J2 Fic: My Lovely Part 20/?
Title: My Lovely
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 7,133
Warning/spoilers: explicit violence, sexual situations
Disclaimers: I own nothing, this is pure fiction from my crazy mind when I don’t get enough sleep. Please don’t sue and please don’t steal.
Summary: Haunted by the demons of his past, Jensen Ackles moved to the sleepy town of Prairie Hill, Texas hoping to finally escape to a quiet, peaceful life. He had earned it as shown by the numerous battle scars decorating his body. What he finds instead however will require all the training and experience he thought he had left behind him. As he deepens his involvement in the hunt for the monster that stalks residents of the quiet little town, he begins to realize…. he himself has become the prey. As if fighting for his life isn’t enough of a complication, somehow he has gained the unwanted attention and wrath of the richest oil tycoon in Texas, Jared Padalecki. Story has been beta’d by the phenomenal oldbatj. The gorgeous banner was created by 2blueshoes.
Part 20
Interlude: You’re my Hero
Chad nervously tugged at the hem of his deputy’s uniform. Even though he’d served as a deputy in Prairie Hill for the last two months, he still didn’t have a boss or any co-workers. As soon as he’d graduated from the Granville police academy, he’d been placed as the lone deputy in the small community of Prairie Hill. He loved the town. He’d grown up in Prairie Hill, knowing the history and people of the area. He was also familiar with the power of Jared Padalecki. He knew that Padalecki hated cops. The influential tycoon had singlehandedly managed to remove every previous officer from the Prairie Hill police force.
Even though the new deputy knew his time on the force might be limited and most likely he would be faced with future unemployment, Chad hadn’t tried to seek reassignment to another location. He’d always wanted to be a police officer in Prairie Hill. The dream started when he’d been a young boy growing up in his grandmother’s home. He had spent many solitary nights in front of the TV watching cop shows that portrayed the tight familial relationship between partners. As a lonely boy being raised by his absent-minded grandmother, he’d yearned to experience stronger family bonds. His mother had been a teenager when she’d had him. She’d been far more concerned with going to parties than taking care of her newborn. She would have placed him into foster care if his grandmother had not agreed to care for him.
Chad loved his grandmother very much. Growing up, he’d known he wasn’t like other kids. He was being raised by a grandmother in her late sixties, who suffered from many health problems. Even though they’d lived on a fixed income and Chad had often been teased by other kids about his old hand-me-down clothes, he still wouldn’t have traded his beloved grandmother for anyone else. He wasn’t ashamed of his tiny family. But he was lonely. As he matured he didn’t have many friends, and the few that he did have had moved away for college, wanting to experience the city life.
Prairie Hill was home to Chad. He never wanted to leave the town even when he’d had to move his elderly grandmother into a nursing home in Granville. His ultimate dream had always been to become a deputy of the township and to keep the residents safe from harm.
There were times, like today, as he sat at his desk doing paperwork when he doubted himself. He second-guessed decisions he’d made on his patrol, but he had no superior to guide him as he was the lone deputy of the department. The other day when he’d heard that the mayor had recently hired an experienced Sheriff, he’d breathed a sigh of relief. He hoped that the new Sheriff was someone he could get along with and would learn from. He feared that soon his time as a deputy was coming to an end. Once Padalecki heard of a new Sheriff being installed, the powerful tycoon would once again be able to purge the occupants of the Sheriff’s Department. The influential, wealthy man’s hatred for the law enforcement officers was well-known throughout Prairie Hill.
“Deputy Murray? Hello, my name is Jensen Ackles. It’s nice to meet you.” Chad glanced up at the handsome stranger speaking to him. He froze, instinctively knowing that his life was going to change.
+
Working for Jensen was an amazing experience. He was kind, patient and had a great sense of humor. He taught Chad so much more than what Chad had learned as a cadet at the police academy. Although Sheriff Ackles was not an original resident of Prairie Hill, Chad could see how much he loved the town. In the few months since he had arrived, he’d made it a mission to know every single local. He had quickly established trust and popularity among the town folks. Chad knew how difficult that could be, since most Prairie Hill residents tended to be suspicious of strangers. But somehow Jensen had broken through their natural wariness and gained their confidence in him.
The deputy hadn’t expected to be treated as an equal but once again Jensen had surprised him. The older man treated him with respect and listened to his opinions. Chad knew how lucky he was to have Jensen be both his boss and mentor. Aside from their professional relationship, the Sheriff seemed to genuinely care about him. Since the younger man had left his grandmother’s house, no one had taken the time to see how he was doing until Jensen arrived into his life.
“You look sick, Chad.” Jensen said, looking at his deputy’s flushed face.
“I’m just coming down with a cold. It’s nothing serious, Sheriff,” Chad quickly reassured him.
Jensen reached over and placed a hand on Chad’s forehead, startling the young man with his actions.
“You feel like you have a low-grade fever. Take the rest of the day off,” Jensen ordered.
“I feel fine!”
“It wasn’t a request, Murray. I want you home and in bed. We can’t afford to have you becoming seriously ill. Do you understand?”
“Yes, but….”
“Go home, Murray.”
+
“Sheriff Ackles, what are you doing here?” Chad asked, surprised to see Jensen on his front doorstep.
“I wanted to make sure that you had some chicken soup. It’s the best thing for colds.”
“You didn’t have to do that!”
“You need to eat to keep your strength up, Chad. Did you take any cold medication?”
“No,” Chad admitted, casting his eyes downward toward the floor.
“Good thing I brought some over-the-counter meds with me then. Come on… let’s get you back to bed,” Jensen ordered, hustling him toward his bedroom. After watching the young man climb back into bed, the Sheriff left him lying there covered in thick blankets. Sheriff Ackles soon returned with a bowl of hot, steamy chicken soup and a glass of water.
Setting up a makeshift office with his portable office phone and a file full of paperwork, Jensen stayed with Chad through most of the afternoon, making sure that the deputy took his medication and slept. When Chad woke up hours later, his house was empty with a note on his bedside ordering him to stay in bed for the rest of the day. Before Jensen left, he had cleaned up all the dirty dishes that had been left sitting in the sink and had filled Chad’s nearly empty refrigerator with food essentials.
The next day Jensen checked in on him again and continued to do so throughout the weekend. Chad realized that he was experiencing the camaraderie between partners despite Jensen being his boss. The reality of being this man’s deputy had far surpassed his dreams.
Although Jensen refused to talk about himself, Chad had researched his boss’s past. He was astounded to discover Jensen’s highly decorated background as a Federal Agent. At first Chad had wondered why the older man had left such a prestigious position at the Bureau and taken such a low profile job as a small town Sheriff. He had only recently realized that it really didn’t matter. After all, it’s not every day that you get to work with a real life hero. As Chad continued to work with Jensen, watching and learning from him, he realized that Jensen had become not only a good friend of his, but also his hero.
++++++
Los Angeles, California
“AHHHHHHH! You’ve killed him!” Katie screamed.
“I shot him in the shoulder, he’ll live. But if you keep screaming, I’ll put a bullet in you next,” Hartnett snarled at the shrieking secretary. He narrowed his brown eyes at the traitorous bastard collapsed on the carpeted floor. A steady stream of blood was leaking from Michael Rosenbaum’s bullet wound.
“Tell me about James Marsters,” Hartnett ordered.
“Who’s James Marsters? Never heard of him…” Rosenbaum lied with stony defiance.
Josh promptly shot him in the right calf, causing Rosenbaum to howl out in pain.
“I have a full clip in this Glock plus two more clips in my pocket. If you don’t start answering my questions, I’m just going to keep putting more holes in your body. I got all day.” Hartnett stated matter-of-factly.
“Are you insane? You’re a FBI agent!” Katie yelled, making a move toward her fallen lover.
“Stay where you are, Cassidy. Take another step and I will put you down. As far as I’m concerned, you’re just as guilty as he is of betraying the Bureau and working for the Angel Killer,” Josh warned the suddenly ashen-faced secretary, his eyes moving between the two lovers.
“Angel Killer?! I have no idea what you’re talking about! That monster is dead!” Cassidy declared.
But Josh wasn’t watching her anymore. His eyes remained focused on Rosenbaum’s face. The Federal Agent kept his face expressionless when Hartnett brought up Marsters’s name. That in itself was a clue.
“I know how weak you are. You’re eventually going to break. Let’s save all of us some time and trouble and tell me what you know...” Hartnett addressed Rosenbaum as he walked carefully toward Kate Cassidy. He motioned her to turn around and used his handcuffs to secure her wrists behind her back while carefully keeping a close eye on the bleeding man who was lying on the floor a few feet away from them.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. You are in deep shit, discharging a loaded weapon and injuring a Federal Agent. If anyone is in trouble, it’s you,” Michael sneered.
“What injured Federal Agent? I only see two dead ones.” Hartnett replied menacingly.
+++++++
Prairie Hill, Texas
“What the Hell happened? It’s been two fucking hours! Five more minutes and I would’ve called McNally...” Aldis screamed into his phone.
“I was getting information,” Hartnett replied his voice sounding distracted.
“Was it worth scaring five years of my life away? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I got a lead. Turns out Michael Rosenbaum was part of a smaller group of traitorous Federal Agents that were working with the Angel Killer.”
“You gotta be fucking kidding me!” Aldis snarled, rage flowing through his body.
“No, I’m not. Jensen was right… there was a leak in the FBI. It turns out to be a bigger leak than he realized however. These fucking assholes have been working against him for years. That would explain why fucking Marsters seemed to be two steps ahead of us the whole time. Because he had fucking rats in the Bureau spying for him.”
“Did Rosenbaum have any information on Jensen’s whereabouts? How about their secret hideout? Anything?”
“In interrogating Rosenbaum, it became obvious that he’s just a peon in the organization. He couldn’t give me information on Jensen. However, he was able to give me the names of the Federal Agents who are working with him.”
“Give me the names.”
“Sebastian Roche, Osric Chau and A.J. Buckley.”
“These names sound familiar...” Hodge replied as he quickly punched the names into the computer.
“They should be. Each one of these fuckers is in a key role in the Bureau. Roche is the head of the crime laboratories that process all our evidence. Chau works in the Information and Technology department while Buckley is head of our evidence archives,” Hartnett explained.
“We need to set up surveillance of these guys to figure out what they know,” Aldis pointed out.
“There’s no time for that. The time clock on Jensen is running out. I’ll make every one of them talk. One of them must know something worthwhile,” Josh growled.
“What do you mean ‘make every one of them talk’? How were you able to get Rosenbaum to talk? I thought the Angel Killer followers were loyal to him to a point of religious fanaticism,” Hodge questioned.
“Everyone has their own pain threshold,” Hartnett scoffed.
“Tell me that Rosenbaum is not dead,” Aldis pleaded.
“Of course he’s not dead... Death would have been over too quickly for someone like him. He needs to suffer for the crimes he committed against the Bureau… and against Jensen,” Josh snarled, his eyes narrowed with anger.
“Where is he?” Hodge asked sharply.
“Don’t worry about him because I’m not going to tell you.”
“What are you planning? Don’t do anything stupid. You know Jensen wouldn’t want you to get arrested.”
“Jensen’s not here, is he? Don’t pretend you wouldn’t do the same thing if you were in my position. If we don’t get some Intel on Jensen’s location soon, he won’t be coming back alive. You know this, Hodge.”
Aldis remained silent. Hartnett could hear the sounds of him furiously typing away on his keyboard. “You’re right. Out of the three names you gave me, I think you need to focus on Roche first. He’s in charge of processing evidence, so he most likely tampered with evidence associated with the Angel Killer. That may put him high in the Marsters’s organization.
I hacked into the Bureau’s computer system for the LA division. Roche clocked in for work today according to the badge scanner. Unless you plan to talk to him at the Bureau, there’s no easy way to get him to leave the building.”
“I’ll find a way to talk to Roche. If I don’t get anything substantial, I’ll work my way down the list.”
“I hope you know what you are doing. If you need anything….”
“I won’t be calling you. You’ll have plausible deniability.”
“Bull-fucking-shit! You are part of our team. If you go down… we all fucking go down together. After you talk to Roche, you call me... Understand?” Hodge snarled at him.
Hartnett smiled, a warm foreign feeling spread throughout his body. He was beginning to truly feel like part of their team. This was however the first time he’d heard someone besides Jensen refer to him as part of their group. He realized that he liked hearing it. For years he’d always worked alone, not liking to depend on anyone. But now it felt good to know that someone wanted to back him up.
Jensen had repeatedly told him to open himself up to the team, how ironic that Josh finally understood his words of wisdom.
“I’ll call you because if I don’t, Jensen will have my ass,” Hartnett promised.
“You’re damned right he will! He’s coming home. Now go kick some ass,” Hodge ordered.
Josh disconnected the phone call, glancing down at his bloodstained clothes. He had to wash up and change his outfit before heading back to the Bureau. Then he had some hunting he needed to do.
+++++++
“You really think your drugs will loosen my lips and make me tell you about the Prophet of the Lord?” The pretend priest sneered at Felicia. The two opponents sat across from each other in the interrogation room.
The red-headed woman remained silent, waiting for the cocktail of chemical substances that she’d injected into Luke Anderson to work. The drugs had been developed by US military and CIA. They used the chemical concoctions on terrorists to extract vital information from them. Anderson had no chance of keeping his secrets to himself under the influence of the powerful drugs.
She watched him twist and struggle against the handcuffs that were fastened to the table that sat between them. Beads of sweat dripped down his face and neck, signaling to Felicia that the drugs had started to take effect.
“Is James Marsters the man you consider to be the Prophet of the Lord?” She asked, carefully observing Anderson’s face and body.
She watched the man physically and mentally struggle within himself, trying to remain silent. It was a fruitless battle since the drugs coursing through his system were a powerful influence that would soon force him to talk.
“Yes….” He muttered before he cursed himself.
“Do you know where Jensen Ackles is being held?”
“No.” Anderson shouted.
“If you had to guess, where do you believe he is being held?”
Again Anderson fought to remain silent. He suddenly slammed his head repeatedly on the steel top table. With a sudden bang the door instantly crashed into the wall as Padalecki burst into the room, grabbing the man and forcing him upright and back into his seat. Day quickly grabbed a roll of duct tape she had in her bag to wrap around Anderson’s torso and the back of the seat, locking him into the chair.
Without any hesitation, Padalecki slammed his right fist into Anderson’s solar plexus, momentarily quelling the man’s tussling.
“Inject more of that stuff into this bastard! He’s resisting too much. We don’t have all day with this Asshole,” Jared snarled at Felicia.
“If I give him too much, he may lose consciousness and die,” Day argued.
“We need information now! The dose you gave him was not enough.” Padalecki growled before grabbing the man’s throat to stop his struggles against his new bonds. He tightened his grip even further over the man’s windpipe with each move Anderson made until he was totally cutting off his oxygen supply. Within moments, their prisoner remained still in order to maintain some degree of breathing.
“Since you’re too chicken shit, I’m going to use other means to make him talk.” Padalecki warned before suddenly producing a switchblade and jamming it deeply into Anderson’s right shoulder causing the man to howl in pain.
“Are you fucking crazy?!” Felicia yelled, surprised at Jared’s brutal actions. The tycoon ignored her and focused on his prey.
Gripping the man’s hair, Jared asked calmly near his ear, “Where would Jensen be held if you had to guess?”
“Our headquarters….” Anderson groaned as tears streamed down his cheeks. He wanted to die. His Lord had bestowed on him an important mission. Not only had he failed but he was betraying their secrets to the enemies.
“Where is your headquarters located?” The powerful tycoon asked, his fingers never once losing their grasp on the man’s hair. His hazel eyes bored into the tortured brown eyes, daring the man to defy his demand. When the man hesitated, Padalecki twisted the knife, pushing it deeper still into the flesh.
His harsh cries caused Day to wince in sympathy. However she continued to watch the scene in front of her, never once interfering with the tycoon interrogation tactics with Peterson. She knew that Jensen’s life was at stake. There was no room for backing out if some blood was spilled by the suspect. The phony priest was no innocent. He was heavily involved with a murderous, deranged madman that led a dangerous religious cult.
“It’s inside an Oregon mountain. It’s hidden from plain view.” Anderson cried out. The big man instantly released his grip of the knife, causing Anderson to breathe a silent sigh of relief.
“How do you get there?” Jared growled.
“You drive part of the way, and then hike for miles until you get to the entrance,” Anderson quickly muttered when Padalecki’s fingers touched the handle of the knife.
“What does the entrance look like? Any landmarks?” Felicia pressed.
When Anderson didn’t answer fast enough, Padalecki deliver a swift punch to Anderson’s ribs, causing the man to gasp for breath. “Don’t know…my head was covered with a dark pillowcase each time I was taken there,” Anderson replied quickly, getting Padalecki’s silent message. Cooperate or suffer the consequences.
“Who took you?” Padalecki demanded.
“A true believer...”
“What’s the name of the person who took you to the secret location?” The tycoon snapped as he moved in closer still, causing Anderson to tremble in fear.
“Mary Winchester.”
“What name will we know her as?” Felicia shrewdly prodded.
“Samantha Smith.”
“Oh…Fuck.” Felicia breathed, stunned by the revelation.
“What is it? How do you know her?” Jared demanded from the red-head. However his eyes remained fixed on Anderson’s face, never once taking his attention away from his prey.
“Samantha Smith was Jensen’s lead doctor when he was recovering from his ordeal with the Angel Killer. She was the surgeon who operated on his knee several times.”
“Did she fuck him up even more?!” Jared snarled, hazel eyes glaring at Anderson.
“No! Jensen is the Warrior of God! Mary was sent to heal him in order for him to prepare for the coming war. He is our savior. The last thing we want to do is harm him.” The fake priest replied quickly, terrified of pissing the big man off even further.
“What do you mean Jensen is your ‘savior’?” Padalecki questioned, not liking the idea of a group of religious zealots chasing after his Lovely because of their demented ideology.
“He is destined to save us all. He is our Warrior, our Sword, our Light as it was foretold by the Prophet from the Lord.” The fake priest recited. The words seemed to calm him down, taking his mind away from the physical pains of his body.
“If he is your savior, why did you torture him?” Felicia asked mildly her voice not betraying her seething emotions for the man.
“It was a test. Only the true Warrior of God would have successfully survived the trials.”
“Marsters did not torment and slaughter all those people to find some holy warrior! He did it because he’s a malicious, murderous bastard that thrives on misery and pain,” Felicia snapped, losing her patience.
“You are not the Chosen. I do not need to explain myself to you,” Anderson scoffed.
“As the Warrior of God, how is Jensen going to save you? Jared questioned, barely sparing Day a glance. His entire focus was on the man who might have the answers in finding his Lovely.
“He will lead the army of the Chosen against the army of Darkness in the coming Apocalypse. Those that are the true believers will rise in God’s grace.”
“The Army of Darkness is led by whom?” Padalecki continued to push, knowing that he wouldn’t like the answer.
“The Anti-Christ. The warrior of God will battle this demon spawn, bringing a great war to earth. Once the warrior has defeated the great evil, he will sacrifice his own life for those that are chosen so that they will be able to rise to Heaven. The doomed will perish in Hell on earth.”
“Sacrifice his life?! Over my fucking dead body!!” The powerful tycoon snarled before yanking out the knife lodged in Anderson’s shoulder and plunging it into the man’s right thigh instead.
+++++++
Unknown location
Jensen stared into the face of his worst nightmares. Red demented eyes met his gaze, a smile spread across the monster’s face. This was the first time Jensen had seen the Angel Killer without a mask covering the killer’s face. Studying the face and eyes more closely the Sheriff realized that the big man in the black mask, he had previously assumed was the Angel Killer, was most likely just a minion closely following James Marsters’s orders.
Marsters must have seen the comprehension on his face. The sick bastard gave him a smirk. “Although I, myself, never personally tested you during your previous stay, I was there every single moment. The voice you heard was mine. It was filtered through a microphone that Tom was wearing. Only the worthy are allowed in my presence.”
“Tom was your underling that tortured me last time? He must have worn red contacts underneath his black mask.”
“Yes, he did. For safety issues, I have several disciples represent me when they are testing their candidates. Tom’s death was felt deeply by us all. But it was for a worthy cause.”
“You think I’m worthy?” Jensen asked, subtly testing the manacles that were wrapped around his wrists and ankles. He lay on a thin mattress, locked in a cell similar to the previous one he’d escaped from. But he knew it wasn’t the same room. There were several minor differences in the prison’s structure.
“I was born different with my red eyes and pale skin. I was abandoned as a baby and grew up in a series of orphanages. Due to my physical appearance, I was never adopted. My childhood was full of loneliness and abuse, most children were afraid of me, I was constantly being bullied. My guardians hardly paid attention to me nor did they care even enough to stop the beatings from other children or adults. But that wasn’t my greatest hardship. When I turned thirteen, I began suffering from infrequent violent seizures that threatened my life. Each one I had caused small tears in my brain. These seizures occurred throughout my teen years. The small tears soon developed into internal bleeding. Although my doctors and custodians viewed these seizures as a curse, I saw them as a gift. Each attack I had, I was gifted with a vision from God. One was a vision of you.”
“Me?” Jensen scoffed his voice full of disbelief.
“In a series of images, God told me His plan. It took me a while before I could decipher His message.”
“And what was the message?”
“I can see in your face that you do not believe me, my Jensen. But I know where you are coming from. You feel that God has abandoned you like your family and friends... But He hasn’t. He has a plan for you.”
“And you know this great plan because the Lord speaks to you?”
“The Lord speaks to all of us. It is up to us to listen to Him. There is a great war coming as it has been foretold. The signs have already come to pass.”
“What is this great war?”
“Stop playing coy, my Jensen. You are quite aware of what war I speak of…” Marsters snapped at the Sheriff.
Without missing a beat, Jensen responded, “You are talking about the Apocalypse. I still don’t see how I fit into your plan.”
“It is God’s plan, Jensen. Not mine.”
“Let me guess, you think I’m the Messiah. Sorry to burst your bubble but you got the wrong crippled guy,” Jensen snarked, unable to contain his feelings toward the demented serial killer any longer. He knew he had to tread lightly for his continued survival. But he was not that same weakened person who had escaped. No longer would he allow himself to remain a passive victim. If he was going to die, he was going down swinging.
“You are not the Messiah, Jensen.”
“I’m glad you know that.”
“You’re God’s Sword.”
Jensen gave him a blank look. He remained silent, knowing that although Marsters’s appeared to want to have an open dialogue with him, the dangerous man was still unpredictable. Jensen didn’t know how he would react if he was challenged the maniac’s religious ideology.
“God gave me a message that He wanted his flock to know. The end is coming. He had chosen His warrior. Yet it was up to us, the Chosen, to find this protector as the protector remained clueless about their own true destiny.”
“Is that why you kidnapped, tortured and murdered all those victims?”
“We had to test each possible candidate to determine if he or she was truly the Warrior of God. All of them failed because they were impostors.”
“No, they were not frauds since they never claimed to be your so-called Warrior of God in the first place. You picked them!” Jensen snarled unable to hide his contempt.
But he was surprised by Marsters’s reaction. The red-eyed man bowed his head, agreeing with the Sheriff. “I’m human. I make mistakes. No one is perfect but God. There was no easy way to identify the warrior. Only through a series of trials would the chosen emerge. Sacrifices had to be made for the greater good. What is the life of a few dozen over the loss of millions of souls?”
“You tortured them for weeks. Hell… you nearly killed me.”
“I didn’t nearly kill you, my Jensen. I killed you. You died for seven minutes. Then you were resurrected….by God. ”
++++++
West of Grants Pass, Oregon
1 mile south of the Rogue River
“Is there any more information other than the location being in a damned mountain? There are a lot of fucking mountains in Oregon,” Chris asked, his eyes already staring at the map.
“Anderson had his head covered each time he was escorted to the location. We are currently chasing down a potential lead that he gave us. A woman named Mary Winchester, who was Jensen’s former surgeon, was involved in Anderson’s transportation to the site. We knew her as Doctor Samantha Smith,” Hodge replied.
“Mother fucking Christ. His doctor?! Goddamnit! Marsters had eyes on him the whole fucking time! Even when he escaped, the Asshole was still watching him. The only time the Angel Killer probably didn’t have eyes on him was when he started living with Padalecki,” Kane replied, anger and distress clearly evident in his voice. He was furious at how his friend’s privacy had been completely violated by the sadistic murderer for years. “The damned rich tycoon had his place swept twice a day for ‘bugs’.”
“Every four hours,” Hodge corrected.
“What?!? Four hours? Shit. He is paranoid,” Kane replied, admiring the tycoon’s tenacity at protecting his lover.
“Yup, he used a different team each time. The man was overly cautious when it came to Jensen’s safety,” Aldis admitted sardonically.
“Sounds like you trust him.”
“When it’s about Jensen’s safety, I do. That’s why I sent him with Felicia Day chasing down Mary Winchester. I know he will get the job done.”
“Felicia Day is an old colleague of Jensen’s, isn’t she? Do you trust her?”
“No. But she will be with Padalecki so I’m not too concerned.”
“Why do you not trust Day?”
“The same reason that you don’t either….because she was the one who sent Jensen to Prairie Hill. Then a few months later dead bodies started popping up. Either that’s one hell of a coincidence or she’s somehow linked with the Angel Killer and his crazy followers.”
“She’s hiding secrets that I agree with. But I don’t exactly buy that she’s connected with the Angel Killer,” Kane argued.
“Are you willing to bet Jensen’s life on it?” Aldis countered.
“Hell no!”
“Then we are in alignment.”
“Of course... You know best.” Kane replied.
“Not always. Jensen wouldn’t be missing if that was true.”
“Hodge…none of this was your fault.”
“Jensen trusted me. If I had just told him to be careful…”
“He still would have done the exact same damn thing. When he thinks his people are in trouble, he runs straight into the fire for them. We both know he considers Padalecki as one of his own. News of Padalecki getting injured would have especially caused Jensen to throw caution to the wind and rush to be with him,” Kane explained quietly to his friend. He knew how much Aldis was hurting. They were all hurting, still trying to recover from Stephen’s horrible death. But when Jensen was ‘taken’ right underneath their noses, it was a devastating blow for them.
“I know how Jensen is when it comes to us, his family. What I can’t forgive is that I failed in anticipating that fucking Marsters also knew that about Jensen. Even if we don’t want to acknowledge this fact, the Angel Killer understands Jensen. He knows everything about him.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Hodge. If Marsters truly understood who Jensen Ackles is, he would’ve killed him a long time ago. Instead, he took Jensen because in his deranged mind, he thinks he can brainwash Jensen into becoming his perfect little soldier. He has no real fucking idea who he’s truly dealing with.”
“Kane….”
“I don’t want you to blame yourself because not only is that stupid and a waste of time, but Jensen would kick your ass.”
“For once you are right,” Aldis snarked to his good friend.
“I knew one of these days I would be right!” Kane crowed, causing Hodge to chuckle.
“There’s something that’s still bugging me though...” Aldis admitted.
“What do you mean?” Chris asked.
“I feel like we’re missing something…some important clue …and I don’t know what. It’s frustrating because I know that if Jensen was here, he would’ve figured it out.”
“Let’s just focus on getting Jensen home. We can worry about everything else later.”
“Agreed. I just hope this doesn’t bite us in the ass later on,” Hodge concurred grudgingly.
“Knowing our luck, it probably will,” Kane pointed out.
+++++++
Unknown location
“So I died for seven fucking minutes after you drowned me. Repeatedly. What’s the big deal?” Jensen asked. However he had a sneaking suspicion why Marsters was obsessed with the number.
“There are symbolic numbers in the Holy Bible that God has given man to follow. The number forty has always symbolizes testing such as Noah’s flood, Israel's wandering in the wilderness, Moses' stay on Mount Sinai, and Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. Therefore our trials for the candidates lasted for 40 days.”
“You always return the victims after 40 days.” Jensen stated, remembering the faces of the dead victims from their crime scene and dump site photographs.
“Yes, because they had failed the trials. We knew that the Warrior of God would die and be resurrected in seven minutes.”
“That’s why you kept drowning me. You wanted to see how long you can keep me dead before I came back alive! Why the Hell was seven minutes so damn important?” Jensen snarled, flashing back to the multiple times that the evil man had drowned him. The fear, agony, and then blessed darkness only to be reawakening minutes later, coughing out water, blood, and desperate tears. He had died so many times; his mind and soul as well as his body were broken by the experience. But to discover all his suffering was for an elusive goal of seven minutes infuriated him. So many people were tortured and killed over an impossible goal. If everything the Angel Killer told him was the truth, then he was extremely lucky not to have suffered any brain damage.
“Seven is the number of perfection. God rested on the seventh day, Paul the Apostle listed seven gifts of the Spirit and Jesus spoke seven utterances from the cross. The number seven is prominent in the apocalyptic Book of Revelation, in which there are seven seals, seven churches and many other signs numbering seven. As such, we knew that our final test, the Cleansing, would last for seven minutes.” Marsters intoned.
“So all the whippings, electrocution, starvation, mental torture were foreplay?” Jensen snarled, refusing to flinch, firmly pushing his horrific memories to the back of his mind. He could not afford to lose concentration and become lost to the terrors of the past. He needed to remain focused on the present in order to stop the insane monster that stood in front of him. He had a feeling that his recapture was only a small part of the master plan that Marsters was building inside his mind. In order to fully uncover Marsters’s plans, Jensen had to approach the man differently.
“I know that you are angry, my Jensen. But you had to prove to us that you were worthy…that you are the foretold Warrior that would save us in the Great War. There were many impostors. The devil always comes in different shapes and sizes to fool you.
All potential warriors underwent a series of trials. The first was strength and willpower. Many have failed this first trial but not you. Your will was unbreakable….no matter the amount of physical pain that you suffered. As you were able to overcome your physical injuries by using your mental capacity to endure the pain and not let it consumed you, you pass the second trial. Mental strength and iron will. The third trial was based on your morals and ethics and how truly you believed in them. Would you forsake your own life in order to save a life of another?”
“Kristen….” Jensen muttered, remembering the other victim that he was trapped with for a few hours before her brutal death. They were strapped to chairs with a bucket of water hanging over their heads. Both of them were severely dehydrated, having been deprived of the precious liquid for several days. They were both given an option for gaining access to the water, the price being the pain and probable death of the other person. Jensen chose to remain thirsty while Kristen chose herself.
“Again you passed the third trial. No one has ever passed this trial. It is against human nature to save a stranger at the expense of their own life. The final test was the Cleansing.”
“When you killed me...” Jensen stated coldly.
“I freed you.” Marsters corrected. “Did you not remember what you told me? You heard God’s voice. He gave you a message.”
Jensen remained silent. He remembered thinking after the fourth drowning when he woke up on the cold cement floor, coughing up water and fighting for his breath that he couldn’t survive another experience like that one. He knew that the Angel Killer wanted something from him, but he couldn’t figure out exactly what. As he felt big arms wrapping around his torso, dragging him up from the ground, he yelled out ‘God’ and immediately felt how still the man in the black mask stood. He suddenly had a realization of what the Angel Killer had wanted from him.
“Yes….it’s not something you forget.” Jensen muttered, trying to keep his face blank from expressions. He kept his eyes on Marsters; he did not want the murderer to suspect that he was lying about his past experience with God. He was aware of his vulnerable position. One wrong move could set the unpredictable man off.
“I know you still don’t believe. But you will soon. You will not be able to deny the truth. He’s coming…..”
“Who?”
“The one you are destined to fight. Everything you went through was to prepare you for the final battle against the Dark Lord. It will be up to you if we rise or fall. You do not need any distractions. You need to focus on the coming War.”
Jensen narrowed his eyes and snarled, “By ‘distractions’ you better not be talking about hurting my family and friends.”
“I would never hurt your family and friends,” The Angel Killer promised but Jensen immediately knew the monster was lying. Helpless rage consumed him as he fought to keep his animosity and antagonism from being reflected on his face. He closed his eyes, trying to control his rising emotions. Marsters was right about one thing, it was up to him to save all his loved ones.
When he had first awoken to his worst nightmare, he didn’t know how he was going to survive. His heart had been racing inside his chest, fear poured out of every fiber of his being. But once he’d heard even a hint of threat made toward his family, everything changed. He was no longer afraid. His mind focused on one objective. He was going to stop this monster before Marsters could hurt anyone else that Jensen loved. He was not going to let any more of his family become victims of the Angel Killer. The thought of Jared, Elizabeth or any more of his friends or family getting hurt caused him to seethe with murderous rage. He would keep fighting with the last breath in his body in order to protect his family.
++++++
Prairie Hill, Texas
Chad had gotten a call from the receptionist at Padalecki Incorporated. Someone had left sealed box at their front desk with no return address. Usually the receptionist would alert one of Padalecki’s security men. But since the majority of the bodyguards were in Oregon involved in the search or were safeguarding the family estate, the administrator called the local sheriff department.
The blond deputy didn’t call Aldis or asked for backup. He didn’t want to alarm the Federal Agent in case it was a hoax. He knew how much pressure Aldis was putting on himself and he worried for the man’s health. But he knew if he shown any concerns over Hodge’s wellbeing, he would immediately anger the Agent. Therefore he had given the surly man a quick kiss on his forehead before leaving for patrol. He had sauntered out the room, chuckling at Aldis’s shocked yet aroused expression on his face. In hindsight he should’ve kissed the man on the lips.
One of Padalecki’s men named DJ was accompanying him on his patrol. The quiet man also followed Chad when they entered the office building. They approached the box that was sitting innocently on table. Chad had requested that everyone had evacuated from the building as well as having all the previous videos from the security cameras transferred to the Sheriff’s department computers as a precaution.
“Should we notify the bomb squad?” DJ asked.
“I don’t think that’s necessary.” Chad replied, carefully examining the box at different angles.
“If you don’t think it’s such a danger, than why evacuated the building?”
“It was a precaution. I didn’t want to potentially endanger anyone.”
“But you think it’s okay to endanger us?!” DJ exclaimed.
“Pretty much.” Chad retorted, pulling out his pocket knife as the bodyguard groaned.
“What are you doing? I don’t think you should open that box!” DJ hissed when he noticed the deputy sliding the blade through the clear tape sealing the lid of the box. Once the adhesive was cut, Chad carefully pulled the top of the box open. When he looked inside, he paled.
“It’s a fucking bomb isn’t it?” DJ whispered.
“RUN!” Chad yelled before desperately shoving the man towards the main doors.
00:05
But Chad knew it was too late. The timer on the bomb was clicking down too rapidly for them to make it to safety.
00:04
They still ran toward the door, fighting for a chance to survive.
00:03
He made sure that he was directly behind DJ. Hopefully when the bomb went off, his body will offer some protection for the bodyguard.
00:02
He should’ve given Aldis a big kiss on those inviting lips….
00:01
When they passed through the glass doors of the office building, Chad started to hope that maybe they did had enough time….
00.00
When the bomb went off, Chad didn’t even remember hearing the deafening roar of the explosion. Instead he felt the intense, searing pain of the blast-furnace, scorching heat that engulfed his body, burning through the skin of his back and legs. The massive force of the blast propelled his body forward, slamming him onto the parking lot fifty feet away. His last conscious thought was of Aldis….and of the odor of his own burning flesh.
+++++++
Author’s Note 1: Thank you, thank you, thank you times infinity and beyond to my good friend, oldbatj! She really whipped this part into amazing shape! Thank you for your unending support, humor and friendship. I am so blessed to have you in my life!
Author’s Note 2: I really hope you enjoy reading the big reveals for this part! I still have a few more tricks in my sleeves. If you want to know more and/or to make my day brighter…please comment!!! ☺