27. Negotiations

"Well, this isn't spooky at all," I say in disgust as my brothers and I enter the abandoned warehouse.

Ever since our werewolf hunt, things had been pretty quiet. It's good on our part, we got the rest that we needed. But sure enough, the action picked up again, this time in the form of a phone call from Crowley. He's the reason why we're in this crappy old place.

I swat away any chances of spider webs hitting me. I hate the feeling of them touching me at all. It gives me the impression that I'm crawling with spiders. No thank you.

"And this isn't a trap?" I ask Dean.

"He mentioned another Hand of God, I can't imagine how this would be a trap."

"Dean, this is Crowley we're talking about."

Once we're deep enough into the warehouse, we find the King of Hell himself. Alone, I might add. I'm still on guard.

"What kind of scrap did you get yourself into, Josie?" is his greeting to me. Ah, right, I'll bet he can see the scars on my face from the werewolf attack. Those haven't gone away like I wanted them to, unfortunately.

"Normal hunting business, nothing of which concerns you," I remark smartly. "But thanks for noticing my warrior blemishes."

"Nice digs," Dean cuts in. "The Crypt Keeper out of town?"

"I'm lucky to be alive," Crowley insists. "Lucifer had me trussed up like a dog in my own palace."

"'Palace'? Oh, you mean the abandoned nuthouse."

"He kept me in a kennel!" I can't help but smile at that. It's the one time I think I'll ever appreciate Lucifer. "And he turned all his demons...my demons...against me. They scour the earth, day and night, looking to kill me. He has to be dealt with."

"Aw, is the King of Hell tired of being the Devil's little bitch?" I simper.

"You know, I do believe I never asked for your input."

"So is this why you brought us here?" Dean asks Crowley. "Some lousy grudge match with Lucifer?"

"Yeah, where's this, uh, Hand of God you were talking about?" Sam jumps in.

"I'm getting to that," Crowley snaps. "Your only hope of subduing Amara is to match the level of power that she possesses."

"No kidding," I say dryly. "And?"

"And I have the Horn of Joshua."

"Joshua?" Sam inquires. "As in the Joshua that won the battle of Jericho?"

Nerdy much, Sam? He'd be the one to know things like that. Dean and I don't store all of that kind of knowledge in our brains. If we do, some of it flies out the door and is never seen again.

"And I'm willing to entrust it to your capable hands." My brothers and I look at each other. "What? I just said I'd give you the thing."

"If?" the three of us say.

"Is this how you say 'thank you'? You think these things grow on bloody trees?!"

"Cut the crap, Crowley," says Dean. "With you, there's always an 'if'."

"Fine. I will give you the Horn 'if' you help me exorcise Lucifer from Castiel's vessel and then return him immediately to the Cage."

"Oh, that's all?" I ask mildly. "Huh."

"Okay," says Dean. "And where is this horn?"

"Safely hidden, naturally," Crowley assures us.

"Crowley," says Sam, "even if we could exorcise Lucifer out of Cas, the Cage is damn near impenetrable. It took a spell from the Book of the Damned to spring Lucifer, and Rowena hid the book."

"And we would need both the book and her to even have a shot," says Dean.

"Did I say this would be easy?" Crowley sasses us. "No. I did not."

"Do you even know where Rowena is?" I ask, becoming mildly irritated now.

"Rotting somewhere, I assume. Lucifer snapped her neck."

Well, I didn't see that coming. My mind thinks back to after we got broken out of Hell. Lucifer had occupied Cas's vessel. He'd let us go on. He must've gone back into Hell and killed her then. And then he made Crowley his personal bitch.

"Well, hold on a second," I say, reminding myself of a key point. "If we put Lucifer back in his box, there's nobody strong enough to possibly match Amara. We...we need him." It stings me to say it.

"Jo does have a point," Dean comes to my defense. Crowley just looks at us severely. "Let's just put it in reverse. We will put Lucifer back in the Cage after we put Amara back on ice. It has to happen in that order, otherwise there is no Lucifer, there's no Cage, there's no nothing."

"He's spent years marinating in hate against us! He has to go," Crowley insists.

"Problem is, we may need him," Sam says gravely.

"He's been down this road with Amara before," Dean jumps back in. "He might be the only one powerful enough to use the Horn against her."

"He had me cleaning the floors with my tongue!" Crowley protests. "He called me 'puppy'! He made me beg."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize this was all about you," I say smartly. "And be thankful it was 'puppy' instead of 'bitch'. I'm surprised he didn't stick with that."

"All right. Come on," Dean says. "Is this what this is about? Huh? Your stupid ego? The fact that he dissed you in front of a bunch of stupid demons? You're smarter than this. Come on!"

"Dean's right," says Sam. "Priority is to put the Horn in Lucifer's hands and set him loose on Amara."

"After we exorcise Lucifer out of Cas and put him into a new vessel."

"What?" I ask. "Really?"

"Yes, really. We're not gonna send Lucifer into battle inside Cas. What if he doesn't make it?"

I didn't consider that.

"Dean, it's a strong vessel," Sam says. "It's held Cas for years, and we know what he's been through. I'm guessing it can hold Lucifer."

"Whoa, hey," I say defensively, looking at my little brother. "'It'? It's not an 'it', Sam. It's Cas."

"And Cas wanted to do this."

"Yeah, well, there's times I want to get slapped during sex by a girl wearing a Zorro mask," Dean says. "That don't make it a good idea."

"Dean, this is exactly how we screw ourselves," says Sam. "W-we make the...the heart choice instead of the smart choice."

"Oh, okay. Thank you, Dr. Phil. Cas is family."

"Yes, and his choice deserves to be respected."

"Even if it kills him?"

"It's killing me," Crowley interjects. "I would rather stick white-hot skewers in my eyes than listen to you three bitches bicker! I gave you the terms of my deal. If Lucifer's not back in the Cage, the Horn stays hidden."

"You know, this is a dick move, Crowley," says Sam. "Even for you. You're not being reasonable."

"I don't have to be reasonable. I'm the king."

Our bickering stops when we hear a loud crash come from outside.

"What the hell was that?" I whisper.

The four of us walk outside of the warehouse and find the sky becoming angry. A storm looks to be brewing. I lick my lips out of nerves. I think we all know who's behind this. The dark clouds swirl, thunder rumbles, and lightning splits through the clouds.

"You know what, fellas?" I say. "I think that's her. And I think it's best we take cover before we get struck."

Wisely, we listen to my advice and head back inside the nasty warehouse.

"Okay," I say. "So now we all just saw what happens when she's in a bad mood, which, apparently, she's been in since the dawn of time."

"I think she just rattled Heaven with a flick of her pinkie finger," says Dean. "That's not a big enough dose of reality for you?"

"So you're telling me that you want to let Lucifer roam free?" Crowley asks. "Why are we arguing? We all know that he has to go back in the Cage."

"Yes, when it makes sense. Amara's the big picture here, okay? Look, in order to take her out, Lucifer has got to have the Horn of Joshua. He does her, we do him. Check, please."

Crowley doesn't say anything. The time passes in silence.

"Crowley, tick tock," I say impatiently. "You with us?"

"The crux of your dispute is your contention that Lucifer, and only Lucifer, can use the Horn to beat Amara, right?"

"You got it."

"Well, that scenario only works if you actually possess said Horn, which you do not."

"No, we don't." I cross my arms. "But you do, so..."

"Exactly!" The King of Hell's voice raises, echoing. "I do! This isn't a negotiation. I have the high cards, and you have...Hold on. Give me a second. Let me have a look...no cards! My offer stands."

"When we sprung Lucifer from the Cage, we had Rowena and the Book of the Damned," Dean says. "Both of which we will need to put him back in the Cage, both of which are gone."

"Guys," I hear Sam say. I look at him, but then I notice where his eyes are. They're focused on an old safe. Glowing letters are beginning to appear. I look, brows furrowed, as Dean and Crowley continue to argue.

"Guys," I say louder. "Look at this..."

On the safe is a haunting sentence: Back from the dead Fergus!

"Is that who I think that is?" I whisper. I look at Crowley. "You said Lucifer killed her."

"I watched him do it."

"Well, I guess he didn't do it well enough. By the way, I'm so calling you Fergus now." I smirk.

"Well, it looks like we recovered one of our things," says Sam. "Let's hope she's got the Book of the Damned."

**Jo's snark to Crowley is one of the many reasons I love her character <3**