The Agent & the Analyst, Part 9: The Save
Title: The Agent & the Analyst, Part 9: The Save
Words: 3150
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jensen is a surly government analyst and Jared is the bodyguard that always smiles.
Notes: Part 9 of the bodyguard!verse. Also for the cottoncandy_bingo prompt Reunited. HOLY SHIT I WROTE SOMETHING AGAIN!
Part 8
Jared’s fingers twitch with impatience. The sun barely breaks through the trees of the forest behind him, and he’s staring down a black non-descript back door of an even more non-descript warehouse just across the county border. Jensen’s instructions had been impeded by the sun rising and the agents quickly losing track of Orion, but here Jared is. Standing in front of the warehouse. Just a few feet from Jensen. Possibly. Hopefully.
His earpiece buzzes with chatter of his fellow agents getting into formation. Jared’s all for just kicking the damn door down and charging inside, but there are procedures to these sorts of things.
Screw procedures, Jared needs to get through this door and see Jensen for himself. Assure them both that Jensen is safe and rescued, and Jared will never let another human being put a finger on Jensen … Except he knows that all of this is a bit much and grounds for being sanctioned. He’s not up for that. Even when all this hurry-up-and-wait is really grating on his nerves and testing his patience, and all those stupid cliches that are keeping him from breaking through the freaking wall.
“Unit 310,” a voice says in Jared’s ear.
Jared hears Clarke speak up with a tight, “310 to the west, and set.”
“310 north and ready,” Jared says quickly, waiting to get the show on the road.
There’s a quick countdown through the unit and after they get to one, there’s complete silence. Jared glances around, doesn’t see anything changing, no agents charging the building, no suspects fleeing.
So, “Fuck procedures,” Jared finally says and kicks the door down.
He huffs and stares into the dank warehouse, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness as debris dusts up around the door now on the ground. When he can finally see, he finds Jensen sitting cross legged in the middle of the empty space. His arms are tied behind his back, his clothes appear as though they should’ve been washed a week ago, and he’s got a bandana tucked into his mouth, tied around the back of his head.
But his eyes … his eyes are wide and bright, a vivid green Jared never thought he’d see again. A fierce color telling Jared that Jensen is alive and breathing. And capable of speaking, if the garbled noises around the bandana say enough for him.
A quick sweep of the area shows that they’re in a back storage space and there is no other egress than where he’d come in, with the door presently off its hinges. Jared might get sanctioned for that; hopefully something small with minor paperwork.
Jensen mumbles something again and Jared asks him what he’s saying even as Jared gets down to hug the shit out of Jensen, because thank the skies, Jensen is alive.
More mumbling and finally Jared sits back and pulls the bandana out of his mouth. Jensen stretches his mouth and jaw out and blinks widely before looking right at Jared. “You kicked down the door.”
Jared nods resolutely. “Of course I did.”
“Is that, like, standard operating procedures? Just kick the freaking door down?”
“Well, no, but - ”
“It probably should be,” Jensen quickly, still seeming shocked to hell. “That was pretty badass.”
Jared smiles and hugs Jensen again. “You’re here,” he says with wonder when he moves back to look at Jensen.
“Of course I’m here. Where else would I be?”
Jared broadly smiles to Jensen’s attitude, grabs his face, and plants a wet kiss on Jensen’s lips. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to hear you be a dick again.”
“Hey!”
Patting Jensen down from shoulders to his sides and down his legs, Jared seeks out any injuries or other signs of distress. “Are you okay? They didn’t do anything, did they?”
“Well, they tied me up.”
Jared looks up to Jensen giving him a flat look and Jared laughs, thankful for the sound of Jensen’s voice. “Who was it? Where are they now?” he asks as he shuffles around Jensen to untie his wrists.
Jensen sighs as he’s free to move his arms, then twists his hands around to get some life back into them. “I don’t know. Like I said in my message, they wore masks.”
“Speaking of messages,” Jared says sternly. “When this is said and done, we’re having a conversation about passwords.”
“Oh, don’t even,” Jensen says with a roll of his eyes. “I did that on purpose.”
“You what?”
“I knew you were watching me like a hawk and that you’d figure out my passcode. Some assholes are stalking me and threatening to kidnap and maim me? Of course I’m gonna have a back-up plan to get to you.”
Again, Jared finds himself smiling with wonder, impressed (and slightly turned on) by Jensen maintaining his attitude through this all, on top of being smart enough to have such a plan. “If this was your back-up, then what was your first plan?”
“Well, I was kinda hoping you would be in arm’s reach, so I planned to just hide behind you.”
For a split second, Jared feels guilty, but then he laughs and leans in close. He murmurs, “Solid plan,” just before kissing Jensen, and loving the feel of Jensen’s hands coming up to hold his neck. “I’m sorry I left you.”
“Dude, you kicked down the door. To save me.” Jensen chuckles and squeezes Jared’s shoulders. “You’re kind of redeemed.”
Jared stands and helps Jensen up to his feet, holding tight with an arm around Jensen’s waist as he wobbles and gets his balance back. “I would’ve been here earlier if it weren’t for protocol.”
“Speaking of ...” Jensen trails off as they near the door and he puts some space between them.
“Oh, no, I don’t think so,” Jared says firmly as he reaches for Jensen again.
Jensen lifts a finger to Jared’s face. “You carry me out of here and we’re having words later. And I’m talking angry words.”
“There is no way I’m letting you go after this.”
“There goes my personal space,” Jensen mumbles.
Suddenly it his Jared that while it’s nice to see Jensen being flippant about this whole matter, it’s alarming that he’s not exactly acknowledging the situation either. He turns Jensen to him, hands firm on Jensen’s shoulders, and holds his gaze. “Okay, no bull shit … are you okay?”
Jensen laughs awkwardly then puts on one hell of a smile. “The guy I’m sleeping with kicked his way through a door to save me. I’m feeling pretty okay.”
Problem is, Jared has spent the last decade reading people - and the last few months on Jensen in particular. He knows something’s off. “Jensen.”
“And I’m no longer tied up,” Jensen points out, waving his hands between them. “So, yeah, things are good in my camp.”
In the most soothing voice possible, Jared offers, “It’s completely natural for you to insist that you’re okay--”
“Which I am.”
“And yet be affected by a traumatizing situation--”
“The most traumatizing thing is they ruined my new shirt.”
“And be hit by the freak-out train later.”
Jensen makes a face and chuckles. “The freak-out train? Come on.”
Jared sets his hands to Jensen’s neck and gently strokes his thumbs over Jensen’s jaw. “I’m not going to judge you for it. Besides, you’re not really fooling me. I’ve seen it. A lot.” Jensen shrugs, all no big deal, and Jared steps even closer. “It’s perfectly normal after what you’ve been through--”
“Thanks for the reminder,” Jensen grumbles and glances away.
Jared fixes Jensen with a direct look then softens his eyes to show Jensen he really means it.
After a few tense moments of thick silence, Jensen clears his throat. “Later,” he says softly. “If, you know, it kinda just hits me, then maybe,” and he drifts off when he finally looks back at Jared.
“I’ll be right there,” Jared assures him with a nod.
*
Unfortunately, when later comes, Jared can’t be right there. He kind of has to be somewhere else.
“Uh, but you said,” Jensen says carefully, averting Jared’s eyes.
Jared watches Jensen absently pick through a stack of mugshots with Clarke sitting across the island. He tries his best to not respond in any way that will tip off his partner, though he’s sure Clarke is halfway onto something, anyway. Clarke is a secret service agent after all, smart as hell like Jared, or else this partnership wouldn’t work half as well as it does.
“I know, but I’ll be gone for just an hour,” Jared insists. “And Clarke is the second best guy in our unit. I trust him with my life.”
Jensen silently watches Jared tug a casual jacket on over his sweater then they all stare at one another. Jared’s technically off this assignment now, given his proximity to Jensen’s kidnapping. The broken door didn’t really help things, either. The hardest part of the whole situation is that he can’t really convince Clarke that it’s perfectly normal that he doesn’t really want to leave Jensen’s side, and yet he can’t get out of the house without assuring Jensen it’s okay.
No matter what, he knows he has to leave right now if there’s any chance to fix this.
“Just keep checking all these pretty faces,” Jared attempts to joke as he motions at the book of mugshots, “And Clarke will be here if any of them jog your memory.”
He slips out the kitchen and through the back yard without a glance back, knowing he’ll be stuck in place and rethink leaving Jensen alone. Even for an hour or two, it’s still tough after everything that’s happened in the last few days.
Once he’s behind the wheel of his car, feeling the engine rev beneath him, he’s back on track to his errand, and he drives on down the road. It takes nearly thirty minutes of smooth driving and a dozen or so turns until he reaches his destination; the residential street doesn’t look much different than Jensen’s, nor does this plot of land with a large two-story home and a coach house in the back of the lot. He checks the piece of paper in his hand, the few scribbles of information he’d taken down before he left Jensen’s, and is certain this is the place.
Jared casually walks up the drive and to the coach house, figuring he’ll appear less obvious if he seems like he belongs here. Once in the back, he uses his pick set to undo the lock and slowly, quietly slides the door open. The interior is shaped the same as Jensen’s, though lacking any of the clean decor. The walls are bare except for a giant flat-screen TV that’s on with no one in the room. Jared leans over the back of the couch and feels the cushions - still warm, no one’s gone far.
There’s a soft noise behind him and Jared spins, drawing his firearm and pointing the barrel right between the shocked eyes of one Brock Kelly.
The kid’s got his hands up and out near his shoulders with a pipe-shaped weapon in one hand. Jared looks closer and he’s not sure if he wants to roll his eyes or outright slap the kid.
“Is that a light saber?”
“It’s a Force FX saber,” Kelly says with a tiny shake in his voice.
“I’m a federal agent, trained in four kinds of martial arts, and you’re coming at me with a light saber?”
Kelly lets it drop from his hands. “No,” he says quickly then sighs when the click of Jared’s safety coming off echoes in the space. “I just didn’t expect you to be walking through that door.”
“Who did you expect?”
“No one, not you,” Kelly replies quickly. “How did you find me here?”
Jared just resists rolling his eyes and instead adopts a rather tired face and voice. In a way, he channels Jensen’s best when he says, “How did I find you at your girlfriend’s mom’s house? It was a real mystery.”
Kelly glances down to the ground, likely where the light saber is, so Jared shifts in that direction and smoothly kicks it across the room. Kelly then crosses his eyes to stare at the end of Jared’s gun. “So, you’re just gonna shoot an unarmed man?”
“You mean an accomplice to kidnapping?” Jared adjusts his grip on the gun and cocks his head. “I’m considering it.”
“I’m not an accomplice! I just did a few server swipes”
“I see you’re not denying knowledge of the kidnapping.”
Kelly makes a wounded noise and lifts his hands higher when Jared takes a step towards him to get him talking again. “I just gave them Jensen’s address. I didn’t really know they’d start messing with him at home. I thought it’d be like junk mail or porno magazines.”
“Who’s they?”
“The anons,” Kelly admits with a sigh.
“I want names.”
“I don’t remember anything.”
“What about your files?” Jared watches Kelly’s face freeze as his eyes slant ever so slightly to the left. Slowly, Jared follows the kid’s eyesight and smiles when Kelly curses and realizes he’d easily given away the location of the files: in the entertainment center.
With a small smile, Jared steps towards it but Kelly comes at him. Jared easily shifts and spins with his arms reaching out and in a practiced move, he’s got Kelly pinned with one arm pinned high up his back as Jared’s other arm presses around Kelly’s windpipe.
“You are not to move, you understand me?” Jared asks, low and harsh in Kelly’s ear.
A whimper is the answer.
Two seconds later, Jared figures there’s no point in the effort so he releases Kelly. Then he pulls his stun gun from the back of his belt holster and shocks Kelly in the side with a voltage high enough to make the kid squeal and drop to the ground. Jared toes Kelly’s shoulder to see he’s out then leans down to press two fingers to the kid’s neck and finds a pulse.
Jared releases a long breath and steps over Kelly’s body to the entertainment center.
*
When Jared gets back to Jensen’s house, it’s late. He’d spent some time leafing through Kelly’s folders. Not much makes sense to him but he’s certain someone smarter can sort through it.
Clarke is at the kitchen table with two monitors set up, each cross-sectioned to show four cameras throughout the house. Jared didn’t think bringing Jensen back to the scene of the crime was a great idea, but his unit had a point: it’s highly unlikely the criminals would come back here with security upgraded, including a few agents circling the grounds at all times.
Jared’s certain it’s a lost cause, but he motions at the book of mugshots on the island, setting Kelly’s files next to them. “Did he ID anyone?”
“No, he did not.” Clarke stretches and gives Jared a pointed look. “He lost interest pretty soon after you left.”
“That’s …” Jared loses any hopes for a decent answer and ends with, “A very long story.”
“Mmhmm.”
Jared’s thankful Clarke is now focused on the monitors, because he’s certain everything can be read on his own face when he asks, “Do you mind if I take over for the night?”
Slowly, Clarke turns his head to assess Jared, which makes this whole moment more horrifying than Jared had initially expected. Clarke watches him for a long time, certainly thinking over the fact that Jared’s not assigned to Jensen anymore, is on forced PTO, and yet he’s asking to watch over the house.
Jared is about to tell his partner to forget it when the man rises and shakes his head. He snatches his jacket off the back of a nearby chair and mumbles, “Goin’ for a smoke.” As he gets through the back door, he adds, “Don’t do anything stupid.”
He knows the warning is just as much about his own career as it is Clarke’s, but still. This is a situation far beyond anything either of them have had to deal with, so Jared doesn’t hesitate to cut the feed to Jensen’s bedroom. He tells himself it’s to afford Jensen privacy, but it’s definitely more than that when Jared only waits half a minute to take the stairs up to Jensen’s room.
Once inside, he shuts the door behind himself then sits beside Jensen, who’s huddled into himself on the bed. Jared just wants to know that Jensen is safe; it’s a greater relief when Jensen opens his eyes and smacks his lips together as he fully wakes.
“Where’d you go?” Jensen asks groggily.
“Had to run an errand.” Jared sets his hand over Jensen’s bicep and squeezes for a second. “Go back to sleep.”
“Errand for what?”
Stupidly, Jared had imagined presenting the files to Jensen over tomorrow’s breakfast, being able to watch Jensen’s eyes light up with the chance to nail the guys who’ve made his life hell these last few months. Instead, he admits, “I’ve got a present for you in the morning.”
“Like what?”
He considers how much he should tell Jensen, yet, of anyone involved in this mess, Jensen’s the only one who’s likely to be happy about this. “AnonOps member files.”
Jensen glances at Jared, slowly taking in his face. “Are you going rogue now?”
“I suppose so.” It thrills and frightens him at the same time.
“That’s kind of awesome,” Jensen says with a slow smile as his eyes slip closed again.
Okay, maybe it’s not so frightening at the moment, with Jensen lazily stretching out on the bed, looking and sounding so sleepy, which makes Jared consider sleeping some time soon. He also considers that maybe all of the day’s adrenaline has finally crashed on him, because he suddenly yawns, which prompts Jensen to yawn, and they both softly chuckle.
“Are you sleeping sitting up now?” Jensen asks. Jared holds his breath and thinks through it. He really shouldn’t be caught in Jensen’s bedroom, and definitely not fully sleeping, but then Jensen tempts him further by asking, “Big hero like you deserves a nap, right?”
Jared shrugs and tells himself he’s done enough for the day to fuck up his career, what else could really make it any worse. He slides down on the mattress so he’s facing Jensen. “I guess, when you put it that way ...” he says, trailing off when Jensen sets his arm across his waist, fingers slipping beneath the edge of Jared’s sweater.
The press of warm fingertips set to his skin is nice, comforting, and reminds him that Jensen is back and in one piece. He falls asleep with the badass thought of I saved the man I love and resolutely ignores the L-word.
Part ten
Words: 3150
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Jensen is a surly government analyst and Jared is the bodyguard that always smiles.
Notes: Part 9 of the bodyguard!verse. Also for the cottoncandy_bingo prompt Reunited. HOLY SHIT I WROTE SOMETHING AGAIN!
Part 8
Jared’s fingers twitch with impatience. The sun barely breaks through the trees of the forest behind him, and he’s staring down a black non-descript back door of an even more non-descript warehouse just across the county border. Jensen’s instructions had been impeded by the sun rising and the agents quickly losing track of Orion, but here Jared is. Standing in front of the warehouse. Just a few feet from Jensen. Possibly. Hopefully.
His earpiece buzzes with chatter of his fellow agents getting into formation. Jared’s all for just kicking the damn door down and charging inside, but there are procedures to these sorts of things.
Screw procedures, Jared needs to get through this door and see Jensen for himself. Assure them both that Jensen is safe and rescued, and Jared will never let another human being put a finger on Jensen … Except he knows that all of this is a bit much and grounds for being sanctioned. He’s not up for that. Even when all this hurry-up-and-wait is really grating on his nerves and testing his patience, and all those stupid cliches that are keeping him from breaking through the freaking wall.
“Unit 310,” a voice says in Jared’s ear.
Jared hears Clarke speak up with a tight, “310 to the west, and set.”
“310 north and ready,” Jared says quickly, waiting to get the show on the road.
There’s a quick countdown through the unit and after they get to one, there’s complete silence. Jared glances around, doesn’t see anything changing, no agents charging the building, no suspects fleeing.
So, “Fuck procedures,” Jared finally says and kicks the door down.
He huffs and stares into the dank warehouse, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness as debris dusts up around the door now on the ground. When he can finally see, he finds Jensen sitting cross legged in the middle of the empty space. His arms are tied behind his back, his clothes appear as though they should’ve been washed a week ago, and he’s got a bandana tucked into his mouth, tied around the back of his head.
But his eyes … his eyes are wide and bright, a vivid green Jared never thought he’d see again. A fierce color telling Jared that Jensen is alive and breathing. And capable of speaking, if the garbled noises around the bandana say enough for him.
A quick sweep of the area shows that they’re in a back storage space and there is no other egress than where he’d come in, with the door presently off its hinges. Jared might get sanctioned for that; hopefully something small with minor paperwork.
Jensen mumbles something again and Jared asks him what he’s saying even as Jared gets down to hug the shit out of Jensen, because thank the skies, Jensen is alive.
More mumbling and finally Jared sits back and pulls the bandana out of his mouth. Jensen stretches his mouth and jaw out and blinks widely before looking right at Jared. “You kicked down the door.”
Jared nods resolutely. “Of course I did.”
“Is that, like, standard operating procedures? Just kick the freaking door down?”
“Well, no, but - ”
“It probably should be,” Jensen quickly, still seeming shocked to hell. “That was pretty badass.”
Jared smiles and hugs Jensen again. “You’re here,” he says with wonder when he moves back to look at Jensen.
“Of course I’m here. Where else would I be?”
Jared broadly smiles to Jensen’s attitude, grabs his face, and plants a wet kiss on Jensen’s lips. “I didn’t think I’d ever get to hear you be a dick again.”
“Hey!”
Patting Jensen down from shoulders to his sides and down his legs, Jared seeks out any injuries or other signs of distress. “Are you okay? They didn’t do anything, did they?”
“Well, they tied me up.”
Jared looks up to Jensen giving him a flat look and Jared laughs, thankful for the sound of Jensen’s voice. “Who was it? Where are they now?” he asks as he shuffles around Jensen to untie his wrists.
Jensen sighs as he’s free to move his arms, then twists his hands around to get some life back into them. “I don’t know. Like I said in my message, they wore masks.”
“Speaking of messages,” Jared says sternly. “When this is said and done, we’re having a conversation about passwords.”
“Oh, don’t even,” Jensen says with a roll of his eyes. “I did that on purpose.”
“You what?”
“I knew you were watching me like a hawk and that you’d figure out my passcode. Some assholes are stalking me and threatening to kidnap and maim me? Of course I’m gonna have a back-up plan to get to you.”
Again, Jared finds himself smiling with wonder, impressed (and slightly turned on) by Jensen maintaining his attitude through this all, on top of being smart enough to have such a plan. “If this was your back-up, then what was your first plan?”
“Well, I was kinda hoping you would be in arm’s reach, so I planned to just hide behind you.”
For a split second, Jared feels guilty, but then he laughs and leans in close. He murmurs, “Solid plan,” just before kissing Jensen, and loving the feel of Jensen’s hands coming up to hold his neck. “I’m sorry I left you.”
“Dude, you kicked down the door. To save me.” Jensen chuckles and squeezes Jared’s shoulders. “You’re kind of redeemed.”
Jared stands and helps Jensen up to his feet, holding tight with an arm around Jensen’s waist as he wobbles and gets his balance back. “I would’ve been here earlier if it weren’t for protocol.”
“Speaking of ...” Jensen trails off as they near the door and he puts some space between them.
“Oh, no, I don’t think so,” Jared says firmly as he reaches for Jensen again.
Jensen lifts a finger to Jared’s face. “You carry me out of here and we’re having words later. And I’m talking angry words.”
“There is no way I’m letting you go after this.”
“There goes my personal space,” Jensen mumbles.
Suddenly it his Jared that while it’s nice to see Jensen being flippant about this whole matter, it’s alarming that he’s not exactly acknowledging the situation either. He turns Jensen to him, hands firm on Jensen’s shoulders, and holds his gaze. “Okay, no bull shit … are you okay?”
Jensen laughs awkwardly then puts on one hell of a smile. “The guy I’m sleeping with kicked his way through a door to save me. I’m feeling pretty okay.”
Problem is, Jared has spent the last decade reading people - and the last few months on Jensen in particular. He knows something’s off. “Jensen.”
“And I’m no longer tied up,” Jensen points out, waving his hands between them. “So, yeah, things are good in my camp.”
In the most soothing voice possible, Jared offers, “It’s completely natural for you to insist that you’re okay--”
“Which I am.”
“And yet be affected by a traumatizing situation--”
“The most traumatizing thing is they ruined my new shirt.”
“And be hit by the freak-out train later.”
Jensen makes a face and chuckles. “The freak-out train? Come on.”
Jared sets his hands to Jensen’s neck and gently strokes his thumbs over Jensen’s jaw. “I’m not going to judge you for it. Besides, you’re not really fooling me. I’ve seen it. A lot.” Jensen shrugs, all no big deal, and Jared steps even closer. “It’s perfectly normal after what you’ve been through--”
“Thanks for the reminder,” Jensen grumbles and glances away.
Jared fixes Jensen with a direct look then softens his eyes to show Jensen he really means it.
After a few tense moments of thick silence, Jensen clears his throat. “Later,” he says softly. “If, you know, it kinda just hits me, then maybe,” and he drifts off when he finally looks back at Jared.
“I’ll be right there,” Jared assures him with a nod.
*
Unfortunately, when later comes, Jared can’t be right there. He kind of has to be somewhere else.
“Uh, but you said,” Jensen says carefully, averting Jared’s eyes.
Jared watches Jensen absently pick through a stack of mugshots with Clarke sitting across the island. He tries his best to not respond in any way that will tip off his partner, though he’s sure Clarke is halfway onto something, anyway. Clarke is a secret service agent after all, smart as hell like Jared, or else this partnership wouldn’t work half as well as it does.
“I know, but I’ll be gone for just an hour,” Jared insists. “And Clarke is the second best guy in our unit. I trust him with my life.”
Jensen silently watches Jared tug a casual jacket on over his sweater then they all stare at one another. Jared’s technically off this assignment now, given his proximity to Jensen’s kidnapping. The broken door didn’t really help things, either. The hardest part of the whole situation is that he can’t really convince Clarke that it’s perfectly normal that he doesn’t really want to leave Jensen’s side, and yet he can’t get out of the house without assuring Jensen it’s okay.
No matter what, he knows he has to leave right now if there’s any chance to fix this.
“Just keep checking all these pretty faces,” Jared attempts to joke as he motions at the book of mugshots, “And Clarke will be here if any of them jog your memory.”
He slips out the kitchen and through the back yard without a glance back, knowing he’ll be stuck in place and rethink leaving Jensen alone. Even for an hour or two, it’s still tough after everything that’s happened in the last few days.
Once he’s behind the wheel of his car, feeling the engine rev beneath him, he’s back on track to his errand, and he drives on down the road. It takes nearly thirty minutes of smooth driving and a dozen or so turns until he reaches his destination; the residential street doesn’t look much different than Jensen’s, nor does this plot of land with a large two-story home and a coach house in the back of the lot. He checks the piece of paper in his hand, the few scribbles of information he’d taken down before he left Jensen’s, and is certain this is the place.
Jared casually walks up the drive and to the coach house, figuring he’ll appear less obvious if he seems like he belongs here. Once in the back, he uses his pick set to undo the lock and slowly, quietly slides the door open. The interior is shaped the same as Jensen’s, though lacking any of the clean decor. The walls are bare except for a giant flat-screen TV that’s on with no one in the room. Jared leans over the back of the couch and feels the cushions - still warm, no one’s gone far.
There’s a soft noise behind him and Jared spins, drawing his firearm and pointing the barrel right between the shocked eyes of one Brock Kelly.
The kid’s got his hands up and out near his shoulders with a pipe-shaped weapon in one hand. Jared looks closer and he’s not sure if he wants to roll his eyes or outright slap the kid.
“Is that a light saber?”
“It’s a Force FX saber,” Kelly says with a tiny shake in his voice.
“I’m a federal agent, trained in four kinds of martial arts, and you’re coming at me with a light saber?”
Kelly lets it drop from his hands. “No,” he says quickly then sighs when the click of Jared’s safety coming off echoes in the space. “I just didn’t expect you to be walking through that door.”
“Who did you expect?”
“No one, not you,” Kelly replies quickly. “How did you find me here?”
Jared just resists rolling his eyes and instead adopts a rather tired face and voice. In a way, he channels Jensen’s best when he says, “How did I find you at your girlfriend’s mom’s house? It was a real mystery.”
Kelly glances down to the ground, likely where the light saber is, so Jared shifts in that direction and smoothly kicks it across the room. Kelly then crosses his eyes to stare at the end of Jared’s gun. “So, you’re just gonna shoot an unarmed man?”
“You mean an accomplice to kidnapping?” Jared adjusts his grip on the gun and cocks his head. “I’m considering it.”
“I’m not an accomplice! I just did a few server swipes”
“I see you’re not denying knowledge of the kidnapping.”
Kelly makes a wounded noise and lifts his hands higher when Jared takes a step towards him to get him talking again. “I just gave them Jensen’s address. I didn’t really know they’d start messing with him at home. I thought it’d be like junk mail or porno magazines.”
“Who’s they?”
“The anons,” Kelly admits with a sigh.
“I want names.”
“I don’t remember anything.”
“What about your files?” Jared watches Kelly’s face freeze as his eyes slant ever so slightly to the left. Slowly, Jared follows the kid’s eyesight and smiles when Kelly curses and realizes he’d easily given away the location of the files: in the entertainment center.
With a small smile, Jared steps towards it but Kelly comes at him. Jared easily shifts and spins with his arms reaching out and in a practiced move, he’s got Kelly pinned with one arm pinned high up his back as Jared’s other arm presses around Kelly’s windpipe.
“You are not to move, you understand me?” Jared asks, low and harsh in Kelly’s ear.
A whimper is the answer.
Two seconds later, Jared figures there’s no point in the effort so he releases Kelly. Then he pulls his stun gun from the back of his belt holster and shocks Kelly in the side with a voltage high enough to make the kid squeal and drop to the ground. Jared toes Kelly’s shoulder to see he’s out then leans down to press two fingers to the kid’s neck and finds a pulse.
Jared releases a long breath and steps over Kelly’s body to the entertainment center.
*
When Jared gets back to Jensen’s house, it’s late. He’d spent some time leafing through Kelly’s folders. Not much makes sense to him but he’s certain someone smarter can sort through it.
Clarke is at the kitchen table with two monitors set up, each cross-sectioned to show four cameras throughout the house. Jared didn’t think bringing Jensen back to the scene of the crime was a great idea, but his unit had a point: it’s highly unlikely the criminals would come back here with security upgraded, including a few agents circling the grounds at all times.
Jared’s certain it’s a lost cause, but he motions at the book of mugshots on the island, setting Kelly’s files next to them. “Did he ID anyone?”
“No, he did not.” Clarke stretches and gives Jared a pointed look. “He lost interest pretty soon after you left.”
“That’s …” Jared loses any hopes for a decent answer and ends with, “A very long story.”
“Mmhmm.”
Jared’s thankful Clarke is now focused on the monitors, because he’s certain everything can be read on his own face when he asks, “Do you mind if I take over for the night?”
Slowly, Clarke turns his head to assess Jared, which makes this whole moment more horrifying than Jared had initially expected. Clarke watches him for a long time, certainly thinking over the fact that Jared’s not assigned to Jensen anymore, is on forced PTO, and yet he’s asking to watch over the house.
Jared is about to tell his partner to forget it when the man rises and shakes his head. He snatches his jacket off the back of a nearby chair and mumbles, “Goin’ for a smoke.” As he gets through the back door, he adds, “Don’t do anything stupid.”
He knows the warning is just as much about his own career as it is Clarke’s, but still. This is a situation far beyond anything either of them have had to deal with, so Jared doesn’t hesitate to cut the feed to Jensen’s bedroom. He tells himself it’s to afford Jensen privacy, but it’s definitely more than that when Jared only waits half a minute to take the stairs up to Jensen’s room.
Once inside, he shuts the door behind himself then sits beside Jensen, who’s huddled into himself on the bed. Jared just wants to know that Jensen is safe; it’s a greater relief when Jensen opens his eyes and smacks his lips together as he fully wakes.
“Where’d you go?” Jensen asks groggily.
“Had to run an errand.” Jared sets his hand over Jensen’s bicep and squeezes for a second. “Go back to sleep.”
“Errand for what?”
Stupidly, Jared had imagined presenting the files to Jensen over tomorrow’s breakfast, being able to watch Jensen’s eyes light up with the chance to nail the guys who’ve made his life hell these last few months. Instead, he admits, “I’ve got a present for you in the morning.”
“Like what?”
He considers how much he should tell Jensen, yet, of anyone involved in this mess, Jensen’s the only one who’s likely to be happy about this. “AnonOps member files.”
Jensen glances at Jared, slowly taking in his face. “Are you going rogue now?”
“I suppose so.” It thrills and frightens him at the same time.
“That’s kind of awesome,” Jensen says with a slow smile as his eyes slip closed again.
Okay, maybe it’s not so frightening at the moment, with Jensen lazily stretching out on the bed, looking and sounding so sleepy, which makes Jared consider sleeping some time soon. He also considers that maybe all of the day’s adrenaline has finally crashed on him, because he suddenly yawns, which prompts Jensen to yawn, and they both softly chuckle.
“Are you sleeping sitting up now?” Jensen asks. Jared holds his breath and thinks through it. He really shouldn’t be caught in Jensen’s bedroom, and definitely not fully sleeping, but then Jensen tempts him further by asking, “Big hero like you deserves a nap, right?”
Jared shrugs and tells himself he’s done enough for the day to fuck up his career, what else could really make it any worse. He slides down on the mattress so he’s facing Jensen. “I guess, when you put it that way ...” he says, trailing off when Jensen sets his arm across his waist, fingers slipping beneath the edge of Jared’s sweater.
The press of warm fingertips set to his skin is nice, comforting, and reminds him that Jensen is back and in one piece. He falls asleep with the badass thought of I saved the man I love and resolutely ignores the L-word.
Part ten