missmara13

Finally a new chapter! This one's been half written since August, but tonight I suddenly got inspired and finished the chapter. There's some background info given here, explaining some stuff and setting up a new part of the story.

Previous Chapters:
One - Two - Three - Four - Five



Chapter Six - Bring It

"Ryan!" Sandy yelled as he and the rest of the group who'd responded to Brooke's frantic report of someone bursting out of the woods, spotted Ryan on the ground with the someone they couldn't see clearly.

"He's hurt bad!" Ryan called back. "We need the nurse from the clinic!"

"Right here," Peter said as he dropped down beside them and tore the shirt away to reveal the wound. "Looks like a bullet..."

"Bastard shot me when I..." the injured man began.

"Shut the fuck up," Ryan said tensely.

Sandy had felt a chill run through him when he heard the man's voice, and moved closer, staring down in a mix of horror, hatred, and in a way delight, which made him feel sick. "Trey?" he asked, the name coming out sounding like a curse. "Let him die," he found himself saying to Peter.

"What?" Peter asked, glancing up then immediately going back to work. "Look, whatever the story is..." he began.

"I got his kid killed..." Trey said.

"You were stupid, like usual, you never meant for anybody to get hurt," Ryan said.

"Coulda killed you, too... only person who gave a shit about me..."

"Yeah, well, you're a shitty human being, Trey," Ryan said. "Now shut up and hold still."

"What happened?" Peter asked.

"Bastard shot me when I tried to walk away," Trey said through gritted teeth. "I couldn't just... this is home... couldn't just let him..."

"Trey?" Ryan said, his voice rising in fear as his brother started choking.

"Roll him on his side," Peter instructed. For a moment, he and Ryan struggled to move Trey's dead weight, then Sandy stopped down and helped them, his eyes locking with Ryan's and seeing the confusion, fear, and grief in them.

"Can you help him?" Sandy asked Peter, who looked up.

"I thought you wanted me to let him die?" Peter asked.

"Can you help him?" Sandy repeated, not answering the question.

"I'll do what I can," Peter told them, not promising anything.





"Why are we wasting resources..." Dan began.

"Shut up," Sandy said, turning on the man. "There's been enough death in the last day, Dan, we don't need to willing add another to the list."

"You don't even care that he killed your son?" Dan asked.

"I care that my other son, the one I almost lost last night, is in that room hoping he doesn't lose his brother. I don't want Ryan going through that again," Sandy said. "So back off."

"Besides," Dean said, stepping in. "He was saying something about getting shot because he didn't want something happening to this town. He said something about trying to walk away because this is home and he couldn't let someone do something, so he was shot by whoever it was. Might help to know the who, what, when, and how, and I think he's the only one who can answer that."

Ryan slowly walked out of the room where he'd been helping Peter and Haley, keeping Trey from struggling as they examined him before sedation. "Peter's doing surgery to fix the damage," he said.

"Did he say anything else?" Dean asked.

Ryan looked up at him, then over at Sandy. "Frank shot him. I shouldn't be surprised, but... Frank shot him. He... I don't know, Trey was in and out... he wasn't making much sense."

"Who's Frank?" Dean asked.

"Our biological father," Ryan said. "Guy put my head through a wall when I was 12 and when I woke up, Sandy and Kirsten took me in, adopted me. And Frank went away for a couple years."

"And why's Trey a bad guy?"

"He killed Seth Cohen," Karen said.

"So did I, Karen," Ryan said. "I'm the one who left him alone in the car when I knew that water was rising fast. I knew he couldn't get out, and I left him. So if you're gonna call Trey a killer, you sure as hell better be ready to join the rest of this town in saying the same about me. Because I'm not stupid, no one here forgives me for what I let happen. I will always be the kid who got sweet little Seth Cohen killed, no matter how many busses of school kids I find wrecked outside of town."

"Ryan..." Karen began.

"Trey's responsible for it, but he didn't kill Seth," Matt said firmly. "He caused the accident, but those troopers should have listened to both of you. They shouldn't have waited until me and Rick showed up and told them about Seth before they bothered to check."

"Whatever," Ryan said. "Trey said something about Frank planning a smash and grab, like the old days except on a bigger scale. Everything him and his little group can get in one hit. And they're pretty well armed. Trey said Frank got in with some of the militias again..."

"If he did..." Dean began.

"We're screwed," Ryan said, nodding.

"How many ways in and out of town?" Dean asked.

"Two by vehicle," Ryan replied. "You can get in from anywhere on foot, but they'll bring trucks to load with their acquisitions."

"Not if they can't get their trucks in," Dean asked. "We barricade the road at either end of town, and station shooters behind the barricades to protect them."

"We rig mines," Ryan said, catching on to Dean's idea. "Low grade explosives off to either side, just enough for a bang to scare 'em."

"That's the idea," Dean said. "And we fill a couple potholes with low grade, so that when they roll over it..."

"Bang," Ryan said, nodding. He turned to Matt. "We need dynamite and other explosives," he said. "And some cords of wire."

"Wire?" Dan demanded.

"We make it look like the Banning Bridge is wired to blow," Ryan said with a cold smile. "Scare them into backing off."

"It won't work..."

"Worked in Iraq," Ryan said. "Come on, Winchester, let's go take a look at the local terrain maps."

"Right," Dean agreed. As they got outside and headed for the Courthouse, he glanced over at Ryan. "You military?"

"I consulted for the government," Ryan replied. "Did some work in Iraq. One of the marines, Laura Cadman... man, she loved explosives. She grew up on the fringe's of a militia group and learned how to do it right, then taught me one night when we all got stuck inside the mess tent waiting for a sand storm to die down. She was crazy, but... damn I wish she was here right now. And Lorne, Sheppard... everybody from that unit would be helpful." He shook his head. "But they were mostly in Colorado Springs, some special assignment involving NORAD, so... they're probably dead."

"My brother and father live in Montana," Dean said as they entered the empty courthouse. "Even if they survived the bomb that went off up there... they probably picked fights with the feds pretty..." he stopped himself, both verbally, and physically as he realized what he'd said.

Ryan didn't even turn around as he started pulling out maps. "I already figured out you're not a fed, Winchester," he said. "Your gun isn't government issued, in fact my father had one just like it when I was a kid. He held it to my head enough times for me to memorize what it looked like. You carry yourself more like the militia guys I used to know then any feds I've met. And you're thinking outside the box, something most feds refuse to do."

"My dad's head of a militia group in Montana," Dean said. "Not the 'let's start a revolution' type of group, but still, he didn't wanna be paying taxes or getting licences for his guns, or worrying about silly stuff like proper medical care and vaccinations for the kids. He thought the apocalypse was coming fast, and he had a lot of followers, too. I got sick of it and took off a couple years back, left Dad and Sammy there."

"They might be fine," Ryan said. "Maybe they kept their heads down. Maybe they're gonna roll into town looking for you after a while."

"I doubt it," Dean said. "Come on, show me the maps."

Ryan nodded and pointed out the road. "This section runs out to the highway, about 70 miles to the west," he explained. "But this section, that goes over Banning Bridge, is our main entrance and exit point."

"I walked over it on my way in," Dean said, nodding. "I hate to say it, but..."

"Whether they like it or not, we gotta be ready to really blow it," Ryan agreed. "You know anything about explosives?"

"I can make small time stuff in my sleep," Dean said. "Way I figure it, I double that recipe, I get twice as big."

"Banning's meant to deal with earthquakes, so adjust accordingly," Ryan said. "I want the trigger box in the center of the bridge," he added.

"Are you insane?" Dean said. "Whoever sets it off..."

"Frank Atwood is a son of a bitch, looks like a reject from Hercules or Conan the Barbarian, but he gets scared by crazy. And seeing someone ready to blow themselves up to stop him? Is fucking insane."

"And what if it needs to be blown?" Dean asked.

"If he doesn't turn back, I'll blow it, no worries," Ryan said.

They were quiet for a long moment, studying the maps, before Dean spoke again. "Why haven't you busted me?"

"Because, having a fed around gives people some hope that someone's gonna come for you, which means they'll come for us. And I don't trust Dan Scott to do what's right over what's right for him. A fed can over rule him if things get desperate and there's no choice," Ryan said. "Besides, I've got a knack for judging people correctly, and my gut says you're one of the good guys."

"I try," Dean said, nodding.

To Be Continued...