because the lives of the wicked should be made brief

[somanyadjectives]

Comments

[matriarchate]

( She comes to a stop and thinks. Oxygen lines. She doesn't know. She looks at Sam. )

Any OR, Sam. She - she could be anywhere in this entire hospital.

[imnot_likeyou]

[Sam sets his jaw, scanning his eyes over the space before moving to the closest nurse's station, patting down the pocket of his jacket to see what ID he has on hand. Fortunately, his FBI badge is on hand.]

Hi. My partner and I had a couple questions for Dr. Gilbert? Do you know where we might find her?

[Fortunately, the nurse doesn't look took long at the badge before looking over the schedule. "She's probably doing rounds. The Children's Wing, second floor."]

Thank you. We'll start there.

[matriarchate]

( Allison nods, letting Sam take the lead, phone still clutched in her hand. But, they're distracted, focused on finding her and not listening to what's transpiring. )

Sam, they asked for her hand. It won't be long.

[imnot_likeyou]

I know.

[They hit the second floor, and Sam rapidly scans through the rooms, trying to find the one hospital room that does not have a child patient, that's just three adults, one of them Elena.

But each door keeps coming up empty, until he skids to a stop in front of an empty room, with a phone sitting on the nearby table, the call to Allison's phone still going.

He grits his teeth as he picks it up, before shaking his head.]

Damnit.

[matriarchate]

( Allison tries the other side of the hallway and they meet up at the end, the farthest room, and she sees the phone, too.

She walks over to pick it up and end the call. )

They have her now. This is it. This is their big move. Why Elena?

( She puzzles over that, looking to Sam. )

[imnot_likeyou]

She's the doppelganger. We knew that the Colony had Ezra monitoring her for a reason, we just didn't know what, or when.

[David could have taken her anywhere in the world. Sam runs a hand over his face, before tipping his head back to the ceiling.]

Cas? Could you come here please?

[Cas appears behind him, glancing between the two of them. "Yes?"]

Someone took Elena. Can you find her?

[Cas nods, closing his eyes. The silence stretches between them, and he frowns, before shaking his head. "No. It's as though she's disappeared. Wherever they have her must be warded against angels."

Sam sighs again.]

Yeah, I was worried about that.

[matriarchate]

But, I thought, because she's human again...

( What could be done with her blood. Her question goes unasked as Cas joins them. )

She's with powerful witches, two of witch know she's connected to the Winchesters. ( Who, it's becoming increasingly known, are connected to angels. ) Sam, we need to tell Dean.

[imnot_likeyou]

Doppelgangers are always human. That's the one thing that doesn't change.

[Sam takes a deep breath before rubbing his eyes, then nodding.]

Yeah, I know. I know.

[He's going to get himself chewed out for it, for promising that things would be fine while Dean was gone, but there's nothing he can do about it now. He just nods, and tips his head to the door.]

Let's do this in the car.

[Not in the middle of the hospital. And once he's back in the driver's seat, he'll call his brother on speaker.]

[cholesterol]

Hey, Sammy, at this road-side stand with mom and Ben. Did you know Michigan has roadside seafood?

( It's technically lake-side. Lake Michigan. But, it's along the lake on a road. So, road. )

Not bad, too. It's uh - not going bad. I keep getting these looks from her, like, yeah, that's your kid. Gonna get an earful later, I'm sure.

[imnot_likeyou]

Probably. But I'm glad it's going well.

[And now Sam feels even worse but he has to pull off the band aid. There is no easy transition from fun family times with Ben to what happened today so he just gets to the point.]

The Inner Circle made their move, Dean. They took Elena from the hospital.

[cholesterol]

( Sam's right. There's no perfect way to rip this bandaid off or to transition to the topic at hand.

His voice goes cold, all jeer from the edges of his eyes melting away, face going pale. )

When?

[imnot_likeyou]

Ten minutes ago? Maybe twenty? She managed to warn us, but they had David with them and he had a door so they could be anywhere by now. I already called Cas, but he couldn't sense her so wherever they are, it's likely warded for angels.

[He sets his jaw, sifting to try and find some good news in all of this.]

Odds are they're not going to make their big move until the solstice, so we have time to find her. And ... I may have an idea of who to ask.

[It's just ... probably going to suck.]

[cholesterol]

David. ( Dean thought the project on the board was to wipe out their literal-rentals. ) Well, spit it out, Sam.

( He's already doing math in his head. He can be back there by the morning. He did this drive once. His eyes fall on Ben, the son he promised not to let down again. And here he is. Feeling like he's going to pull the rug out from him. Maybe his mom can stay longer. He doesn't want her in this crossfire. )

[imnot_likeyou]

[The silence stretches because he doesn't want to say it, but he's also doing the math of their supposed allies on the board. Ezra's gone, who knows where Rusty is - he's probably compromised too. This option isn't any more trustworthy but at least she's beholden in some respects to Bonnie Bennett.]

Bela.

[And he'll just let that sit there for however long Dean needs to process it.]

[braveandstupid]

[The home of the Inner Circle is more austere than Elena anticipated.

It's not uncomfortable. There's enough lushness to it that it's clear they have considerable funds, but the decorations are fairly plain. It's not ostentatious. Maybe that's a vampire thing, more so than a witch thing.

Still, she follows closely behind David's mother, David moving in step next to her, and she is keeping her eyes straight ahead, holding on to that anger for as long as she can.

"Max, darling," Mrs. Gainor says as she comes up on a blond witch Elena doesn't recognize. "Do you know where your father is? I've recovered that last thing we needed for our little project."]

[maxxx]

( Max assumes that as the parents get a bit long in the tooth, they stop the ostentatious redecorating his remembers from his childhood. If a family friend died (read: was killed), than the next week their living room might be a shade of purple. Those kinds of changes died down when he and his sister came of age.

He feels like he's in a relay race, each heir in their separate places along the way to the prize, until they're all inevitably brought together. He was told to wait while they fetched something. He's, so far, like the others played dumb to what the project is. He's kept his golden boy persona, only dropping his smile when his mother and David left on their errand. )

He's with your husband's ex ( What's that about, his eyes say, to David ) and Sierra.

( His sister was sent after something else. Or, maybe they were trying to busy her. His phone's been taken, like all of theirs. He woke up and it was gone one day. He's never been brought into the inner workings of fate, or nature itself, so Elena reads equally as innocuous as he does. )

And you're supposed to come with me.

[braveandstupid]

[His sister is wedding dress shopping. Eventually he'll be summoned for a suit fitting. There's lots to do before the solstice. Lots to prepare for. He doesn't have to know everything.

Elena glances over to David and raises an eyebrow and he shakes his head. "He'll tell you later."]

Sure. If there's a later.

[She's not sure what to make of any of this, but she'll keep following David's mother as she makes her way down he hall.

"Right. Preparing for the wedding most likely." She rolls her shoulders. "David, will you go let him know Dr. Gilbert is here, and we need to begin preparations?"

David nods, throwing Elena a sympathetic look. "Should I take her with me?"

"No. She'll stay with myself and Maxim. He can handle keeping one human doctor in line, can't he?"]

She is right here and can speak for herself. I said I would keep up my end of the agreement.

[maxxx]

Let me guess. She threatened your precious patients.

( He knows how his mother operates. His parents operate in the dark, but his mother often comes out of the shadows to make things happen. Her indignancy and anger means his mother made a deal, and not one that ever makes anyone happy.

He still has to play his part. The dutiful son with the mouth. )

Just come with us. Stay close. And don't make me make you.

[braveandstupid]

"Don't make me make you." Charming.

[But she falls in line, follows the two of them as they make their way through the compound, only stealing glances into each of the rooms so she might try and navigate her way through later if she has to make a break for it.]

Everyone always has the same play book.

[maxxx]

I am, actually. Very.

( The thing is, he could make her. But, he doesn't want to use that on her. He very rarely uses his charm. It got old the older he got. )

And what's that?

[braveandstupid]

Threaten you, threaten your loved ones, threaten the innocent people. I'm the big bad evil guy, look at how much damage I can do.

[Elena shakes her head.]

It would be novel if someone just tried saying please for once. And was able to take no as an answer.

["And that exactly would be why we don't," Mrs. Gainor replies, one imperious glance over her shoulder. "You don't get what you want if you start taking no for an answer."]

[maxxx]

Those are hurtful words coming from a person in a position to give them.

( For now.

He's playing his hand a bit, but, he knows Mrs. Gainor never has taken no for an answer. Not from any old witch. Not from her son. Not even from her husband. )

And they don't have a choice, do you?

[braveandstupid]

[Well, if you're going to play your hand, Max, maybe she'll play a bit of hers. "Maybe we would have, if someone hadn't decided to start punching above their weight."

If you and your generation had just been good little witches, maybe they wouldn't be here, now would they?

Elena frowns.]

See, I heard, that two of yours decided to punch above theirs. Draw the attention of people who weren't involved in the first place?

["I don't see the Salvatores coming to save you this time, Dr. Gilbert."]

Salvatores, probably not. But I've heard in some circles the Winchesters are scarier.

[maxxx]

( No, according to Hallewell and Rusty and probably any other witch they'd ever find for their side, if they were out there, he knows his parents have always been greedy. Not that this is actually David's mother. )

The Winchesters are stories bad witches are told by their parents. Be good, or the Winchesters will cap you.

[braveandstupid]

["And I thought we agreed that this would be peaceful, Dr. Gilbert." Mrs. Gainor raises an eyebrow at the other woman as they reach a door and she goes to open it.

Elena shrugs.]

I said I would go quietly. I didn't say that people wouldn't come for me.

[It may be more than she deserves, but she knows it's something she could always count on. Someone will come for her, for better or worse. She has people who love her and they will come.]