Chapter 5 – welcome to weird incorporated

Nine Sisters Talent Agency
Vancouver

Kitsilano neighborhood looked pleasant enough. A streetcar rumbled down the street. There was plenty of vehicle and pedestrian traffic this time of day, even though rush hour was winding down.

No one noticed when Sam Winchester and Castiel quietly blinked into view.

Sam waited for his eyes to adjust to the sunlight and for his guts to stop churning. Beside him Castiel stood unnaturally still, as always.

The youngest Winchester brother wore his best, most professional looking grey suit. His fake Homeland Security badge was tucked away in his pocket. Hidden on his person was a flask containing holy water and one pair of silver handcuffs engraved with a devil's trap on each cuff. The slim black briefcase he carried contained a change of clothes and several other containment devices Sam hoped he wouldn't have to use, but it was better to come prepared.

"We're Homeland Security this time, Cas. Remember to flash your ID when we go in."

Sam walked and the angel followed him.

Castiel looked confused. "But this is a different country than the United States."

Sam nodded. "I know. I'm hoping that Homeland Security tin carries some weight up here."

"Weight? I don't understand. The badge doesn't feel any heavier."

Somehow Sam managed not to roll his eyes. "Authority, Cas. Weight also means authority."

"Oh." Sam could tell his partner still didn't get the reference.

From his research on the 'net Sam knew that the Kitsalino had parks and beaches. The address and the photos on their website indicated that Nine Sisters was beachfront property, with the Pacific Ocean at its rear.

"Okay, here it is." The place was casual but expensive looking, a one story brick building. The door was simple, nothing ornate but clearly high-end, complete with curved gold door handles and ornate lettering etched into the glass.

A man came out of the building. Castiel blinked, puzzled. He didn't see a man. He saw a wolf.

"I'll be damned," Sam muttered. "Garth?"

Garth turned in the direction of Sam's voice. "Sam? Hey!" His expression brightened at first, only to be replaced a a slightly dazed expression at the sight of Castiel. Apparently werewolves could see angelic beings.

"Um, this is Castiel."

"Oh! Him!" Garth gaped at the angel in wide-eyed wonder. "Nice wings. I thought they'd sparkle or something. I'm Garth."

"Thank you. I'm pleased to meet you, Garth," the angel of the Lord said solemnly.

Sam flicked a quick glance inside the office. A woman in a royal blue business suit sat behind the front desk. There was no one else around. The furnishings inside were expensive, top of the line. The paintings on the walls were framed in gold. Behind the front desk an oversized bay window stretched from wall to wall. On the desk sat a futuristic looking Mac imac computer.

"So what are you doing here?" Sam struggled to look and sound friendly. He really wanted to take Garth by the shirt front and shake him, but he couldn't allow his frustration and anger to take over.

"Why aren't you with your pack?"

Garth blinked. His upper lip trembled. "Oh...uh...I'm separated. From Bess."

"Really? I'm sorry to hear that."

Garth nodded. His eyes were moist. "We just...it's a trial separation, you know? I've been away for three months now." His expression brightened again. "I got a job. Through the Nine Sisters agency. They say I can get steady work up here. The city's nice. I like it. Maybe I can convince Bess and my pack to move up here."

"Have you seen Dean?"

Garth smiled happily. "Sure! We had dinner last night. His treat. He told me to come down here and apply, so I did."

Sam quirked an eyebrow at Garth. "He did, did he?"

"Sure!" It took Garth all of five seconds to notice the way Sam's face darkened at the mention of his brother. "Oh. Uh, you haven't talked to him lately?"

"No, I haven't." Sam couldn't keep the chill out of his voice.

"Awkward," Garth mumbled underneath his breath. "Um...well, I better get going. It was good to see you, Sam. Castiel."

"Take it easy, Garth."

The hunter turned werewolf walked quickly away.

Sam glanced at the angel and stopped dead in his tracks. "What's the matter?"

Castiel stared at the door. He was wide-eyed. Deer in the headlights. "Nine Sisters. Of course!" Castiel muttered to himself.

"What?"

"I should have remembered. I'd...I'd forgotten..."

Now what? Sam glared at him.

The angel blinked and finally looked Sam in the eyes. "There is immeasurable power in this place. Ancient."

"Evil?"

The angel shook his head. "Sometimes. The beings inside are not to be trifled with."

Sam's mouth firmed into a determined line. "If they have anything to do with Dean I'll trifle with them all I want to." He gripped the golden door handle.

"Sam, I think it would be best if I waited outside."

"Why? You've come this far." Sam pulled on the door and walked inside.

The gold nameplate on the front desk read Calliope Anderson. The woman had shoulder length auburn hair and seemed awfully familiar. Sam suddenly realized that she was the spitting image of Lucy Lawless, the actress who played Xena, Warrior Princess.

"Well if it isn't Sam Winchester!" she said, smiling.

Sam blinked. Crap! They were busted already. And in record time, too.

She eyed Castiel up and down. "Good to see you again, Castiel. Different vessel this time, huh? You've got nerve, I'll give you that."

Sam was struck speechless, for one of the few times in his life.

Calliope smiled. "Oh, we were supposed to playact first, right? I'm sorry. I didn't give you a chance to pull out your fake badges and impersonate law enforcement. FBI? No wait, I've got it! United States Homeland Security!"

As if on cue Castiel fumbled inside his pocket and pulled out his badge. He held it upside down.

Sam sighed. "Never mind, Cas. Put it away."

"Aww, that's cute. Have a seat. We've been expecting you. So what can I do you boys out of today?"

Castiel sat in the chair furthest from the desk. Sam scowled as he took the other seat. He placed his briefcase on the floor next to his chair. "What are you talking about?"

Calliope Anderson's smile had a knowing quality about it. "Oh, he didn't tell you?"

Castiel squirmed in his seat.

"Well, let me enlighten you. Five hundred years ago my eight sisters and I grew bored. That is not a good thing, so we started this company. It was a lark at first. A diversion. We still inspired poets and novellists, but we branched out. We provided employment for folks with, shall we say, special abilities. Travelling circuses. In recent times we branched out. Carnivals. Birthday parties. Back in the sixties we had to stop providing talent to those venue. Have you ever tried to get birthday cake frosting out of werewolf fur?" She shuddered. "It's horrific. Just the thing to put a 300 pound 'shifter into a killing mood."

"And your point?" Sam snapped.

She quirked an eyebrow at the angel. "Are you going to tell him? Or shall I?"

Castiel sighed heavily. "Well, uh...mistakes were made, hurtful things were said, we should all move on with our lives."

"Cas?" Sam said warningly.

"Once I was a client. Of this very same agency." Castiel blurted out.

"You were what?"

"I had a different vessel then. At the time some of my brethen and I decided to go into show business. We were curious. Father allowed it." Castiel shook his head ruefully. "It was a disaster."

"What? Why?"

"Ummm...Raphael disapproved of some of the jobs we were given. So did Hannah."

Sam's bitchface was fierce, smoldering. It had the desired effect.

"To be honest we disapproved of all the material we were given. It seemed barbaric to me. I didn't like doing auditions. It's just make believe. I know that now, but..."

"When were you going to tell me?"

"Ummm...never."

"Never?"

"I was hoping they wouldn't recognize me."

Calliope smiled, sharp enough to cut. "Fat chance."

A small corkscrew of tension formed between Sam's eyes. That happened a lot lately. "So what happened?"

"My people and the agency staff nearly came to blows. I believe Father allowed that because he knew we would fail. Well," Castiel amended, "everyone but Lucifer. He excelled in show business. From that point on, my kind has been banned from employment with Nine Sisters."

Sam frowned. "Nine sisters?"

Calliope jerked a thumb at Sam. "For a hunter he's kinda slow, isn't he?"

"Most humans are." Castiel replied solemnly.

Sam glared at him. "What?"

"These are the nine sisters, Sam."

"The what?"

"The Muses. They are a sisterhood of nine goddesses who embody the arts and inspire the creation process with their graces through remembered and improvised song and stage, writing, traditional music, and dance. They are the daughters of Zeus, king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, goddess of memory."

"I never get tired of hearing that." Calliope waved at the angel. "No, keep going."

Castiel did. "This is Calliope, the beautiful of speech. The rest are Clio, the glorious one. Erato, the amorous one, Euterpe-"

"Okay, that's enough," Sam growled. "Lady, you know who we are and why we're here. Pretty impressive mojo you have there. Where's my brother?"

"No mojo required, Sam. Dean told us you'd come. I must admit you do have that stubborn 'I'll do anything to get my big brother back' glint in your eyes. He was certainly right about that. As to where your brother is, he's on set right now. In Vancoever. You know that."

She pushed back from the desk and raised up out of her seat. She leaned forward with both palms on the desk and tilted her head to one side.

Sam's right hand curled up into a fist. He couldn't help it. She was staring at his ass. "What are you doing?"

Calliope shrugged. "I just wanted to see if you and Dean are joined at the hip. You're not."

God, this woman (or goddess, or whatever) was irritating!

Calliope winked at him and sat down again. Her expression changed in a heartbeat, from snarky to genuinely concerned. She clasped her hands in front of her on the desk. "We're not controlling your brother, Sam. He's here of his own free will. We don't force anyone to work for us."

Oh, she's good, Sam thought darkly. He didn't believe a word of it.

Out of the corner of his eye Sam saw the air shimmer pale purple and form into a tall, slender female. The long flowing dress she wore hugged her figure. At first glance the material appeared midnight black covered in stars and galaxies. The newcomer had a heart-shaped face, caramel colored skin, purple eyes and long black hair pulled into a ponytail that reached mid-back. Her appearance might have been soft and ethereal, but her voice and posture was anything but. She put her hands on her hips.

"Calliope, what is this?"

"Urania," Calliope replied calmly. "These are Dean's people."

"Huh. I can see why he left." Urania tossed her head as she eyed Sam and Castiel. Her expression softened as she looked Sam over. "He's a big one. Impressive." She stared at Sam so hard his skin prickled.

"Huh." Urania sounded thoughtful. "He's emo too. Very emotional for a human male." When she glanced at Castiel her face hardened. "But I thought we agreed that this is an angel free zone. You remember what happened the last time."

Calliope nodded. "I remember. Let me handle this, all right?"

"Fine."

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

Sam tried not to startle as Urania's slim fingers danced across the top of his left shoulder. She felt his muscles underneath the material of his suit and nodded in approval.

The muse sighed. "I have a four o'clock in New York. Abrams and Kennedy are having last minute jitters over the script for the next Star Wars movie." She rolled her eyes. "I keep telling them to trust the process, but you know these Hollywood types. So insecure."

Calliope smiled. "Then I'll see you when you get back."

Urania ruffled her fingers through Sam's hair. Before he had a chance to jerk back she winked at him and disappeared in a haze of purple card into Sam's left hand,

"My little sister always did have a kink for the tall ones," Calliope murmured. Sam fought a losing battle not to blush.

"All right then," Calliope said brightly. Where were we?" Her eyes settled on the angel of the Lord. "Oh yes. You."

Calliope's voice vibrated with power.

Castiel disappeared.

Sam stood up out of his chair and backed away. "What did you do to him!"

The countermeasures he had on him would work against demons. Calliope Anderson was clearly anything but. He couldn't think of a thing he had to use against her.

"I leveled the playing field. We take a pretty dim view of angel assisted kidnap attempts around here. And you do want to see your brother, isn't that right, Sam? Come. Sit down."

The room darkened. Sam froze. Not because he was frightened of her. What spooked him was the shadow that fell across the bay window.

Sam saw teeth.

Rows of teeth.

Giant teeth.

TBC