LOGIC TO THE HMPH DEGREE - Part II
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Jensen raised the teacup to his lips and put down the paper he had been reading. He could hear his father entering the living room and it was only convenient, because Jensen had been preparing himself to introduce Alan to the idea of hiring Jared in their estate. He turned to speak and noticed that the man was dressed to go out. Oh joy.
Jensen raised himself from the chair. “Let me get my cloak.”
“Actually, today it’s best that you don’t come with me.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t be gambling tonight. I’m in no danger of getting into a fight. I have a meeting, it’s important.” Alan said, his eyes shining bright.
“And what is the problem with me going with you?”
“No problem at all, son.” He put his hand on Jensen’s shoulder. “But the person I’m meeting is a little paranoid. I don’t blame him, what with the recent happenings. But he insisted that I go alone, and I’d rather not risk his changing his mind if I bring you. I will convince him to accept your presence next time.” Alan slapped his son’s shoulder one last time in conclusion and went to grab his umbrella.
Jensen wasn’t convinced. His mind was still on the evening’s conversation with Sasha Collins, and he had been nursing an uncomfortable feeling all week. This was not the time to be sauntering around at midnight with no protection.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. He wants to see you alone? How do you know you can trust this person?”
“Jensen, your old man isn’t as much of a fool as you think!” Alan laughed. “He’s an old friend of ours, I’m only being mysterious about his identity because he doesn’t want to take any chances.”
Jensen pursed his lips, still vexed. His father went on. “Listen, this will be good for you. Relax a little, read a book. When I come back safe and sound, you’ll realize that there’s no need to stress yourself like this. I won’t drop dead as soon as you’re not around.”
Jensen sighed and uncrossed his arms. “Alright, but won’t you do this any other day? I know I’m always worried, but today it’s a special worry. That Collins person will be going to the estate to try and kill you. I sent the guards that aren’t with Mr. Morgan right now to wait for him, but they’re not that many. What if he escapes? And what if that “meeting” is a plan B? Or even a plan A, and his brother told me he would break into Ackles Park to distract me from the real plan?”
“My, how dramatic! Jensen, this is exactly why you need to relax, maybe learn how to have fun.”
Jensen pouted. “I have fun.”
“Of course. Listen, I don’t usually do this, but this time I’m giving you an order. You’re not coming with me. If you wish to, go outside, play Speculation, I don’t know. But I forbid you to come with me.” Alan said in a serious voice.
“At least take two servants with you. You can leave them waiting on the outside, and if anything goes wrong they’ll be able to hear it. You don’t want to run into a flock of Luddites!”
Alan raised his chin. “If I run into a flock of them, the night won’t have been in vain! I will ride up to my saddle in Luddite blood!” And with that he put on his hat and whistled out the door, leaving Jensen on his feet with a teacup on his hand.
He walked around the table a couple of times before calming down, and finally settled down next to the window. Maybe he was being paranoid after all. Collins was heading for Ackles Park. He would be caught by the guard and everything would be fine. Even if he escaped, he wouldn’t be able to find them, how could he know where Jensen and his dad spent the weekends? Jensen took a sip of his tea and looked absently for a few seconds at the dark profile of the tower on St. Peter’s Church.
St. Peter’s Church…
With a jolt, he stepped backwards and dropped his cup on the floor. He had told Jared about their weekend spot! The image of Jared and Misha Collins walking off side by side appeared in his mind, clearer than before. Jensen looked at the tower again. He could trust Jared, couldn’t he? But he had been constantly around those people lately. Jensen couldn’t risk it. All the previous apprehension was back tenfold, and he didn’t think again before fetching a pistol and leaving in a rush to find out which way his father had gone. He would just have to follow him.
The night was completely dark, and the streets in this part of town were mostly empty. Jared’s legs hurt from running and he was panting, but finally he was in front of the Church of St. Peter. Hopefully in time to find Jensen’s house before anything happened. He fought the urge to scream Jensen’s name until he was heard, and decided to look for someone out in the street and ask for information.
Meanwhile, Chad waited with Misha in a dark alleyway. He tapped his feet restlessly and squeezed the handle of his knife.
“Are you sure he’ll be coming through this way?” Chad asked his patient companion.
“No, I’m not sure. I can’t imagine that you have a better suggestion, however.” Misha said in a clipped tone.
Chad was about to snipe back, when they heard the sound of hooves approaching them. Chad looked around the corner to the cobbled street and saw Alan Ackles, on his horse, a few feet from them and rapidly getting closer.
The both of them scrambled to prepare for the attack, and exactly when Ackles was passing through the entrance to the alleyway, Misha aimed his pistol and shot. Immediately, the horse screeched and raised his legs high, throwing Ackles off its back. It then fell on the floor, whining. Clearly Misha had missed the target.
It didn’t matter, because Ackles was hurt and Chad wasted no time before dragging the man to the inside of the alley, eventually reaching the exit on the other side, in a narrow, empty little back street. Despite being hurt, Ackles soon began fighting Chad off. Misha aimed the pistol at him and began speaking, his voice loud over Chad and Ackles’ grunts.
“Mr. Ackles, resistance is futile. We are here in the name of our colleagues’ jobs, and against the invasion of the machines.” He began.
“Bugger off!” Ackles didn’t stop struggling, despite the pistol held to his head.
“Wait, let’s bash him for a while first!” Chad demonstrated by slapping Ackles across the face.
The old man used the opportunity to grab Chad’s arm and twist it. He kicked Chad’s leg and Misha tried to hit his head with the pistol, but just then, Jared arrived and hit his hand with his plank, making him drop the gun.
“Jared! What are you doing?” Chad yelled, jumping at Ackles before he could grab the gun. Jared tried to pull Chad off and their screams got increasingly loud.
“Stay quiet! We aren’t in the middle of nowhere!” Misha said sharply, trying to keep his voice down while being assertive.
Chad was getting more and more tired of Misha’s grating attitude. “Why don’t you come and help instead of standing there making a speech?” As if he needed more trouble, Jared was fighting against him for some reason. Chad should have known his cousin wouldn’t be any help. In truth, he probably shouldn’t have pushed for him to participate in this.
While Misha tried to aim, Ackles managed to free himself and hit Chad several times. Despite being against two people, Chad was doing very well. It wasn’t much to brag about, being able to hold his own against an injured old man and his clumsy cousin, but he was still proud. He knew he could be doing a whole more damage to Ackles if he didn’t have to worry about accidentally hitting Jared. Although maybe he should, to teach that little git a lesson. Why on earth was he turning against Chad?
Chad threw a powerful punch to Jared’s stomach and the boy doubled over. Chad pushed him away and grabbed Ackles from behind.
“Let’s end this already. Stab him in the legs a few times so he can’t run, and don’t let him scream.” Misha said. “Ackles, we have a few demands!”
“What?!” Chad squeaked. “Weren’t we going to kill this fool? Are you going to make demands to a corpse?”
Jared was circling Chad as he held the old man, clutching his piece of wood. Misha took a few breaths.
“Yes… Well, I don’t believe that would be such a good idea. Here, in the middle of town, it will be much harder to escape, and we are being rather noisy… We should go back to our original idea.” Misha hemmed.
Ackles continued trying to yank his arms out of Chad’s grasp. “I won’t do anything for you, you fopdoodle! No matter where you run to, your final destination is the gallows!”
Chad slapped him again, and Jared moved forward to try and grab the gun from Misha’s hand. Everyone screamed louder and louder, despite Misha’s warning.
“Mr. Ackles, I’m so sorry. I’ll get you out of here!” Jared yelled while wrestling with Misha.
The two fought over the weapon while Chad beat Ackles up some more and before anyone knew what was happening, a loud shot was heard, and Ackles screamed in pain.
“Good man, I am shot…” Ackles gasped out. Chad dropped him, alarmed, and he began moaning on the floor. Both his cousin and Misha stepped closer, wide-eyed. A stain of blood spread quickly across Ackles’ crotch, his trousers darkening and the smell of blood and piss rising. They could see the man dying right in front of them.
“Oh my God!” Jared whispered.
“Well, there it is. That was noisier than I expected!” Chad commented.
Misha grabbed the two men by their arms and pulled. “We need to go, now!” The pistol that he had shot by accident had been dropped on the floor out of surprised, and it remained there as they ran away through the narrow street, turning at the first opportunity and leaving the sight of the dying man.
Jensen had been walking for a while now, looking for clues as to which direction his father had gone. Being on foot made it more difficult, but he didn’t want the man to notice Jensen was following him. He took a turn and noticed a horse lying on the floor a few feet away, in front of the entrance to a little alley. His father’s horse. Just as he started in its direction, a gun was shot somewhere in the vicinity. Jensen ran towards the horse, dead as he had expected.
With his blood rushing and his eyes stinging, Jensen made his way quickly to the other side of the alleyway, and found what he had been picturing and dreading in his mind.
His father was on the floor, partly leaning on the wall, with a puddle of blood spreading beneath him. Apparently he had been shot on the crotch, to add insult to injury. Jensen crouched in front of him, shivering. Suddenly, his father frowned, a tiny movement that proved there was life in him yet.
Jensen let out a breath. He knew he had been holding it.
“Father, who did this? Where did they go?”
His father made a few gurgling noises, but clearly couldn’t speak anymore. Jensen despaired. Had he failed after all? His father was getting weaker and Jensen knew he wouldn’t make it. He could feel himself start to lose it and he didn’t want to sit here and cry instead of finding and destroying the killers, but before he could do anything, Alan raised his hand with much effort and pointed in the direction Jensen had his back turned to. His hand fell back down immediately and he became immobile, forever this time.
Jensen looked behind and saw only darkness, but now he had an idea of where to start, and he would run all across Huddersfield if he had to. He kissed his father on the forehead and picked up a pistol that had been left on the floor nearby. He didn’t recognize it, so it must belong to the killer. He put it in his inner pocket, eager to kill the bastard with his own weapon.
There was no more time to waste, he would come back for Alan’s body later. Jensen stood up, pulled out his own pistol, and started running in the direction his father had indicated.
Jared ran through the cobbled streets and alleys, mindlessly following Misha and his cousin, who shouted ahead, despite their repeatedly stated need for discretion. He knew it made no sense, he had clearly been fighting against them. Why were they even letting him run with them? He reckoned they were just as shocked and desperate as he was.
With Alan Ackles’ body out of his sight, Jared was able to slow down his breathing, and orientate his thoughts towards something deeper than the image of Jensen’s dad’s dead body, though no less distressful. He ought to have stayed behind, taken Mr. Ackles back to his house. He couldn’t even say certainly that the man was dead! What if he had left him there to die when he could have helped him? And Jensen… When Jensen entered his mind, Jared stopped running altogether. He knew they were being chased by someone, their steps could be heard. He both hoped and dreaded that it was Jensen. Either way, he had to talk to his friend, apologize and try to explain himself.
Chad noticed Jared had stopped and turned back to yell at him. “Are you mad? Run, fool!”
“Go on, Chad. I’m staying here.” Jared said with his back turned to his cousin.
“Don’t be an idiot! If we go on just a little further, soon we’ll find a few horses to steal!”
Chad made to grab his arm and draw him away, but Jared was resolute. “No, let it go. You and Misha take the horses and go to York… I told you I couldn’t be trusted with this.” With that, Jared leaned with his back on the wall and took a deep shuddering breath. Chad looked like he wanted to say more, but their chaser was rapidly approaching and Jared crossed his arms. Chad sighed and ran, turning the first corner.
The sounds of the chaser came to a halt and Jensen stepped out from the shadows. His face was as unamused as you’d expect from someone whose father recently got shot in the crotch. Jared’s heart beat faster than when he had been running. Suddenly all he wanted to do was to escape on one of Chad’s stolen horses and never have to face Jensen’s tight, furious expression.
He took one last deep breath and started talking, hoping his voice didn’t shake too much. “I know it doesn’t really help, but. If I could just say… I’m sorry…?” He stuttered.
“No, you may not. I won’t kill you right now because I don’t want to miss the sight of your hanging, but don’t worry, we’ll be spending quite a lot of personal time together before that happens.” Jensen snarled, getting closer slowly while raising his gun.
“Listen, I…”
Jensen interrupted his mumbling. “I reckon the first thing I do will be cutting off your tongue so I won’t have to listen to your gibberish anymore.” He punched Jared a few times on the face.
Jared didn’t really defend himself. How could he? Jensen’s father was dead, and it was his fault. He was willing to take as many punches as Jensen felt necessary. Unfortunately, what Jensen found necessary was to point his pistol towards Jared’s lap and, before he could fully understand what had happened, all Jared felt was pain, exploding into, out of and around his thigh.
He fell to his knees with a cry, blood spilling and soaking his pants just like he had just seen happen to Alan Ackles. He was drenched in cold sweat, kneeling in that dirty, dark street with the smell of blood in his nostrils, and he figured it was the end for him. But he didn’t want to die without letting Jensen know that he had tried. A little too late, but he had done it for him. He looked up and saw a pistol pointed right at his face. He was about to say something, and Jensen was about to shoot, but before either could do anything, Chad grabbed Jensen from behind and Collins took the arm that held the pistol, quickly directing it away from Jared. Chad held his knife against Jensen’s neck with a gleeful expression on his face.
“There you are. Now I’ll be finishing this job, if you don’t mind.” He said, before giving Jensen a playful ear bite.
“Wait, Chad. We had an agreement…” Jared tried to raise his arm, but it felt so heavy.
“So what? He wants to kill you, and it’s not like you could use your influence over him now that it happened like this. What’s the use of him?”
Jensen had been still so far, but when Chad mentioned their original plan, he growled painfully and started struggling, a waste of effort given that he was tightly held by both Chad and Collins.
Jared could no longer keep his head up. Staring at his blood stained pants, he tried to argue one last time. “It doesn’t matter, you promised. Let him go.”
Before Chad could respond, Collins spoke up, taking control again. “Enough, we need to leave!” He said curtly, yanking the weapon from Jensen’s hand and using it to hit him on the side of the head forcefully. Jensen fell on the floor, unconscious.
Jared was aware of the two men grasping his legs and torso to carry him, and laughed internally at the picture they must make before passing out completely.
Jensen approached his own house in haste, still a little dizzy. He had woken up alone in the street, with his head throbbing. Jared’s blood was still a little fresh, it hadn’t been that long and maybe he could have caught the murderers, except that he could barely walk straight and they were three armed men against one. Instead, he walked the long way back around the church in order to avoid being anywhere near the spot where his father’s corpse still lay.
Now he could see the light of oil lamps from the window of their house, and the last thing he needed was to find more criminals waiting to ambush him. For one second, he had the insane urge to turn around, mount a horse and simply ride away from it all. It passed, of course, and he approached the door warily. He heard voices inside, and he recognized one of them. Behind the door, he found Jeffrey Morgan, his father’s friend, with part of the guard that he had borrowed. He sat on the table with a glass of wine, and the sight was shockingly mundane, out of place.
“My boy, I was becoming worried. I came to pay the both of you a visit…” Jeffrey began, before setting his eyes on Jensen and his deplorable state. “Forgive me, but you look dreadful. Where is the old man?” He asked, noticing no one else had walked in.
Jensen was too tired for explanations at that point. With Jeffrey and the guard here, he had a chance of catching the murderers, as small as it was. If he could imagine where they were headed. Maybe they planned to leave for the continent?
But as Jensen walked silently towards the table, under the perplexed eyes of Jeff Morgan and the guard, a scene from earlier sprang to his mind. He had told Jared where his father would be, but the idiot had told him something as well. His cousin had a house in York. Jared had called it a “refuge”. It was a long shot, but his mind was frantic and he needed to take action. He withdrew the pistol that killed his father from his coat and put it on the table with severity.
“Pick your fastest horses. We’re going to York.”
The sun wasn’t done rising and the air was still chilly and damp when two horses carrying Misha Collins, Chad Murray and the unconscious body of Jared Padalecki rode tiredly up a little hill, near Leeds. The two awake men had been silent for most of the trip, once the adrenaline from the chase had abated and exhaustion had settled in. They went along, circling around Leeds to avoid being spotted, intent on reaching York as soon as possible, when the horses arrived at the highest point of the hill.
Collins was the first to look up, and his face lost all color when he saw it. At a few feet of distance, Jensen Ackles, Jeffrey Morgan and a number of guards awaited them, sitting on horses with their weapons ready. Collins and Murray remained silent. There was nothing to be said.
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Jensen raised the teacup to his lips and put down the paper he had been reading. He could hear his father entering the living room and it was only convenient, because Jensen had been preparing himself to introduce Alan to the idea of hiring Jared in their estate. He turned to speak and noticed that the man was dressed to go out. Oh joy.
Jensen raised himself from the chair. “Let me get my cloak.”
“Actually, today it’s best that you don’t come with me.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t be gambling tonight. I’m in no danger of getting into a fight. I have a meeting, it’s important.” Alan said, his eyes shining bright.
“And what is the problem with me going with you?”
“No problem at all, son.” He put his hand on Jensen’s shoulder. “But the person I’m meeting is a little paranoid. I don’t blame him, what with the recent happenings. But he insisted that I go alone, and I’d rather not risk his changing his mind if I bring you. I will convince him to accept your presence next time.” Alan slapped his son’s shoulder one last time in conclusion and went to grab his umbrella.
Jensen wasn’t convinced. His mind was still on the evening’s conversation with Sasha Collins, and he had been nursing an uncomfortable feeling all week. This was not the time to be sauntering around at midnight with no protection.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. He wants to see you alone? How do you know you can trust this person?”
“Jensen, your old man isn’t as much of a fool as you think!” Alan laughed. “He’s an old friend of ours, I’m only being mysterious about his identity because he doesn’t want to take any chances.”
Jensen pursed his lips, still vexed. His father went on. “Listen, this will be good for you. Relax a little, read a book. When I come back safe and sound, you’ll realize that there’s no need to stress yourself like this. I won’t drop dead as soon as you’re not around.”
Jensen sighed and uncrossed his arms. “Alright, but won’t you do this any other day? I know I’m always worried, but today it’s a special worry. That Collins person will be going to the estate to try and kill you. I sent the guards that aren’t with Mr. Morgan right now to wait for him, but they’re not that many. What if he escapes? And what if that “meeting” is a plan B? Or even a plan A, and his brother told me he would break into Ackles Park to distract me from the real plan?”
“My, how dramatic! Jensen, this is exactly why you need to relax, maybe learn how to have fun.”
Jensen pouted. “I have fun.”
“Of course. Listen, I don’t usually do this, but this time I’m giving you an order. You’re not coming with me. If you wish to, go outside, play Speculation, I don’t know. But I forbid you to come with me.” Alan said in a serious voice.
“At least take two servants with you. You can leave them waiting on the outside, and if anything goes wrong they’ll be able to hear it. You don’t want to run into a flock of Luddites!”
Alan raised his chin. “If I run into a flock of them, the night won’t have been in vain! I will ride up to my saddle in Luddite blood!” And with that he put on his hat and whistled out the door, leaving Jensen on his feet with a teacup on his hand.
He walked around the table a couple of times before calming down, and finally settled down next to the window. Maybe he was being paranoid after all. Collins was heading for Ackles Park. He would be caught by the guard and everything would be fine. Even if he escaped, he wouldn’t be able to find them, how could he know where Jensen and his dad spent the weekends? Jensen took a sip of his tea and looked absently for a few seconds at the dark profile of the tower on St. Peter’s Church.
St. Peter’s Church…
With a jolt, he stepped backwards and dropped his cup on the floor. He had told Jared about their weekend spot! The image of Jared and Misha Collins walking off side by side appeared in his mind, clearer than before. Jensen looked at the tower again. He could trust Jared, couldn’t he? But he had been constantly around those people lately. Jensen couldn’t risk it. All the previous apprehension was back tenfold, and he didn’t think again before fetching a pistol and leaving in a rush to find out which way his father had gone. He would just have to follow him.
The night was completely dark, and the streets in this part of town were mostly empty. Jared’s legs hurt from running and he was panting, but finally he was in front of the Church of St. Peter. Hopefully in time to find Jensen’s house before anything happened. He fought the urge to scream Jensen’s name until he was heard, and decided to look for someone out in the street and ask for information.
Meanwhile, Chad waited with Misha in a dark alleyway. He tapped his feet restlessly and squeezed the handle of his knife.
“Are you sure he’ll be coming through this way?” Chad asked his patient companion.
“No, I’m not sure. I can’t imagine that you have a better suggestion, however.” Misha said in a clipped tone.
Chad was about to snipe back, when they heard the sound of hooves approaching them. Chad looked around the corner to the cobbled street and saw Alan Ackles, on his horse, a few feet from them and rapidly getting closer.
The both of them scrambled to prepare for the attack, and exactly when Ackles was passing through the entrance to the alleyway, Misha aimed his pistol and shot. Immediately, the horse screeched and raised his legs high, throwing Ackles off its back. It then fell on the floor, whining. Clearly Misha had missed the target.
It didn’t matter, because Ackles was hurt and Chad wasted no time before dragging the man to the inside of the alley, eventually reaching the exit on the other side, in a narrow, empty little back street. Despite being hurt, Ackles soon began fighting Chad off. Misha aimed the pistol at him and began speaking, his voice loud over Chad and Ackles’ grunts.
“Mr. Ackles, resistance is futile. We are here in the name of our colleagues’ jobs, and against the invasion of the machines.” He began.
“Bugger off!” Ackles didn’t stop struggling, despite the pistol held to his head.
“Wait, let’s bash him for a while first!” Chad demonstrated by slapping Ackles across the face.
The old man used the opportunity to grab Chad’s arm and twist it. He kicked Chad’s leg and Misha tried to hit his head with the pistol, but just then, Jared arrived and hit his hand with his plank, making him drop the gun.
“Jared! What are you doing?” Chad yelled, jumping at Ackles before he could grab the gun. Jared tried to pull Chad off and their screams got increasingly loud.
“Stay quiet! We aren’t in the middle of nowhere!” Misha said sharply, trying to keep his voice down while being assertive.
Chad was getting more and more tired of Misha’s grating attitude. “Why don’t you come and help instead of standing there making a speech?” As if he needed more trouble, Jared was fighting against him for some reason. Chad should have known his cousin wouldn’t be any help. In truth, he probably shouldn’t have pushed for him to participate in this.
While Misha tried to aim, Ackles managed to free himself and hit Chad several times. Despite being against two people, Chad was doing very well. It wasn’t much to brag about, being able to hold his own against an injured old man and his clumsy cousin, but he was still proud. He knew he could be doing a whole more damage to Ackles if he didn’t have to worry about accidentally hitting Jared. Although maybe he should, to teach that little git a lesson. Why on earth was he turning against Chad?
Chad threw a powerful punch to Jared’s stomach and the boy doubled over. Chad pushed him away and grabbed Ackles from behind.
“Let’s end this already. Stab him in the legs a few times so he can’t run, and don’t let him scream.” Misha said. “Ackles, we have a few demands!”
“What?!” Chad squeaked. “Weren’t we going to kill this fool? Are you going to make demands to a corpse?”
Jared was circling Chad as he held the old man, clutching his piece of wood. Misha took a few breaths.
“Yes… Well, I don’t believe that would be such a good idea. Here, in the middle of town, it will be much harder to escape, and we are being rather noisy… We should go back to our original idea.” Misha hemmed.
Ackles continued trying to yank his arms out of Chad’s grasp. “I won’t do anything for you, you fopdoodle! No matter where you run to, your final destination is the gallows!”
Chad slapped him again, and Jared moved forward to try and grab the gun from Misha’s hand. Everyone screamed louder and louder, despite Misha’s warning.
“Mr. Ackles, I’m so sorry. I’ll get you out of here!” Jared yelled while wrestling with Misha.
The two fought over the weapon while Chad beat Ackles up some more and before anyone knew what was happening, a loud shot was heard, and Ackles screamed in pain.
“Good man, I am shot…” Ackles gasped out. Chad dropped him, alarmed, and he began moaning on the floor. Both his cousin and Misha stepped closer, wide-eyed. A stain of blood spread quickly across Ackles’ crotch, his trousers darkening and the smell of blood and piss rising. They could see the man dying right in front of them.
“Oh my God!” Jared whispered.
“Well, there it is. That was noisier than I expected!” Chad commented.
Misha grabbed the two men by their arms and pulled. “We need to go, now!” The pistol that he had shot by accident had been dropped on the floor out of surprised, and it remained there as they ran away through the narrow street, turning at the first opportunity and leaving the sight of the dying man.
Jensen had been walking for a while now, looking for clues as to which direction his father had gone. Being on foot made it more difficult, but he didn’t want the man to notice Jensen was following him. He took a turn and noticed a horse lying on the floor a few feet away, in front of the entrance to a little alley. His father’s horse. Just as he started in its direction, a gun was shot somewhere in the vicinity. Jensen ran towards the horse, dead as he had expected.
With his blood rushing and his eyes stinging, Jensen made his way quickly to the other side of the alleyway, and found what he had been picturing and dreading in his mind.
His father was on the floor, partly leaning on the wall, with a puddle of blood spreading beneath him. Apparently he had been shot on the crotch, to add insult to injury. Jensen crouched in front of him, shivering. Suddenly, his father frowned, a tiny movement that proved there was life in him yet.
Jensen let out a breath. He knew he had been holding it.
“Father, who did this? Where did they go?”
His father made a few gurgling noises, but clearly couldn’t speak anymore. Jensen despaired. Had he failed after all? His father was getting weaker and Jensen knew he wouldn’t make it. He could feel himself start to lose it and he didn’t want to sit here and cry instead of finding and destroying the killers, but before he could do anything, Alan raised his hand with much effort and pointed in the direction Jensen had his back turned to. His hand fell back down immediately and he became immobile, forever this time.
Jensen looked behind and saw only darkness, but now he had an idea of where to start, and he would run all across Huddersfield if he had to. He kissed his father on the forehead and picked up a pistol that had been left on the floor nearby. He didn’t recognize it, so it must belong to the killer. He put it in his inner pocket, eager to kill the bastard with his own weapon.
There was no more time to waste, he would come back for Alan’s body later. Jensen stood up, pulled out his own pistol, and started running in the direction his father had indicated.
Jared ran through the cobbled streets and alleys, mindlessly following Misha and his cousin, who shouted ahead, despite their repeatedly stated need for discretion. He knew it made no sense, he had clearly been fighting against them. Why were they even letting him run with them? He reckoned they were just as shocked and desperate as he was.
With Alan Ackles’ body out of his sight, Jared was able to slow down his breathing, and orientate his thoughts towards something deeper than the image of Jensen’s dad’s dead body, though no less distressful. He ought to have stayed behind, taken Mr. Ackles back to his house. He couldn’t even say certainly that the man was dead! What if he had left him there to die when he could have helped him? And Jensen… When Jensen entered his mind, Jared stopped running altogether. He knew they were being chased by someone, their steps could be heard. He both hoped and dreaded that it was Jensen. Either way, he had to talk to his friend, apologize and try to explain himself.
Chad noticed Jared had stopped and turned back to yell at him. “Are you mad? Run, fool!”
“Go on, Chad. I’m staying here.” Jared said with his back turned to his cousin.
“Don’t be an idiot! If we go on just a little further, soon we’ll find a few horses to steal!”
Chad made to grab his arm and draw him away, but Jared was resolute. “No, let it go. You and Misha take the horses and go to York… I told you I couldn’t be trusted with this.” With that, Jared leaned with his back on the wall and took a deep shuddering breath. Chad looked like he wanted to say more, but their chaser was rapidly approaching and Jared crossed his arms. Chad sighed and ran, turning the first corner.
The sounds of the chaser came to a halt and Jensen stepped out from the shadows. His face was as unamused as you’d expect from someone whose father recently got shot in the crotch. Jared’s heart beat faster than when he had been running. Suddenly all he wanted to do was to escape on one of Chad’s stolen horses and never have to face Jensen’s tight, furious expression.
He took one last deep breath and started talking, hoping his voice didn’t shake too much. “I know it doesn’t really help, but. If I could just say… I’m sorry…?” He stuttered.
“No, you may not. I won’t kill you right now because I don’t want to miss the sight of your hanging, but don’t worry, we’ll be spending quite a lot of personal time together before that happens.” Jensen snarled, getting closer slowly while raising his gun.
“Listen, I…”
Jensen interrupted his mumbling. “I reckon the first thing I do will be cutting off your tongue so I won’t have to listen to your gibberish anymore.” He punched Jared a few times on the face.
Jared didn’t really defend himself. How could he? Jensen’s father was dead, and it was his fault. He was willing to take as many punches as Jensen felt necessary. Unfortunately, what Jensen found necessary was to point his pistol towards Jared’s lap and, before he could fully understand what had happened, all Jared felt was pain, exploding into, out of and around his thigh.
He fell to his knees with a cry, blood spilling and soaking his pants just like he had just seen happen to Alan Ackles. He was drenched in cold sweat, kneeling in that dirty, dark street with the smell of blood in his nostrils, and he figured it was the end for him. But he didn’t want to die without letting Jensen know that he had tried. A little too late, but he had done it for him. He looked up and saw a pistol pointed right at his face. He was about to say something, and Jensen was about to shoot, but before either could do anything, Chad grabbed Jensen from behind and Collins took the arm that held the pistol, quickly directing it away from Jared. Chad held his knife against Jensen’s neck with a gleeful expression on his face.
“There you are. Now I’ll be finishing this job, if you don’t mind.” He said, before giving Jensen a playful ear bite.
“Wait, Chad. We had an agreement…” Jared tried to raise his arm, but it felt so heavy.
“So what? He wants to kill you, and it’s not like you could use your influence over him now that it happened like this. What’s the use of him?”
Jensen had been still so far, but when Chad mentioned their original plan, he growled painfully and started struggling, a waste of effort given that he was tightly held by both Chad and Collins.
Jared could no longer keep his head up. Staring at his blood stained pants, he tried to argue one last time. “It doesn’t matter, you promised. Let him go.”
Before Chad could respond, Collins spoke up, taking control again. “Enough, we need to leave!” He said curtly, yanking the weapon from Jensen’s hand and using it to hit him on the side of the head forcefully. Jensen fell on the floor, unconscious.
Jared was aware of the two men grasping his legs and torso to carry him, and laughed internally at the picture they must make before passing out completely.
Jensen approached his own house in haste, still a little dizzy. He had woken up alone in the street, with his head throbbing. Jared’s blood was still a little fresh, it hadn’t been that long and maybe he could have caught the murderers, except that he could barely walk straight and they were three armed men against one. Instead, he walked the long way back around the church in order to avoid being anywhere near the spot where his father’s corpse still lay.
Now he could see the light of oil lamps from the window of their house, and the last thing he needed was to find more criminals waiting to ambush him. For one second, he had the insane urge to turn around, mount a horse and simply ride away from it all. It passed, of course, and he approached the door warily. He heard voices inside, and he recognized one of them. Behind the door, he found Jeffrey Morgan, his father’s friend, with part of the guard that he had borrowed. He sat on the table with a glass of wine, and the sight was shockingly mundane, out of place.
“My boy, I was becoming worried. I came to pay the both of you a visit…” Jeffrey began, before setting his eyes on Jensen and his deplorable state. “Forgive me, but you look dreadful. Where is the old man?” He asked, noticing no one else had walked in.
Jensen was too tired for explanations at that point. With Jeffrey and the guard here, he had a chance of catching the murderers, as small as it was. If he could imagine where they were headed. Maybe they planned to leave for the continent?
But as Jensen walked silently towards the table, under the perplexed eyes of Jeff Morgan and the guard, a scene from earlier sprang to his mind. He had told Jared where his father would be, but the idiot had told him something as well. His cousin had a house in York. Jared had called it a “refuge”. It was a long shot, but his mind was frantic and he needed to take action. He withdrew the pistol that killed his father from his coat and put it on the table with severity.
“Pick your fastest horses. We’re going to York.”
The sun wasn’t done rising and the air was still chilly and damp when two horses carrying Misha Collins, Chad Murray and the unconscious body of Jared Padalecki rode tiredly up a little hill, near Leeds. The two awake men had been silent for most of the trip, once the adrenaline from the chase had abated and exhaustion had settled in. They went along, circling around Leeds to avoid being spotted, intent on reaching York as soon as possible, when the horses arrived at the highest point of the hill.
Collins was the first to look up, and his face lost all color when he saw it. At a few feet of distance, Jensen Ackles, Jeffrey Morgan and a number of guards awaited them, sitting on horses with their weapons ready. Collins and Murray remained silent. There was nothing to be said.
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