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I need everyone to listen closely.

[It's unusual for Angel to show his face on the network, especially if it comes to leaving a message of his own. He'll reply to people here and there, but largely, he doesn't think it's worth the effort -- phones being the invention of a bored warlock and all.

But this is different. This is urgent, and it's written all over his face, his jaw squared and his mouth set in a hard line, tense.]

Your pal Tom that started warning people over the network, apologizing for this creep from his world? Don't trust him. In fact, stay as far away from him as you can -- lock yourselves in, do whatever you have to do, but do it immediately. He's the one responsible for these murders.

[He hadn't been sure at first. He'd smelled the blood of more than one of the victims on Tom when they'd gone to investigate one of the more recent crime scenes together, but it hadn't been enough to go on -- Tom could have just gone to two or three different sites to help handle the aftermath and picked it up that way -- but then Angel himself had gone to each and every point of discovery. Every one.

And at each one, he caught the same scent. None of them belonged to this 'Harry Warden,' but each and every trail lead back to the same place.

He hadn't wanted to believe it at first, thought he had to have been mistaken, but his senses had never lead him wrong before now. People were surprising where demons and other vampires were predictable. Angel expected better from humans, admired humanity for what it was -- there were always bad apples, but even after two and a half centuries, he wasn't used to them coming in mild-mannered packages like Tom Hanniger.

Just goes to show. And yet, something about it still didn't sit right with him, like it couldn't possibly be as cut and dry as Tom lying, but there's no time for him to try and pick that apart now. What matters is keeping people away from him, getting Tom contained somehow and keeping him from doing any more harm than he already has.]

Every one of these crimes leads back to him. There is no Harry Warden, that story is nothing but a decoy.

Do not try to go after him on your own. He might be human, but that means he's unpredictable-- this guys is killing like he's got nothing to lose. Get yourselves somewhere safe, each and every one of you. Arm yourselves if you have to, just in case.

This will be over soon. I promise.

[He plans to see to that personally.]

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[As soon as Castiel finds Jo, he stops in his tracks, taking a moment to look her over. She's alone, which is the last thing she should be in light of what she's just done. It had been utterly necessary, but that doesn't always make it a simple thing. Castiel knows that very well himself by now, having killed people close to him because it "had to be done."

He swallows and then moves toward her, kneeling down in front of her. The blood's splattered all over, Tom's blood. He reaches out and sets a steadying hand on Jo's shoulder.]

I know. [They may have come here to capture Tom, but sometimes that isn't an option, and he isn't going to question Jo's choice.] Did he hurt you?

[Tom already has, that broken arm that he healed a few days ago. But it's hard to pick out her blood from his, and while he can't cure what she's dealing with emotionally, at least he can handle the physical aspect of it.]

[She starts to nod on instinct -- it hadn't been for any lack of trying, after all -- but shakes her head instead, making no move to shrug his hand away from her shoulder. She's too shell-shocked to move much otherwise, but she can communicate just fine. It's not the worst thing she's ever seen, or even the worst thing she's done to another living being. They'd always deserved it, it had been part of the job.

But it had never been like this. It had never been personal.]

No. He-- [She pauses to swallow before continuing.] He tried. Nothing broken, nothing lasting.

[Her neck might bruise nicely in a few hours, but at the moment, no sign of injury, other than a growing bump on the head.]

Maybe a concussion. I don't-- I don't know.

[The reason she feels so much like throwing up right about now could be something else entirely.]

[A concussion isn't something that should be brushed off, from what Castiel understands. And so his hand moves up to Jo's head, his fingers tangling through her hair as he pushes a wave of healing force through her. He also cleans the blood off. She doesn't need to be covered in that.

It won't fix the pain that's tearing up her soul, but at least she'll be in perfect condition physically.

Castiel pulls back then. Angel hasn't made his way over here yet, and chances are that he's handling the body. It would be best if he got it away from here, so that Jo doesn't have to see it again.]

You shouldn't stay here. Can you stand?

[Physically, she should be capable, but that doesn't account for the rest of it.]

[She leans forward to move and suddenly her head is spinning, causing her to lean back and rest the back of her head against the wall as Castiel works his fingers into her hair. Just like that, in an instant, gone. As though nothing had happened -- except there's still a dull and steady ache inside that even an angel can't heal away.

She looks at him for a moment, her voice caught in her throat. Thank you. Shock makes the words hard to get out, but after a moment, she at least manages to answer his question.]

I think so.

[She has no delusions about how unsteady she might be, however, and before she tries to get to her feet, she carefully takes Castiel's arm to steady herself, bracing her free hand against the wall for support. Even with everything healed, her legs feel like rubber beneath her.]

... I'm glad you came.

[Castiel's there to offer his arm, watching carefully as Jo stands to make certain that she isn't going to collapse as soon as she gets her footing.

Once he's convinced that isn't going to happen, he takes a half-step away to give her some room to breathe, nodding in response to her statement. He doesn't know if she's up to be transported by flight now, but leading her through the front room doesn't strike him as the best idea either.]

I brought someone with me. [Castiel glances toward the door he came through.] Stay here, I'm going to check if the area is clear.

[He doesn't move far, just enough to peer into the main area of the bunker and see if Angel's managed to move the body.]

[For the most part, she's standing reasonably well on her own, though following his gaze towards the main room makes her go tense. She doesn't want to walk through there again if she doesn't have to. She doesn't want to see Tom sprawled out motionless in a pool of his own blood, but there's only one way out of here.]

You brought backup?

[Normally, she would assume it was Dean -- but he would have been first to come find her if that was the case. She's curious, but not enough to ask. Keeping herself together is taking most of her focus.

When Castiel looks, he'll see that there's no sign of the body aside from the blood on the floor -- Angel has taken the liberties of moving Tom and vanished, though it's safe to assume he'll be back to handle the scene sooner rather than later.]

He was already tracking you. I elected to come with.

[Which is for the best, since it gave Angel the time needed to move the body away. Castiel will have to find out what he's done with it later, but for right now his priority is Jo.

The blood is still there, and while it's not quite as bad as Tom's corpse still laying out, he doubts that Jo wants to see it.

He moves back toward her.] It's clear. We can go through there, or we can fly away from here. It's your choice. [To think that he's become the sort of being that can be this considerate. He's certainly learned a lot over the years. There was a time when he wouldn't have even thought about the fact that the blood might bother Jo, would have just dragged her out.]

Tracking me.

[The word 'tracking' sounds just a little too menacing to her right now, thanks to Tom -- no, thanks to Harry. He'd been stalking her all week, following her and waiting for the opportunity to attack -- he'd been gunning for her. God.

But she's not about to look a gifthorse in the mouth. She's glad Castiel came. Whoever was following her, she was grateful for that, too.]

I hate to ask you for another favor, but--

[But she's not all that steady on her feet. She wants to walk, wants to pull through this and say she's okay, but she needs a moment.]

Not sure I can make it that far. [Even after he's healed her, shock is still having an effect. It probably will for awhile longer.] ... I just want to go back to my room, I think.

[Her room. Not Tom's. For the first time in a long, long time.]

[It's the most accurate way to describe what Angel had been doing, seeing how he'd used his sense of smell to find his way here. Not that Castiel's going to mention that a vampire had anything to do with this. He doubts Jo would be very pleased with that.

He doesn't at all mind her asking for his help. In fact, it's a breath of fresh air yet again, to have someone who's straight-forward with him.

Besides, Jo would have to climb up the ridge if they walked out, and that doesn't seem like a good idea right now.]

Your room. I can do that.

[Castiel approaches Jo again and sets a hand on her arm, making eye contact to indicate that she should brace herself.

In the next second, they're standing in the center of Jo's room. Castiel steps back and looks her over, a slight frown on his face.]

[Even having prepared herself for the feeling of sudden displacement that always came with hitching a ride with an angel, she finds herself feeling disoriented once they appear in her room. She puts a hand against his shoulder to steady herself while the foggy feeling in her head takes a moment to clear, pressing her lips together as she takes a quick look at their surroundings.

It looks too clean, untouched. She hasn't been here in a long while, and it shows.

She sighs, letting her hand drop away from him and taking a step back.]

Thank you.

[Maybe it went without saying, but she couldn't imagine making it back on her own now that the adrenaline was staring to wear off.]

I think I... think I just need a few minutes.

[Alone.]

[Castiel only nods in reply to her thanks, taking a quick look around. It's also been some time since he's been in Jo's room, though he isn't able to take note of those signs of disuse. To him, it's simply a room.

He turns back toward her, and while it takes him a second, the implication of what Jo's asking for sinks in.] Of course.

[She wants to be alone while she breaks down, and while Castiel wishes there was more that he could do, he's already reached the limit of his usefulness in a situation like this.

He would be better off tracking down Angel to see to it that Tom's been secured somewhere for when he eventually revives. The sorts of things that Jo's in no state to deal with right now, Castiel can handle.

He leans forward and grips Jo's shoulder before pulling back and retreating toward the door.] I'm sorry, Jo. You can call me if you need... anything.

[And with that, he steps out and closes the door behind him, letting her be.]

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