{SPN J2 Big Bang} Gunmetal Dawn - Chapter 2
Fic Title: Gunmetal Dawn
Author name: deannawol
Artist name: grayscaled
Genre: RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen/Jared
Rating: NC-17 / R
Word count: 66,666
Warnings: Slash (M/M) relationship, oral sex, violence, language, angst .
Summary: J2 Cyberpunk AU; Three years ago, Christian Kane betrayed Jared Padalecki and killed most of his family. Mercenary Jensen Ackles saved him and his younger sister Megan and brought them to live with them out in the wilds of Texas. Jared's been training and is finally ready to take Kane on to win back his family's corporate empire. However, the course of true love never runs smoothly and in regaining what he's lost, he's put everything he loves in jeopardy, including his partner and lover, Jensen. A J2 Romance in a Cyberpunk AU setting.
Link to Fic Masterpost: Link
Link to Art Masterpost: Link
Previous Chapter
Jensen was bone tired. He loved spending time with his family, but trekking across overgrown forests, hunting wasn’t exactly his idea of a wild time. He’d been side by side with his dad but had barely traded a handful of words. Couldn’t really when all your attention was focused on every twitch of the trees. Now they were almost back at the camp, and all he could think about was curling up around Jared and grabbing a much needed nap.
He spun the wheel, shifting onto the dirt track leading to the camp, the other jeeps falling in behind him. He kept an eye out for the forward sentries but all the usual places were bare. Worry made him press the gas pedal harder. Something wasn’t right. Little further and he’d be at the edge of the plains and then he would be able to…
“Holy crap,” he breathed, “What the hell…”
Josh stirred in the seat beside him, “Keep it down, some of us are trying to catch a few while we can.”
“Josh, look at the ground.”
Josh pushed himself up and wiped his eyes with a hand, “What you on about?”
Jensen pointed to the ground in front of them. It was torn up. Pot holes with singed edges, craters easily big enough to lose the jeep in. Shards of metal spread out from there, and… Was that a bumper? Jensen slowed slightly, swinging off the track to avoid the danger. Looking up, he could just about make out the camp, and the trailers moved close together. A little closer and he could see the tables and chairs that they usually ate at were turned on their sides and piled up high. Slowing the Jeep to a crawl, Jensen crossed the last half mile, taking it all in. He heard a soft curse from his brother beside him and followed his line of sight. Debris lay on the ground around the camp. Broken weapons, scraps of armour and bloodstains. Dark brown-black patches discolouring the sandy soil. He could see pock marks and scorches on the wood and the metal of the trailers.
Something bad had gone down here, and recently too if the barricades were still up. He looked over to his brother. Josh’s lips were drawn into a tight line as he catalogued the camp ground.
Jensen pulled to a stop just outside the camp, turning off the engine and hopping clear as soon as he was able. The kids came running, wrapping their arms around his waist if they were tall enough, around his legs if they weren't as they chattered away telling him about the 'awesome' adventures they'd had the night before. He was distracted as he ruffled their hair just wanting to make his way into the camp, to where Momma directed traffic, Josh right behind him.
"Hey Momma," Jensen tried to keep his voice calm but worry crept in anyway, "Trouble?"
"Nothing we couldn't handle without you boys. Got some scouts doing a perimeter walk, watching for trouble, so you don’t need to be getting yourself all concerned," she replied tightly. "Left the grave digging for you all. Shovels are out back."
Jensen scrubbed his hair with a hand. She was riled up, still tense from last night more than likely and taking it out on him as the first available target. Jensen wished his dad had been riding with them. If anyone knew how to defuse her, it was him. Although, mood she was in, he didn't doubt that his dad was going to get it both barrels. And damned if he was going to stand in the way of that. Getting caught in his mom's anger was like facing down a Cat 5 tornado, 'cept more dangerous. And no way was he rested enough to tackle her for information or anything else. He looked around the camp and saw Jared sitting down at what had to be the command post, Sam opposite him. They’d probably know what was going on.
Jensen slid into the seat beside his boyfriend, and was about to lean in for a kiss when he noticed Jared’s cracked and broken cast and Sam poking at it.
"Jeez Jay, what did you do to that cast?"
Sam answered before Jared, "Rambo here decided that instead of using his guns or a knife or anything practical, he was gonna bash someone's damned fool head in with his cast. And now, I gotta break the rest of this off and see if I gotta replaster it," she looked up at Jensen, "Course, I'm not sure he's not going to do something else stupid with it, like use it as a doorstop."
“Is it broken again?” Jensen asked.
“Well, it’s taken me this damned long to get him to sit still so I could poke it, so I don’t exactly know yet, now do I?”
He leaned in close and kissed Jared on the temple, "Hey darlin', missed ya."
Jared smiled up at him, wincing slightly as Sam poked him, "Missed you too, Jen. Hunt go good?"
"Yeah, not bad. Just long," he leaned in close, voice dropping to a whisper, “Saw you had some trouble here. Wanna tell me what happened?”
“People attacked. We took care of it,” was Jared’s reply on the matter. "I was thinking that maybe you and me could disappear into one of the trailers and... sleep?"
Jared caught Jensen's damp t-shirt in a hand, and dragged him close enough to kiss him, cutting off more questions.
"Don't you even think it, Jared Tristan Padalecki," Sam interrupted, "You are not leaving that seat until I get done with you."
Jensen watched as Sam attacked the plaster, splitting it the rest of the way and pulling it off, giving her even more room to poke. She made Jared wiggle his fingers and flex his arms. When she was satisfied, she started packing away her medical kit. "If you're careful, it'll be fine. The QikHeal worked well enough, now you just gotta let it mend."
Jared ran a finger up and down his arm, pressing on the area where the break had been. Jensen bumping him with a hip, "We got any ideas on who attacked us yet?"
Jared sighed, "Yeah. Yeah, we know," he paused, "Joe searched one of them. Found two pictures, standard target profiles. You know the sort. Name, details, where to find them." Jared dipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out the two plaspaper pictures. They were creased down the centre and across the middle. Jared unfolded the pictures and looked at them for a second before dropping them on the table in front of his lover. Jared pushed himself up. Jensen reached out, hand on Jared's arm.
"I can't," Jared's voice cracked, "I gotta... Just... I can't." He shook off Jensen's hand and walked towards one of the trailers, the one set aside for them. Jensen frowned as he watched Momma reach out as he passed, letting her hand rest on him a moment before letting him disappear into the metal caravan.
Picking up the pictures, Jensen paled, "That's..."
Sam nodded, "Yup, that's your boy. Other one is Meg. Taken about five years ago. I found out last night after the fight was done. He came to me, needed to vent. Seems sure it was Kane and I’m not inclined to disagree with that," she stopped, looking into his face, searching for something. Jensen reckoned she must have found it 'cause she started talking again, "Jay's not taking this so good, hon. Go. Talk to him. He needs his boyfriend right around now. He needs you, hon. Talk to him. Please?"
Jensen nodded and followed Jared to the trailer. He tapped on the door with his knuckles but there was no answer so Jensen pulled it open and looked inside. Jared was standing in front of one of the windows, looking out over the plains. Jared didn't look back at Jensen, just spoke, "I told you we should have taken that bastard out."
"Jared... Jay..." Jensen started, moving up to stand behind Jared, arms wrapping around his waist.
"No, Jensen," Jared was trying to keep his voice down, but Jensen could hear the anger simmering underneath, feel it in the muscles tensing under his touch. "It's been three years. Three fucking years. And we're still running fucking scared from Christian fucking Kane. He still wants me dead. And not just me. He's after Meg too. And he's not keeping to the cities. He came out here, hired enough fucking mercs to take us all out, the entire camp." Jared tugged free of Jensen, turning to face him as he pushed his hair back, "I'm a merc, Jen, same as you. I know the risks when I step out onto the streets. This isn't the streets, Jen. This is home. This is as far from Dallas as we can safely go and he's still looking for us. The only way we are ever going to be done with him is to put a bullet in him, Jen. You said that we needed to let sleeping dogs lie. I did. But this isn't a sleeping dog anymore. This is a Rottweiler going for our throats. You've got to see that."
"Jay, I don't know..." Jensen tried.
"There are some lines you don't cross,” Jared cut him off, anger flashing in his eyes. His voice rose, “You told me that first day on the street. Attacking the family, attacking a camp full of women and children just trying for a clear shot at me. You telling me that that's not crossing the fucking line?" Jared challenged him.
Jensen shook his head, "Stop putting words in my mouth, Jay. I'd love to take the bastard down. Especially now. I can't bring your family back, Jay and I know that it still hurts you to think about it, but getting yourself killed in some revenge deal isn't going to bring them back," Jensen sighed, "He's got a whole fucking corporation waiting for the click of his fingers and he's already shown that he's not shy about putting them to work for him. A whole corp, Jay. We can't fight that. We’re not ready to fight that. Not on our own. Not even with the entire family pitching in."
Jared's eyes turned cold, "So don't fight the corp."
"Nice theory," Jensen tried to stay calm, "But it's not that easy. We don't know enough about him. It would take weeks, months to work out where we could hit him, how to get him alone and he'll be watching for us if we start asking about him right after his men don't come back."
Jared pushed past Jensen, going for his backpack resting on one of the breakfast bar type tables. Ripping the zip open, he pulled a notebook out and slapped it on the table, "You wanna know what Kane's doing? Here. Every fucking move that asshole makes. I know when he takes a dump, Jen. How much more do we fucking need to know? I even know when we can hit him."
Jensen picked up the notebook and flicked through the pages. Press junkets, media titbits, property listings. Every social event that Kane had attended in the past three years outlined in the pages with as much detail as Jensen could hold for. Every who, what, where and when that Kane had done since they'd left Dallas that first time. This was Kane's life in bullet point form. Fuck. How had he not noticed Jared putting all this stuff together?
"Jay," Jensen breathed.
Jared held up a hand, "I ain't gonna fight with you. Not about this. I love you, but if I have to do this on my own, I will." He reached out, taking one of Jensen's hands in his and brushing his thumb over the back of his lover's hand, "I'd like you there. But I'll understand if you don't want to. Just read that and let me know what you think."
Raising the hand to his lips, he pressed a kiss to the back of Jensen's knuckles, before letting it drop again and then leaving the trailer. Jensen watched him go, watched the door swing shut, clicking closed behind him.
"Fuck!" Jensen looked down at the notebook in his hand again, "Fuckin' hell!"
Turning to the last page, Jensen saw Jared's writing, neat compared to his usual scrawl.
05-23-27
Behman Gala Event - 20:15 arrival - 2hr 28mins - black limo, one driver, two security incl. SC, hired date
Black tie event, $2,500 plates, security by MTech, support by Dallas PD
Security rating: 4 (trained, armed with automatic weapons, possibly overwatch snipers)
05-23-27
Days Bar - 23:49 arrival - 8hr 19mins - company SUV, driven by SC, no security
Casual, 4 drinks, backroom poker, $10,000 buy in, 4 players (1 sec each, staying in bar)
Bar security only. Rating: 3 (semi-trained, liable to shoot first, semi-auto's but enclosed - no back door)
Jensen flipped the page, going back to the previous entries. Each a perfect picture of Chris' time. So complete that Jensen was left wondering how the hell Jared had gotten so much information together. These last few days were the first time in three years that they'd been separated for more than a day. They had shared an apartment, a bed. Every meal was together, either some stuff thrown together or grabbing something on the run. They worked as a team, the two of them, occasionally contracting in outside help when they needed it but always together. And now, he'd pulled this outta left field.
Sure, back at the beginning, Jared'd been all fired up and gunning for Kane but he was still new back then, still finding his feet on the street. Back then, it would have been suicide to run against Kane and his goons. Jensen had been waiting for Jared to bring it up again, but no. Never again. Not once. And sure, Jensen had seen him watching the vid feeds, reading the scream sheets, tracking Kane but this was a whole universe beyond what he was capable of. And the worst thing about it was that Jensen didn't have a leg to stand on. Everything Jared had said was right. Chris Kane was pissing on his patch now, threatening his family and damned if he was going to let that happen.
Jensen closed the notebook and tapped it against his thigh. Jared had the skills to do this now. He was good. Jensen knew he was good. The proof was in the notebook and the intel they needed. They might actually be able to do this. Take the bastard out before he came after the family again. Tucking the notebook into his back pocket, he smiled, nodding to himself. Fuck, they might actually be able to do this.
Pulling the door open, Jensen stepped out into the camp. The rest of the hunters were back now, and it looked like Momma was laying into his dad about taking all the able bodied off for a hunt and leaving her alone with the old, the injured and anyone not willing to schlep through rough terrain. Not that they'd done a bad job, but Momma wasn't opposed to holding a justified grudge. His dad would be lucky if all he got was the couch for the night. Mood she looked to be in, he might be sleeping in the dirt tonight. Skirting the outside of the argument, he searched out Jared, easy to see standing head and shoulders above most of the family. A couple of taps on shoulders had people moving out of his way until they were side by side.
Leaning in close, he whispered, "So, when were you thinking of having us doing this?"
Jared turned, head whipping around in surprise, smile lighting up his face, "You mean it?"
Jensen smiled back, "Yeah. Let's take the bastard down!"
Jensen felt his feet leave the ground as Jared picked him up, squeezing him tight.
"Jay, what did I say about your arm?" the warning voice of Sam carried across the chatter of the camp and Jensen found himself on the ground again.
Jared's face was alight, the warm brown eyes looking down at him with nothing but love and Jensen couldn't help but blush. Three years together and Jared's happy face could still give him an 'aw shucks' moment.
"Gonna grab some sleep," Jensen's voice was soft as he spoke, "then we'll start in on your notebook, see if we can't come up with something, okay?"
"Yeah, sure. Absolutely," Jared gushed, nodding vigorously before pausing and looking down, his cheeks filling with pink, "So, this nap..."
"Yeah?"
Jared looked up at Jensen, "Want some company?"
"I guess maybe I could find room for you," Jensen smirked.
Jared raised an eyebrow, "Seems to me that it's more my bed than yours since we been back."
Jensen pulled Jared close, arm wrapping around Jared's waist as he pushed himself up to his toes as he kissed his lover, "Missed you when we were out hunting. Couldn't sleep well without you."
"Nothing at all to do with the hard ground and nothing but a sleeping bag," Jared teased.
"Nope, all about you," Jensen kissed Jared, a proper kiss this time, not some peck on the lips.
He had missed Jared beside him. Sleeping bags weren't much good on desert cold nights, and they sure as hell weren't as comforting as a strong pair of arms wrapped around him. But now he was home, with a trailer to themselves and enough distraction that no one would come looking for them for at least a half hour.
Taking Jared's hand in his, he walked them towards the trailer. Letting the door snap closed, Jensen flicked the lock.
Jared watched, eyebrow quirked, "You planning something?"
"Maybe," Jensen ran his eyes over Jared, "It was pretty damned cold out there, man, might need some... warming up."
Jared stepped in close, letting his hands run down over Jensen's arms and looking into his eyes, "Guess I can do that."
Jensen's hands ran over the buttons of Jared's plaid shirt, slowly plucking them open to reveal the white t-shirt underneath. He pushed the shirt back and off Jared’s shoulders. A shake from Jared and it was on the floor behind them. He plucked the t-shirt loose, freeing it from the waistband of Jared’s trousers. Jared’s skin was warm, his stomach fluttering slightly as Jensen let his hand run over the tight muscles.
He looked up into hazel eyes, twinkling in amusement, "Something funny?"
"Just thinkin'. You know you look exactly like Josh laying into a steak right after Inez has been on a vegetarian kick."
Jensen stared at him for a minute, "Ya know, suddenly, I'm starting to feel very tired. Maybe I should just grab some sleep first, yeah?"
"Aw baby," Jared teased, leaning down to lick over the shell of Jensen's ear.
Jensen winced and pushed Jared back, "Ew. Bitch!"
"C'mon, Jen," Jared plucked at his jacket. "Promise I'll make it up to you?"
Jensen pulled off his camo jacket, tossing it on the couch. Next came the t-shirt, khaki green and dark with sweat stains under his arms and down his back. He pulled his belt loose and looked over to Jared who was now t-shirtless and leaning back against the opposite wall, his eyes darkening as he watched. Jensen smirked. Good to know he still had it even after three long years.
"Ya planning on helping me or you just gonna watch?" Jensen asked.
"Watching is good," Jared replied, his fingers playing over the bulge of his fly, breath hitching. "Oh yeah, watching is real good."
"Pervert," Jensen teased, thumb flicking at the button of his fly.
Jared laughed, "Only for you, baby!"
Jensen shook his head, smiling and started to undo the buttons of his combat trousers, popping them slowly. He was already hard, just from the anticipation. Looking up at Jared, he ran his hand over the bulge, groaning low and filthy. He could feel Jared's heated gaze and suddenly the air seemed a lot hotter, thicker and it was harder to breathe. He popped another button and then the last one, sliding his hand inside his boxers and hissed at the contact. Only a thin layer of cotton, but it did nothing to cool the heat.
Damn, he wanted this, needed this.
He closed his eyes, fucking up into his loose grip and suddenly Jared was there, running his hands over his chest, his arms, then round to his ass, pulling him closer. Then lips on his face, his neck and then his lips. A quick flick of tongue over his bottom lip to make him gasp and then deeper, pulling the breath from him.
Another hand on his, pushing him to move his over his erection. Strong, sure, but not quite steady. He could feel the trembles of need as Jared touched him. Jensen forced his eyes open and broke the kiss, panting hard. He pulled his hand free of Jared's, fumbling for Jared's fly, needing to touch him.
Ducking his head, Jared captured Jensen's lips again, Jared's hand distracting him as it tightened its grip on his cock, pumping in slow, steady strokes. Jensen fumbled the buttons open through some fluke of luck and timing he pushed the jeans down, hand closing around Jared's hard cock.
"Missed you," the words were murmured as soon as they broke the kiss , panting for air.
Jensen dropped his head onto Jared's shoulder, kissing the soft skin, nipping it. Jared groaned and tightened his grip on Jensen's erection, strokes coming faster now. Jensen's hand flexed, brain shorting out at the rush of heat and want. His thumb brushed over the head, feeling the precum leaking out. His free arm snaked around Jared's waist and his hand slipped down to palm the curve of Jared's ass, pulling him closer.
Jared's breathy moans in his ear, the tiny words of encouragement and love drove him on. He couldn't keep his hips still, bucking forward into Jared's hand as he felt the approaching peak. His hand clutched where it was as he strained to hold back but Jared was playing his body like a fucking violin. He cursed as he toppled over the edge, spilling over Jared's hand. Jensen leaned heavily into Jared's chest on his lover as he struggled to stay upright. His hand slowed on Jared's cock. Jared whined, high and too needy to even form words and Jensen tightened his grip and picked up the pace, bringing Jared off quickly.
Jensen kissed Jared's neck as his lover panted hard, "Been thinking of that every damned night we were on the hunt."
Jared pulled back, grinning widely, "Been thinking something similar myself."
"Oh?" Jensen asked, his lips quirked.
Jared tilted his head to the side and seemed to consider it for a second before lifting Jensen off the ground and dropping him on the bed. "Lemme show you what I was thinking."
~#~#~
Jensen sat propped up against the headboard of their cramped bed, with Jared's diary in his lap and Jared's arm stretched out over his hips, pinning him. With his free hand, he carded through Jared's hair, only stopping to turn the page. It was about an hour after sunrise by his figuring. The world outside the trailer was quiet, everyone sane still asleep and curled up in their beds. He'd gotten into the habit of waking early, working out to keep himself in shape and even though he'd intended to enjoy a lazy morning, his inner alarm clock had woken him up at the usual time. He hadn't felt like getting the rest of the way up, so instead he'd grabbed Jared's little book of Kane and started working his way through it.
He was struck again by the sheer level of detail that Jared had managed to collect on the guy. Who he was meeting, who he was doing under the table deals with and which starlet he was hooking up with. The whole thing read like a who's who of Dallas, the famous and the infamous. If he'd done this on his own, Jared was definitely in the wrong job. People would pay big bucks for this level of detail on a potential mark before a mission. Hell, Jensen would be interested in finding out what data runner he'd used. The guy was golden.
There was information about each and every meeting that Christian Kane attended, what sort of security they had running. Everything. Even down to dating details. Jensen frowned at the entries as he flipped back and forth.
12-23-26
Street Safe Charity Fundraiser - 19:23 arrival - 2hr 49mins - Self-driven (Maserati GranTurismo 3) flanked by two company SUVs, security incl. SC, hired date
Black tie event, invite only, security by Securicorps, platinum account (2 min response time for backup)
Security rating: 4 (trained, armed with automatic weapons, possibly overwatch snipers)
12-23-26
Lucky Motel - 22:53 arrival - 12hr 16mins - classic Ford Jaguar '14, driven by SC, no additional security
Casual, Room 23, paid cash, no cameras available, no reported visitors
Rating: 1 (SC only, one room entrance, no fire escape)
Jensen tapped the second entry. Now that was something he hadn't expected. Midnight meetings, all night long with just one person in attendance. Yeah, that wasn't suspicious at all. Sure, it could have been a cover for some street meetings. There were no cameras, but talking to street scum didn't last for twelve hours. It looked to Jensen like there was more than a professional relationship between Kane and SC. Might explain all these hired dates. Christian Kane wasn't a bad looking guy. He had a certain southern charm about him and he could spin a very good lie. It should be easy for him to pick up a trophy girlfriend happy enough with nothing but access to Kane's personal accounts, but instead every date was hired and paid for. No repeats. Nothing more than business contracts. Their names and agency details were saved off in another part of the notebook.
SC? Who was this SC, though? He racked his head for someone fitting those initials. Must have been someone that Jared knew well enough as there was nothing in there beyond those initials. No profile, no additional notations, nothing. Flicking through the pages, Jensen counted the number of meetings recorded. At least one per week, one of three different motels, all in the rougher parts of town. Rooms that rented by the hour and staff willing to look the other way for a few bucks. Old, beat up cars, indistinguishable from the other piece of shit cars driven in those areas. Whoever was setting this up was being smart but it left them wide open to anyone paying enough attention. Wouldn't take too much to set something up. They'd need a little more intel but that probably wasn't going to be an issue.
It would need to more than just the two of them though, to cover all the angles. Maybe Josh, if Inez would let him out of her sight for the time they'd need to do this. Maybe some other members of the family if he couldn't get his big brother to back them up. Worst case, he knew a couple of guys who were probably looking for some work, freelancers working out of Dallas.
Closing the notebook, he pinched the bridge of his nose and yawned. He hadn't had enough sleep to process this. Shuffling down a little, Jensen leaned in, kissing Jared's forehead. He should have known that Jared wouldn't just drop it. Hell, just seeing Kane as a main feature on the evening news must have been hard. But why the hell hadn't Jared brought this to him before? He sighed. Christ, he'd never wanted Jared to feel as if he couldn't bring stuff to him, especially the big stuff. And this was fucking huge. He didn't want secrets between them. If Jared felt he couldn't talk to him, then there was something seriously wrong. What else didn't he know? What else did Jared feel he couldn't say to him?
He looked at Jared, brushing a strand of hair back from his face. He loved Jared, really, truly loved him. And it actually hurt to think that Jared hadn’t come to him about this. Yesterday, it had been a confrontation, a fight, with both of them shouting at each other. Even though they had been saying the same thing. Kane needed to be taken down and until now, Jensen couldn't see a way to do it. But Jared had. Months, years of planning. Watching every tiny aspect of the man's life trying to find a chink in the armour and now they had one. They had something that might work, would work and it had taken Kane setting his attack dogs on the camp to do it. Too fucking high a price.
He needed to make some sort of apology. Let Jared know that he was with him on this. Jared had been running missions with him for two and a half years, but it had always been Jensen putting all the plays together, working out all the runs, getting everything they need but Jared had already done the prep for this mission so it might be time to let him take the lead. Jensen backing him up all the way. In this mission Jared would have the lead. He was good to go and with Jensen there to keep him grounded, there shouldn't be a problem.
Jared stretched beside him, arm wrapping tighter as he looked around, taking in where he was.
"Wha time 'sit?" Jared asked, wiping a hand over his face.
Jensen flicked a glance at his internal chronometer, the digits flashing up onto his vision, "'Seven thirty two."
Jared flexed a shoulder, pulling Jensen down into a kiss, "What you doin' up so early?"
"Couldn't sleep, been reading," Jensen held up the notebook.
Pushing himself up, Jared leant back against the headboard, "Yeah? Anything good?"
Jensen nodded, "Yeah, Jay, some really good stuff in there. You got a lot of intel in there. Lot of useful stuff. Lot we can use."
Jared ducked his head, cheeks pink.
"You got some ideas on what we should do first?" Jensen asked.
"Me?" Jared's head snapped up. "I thought you might..."
Jensen shook his head, "I got some ideas but... This is yours, Jay. You picked up the intel, you brought it back, and only fair you should plan it. I'll be there with you but this is all yours, babe."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, you've watched me planning missions before. You've seen what it takes. You're ready for this," Jensen reassured taking Jared's hand in his. "You got any questions, I'll be right here."
Jared leaned in and kissed Jensen loudly on the cheek, "You're the best. Love you!"
Jensen smirked as he pushed Jared away, wiping his cheek, "Dude, that's so not cool!"
Jared caught Jensen's hand and held it out, trying to land a raspberry anywhere he could. Jensen threw himself back, guarding himself against hands and lips. He threw his own hand out wildly, slapping at Jared wherever he could until he got an "Oof". Then it was on, Jensen's fingers diving for Jared's ticklish spots, making him curl in laughter. Wasn't long until both of them were laying there panting and out of breath.
"You gonna ask Josh to come along?" Jared asked.
"Dude, your mission, your job!" Jensen laughed, "I'd take a bullet for you, but Inez... That’s one proper scary, hormonal woman."
"Wuss," Jared teased.
"What? She likes you more than me anyway. I remind her of Josh, apparently," Jensen shrugged, "Least that's what she was screaming last time. I was too busy ducking to be sure."
"Can I borrow your armour?" Jared asked.
Jensen frowned, "What happened your armour?"
"Nothing, just figuring that might be better if I double stacked it."
Jensen thought about it for a second, "Get Sam on side. Ask her what Inez is craving. Might help."
"Couldn't hurt I suppose," Jared shrugged.
"Anything that stops her from tearing you apart has got to be a good thing, Jay, I kinda like you in one piece, ya know," Jensen bumped Jared's shoulder, smiling.
Jared smirked, leaning in to kiss Jensen, "Yeah, I'm kinda attached to being in one piece too."
Jensen pulled Jared close, kissing him back. His hand tracing down over Jared's hard muscles, tweaking a nipple and making his boyfriend groan in pleasure. He was about to slip lower when there was a knock on the door.
"You guys better be dressed 'cause I'm about to come in there and if I see anything I shouldn't, you guys are paying for my therapy!" The voice called as the door handle rattled.
"Meg..." Jensen pulled the blankets up, covering them. "Don't even bother, it's locked!"
"Well, tell Jared to put on some clothes, Momma said it's his turn to do breakfast," Megan hollered through the keybole.
Jared cursed and threw back the blankets, giving Jensen a magnificent view of his ass as he scrambled for clothes. Dressing quickly, he grabbed a quick kiss and headed out. Jensen lay back on the bed for a few minutes before the guilt finally got to him and he followed Jared out into the camp, watching him start to grab everything he needed as Jensen pulled on his gear. A cup of coffee was handed over, once Jared spotted him, and a kiss hot enough to get a couple of wolf whistles. Blushing, Jared ducked his head and returned to the large open grill, Momma looking over his shoulder for every flip. Jensen couldn't help but laugh as she guided his every move. She did this every morning, irrespective of who was actually doing the cooking. Jensen watched as Jared slowly extricated himself from the proceedings, moving to haul out the crockery and utensils while keeping an eye on the oatmeal bubbling in a large pot over an open fire. Stepping up behind him, Jensen slipped his hands around Jared's waist and nibbled on his neck.
"You need anything?"
Jared leaned back, taking a moment before answering, "You could start waking everyone up?"
Jensen kissed the side of his neck again and moved back to start knocking on trailer doors. Disgruntled noises and curses answered him, but everyone hauled themselves out to the centre of the camp, grabbing plates and waiting expectantly for Momma to serve up. Jensen grabbed his serving and another for Jared and moved over to a table at the edge of camp. It wasn't long until Josh settled down beside him, nodding.
"So what's this I heard?" he asked, digging into his oatmeal - Inez was on a vegetarian kick - "You're planning something."
Jensen swallowed his mouthful and nodded, "Yeah, well, no. Jay is planning it."
"Jay?" he asked, eyebrow going up.
"Yeah," Jensen smiled, "We're doing it, Josh. We're going after him."
"Him?"
"Christian Kane. Jay's managed to pull together some serious intel, enough that we can make a serious run against him."
Josh's fork clattered on the plate as his jaw dropped, "Seriously, you're running against him? What about the corp? The truckloads of trained troops?"
Jensen shrugged, "We got a way around it." He pushed his plate aside, leaning forward, "Jay, he's... Josh, you wouldn't believe the amount of information he's turned up on the bastard. Times, dates, everything. We have enough to plan something good enough to take him off the streets. Enough to get justice for Jay, for Meg, for everyone Kane fucked over. We can just walk up to him, nail him and it'll be done."
"Just like that?" Josh asked sceptically.
Jensen shook his head, "Bit more to it but it's the closest we've been."
Josh looked around the camp before leaning in a little closer, "You guys need help?"
"With what?" Jared asked as he sat down, bringing the untouched plate close and digging in.
"Going after Kane," Josh explained, "You're going to need people for this. Good people. People who need to get away from the camp before their wives decide to gut them with a rusty tent peg. Come on, guys, you gotta get me outta this camp."
Jensen looked up at Jared, the corner of his lip quirking up, "Man, you know you're my brother, but Momma would kill me if I took you away. And I'm thinking the rest of the camp aren't gonna be too happy with me if I take away the only legitimate target."
"Love you too, little brother, and after I've saved your ass so many times," he shook his head, trying to look upset, "Good thing you're not putting the team together, ain't it? So what do you say, Jay, you know I'm worth ten of that useless lump over there. Come on, toss his ass and we'll go paint the town red. Whaddya say?"
Jared looked between the brothers, head tilted to the side as he shifted his focus from one to the other, "I dunno, Josh," he said finally, "I do get a lot of, um, benefits working with Jen here. And he's not too bad a shot!"
Jensen bumped his arm, "Not too bad a shot? I'm military trained precision, Jay, could shoot the tail end off a fly at three hundred meters. You'd be lucky if Josh here could tell you one end of a gun from another he's so outta practice."
"Fuck you too," Josh grumbled, digging his spoon into the porridge.
"Heads up," Jared whispered as he saw Inez making her way over.
Josh jumped to his feet, grabbing her plate and wrapping an arm around her waist, "Hey honey, thought you were grabbing a lie in this morning."
Inez eyed him suspiciously, "I was gonna but someone," she patted her belly, "didn't want Mama to get any more sleep, so I thought I would see what you boys were plotting."
Josh's cheeks went pink, "Plottin'? Honey, don't know what you're talking about, I'm just sitting here catching up."
"Boy, you can't lie for shit," Inez rolled her eyes, "and you had three days in the damned desert to catch up with Jen here. So what are you plotting?"
Jensen could see Jared looking to him for guidance but honestly, this was his mission. His decision. So he shrugged and sat back. Jared sighed, looking down at his plate. It was a whole minute before he spoke, "Got a mission we gotta run back in Dallas, 'gainst the guy who hired the goons who hit us last night. Need to take him out before he does something like this again. Or comes up with something worse."
Inez' lips thinned, "So you know who did it?"
Jared nodded, "Yeah."
"And you're gonna take Jen and Josh and go deal with Kane?"
There was nothing but silence at the table as the three men turned to look at Inez. "I'm pregnant, Jay, not stupid. You need help taking him out? I still got lotta street contacts in Dallas, could call a few of them, and get something set up for you? What you need, a fixer? A net runner to chase data? Some street mercs? Can't do you an army but could come pretty close if I called a couple of favours."
"Got a net runner already," Jared admitted, "but we could probably do with a fixer, someone with hardware, guns, armour, that sort of things, reasonable prices?"
"You're not leaving today?" she asked, "Cause it'll take a day, maybe two to get you some support in place."
Jared shook his head, "No, gotta work a plan out first. You sure you're okay with us taking Josh with us? I mean, if you need him to..."
Inez held up a hand, "Take him, with my blessing. God above only knows that he is going to be a lot more use to you than he is to me. I swear he fusses worse than Momma Ackles."
"Right here, ya know!"
She leaned in close, kissing his cheek, "I know baby. Wouldn't be half as much fun if you weren't!" She turned back to Jared, "Take him, please, otherwise you might come back to find him strung up by his balls, stripped naked and covered in feathers," she turned back to Josh, "It's not that I don't love you, honey, it's just that... Well, I know you love me and I love you too, but I swear, if you don't back the hell off, I’m gonna..."
Josh held his hands up, scooting back on the bench, "All you had to do was ask, honey. Backing off. Backing right off."
Jensen watched the interplay for another minute, leaning into his boyfriend, "Ya know, it's things like this that make me glad that that's never going to happen to us," he paused, "So you already have a net runner? Anyone I know?"
"Nah, not one of our usual ones. It's a guy I used to go to school with, geeky type, started working a computer after he got himself shot doing a simple retrieval run 'couple of years ago."
"He's the one who got you the info on Kane," Jensen said, not quite a question.
"Most of it. Some of it was me, but Chad pulled it all together. Got me video footage, times. Even managed to get a couple of people talking to him, getting him info."
Jensen nodded, "Sounds good. If you're happy to have him involved."
Jared frowned, "He already is, isn't he?"
"Guess so," Jensen agreed, flicking a glance to Josh.
"I think what Jen means is are you sure you can trust him?" Josh asked, "This is big, man, gotta be absolutely sure that Kane's not going to find out about it. You say you trust him, we're good with that, but you gotta be sure. That's all we're saying."
"I went to school with Chad, went out with him - clubbing and stuff. Spent a long time talking things over with him before... Just before. I knew I wanted to hit the streets. He did too but his dad wanted him to do something else, a proper job," Jared laughed to himself, "but he dropped out about five months in, started working with a team of vets, training himself up. All came to an end when his team did a run against one of the shell companies Kane owns. He wants to screw Kane over too, maybe not as bad but if he gets the chance, he'll take it. If you want, I can set up a meet but I trust him."
Jensen put a hand on Jared's arm, letting his thumb rub back and forth, "Good enough for us."
"So when do you want to start pulling this together, Jay," Inez asked, breaking the mood.
"Guess we should do it as soon as we can, yeah? How 'bout I pull all the information I have and we meet in our trailer in a half an hour?"
"Sounds good, bro," Josh nodded, "See ya then."
"I'll start making the calls," Inez agreed, "See who's in the city at the moment."
Jensen could see the wheels start to turn in Jared's mind, already working things out. How to do it, how best to get everything set up. "His boy loved thinking his way around puzzles. Sure Jensen usually did most of the planning, but Jared had enough wits about him to do just as good a job, he just never had. Whether it was just him bowing to Jensen's experience or a lack of faith in himself, that was going to change today, even if Jensen had to kick his ass six ways from Sunday to pull his head outta the clouds long enough to do it.
"Come on, Jay, let's get back to the trailer. Talk me through what you're thinking, bounce around some ideas, yeah?"
"Huh?" Jared looked a little lost for a second but quickly focused on him, "Yeah, sure, okay. So we kinda know that Chris is generally surrounded by enough security to stop a small army but every time there's some sort of big event, Chris always ducks out early and heads for a little motel with Steve Carlson, that's his bodyguard. You remember his bodyguard, right? They're always alone, just the pair of them in some sleazy motel that rents by the hour. You’ve seen it in the notebook, yeah? In a little over two weeks we got the Mayor's birthday. It's practically mandatory, for people like Kane. That's where the tax rates, exemptions, things like that get discussed. Kane has already RSVP'ed and according to Chad, he's got his date pre-booked. Another agency girl. Can't get in there, he gets background checks done and he's already met her to make sure she's, uh, suitable. Now I was thinking that if we...."
Next Chapter
Author name: deannawol
Artist name: grayscaled
Genre: RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen/Jared
Rating: NC-17 / R
Word count: 66,666
Warnings: Slash (M/M) relationship, oral sex, violence, language, angst .
Summary: J2 Cyberpunk AU; Three years ago, Christian Kane betrayed Jared Padalecki and killed most of his family. Mercenary Jensen Ackles saved him and his younger sister Megan and brought them to live with them out in the wilds of Texas. Jared's been training and is finally ready to take Kane on to win back his family's corporate empire. However, the course of true love never runs smoothly and in regaining what he's lost, he's put everything he loves in jeopardy, including his partner and lover, Jensen. A J2 Romance in a Cyberpunk AU setting.
Link to Fic Masterpost: Link
Link to Art Masterpost: Link
Previous Chapter
Jensen was bone tired. He loved spending time with his family, but trekking across overgrown forests, hunting wasn’t exactly his idea of a wild time. He’d been side by side with his dad but had barely traded a handful of words. Couldn’t really when all your attention was focused on every twitch of the trees. Now they were almost back at the camp, and all he could think about was curling up around Jared and grabbing a much needed nap.
He spun the wheel, shifting onto the dirt track leading to the camp, the other jeeps falling in behind him. He kept an eye out for the forward sentries but all the usual places were bare. Worry made him press the gas pedal harder. Something wasn’t right. Little further and he’d be at the edge of the plains and then he would be able to…
“Holy crap,” he breathed, “What the hell…”
Josh stirred in the seat beside him, “Keep it down, some of us are trying to catch a few while we can.”
“Josh, look at the ground.”
Josh pushed himself up and wiped his eyes with a hand, “What you on about?”
Jensen pointed to the ground in front of them. It was torn up. Pot holes with singed edges, craters easily big enough to lose the jeep in. Shards of metal spread out from there, and… Was that a bumper? Jensen slowed slightly, swinging off the track to avoid the danger. Looking up, he could just about make out the camp, and the trailers moved close together. A little closer and he could see the tables and chairs that they usually ate at were turned on their sides and piled up high. Slowing the Jeep to a crawl, Jensen crossed the last half mile, taking it all in. He heard a soft curse from his brother beside him and followed his line of sight. Debris lay on the ground around the camp. Broken weapons, scraps of armour and bloodstains. Dark brown-black patches discolouring the sandy soil. He could see pock marks and scorches on the wood and the metal of the trailers.
Something bad had gone down here, and recently too if the barricades were still up. He looked over to his brother. Josh’s lips were drawn into a tight line as he catalogued the camp ground.
Jensen pulled to a stop just outside the camp, turning off the engine and hopping clear as soon as he was able. The kids came running, wrapping their arms around his waist if they were tall enough, around his legs if they weren't as they chattered away telling him about the 'awesome' adventures they'd had the night before. He was distracted as he ruffled their hair just wanting to make his way into the camp, to where Momma directed traffic, Josh right behind him.
"Hey Momma," Jensen tried to keep his voice calm but worry crept in anyway, "Trouble?"
"Nothing we couldn't handle without you boys. Got some scouts doing a perimeter walk, watching for trouble, so you don’t need to be getting yourself all concerned," she replied tightly. "Left the grave digging for you all. Shovels are out back."
Jensen scrubbed his hair with a hand. She was riled up, still tense from last night more than likely and taking it out on him as the first available target. Jensen wished his dad had been riding with them. If anyone knew how to defuse her, it was him. Although, mood she was in, he didn't doubt that his dad was going to get it both barrels. And damned if he was going to stand in the way of that. Getting caught in his mom's anger was like facing down a Cat 5 tornado, 'cept more dangerous. And no way was he rested enough to tackle her for information or anything else. He looked around the camp and saw Jared sitting down at what had to be the command post, Sam opposite him. They’d probably know what was going on.
Jensen slid into the seat beside his boyfriend, and was about to lean in for a kiss when he noticed Jared’s cracked and broken cast and Sam poking at it.
"Jeez Jay, what did you do to that cast?"
Sam answered before Jared, "Rambo here decided that instead of using his guns or a knife or anything practical, he was gonna bash someone's damned fool head in with his cast. And now, I gotta break the rest of this off and see if I gotta replaster it," she looked up at Jensen, "Course, I'm not sure he's not going to do something else stupid with it, like use it as a doorstop."
“Is it broken again?” Jensen asked.
“Well, it’s taken me this damned long to get him to sit still so I could poke it, so I don’t exactly know yet, now do I?”
He leaned in close and kissed Jared on the temple, "Hey darlin', missed ya."
Jared smiled up at him, wincing slightly as Sam poked him, "Missed you too, Jen. Hunt go good?"
"Yeah, not bad. Just long," he leaned in close, voice dropping to a whisper, “Saw you had some trouble here. Wanna tell me what happened?”
“People attacked. We took care of it,” was Jared’s reply on the matter. "I was thinking that maybe you and me could disappear into one of the trailers and... sleep?"
Jared caught Jensen's damp t-shirt in a hand, and dragged him close enough to kiss him, cutting off more questions.
"Don't you even think it, Jared Tristan Padalecki," Sam interrupted, "You are not leaving that seat until I get done with you."
Jensen watched as Sam attacked the plaster, splitting it the rest of the way and pulling it off, giving her even more room to poke. She made Jared wiggle his fingers and flex his arms. When she was satisfied, she started packing away her medical kit. "If you're careful, it'll be fine. The QikHeal worked well enough, now you just gotta let it mend."
Jared ran a finger up and down his arm, pressing on the area where the break had been. Jensen bumping him with a hip, "We got any ideas on who attacked us yet?"
Jared sighed, "Yeah. Yeah, we know," he paused, "Joe searched one of them. Found two pictures, standard target profiles. You know the sort. Name, details, where to find them." Jared dipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out the two plaspaper pictures. They were creased down the centre and across the middle. Jared unfolded the pictures and looked at them for a second before dropping them on the table in front of his lover. Jared pushed himself up. Jensen reached out, hand on Jared's arm.
"I can't," Jared's voice cracked, "I gotta... Just... I can't." He shook off Jensen's hand and walked towards one of the trailers, the one set aside for them. Jensen frowned as he watched Momma reach out as he passed, letting her hand rest on him a moment before letting him disappear into the metal caravan.
Picking up the pictures, Jensen paled, "That's..."
Sam nodded, "Yup, that's your boy. Other one is Meg. Taken about five years ago. I found out last night after the fight was done. He came to me, needed to vent. Seems sure it was Kane and I’m not inclined to disagree with that," she stopped, looking into his face, searching for something. Jensen reckoned she must have found it 'cause she started talking again, "Jay's not taking this so good, hon. Go. Talk to him. He needs his boyfriend right around now. He needs you, hon. Talk to him. Please?"
Jensen nodded and followed Jared to the trailer. He tapped on the door with his knuckles but there was no answer so Jensen pulled it open and looked inside. Jared was standing in front of one of the windows, looking out over the plains. Jared didn't look back at Jensen, just spoke, "I told you we should have taken that bastard out."
"Jared... Jay..." Jensen started, moving up to stand behind Jared, arms wrapping around his waist.
"No, Jensen," Jared was trying to keep his voice down, but Jensen could hear the anger simmering underneath, feel it in the muscles tensing under his touch. "It's been three years. Three fucking years. And we're still running fucking scared from Christian fucking Kane. He still wants me dead. And not just me. He's after Meg too. And he's not keeping to the cities. He came out here, hired enough fucking mercs to take us all out, the entire camp." Jared tugged free of Jensen, turning to face him as he pushed his hair back, "I'm a merc, Jen, same as you. I know the risks when I step out onto the streets. This isn't the streets, Jen. This is home. This is as far from Dallas as we can safely go and he's still looking for us. The only way we are ever going to be done with him is to put a bullet in him, Jen. You said that we needed to let sleeping dogs lie. I did. But this isn't a sleeping dog anymore. This is a Rottweiler going for our throats. You've got to see that."
"Jay, I don't know..." Jensen tried.
"There are some lines you don't cross,” Jared cut him off, anger flashing in his eyes. His voice rose, “You told me that first day on the street. Attacking the family, attacking a camp full of women and children just trying for a clear shot at me. You telling me that that's not crossing the fucking line?" Jared challenged him.
Jensen shook his head, "Stop putting words in my mouth, Jay. I'd love to take the bastard down. Especially now. I can't bring your family back, Jay and I know that it still hurts you to think about it, but getting yourself killed in some revenge deal isn't going to bring them back," Jensen sighed, "He's got a whole fucking corporation waiting for the click of his fingers and he's already shown that he's not shy about putting them to work for him. A whole corp, Jay. We can't fight that. We’re not ready to fight that. Not on our own. Not even with the entire family pitching in."
Jared's eyes turned cold, "So don't fight the corp."
"Nice theory," Jensen tried to stay calm, "But it's not that easy. We don't know enough about him. It would take weeks, months to work out where we could hit him, how to get him alone and he'll be watching for us if we start asking about him right after his men don't come back."
Jared pushed past Jensen, going for his backpack resting on one of the breakfast bar type tables. Ripping the zip open, he pulled a notebook out and slapped it on the table, "You wanna know what Kane's doing? Here. Every fucking move that asshole makes. I know when he takes a dump, Jen. How much more do we fucking need to know? I even know when we can hit him."
Jensen picked up the notebook and flicked through the pages. Press junkets, media titbits, property listings. Every social event that Kane had attended in the past three years outlined in the pages with as much detail as Jensen could hold for. Every who, what, where and when that Kane had done since they'd left Dallas that first time. This was Kane's life in bullet point form. Fuck. How had he not noticed Jared putting all this stuff together?
"Jay," Jensen breathed.
Jared held up a hand, "I ain't gonna fight with you. Not about this. I love you, but if I have to do this on my own, I will." He reached out, taking one of Jensen's hands in his and brushing his thumb over the back of his lover's hand, "I'd like you there. But I'll understand if you don't want to. Just read that and let me know what you think."
Raising the hand to his lips, he pressed a kiss to the back of Jensen's knuckles, before letting it drop again and then leaving the trailer. Jensen watched him go, watched the door swing shut, clicking closed behind him.
"Fuck!" Jensen looked down at the notebook in his hand again, "Fuckin' hell!"
Turning to the last page, Jensen saw Jared's writing, neat compared to his usual scrawl.
05-23-27
Behman Gala Event - 20:15 arrival - 2hr 28mins - black limo, one driver, two security incl. SC, hired date
Black tie event, $2,500 plates, security by MTech, support by Dallas PD
Security rating: 4 (trained, armed with automatic weapons, possibly overwatch snipers)
05-23-27
Days Bar - 23:49 arrival - 8hr 19mins - company SUV, driven by SC, no security
Casual, 4 drinks, backroom poker, $10,000 buy in, 4 players (1 sec each, staying in bar)
Bar security only. Rating: 3 (semi-trained, liable to shoot first, semi-auto's but enclosed - no back door)
Jensen flipped the page, going back to the previous entries. Each a perfect picture of Chris' time. So complete that Jensen was left wondering how the hell Jared had gotten so much information together. These last few days were the first time in three years that they'd been separated for more than a day. They had shared an apartment, a bed. Every meal was together, either some stuff thrown together or grabbing something on the run. They worked as a team, the two of them, occasionally contracting in outside help when they needed it but always together. And now, he'd pulled this outta left field.
Sure, back at the beginning, Jared'd been all fired up and gunning for Kane but he was still new back then, still finding his feet on the street. Back then, it would have been suicide to run against Kane and his goons. Jensen had been waiting for Jared to bring it up again, but no. Never again. Not once. And sure, Jensen had seen him watching the vid feeds, reading the scream sheets, tracking Kane but this was a whole universe beyond what he was capable of. And the worst thing about it was that Jensen didn't have a leg to stand on. Everything Jared had said was right. Chris Kane was pissing on his patch now, threatening his family and damned if he was going to let that happen.
Jensen closed the notebook and tapped it against his thigh. Jared had the skills to do this now. He was good. Jensen knew he was good. The proof was in the notebook and the intel they needed. They might actually be able to do this. Take the bastard out before he came after the family again. Tucking the notebook into his back pocket, he smiled, nodding to himself. Fuck, they might actually be able to do this.
Pulling the door open, Jensen stepped out into the camp. The rest of the hunters were back now, and it looked like Momma was laying into his dad about taking all the able bodied off for a hunt and leaving her alone with the old, the injured and anyone not willing to schlep through rough terrain. Not that they'd done a bad job, but Momma wasn't opposed to holding a justified grudge. His dad would be lucky if all he got was the couch for the night. Mood she looked to be in, he might be sleeping in the dirt tonight. Skirting the outside of the argument, he searched out Jared, easy to see standing head and shoulders above most of the family. A couple of taps on shoulders had people moving out of his way until they were side by side.
Leaning in close, he whispered, "So, when were you thinking of having us doing this?"
Jared turned, head whipping around in surprise, smile lighting up his face, "You mean it?"
Jensen smiled back, "Yeah. Let's take the bastard down!"
Jensen felt his feet leave the ground as Jared picked him up, squeezing him tight.
"Jay, what did I say about your arm?" the warning voice of Sam carried across the chatter of the camp and Jensen found himself on the ground again.
Jared's face was alight, the warm brown eyes looking down at him with nothing but love and Jensen couldn't help but blush. Three years together and Jared's happy face could still give him an 'aw shucks' moment.
"Gonna grab some sleep," Jensen's voice was soft as he spoke, "then we'll start in on your notebook, see if we can't come up with something, okay?"
"Yeah, sure. Absolutely," Jared gushed, nodding vigorously before pausing and looking down, his cheeks filling with pink, "So, this nap..."
"Yeah?"
Jared looked up at Jensen, "Want some company?"
"I guess maybe I could find room for you," Jensen smirked.
Jared raised an eyebrow, "Seems to me that it's more my bed than yours since we been back."
Jensen pulled Jared close, arm wrapping around Jared's waist as he pushed himself up to his toes as he kissed his lover, "Missed you when we were out hunting. Couldn't sleep well without you."
"Nothing at all to do with the hard ground and nothing but a sleeping bag," Jared teased.
"Nope, all about you," Jensen kissed Jared, a proper kiss this time, not some peck on the lips.
He had missed Jared beside him. Sleeping bags weren't much good on desert cold nights, and they sure as hell weren't as comforting as a strong pair of arms wrapped around him. But now he was home, with a trailer to themselves and enough distraction that no one would come looking for them for at least a half hour.
Taking Jared's hand in his, he walked them towards the trailer. Letting the door snap closed, Jensen flicked the lock.
Jared watched, eyebrow quirked, "You planning something?"
"Maybe," Jensen ran his eyes over Jared, "It was pretty damned cold out there, man, might need some... warming up."
Jared stepped in close, letting his hands run down over Jensen's arms and looking into his eyes, "Guess I can do that."
Jensen's hands ran over the buttons of Jared's plaid shirt, slowly plucking them open to reveal the white t-shirt underneath. He pushed the shirt back and off Jared’s shoulders. A shake from Jared and it was on the floor behind them. He plucked the t-shirt loose, freeing it from the waistband of Jared’s trousers. Jared’s skin was warm, his stomach fluttering slightly as Jensen let his hand run over the tight muscles.
He looked up into hazel eyes, twinkling in amusement, "Something funny?"
"Just thinkin'. You know you look exactly like Josh laying into a steak right after Inez has been on a vegetarian kick."
Jensen stared at him for a minute, "Ya know, suddenly, I'm starting to feel very tired. Maybe I should just grab some sleep first, yeah?"
"Aw baby," Jared teased, leaning down to lick over the shell of Jensen's ear.
Jensen winced and pushed Jared back, "Ew. Bitch!"
"C'mon, Jen," Jared plucked at his jacket. "Promise I'll make it up to you?"
Jensen pulled off his camo jacket, tossing it on the couch. Next came the t-shirt, khaki green and dark with sweat stains under his arms and down his back. He pulled his belt loose and looked over to Jared who was now t-shirtless and leaning back against the opposite wall, his eyes darkening as he watched. Jensen smirked. Good to know he still had it even after three long years.
"Ya planning on helping me or you just gonna watch?" Jensen asked.
"Watching is good," Jared replied, his fingers playing over the bulge of his fly, breath hitching. "Oh yeah, watching is real good."
"Pervert," Jensen teased, thumb flicking at the button of his fly.
Jared laughed, "Only for you, baby!"
Jensen shook his head, smiling and started to undo the buttons of his combat trousers, popping them slowly. He was already hard, just from the anticipation. Looking up at Jared, he ran his hand over the bulge, groaning low and filthy. He could feel Jared's heated gaze and suddenly the air seemed a lot hotter, thicker and it was harder to breathe. He popped another button and then the last one, sliding his hand inside his boxers and hissed at the contact. Only a thin layer of cotton, but it did nothing to cool the heat.
Damn, he wanted this, needed this.
He closed his eyes, fucking up into his loose grip and suddenly Jared was there, running his hands over his chest, his arms, then round to his ass, pulling him closer. Then lips on his face, his neck and then his lips. A quick flick of tongue over his bottom lip to make him gasp and then deeper, pulling the breath from him.
Another hand on his, pushing him to move his over his erection. Strong, sure, but not quite steady. He could feel the trembles of need as Jared touched him. Jensen forced his eyes open and broke the kiss, panting hard. He pulled his hand free of Jared's, fumbling for Jared's fly, needing to touch him.
Ducking his head, Jared captured Jensen's lips again, Jared's hand distracting him as it tightened its grip on his cock, pumping in slow, steady strokes. Jensen fumbled the buttons open through some fluke of luck and timing he pushed the jeans down, hand closing around Jared's hard cock.
"Missed you," the words were murmured as soon as they broke the kiss , panting for air.
Jensen dropped his head onto Jared's shoulder, kissing the soft skin, nipping it. Jared groaned and tightened his grip on Jensen's erection, strokes coming faster now. Jensen's hand flexed, brain shorting out at the rush of heat and want. His thumb brushed over the head, feeling the precum leaking out. His free arm snaked around Jared's waist and his hand slipped down to palm the curve of Jared's ass, pulling him closer.
Jared's breathy moans in his ear, the tiny words of encouragement and love drove him on. He couldn't keep his hips still, bucking forward into Jared's hand as he felt the approaching peak. His hand clutched where it was as he strained to hold back but Jared was playing his body like a fucking violin. He cursed as he toppled over the edge, spilling over Jared's hand. Jensen leaned heavily into Jared's chest on his lover as he struggled to stay upright. His hand slowed on Jared's cock. Jared whined, high and too needy to even form words and Jensen tightened his grip and picked up the pace, bringing Jared off quickly.
Jensen kissed Jared's neck as his lover panted hard, "Been thinking of that every damned night we were on the hunt."
Jared pulled back, grinning widely, "Been thinking something similar myself."
"Oh?" Jensen asked, his lips quirked.
Jared tilted his head to the side and seemed to consider it for a second before lifting Jensen off the ground and dropping him on the bed. "Lemme show you what I was thinking."
~#~#~
Jensen sat propped up against the headboard of their cramped bed, with Jared's diary in his lap and Jared's arm stretched out over his hips, pinning him. With his free hand, he carded through Jared's hair, only stopping to turn the page. It was about an hour after sunrise by his figuring. The world outside the trailer was quiet, everyone sane still asleep and curled up in their beds. He'd gotten into the habit of waking early, working out to keep himself in shape and even though he'd intended to enjoy a lazy morning, his inner alarm clock had woken him up at the usual time. He hadn't felt like getting the rest of the way up, so instead he'd grabbed Jared's little book of Kane and started working his way through it.
He was struck again by the sheer level of detail that Jared had managed to collect on the guy. Who he was meeting, who he was doing under the table deals with and which starlet he was hooking up with. The whole thing read like a who's who of Dallas, the famous and the infamous. If he'd done this on his own, Jared was definitely in the wrong job. People would pay big bucks for this level of detail on a potential mark before a mission. Hell, Jensen would be interested in finding out what data runner he'd used. The guy was golden.
There was information about each and every meeting that Christian Kane attended, what sort of security they had running. Everything. Even down to dating details. Jensen frowned at the entries as he flipped back and forth.
12-23-26
Street Safe Charity Fundraiser - 19:23 arrival - 2hr 49mins - Self-driven (Maserati GranTurismo 3) flanked by two company SUVs, security incl. SC, hired date
Black tie event, invite only, security by Securicorps, platinum account (2 min response time for backup)
Security rating: 4 (trained, armed with automatic weapons, possibly overwatch snipers)
12-23-26
Lucky Motel - 22:53 arrival - 12hr 16mins - classic Ford Jaguar '14, driven by SC, no additional security
Casual, Room 23, paid cash, no cameras available, no reported visitors
Rating: 1 (SC only, one room entrance, no fire escape)
Jensen tapped the second entry. Now that was something he hadn't expected. Midnight meetings, all night long with just one person in attendance. Yeah, that wasn't suspicious at all. Sure, it could have been a cover for some street meetings. There were no cameras, but talking to street scum didn't last for twelve hours. It looked to Jensen like there was more than a professional relationship between Kane and SC. Might explain all these hired dates. Christian Kane wasn't a bad looking guy. He had a certain southern charm about him and he could spin a very good lie. It should be easy for him to pick up a trophy girlfriend happy enough with nothing but access to Kane's personal accounts, but instead every date was hired and paid for. No repeats. Nothing more than business contracts. Their names and agency details were saved off in another part of the notebook.
SC? Who was this SC, though? He racked his head for someone fitting those initials. Must have been someone that Jared knew well enough as there was nothing in there beyond those initials. No profile, no additional notations, nothing. Flicking through the pages, Jensen counted the number of meetings recorded. At least one per week, one of three different motels, all in the rougher parts of town. Rooms that rented by the hour and staff willing to look the other way for a few bucks. Old, beat up cars, indistinguishable from the other piece of shit cars driven in those areas. Whoever was setting this up was being smart but it left them wide open to anyone paying enough attention. Wouldn't take too much to set something up. They'd need a little more intel but that probably wasn't going to be an issue.
It would need to more than just the two of them though, to cover all the angles. Maybe Josh, if Inez would let him out of her sight for the time they'd need to do this. Maybe some other members of the family if he couldn't get his big brother to back them up. Worst case, he knew a couple of guys who were probably looking for some work, freelancers working out of Dallas.
Closing the notebook, he pinched the bridge of his nose and yawned. He hadn't had enough sleep to process this. Shuffling down a little, Jensen leaned in, kissing Jared's forehead. He should have known that Jared wouldn't just drop it. Hell, just seeing Kane as a main feature on the evening news must have been hard. But why the hell hadn't Jared brought this to him before? He sighed. Christ, he'd never wanted Jared to feel as if he couldn't bring stuff to him, especially the big stuff. And this was fucking huge. He didn't want secrets between them. If Jared felt he couldn't talk to him, then there was something seriously wrong. What else didn't he know? What else did Jared feel he couldn't say to him?
He looked at Jared, brushing a strand of hair back from his face. He loved Jared, really, truly loved him. And it actually hurt to think that Jared hadn’t come to him about this. Yesterday, it had been a confrontation, a fight, with both of them shouting at each other. Even though they had been saying the same thing. Kane needed to be taken down and until now, Jensen couldn't see a way to do it. But Jared had. Months, years of planning. Watching every tiny aspect of the man's life trying to find a chink in the armour and now they had one. They had something that might work, would work and it had taken Kane setting his attack dogs on the camp to do it. Too fucking high a price.
He needed to make some sort of apology. Let Jared know that he was with him on this. Jared had been running missions with him for two and a half years, but it had always been Jensen putting all the plays together, working out all the runs, getting everything they need but Jared had already done the prep for this mission so it might be time to let him take the lead. Jensen backing him up all the way. In this mission Jared would have the lead. He was good to go and with Jensen there to keep him grounded, there shouldn't be a problem.
Jared stretched beside him, arm wrapping tighter as he looked around, taking in where he was.
"Wha time 'sit?" Jared asked, wiping a hand over his face.
Jensen flicked a glance at his internal chronometer, the digits flashing up onto his vision, "'Seven thirty two."
Jared flexed a shoulder, pulling Jensen down into a kiss, "What you doin' up so early?"
"Couldn't sleep, been reading," Jensen held up the notebook.
Pushing himself up, Jared leant back against the headboard, "Yeah? Anything good?"
Jensen nodded, "Yeah, Jay, some really good stuff in there. You got a lot of intel in there. Lot of useful stuff. Lot we can use."
Jared ducked his head, cheeks pink.
"You got some ideas on what we should do first?" Jensen asked.
"Me?" Jared's head snapped up. "I thought you might..."
Jensen shook his head, "I got some ideas but... This is yours, Jay. You picked up the intel, you brought it back, and only fair you should plan it. I'll be there with you but this is all yours, babe."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, you've watched me planning missions before. You've seen what it takes. You're ready for this," Jensen reassured taking Jared's hand in his. "You got any questions, I'll be right here."
Jared leaned in and kissed Jensen loudly on the cheek, "You're the best. Love you!"
Jensen smirked as he pushed Jared away, wiping his cheek, "Dude, that's so not cool!"
Jared caught Jensen's hand and held it out, trying to land a raspberry anywhere he could. Jensen threw himself back, guarding himself against hands and lips. He threw his own hand out wildly, slapping at Jared wherever he could until he got an "Oof". Then it was on, Jensen's fingers diving for Jared's ticklish spots, making him curl in laughter. Wasn't long until both of them were laying there panting and out of breath.
"You gonna ask Josh to come along?" Jared asked.
"Dude, your mission, your job!" Jensen laughed, "I'd take a bullet for you, but Inez... That’s one proper scary, hormonal woman."
"Wuss," Jared teased.
"What? She likes you more than me anyway. I remind her of Josh, apparently," Jensen shrugged, "Least that's what she was screaming last time. I was too busy ducking to be sure."
"Can I borrow your armour?" Jared asked.
Jensen frowned, "What happened your armour?"
"Nothing, just figuring that might be better if I double stacked it."
Jensen thought about it for a second, "Get Sam on side. Ask her what Inez is craving. Might help."
"Couldn't hurt I suppose," Jared shrugged.
"Anything that stops her from tearing you apart has got to be a good thing, Jay, I kinda like you in one piece, ya know," Jensen bumped Jared's shoulder, smiling.
Jared smirked, leaning in to kiss Jensen, "Yeah, I'm kinda attached to being in one piece too."
Jensen pulled Jared close, kissing him back. His hand tracing down over Jared's hard muscles, tweaking a nipple and making his boyfriend groan in pleasure. He was about to slip lower when there was a knock on the door.
"You guys better be dressed 'cause I'm about to come in there and if I see anything I shouldn't, you guys are paying for my therapy!" The voice called as the door handle rattled.
"Meg..." Jensen pulled the blankets up, covering them. "Don't even bother, it's locked!"
"Well, tell Jared to put on some clothes, Momma said it's his turn to do breakfast," Megan hollered through the keybole.
Jared cursed and threw back the blankets, giving Jensen a magnificent view of his ass as he scrambled for clothes. Dressing quickly, he grabbed a quick kiss and headed out. Jensen lay back on the bed for a few minutes before the guilt finally got to him and he followed Jared out into the camp, watching him start to grab everything he needed as Jensen pulled on his gear. A cup of coffee was handed over, once Jared spotted him, and a kiss hot enough to get a couple of wolf whistles. Blushing, Jared ducked his head and returned to the large open grill, Momma looking over his shoulder for every flip. Jensen couldn't help but laugh as she guided his every move. She did this every morning, irrespective of who was actually doing the cooking. Jensen watched as Jared slowly extricated himself from the proceedings, moving to haul out the crockery and utensils while keeping an eye on the oatmeal bubbling in a large pot over an open fire. Stepping up behind him, Jensen slipped his hands around Jared's waist and nibbled on his neck.
"You need anything?"
Jared leaned back, taking a moment before answering, "You could start waking everyone up?"
Jensen kissed the side of his neck again and moved back to start knocking on trailer doors. Disgruntled noises and curses answered him, but everyone hauled themselves out to the centre of the camp, grabbing plates and waiting expectantly for Momma to serve up. Jensen grabbed his serving and another for Jared and moved over to a table at the edge of camp. It wasn't long until Josh settled down beside him, nodding.
"So what's this I heard?" he asked, digging into his oatmeal - Inez was on a vegetarian kick - "You're planning something."
Jensen swallowed his mouthful and nodded, "Yeah, well, no. Jay is planning it."
"Jay?" he asked, eyebrow going up.
"Yeah," Jensen smiled, "We're doing it, Josh. We're going after him."
"Him?"
"Christian Kane. Jay's managed to pull together some serious intel, enough that we can make a serious run against him."
Josh's fork clattered on the plate as his jaw dropped, "Seriously, you're running against him? What about the corp? The truckloads of trained troops?"
Jensen shrugged, "We got a way around it." He pushed his plate aside, leaning forward, "Jay, he's... Josh, you wouldn't believe the amount of information he's turned up on the bastard. Times, dates, everything. We have enough to plan something good enough to take him off the streets. Enough to get justice for Jay, for Meg, for everyone Kane fucked over. We can just walk up to him, nail him and it'll be done."
"Just like that?" Josh asked sceptically.
Jensen shook his head, "Bit more to it but it's the closest we've been."
Josh looked around the camp before leaning in a little closer, "You guys need help?"
"With what?" Jared asked as he sat down, bringing the untouched plate close and digging in.
"Going after Kane," Josh explained, "You're going to need people for this. Good people. People who need to get away from the camp before their wives decide to gut them with a rusty tent peg. Come on, guys, you gotta get me outta this camp."
Jensen looked up at Jared, the corner of his lip quirking up, "Man, you know you're my brother, but Momma would kill me if I took you away. And I'm thinking the rest of the camp aren't gonna be too happy with me if I take away the only legitimate target."
"Love you too, little brother, and after I've saved your ass so many times," he shook his head, trying to look upset, "Good thing you're not putting the team together, ain't it? So what do you say, Jay, you know I'm worth ten of that useless lump over there. Come on, toss his ass and we'll go paint the town red. Whaddya say?"
Jared looked between the brothers, head tilted to the side as he shifted his focus from one to the other, "I dunno, Josh," he said finally, "I do get a lot of, um, benefits working with Jen here. And he's not too bad a shot!"
Jensen bumped his arm, "Not too bad a shot? I'm military trained precision, Jay, could shoot the tail end off a fly at three hundred meters. You'd be lucky if Josh here could tell you one end of a gun from another he's so outta practice."
"Fuck you too," Josh grumbled, digging his spoon into the porridge.
"Heads up," Jared whispered as he saw Inez making her way over.
Josh jumped to his feet, grabbing her plate and wrapping an arm around her waist, "Hey honey, thought you were grabbing a lie in this morning."
Inez eyed him suspiciously, "I was gonna but someone," she patted her belly, "didn't want Mama to get any more sleep, so I thought I would see what you boys were plotting."
Josh's cheeks went pink, "Plottin'? Honey, don't know what you're talking about, I'm just sitting here catching up."
"Boy, you can't lie for shit," Inez rolled her eyes, "and you had three days in the damned desert to catch up with Jen here. So what are you plotting?"
Jensen could see Jared looking to him for guidance but honestly, this was his mission. His decision. So he shrugged and sat back. Jared sighed, looking down at his plate. It was a whole minute before he spoke, "Got a mission we gotta run back in Dallas, 'gainst the guy who hired the goons who hit us last night. Need to take him out before he does something like this again. Or comes up with something worse."
Inez' lips thinned, "So you know who did it?"
Jared nodded, "Yeah."
"And you're gonna take Jen and Josh and go deal with Kane?"
There was nothing but silence at the table as the three men turned to look at Inez. "I'm pregnant, Jay, not stupid. You need help taking him out? I still got lotta street contacts in Dallas, could call a few of them, and get something set up for you? What you need, a fixer? A net runner to chase data? Some street mercs? Can't do you an army but could come pretty close if I called a couple of favours."
"Got a net runner already," Jared admitted, "but we could probably do with a fixer, someone with hardware, guns, armour, that sort of things, reasonable prices?"
"You're not leaving today?" she asked, "Cause it'll take a day, maybe two to get you some support in place."
Jared shook his head, "No, gotta work a plan out first. You sure you're okay with us taking Josh with us? I mean, if you need him to..."
Inez held up a hand, "Take him, with my blessing. God above only knows that he is going to be a lot more use to you than he is to me. I swear he fusses worse than Momma Ackles."
"Right here, ya know!"
She leaned in close, kissing his cheek, "I know baby. Wouldn't be half as much fun if you weren't!" She turned back to Jared, "Take him, please, otherwise you might come back to find him strung up by his balls, stripped naked and covered in feathers," she turned back to Josh, "It's not that I don't love you, honey, it's just that... Well, I know you love me and I love you too, but I swear, if you don't back the hell off, I’m gonna..."
Josh held his hands up, scooting back on the bench, "All you had to do was ask, honey. Backing off. Backing right off."
Jensen watched the interplay for another minute, leaning into his boyfriend, "Ya know, it's things like this that make me glad that that's never going to happen to us," he paused, "So you already have a net runner? Anyone I know?"
"Nah, not one of our usual ones. It's a guy I used to go to school with, geeky type, started working a computer after he got himself shot doing a simple retrieval run 'couple of years ago."
"He's the one who got you the info on Kane," Jensen said, not quite a question.
"Most of it. Some of it was me, but Chad pulled it all together. Got me video footage, times. Even managed to get a couple of people talking to him, getting him info."
Jensen nodded, "Sounds good. If you're happy to have him involved."
Jared frowned, "He already is, isn't he?"
"Guess so," Jensen agreed, flicking a glance to Josh.
"I think what Jen means is are you sure you can trust him?" Josh asked, "This is big, man, gotta be absolutely sure that Kane's not going to find out about it. You say you trust him, we're good with that, but you gotta be sure. That's all we're saying."
"I went to school with Chad, went out with him - clubbing and stuff. Spent a long time talking things over with him before... Just before. I knew I wanted to hit the streets. He did too but his dad wanted him to do something else, a proper job," Jared laughed to himself, "but he dropped out about five months in, started working with a team of vets, training himself up. All came to an end when his team did a run against one of the shell companies Kane owns. He wants to screw Kane over too, maybe not as bad but if he gets the chance, he'll take it. If you want, I can set up a meet but I trust him."
Jensen put a hand on Jared's arm, letting his thumb rub back and forth, "Good enough for us."
"So when do you want to start pulling this together, Jay," Inez asked, breaking the mood.
"Guess we should do it as soon as we can, yeah? How 'bout I pull all the information I have and we meet in our trailer in a half an hour?"
"Sounds good, bro," Josh nodded, "See ya then."
"I'll start making the calls," Inez agreed, "See who's in the city at the moment."
Jensen could see the wheels start to turn in Jared's mind, already working things out. How to do it, how best to get everything set up. "His boy loved thinking his way around puzzles. Sure Jensen usually did most of the planning, but Jared had enough wits about him to do just as good a job, he just never had. Whether it was just him bowing to Jensen's experience or a lack of faith in himself, that was going to change today, even if Jensen had to kick his ass six ways from Sunday to pull his head outta the clouds long enough to do it.
"Come on, Jay, let's get back to the trailer. Talk me through what you're thinking, bounce around some ideas, yeah?"
"Huh?" Jared looked a little lost for a second but quickly focused on him, "Yeah, sure, okay. So we kinda know that Chris is generally surrounded by enough security to stop a small army but every time there's some sort of big event, Chris always ducks out early and heads for a little motel with Steve Carlson, that's his bodyguard. You remember his bodyguard, right? They're always alone, just the pair of them in some sleazy motel that rents by the hour. You’ve seen it in the notebook, yeah? In a little over two weeks we got the Mayor's birthday. It's practically mandatory, for people like Kane. That's where the tax rates, exemptions, things like that get discussed. Kane has already RSVP'ed and according to Chad, he's got his date pre-booked. Another agency girl. Can't get in there, he gets background checks done and he's already met her to make sure she's, uh, suitable. Now I was thinking that if we...."
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