Part 2, Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Bobby Mr. Singer--
I want to apologize for leaving so abruptly
I wish I could help you more, but
The reason I'm leaving is because a few years ago, I
I'm not doing this because I'm afraid of
I never have been one for goodbyes--and, in any case, if I tried to do this face-to-face, I'm fairly certain you could talk me out of it. And you'd be absolutely right to. I know this is rude of me, and more than a little unfair, but I have to leave can't stay. I'm going back to Ohio, to try to reclaim see if I can pick up the pieces that I left behind when you summoned me.
I am grateful for your help, for retrieving me and for sheltering me as long as you did, and I don't bear you any ill will for pulling me out of my life and into the Apocalypse, and I am glad I was able to help you as far as I did. I only wish I could As far as I'm concerned, there are no debts between us, in either direction.
That being said, if you need me are desperate and have exhausted every other option, you can contact me. Please don't summon me--I don't like being trapped. And please don't reach out unless you are truly desperate. It's complicated, and some of it touches on secrets that aren't mine to share, so I can't tell you explain in detail, but I can't continue helping offer you any more aid than that. But if you do need me, my number is 937-555-4238. Call, and I promise will come unless I am unable.
Luck to you,
Judas
Bobby swore for a solid minute, then crumpled up the letter and tossed it at the wall. He shouldn't be so damn surprised that Judas had run off, for all he'd been a hell of a lot friendlier after Gabriel and the boys had rescued him. They'd forced his hand to start with, and he'd wanted to clear debts. That had been the whole reason behind the healing.
But Bobby had still hoped that Judas had somehow changed his mind since then. And even if he hadn't, as much as none of them really liked the idea, Gabriel was still one hell of a wildcard. Judas was the only sort of leverage they had on him. Plus, with Judas in the wind, even warded, someone else might get the same idea. The last thing they needed was yet another pissed-off Archangel actively working against them. Three out of four was bad enough, though Raphael at least was quiet about it.
He took a deep breath to calm down, then went over and retrieved the letter. He'd probably need that phone number eventually, one way or another. And he wanted to read it again, now that the initial flare of rage was past.
One thing became very clear, in picking out what Judas had tried to cross out and reading between the lines. He wanted to help, but for whatever reason, he felt that he couldn't. And the reason wasn't something as simple as being ineffective and cruel, or he would have flat-out said.
Either way, there wasn't much Bobby could do to resolve the situation, at least not until he could get another couple of blood samples and summon Judas back again. If that was even the best way to handle it. Judas had said he hated being trapped, and Bobby probably couldn't afford to piss him off again. But the Weapon had left a number...
He decided to go ahead and use it--leave a message, since the phone was an Ohio area code and if it was a cell, Judas obviously didn't have it on him. Maybe he could even talk him into coming back.
He dialed, and waited while the phone rang.
And then, much to his surprise, someone picked up.
"Hello?" a young woman's voice asked.
Balls. "Hi, this is Mike Kayser. I'm looking for Professor Simon Goldstein, is he available?"
There was a short pause from the other end of the line. "How did you get this number?"
"A friend of a friend," Bobby said. "I've been doing some research, and I figured I could run a few things by him."
"When did you seen him?" she asked.
Bobby blinked. "I never met him. Like I said, I got his number from a friend. If he's not around, I can call back and leave--"
"Stop lying to me."
"What? I'm not--"
"Look, jackass," she snapped. "He's missing, and he has been for months. So either you tell me how you got my cousin's private cell number, or I give yours to the cops. Your call."
Cousin? "I keep telling you, I got the number from a friend. I don't know how he got Professor Goldstein's private number, I just called the one I got."
She was silent for a long minute.
"Hello?"
"I told you to stop lying," she said, calmer now. "There are only three people, including Simon himself, who have this number. I know I sure as hell didn't give it to you, and I'm pretty sure Door Number Two is even more invested in Simon's anonymity than he is himself. So, you have three seconds to tell me who the hell you are and where my cousin is, or I'll call the cops."
Bobby considered for half a second, then decided to call her bluff. "You said only three people have this number, right? Which means you probably didn't give it to whoever's investigating Goldstein's disappearance. Pretty sure you could get into a lot of trouble, withholding potential evidence like that. Plus, if you try to hand over my number, you're gonna have to explain why it's relevant. Good luck doing that without screwing yourself over, too. So, I guess the real question is, who the hell are you, and why are you answering his private phone?"
"Which side are you on?" she asked, after taking that in for a few seconds.
"The hell are you talking about?" he asked.
"If you have this number, then you probably know who he really is, and what he can do. Which means you know what's going on," she said. "So, which side are you on?"
"I ain't on anyone's side." Who the hell is this girl?
"Which means you're the jackass who kidnapped him last November," she said. "So, listen up. If you've hurt him--"
"I didn't," Bobby said.
"I don't believe you," she said, shortly. "Now, I try to be nice, so I won't come after you. But you know what I am gonna do? I'm gonna go ahead and open Door Number Two. And the guy behind it? You bet your ass he will."
She hung up.
Bobby stared at the receiver for a long moment, then set it down. "Balls." That had been a stupid move. Now he'd pissed off whoever the hell that girl was, not to mention whoever she meant by Door Number Two. Best case scenario, that was Gabriel, who knew Judas had been here and probably wouldn't smite him for letting Judas wander off.
On the other hand, when Gabriel was the best case scenario...
Bobby picked the phone back up to call the boys. He needed to warn them that they might have yet another giant problem coming down the line.
End Part 2
Previous: Part 2, Chapter 5 Next: Part 3, Chapter 1
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Bobby Mr. Singer--
I want to apologize for leaving so abruptly
I wish I could help you more, but
The reason I'm leaving is because a few years ago, I
I'm not doing this because I'm afraid of
I never have been one for goodbyes--and, in any case, if I tried to do this face-to-face, I'm fairly certain you could talk me out of it. And you'd be absolutely right to. I know this is rude of me, and more than a little unfair, but I have to leave can't stay. I'm going back to Ohio, to try to reclaim see if I can pick up the pieces that I left behind when you summoned me.
I am grateful for your help, for retrieving me and for sheltering me as long as you did, and I don't bear you any ill will for pulling me out of my life and into the Apocalypse, and I am glad I was able to help you as far as I did. I only wish I could As far as I'm concerned, there are no debts between us, in either direction.
That being said, if you need me are desperate and have exhausted every other option, you can contact me. Please don't summon me--I don't like being trapped. And please don't reach out unless you are truly desperate. It's complicated, and some of it touches on secrets that aren't mine to share, so I can't tell you explain in detail, but I can't continue helping offer you any more aid than that. But if you do need me, my number is 937-555-4238. Call, and I promise will come unless I am unable.
Luck to you,
Judas
Bobby swore for a solid minute, then crumpled up the letter and tossed it at the wall. He shouldn't be so damn surprised that Judas had run off, for all he'd been a hell of a lot friendlier after Gabriel and the boys had rescued him. They'd forced his hand to start with, and he'd wanted to clear debts. That had been the whole reason behind the healing.
But Bobby had still hoped that Judas had somehow changed his mind since then. And even if he hadn't, as much as none of them really liked the idea, Gabriel was still one hell of a wildcard. Judas was the only sort of leverage they had on him. Plus, with Judas in the wind, even warded, someone else might get the same idea. The last thing they needed was yet another pissed-off Archangel actively working against them. Three out of four was bad enough, though Raphael at least was quiet about it.
He took a deep breath to calm down, then went over and retrieved the letter. He'd probably need that phone number eventually, one way or another. And he wanted to read it again, now that the initial flare of rage was past.
One thing became very clear, in picking out what Judas had tried to cross out and reading between the lines. He wanted to help, but for whatever reason, he felt that he couldn't. And the reason wasn't something as simple as being ineffective and cruel, or he would have flat-out said.
Either way, there wasn't much Bobby could do to resolve the situation, at least not until he could get another couple of blood samples and summon Judas back again. If that was even the best way to handle it. Judas had said he hated being trapped, and Bobby probably couldn't afford to piss him off again. But the Weapon had left a number...
He decided to go ahead and use it--leave a message, since the phone was an Ohio area code and if it was a cell, Judas obviously didn't have it on him. Maybe he could even talk him into coming back.
He dialed, and waited while the phone rang.
And then, much to his surprise, someone picked up.
"Hello?" a young woman's voice asked.
Balls. "Hi, this is Mike Kayser. I'm looking for Professor Simon Goldstein, is he available?"
There was a short pause from the other end of the line. "How did you get this number?"
"A friend of a friend," Bobby said. "I've been doing some research, and I figured I could run a few things by him."
"When did you seen him?" she asked.
Bobby blinked. "I never met him. Like I said, I got his number from a friend. If he's not around, I can call back and leave--"
"Stop lying to me."
"What? I'm not--"
"Look, jackass," she snapped. "He's missing, and he has been for months. So either you tell me how you got my cousin's private cell number, or I give yours to the cops. Your call."
Cousin? "I keep telling you, I got the number from a friend. I don't know how he got Professor Goldstein's private number, I just called the one I got."
She was silent for a long minute.
"Hello?"
"I told you to stop lying," she said, calmer now. "There are only three people, including Simon himself, who have this number. I know I sure as hell didn't give it to you, and I'm pretty sure Door Number Two is even more invested in Simon's anonymity than he is himself. So, you have three seconds to tell me who the hell you are and where my cousin is, or I'll call the cops."
Bobby considered for half a second, then decided to call her bluff. "You said only three people have this number, right? Which means you probably didn't give it to whoever's investigating Goldstein's disappearance. Pretty sure you could get into a lot of trouble, withholding potential evidence like that. Plus, if you try to hand over my number, you're gonna have to explain why it's relevant. Good luck doing that without screwing yourself over, too. So, I guess the real question is, who the hell are you, and why are you answering his private phone?"
"Which side are you on?" she asked, after taking that in for a few seconds.
"The hell are you talking about?" he asked.
"If you have this number, then you probably know who he really is, and what he can do. Which means you know what's going on," she said. "So, which side are you on?"
"I ain't on anyone's side." Who the hell is this girl?
"Which means you're the jackass who kidnapped him last November," she said. "So, listen up. If you've hurt him--"
"I didn't," Bobby said.
"I don't believe you," she said, shortly. "Now, I try to be nice, so I won't come after you. But you know what I am gonna do? I'm gonna go ahead and open Door Number Two. And the guy behind it? You bet your ass he will."
She hung up.
Bobby stared at the receiver for a long moment, then set it down. "Balls." That had been a stupid move. Now he'd pissed off whoever the hell that girl was, not to mention whoever she meant by Door Number Two. Best case scenario, that was Gabriel, who knew Judas had been here and probably wouldn't smite him for letting Judas wander off.
On the other hand, when Gabriel was the best case scenario...
Bobby picked the phone back up to call the boys. He needed to warn them that they might have yet another giant problem coming down the line.
End Part 2
Previous: Part 2, Chapter 5 Next: Part 3, Chapter 1