On
The Wings of a Phoenix
By: Ridley C. James
Beta: Tidia
Disclaimer: Nothing Supernatural
belongs to me. All those lovely men are property of Kripke Enterprise
and The CW.
RcJSnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsNRcJ
Chapter 4/11
In everyone's life, at
some time, our inner fire goes out.
It is then burst
into flame by an encounter with another human being.
We should all be
thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. -Albert
Schweitzer
Joshua glanced into the backseat as
he pulled into the long winding drive of the farm. “How’s he doing?”
“He’s asleep,” Caleb replied softly,
pulling Dean closer. He’d wrapped the boy in his own jacket, hoping to
fight the onset of shock. “Or unconscious.” The psychic hoped it was
the former.
“Now for the really important
question.” Sawyer sighed. “What are we going to tell Winchester?”
“About?”
Joshua frowned into the mirror.
“About the attack? About the unscheduled, hostile visit with his
youngest son?”
Reaves let his head fall back against
the seat as the car came to a stop. He heard Atticus barking. “Just let
me do all the talking.”
“Gladly.” Joshua killed the engine
and got out. He went around to the back and opened the door. “After
all, such news should come from a brother, not from the red-headed step
cousin.”
Caleb slid out, keeping a firm grasp
of the kid in his arms. “I got him.”
Joshua rolled his eyes. “Suit
yourself, but don’t expect me to explain this situation if you should
collapse.”
“Your concern is touching, man.”
“My God.” Mackland stood up first as
they entered the kitchen through the back door. He moved towards Caleb,
who was holding an unconscious Dean, and also looked on the verge of
collapsing.
“What the hell…” Bobby was on his
feet too, moving towards the trio. He shifted his gaze between Reaves
and Sawyer. “What did you two do?”
The familiar voice along with Mac’s
touch had Dean stirring against Caleb’s chest and he shot his father a
pleading look when the kid whimpered. “Dad, he’s hurt.”
“Joshua,” Mac said and the other
hunter quickly stepped forward to take the twelve-year-old from Reaves.
Caleb reluctantly let him go,
allowing his father to help him to a chair. Dean was awake and blinking
owlishly as Joshua gently placed him on the seat next to Reaves.
“Boys?” Singer asked again, and Ames glanced at him with a shake of his
head.
“Go get John, Bobby.”
“What happened?” Mackland was
kneeling in front of Dean, carefully running a well-practiced touch
over the boy’s hair and then down to his neck. “Who did this?”
“The thing John and I have been
hunting.”
Mac’s gaze swung to his son. “What?”
Caleb nodded. “I had a vision…We
almost didn’t reach him in time.”
Ames sighed, but went back to his
quick examination. “Dean? Where does it hurt?”
“Check his right knee,” Caleb replied
before Dean could. “And his wrist is hurt.”
Mackland glanced at his son. “I’m
asking him for a reason, Caleb.”
“Sorry.” Reaves met the
twelve-year-old’s gaze and was relieved when the boy rolled his eyes at
him.
“Maybe…you should give him a
tranquilizer, Mac,” Dean sounded more like himself than he had in days,
despite the scratchy voice.
Ames smiled, reassuringly. “And let
him sleep through your father’s tirade? I think not.”
As if on cue a pounding of feet
heralded John Winchester’s gale force entrance into the kitchen.
“Dean!” He bellowed, shattering the short reprieve. Jim Murphy trailed
closely behind him, a concerned look etched on his weathered face.
The twelve-year-old jumped and his
eyes went to Caleb’s before his father was upon him. “Where the hell
have you been? Jim was worried out of his mind.” Jim wasn't the only
one.
“John,” Mackland interrupted. “He’s
injured.”
John seemed to take in the state of
his eldest and his face softened. "Is he okay?"
Dean nodded.
Winchester's accusing gaze suddenly
went to Caleb. “What the fuck happened? We tried to reach you and
Sawyer both.”
“It’s a long story, Johnny.”
Winchester continued to glare at him.
“Then you should get started on it.”
Caleb sighed. “He was attacked by
that thing. The one we’ve been after.”
John paled and his gaze went back to
his son. “What?” He knelt beside Dean’s chair, reached out and lifted
his chin to get a better look at his son's bruised face. “How in the
hell did that happen?”
“I…” Reaves faltered. “I just let him
out of my sight for a minute. It happened so fast.”
John’s dark gaze went back to his
protégé. “Why the hell were you there? Sawyer was
supposed to be the escort."
Attention diverted to Sawyer, who was
standing near the door ready to make a quick exit. "I think Reaves has
something to say about that."
Reaves shrugged, knowing the shit was
about to hit the fan. “I decided to get some air and then we went to
the city.”
Winchester released Dean's face and
his jaw clenched. “What fucking city, Caleb?”
“Louisville.”
John stood with arms crossed in front
of the psychic. “Don’t tell me…”
“He wanted to see Sammy,” Caleb
interrupted. “He just wanted to give him the dragons…that’s all.”
“Goddamnit, Caleb!” Winchester
exploded. “What the hell were you trying to prove?”
“I wasn’t trying to prove anything,”
Reaves defended. “We took Sam the dragons. That’s it.”
John continued to glower. “How the
hell did you find out where Conner was staying in the first place?"
In for a dime, in for a whole dollar.
Caleb pushed on. “I read you,” he lied.
Ames frowned at that. His son’s
abilities had not been normal since the concussion and he doubted they
were up to bypassing John Winchester‘s defenses. Something was amiss.
“I trusted you!” John growled, buying
the Swiss-cheese story in a moment of fury. “You knew that Conner made
it clear about the whole visiting thing! How dare you cross that line!”
“Johnathan,” Jim tried. “We need to
focus on Dean at the moment.”
John glanced up at the pastor, who
had come to stand beside Caleb. “That’s a good point, Jim. How did Dean
get attacked, Kid? First you take him into the city to see his brother
and then you let him get mauled by that sick psychotic pedophile we’ve
been chasing. The Brotherhood has cost me one son, you trying to finish
off the other one?”
“What? A what?” Caleb asked, not
quite sure he had heard the other man right.
“John!” Mac snapped. Winchester
wasn’t the only parent who had watched their child be hurt in this
whole mess. “That’s enough.”
“I’ll say when it’s enough.”
Winchester continued to get in Caleb’s face, ignoring Mackland. “You
knew better and this is just one more reason…”
“Back off, Johnathan!” Mackland said,
the calmness in his voice belaying the fury in his gray eyes.
“Dad!” Dean shouted. “ It‘s not his
fault. I went to the city alone.” Dean stared at his father. “Caleb
didn’t know where I was either.”
Reaves shot the boy a hard look.
“Shut up, Deuce. You’re delirious.”
“You what?” John was looking at his
son now.
“I had to see Sammy, Dad. ”
Winchester moved away from Reaves,
his attention focused solely on his own son. “But how…”
“I read your journal.” Dean swallowed
thickly, his voice still hoarse. “I ditched Sawyer the first chance I
got and hopped a bus into the city. I’m sorry.”
Mackland didn’t move from his
position in front of Dean, so John was forced to tower above them both.
“You disobeyed a direct order and went into the city by yourself? On a
bus?”
Dean nodded.
Winchester raked his hands through
his hair. When exactly had he lost complete control of the situation?
“Goddamnit, Dean! I can’t fucking believe you would do something that
stupid! Again!”
“I’m sorry.”
“You should be,” John raged. “I get
that you’re pissed at me about Sam. I understand that you’re
disappointed in me. But you know what, Dean? I’m pretty damn
disappointed myself.” The boy could not be allowed to think he could
disregard orders. It was a short road to a bad ending.
Caleb felt his pulse quicken, his
face heat up as Dean’s green eyes filled. John was being his typical
hard ass self, but now was not the time. “Fuck, John, if you would have
just …”
Winchester swung a piercing glare in
the psychic’s direction. “You…shut it!”
Reaves started to open his mouth
again, but Jim laid a hand on his shoulder, giving it a hard squeeze.
Caleb looked up at the pastor with an unspoken plea. When all else
failed, The Guardian could usually calm the savage beast. Instead, the
rescue came from a totally unexpected source.
“Perhaps I should take Dean upstairs?
He’s looking pale.” Joshua spoke up.
All eyes went to Sawyer and he
shrugged. “I’m sure the wet clothes aren’t doing much for his
condition, either. He’s shivering. Isn’t shock an all too real threat?”
“He’s right,” Mackland agreed. He
stood and maneuvered John back a few steps. “Take him upstairs, Joshua.
Help him get into some dry clothes. Caleb can tell us the rest of the
details and then I’ll be right up.”
Dean cast an unsure gaze to Reaves.
Caleb nodded, offering him a faint grin. “Mac won't let anything happen
to me.”
The twelve-year-old shrugged away
Joshua’s help.
“Let him help you, Dean,” Mac told
him. “I want to look at that knee before you move around on it.”
“I’m not exactly thrilled with this
arrangement either.” Joshua complained, assisting the kid out of the
kitchen and through the living room. There was a set of stairs near the
pantry in the kitchen, but they were steep. In addition, Joshua wanted
to put some distance between the raised voices and Dean. “But I’m
hoping this will give me a chance to continue my reprimand of your
earlier disregard for our arrangement.”
Dean groaned as they made slow work
of the staircase. “I heard you in the car.”
“You were asleep in the car.” Joshua
pushed the door to the boy’s room open and helped him inside. “I think
the full effect was lost.”
Dean sat down on the bed, shooting
Sawyer a quick look. “I needed to see Sam. You wouldn’t understand.”
Joshua frowned, holding the boy’s
gaze for a moment. “Perhaps not.” He shook his head. “But we have a lot
more in common than you might think.”
Dean rolled his eyes. “Right. We’re
practically twins.”
“Your wardrobe?” Joshua asked,
ignoring the attitude.
The kid gestured to the closet.
“Clothes in there.” Dean stressed his choice of words as if to
accentuate their differences.
Sawyer removed a clean t-shirt and
some sweats from the closet, returning to stand in front of Dean. “I
was referring to our fathers.”
The kid took the clothes, his green
eyes narrowing as he thought of Harland Sawyer. “I don’t think so.”
“No?” Joshua shrugged and leaned
against the small desk by the bed. “They seem cut from the same
proverbial cloth, if you ask me.” Joshua had disappointed his father
too many times to count.
Dean stared down at the tee, trying
to decide if he could manage it with his aching wrist. “My dad's a
hero,” he said softly.
Sawyer sighed, but stepped forward
and gently tugged the boy’s shirt over his head. “So they tell me over
and over again about my own father.”
“I guess.” Dean shivered as the cool
air met his skin. Harland had helped save them a few years before when
he, Caleb and Sam had been taken by a man wanting something from Jim.
But even then, as a ten-year-old, Dean had picked up on the tension
between Harland and his father. Harland was doing what he did out of
duty. John Winchester was brave, fearless and loyal. Something Dean was
pretty sure Harland Sawyer was not.
“But there is a reason that Superman,
Batman, and Spiderman don’t have children,” Joshua continued to prattle
on as he removed Dean’s shoes and set them by the bed. “Being a hero is
a full-time profession with little room for fallacy or human
tenderness."
Dean accepted the blanket Joshua
handed him. “My dad's a good dad.”
Joshua lifted his gaze to the boy’s,
taking in the challenging set to his jaw and the determined look in his
green eyes. He had a half-hearted thought to disagree, but then
realized it wouldn’t be worth his effort. He opted for a safe reply.
“Lucky you.”
Dean frowned, not sure if Joshua was
talking down to him or being serious. “At least you have a mom.”
The statement caught Sawyer off-guard
and he rocked back on his heels. The boy was right. Joshua had grown up
with the luxury of discounting his father because he had another parent
willing to take care of him, to pick up the slack. “That’s true.” As he
thought of Esme it became suddenly clear why Ames and Murphy were so
crucial to the Winchester boys. Why Caleb was important to Dean. “You
would like her, I think. She’s very kind, and quite stunning.”
“My mom was beautiful.”
The older man nodded. “I’ve heard as
much.”
"My dad loved her more than anything."
Joshua nodded. "I can name many
things my father loved more than my mother."
Dean shrugged, looking away towards
the door as if suddenly aware of perhaps revealing more than he had
meant to. “It’s pretty quiet down there.”
Joshua stood. “There are quiet ways
to kill a person,” he offered in jest, trying to lighten the mood in a
way he had seen the others do on occasion.
Unfortunately, Dean jerked his head
to look at him and Sawyer realized his curse of saying the most
inappropriate thing at the most inopportune moment was once again in
full effect.
The kid had barely escaped being
murdered by strangulation and perhaps joking about silent death was not
the best choice. “I mean… I’m sure things are fine. I’ve seen your
father knock Caleb around a bit, but nothing ever life threatening.”
The boy continued to stare at him and
for the second time that night Joshua found himself in foreign
territory. “Fine. I’ll go check on matters.”
Dean finally nodded. “Thanks.”
Sawyer inclined his head. “But I
haven’t forgotten the insubordination. I’ll be filing a report with Jim
and feel that it may set you back some time in receiving your hunter’s
ring.”
Dean shrugged his shoulders. He had
other things to worry about-his brother, his father, and Caleb meeting
an early demise.
A frown marred Joshua’s face when the
child did not make a flippant remark. He glanced back at the boy. “Try
to rest up until Mackland sees to you. I don’t want him believing I
shirked my duties.”
Joshua moved out of the room and back
down the stairs. He didn’t make it to the last step before Caleb’s
voice registered, and he entered the kitchen to catch the very end of
the hunter’s recant of their harrowing tale.
“The poor boy.” Jim Murphy’s face was
pale as he held Reaves’s gaze with rapt attention. “Thank God for your
gift.”
Caleb’s eyebrow shot up at that. Jim
had told him countless times his abilities were a gift and he usually
took it with a grain of salt, but tonight the assurance was more like
the pastor was rubbing salt in a raw wound. “Are you kidding me? Some
gift.” Reaves shook his head. “I’ve been having these visions for weeks
and not once did the damn things show me the danger Dean was in.”
“That’s not true, Son.” Mac
interrupted. “You connected to the victims instead of the perpetrator,
and now we know why you were linking with these killings when they
weren’t of a supernatural nature. It was all because of the danger Dean
was in.”
The psychic rolled his eyes. “So my
abilities were playing twenty questions with me? That doesn’t make me
feel better, Dad. Dean almost died.’
“I’m just saying that I find it
interesting that you have this link with Dean.” Mackland shared a look
with Jim. It was the way of The Knight and The Guardian in more
traditional pairings. In the research Mackland had done into past
Triads, The Knight had a psychic link to both The Scholar and Guardian.
Although it was never noted anywhere that Knights held abilities like
Caleb’s. That uniqueness usually fell to The Scholar. “As you grow
stronger…”
“I don’t care about the future, Mac!”
Caleb snapped. “I’m pissed about the right now.”
“Caleb, you saved Dean because of
your gift,” Jim said patiently.
“But I could have…”
“You could have never known,”
Mackland spoke up again. “Then where would that have left Dean? The
only thing supernatural about this case is our involvement.”
“You said that before.” Caleb sighed.
“And tell me what the hell did John mean about this thing being a
pedophile?” Reaves hadn’t been given the chance to ask any questions of
his own until he had endured their debriefing and satisfied John with
the assurance that Conner wasn’t anymore annoyed than usual.
John was the one who spoke up, but he
still didn't meet Caleb's gaze. “Bobby and I worked the detective angle
with those cops over in Crossville. We got our hands on the preliminary
autopsy report.”
“And?” Reaves prodded.
Winchester ran a hand over his mouth.
“The boy was beaten and strangled.”
“I told you that.”
“But you only witnessed the initial
attack.”
“I‘m assuming you were spared the
rest because you were connecting with the victim. When they died, your
link was broken.” Mackland placed his hands on the kitchen table. “You
weren't privy to the details of the killer’s plan.”
“What plan?” Reaves demanded. “I
don’t understand.”
“The killings have a ritualistic
aspect, but nothing, I think, is linked to any sort of demonic forces/”
Bobby set a cup of coffee in front of Caleb. “The markings on the
bodies don’t make sense and the blood draining is haphazard and messy.”
He hesitated, glancing to Mackland. “Then there’s the whole necrophilia
thing...”
“What?” The psychic ignored the
steaming drink, his gaze going to his father again. “They were
assaulted?”
“Post mortem, yes.” Mackland nodded.
“I wasn’t privy to that information. The FBI has brought in their own
profiler but the M.E. was forthcoming with our two resident detectives.
She shared that the other boy was also. . .”
“Who commits such a heinous crime?”
Joshua asked, joining them at the table. “Do they have any leads?”
Ames shook his head. “They’re holding
onto the hope that the man might be looking for recognition…his fifteen
minutes of fame. That perhaps he’ll want to play their game.”
Reaves closed his eyes, took a breath
to try to calm his aching head. “No. He’s not playing with the
authorities. He wants something from the victims.”
“Why do you say that?” John asked,
wearily.
“Because I sensed it. He was hunting
for something. He picked Dean for a reason. I can’t really explain it.”
“Wait,” Ames interrupted, holding up
his hand. “How do you know this if you were connected to Dean at the
time?”
Reaves lifted his tortured eyes to
his father. “I didn’t connect with Dean, not in this last vision. It
wasn’t like any of the others or the nightmares. I connected with that
sick mother fucker.” He seemed to realize what he had said and glanced
remorsefully to Jim. “Sorry, Jim.”
“Don’t be my boy.” Murphy sighed. “I
dare say your description is quite fitting.”
“Caleb…” Ames started, realizing what
it must have been like for his son to be in that position when Dean was
the one being brutalized.
The psychic shook his head. “Don’t,
Dad.”
The doctor ignored his son’s protest,
determined to erase whatever inappropriate guilt the younger man was
dealing with. “Your instincts to protect Dean kicked into overdrive.
That’s the only reason you connected with that monster. It gave you an
advantage-a way to find him in time. It has nothing to do with anything
else.”
“Like my grandfather being possessed
by a demon when he killed a bunch of children to immortalize himself.”
Reaves clenched his fists, glancing down to the black and blue bruises
on his wrist, the same ones Dean would have in the morning. “So not
only do I have to connect with supernatural freaks now…but I can link
up to your everyday human monsters too.”
“No,” Jim spoke up. “I’m quite sure
this has to do with your destiny as The Knight, not with whatever
connection you may hold to any demonic forces.”
Every eye went to The Guardian. It
was unlike him to speak about the future, especially in front of the
younger generation. Mac wondered idly if his friend would explain
further. Perhaps if Caleb understood the position Dean was meant to
hold, then it would make it easier for him…
“The Knight is trained to watch out
for members of The Brotherhood. If they’re in danger, he has an innate
sense about such things.” His eyes went to Joshua. “Your grandfather,
Seth, would show up just in the nick of time to save his brethren. It
was uncanny.”
Caleb frowned and his gaze went to
John as if the man had been withholding information from him.
Winchester held up his hands. “Don’t
look at me, Kid. I’m not exactly the traditional Knight, and you know
that.” John had always looked at it as an interim position.
“Nothing about this Triad is
traditional,” Joshua pointed out, and found all eyes on him for the
second time that evening. He shrank slightly in his chair. “Or so my
father says.”
Jim nodded. “Harland may be correct,
but we are The Triad just the same.”
“Yes, sir.” Sawyer said, contritely.
"Dean's waiting for you." He looked at Ames.
Ames shook his head as if he had let
himself get carried away in the wrong direction. "I'll get my kit."
"You left him alone up there?" Caleb
frowned.
Joshua ignored the younger hunter.
“I’m coming with you.” John stood.
“Bring the icepacks from the
freezer,” Mac instructed him and then turned back to his son. “And you
should come up soon. You look almost as bad as you did in the hospital.”
“I’m not taking anymore of your
drugs, Mac. I need to be sharp with this guy on the loose.”
Mac started to protest, but Joshua
beat him to it. “I have some natural herbs that will do the same thing
as your more modern painkillers.”
“Sounds good.” Caleb looked up at his
father. “I’ll take some of Josh’s Mojo. Satisfied?”
Ames sighed, casting a quick glance
in Sawyer’s direction. “As long as I look at it before you take it.”
“I assure you it’s one of Esme’s
favorite cocktail ingredients.”
“I’ve been privy to your mother’s
homemade party favors, Son,” Mackland confessed. “Some of the herbs she
uses are not legal in industrialized nations.”
“Yeah, Mackland got himself shot on a
hunt with John one night and your lovely momma fixed the famous Doctor
Ames right up.”
“Didn’t he develop…” John snapped his
fingers trying to recall the appropriate words. “You know one of those
doctor-nurse crushes after that?"
Bobby laughed, looking from Joshua to
Caleb. “Damn. You two could have ended up like the Brady Bunch.”
“This is not the time,” Mac growled,
taking the ice packs from John, and started for the stairs. “We’re in
the middle of a crisis. I swear you two will never grow up.”
Caleb and Joshua exchanged a look and
Reaves summed up what they were both thinking. “I think I just threw up
a little.”
"I'm going to get my kit." Joshua
said, wanting to put some space between him and Reaves for a bit.
"Is your kit bigger than Mac's kit?"
Bobby asked.
Joshua ignored the grizzly hunter
with a sigh, and went to his car.
Murphy stared at Singer, who
fidgeted. "I'm going to find something to do."
Jim nodded.
Alone with Caleb, he patted the boy's
shoulder and moved to claim the seat Joshua had vacated. “A penny for
your thoughts. Or does that cost me a dollar with you these days also?
Sammy has upped the ante on me I’m afraid.”
Reaves shook his head, toying with
the cup of coffee he had yet to touch. “I’m just thinking how I screwed
everything up.” He flicked his gaze to Jim. “Again.”
“I think saving Dean cannot be
counted as a mistake.”
“Yeah.” Caleb pushed the cup away
“Hell of a job I did with that.”
Jim’s frown grew. “I understand
you're worried but…”
“I’m going to find him. And when I do
I’m going to kill him before he can hurt Dean again.”
Murphy exhaled, heavily. “My boy,
Dean’s safe now.
The psychic shook his head. “ That
thing won’t give up. I don’t know exactly what he wanted, but I know to
him it was worth killing for. That’s not something that’s easily let go
of.”
Jim eyed the boy in front of him,
trying to choose his words carefully. The only person harder and
trickier to talk to was John. They both were quick to misinterpret
things. But where John would lash out, trying to separate himself from
what he considered an attack, Caleb would withdraw from what he saw as
impending punishment, exiling himself before he could be hurt. “I fear
I have failed you somewhere along the way.”
“What?” Caleb’s head jerked up from
his intense study of the design on the placemat. “What are you talking
about?”
Jim raised a brow in the psychic’s
direction. “Whether it was this latest incident with Conner or
something else…”
“Jim.” Reaves shook his head. “You
haven’t done anything.”
“Then I don’t understand why you
don’t trust me.”
“Come again.”
“The incident with Dean today.”
Murphy stared at the young hunter. “I was at a loss when I couldn’t
find the boy or Joshua. After what happened with Griffin, I can’t take
anything for granted anymore. I am The Guardian. Sometimes I know you
forget that, but I don’t have the luxury of doing so.”
“I’m sorry.” It was true. Caleb took
his place in Jim’s life for granted. He knew he, Dean and Sam meant
more to the older man, but some of that favoritism had to change when
Caleb had accepted his ring. He wasn’t just one of Jim’s boys anymore.
He was a hunter. A member of The Brotherhood. Caleb hadn’t considered
anyone else’s reaction but John’s. He merely wanted to find Dean and
fix things. He looked at the pastor. “It wasn’t because I don’t trust
you. I trust you with my life.”
“But not with Dean’s?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I can’t say that I blame you. After
the kidnapping…and the last time Dean pulled a stunt like this.” Jim
shook his head. “But you more than anyone should understand I have to
tread softly with Johnathan. If I push too hard, I’m afraid…” The
pastor waved a hand in the air as if to dismiss the thought. “And now
this thing with Conner.”
“None of those things were your
fault, Jim. Johnny knows that.”
The pastor held the psychic’s gaze.
“And what happened to Dean tonight is not yours. John knows that.”
Reaves exhaled heavily, realizing he
was being led into a logical argument he couldn’t escape. It was a
typical Murphy move. “Jim…”
“I told you when you came to us that
we would protect you. That you would have a family you could belong to.”
“And you have protected me. I do have
a family.”
“I have tried to do my best. But the
nature of what we do…what I will ask of you, what The Brotherhood will
someday ask.” Murphy shook his head, feeling the weight of his position
made heavier by the events of the last few days. “I fear it is too much
for anyone to ask.”
“I want to be The Knight, Jim. I
don’t want to disappoint you or let you down. I don't want to let John
down.”
“Then we fear the same thing.” Murphy
reached out and patted the younger man’s hand. “Perhaps we both worry
too much that we are letting down those we love most, because I can
assure you that I have never been disappointed in you.”
Caleb favored him with a slight grin.
“Ditto.”
Jim removed his hand. “But I expect
you to follow protocol next time. Let me handle your mentor.”
Reaves toyed with his cup of coffee
again. “I don’t get it, Jim. How can this keep happening?” He met
Murphy’s solemn gaze. “Sammy’s gone! He’s gone, and now I almost let
Dean get killed by some sick bastard who would have…” The very thought
of what the man had done to the other children, what he had in mind for
Dean made him physically ill-made him want to kill something. “Damn it!
He’s just a kid.”
“There are some things that I can not
explain or understand, my boy. Evil so great, that it is untouchable by
our usual methods. Humans can be the scariest of monsters, I’m afraid.”
“That thing’s not human, and he’s not
untouchable by me. If I can connect with him, I can find him.”
“Caleb.” Murphy sighed. “We are not
in the business of dealing out punishment to those who commit crimes of
this world. It is not the place of The Brotherhood. That is a job for
the law-the real law,” the pastor specified. “We will track this man
and then your father will work with his contacts in the FBI to capture
him.”
“We dole out justice everyday, Jim.
This man hurt one of our own. I have visions for a reason. You told me
that. A divine gift is what you called it. You told me it was my way of
helping people-saving them.” Murphy wasn’t the only one who could use
logic. “And now you’re telling me it’s not my place to deal with this.
Then why the hell did I have to watch all those kids die? Why did I
have to see Dean hurt, to feel like I actually had a part in it?”
“To save Dean.”
Caleb glanced away. Joshua had
re-entered the kitchen with a large, plastic tool box and any further
conversation was quieted. Reaves stood, wavering a moment. "I'm going
to check on Dean."
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