{SPN J2 Big Bang} Gunmetal Dawn - Chapter 4
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
"Fucking-A yeah," Chad pushed his wheelchair away from the desk and spun it around, cheering wildly, "Hell yeah. Serves you right you fucking piece of shit bastard!" Chad pointed at the screen, at a still shot of Christian sitting there, "Wouldn't have said that killing him was too good, but yeah, dump his mother fucking ass in the middle of the desert and leave him to rot."
"It went well then," his voice made Chad jump and scramble for the gun hidden under one of his useless legs.
"Jesus, man, didn't your momma teach you how to knock? Gave me a goddamned heart-attack," Chad cursed.
John Doe - as he was known on the streets, at least - smirked and pulled up a chair, sinking into it heavily, rubbing hard at his knee as he stretched out. One of the far too many cameras Chad kept around swivelled to focus on him, throwing his image up on a small screen. Took Doe a full minute to recognise himself in the image. He was scruffy, from his tattered armour overcoat to the beat up combat boots that had seen better days. Unshaven with unkempt hair grown out and pulled down to cover the scars dug into the side of his face. A shade under forty and he already looked ancient.
"We did it, Doe, we fucking did it. My boys came through," Chad crowed.
"You got the vidfeed?" the man asked.
"Yeah, gotta get it edited tonight, ready to drop it in every damned mail slot in the city for the morning presses."
"Show me," Doe demanded.
“Elvira, get me a beer and one for my man here,” Chad called over his shoulder, “Got some celebrating to do.”
Chad cued up the tape and started it playing, leaving Doe to watch it a robot trundled across the floor and opened the fridge, pulling out two beers and came back, stopping by Chad first and then bumping against Doe’s leg until he took the bottle. Doe paused the video just before the end, shaking his head. He should have known that Jared would back down, even given his recent history as a mercenary. Doe had watched him, tracked him over the two and a half years since he's hit the street under his codename, Colt. The boy had done good, but he didn't have the killer edge he needed to actually carry through, not yet. He could see the chasm between Colt and Winchester clear as anything on the digital footage, could tell that Ackles wasn't happy with Jared's proclamation of clemency.
Doe clicked the play button, letting the rest of the scene play out. Then played the audio recording from the mics.
"Mav, two for pickup."
And then the scrambling to get the bastards tied up. Carlson struggling and the takedown. All clear and easy across the audio stream. But then the audio feed went quiet. Scratching on the mic. Years of practice made Doe damned suspicious.
"You got some shit that'll clear that part up?" he asked.
"It's probably just the collars brushing over the mic."
"Humour me!" Doe growled.
"You got it," Chad shrugged as he started putting the stream through scrubbers and filters.
Took a couple of minutes, but there was something there. Not enough to hear clearly, but something. Eventually, Chad gave up.
"Sorry man, that's about as good as I can get it," he shrugged.
Doe shook off the words, mind ticking over with plans and possibilities. The boys had dealt with Christian and his trained lap dog. Obviously their next step was to go after the company. And that was going to be another nightmare, like a fresh juicy salmon taking a dip in a shark tank. But there was at least something he could do about that, something to ease the way.
Pulling a datachip from his pocket, Doe handed it over, "I need you to get this info to them. They'll need it for the next step."
"What is it?" Chad asked, as he turned the black crystal over in his hands.
"Everything they need to know about the current board members," Doe answered, "With Christian out of the way, only makes sense they'd wanna make an appearance there next, and when they do, they'll need that. Facts, figures, and some dirty little secrets I've dug up on them over the past number of years. Will come in mighty handy when they face them down over a table."
Chad whistled, "Jeez man, that is awesome. But why can't you just hand it over yourself, introduce yourself? They’d be happy to meet, you know."
"No,” Doe shook his head. “I've got things I need to take care of first, business to do," he pushed himself off the chair, wincing slightly as he put his leg under him, "Not sure when I'll be done but just in case they go in fast, you gotta make sure they're covered. Come much too damned far to lose this chance now."
Not waiting for a reply, Doe made his way back out of the room and out of the cluttered apartment. How the kid lived in a technological pig-sty like this was beyond him. It was getting towards dawn now and he couldn't afford to waste any time. The boys wouldn't rest on their asses for long. They couldn't. And damned if he was gonna leave 'em to do this on their own. Certain things needed a more experienced hand, a little more finesse.
Putting out a hand, he hailed down a combat cab and hopped in, calling out an address about two blocks from the scrappy apartment he was dossing in. The driver took a long lingering look at him and demanded the money up front. Doe pulled a couple of creds out of his pocket and tossed them at the driver. The driver counted them and smiled, snapping the locks and signalling the gunner up top. The gunner adjusted his helmet and rolled out the fifty-cal minigun on top of the cab, starting a slow sweep of the area. He banged on the roof once and the driver took off.
It didn't take more than five minutes until he was at the address he'd given the driver. Another ten and he was opening the door to his apartment. He pressed the code into his security system, deactivating the countermeasures he'd set up. He walked over to the battered kitchen table and sorted through the piles of paper on the table. He pulled out two of the thick files and stuffed them into a backpack. He reset the security system on the way out and walked to the end of his street before catching another cab to the edge of the corporate zone of the city.
The Dallas Metrodome was massive but could be divided easily into just a few sections. There was the corporate zone, where the city's high-rise towers touched the sky. All big-businesses, offices and high class apartments and the rents were exorbitant. Outside that were the higher class suburbs, fading into the lower class ones.
And then at the edge, where most of the undesirables lived, his new home, was the area just dubbed 'The CZ' or 'The Combat Zone' to the 24-hour news channels; an urban war zone where the down and outs of the city made their livings here. Cops didn't dare venture there, and anyone who could, avoided it. Mercs moved in and out of this area, hiding out if the heat was on them or just keeping their head down, recruiting for other mercs looking for a job. The population was fluid, changing almost daily. Course, there were a dedicated few, like him, who made their homes there, watching people and tracking down pieces of information with no one noticing or caring about their comings and goings. It gave him the freedom to do what he needed, what he couldn’t if he’d still been locked in his old life.
In the CZ, if you had enough money, you could buy anything. In his backpack sat two thick files holding all the little snippets of information that Doe had managed to track down on two of the board members that Jared would be facing down in his fight to win back his company. Every dodgy deal, every little perversion. Investigated, verified and with enough proof to satisfy any District Attorney. But Doe wouldn't be presenting his evidence to anyone just yet. For now, it was going to be a private affair, just him and the bastards in question.
He checked his watch quickly as he made his way to the sky rise where his first target lived. A couple of hundred bucks to the underpaid security guard and he was riding the elevator all the way to the penthouse. A set of lockpicks and he was in. He quickly disarmed the security system, leaving the wires dangling loose.
The house was catalogue perfect, a perfect picture of high-class style done in pastel colours. But Doe wasn't here to critique the furniture. He made his way to the bedroom and quietly opened the door. Doe stepped over the clothes strewn across the floor to pull up a chair, sitting in the shadows in the corner of the room. There were three figures in the bed, two women and a man, corpulent and sweating, even in his sleep. He didn't need to check the image in the file to identify Cary Williams III, shareholder and member of the Padalecki Microcybernetics board of directors.
One of the women stirred slowly, rubbing a hand over her face as she moved out from under the fat arm pinning her to the bed. Pushing herself up, she stretched and started to get up. She was almost at the end of the bed before she spotted Doe sitting in the corner. She screamed, grabbing for a bed sheet to cover herself.
Williams sat bolt upright in the bed, panting hard at the exertion, "What the devil...?"
"Forgive the early intrusion, Mister Williams, but you and I have some business to discuss, and I doubt that you'd like this out in the open," Doe leaned back against the padded back of the chair. "Wouldn't do for the rest of the board to catch wind of your little deal with Richardson. Selling copyrighted patents to the opposition, well, that's just wrong, isn't it?"
Williams turned to his female companions, "Get out! Now! Get your money from Jess and fuck off!"
Doe smiled, "Prostitutes, Williams? Is there no law you won't break?"
"Who the hell do you think you are, coming in here in the middle of the night?" Williams wrapped the sheet around himself.
Doe smiled and leaned forward, letting the light play over his face.
"You?" Williams collapsed back against the headboard, "You can't... You're dead."
"Damn, guess someone forgot to copy me in on that memo," pushing to his feet, he continued, "All sorts of memos that I didn't get. 'Course, I'm not the only one that missed something."
He turned his face, showing his scar. Williams shuddered.
"Christ, you could have come to us," Williams said, "Could have gotten you fixed up, taken care of."
"The only care you would have given me was a nine mil in the back of the head, Williams. I knew too much. All your dirty little secrets. Hell, I was the one who hauled your asses outta trouble when the press got a little too close. And I kept all your damned secrets. But that was before Christian Kane got it through his thick head to kill the family," he paused, "But Kane's outta the picture now and I have my boy primed to take the reins. Now I just need your word that you're going to support him."
"Now... Just wait a minute," Williams started, "You can't just..."
"I can do any damned thing I want, Williams," his voice was quiet, "The files I have on you? I hold all the cards. And believe me, you make one move against my boy, I'll spread your sins all over the nine o'clock news. No word of a lie."
Williams leaned forward, voice cold, "You have nothing."
Pulling the file out of his backpack, he flicked through it, "You don’t really believe that, do you?” He smiled, pushing himself to his feet, "Don't get up, Williams, I'll see myself out."
A smash accompanied him out of the room as Williams started cursing. It wouldn't take long for Williams to start making phone calls. Doe laughed as he walked slowly toward the door, leaving it open behind him. He had another stop to make before he grabbed some sleep.
The first morning commuters were starting to make their way into the city. Grabbing a cab, Doe gave them another address, a place in the suburbs. Traffic was still light, no major congestion yet. Just people trying to get in before the rush. Baristas trying to get everything set up before the first customers demanded their morning coffee. Shop assistants getting new displays out. Temps struggling to find where they were supposed to be in the unfamiliar metropolis. He missed the city at this hour. He’d been so tied to finding out information, tracking everything down that he needed, that they needed that the only time he saw the dawn was from the other side.
He just had a little more work. Just a little longer. Then the Padalecki dynasty would be restored and he'd be right there with him, sitting at his right hand. No more living from hand to mouth, depending on jobs and casual contracts. No fighting in the streets. No more breaking the law. Just the corporate world to deal with now. That was dangerous enough to keep anyone busy. Maybe they could hire Ackles full time as a bodyguard, if he was willing to work in the Corporate world. The merc'd done a fairly good job so far. Kid had good instincts, that's for sure. And Jared would need a strong team around him when the takeover happened.
The restaurant was already open, bustling with the morning crowd. Thanking the taxi driver, he dropped a a couple of bucks and hefted his backpack up onto his shoulder. Another couple got him past the hostess enough to scan the restaurant. He could see her sitting at the back, sipping her high priced coffee and picking at her breakfast. Just past fifty and not looking a day over thirty-five, ice blonde hair and brown eyes framed by half moon glasses. Doe walked over and pulled out a chair, dropping into it.
"Morning, Ann, isn't it a glorious day?"
She looked up and immediately started looking around for security, a server, someone who could help her.
"Aw, honey, I'm starting to think you don't recognize me."
Ann put down the coffee cup, missing the saucer, her eyes looking under the grime.
"Christ, what rock have you been hiding under?"
A waitress came over asking if everything was okay. Ann ordered him a cup of coffee and waved her off again.
"So what can I do for you?" she asked.
"You know me too well, Ann," he smirked, "A situation has come up, a surprise spot has opened up on the board."
She leaned forward, looking over her glasses, "A surprise spot? Who dropped off the trolley?"
"Christian Kane."
"You're shitting me!" Her voice was loud, attracting the attention of several patrons. She dropped to barely above a whisper, "Who did the little turd piss off this time?"
"You know what they say about revenge," Doe looked around the restaurant. "Three years is a long time to sit and simmer."
"Three...? Jesus, are you saying that you've got him? You've found him? The Padalecki heir."
"Never lost him, Ann. Just wasn't time for him to come back to the game," Doe smiled, "Now, I need your help to make sure that the board isn't going to throw up any objections."
"Anything, you know that, but there are a few members I can't do anything about," she shook her head, "Like Williams, he's got almost as many members in his pocket as I do. You'll need to get him on board before I can weigh in otherwise you'll hit a stalemate and if that happens, it doesn't matter what I do, Jared Padalecki will never get board approval."
"Just leave that to me."
She looked him over for a long considering minute, "You've gotta have something big on him. He hates your guts. Has done for years."
"You could say that," he didn't confirm her guess.
"You old fox, what have you got?" she asked, curious as hell, "No, no, don't tell me," she held up her hand, "I don't need any more targets on my back. Just remember to keep an eye out behind you. Williams isn't exactly known for letting people get the best of him. Wouldn't put it past him to have someone out hunting for you even now."
She took another sip of her coffee, "So how is he? Is he good?"
"He's grown up a lot, Ann. He's not the reckless kid he used to be."
"But is he ready to take over the company?"
"He will be," he was confident.
Ann looked a little dubious.
"I gotta get going, but I'll start working on my guys. Make sure the path is clear for Jared. See if you can keep him under wraps for a couple of days, gimme time to work my magic?"
"I'll give you as long as I can, Ann, but this has got to be fast. You know well as I do, open seats don't stay open for long," Doe drank his coffee down in one go and then dug a card out of his pocket and dropped it on the table, "I'll keep in touch, let you know when we're ready to hold the meeting."
She nodded, standing up, "Until I hear from you. Give Jared our best. Tell him we're behind him."
"Thanks, Ann."
She smiled, touched his shoulder as she passed and then was gone, paying the bill on her way. Doe pulled the phone from his pocket and dialled Chad.
"If the world is not on fire, you are seriously fucking with my lack of free time," Chad's voice was harsh, accompanied by ever present tapping of fingers on keys.
"Chad, it's me. You heard from our boys since I left?" he asked.
"Yeah, Winchester checked in a while ago."
"How they doing?" Doe asked, finally standing up to leave.
Chad stopped typing, "They're rough, man, really rough. But they're holed up in a motel somewhere at the moment working through it. They're going to check in around eight am."
"Do me a favour, yeah?"
"Sure, man," Chad answered, "Anything."
"Set up a meet. I gotta talk to them and soon as possible."
"You got it. Soon as I talk, I'll get it done," Chad assured.
"Fine, call me with the details."
He hung up the phone and left the restaurant, much to the delight of the staff. Hopping a cab was a lot more difficult now. Traffic stopped every five feet and sat there for five minutes or longer. He walked slowly to the underground subway and waited for the next train. Once popular, the subways were now almost unused. Where once there were trains every minute, now there was one every hour, if you were lucky. Often times, it was down for days at a time as the transport authority scrabbled enough money together to get it fixed. Graffiti coloured the walls, gang tags and a random spattering of spray paint signatures.
He was tired. His leg hurt but he wasn't done yet. He couldn't sleep until he'd gotten to see Jay again, and not through a vid screen, actual face to face time; seeing his boy for the first time since the attempt on his life... He pulled out his phone and checked the display. Half signal dipping to quarter, just enough to get a call and a battery bordering on empty. He just hoped that it lasted long enough to get the call from Chad.
He was just stepping off when his phone buzzed, pulling it out, he clicked it open and put it to his ear.
"They're staying in the Lucky 7 motel over by Piranha territory. Room 9. They're expecting you whenever you get there," Chad jumped straight to the information, "Can't wait to meet the guy who started the ball rolling. Gave you a huge introduction, man. You owe me."
"Thanks, kid," Doe said, clicking the phone closed.
Now he had a destination and it wasn't too far away. He made his way back up to street level and walked his way into the Piranha territory. The motel was ratty but better than most in the area. This was a family run place, protected by the local gang and far enough off the boundary lines to be out of the way of accidental gunfights.
He looked around, watching for anyone too interested in his visit there, but the streets were quiet. He paused outside the door, breath catching in his throat as he raised his hand to knock. His knuckles hurt as they struck the wooden door. The hinges squeaked as the door opened a little, the barrel of a nine mil poking through. He looked down at the gun and then up into the hazel eyes of the boy he'd almost considered a son.
"Jay, kid, it's good to see you."
The door opened a fraction wider and then it was flung back and he felt himself pulled into a bear hug. He returned the hug, clinging tight to Jared as a tear ran down his cheek.
"JD, Jesus," Jared was breathless, the smile on his face wide.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan broke the hug and stepped back just enough to take in the man that the boy had become.
"It's so good to see you, Jay. Damned but I missed you."
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
"Fucking-A yeah," Chad pushed his wheelchair away from the desk and spun it around, cheering wildly, "Hell yeah. Serves you right you fucking piece of shit bastard!" Chad pointed at the screen, at a still shot of Christian sitting there, "Wouldn't have said that killing him was too good, but yeah, dump his mother fucking ass in the middle of the desert and leave him to rot."
"It went well then," his voice made Chad jump and scramble for the gun hidden under one of his useless legs.
"Jesus, man, didn't your momma teach you how to knock? Gave me a goddamned heart-attack," Chad cursed.
John Doe - as he was known on the streets, at least - smirked and pulled up a chair, sinking into it heavily, rubbing hard at his knee as he stretched out. One of the far too many cameras Chad kept around swivelled to focus on him, throwing his image up on a small screen. Took Doe a full minute to recognise himself in the image. He was scruffy, from his tattered armour overcoat to the beat up combat boots that had seen better days. Unshaven with unkempt hair grown out and pulled down to cover the scars dug into the side of his face. A shade under forty and he already looked ancient.
"We did it, Doe, we fucking did it. My boys came through," Chad crowed.
"You got the vidfeed?" the man asked.
"Yeah, gotta get it edited tonight, ready to drop it in every damned mail slot in the city for the morning presses."
"Show me," Doe demanded.
“Elvira, get me a beer and one for my man here,” Chad called over his shoulder, “Got some celebrating to do.”
Chad cued up the tape and started it playing, leaving Doe to watch it a robot trundled across the floor and opened the fridge, pulling out two beers and came back, stopping by Chad first and then bumping against Doe’s leg until he took the bottle. Doe paused the video just before the end, shaking his head. He should have known that Jared would back down, even given his recent history as a mercenary. Doe had watched him, tracked him over the two and a half years since he's hit the street under his codename, Colt. The boy had done good, but he didn't have the killer edge he needed to actually carry through, not yet. He could see the chasm between Colt and Winchester clear as anything on the digital footage, could tell that Ackles wasn't happy with Jared's proclamation of clemency.
Doe clicked the play button, letting the rest of the scene play out. Then played the audio recording from the mics.
"Mav, two for pickup."
And then the scrambling to get the bastards tied up. Carlson struggling and the takedown. All clear and easy across the audio stream. But then the audio feed went quiet. Scratching on the mic. Years of practice made Doe damned suspicious.
"You got some shit that'll clear that part up?" he asked.
"It's probably just the collars brushing over the mic."
"Humour me!" Doe growled.
"You got it," Chad shrugged as he started putting the stream through scrubbers and filters.
Took a couple of minutes, but there was something there. Not enough to hear clearly, but something. Eventually, Chad gave up.
"Sorry man, that's about as good as I can get it," he shrugged.
Doe shook off the words, mind ticking over with plans and possibilities. The boys had dealt with Christian and his trained lap dog. Obviously their next step was to go after the company. And that was going to be another nightmare, like a fresh juicy salmon taking a dip in a shark tank. But there was at least something he could do about that, something to ease the way.
Pulling a datachip from his pocket, Doe handed it over, "I need you to get this info to them. They'll need it for the next step."
"What is it?" Chad asked, as he turned the black crystal over in his hands.
"Everything they need to know about the current board members," Doe answered, "With Christian out of the way, only makes sense they'd wanna make an appearance there next, and when they do, they'll need that. Facts, figures, and some dirty little secrets I've dug up on them over the past number of years. Will come in mighty handy when they face them down over a table."
Chad whistled, "Jeez man, that is awesome. But why can't you just hand it over yourself, introduce yourself? They’d be happy to meet, you know."
"No,” Doe shook his head. “I've got things I need to take care of first, business to do," he pushed himself off the chair, wincing slightly as he put his leg under him, "Not sure when I'll be done but just in case they go in fast, you gotta make sure they're covered. Come much too damned far to lose this chance now."
Not waiting for a reply, Doe made his way back out of the room and out of the cluttered apartment. How the kid lived in a technological pig-sty like this was beyond him. It was getting towards dawn now and he couldn't afford to waste any time. The boys wouldn't rest on their asses for long. They couldn't. And damned if he was gonna leave 'em to do this on their own. Certain things needed a more experienced hand, a little more finesse.
Putting out a hand, he hailed down a combat cab and hopped in, calling out an address about two blocks from the scrappy apartment he was dossing in. The driver took a long lingering look at him and demanded the money up front. Doe pulled a couple of creds out of his pocket and tossed them at the driver. The driver counted them and smiled, snapping the locks and signalling the gunner up top. The gunner adjusted his helmet and rolled out the fifty-cal minigun on top of the cab, starting a slow sweep of the area. He banged on the roof once and the driver took off.
It didn't take more than five minutes until he was at the address he'd given the driver. Another ten and he was opening the door to his apartment. He pressed the code into his security system, deactivating the countermeasures he'd set up. He walked over to the battered kitchen table and sorted through the piles of paper on the table. He pulled out two of the thick files and stuffed them into a backpack. He reset the security system on the way out and walked to the end of his street before catching another cab to the edge of the corporate zone of the city.
The Dallas Metrodome was massive but could be divided easily into just a few sections. There was the corporate zone, where the city's high-rise towers touched the sky. All big-businesses, offices and high class apartments and the rents were exorbitant. Outside that were the higher class suburbs, fading into the lower class ones.
And then at the edge, where most of the undesirables lived, his new home, was the area just dubbed 'The CZ' or 'The Combat Zone' to the 24-hour news channels; an urban war zone where the down and outs of the city made their livings here. Cops didn't dare venture there, and anyone who could, avoided it. Mercs moved in and out of this area, hiding out if the heat was on them or just keeping their head down, recruiting for other mercs looking for a job. The population was fluid, changing almost daily. Course, there were a dedicated few, like him, who made their homes there, watching people and tracking down pieces of information with no one noticing or caring about their comings and goings. It gave him the freedom to do what he needed, what he couldn’t if he’d still been locked in his old life.
In the CZ, if you had enough money, you could buy anything. In his backpack sat two thick files holding all the little snippets of information that Doe had managed to track down on two of the board members that Jared would be facing down in his fight to win back his company. Every dodgy deal, every little perversion. Investigated, verified and with enough proof to satisfy any District Attorney. But Doe wouldn't be presenting his evidence to anyone just yet. For now, it was going to be a private affair, just him and the bastards in question.
He checked his watch quickly as he made his way to the sky rise where his first target lived. A couple of hundred bucks to the underpaid security guard and he was riding the elevator all the way to the penthouse. A set of lockpicks and he was in. He quickly disarmed the security system, leaving the wires dangling loose.
The house was catalogue perfect, a perfect picture of high-class style done in pastel colours. But Doe wasn't here to critique the furniture. He made his way to the bedroom and quietly opened the door. Doe stepped over the clothes strewn across the floor to pull up a chair, sitting in the shadows in the corner of the room. There were three figures in the bed, two women and a man, corpulent and sweating, even in his sleep. He didn't need to check the image in the file to identify Cary Williams III, shareholder and member of the Padalecki Microcybernetics board of directors.
One of the women stirred slowly, rubbing a hand over her face as she moved out from under the fat arm pinning her to the bed. Pushing herself up, she stretched and started to get up. She was almost at the end of the bed before she spotted Doe sitting in the corner. She screamed, grabbing for a bed sheet to cover herself.
Williams sat bolt upright in the bed, panting hard at the exertion, "What the devil...?"
"Forgive the early intrusion, Mister Williams, but you and I have some business to discuss, and I doubt that you'd like this out in the open," Doe leaned back against the padded back of the chair. "Wouldn't do for the rest of the board to catch wind of your little deal with Richardson. Selling copyrighted patents to the opposition, well, that's just wrong, isn't it?"
Williams turned to his female companions, "Get out! Now! Get your money from Jess and fuck off!"
Doe smiled, "Prostitutes, Williams? Is there no law you won't break?"
"Who the hell do you think you are, coming in here in the middle of the night?" Williams wrapped the sheet around himself.
Doe smiled and leaned forward, letting the light play over his face.
"You?" Williams collapsed back against the headboard, "You can't... You're dead."
"Damn, guess someone forgot to copy me in on that memo," pushing to his feet, he continued, "All sorts of memos that I didn't get. 'Course, I'm not the only one that missed something."
He turned his face, showing his scar. Williams shuddered.
"Christ, you could have come to us," Williams said, "Could have gotten you fixed up, taken care of."
"The only care you would have given me was a nine mil in the back of the head, Williams. I knew too much. All your dirty little secrets. Hell, I was the one who hauled your asses outta trouble when the press got a little too close. And I kept all your damned secrets. But that was before Christian Kane got it through his thick head to kill the family," he paused, "But Kane's outta the picture now and I have my boy primed to take the reins. Now I just need your word that you're going to support him."
"Now... Just wait a minute," Williams started, "You can't just..."
"I can do any damned thing I want, Williams," his voice was quiet, "The files I have on you? I hold all the cards. And believe me, you make one move against my boy, I'll spread your sins all over the nine o'clock news. No word of a lie."
Williams leaned forward, voice cold, "You have nothing."
Pulling the file out of his backpack, he flicked through it, "You don’t really believe that, do you?” He smiled, pushing himself to his feet, "Don't get up, Williams, I'll see myself out."
A smash accompanied him out of the room as Williams started cursing. It wouldn't take long for Williams to start making phone calls. Doe laughed as he walked slowly toward the door, leaving it open behind him. He had another stop to make before he grabbed some sleep.
The first morning commuters were starting to make their way into the city. Grabbing a cab, Doe gave them another address, a place in the suburbs. Traffic was still light, no major congestion yet. Just people trying to get in before the rush. Baristas trying to get everything set up before the first customers demanded their morning coffee. Shop assistants getting new displays out. Temps struggling to find where they were supposed to be in the unfamiliar metropolis. He missed the city at this hour. He’d been so tied to finding out information, tracking everything down that he needed, that they needed that the only time he saw the dawn was from the other side.
He just had a little more work. Just a little longer. Then the Padalecki dynasty would be restored and he'd be right there with him, sitting at his right hand. No more living from hand to mouth, depending on jobs and casual contracts. No fighting in the streets. No more breaking the law. Just the corporate world to deal with now. That was dangerous enough to keep anyone busy. Maybe they could hire Ackles full time as a bodyguard, if he was willing to work in the Corporate world. The merc'd done a fairly good job so far. Kid had good instincts, that's for sure. And Jared would need a strong team around him when the takeover happened.
The restaurant was already open, bustling with the morning crowd. Thanking the taxi driver, he dropped a a couple of bucks and hefted his backpack up onto his shoulder. Another couple got him past the hostess enough to scan the restaurant. He could see her sitting at the back, sipping her high priced coffee and picking at her breakfast. Just past fifty and not looking a day over thirty-five, ice blonde hair and brown eyes framed by half moon glasses. Doe walked over and pulled out a chair, dropping into it.
"Morning, Ann, isn't it a glorious day?"
She looked up and immediately started looking around for security, a server, someone who could help her.
"Aw, honey, I'm starting to think you don't recognize me."
Ann put down the coffee cup, missing the saucer, her eyes looking under the grime.
"Christ, what rock have you been hiding under?"
A waitress came over asking if everything was okay. Ann ordered him a cup of coffee and waved her off again.
"So what can I do for you?" she asked.
"You know me too well, Ann," he smirked, "A situation has come up, a surprise spot has opened up on the board."
She leaned forward, looking over her glasses, "A surprise spot? Who dropped off the trolley?"
"Christian Kane."
"You're shitting me!" Her voice was loud, attracting the attention of several patrons. She dropped to barely above a whisper, "Who did the little turd piss off this time?"
"You know what they say about revenge," Doe looked around the restaurant. "Three years is a long time to sit and simmer."
"Three...? Jesus, are you saying that you've got him? You've found him? The Padalecki heir."
"Never lost him, Ann. Just wasn't time for him to come back to the game," Doe smiled, "Now, I need your help to make sure that the board isn't going to throw up any objections."
"Anything, you know that, but there are a few members I can't do anything about," she shook her head, "Like Williams, he's got almost as many members in his pocket as I do. You'll need to get him on board before I can weigh in otherwise you'll hit a stalemate and if that happens, it doesn't matter what I do, Jared Padalecki will never get board approval."
"Just leave that to me."
She looked him over for a long considering minute, "You've gotta have something big on him. He hates your guts. Has done for years."
"You could say that," he didn't confirm her guess.
"You old fox, what have you got?" she asked, curious as hell, "No, no, don't tell me," she held up her hand, "I don't need any more targets on my back. Just remember to keep an eye out behind you. Williams isn't exactly known for letting people get the best of him. Wouldn't put it past him to have someone out hunting for you even now."
She took another sip of her coffee, "So how is he? Is he good?"
"He's grown up a lot, Ann. He's not the reckless kid he used to be."
"But is he ready to take over the company?"
"He will be," he was confident.
Ann looked a little dubious.
"I gotta get going, but I'll start working on my guys. Make sure the path is clear for Jared. See if you can keep him under wraps for a couple of days, gimme time to work my magic?"
"I'll give you as long as I can, Ann, but this has got to be fast. You know well as I do, open seats don't stay open for long," Doe drank his coffee down in one go and then dug a card out of his pocket and dropped it on the table, "I'll keep in touch, let you know when we're ready to hold the meeting."
She nodded, standing up, "Until I hear from you. Give Jared our best. Tell him we're behind him."
"Thanks, Ann."
She smiled, touched his shoulder as she passed and then was gone, paying the bill on her way. Doe pulled the phone from his pocket and dialled Chad.
"If the world is not on fire, you are seriously fucking with my lack of free time," Chad's voice was harsh, accompanied by ever present tapping of fingers on keys.
"Chad, it's me. You heard from our boys since I left?" he asked.
"Yeah, Winchester checked in a while ago."
"How they doing?" Doe asked, finally standing up to leave.
Chad stopped typing, "They're rough, man, really rough. But they're holed up in a motel somewhere at the moment working through it. They're going to check in around eight am."
"Do me a favour, yeah?"
"Sure, man," Chad answered, "Anything."
"Set up a meet. I gotta talk to them and soon as possible."
"You got it. Soon as I talk, I'll get it done," Chad assured.
"Fine, call me with the details."
He hung up the phone and left the restaurant, much to the delight of the staff. Hopping a cab was a lot more difficult now. Traffic stopped every five feet and sat there for five minutes or longer. He walked slowly to the underground subway and waited for the next train. Once popular, the subways were now almost unused. Where once there were trains every minute, now there was one every hour, if you were lucky. Often times, it was down for days at a time as the transport authority scrabbled enough money together to get it fixed. Graffiti coloured the walls, gang tags and a random spattering of spray paint signatures.
He was tired. His leg hurt but he wasn't done yet. He couldn't sleep until he'd gotten to see Jay again, and not through a vid screen, actual face to face time; seeing his boy for the first time since the attempt on his life... He pulled out his phone and checked the display. Half signal dipping to quarter, just enough to get a call and a battery bordering on empty. He just hoped that it lasted long enough to get the call from Chad.
He was just stepping off when his phone buzzed, pulling it out, he clicked it open and put it to his ear.
"They're staying in the Lucky 7 motel over by Piranha territory. Room 9. They're expecting you whenever you get there," Chad jumped straight to the information, "Can't wait to meet the guy who started the ball rolling. Gave you a huge introduction, man. You owe me."
"Thanks, kid," Doe said, clicking the phone closed.
Now he had a destination and it wasn't too far away. He made his way back up to street level and walked his way into the Piranha territory. The motel was ratty but better than most in the area. This was a family run place, protected by the local gang and far enough off the boundary lines to be out of the way of accidental gunfights.
He looked around, watching for anyone too interested in his visit there, but the streets were quiet. He paused outside the door, breath catching in his throat as he raised his hand to knock. His knuckles hurt as they struck the wooden door. The hinges squeaked as the door opened a little, the barrel of a nine mil poking through. He looked down at the gun and then up into the hazel eyes of the boy he'd almost considered a son.
"Jay, kid, it's good to see you."
The door opened a fraction wider and then it was flung back and he felt himself pulled into a bear hug. He returned the hug, clinging tight to Jared as a tear ran down his cheek.
"JD, Jesus," Jared was breathless, the smile on his face wide.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan broke the hug and stepped back just enough to take in the man that the boy had become.
"It's so good to see you, Jay. Damned but I missed you."
Next Chapter