Roads Untraveled ~ Sam Winchester

Chapter Fifty-Eight - Brother

A couple of weeks later, the trio had caught another case. A classic, locked room mystery where a death row inmate in Texas had disappeared from his cell, leaving nothing but a single drop of blood on the floor.
The boys were in the front of the Impala, as usual, keeping themselves occupied by testing Sam and Elizabeth's serial killer knowledge.
"The Zodiac." Dean said.
"Seven victims." Sam answered.
"Though, possibly up to thirty-seven. In order, David Faraday and Betty Jensen, both dead. Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin. Mageau survived, Ferrin didn't. Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard - a stabbing this time. Hartnell survived, Shepard didn't. And then there was Paul Stine, who died." Elizabeth recited from memory.
"Dahmer." Dean said next.
"Seventeen." Sam replied.
"Steven Hicks, aged eighteen. Steven Tuomi, aged twenty-five. James Doxtator, aged fourteen. Richard Guerrero, aged twenty-two. Anthony Sears, aged twenty-four. Raymond Smith - AKA; Ricky Beeks, aged thirty-two. Edward Smith, aged twenty-seven-"
"Is she for real?" Dean asked, gesturing back to the girl with a thumb.
"You wanted to test us." Sam shrugged.
"Would you like me to continue or shall we move on? I still have nine more of his victims to name." Elizabeth cocked a brow at him through the rear-view mirror.
"I think I'll take your word for it." The older brother mumbled. "That's some freaky crap that you two know this much."
"It's called 'true crime', Dean, it's a hobby." Sam retorted. "Or... A Vampiric memory in Elizabeth's case."
"No, bass fishing, needle-point - that's a hobby, okay? Collecting serial killer stats or memorising victim's names? That is an illness." Dean replied as he turned the car up to the gates of the Super Max prison they'd be investigating. "Give me your badges."
Sam and Elizabeth reached into the inside pockets of their suits, handing the older brother their IDs.
He pulled up by an intercom, pressing the buzzer.
"Hello, lady and gentlemen, state the nature of your visit." The prison guard on the other side said.
"We're from the office of the Inspector General." Dean announced, showing the camera their badges. "We got an appointment with the Warden."
"Thank you. Parking is to the left, look for visitor parking only." The man replied.
"Alright, so what are the stats on this vanishing act, here?" Dean asked.
"Tommy Tolliver was convicted of six murders back in o-nine, but those were just the ones that stuck." Sam told him. "According to the news, he escaped from a locked cell on death row, in an inexplicable, Houdini-esque escape."
"So, what are we thinking, here? Mass murdering magician?" Dean cocked a brow.
"Or a teleporting Demon, or a who-knows-what that can walk through Super Max walls. Could be in our wheel-house." Sam shrugged.
"Not my wheel-house." Dean mumbled. "Your two's maybe. 'A freakin' hobby...'"

Warden Skeiff met them at the door to escort them to Tommy's cell.
"Hello gentlemen, ma'am." The man nodded his greeting.
"Inspectors Moore, Ronaldo and Dickinson." Sam introduced.
"Pleasure. I would've just had one of my officers escort you to my office before we showed you the cell, but this is a Super Max men's prison. We house the worst of the worst and I grew concerned for the safety of your female Inspector, here." The Warden sighed, gesturing to the Vampire.
"Oh, believe me, Warden. She can handle herself just fine." Dean chuckled.
"I appreciate your concern and consideration, Warden. Thank you." Elizabeth smiled politely, holding out a hand between the brothers.
The Warden gave a smile back, shaking the hand.
"I'll warn you now, Inspector. Most of these men are enjoying their last weeks on God's green Earth. They got nothin' to lose. They won't hold back on their remarks towards you. You'll most likely be the last female they see, after all."
"Oh, don't you panic. I've got thicker skin than it appears." The Vampire replied.
"I hope that's true. You'll need it." The Warden gave a nervous chuckle. "Welcome to Death Row."

The comments were worse than anyone could've anticipated... And certainly not for repeating.
Amongst the wolf whistles, derogatory names, sexual come-ons, sexual assault threats and death threats, it was hard for any of the three to stay in check and ignore it. Both Sam and Dean had their moments where they struggled to keep walking just to barge into a cell and beat the ever-loving crap out of them - especially with the effect the Mark of Cain still had on Dean.
But this wasn't Elizabeth's first rodeo and definitely not her first walk down the proverbial mile. She held her head high and kept one foot in front of the other until they reached Tommy Tolliver's cell.
"Again, I can't apologise enough for... That. I knew they'd be bad, but I can't say I've heard language like that in all my years here." The Warden sighed.
"It's no problem, really." Elizabeth gave a short-lived smile.
"Not sure I'll ever come onto a girl again after that..." Dean commented. "Is crap like that what you girls have to put up with?"
"Not usually so... Vivid... But, yes." The Vampire replied. "Welcome to the wonderful world of womanhood."
"Here, have a look." The Warden opened up the tiny cell, letting them in. "But good luck finding anything out of TDJC compliance."
He slowly wandered off back outside the cell to give them some room.
Whilst Dean took an EMF reading, Sam and Elizabeth stepped back outside to talk to him.
"So, why don't you tell us what happened." The younger brother said.
"The night Tolliver disappeared, the whole ship was running tight as ever - and I got documentation to prove it." The Warden told them.
"You stand by what the press is saying?" Sam asked. "Locked cell, no security breach, no guard misconduct..."
He glanced over to the guard who had been on duty that night.
"Which press? Mainstream media's calling for my head, saying it was grossly incompetent." The Warden retorted as Dean came out, shaking his head to signal no EMF reading. "But the tabloids, they're saying it-"
"They're saying it's magic." Sam chuckled. "That Tommy pulled off some dark miracle to escape."
"But that's impossible, right?" Elizabeth smirked.
The man didn't say anything.
"You saying you believe that?" Sam frowned.
"I'm saying there was some kind of magician on the block last night. But it wasn't Tommy." Warden Skeiff replied, walking off.