Chapter 1:

Most people wouldn’t call Sam Winchester lucky, but on this day he was escorting Joseph Choate, the prominent senior partner of the firm whose client was purchasing an incomplete, custom-designed office building in downtown Los Angeles. Joseph wanted Sam to look over the contract part of the real estate transaction. Sam still felt some trepidation over being noticed by the senior partner. Lowly associates were not asked to tag along, let alone be consulted on the contract construction.

Sam walked behind the Joseph, keeping one eye on him to make sure the older man would be safe. The attorneys needed to have notice of any issues in the building. The elevator, designed to recreate the feeling of a luxury store lift from turn-of-the-century Paris, was in working condition, so they traveled to the top, the fifteenth floor, and made their way down.

The elevator paused as it rested at the top floor. The hand-etched, laminated glass wall gave a full view of the lobby they’d just come up from. Sam let out a nervous laugh.

"Not afraid of heights I hope, Winchester?"

"No, sir, just slight reservations about elevators in an incomplete building."

They walked around the floor and Sam had the distinct feeling someone was watching them. "Is there anyone else around?"

"Workers on floors five and two, that’s all." Joseph made notes on a yellow legal pad, glancing back at the younger man with him. Sam nodded and put pen to his own pad of paper, but his ‘notes’ consisted of little more than a picture of two googly eyes. Appearances were everything. And Sam really did need to keep up appearances with his employer.

They descended to the twelfth floor, and as they walked through, Sam watched Joseph pull his suit jacket tighter around his body. The man didn’t seem to notice his breath fogging. Sam stepped up next to him. "Sir, I think this floor has some unsealed windows. Maybe we should continue further down."

"It is breezy." Joseph looked around, as if expecting to see a missing glass panel.

Sam escorted the man to the elevator and chose the eighth floor. He maneuvered his way out of the lift first, hoping it didn’t look disrespectful. His instinct paid off. A sudden jerking movement straight ahead forced him to react. A hammer cut through the air, flying towards him. He practically tackled Joseph, pushing him back into the elevator. Their stumble covered the sound of the hammer striking the wall beside the lift, as Sam covered his own actions.

"Um…uh, water leak, we should tell the workers."

Joseph looked at him oddly, but pressed the fifth floor button. They exited the elevator, and Sam could hear the workers. "Sir, I’m going to stop in the bathroom if you don’t mind."

"I'm going to find the foreman and report that leak."

Sam hurried around the corner, hoping to spot a worker. The ‘hired help’ was always the best source of information; unfortunately it had to occur away from the prying eyes of employers.

He found an electrician, kneeling on the floor by an outlet. An older Hispanic man in neat, gray overalls covered the open wires with a white plastic cover, screwing it into place.

Sam cleared his throat, and bent down to talk to the worker. "Hey, I'm with the attorneys and we were touring the building."

The man acknowledged Sam with a glance as Sam continued. "It seems okay. But, I want to really impress my boss, is there anything else we should know?"

The electrician looked up, wiping his nose on the back of his hand. "Brown noser huh? It's a job, man."

Sam nodded his head, feeling like a complete idiot. "Yeah, you know how it is. . .So, this seem like a safe site? Ever any strange things happening? Things sort of drifting in the air?"

"What?" The electrician reacted to the odd question by screwing up his face. "You sound like Paco." He stood up, moving four feet further down to work on the next outlet.

The attorney stood up too, and followed the electrician, his interest piqued by the idea that someone else had experienced a supernatural occurrence. "Really? Can I talk to Paco?"

The worker laughed. "No, he quit, said that a staple gun came at him." The electrician illustrated with his hands what had happened to Paco. "Bam! Right into his leg. Idiot."

"His leg?" Sam swallowed, thankful he had seen the hammer before it struck them.

"Like three times. Still trying to get the company to pay his bills."

"Right, well, thanks." He had gotten some information, but didn’t want to press his luck by being away from Joseph too long. Already, Sam was wondering what the senior partner would say about him around the office.

As he hurried to find his boss, he decided he would pull the accident reports in regards to the building when he got back to work.

He didn't rush into any hypothesis, choosing instead to take his time to go through the records. Some accidents could be explained as normal activities at a construction site; however, others were definitely odd.

He pulled the deed on the land, tracing back the owners, and then cross-referenced the names. The original owner, Arthur Zerropolis, had gone bankrupt and was forced to sell the property. Further research via a few other sources revealed a bloody suicide on the site of his lost property. Bankruptcy wasn’t a pleasant experience and Arthur seemed most likely to be the haunting force.

Sam bit the side of his thumbnail, considering the plan forming in his mind. He was okay with the weekend hunting trips instigated by his brother. It maintained their link and they were still helping people. But, this was different. Sam would be initiating things this time. An existence he didn't initially want, and one that he kept on the fringe of his life.

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