LOGIC TO THE HMPH DEGREE - Part IV
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Previous Part -- Masterpost
“Pada what? Well, I reckon it doesn’t matter. I only have to say yes or no. Absolutely, I’d be happy to help. And how have you been, old chap?”
Another acquaintance of Jeffrey’s that didn’t mind voting in their favor, probably because they expected to be paid back when they needed it. Jeffrey stayed to chat for the appropriate amount of time, while Jensen wandered off.
Soon enough, he was back, tugging at Jeffrey’s arm.
“Excuse me” He apologized to his companion and allowed Jensen to pull him away.
“Jeffrey, I just spoke to Beaver.” Jensen bit his lip.
“What’s wrong?”
“Is there anyone else you think you can sway into voting for Jared?”
Jeffrey looked around, frowning. “Those were all my contacts, and my contacts’ most persuadable friends. Shouldn’t they be enough?”
“Not exactly. Beaver has the same amount of votes.” Jensen huffed.
Beaver stepped in. “Correct. You have been defeated, as I said you would. Leave now.”
Jensen invaded Beaver’s space. “We’re not leaving. You’ve been defeated too, without our votes you can’t get your friends out.”
Jeffrey looked from one man to the other. “Jensen, maybe we should go. Padalecki will die, you’ll have your revenge.”
Jensen gave him a strange and wary look, something that had been happening with increasing frequency lately. “No! I don’t want him to die, I want him with me. If I decide he should die, I’ll be the one to do it. And if we let Beaver win, Misha Collins and that other idiot will be out in the streets. That, I cannot allow!”
Beaver was getting flustered as well. “What is your problem? Are you incapable of thinking of anything but yourself?” He barked at Jensen.
“Oh, be quiet!”
It was time for Jeffrey to step in at once.
“Gentlemen, let’s settle this the reasonable way. Neither of you can have exactly what you want. What are you willing to give up?”
They paused, taking deep breaths. Beaver held up a finger, swallowing.
“Misha… Misha must be freed. That is what matters.”
“Jared has to stay with me. And Collins can’t be anywhere near us.”
Beaver was about to argue, but Jeffrey cut in.
“Perfect! Your wishes aren’t contradictory!”
“Yes, they are! I don’t want Misha Collins to be let loose in the world! This poor bastard does!” Jensen exclaimed.
“You didn’t say he couldn’t be let loose in the world!” Jeffrey said. “You said he couldn’t be near you.”
Jensen frowned at him. Jeffrey didn’t give him a chance to argue back. He grabbed both his and Beaver’s shoulders and declared. “It’s decided! Padalecki will be released and brought to Jensen. Collins will be sent to Australia…”
‘Australia? This must be a joke. I won’t allow it to happen!” Now Beaver was the disgruntled one.
Jeffrey sighed. “Fine. Where then? Name it, wherever but England.”
“Very well. He’ll go to France. I have a cottage there.”
“Fine.” Jensen pouted.
“Fine. I’m glad that’s settled.” Jeffrey smiled. “Now we have a long afternoon ahead of us, we need to talk to everyone all over again.”
They made to leave, but Jensen stopped them. “Wait! What do you want to do with the other one? Murray?”
The three looked between each other, clueless.
“…Let’s just leave him there.” Jeffrey suggested. Beaver shrugged and they had a deal.
Jensen patted Jeffrey’s back and went out to take a breath before they had to chase their voters again. Beaver started heading out, but before he could, Jeffrey pulled him back.
“Beaver, I need to talk to you in private.” He whispered.
The man raised his eyebrows at him.
“Jensen is obsessed with this Padalecki lad. I didn’t want to resort to this, but I fear for him. If you provided the transportation, you’d be able to- say, make sure he never reaches Jensen?”
Beaver smiled and beckoned for him to follow. Jeffrey briefly spotted Jensen looking at him from the door before he walked out in Beaver’s direction.
Misha woke up with the sound of the keepers banging loudly on the cell bars.
“Misha Collins and Jared Padalecki.” One of them announced in a bored voice.
Jared sat up from the floor and called to them.
“Misters Collins and Padalecki, your carriages are here to take you away.”
“Already? Am I going to be dropped off in that place with the clothes off my back?” Jared asked.
The keeper looked at him with indifference. “I assume so. Stand up and follow me.” He opened the cell.
Jared walked out and turned back to Misha. “You should know, I’ll find my own way to come back. If I were you I’d stay away from Jensen.”
With that, he let the keeper lead him away through the corridor. The other keeper knocked on the cell bar to call his attention. “Let’s go. Mr. Beaver is waiting for you.”
Misha got up from the bed and looked at Chad, who still slept soundly on the floor. “He’s not coming.” The keeper said, stepping aside so that Misha could leave the cell. Neither of them looked back as he was led to a carriage waiting outside.
“Misha Collins. Finally we meet face to face! I’m Jim Beaver, a great admirer of your strength and dedication. Well, I suppose I’ve already waxed poetic enough during our exchange of letters.”
Jim Beaver, as it turned out, was a plumpish, slightly older looking man with a very friendly and approachable face, and a big, respectable mustache. Misha gave him a pleased smile.
“Jim. May I call you Jim? It is such a pleasure. I’ve been looking forward to this. Shall we go for tea? I’m sure we have much to discuss.” Misha settled in his seat and the carriage began moving.
“Actually, there is a detail I haven’t been able to talk to you about. I hope you’re not too disappointed, but as it happens, I wasn’t able to have you released into the streets of England.” Jim gave him a sympathetic look.
“Pardon?”
“I was forced to compromise. Now, I will do absolutely everything in my power to bring you back to the country, but until then, I’m afraid you’ll have to reside in the continent.”
“Oh.” Misha was a little surprised, but it didn’t quell his excitement at being free or at meeting Jim. “Very well. I have my contacts. We can still organize ourselves. And you’ll keep in touch too, won’t you, Jim?”
Jim smiled and gave him a pat on the knee. “Actually, old chap, if you don’t mind I was considering taking this opportunity and traveling to Europe for a while. What would you say to a bit of company?”
“I would very much appreciate it, my dear! When do we leave?”
“I’ve taken the liberty of having my servants put together a few provisions seeing as you’ve been stripped of your belongings. Everything is ready: clothing, personal hygiene items, a card deck. I hope you don’t mind my fashion sense.” Jim told him with a laugh.
“It seems perfectly adequate to me. Thank you, friend.”
Misha smiled and looked out. His future was bright.
Jared sat back in the coach's seat and relaxed. He had his whole life ahead of him, and he wouldn’t be going to Australia after all, though no one had been willing to explain to him why that was. The one thing he knew was that he wouldn't be returning to his old house, whether he managed to convince Jensen to give him a new chance or not.
Well, who was he kidding? What were the odds of Jared even being able to approach Jensen, after he failed to stop Mr. Ackles' murder? And then he had to make him believe Jared's story about not being involved in it. Not entirely true, but certainly not a lie…
Jared was still lost in these thoughts when the coach stopped abruptly. He snapped out of his daydream and held his breath, waiting for a sign of danger. When nothing happened, he opened the door carefully and stepped down frowning.
The butt of a rifle came out of nowhere and hit him in the head. Jared stumbled back in surprise, but had the presence of mind to throw out his arms, grabbing the barrel of the weapon. He tried to take it from his assaulter, but his hold wasn't firm enough. He pushed it with all his force instead, hitting the man in the teeth and finally taking the rifle. Jared kicked him in the stomach for good measure, but two other men appeared before he could do anything else.
Jared had no idea who on earth these people were, and they didn't seem inclined to explain. A plump, balding fellow grabbed him from behind in a tight grip. Jared shouted in surprise and threw himself backwards into the coach, smashing Balding Fellow against it with his weight while the other man, hereby called Scrunchy Face, went at him with a knife.
Jared swung the rifle as if it were a bat. Scrunchy Face let out a loud whine along with the thud of the rifle hitting his skull. Jared kept hitting him in the face and bouncing back against the coach, with Balding Fellow still attached to his backside. The situation was plain ridiculous and Jared felt the rising urge to laugh.
The sound of somehow familiar hooves galloping towards him turned Jared's head. There was Jensen, mounted on Harley, rapidly approaching, like some sort of glorious bastard out of Jared’s insane prison-induced dreams. As if he had been stashed away and preserved in that exact position for months while Jared hopped between boredom and desperation in a cell, only to be dropped then and there back into Jared’s world, the real world.
Jared was so busy thinking up this nonsense that, incompetent as they were, his mysterious attackers managed to recover and organize themselves. Now his first assaulter grabbed the rifle again from his hand as Balding Fellow held Jared’s arms back and Scrunchy Face raised his knife. Their triumph didn’t last long. Jensen got near enough to pull out a pistol and aimed it at First Assaulter.
“Let him go!” Jensen shot at the man’s general direction, causing him to jump away startled.
He shot a couple more times and soon the three men were running away. Only then Jared noticed that there was no one controlling the coach’s horses anymore, which meant that his would-be killers had been traveling along with him all that time.
“Jared. It’s been a while.” Jensen addressed him with a curious expression on his face, still on horseback. “You look different.”
Was he? Jared didn’t have a clear picture of what he looked like before. He certainly felt different.
Jensen kept looking at him as if expecting something. How typical that after all of Jared’s planning and all the time he spent fantasizing about this event, he would now be rendered speechless.
“Surprised to see me? I had a feeling I should come along with your carriage instead of waiting for you at Huddersfield. Glad to know my instincts are as sharp as ever.”
Waiting for him? What? Jared finally found his voice. “Jensen. I tried to stop it, I swear I did. I’m so sorry.” He pleaded.
Jensen stared at him somberly. “I know what happened, Jared. But the fact is you knew what they were planning, and you never told me. You told them about my father’s place in the city, didn’t you?”
Jared’s heart beat fast. What now? He had told them about it, and he did feel guilty. He still couldn’t believe his colossal stupidity. But here, looking at Jensen’s expectant face, he couldn’t bring himself to say it, and the realization that he was still willing to lie to his friend intensified his shame.
He tried to reason with himself. It was unbelievable that Jensen was even willing to hear him at all. If Jared admitted to his most fatal mistake, he would surely lose his chance to gain Jensen’s friendship back. He couldn’t change the past, but he was aware that Collins would be back in action soon, and he would want to finish his business with Jensen. Jared could be there for him this time, he did have good intentions, and Jensen seemed to want them to be able to remain friends, for some elusive reason.
With a lump in his throat, Jared finally answered. “No, Jensen… No, I- They found out. I’m so sorry, I know I should have warned you about Collins’ plans.” At the mention of Misha Collins, Jensen grimaced and huffed. “I was so confused back then, and my cousin- Well, there is no excuse, but I promise, Jensen. I’m not confused anymore.” He declared earnestly.
Jared bit his bottom lip as Jensen rubbed his jaw, looking thoughtful. Sighing, he looked up back at Jared with steely eyes.
“Very well, Jared. Don’t think you’re simply forgiven for your involvement with my father’s murderers.” He said with a stern voice. “But I don’t believe that you meant harm. I know my father’s decisions were thoughtless and he could be quite cruel. I want you to know that regardless of which machines I put to use at the mill, I won’t be lowering the wages.”
“Oh. That’s right, you’re in charge now!” Jared realized. “I guess you’re busy being a mill owner these days.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t concern you anymore. You won’t be returning to work there.”
Jared ducked his head. “I know. I didn’t expect you to give me the job back. To be honest, I don’t want to work as a cropper at all anymore.”
“Well, of course. You work for me now, or did you forget?” Jared looked up, frowning. It took him a second to remember that Jensen had offered him a job as his footman. That had been before .
“Is there a problem?” Jensen asked with a raised eyebrow.
“No! Not at all. So I’ll be working for you, is that so?”
“That’s right. I’ll need someone competent and tolerable with me in my travels. I hope you mean it when you say you’re no longer confused, because if you prove yourself unreliable, I won’t hesitate to leave you stranded.” Jensen turned Harley around so that Jared could climb up behind him on the horse.
“I promise, Jensen. I know what my priorities are now.” Jared said, trying to make sense of what he was hearing. “…Did you say ‘travels’?”
Once Jared settled himself, Jensen gave Harley a pat on the neck so that they could leave that place behind.
“Yes. We’re going to India.”
end.
Previous Part -- Masterpost
Previous Part -- Masterpost
“Pada what? Well, I reckon it doesn’t matter. I only have to say yes or no. Absolutely, I’d be happy to help. And how have you been, old chap?”
Another acquaintance of Jeffrey’s that didn’t mind voting in their favor, probably because they expected to be paid back when they needed it. Jeffrey stayed to chat for the appropriate amount of time, while Jensen wandered off.
Soon enough, he was back, tugging at Jeffrey’s arm.
“Excuse me” He apologized to his companion and allowed Jensen to pull him away.
“Jeffrey, I just spoke to Beaver.” Jensen bit his lip.
“What’s wrong?”
“Is there anyone else you think you can sway into voting for Jared?”
Jeffrey looked around, frowning. “Those were all my contacts, and my contacts’ most persuadable friends. Shouldn’t they be enough?”
“Not exactly. Beaver has the same amount of votes.” Jensen huffed.
Beaver stepped in. “Correct. You have been defeated, as I said you would. Leave now.”
Jensen invaded Beaver’s space. “We’re not leaving. You’ve been defeated too, without our votes you can’t get your friends out.”
Jeffrey looked from one man to the other. “Jensen, maybe we should go. Padalecki will die, you’ll have your revenge.”
Jensen gave him a strange and wary look, something that had been happening with increasing frequency lately. “No! I don’t want him to die, I want him with me. If I decide he should die, I’ll be the one to do it. And if we let Beaver win, Misha Collins and that other idiot will be out in the streets. That, I cannot allow!”
Beaver was getting flustered as well. “What is your problem? Are you incapable of thinking of anything but yourself?” He barked at Jensen.
“Oh, be quiet!”
It was time for Jeffrey to step in at once.
“Gentlemen, let’s settle this the reasonable way. Neither of you can have exactly what you want. What are you willing to give up?”
They paused, taking deep breaths. Beaver held up a finger, swallowing.
“Misha… Misha must be freed. That is what matters.”
“Jared has to stay with me. And Collins can’t be anywhere near us.”
Beaver was about to argue, but Jeffrey cut in.
“Perfect! Your wishes aren’t contradictory!”
“Yes, they are! I don’t want Misha Collins to be let loose in the world! This poor bastard does!” Jensen exclaimed.
“You didn’t say he couldn’t be let loose in the world!” Jeffrey said. “You said he couldn’t be near you.”
Jensen frowned at him. Jeffrey didn’t give him a chance to argue back. He grabbed both his and Beaver’s shoulders and declared. “It’s decided! Padalecki will be released and brought to Jensen. Collins will be sent to Australia…”
‘Australia? This must be a joke. I won’t allow it to happen!” Now Beaver was the disgruntled one.
Jeffrey sighed. “Fine. Where then? Name it, wherever but England.”
“Very well. He’ll go to France. I have a cottage there.”
“Fine.” Jensen pouted.
“Fine. I’m glad that’s settled.” Jeffrey smiled. “Now we have a long afternoon ahead of us, we need to talk to everyone all over again.”
They made to leave, but Jensen stopped them. “Wait! What do you want to do with the other one? Murray?”
The three looked between each other, clueless.
“…Let’s just leave him there.” Jeffrey suggested. Beaver shrugged and they had a deal.
Jensen patted Jeffrey’s back and went out to take a breath before they had to chase their voters again. Beaver started heading out, but before he could, Jeffrey pulled him back.
“Beaver, I need to talk to you in private.” He whispered.
The man raised his eyebrows at him.
“Jensen is obsessed with this Padalecki lad. I didn’t want to resort to this, but I fear for him. If you provided the transportation, you’d be able to- say, make sure he never reaches Jensen?”
Beaver smiled and beckoned for him to follow. Jeffrey briefly spotted Jensen looking at him from the door before he walked out in Beaver’s direction.
Misha woke up with the sound of the keepers banging loudly on the cell bars.
“Misha Collins and Jared Padalecki.” One of them announced in a bored voice.
Jared sat up from the floor and called to them.
“Misters Collins and Padalecki, your carriages are here to take you away.”
“Already? Am I going to be dropped off in that place with the clothes off my back?” Jared asked.
The keeper looked at him with indifference. “I assume so. Stand up and follow me.” He opened the cell.
Jared walked out and turned back to Misha. “You should know, I’ll find my own way to come back. If I were you I’d stay away from Jensen.”
With that, he let the keeper lead him away through the corridor. The other keeper knocked on the cell bar to call his attention. “Let’s go. Mr. Beaver is waiting for you.”
Misha got up from the bed and looked at Chad, who still slept soundly on the floor. “He’s not coming.” The keeper said, stepping aside so that Misha could leave the cell. Neither of them looked back as he was led to a carriage waiting outside.
“Misha Collins. Finally we meet face to face! I’m Jim Beaver, a great admirer of your strength and dedication. Well, I suppose I’ve already waxed poetic enough during our exchange of letters.”
Jim Beaver, as it turned out, was a plumpish, slightly older looking man with a very friendly and approachable face, and a big, respectable mustache. Misha gave him a pleased smile.
“Jim. May I call you Jim? It is such a pleasure. I’ve been looking forward to this. Shall we go for tea? I’m sure we have much to discuss.” Misha settled in his seat and the carriage began moving.
“Actually, there is a detail I haven’t been able to talk to you about. I hope you’re not too disappointed, but as it happens, I wasn’t able to have you released into the streets of England.” Jim gave him a sympathetic look.
“Pardon?”
“I was forced to compromise. Now, I will do absolutely everything in my power to bring you back to the country, but until then, I’m afraid you’ll have to reside in the continent.”
“Oh.” Misha was a little surprised, but it didn’t quell his excitement at being free or at meeting Jim. “Very well. I have my contacts. We can still organize ourselves. And you’ll keep in touch too, won’t you, Jim?”
Jim smiled and gave him a pat on the knee. “Actually, old chap, if you don’t mind I was considering taking this opportunity and traveling to Europe for a while. What would you say to a bit of company?”
“I would very much appreciate it, my dear! When do we leave?”
“I’ve taken the liberty of having my servants put together a few provisions seeing as you’ve been stripped of your belongings. Everything is ready: clothing, personal hygiene items, a card deck. I hope you don’t mind my fashion sense.” Jim told him with a laugh.
“It seems perfectly adequate to me. Thank you, friend.”
Misha smiled and looked out. His future was bright.
Jared sat back in the coach's seat and relaxed. He had his whole life ahead of him, and he wouldn’t be going to Australia after all, though no one had been willing to explain to him why that was. The one thing he knew was that he wouldn't be returning to his old house, whether he managed to convince Jensen to give him a new chance or not.
Well, who was he kidding? What were the odds of Jared even being able to approach Jensen, after he failed to stop Mr. Ackles' murder? And then he had to make him believe Jared's story about not being involved in it. Not entirely true, but certainly not a lie…
Jared was still lost in these thoughts when the coach stopped abruptly. He snapped out of his daydream and held his breath, waiting for a sign of danger. When nothing happened, he opened the door carefully and stepped down frowning.
The butt of a rifle came out of nowhere and hit him in the head. Jared stumbled back in surprise, but had the presence of mind to throw out his arms, grabbing the barrel of the weapon. He tried to take it from his assaulter, but his hold wasn't firm enough. He pushed it with all his force instead, hitting the man in the teeth and finally taking the rifle. Jared kicked him in the stomach for good measure, but two other men appeared before he could do anything else.
Jared had no idea who on earth these people were, and they didn't seem inclined to explain. A plump, balding fellow grabbed him from behind in a tight grip. Jared shouted in surprise and threw himself backwards into the coach, smashing Balding Fellow against it with his weight while the other man, hereby called Scrunchy Face, went at him with a knife.
Jared swung the rifle as if it were a bat. Scrunchy Face let out a loud whine along with the thud of the rifle hitting his skull. Jared kept hitting him in the face and bouncing back against the coach, with Balding Fellow still attached to his backside. The situation was plain ridiculous and Jared felt the rising urge to laugh.
The sound of somehow familiar hooves galloping towards him turned Jared's head. There was Jensen, mounted on Harley, rapidly approaching, like some sort of glorious bastard out of Jared’s insane prison-induced dreams. As if he had been stashed away and preserved in that exact position for months while Jared hopped between boredom and desperation in a cell, only to be dropped then and there back into Jared’s world, the real world.
Jared was so busy thinking up this nonsense that, incompetent as they were, his mysterious attackers managed to recover and organize themselves. Now his first assaulter grabbed the rifle again from his hand as Balding Fellow held Jared’s arms back and Scrunchy Face raised his knife. Their triumph didn’t last long. Jensen got near enough to pull out a pistol and aimed it at First Assaulter.
“Let him go!” Jensen shot at the man’s general direction, causing him to jump away startled.
He shot a couple more times and soon the three men were running away. Only then Jared noticed that there was no one controlling the coach’s horses anymore, which meant that his would-be killers had been traveling along with him all that time.
“Jared. It’s been a while.” Jensen addressed him with a curious expression on his face, still on horseback. “You look different.”
Was he? Jared didn’t have a clear picture of what he looked like before. He certainly felt different.
Jensen kept looking at him as if expecting something. How typical that after all of Jared’s planning and all the time he spent fantasizing about this event, he would now be rendered speechless.
“Surprised to see me? I had a feeling I should come along with your carriage instead of waiting for you at Huddersfield. Glad to know my instincts are as sharp as ever.”
Waiting for him? What? Jared finally found his voice. “Jensen. I tried to stop it, I swear I did. I’m so sorry.” He pleaded.
Jensen stared at him somberly. “I know what happened, Jared. But the fact is you knew what they were planning, and you never told me. You told them about my father’s place in the city, didn’t you?”
Jared’s heart beat fast. What now? He had told them about it, and he did feel guilty. He still couldn’t believe his colossal stupidity. But here, looking at Jensen’s expectant face, he couldn’t bring himself to say it, and the realization that he was still willing to lie to his friend intensified his shame.
He tried to reason with himself. It was unbelievable that Jensen was even willing to hear him at all. If Jared admitted to his most fatal mistake, he would surely lose his chance to gain Jensen’s friendship back. He couldn’t change the past, but he was aware that Collins would be back in action soon, and he would want to finish his business with Jensen. Jared could be there for him this time, he did have good intentions, and Jensen seemed to want them to be able to remain friends, for some elusive reason.
With a lump in his throat, Jared finally answered. “No, Jensen… No, I- They found out. I’m so sorry, I know I should have warned you about Collins’ plans.” At the mention of Misha Collins, Jensen grimaced and huffed. “I was so confused back then, and my cousin- Well, there is no excuse, but I promise, Jensen. I’m not confused anymore.” He declared earnestly.
Jared bit his bottom lip as Jensen rubbed his jaw, looking thoughtful. Sighing, he looked up back at Jared with steely eyes.
“Very well, Jared. Don’t think you’re simply forgiven for your involvement with my father’s murderers.” He said with a stern voice. “But I don’t believe that you meant harm. I know my father’s decisions were thoughtless and he could be quite cruel. I want you to know that regardless of which machines I put to use at the mill, I won’t be lowering the wages.”
“Oh. That’s right, you’re in charge now!” Jared realized. “I guess you’re busy being a mill owner these days.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t concern you anymore. You won’t be returning to work there.”
Jared ducked his head. “I know. I didn’t expect you to give me the job back. To be honest, I don’t want to work as a cropper at all anymore.”
“Well, of course. You work for me now, or did you forget?” Jared looked up, frowning. It took him a second to remember that Jensen had offered him a job as his footman. That had been before .
“Is there a problem?” Jensen asked with a raised eyebrow.
“No! Not at all. So I’ll be working for you, is that so?”
“That’s right. I’ll need someone competent and tolerable with me in my travels. I hope you mean it when you say you’re no longer confused, because if you prove yourself unreliable, I won’t hesitate to leave you stranded.” Jensen turned Harley around so that Jared could climb up behind him on the horse.
“I promise, Jensen. I know what my priorities are now.” Jared said, trying to make sense of what he was hearing. “…Did you say ‘travels’?”
Once Jared settled himself, Jensen gave Harley a pat on the neck so that they could leave that place behind.
“Yes. We’re going to India.”
end.
Previous Part -- Masterpost