THE POLICE: EPISODE FIVE "ALL IN A DAY'S WORK"
Title: The Police (Episode Five : All In A Day's Work)
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: Adult.
Wordcount: 4,396
Warnings: Violence, death (not main character).
Summary: AU. Team Three return to work and the day after the funeral proves to be very eventful indeed.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
EPISODE FIVE : ALL IN A DAY'S WORK
Jensen had a drink in front of him that he wasn't touching. He hated these things. He hated being reminded of everyone the force had lost, but here he was, sat at the bar in McLennan's and staring at the wall of framed dead people. The bar was full, everyone in dress uniform, although ties had been discarded and shirt collars opened. Jensen's gloves sat on the bar next to his drink and he concentrated on them instead, starting when someone set a hand to his shoulder and sat down beside him.
"You all right?"
"Shouldn't someone be asking Kid that question?"
"He went home." Jared still wore his tie, of course, and his gloves. Jensen sighed. He took these things too seriously. Like everyone was in mourning and he had to go around and talk to each and every one of them, make it all better somehow. "You want to go too?"
"Yeah," Jensen answered, his voice quiet. "Fuck, yeah, I do. You know I hate pretending that all this is okay."
"So does everyone else, but we all do it anyway. Come on, drink up. I'll take you home."
Jensen downed his drink in a couple of swallows, set the glass back down. He got up and followed Jared outside, nodding to a few friends from other teams that he recognized. Morgan told them he'd see them tomorrow and then they were out, in the street, away from the smell of beer and the sounds of people laughing and making out that they were remembering the good times. They'd both had a drink so they walked back to Jared's apartment from the bar, not talking the whole way there.
Jared was already shedding his jacket as Jensen pulled the apartment door shut behind them, and he was starting on his shirt buttons before Jensen had even kicked off his shoes. They were still shiny from his earlier spit and polish, only a small scuff on the tip of the left one. They hit the side of the cabinet in the hallway and came to rest next to it.
"I need a fucking drink," Jensen said, going for the kitchen. Jared pulled him back, though, hands strong around Jensen's shoulders, and turned him to kiss him.
"No you don't," he told him, moving back slightly. "Bedroom. I think we both need it."
"What, so we can feel alive and remind ourselves of how lucky we are?" Jensen shook his head. "No thanks."
Jared stared at him and Jensen couldn't meet his eyes any longer. He looked at the wall, but slumped when Jared squeezed his shoulder. "What the hell's gotten into you?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that to sound so.." He stopped, swore. "It's not fair, Jay. We're supposed to die on the job, not alone in our fucking apartments."
"I know. I know that. For the record, though, I don't want you to die either way."
Jensen nodded. "For the record? Me either."
"Let's take a shower and go to bed, huh? We've got a shift in the morning."
Not having it in him to protest any more, to argue any more, Jensen agreed and just let Jared take care of him after that. They left a trail of clothes from the hallway to the bathroom and there, under the hot spray of water, Jared kissed away the tension that Jensen had been feeling all day. Funerals just made him think of how it could have gone for his brother, for him. Funerals made him wonder if he was in the right job, made him doubt what he had chosen to do with his life after the army was no longer an option he could consider.
He turned away from Jared after a while and leaned against the tiles, his hands spread out at either side of him. Jared kissed the back of his neck, soapy hands sliding up and down his sides, and he closed his eyes as he felt the other man's strong hand glide over his stomach to wrap around his cock. He was getting there already, a few tight strokes from Jared sent more blood rushing south. He moaned and Jared squeezed, then let go.
"Let's dry off," he said, shutting off the water. "And go to bed."
Jensen just nodded in agreement and followed Jared out of the shower, reaching for his towel. They rubbed themselves dry and then Jensen led the way to the bedroom, hearing Jared click off the light behind them. The only light in the bedroom was coming from outside and it was quite dim, but they didn't turn any other lights on. They just sank beneath the covers together, Jared regaining his grip on Jensen's dick and stroking gently until his arousal returned. They kissed all the while, Jensen's hand wrapped around Jared's cock to return the favor. They jerked one another off, never letting go, barely moving except for their hands and their mouths, until first Jared came and then, soon after, Jensen too.
The next day they had to go back to normal. Had to, otherwise the job would have been unbearable. Kid wasn't there, but they'd expected that. Morgan told them they would be going on patrol, to group up. He asked Chris to go with Jared and Jensen, since they were missing a man, and the three of them stashed some gear in the back of one of the vehicles and headed out, Jensen behind the wheel. They talked while they drove, avoiding the subject of the previous day and of Jared and Jensen's relationship.
Jensen stopped off after an hour of nothing, bought them all a coffee. They sat parked up, commenting on the people that walked past them, and they were pretty relaxed which was why it startled Chris and Jared so much when Jensen suddenly shoved his coffee into the holder in the dash and smacked at Jared's shoulder.
"What the fuck?"
Jensen didn't answer, just indicated someone outside, a little way from their vehicle. They all recognized the guy easily. It was Brian Luck. And they could all pinpoint the moment when he spotted them too.
"Let's call the others in first," Jared suggested, reaching for the radio.
"He's going to get away, Jay." Jensen didn't wait, just made sure his weapon was ready and quickly opened the door. He heard Jared telling Chris to get after him, but he didn't listen or check to see if the other man was behind him or not. He ran after Luck, people scattering out of their path as they came. He heard Chris shouting, and then Jared answering a moment later. But his mind was on one thing. Luck ducked into an alley between two buildings and Jensen followed, even though he knew better. The alley went down the length of the building and then opened out into another street. But Luck didn't go that far. There was someone walking up from the other end of the alley - a young woman in a waitress uniform who was probably on her way to work - and Luck grabbed her before Jensen could do anything.
He stopped short, drawing his gun up, but Luck had one of his own and it was now pointed directly at the girl's neck, the muzzle denting her flesh where Luck was pushing it in. Jensen could hear Chris and Jared approaching the end of the alley and, rather than reach for his radio, he called out to them that there was a hostage and to stay back. Their footfalls slowed and Jensen watched Luck carefully as he took a step or two back away from him.
"Get away from me!" Luck yelled. "I will kill her!"
Jensen let his gun drop so that it rested against the front of his body and put both his hands up. "Okay, I'm not going to do anything, I promise you. Can you make me the same promise?"
"Why are you always following me?"
The girl was staring at Jensen with wide eyes, terrified and pale. She was shaking, he could see. "We need to speak with you about something that happened a little while ago. We just need some information from you, to help us with-"
"To help you with your fuckin' enquiries? Right." Luck let out a harsh laugh. "This about that retard? Yeah? He's a loser. I know Benny, know his brother too. You know what? Maybe you should ask them to give you a little information." He hadn't loosened his hold on either the girl or his gun, and Jensen hoped that their backup was well on the way.
As if on cue, he heard Morgan's voice in his earpiece, asking Jared what was going on. Heard Jared answer that they had a hostage situation, female hostage, single weapon, and that Jensen was talking to the gunman. He half-listened to them, half-talked to Luck, but learnt that Chris had gone around to the other end of the alley to prevent escape that way and that Jared had gone into the building close by and found a better vantage point. Danov was behind Jensen and Sam was with Morgan in the mobile command unit, using the CCTV to try and get visuals. Other cops were on the way, to help with crowd control.
Jensen wished it was Jared down here. He wished he was on a rooftop somewhere instead, taking aim, getting ready to make the shot if needed. He'd passed his negotiating training, and he knew he could do it, but that didn't make him feel any more comfortable about it.
He spoke to the girl then, asking her if she was okay. She gave a quick nod, scared, tears streaming down her face as she silently cried. Trying not to move too much. "What's your name?" Jensen asked.
"Karen.."
"That's enough!" Luck drew the girl up to him even tighter, the muzzle of the gun sliding from her neck to the side of her head. She let out a whimper at the move and Jensen knew that Luck realized there was no getting out of this. He had cops surrounding him and his only shot was the girl. Luck pointed the gun at Jensen for a second, too unexpected for any of them to act. "Get back! You will move back and let me out of here!"
"I can't do that," Jensen told him, eyes on the gun as Luck once more trained it at the girl's head. "I can't let you go because I don't want to see anyone get hurt."
Luck screamed then. "Nobody is going to get hurt if you get out of here!" he yelled. "Jesus Christ, why can't you people understand that?"
"I do understand, I do, okay?" Jensen took another step backward. "We just want you to let her go, just so that we know she'll be okay. Tell me what you want."
"What I want? What I want is for you fuckin' cops to just let me do my business without chasing me down every five minutes. That'd be a start."
"Then you need to pick a different business, Brian. You know we can't just let the drugs and the guns go unnoticed, right?"
Whatever Luck was about to say next was drowned out by a sudden burst of gunfire. Jensen ducked down, alarmed, his hands coming up over the back of his neck. Luck had lost his grip on the girl and as she ran towards Jensen he managed to recover enough to make a grab for her. He pulled her across to near the wall and saw Luck turning around in a quick circle, his gun raised. He was letting off shots and Jensen quickly lifted his own gun up and took a measured shot. The bullet only grazed over Luck's knuckles, and continued on into the wall behind him. But the sudden pain was enough to make him drop his weapon and Jensen left Karen by the wall, hearing someone running up towards her, and rushed to where Luck was, pushing him down so that he would stay down. He aimed his gun at the back of Luck's head and suggested that he stay where he was.
"You won't kill me," Luck spat out.
Jensen wasn't listening. He had other things to worry about. "What the hell was that? Who fired?"
"Shots were from a third party," Morgan's voice told him. "Not police. I've got Braddock and Kane looking for the source. But we have three men down. One of ours and two officers from precinct."
"One of ours?" Jensen asked, swallowing hard. Don't be Jay, don't fucking be Jay. He felt a hand to his shoulder and stood back while four other police officers took over Luck's arrest, hauling him to his feet and cuffing him. "Sarge?"
Jensen was already turning around, heading quickly for the end of the alley. By the time he reached it he was running. Out on the street it was chaos. There were several patrol cars abandoned in the road and Jensen could see where the fallen officers were, their friends and colleagues gathered around them in small groups, trying to help. He kept going until he got to the command unit, found Morgan outside talking into his phone in urgent tones. He was asking for paramedics, ambulances, and scanning the rooftops the whole time.
"Where's Jay?"
"I'm right here."
Jensen turned, relief flooding him, and had to restrain himself from wrapping his arms around the other man. Then he realized that Jared was holding on to Geek, who had a hand wrapped around his upper arm. Blood was seeping between his fingers.
"Fucking got me," Jared said. "Only just, though. Hurts like a bitch, but I'll live."
"Where was he firing from?"
"I was on the street, just coming out of the building on the left of the alley. Couldn't find a good spot so I wanted to move. Then suddenly all hell breaks loose. It came from higher up, that's all I can say."
"We don't have a chance," Morgan said, flipping his phone shut. "All this? He's gone. Pads, there's an ambulance on the way for you. Grab a seat in the van. Skooch, you and I are going to go with our suspect and ask him a few questions. Geek, stay with Pads until he gets picked up, then head back."
Luck was one of the most uncooperative suspects they'd had in the interrogation room for some time. He answered every question with a 'no comment' and his smug look was grating on Jensen's nerves already. They'd taken a very brief break and Jensen had asked if he could just shoot the son of a bitch right there, though both he and Morgan knew he wasn't serious. He was on edge, too, waiting to find out how Jared was doing. And agitated because Chris and Sam had reported that they hadn't been able to find anything and that one of the other two officers who had been shot had died on the way to the hospital. The other was still in the ER. Someone was targeting cops and they didn't know who, or why.
The fact that Luck was telling them nothing was not making it any easier. After another half hour of fruitless questioning, Morgan decided that Luck could go back to his cell and he and Jensen would take a look at the CCTV footage for a while.
"We should let him friggin' rot and die in there," Jensen muttered, as he took a seat in front of the bank of screens.
"He'll give us something soon. Right now he's still cocky. We'll give him an overnight stay downtown and then we'll speak to him again tomorrow. Maybe he'll have a little more to say to us then."
"Maybe. I get the impression he enjoys watching us squirm. Think he knows something?"
"About Charlie? No, I don't. He likes to think he's the big man and if we let him, he'll probably play us into believing he had something to do with today. But I think he's too small time for that. I think he just provides the tools for the job and doesn't get any more involved than that."
Jensen nodded, hating to think that Morgan was right. That someone was still out there - an unknown factor - and they were no closer to finding out despite having Luck in custody. "How's the girl?"
"She'll be okay. Missing work today, that's for sure, but she'll be all right."
"We heard from Jared yet?"
"Go to the hospital, okay? I'm sure they're about done with him so you might as well go and pick him up. I can do this."
"You want us back on patrol once I've got him?"
"If he's up to it. But we don't need you out there if he isn't. Kane, Braddock and Danov can handle it."
"Thanks, boss." Jensen got up again, patted Morgan's shoulder in thanks, and left him alone with the video.
He picked up a vehicle from the lot downstairs and drove over to the hospital, hoping that Jared would be waiting for him and not still waiting for the doctors. He was. Jensen was only just inside the ER's reception when he heard Jared's voice saying his name. He looked around and found him sitting in one corner, his jacket on the seat beside him, and a thick bandage around his injured arm. There were two young boys sat near him, both staring openly at him. When Jensen came closer their attention shifted to him.
"How's it going?"
Jared grabbed his jacket up and stood, looking relieved. "I'm good. All patched up."
"And?" Jensen prompted, as they walked outside.
"And I'll live. Honestly, Jensen, it didn't go through my arm or anything. Just took out a chunk of skin, is all. Did we get anything out of Luck?"
They were outside now, nearly at the car. Jensen shook his head. "Nothing. And I don't know that he'll give us anything either. You want to stop off at your place for a bit?"
"I just want a drink. Coffee or something. Think the boss'll mind?"
"What he don't know won't hurt him. Come on, we'll go to your apartment and I'll make you some coffee. Then we're heading back. I want to know if Jeff found anything on the CCTV videos."
Jared didn't say anything. They both knew why Jensen wanted to go back to the apartment, why he wanted to be alone with Jared and out of the public. They got there quickly and Jensen parked up in Jared's designated spot. Nobody else seemed to be home in the building and it was almost silent as they headed up the couple of flights of stairs to Jared's place. As soon as the door shut behind them, Jensen pushed Jared back against it and held him there while he kissed him. They didn't breathe for half a minute, intent on the taste of one another, and it was only when Jensen finally let go that they seemed to relax.
Neither of them said anything. They just instinctively knew what didn't need to be heard out loud. Jared kissed him again, then slipped out of his hold and made for the kitchen.
"You want a sandwich while we're here?"
"Sure, why not? Do you want to go back to work or should I phone in and tell Morgan you need some rest?"
Jared turned to look at him from the kitchen doorway, frowning. "No, we'll go back in. I can help with the video, do some paperwork. I'm fine, just a little buzzed with the painkillers. We'll finish our shift and then I promise you can take care of me all you want."
Jensen nodded, followed him into the kitchen. He watched Jared take out a couple of mugs and chewed on his bottom lip. "What if-"
"It didn't."
"What if he'd been a better aim? I'm just starting to-"
"Jen, shut up." Jared turned to face him, looking annoyed. "Just.. Just don't. I'm still here and we're both okay. Nothing's going to happen to us." He pulled open the refrigerator door to get some milk out and Jensen slammed it shut before he could reach in.
"We're not invincible, you idiot. We're not! Anything could have happened today. Shit, anything could happen every time we go outside that front door!"
"Jesus, all right! I get it!"
"Somebody is out there and he's hunting us down, Jared. He's looking for cops and he's killing them. So don't just make light of this and pretend it's not going to happen again, okay?"
Jared was staring at him now. An outburst like that was so unlike Jensen. "Okay," he said, his voice quiet. "Sorry." He opened the refrigerator again and got on with making the coffee in silence, Jensen watching from where he stood. He'd have to tell him, he knew that. He'd have to tell him soon because otherwise Jared was going to think his boyfriend was wrong in the head and he'd lose him. And the surprising thing was that he didn't like the idea of being alone any more. He was too used to this, he guessed.
"Hey," he said, as Jared started pouring out the coffee.
"What?" Jared was still being quiet and Jensen could see from the set of his shoulders that he was still angry.
"I'm sorry too. Can I make it up to you tonight?"
"Make it up to me how? What do you have to make up to me?"
"I'll get takeaway tonight. We can come home and just chill out. I need to talk to you about something anyway."
Jared glanced round at him. "Sounds ominous. You want to give me a hint?"
"We'll talk tonight, okay?" Jensen couldn't face it right then. He wanted to drink his coffee, eat his sandwich, go back to work for a while, make sure that Jared stayed safe throughout the day until it was time to come home again. He wanted to forget about the morning and about the way he'd felt when Morgan had said that someone had been hit. He'd been through this with his brother and that had turned out much worse. He didn't want to go through something like that again.
They drank and ate in silence, Jared slowly becoming less tense. Jensen ran water into the mugs, left them in the bowl for later.
"Ready?"
"Yeah. Let's get back."
Halfway back to work, while Jared was on the phone to Morgan, a call came through on their radio asking for assistance at a possible robbery taking place a few blocks away from where they were. A silent alarm had been set off which had automatically called the police. Jared ended his call and reached for the radio, causing Jensen to look over at him.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"We're responding. C'mon, we're nearly there."
"Like hell, Jay. Look at yourself-"
"Officer Padalecki, SRU team three, we are 10-23."
Jensen shook his head, slapping his hand down on the wheel, and cursed as he put his foot down on the accelerator. Control gave them more details as he drove and they were there in less than a minute. Another unit pulled up alongside them even as Jared was getting out, and the two officers from that car joined them as they headed towards the small store. They were only ten feet away from the door when two people burst out from the doors and continued running. The shorter one sent one of the uniforms to the ground with a strong shove, but Jensen ignored him. His partner would help him. Jared would stop, because he was that kind of a guy. Jensen wasn't. He concentrated instead on getting after the two runners.
He hated this. Not the running; he was a fit guy. He ran regularly, he could chase these men for as long as it took, he was sure. He just hated not knowing what situation he was going to end up running into. And there were people around, since it was still only the middle of the afternoon, so he was yelling at them to move as he ran. It already felt like a rerun of that morning, so when he saw the shorter thief's arm come up, saw the gun in his hand, and heard the shot being fired towards the small group of people outside a coffee shop he didn't hesitate. He stopped and raised his own gun, took a shot.
Somebody outside the coffee shop cried out and Jensen barely registered that one of the women who had been stood there was now on the ground, her friends screaming. He just sprinted to where the shooter lay, his partner bent over him. As Jensen neared them, the young man looked up at him with wild eyes and yelled at him in a voice that was high with fear.
"You shot my brother! What did you do?!"
Jensen crouched down beside them, finally getting a look at the other one's face. He tasted bile in his mouth at the sight. He was just a kid, which was what his brother was now screaming right in Jensen's face. Jensen took his gloves off, felt at the kid's neck for a pulse. The kid's shirt was slick with blood, spreading out and across from his stomach. Jensen used his radio to call for an ambulance, knowing that it was fruitless. The kid was pretty much gone already, thanks to the position of the wound. His skin was discolored and he was shaking continuously, in seizure. But Jensen found himself unable to look away from the kid's face. He looked no older than fourteen.
Fourteen years old and he was about to die. His brother was yelling at Jensen, even as he was pulled away by another uniformed cop, even as his hands were brought behind his back and cuffed together. But Jensen didn't hear it. He didn't hear Jared pounding up behind him, didn't register the hand on his shoulder. Everything seemed oddly muted, except for the kid's labored breathing and the wet sound of his damaged lung pushing out air.
Fourteen years old and Jensen had killed him.
Next episode airs October 27th. x If you haven't yet seen the CAST LIST, check it out! :D
Authors: bloody_adorable and eviltwin
Fandoms: Supernatural RPS
Pairing: Jensen Ackles / Jared Padalecki.
Rating: Adult.
Wordcount: 4,396
Warnings: Violence, death (not main character).
Summary: AU. Team Three return to work and the day after the funeral proves to be very eventful indeed.
Disclaimer: None of the following is true in any way, and no profit is made from this work of fiction.
EPISODE FIVE : ALL IN A DAY'S WORK
Jensen had a drink in front of him that he wasn't touching. He hated these things. He hated being reminded of everyone the force had lost, but here he was, sat at the bar in McLennan's and staring at the wall of framed dead people. The bar was full, everyone in dress uniform, although ties had been discarded and shirt collars opened. Jensen's gloves sat on the bar next to his drink and he concentrated on them instead, starting when someone set a hand to his shoulder and sat down beside him.
"You all right?"
"Shouldn't someone be asking Kid that question?"
"He went home." Jared still wore his tie, of course, and his gloves. Jensen sighed. He took these things too seriously. Like everyone was in mourning and he had to go around and talk to each and every one of them, make it all better somehow. "You want to go too?"
"Yeah," Jensen answered, his voice quiet. "Fuck, yeah, I do. You know I hate pretending that all this is okay."
"So does everyone else, but we all do it anyway. Come on, drink up. I'll take you home."
Jensen downed his drink in a couple of swallows, set the glass back down. He got up and followed Jared outside, nodding to a few friends from other teams that he recognized. Morgan told them he'd see them tomorrow and then they were out, in the street, away from the smell of beer and the sounds of people laughing and making out that they were remembering the good times. They'd both had a drink so they walked back to Jared's apartment from the bar, not talking the whole way there.
Jared was already shedding his jacket as Jensen pulled the apartment door shut behind them, and he was starting on his shirt buttons before Jensen had even kicked off his shoes. They were still shiny from his earlier spit and polish, only a small scuff on the tip of the left one. They hit the side of the cabinet in the hallway and came to rest next to it.
"I need a fucking drink," Jensen said, going for the kitchen. Jared pulled him back, though, hands strong around Jensen's shoulders, and turned him to kiss him.
"No you don't," he told him, moving back slightly. "Bedroom. I think we both need it."
"What, so we can feel alive and remind ourselves of how lucky we are?" Jensen shook his head. "No thanks."
Jared stared at him and Jensen couldn't meet his eyes any longer. He looked at the wall, but slumped when Jared squeezed his shoulder. "What the hell's gotten into you?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that to sound so.." He stopped, swore. "It's not fair, Jay. We're supposed to die on the job, not alone in our fucking apartments."
"I know. I know that. For the record, though, I don't want you to die either way."
Jensen nodded. "For the record? Me either."
"Let's take a shower and go to bed, huh? We've got a shift in the morning."
Not having it in him to protest any more, to argue any more, Jensen agreed and just let Jared take care of him after that. They left a trail of clothes from the hallway to the bathroom and there, under the hot spray of water, Jared kissed away the tension that Jensen had been feeling all day. Funerals just made him think of how it could have gone for his brother, for him. Funerals made him wonder if he was in the right job, made him doubt what he had chosen to do with his life after the army was no longer an option he could consider.
He turned away from Jared after a while and leaned against the tiles, his hands spread out at either side of him. Jared kissed the back of his neck, soapy hands sliding up and down his sides, and he closed his eyes as he felt the other man's strong hand glide over his stomach to wrap around his cock. He was getting there already, a few tight strokes from Jared sent more blood rushing south. He moaned and Jared squeezed, then let go.
"Let's dry off," he said, shutting off the water. "And go to bed."
Jensen just nodded in agreement and followed Jared out of the shower, reaching for his towel. They rubbed themselves dry and then Jensen led the way to the bedroom, hearing Jared click off the light behind them. The only light in the bedroom was coming from outside and it was quite dim, but they didn't turn any other lights on. They just sank beneath the covers together, Jared regaining his grip on Jensen's dick and stroking gently until his arousal returned. They kissed all the while, Jensen's hand wrapped around Jared's cock to return the favor. They jerked one another off, never letting go, barely moving except for their hands and their mouths, until first Jared came and then, soon after, Jensen too.
The next day they had to go back to normal. Had to, otherwise the job would have been unbearable. Kid wasn't there, but they'd expected that. Morgan told them they would be going on patrol, to group up. He asked Chris to go with Jared and Jensen, since they were missing a man, and the three of them stashed some gear in the back of one of the vehicles and headed out, Jensen behind the wheel. They talked while they drove, avoiding the subject of the previous day and of Jared and Jensen's relationship.
Jensen stopped off after an hour of nothing, bought them all a coffee. They sat parked up, commenting on the people that walked past them, and they were pretty relaxed which was why it startled Chris and Jared so much when Jensen suddenly shoved his coffee into the holder in the dash and smacked at Jared's shoulder.
"What the fuck?"
Jensen didn't answer, just indicated someone outside, a little way from their vehicle. They all recognized the guy easily. It was Brian Luck. And they could all pinpoint the moment when he spotted them too.
"Let's call the others in first," Jared suggested, reaching for the radio.
"He's going to get away, Jay." Jensen didn't wait, just made sure his weapon was ready and quickly opened the door. He heard Jared telling Chris to get after him, but he didn't listen or check to see if the other man was behind him or not. He ran after Luck, people scattering out of their path as they came. He heard Chris shouting, and then Jared answering a moment later. But his mind was on one thing. Luck ducked into an alley between two buildings and Jensen followed, even though he knew better. The alley went down the length of the building and then opened out into another street. But Luck didn't go that far. There was someone walking up from the other end of the alley - a young woman in a waitress uniform who was probably on her way to work - and Luck grabbed her before Jensen could do anything.
He stopped short, drawing his gun up, but Luck had one of his own and it was now pointed directly at the girl's neck, the muzzle denting her flesh where Luck was pushing it in. Jensen could hear Chris and Jared approaching the end of the alley and, rather than reach for his radio, he called out to them that there was a hostage and to stay back. Their footfalls slowed and Jensen watched Luck carefully as he took a step or two back away from him.
"Get away from me!" Luck yelled. "I will kill her!"
Jensen let his gun drop so that it rested against the front of his body and put both his hands up. "Okay, I'm not going to do anything, I promise you. Can you make me the same promise?"
"Why are you always following me?"
The girl was staring at Jensen with wide eyes, terrified and pale. She was shaking, he could see. "We need to speak with you about something that happened a little while ago. We just need some information from you, to help us with-"
"To help you with your fuckin' enquiries? Right." Luck let out a harsh laugh. "This about that retard? Yeah? He's a loser. I know Benny, know his brother too. You know what? Maybe you should ask them to give you a little information." He hadn't loosened his hold on either the girl or his gun, and Jensen hoped that their backup was well on the way.
As if on cue, he heard Morgan's voice in his earpiece, asking Jared what was going on. Heard Jared answer that they had a hostage situation, female hostage, single weapon, and that Jensen was talking to the gunman. He half-listened to them, half-talked to Luck, but learnt that Chris had gone around to the other end of the alley to prevent escape that way and that Jared had gone into the building close by and found a better vantage point. Danov was behind Jensen and Sam was with Morgan in the mobile command unit, using the CCTV to try and get visuals. Other cops were on the way, to help with crowd control.
Jensen wished it was Jared down here. He wished he was on a rooftop somewhere instead, taking aim, getting ready to make the shot if needed. He'd passed his negotiating training, and he knew he could do it, but that didn't make him feel any more comfortable about it.
He spoke to the girl then, asking her if she was okay. She gave a quick nod, scared, tears streaming down her face as she silently cried. Trying not to move too much. "What's your name?" Jensen asked.
"Karen.."
"That's enough!" Luck drew the girl up to him even tighter, the muzzle of the gun sliding from her neck to the side of her head. She let out a whimper at the move and Jensen knew that Luck realized there was no getting out of this. He had cops surrounding him and his only shot was the girl. Luck pointed the gun at Jensen for a second, too unexpected for any of them to act. "Get back! You will move back and let me out of here!"
"I can't do that," Jensen told him, eyes on the gun as Luck once more trained it at the girl's head. "I can't let you go because I don't want to see anyone get hurt."
Luck screamed then. "Nobody is going to get hurt if you get out of here!" he yelled. "Jesus Christ, why can't you people understand that?"
"I do understand, I do, okay?" Jensen took another step backward. "We just want you to let her go, just so that we know she'll be okay. Tell me what you want."
"What I want? What I want is for you fuckin' cops to just let me do my business without chasing me down every five minutes. That'd be a start."
"Then you need to pick a different business, Brian. You know we can't just let the drugs and the guns go unnoticed, right?"
Whatever Luck was about to say next was drowned out by a sudden burst of gunfire. Jensen ducked down, alarmed, his hands coming up over the back of his neck. Luck had lost his grip on the girl and as she ran towards Jensen he managed to recover enough to make a grab for her. He pulled her across to near the wall and saw Luck turning around in a quick circle, his gun raised. He was letting off shots and Jensen quickly lifted his own gun up and took a measured shot. The bullet only grazed over Luck's knuckles, and continued on into the wall behind him. But the sudden pain was enough to make him drop his weapon and Jensen left Karen by the wall, hearing someone running up towards her, and rushed to where Luck was, pushing him down so that he would stay down. He aimed his gun at the back of Luck's head and suggested that he stay where he was.
"You won't kill me," Luck spat out.
Jensen wasn't listening. He had other things to worry about. "What the hell was that? Who fired?"
"Shots were from a third party," Morgan's voice told him. "Not police. I've got Braddock and Kane looking for the source. But we have three men down. One of ours and two officers from precinct."
"One of ours?" Jensen asked, swallowing hard. Don't be Jay, don't fucking be Jay. He felt a hand to his shoulder and stood back while four other police officers took over Luck's arrest, hauling him to his feet and cuffing him. "Sarge?"
Jensen was already turning around, heading quickly for the end of the alley. By the time he reached it he was running. Out on the street it was chaos. There were several patrol cars abandoned in the road and Jensen could see where the fallen officers were, their friends and colleagues gathered around them in small groups, trying to help. He kept going until he got to the command unit, found Morgan outside talking into his phone in urgent tones. He was asking for paramedics, ambulances, and scanning the rooftops the whole time.
"Where's Jay?"
"I'm right here."
Jensen turned, relief flooding him, and had to restrain himself from wrapping his arms around the other man. Then he realized that Jared was holding on to Geek, who had a hand wrapped around his upper arm. Blood was seeping between his fingers.
"Fucking got me," Jared said. "Only just, though. Hurts like a bitch, but I'll live."
"Where was he firing from?"
"I was on the street, just coming out of the building on the left of the alley. Couldn't find a good spot so I wanted to move. Then suddenly all hell breaks loose. It came from higher up, that's all I can say."
"We don't have a chance," Morgan said, flipping his phone shut. "All this? He's gone. Pads, there's an ambulance on the way for you. Grab a seat in the van. Skooch, you and I are going to go with our suspect and ask him a few questions. Geek, stay with Pads until he gets picked up, then head back."
Luck was one of the most uncooperative suspects they'd had in the interrogation room for some time. He answered every question with a 'no comment' and his smug look was grating on Jensen's nerves already. They'd taken a very brief break and Jensen had asked if he could just shoot the son of a bitch right there, though both he and Morgan knew he wasn't serious. He was on edge, too, waiting to find out how Jared was doing. And agitated because Chris and Sam had reported that they hadn't been able to find anything and that one of the other two officers who had been shot had died on the way to the hospital. The other was still in the ER. Someone was targeting cops and they didn't know who, or why.
The fact that Luck was telling them nothing was not making it any easier. After another half hour of fruitless questioning, Morgan decided that Luck could go back to his cell and he and Jensen would take a look at the CCTV footage for a while.
"We should let him friggin' rot and die in there," Jensen muttered, as he took a seat in front of the bank of screens.
"He'll give us something soon. Right now he's still cocky. We'll give him an overnight stay downtown and then we'll speak to him again tomorrow. Maybe he'll have a little more to say to us then."
"Maybe. I get the impression he enjoys watching us squirm. Think he knows something?"
"About Charlie? No, I don't. He likes to think he's the big man and if we let him, he'll probably play us into believing he had something to do with today. But I think he's too small time for that. I think he just provides the tools for the job and doesn't get any more involved than that."
Jensen nodded, hating to think that Morgan was right. That someone was still out there - an unknown factor - and they were no closer to finding out despite having Luck in custody. "How's the girl?"
"She'll be okay. Missing work today, that's for sure, but she'll be all right."
"We heard from Jared yet?"
"Go to the hospital, okay? I'm sure they're about done with him so you might as well go and pick him up. I can do this."
"You want us back on patrol once I've got him?"
"If he's up to it. But we don't need you out there if he isn't. Kane, Braddock and Danov can handle it."
"Thanks, boss." Jensen got up again, patted Morgan's shoulder in thanks, and left him alone with the video.
He picked up a vehicle from the lot downstairs and drove over to the hospital, hoping that Jared would be waiting for him and not still waiting for the doctors. He was. Jensen was only just inside the ER's reception when he heard Jared's voice saying his name. He looked around and found him sitting in one corner, his jacket on the seat beside him, and a thick bandage around his injured arm. There were two young boys sat near him, both staring openly at him. When Jensen came closer their attention shifted to him.
"How's it going?"
Jared grabbed his jacket up and stood, looking relieved. "I'm good. All patched up."
"And?" Jensen prompted, as they walked outside.
"And I'll live. Honestly, Jensen, it didn't go through my arm or anything. Just took out a chunk of skin, is all. Did we get anything out of Luck?"
They were outside now, nearly at the car. Jensen shook his head. "Nothing. And I don't know that he'll give us anything either. You want to stop off at your place for a bit?"
"I just want a drink. Coffee or something. Think the boss'll mind?"
"What he don't know won't hurt him. Come on, we'll go to your apartment and I'll make you some coffee. Then we're heading back. I want to know if Jeff found anything on the CCTV videos."
Jared didn't say anything. They both knew why Jensen wanted to go back to the apartment, why he wanted to be alone with Jared and out of the public. They got there quickly and Jensen parked up in Jared's designated spot. Nobody else seemed to be home in the building and it was almost silent as they headed up the couple of flights of stairs to Jared's place. As soon as the door shut behind them, Jensen pushed Jared back against it and held him there while he kissed him. They didn't breathe for half a minute, intent on the taste of one another, and it was only when Jensen finally let go that they seemed to relax.
Neither of them said anything. They just instinctively knew what didn't need to be heard out loud. Jared kissed him again, then slipped out of his hold and made for the kitchen.
"You want a sandwich while we're here?"
"Sure, why not? Do you want to go back to work or should I phone in and tell Morgan you need some rest?"
Jared turned to look at him from the kitchen doorway, frowning. "No, we'll go back in. I can help with the video, do some paperwork. I'm fine, just a little buzzed with the painkillers. We'll finish our shift and then I promise you can take care of me all you want."
Jensen nodded, followed him into the kitchen. He watched Jared take out a couple of mugs and chewed on his bottom lip. "What if-"
"It didn't."
"What if he'd been a better aim? I'm just starting to-"
"Jen, shut up." Jared turned to face him, looking annoyed. "Just.. Just don't. I'm still here and we're both okay. Nothing's going to happen to us." He pulled open the refrigerator door to get some milk out and Jensen slammed it shut before he could reach in.
"We're not invincible, you idiot. We're not! Anything could have happened today. Shit, anything could happen every time we go outside that front door!"
"Jesus, all right! I get it!"
"Somebody is out there and he's hunting us down, Jared. He's looking for cops and he's killing them. So don't just make light of this and pretend it's not going to happen again, okay?"
Jared was staring at him now. An outburst like that was so unlike Jensen. "Okay," he said, his voice quiet. "Sorry." He opened the refrigerator again and got on with making the coffee in silence, Jensen watching from where he stood. He'd have to tell him, he knew that. He'd have to tell him soon because otherwise Jared was going to think his boyfriend was wrong in the head and he'd lose him. And the surprising thing was that he didn't like the idea of being alone any more. He was too used to this, he guessed.
"Hey," he said, as Jared started pouring out the coffee.
"What?" Jared was still being quiet and Jensen could see from the set of his shoulders that he was still angry.
"I'm sorry too. Can I make it up to you tonight?"
"Make it up to me how? What do you have to make up to me?"
"I'll get takeaway tonight. We can come home and just chill out. I need to talk to you about something anyway."
Jared glanced round at him. "Sounds ominous. You want to give me a hint?"
"We'll talk tonight, okay?" Jensen couldn't face it right then. He wanted to drink his coffee, eat his sandwich, go back to work for a while, make sure that Jared stayed safe throughout the day until it was time to come home again. He wanted to forget about the morning and about the way he'd felt when Morgan had said that someone had been hit. He'd been through this with his brother and that had turned out much worse. He didn't want to go through something like that again.
They drank and ate in silence, Jared slowly becoming less tense. Jensen ran water into the mugs, left them in the bowl for later.
"Ready?"
"Yeah. Let's get back."
Halfway back to work, while Jared was on the phone to Morgan, a call came through on their radio asking for assistance at a possible robbery taking place a few blocks away from where they were. A silent alarm had been set off which had automatically called the police. Jared ended his call and reached for the radio, causing Jensen to look over at him.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"We're responding. C'mon, we're nearly there."
"Like hell, Jay. Look at yourself-"
"Officer Padalecki, SRU team three, we are 10-23."
Jensen shook his head, slapping his hand down on the wheel, and cursed as he put his foot down on the accelerator. Control gave them more details as he drove and they were there in less than a minute. Another unit pulled up alongside them even as Jared was getting out, and the two officers from that car joined them as they headed towards the small store. They were only ten feet away from the door when two people burst out from the doors and continued running. The shorter one sent one of the uniforms to the ground with a strong shove, but Jensen ignored him. His partner would help him. Jared would stop, because he was that kind of a guy. Jensen wasn't. He concentrated instead on getting after the two runners.
He hated this. Not the running; he was a fit guy. He ran regularly, he could chase these men for as long as it took, he was sure. He just hated not knowing what situation he was going to end up running into. And there were people around, since it was still only the middle of the afternoon, so he was yelling at them to move as he ran. It already felt like a rerun of that morning, so when he saw the shorter thief's arm come up, saw the gun in his hand, and heard the shot being fired towards the small group of people outside a coffee shop he didn't hesitate. He stopped and raised his own gun, took a shot.
Somebody outside the coffee shop cried out and Jensen barely registered that one of the women who had been stood there was now on the ground, her friends screaming. He just sprinted to where the shooter lay, his partner bent over him. As Jensen neared them, the young man looked up at him with wild eyes and yelled at him in a voice that was high with fear.
"You shot my brother! What did you do?!"
Jensen crouched down beside them, finally getting a look at the other one's face. He tasted bile in his mouth at the sight. He was just a kid, which was what his brother was now screaming right in Jensen's face. Jensen took his gloves off, felt at the kid's neck for a pulse. The kid's shirt was slick with blood, spreading out and across from his stomach. Jensen used his radio to call for an ambulance, knowing that it was fruitless. The kid was pretty much gone already, thanks to the position of the wound. His skin was discolored and he was shaking continuously, in seizure. But Jensen found himself unable to look away from the kid's face. He looked no older than fourteen.
Fourteen years old and he was about to die. His brother was yelling at Jensen, even as he was pulled away by another uniformed cop, even as his hands were brought behind his back and cuffed together. But Jensen didn't hear it. He didn't hear Jared pounding up behind him, didn't register the hand on his shoulder. Everything seemed oddly muted, except for the kid's labored breathing and the wet sound of his damaged lung pushing out air.
Fourteen years old and Jensen had killed him.
Next episode airs October 27th. x If you haven't yet seen the CAST LIST, check it out! :D