"What's your deal?" I question. "It's your soul that I'm putting my ass on the line for. You should be grateful that you have us."
"We wouldn't have to put our asses on the line if Castiel had done it right the first time," Sam complains.
"You're a baby," I comment. "And an ungrateful one at that. I hope you're not this bad once you have your soul back."
"He's not," Dean and Castiel both confirm.
"Most of the time, anyway," Dean adds.
Sam leaves the room. Dean sends me a smirk and an eye roll, and I find myself truly grinning for the first time since I was brought here.
"Dean, have you and Mallory discussed her terms?" Castiel asks.
"Yeah, it's fine with me," Dean permits. "We need the help." He turns my way a bit and adds, "But don't forget that you're still technically a hostage, and an enemy. Don't get too comfortable."
Something about Dean's statement stings like the whiskey he gave me. I do my best to let it roll off instead of letting it get to me. There's no reason for it to bother me in the first place — he's right, anyway.
I clear my throat and change topics. "Is Tessa helping us?"
Dean's head snaps up at the mention of Tessa. "How did you know about that?"
My eyes automatically flit to Castiel, who has been rendered quiet. Dean turns his way and raises his arms in question.
"What the hell man? Tessa was our insurance! You weren't supposed to tell her that!"
"She wanted to know," Castiel defends himself. "I told her because I knew it would help her trust us, and work with us. It doesn't matter. She doesn't care. Right?" He looks at me, waiting for an answer.
"Yeah," I almost whisper. "It doesn't bother me. The way I see it, the more help we can get, the better this will go."
Dean nods, pensive of the conversation. "In that case, I don't know. I haven't heard anything from her. I'm assuming she got into some type of trouble after our last little adventure. What happens when one of you is caught screwing around anyway?"
"Uh," I stutter, not wanting to think about the possible consequences I could face. "It really just depends on what we've done. It can range from suspension to death. As far as helping the Winchesters, if Tessa was apprehended, she was likely executed."
Dean's face visibly falls. He heaves a sigh and runs his hands down his face. Without another word, he exits the foyer, leaving Castiel and I alone.
"Castiel, is he okay?" I ask.
"It's complicated," he assures me. Something tells me that Tessa and Dean have a...thing...between them.
I nod in acceptance to his excuse. "So what's our game plan?"
"I'm not sure," Castiel sighs, then sinks into a chair across from me. "I'm thinking something along the lines of you either going back to the veil, then helping us sneak in and get into the sanctuary, or we go in 'guns blazing' as Dean would call it. I wouldn't prefer it that way. I want as little bloodshed as possible."
"That's reasonable I suppose," I agree.
"What do you have in mind, Mallory?" Castiel wonders.
"I can tell you that guns blazing isn't a good idea. The second someone realizes what's going on and sounds an alarm, we'll all die," I stress. "How did you all do it with Tessa?"
"She um...took us all 'prisoner'," Castiel admits, his voice lacking dignity. "We were actually in the jail for a few days until we escaped and tried to execute our plan. It didn't go as planned, though, and we can't use the same plan twice. We'll be found out and killed on the spot."
"You're right," I agree. "I think the idea of me going back is okay, but not sneaking you guys in."
"Elaborate."
"It will take time, but I can go back and get things to return to normal. Once I regain access to the sanctuary, I'll move fast and grab both mine and Sam's souls, then leave as quick as I can."
"There's no way you'll get out with two souls, not without some type of teleportation or automatic travel. The other reapers won't let you through. They're too suspicious."
"Then what else?" I ask. "Sneaking all three of you in will be the hardest thing we'll do. There's an entry point to the veil that's close to the sanctuary, but you'll have to be quiet and fast to get there without being noticed."
"We can do that," Dean says, walking back in.
"Have you just been listening this whole time?" I ask.
"No, I was doing something," he replies defensively.
I turn my attention back to Castiel. "Right now, it sounds like our best bet is for me to go back to the veil, get things back in order and then be in touch with you guys throughout the process so you know when and where to sneak in. Is there any way to keep a line open with one of you? There's not really any phone reception in a place that's practically another dimension."
"You can pray to me," Castiel offers. I scrunch up my face. It doesn't sound appealing. "I know, it sounds weird, but just like you'd say a normal prayer, direct it to me and I will hear it. Easy enough. I'll make sure I listen specifically for you." He taps his head. "It gets noisy up here at times."
"What about you guys communicating with me?" I ask. "I have to know where you are and what's going on."
"There's no way for that to occur outside of spellwork, and you can't be constantly casting spells. It will be too much. The best option is for you to give me clear, definite instructions and I will follow them down to the last word. No questions asked."
"That's a lot of faith to put in me," I observe. "I can sneak out of the veil every so often to give updates. It'll help our communication."
"You won't get caught?" Dean asks.
"No," I shake my head. "I always sneak down here, I just don't show myself. None of the reapers or my father have noticed. You just have to be available to meet me whenever I call."
"I can do that," Castiel nods.
"So that's our game plan?" I ask.
"That's our game plan," Castiel confirms.