Choices (Part Three)
Title: Choices
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: NC-17 for violence and overall themes.
Word Count: 25K+
Warning: Slavery, mentions of past rape, past non-con/dub-con, torture,
Summary: Jensen Ackles was a man on the run. Sure, his name was revered by the Sentient Android Rights Movement, but he was just another face in a sea of J-N_S56s. He had won his freedom in a court of law, but his previous Mistress and Master cared little for the law. Jensen had been on the run for almost ten years and he'd stayed free because he was smart and kept to himself.
When Jensen met Jared, he tossed him out the door as soon as he could. Jared wasn't pushed away so easily though. Jared came back but unfortunately, so did Jensen's former mistress. On the run with Jared at his side, Jensen struggles with his emotions, and the fear that his programming might be taking over. Jared is far more tempting than anything Jensen has ever faced. How can he keep them both safe when he's fighting with himself while on the run from the people who want to put him back in a gilded cage?
**
Two hours later, Jensen pulled up to the back lot of the nature reserve. There was no one there. It was a small town and they didn’t have the manpower to patrol the parks unless something was called in so Jensen relaxed as he pulled up.
“This is not what I expected when you said you were getting another car,” Jared said as Jensen stepped out of the truck.
“I like trucks,” Jensen said with a smirk.
“And the RV behind it?”
“I know of an old RV park out in the woods. Barely anyone goes out there. It’s a half day back the way we came. I figure we should dump the car in the lake. No one will find it, but if they do it will lead them away from us. You got everything we needed?”
Jared smiled. “Yeah. I think I did. Let’s get moving.”
It took them an hour to get everything in the RV and then to get the car into the lake.
“Ready to go?” Jared asked as he stepped over to the passenger side of the truck.
“Yeah, but why don’t you stay in back?” Jensen said. “Put up some of the things you bought and get some sleep. When I get too tired I’ll stop and let you drive. If we do this just right, we should be hiding this baby away in the woods come morning.”
“You don’t think anyone will miss this?”
“I got both of these from a storage lot of a dealer that’s barely in business. Changed the license plates on my way over. Should take some time before anyone realizes what happened.”
“You know an awful lot about this place, Jensen.”
“Lived here about six months,” he said as he opened the truck door. “We can talk more when we get settled. Let’s move out.”
Jared didn’t argue and Jensen started truck up to take them away.
Being alone at night never bothered Jensen. As much company as he’d had before, the solitude was a comfort to him. It was a choice he made, a decision to keep his body and his time his own. As he pulled onto the state route and left the small town behind him, he felt something different.
He didn’t want to think about Jared in the back, putting groceries away and finding a place for the clothes he’d bought. He didn’t want to think about how comfortable he’d become with Jared in the shotgun, or Jared driving while he half dozed in the front. He didn’t want to think that what he felt was less like blessed solitude and more like loneliness.
**
Jensen drove through the night. His thoughts wouldn’t rest and he knew if he pulled over and switched placed with Jared, he wouldn’t fall asleep. He decided one of them should be alert the next day so instead of waking Jared, he drove on.
The light broke through the clouds just as Jensen found the turn off to the park. They were in a large forest with plenty of coverage. Jensen had stumbled on the place when he’d been on the run. He’d gotten free from another kidnapping attempt but he’d had to leave with nothing but the clothes on his back. It wasn’t his best day. When he’d come across a trailer, but as he’d contemplated stealing from them, the old man that lived there had offered him a welcome and food. It was a fond memory. One of his few that didn’t end poorly.
Jensen pulled the truck down an old road that led deeper into the forest. The road was barely more than a dirt trail but Jensen remembered the way well. Closer to the road were the usual grounds but there was a private lot that was never rented out. The old man had told Jensen once, if he ever needed a place to get away, he could come back.
Jensen never intended to step foot there again, but things changed.
Jensen parked the truck and trailer when he found the camp site he wanted. It was well covered by trees and sat beside a small river. He got out of the truck and went to the site’s monitors. He punched in the passcode the old man had given him and crossed his fingers it all still worked. Jensen felt the power turn on around him and he let out a relieved breath.
Jensen got the trailer hooked up with the site’s accommodations before he finally walked to the door of the trailer. He could hear Jared as he moved around. He stood outside for a few moments before he got the nerve to go inside.
The inside of the trailer was luxurious. Jensen had planned on taking one of the smaller models but this one had been closest to the gates and the easiest to get his truck hooked up to. To the right of the door was a set of three steps that led up into a small living room with a large screen TV and leather couches that reclined back. In front of him was the kitchen with a small island counter. Beyond that was the small dinette set, perfect for two. On the other side was a bathroom with a shower, and then the bedroom.
Jared smiled at him as he turned away from the stove and saw Jensen. “Breakfast?” Jared asked.
Jensen looked past him to the bedroom but Jared touched his arm and drew his attention away. “Food first. Then sleep. Since you didn’t wake me to drive, the least I can do is feed you before you pass out.”
“If you insist.”
Jared pushed him over towards the table and Jensen went willingly. A glass of orange juice was set down and a moment later Jared brought over two plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.
“You get everything we needed last night?” Jensen asked as he sipped the juice. “We can drive to town if we need anything before we get too settled in here.”
Jared shook his head. “I think I got most of what we need. You’ll have to check after you get some sleep.”
“Everything okay back here during the drive?”
“Yeah. To be honest, I slept through most of it. Once we got on the road and I got our stuff put away, I crashed. I didn’t wake up until about an hour ago. Everything okay up front?” Jared asked as he ate.
“Yeah. Too much in my head to sleep last night. Probably a good thing. We should take shifts keeping watch for a few days, just to make sure nothing followed us here.”
Jared nodded. “I can do that.” They ate quietly for a few minutes. When Jared finished he took the plates to the sink and then sat back down at the table. “After you wake up, you should let me check your knee and shoulder.”
“They’re fine, Jared.”
“They should be. I do damn good work, but I’d like to double check.”
Jensen thought about fighting with Jared about it but decided he didn’t have the energy.
“Fine. I’m going to grab one of those reclining chairs and get some z’s then.”
“The bed, Jensen.”
“It’s yours.”
“It’s ours and it’s currently empty. Go stretch out and get some sleep. I’ll be outside, keeping an eye on things. There are some sweatpants in the top right drawer of the dresser in the bedroom for you to sleep in. I uh … unpacked most of your stuff last night too.”
Jensen gave him a curious look and Jared blushed. “You weren’t the only one with too much to think about. It helped me get my head clear. Now, go sleep. I’m going to take care of the dishes while you pass out.”
“Fine. But I’ll take care of lunch.”
Jared smiled. “Damn straight you will.”
**
They settled into an easy routine after that. Jensen stayed up through the nights since his vision was better than a human’s and he could rely on his other senses keep watch in the darkness. When Jared woke, he made breakfast and they ate together, then Jensen went to sleep. Jensen set his internal alarms to wake him in time to cook lunch. They spent the afternoon and early evening together. Sometimes they explored the forest around them. They played cards with a deck Jared had found left behind at another camp site when he’d gone for a long walk. Jensen tinkered with the site and Jared tried his hand at fishing. He surprised Jensen with his ability but Jared said he’d always liked outdoor living.
What they didn’t do was talk about what had happened. About what would happen if they were caught together.
“We need to go get some more things,” Jared said when Jensen finished clean up from lunch. They’d been at the site for a week and a half and their groceries were getting thin.
“We can make a run into town today if you’d like,” Jensen said as he looked around the trailer.
It didn’t take long before they were on the road. Jared was quiet but Jensen didn’t ask what was on his mind. It was too much like inviting questions into his own thoughts. He could read the tension in the other man’s shoulders though. As much as Jensen wanted to sooth it with his hands, he couldn’t.
They’d had enough time together that Jensen knew it wasn’t just programming that made him watch Jared the way he did. The guy was easy enough on the eyes, but more than that, he laughed with his whole body. When he stepped out of the trailer in the morning, he turned his face up to the sun, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the feel of the warm rays on his skin. When he slept, his whole body spread out across the entire bed, but when they were on the couch hanging out together he was careful to never impede on Jensen’s personal space.
He was warm and friendly, conscientious and kind. Jensen kept his thoughts, and his hands, to himself but there was something about Jared that made him want to open up.
When they arrived in town they went to pick up some supplies - Jared insisted on buying board games to pass the time as well as a DVD player and some movies - but Jared grew hungry before they’d hit the grocery store. Jensen took pity on him and drove the truck over to a diner they’d passed on their way in. It was a long drive back and with his luck, if he didn’t feed Jared he would pass out from low blood sugar and Jensen would have to carry his overgrown ass into the trailer.
They ordered their food and sat in silence as they waited. It wasn’t long before Jared felt the need to fill the air between them though.
“Does this make you nervous?” he asked.
“What?”
“Being out like this? Exposed?”
Jensen shrugged. He wasn’t sure what he could say to Jared to make him understand. “It’s been like this since a few months after I got free of them,” he answered. “Whether they’d found me recently or not, I always knew they’d keep looking. I guess it’s different for me. If they catch you, they’ll kill you. For me, it means a lifetime of captivity. I’ve already lived my worst case scenario.”
“That’s …” Jared paused and looked down at his hands. “How the hell can people be like that? You see it. I know it’s out there but I will never be able to understand how someone can mistreat another person.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not a person so they don’t see the problem.”
“You are a person,” Jared snapped, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips a tight white line.
The waitress came with their food at that moment so Jensen couldn’t respond. He didn’t know how he would have anyway. He knew Jared didn’t see him as something to be owned the way some people still did but there was more to it than that. Maybe this was about the friend he said he knew in college?
Jared picked up his fork and ran it through the rice on his plate but he didn’t eat. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. His eyes were still on his plate. “I don’t … I know I don’t have to explain that to you. I just don’t like to hear anyone speak like that. Some of the Freed Ones … they don’t understand, not really. They still see themselves as nothing more than parts and hardware. You see it a lot when you’re in my line of work.”
“When you make house calls?”
“It’s the reason I do what I do,” Jared looked up at Jensen when he answered this time. “Most of the time I go out its simple problems. Too often though, I’m replacing parts over and over again because a Sentient Android won’t walk away when they’re being hurt. Some of them just turn off the pain receptors and act like it’s okay for someone else to hurt them. I choose who I visit and who I don’t. I don’t normally go out unless I think there is a real problem.”
“You thought I was a problem?” Jensen asked. He needed to say something because what Jared just said was big. He wasn’t just some repair guy, not if he was calling the shots like he was. Who was he, that he was able to make his own call on who to visit?
Jared smiled at him. “You asked for parts often enough that it made me curious. They weren’t the kind of parts that made bells ring but you had a lot of repairs come in over the last two years since you moved into the area. When I started to backtrack your movements I realized you had always asked for a lot. I needed to find out why.”
“What was your guess?” The company had been following his request for parts. It could have been someone there that tipped off his mistress this time. Jensen had been careful, always, but he hadn’t figured out how he screwed up this time. Maybe it was someone at the company?
“With the reports of your attitude towards people and all the parts, I thought it might be a fighting ring. You moved often enough you could have been moving from one place to the next to keep in the circuit.”
Jensen shook his head. “I keep my fighting to a minimum whenever I can.” He looked down at his burger and didn’t have much of an appetite. He needed to eat but he wished his emotions weren’t so keyed in with his body. He’d once heard it said that it was that problem that had caused them to become sentient in the first place. He didn’t believe it, but he also knew how much his emotions interrupted his body’s optimal performance.
“I need to ask you something, Jared. I don’t blame you for anything. I trust you, but I need to know if you think someone at Rockbell Robotics could have sold me out. I can’t figure out how my Mistress found me this time but-“
“She isn’t your mistress.”
Jensen’s eyes widened at the slip. He shook his head slightly and let out a deep breath. “No, no she isn’t. I covered my tracks. I was well established in the area and I’ve done nothing out of the ordinary to attract attention. It could have been a chance encounter; someone they knew recognized me or saw me from a distance. But if you were checking my history, then you had access to all the addresses that I’ve had parts send to. Could my- Ms. Harris - have paid someone for the information?”
“Legally, no. We all sign a confidentiality agreement when we start there. If she offered enough money though, I can’t say that someone wouldn’t have spilled the information.” Jared dropped his fork onto his plate. “This is my fault. I led them to you.”
“No, we don’t know that. I just … I told you, Jared. I trust you. I just don’t trust anyone else.”
“That’s why you always made sure you had the extra parts, in case they came and you had to run.”
Jensen nodded. “I’d prefer to not have to worry about it. The rich and the poor can’t seem to leave us alone, but the middle class? I’ve heard there’s more success for my kind there. The rich bought us in the first place and the poor see us on the street corners. It’s hard not to be considered a fucking toy when people are used to seeing you that way.”
“We’ll find a way, Jensen, I promise.”
Jensen gave Jared a grateful smile before he looked down and began to eat. It tasted like mush but Jensen ate so he didn’t have to talk anymore. He still didn’t like the way Jared said ‘we’ and he didn’t like the way his heart raced when he heard it.
**
The drive back was blessedly uneventful. Jared kept quiet on the ride but Jensen needed the silence to think. They couldn’t hide out like this forever. As much as Jensen enjoyed Jared’s company, eventually Jared would need more than just him. He needed to be engaged in life, and he needed to be back at work. Jensen could see the way Jared watched him sometimes, his mind focused on the way Jensen’s endoskeleton worked, rather than the way he looked. It was encouraging and discouraging in equal measures. It was for the best, after all Jensen was on the run and he wanted Jared to get free of this, but if he thought Jared might be receptive to him, he had plenty of ideas on how to work out some of the tension in Jared’s shoulders. Jared saw Jensen as a person, but he couldn’t help but think if he made a move that Jared would attribute it to his programming instead of his own desires.
They unpacked their groceries and Jared put away the games he’d insisted on buying. He set the movie player up in the small living room in their trailer and put the movies they’d bought next to it. Neither spoke more than they had to but it wasn’t uncomfortable between them. Just thoughtful.
They both jumped when Jared’s phone rang.
Jared had assured him early on that his phone was untraceable so the call didn’t bother him, except the look Jared gave him when he answered.
“Hello?”
“Jared, it’s Jim. How are you, boy?”
“We’re hanging in. Keeping our heads low.”
Jensen moved closer and didn’t bother to act like he couldn’t hear everything the other man said.
“Good. The people you’re on the run from are bad news, Jared. They’ve been putting a lot of calls out lately and they’re looking for something.”
“You think it’s Jensen?”
“It’s a codename for something.”
“What is it they’re saying?” Jensen asked.
Jared passed on the question and Jim answered. “We’ve overheard a number of calls from Harris and Morgan or between their known associates. They’re looking for their lost songbird and trying to find the right cage to keep it in when they get it back.”
Jensen closed his eyes and sat down on the chair in the kitchen area. He wanted to walk out of the trailer and give himself space but he couldn’t, not until he heard it all.
“Yeah, they’re talking about Jensen,” Jared confirmed.
“The good news is that they don’t seem to have any leads on him. The bad news is they’ve got people everywhere. Not only do they have their people looking for him, but there are a lot of people hoping to find him to get in good with the organization.”
“Guess it’s a good thing we’re in the middle of nowhere then.”
“Just stay that way Jared. Better to hole up in a cave somewhere than risk this.”
“I hear you, Jim. Thanks.”
“I always knew you’d end up getting caught up in something like this. Keep your head on straight. This isn’t the same.”
Jensen looked at Jared but the other man had his eyes turned to look out the window. “Yeah, I know. Doesn’t mean this isn’t the right thing to do.”
“Take care, kid.”
When the call ended, it was Jared who walked out of the trailer.
On to Part Four
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: NC-17 for violence and overall themes.
Word Count: 25K+
Warning: Slavery, mentions of past rape, past non-con/dub-con, torture,
Summary: Jensen Ackles was a man on the run. Sure, his name was revered by the Sentient Android Rights Movement, but he was just another face in a sea of J-N_S56s. He had won his freedom in a court of law, but his previous Mistress and Master cared little for the law. Jensen had been on the run for almost ten years and he'd stayed free because he was smart and kept to himself.
When Jensen met Jared, he tossed him out the door as soon as he could. Jared wasn't pushed away so easily though. Jared came back but unfortunately, so did Jensen's former mistress. On the run with Jared at his side, Jensen struggles with his emotions, and the fear that his programming might be taking over. Jared is far more tempting than anything Jensen has ever faced. How can he keep them both safe when he's fighting with himself while on the run from the people who want to put him back in a gilded cage?
**
Two hours later, Jensen pulled up to the back lot of the nature reserve. There was no one there. It was a small town and they didn’t have the manpower to patrol the parks unless something was called in so Jensen relaxed as he pulled up.
“This is not what I expected when you said you were getting another car,” Jared said as Jensen stepped out of the truck.
“I like trucks,” Jensen said with a smirk.
“And the RV behind it?”
“I know of an old RV park out in the woods. Barely anyone goes out there. It’s a half day back the way we came. I figure we should dump the car in the lake. No one will find it, but if they do it will lead them away from us. You got everything we needed?”
Jared smiled. “Yeah. I think I did. Let’s get moving.”
It took them an hour to get everything in the RV and then to get the car into the lake.
“Ready to go?” Jared asked as he stepped over to the passenger side of the truck.
“Yeah, but why don’t you stay in back?” Jensen said. “Put up some of the things you bought and get some sleep. When I get too tired I’ll stop and let you drive. If we do this just right, we should be hiding this baby away in the woods come morning.”
“You don’t think anyone will miss this?”
“I got both of these from a storage lot of a dealer that’s barely in business. Changed the license plates on my way over. Should take some time before anyone realizes what happened.”
“You know an awful lot about this place, Jensen.”
“Lived here about six months,” he said as he opened the truck door. “We can talk more when we get settled. Let’s move out.”
Jared didn’t argue and Jensen started truck up to take them away.
Being alone at night never bothered Jensen. As much company as he’d had before, the solitude was a comfort to him. It was a choice he made, a decision to keep his body and his time his own. As he pulled onto the state route and left the small town behind him, he felt something different.
He didn’t want to think about Jared in the back, putting groceries away and finding a place for the clothes he’d bought. He didn’t want to think about how comfortable he’d become with Jared in the shotgun, or Jared driving while he half dozed in the front. He didn’t want to think that what he felt was less like blessed solitude and more like loneliness.
**
Jensen drove through the night. His thoughts wouldn’t rest and he knew if he pulled over and switched placed with Jared, he wouldn’t fall asleep. He decided one of them should be alert the next day so instead of waking Jared, he drove on.
The light broke through the clouds just as Jensen found the turn off to the park. They were in a large forest with plenty of coverage. Jensen had stumbled on the place when he’d been on the run. He’d gotten free from another kidnapping attempt but he’d had to leave with nothing but the clothes on his back. It wasn’t his best day. When he’d come across a trailer, but as he’d contemplated stealing from them, the old man that lived there had offered him a welcome and food. It was a fond memory. One of his few that didn’t end poorly.
Jensen pulled the truck down an old road that led deeper into the forest. The road was barely more than a dirt trail but Jensen remembered the way well. Closer to the road were the usual grounds but there was a private lot that was never rented out. The old man had told Jensen once, if he ever needed a place to get away, he could come back.
Jensen never intended to step foot there again, but things changed.
Jensen parked the truck and trailer when he found the camp site he wanted. It was well covered by trees and sat beside a small river. He got out of the truck and went to the site’s monitors. He punched in the passcode the old man had given him and crossed his fingers it all still worked. Jensen felt the power turn on around him and he let out a relieved breath.
Jensen got the trailer hooked up with the site’s accommodations before he finally walked to the door of the trailer. He could hear Jared as he moved around. He stood outside for a few moments before he got the nerve to go inside.
The inside of the trailer was luxurious. Jensen had planned on taking one of the smaller models but this one had been closest to the gates and the easiest to get his truck hooked up to. To the right of the door was a set of three steps that led up into a small living room with a large screen TV and leather couches that reclined back. In front of him was the kitchen with a small island counter. Beyond that was the small dinette set, perfect for two. On the other side was a bathroom with a shower, and then the bedroom.
Jared smiled at him as he turned away from the stove and saw Jensen. “Breakfast?” Jared asked.
Jensen looked past him to the bedroom but Jared touched his arm and drew his attention away. “Food first. Then sleep. Since you didn’t wake me to drive, the least I can do is feed you before you pass out.”
“If you insist.”
Jared pushed him over towards the table and Jensen went willingly. A glass of orange juice was set down and a moment later Jared brought over two plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.
“You get everything we needed last night?” Jensen asked as he sipped the juice. “We can drive to town if we need anything before we get too settled in here.”
Jared shook his head. “I think I got most of what we need. You’ll have to check after you get some sleep.”
“Everything okay back here during the drive?”
“Yeah. To be honest, I slept through most of it. Once we got on the road and I got our stuff put away, I crashed. I didn’t wake up until about an hour ago. Everything okay up front?” Jared asked as he ate.
“Yeah. Too much in my head to sleep last night. Probably a good thing. We should take shifts keeping watch for a few days, just to make sure nothing followed us here.”
Jared nodded. “I can do that.” They ate quietly for a few minutes. When Jared finished he took the plates to the sink and then sat back down at the table. “After you wake up, you should let me check your knee and shoulder.”
“They’re fine, Jared.”
“They should be. I do damn good work, but I’d like to double check.”
Jensen thought about fighting with Jared about it but decided he didn’t have the energy.
“Fine. I’m going to grab one of those reclining chairs and get some z’s then.”
“The bed, Jensen.”
“It’s yours.”
“It’s ours and it’s currently empty. Go stretch out and get some sleep. I’ll be outside, keeping an eye on things. There are some sweatpants in the top right drawer of the dresser in the bedroom for you to sleep in. I uh … unpacked most of your stuff last night too.”
Jensen gave him a curious look and Jared blushed. “You weren’t the only one with too much to think about. It helped me get my head clear. Now, go sleep. I’m going to take care of the dishes while you pass out.”
“Fine. But I’ll take care of lunch.”
Jared smiled. “Damn straight you will.”
**
They settled into an easy routine after that. Jensen stayed up through the nights since his vision was better than a human’s and he could rely on his other senses keep watch in the darkness. When Jared woke, he made breakfast and they ate together, then Jensen went to sleep. Jensen set his internal alarms to wake him in time to cook lunch. They spent the afternoon and early evening together. Sometimes they explored the forest around them. They played cards with a deck Jared had found left behind at another camp site when he’d gone for a long walk. Jensen tinkered with the site and Jared tried his hand at fishing. He surprised Jensen with his ability but Jared said he’d always liked outdoor living.
What they didn’t do was talk about what had happened. About what would happen if they were caught together.
“We need to go get some more things,” Jared said when Jensen finished clean up from lunch. They’d been at the site for a week and a half and their groceries were getting thin.
“We can make a run into town today if you’d like,” Jensen said as he looked around the trailer.
It didn’t take long before they were on the road. Jared was quiet but Jensen didn’t ask what was on his mind. It was too much like inviting questions into his own thoughts. He could read the tension in the other man’s shoulders though. As much as Jensen wanted to sooth it with his hands, he couldn’t.
They’d had enough time together that Jensen knew it wasn’t just programming that made him watch Jared the way he did. The guy was easy enough on the eyes, but more than that, he laughed with his whole body. When he stepped out of the trailer in the morning, he turned his face up to the sun, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the feel of the warm rays on his skin. When he slept, his whole body spread out across the entire bed, but when they were on the couch hanging out together he was careful to never impede on Jensen’s personal space.
He was warm and friendly, conscientious and kind. Jensen kept his thoughts, and his hands, to himself but there was something about Jared that made him want to open up.
When they arrived in town they went to pick up some supplies - Jared insisted on buying board games to pass the time as well as a DVD player and some movies - but Jared grew hungry before they’d hit the grocery store. Jensen took pity on him and drove the truck over to a diner they’d passed on their way in. It was a long drive back and with his luck, if he didn’t feed Jared he would pass out from low blood sugar and Jensen would have to carry his overgrown ass into the trailer.
They ordered their food and sat in silence as they waited. It wasn’t long before Jared felt the need to fill the air between them though.
“Does this make you nervous?” he asked.
“What?”
“Being out like this? Exposed?”
Jensen shrugged. He wasn’t sure what he could say to Jared to make him understand. “It’s been like this since a few months after I got free of them,” he answered. “Whether they’d found me recently or not, I always knew they’d keep looking. I guess it’s different for me. If they catch you, they’ll kill you. For me, it means a lifetime of captivity. I’ve already lived my worst case scenario.”
“That’s …” Jared paused and looked down at his hands. “How the hell can people be like that? You see it. I know it’s out there but I will never be able to understand how someone can mistreat another person.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not a person so they don’t see the problem.”
“You are a person,” Jared snapped, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips a tight white line.
The waitress came with their food at that moment so Jensen couldn’t respond. He didn’t know how he would have anyway. He knew Jared didn’t see him as something to be owned the way some people still did but there was more to it than that. Maybe this was about the friend he said he knew in college?
Jared picked up his fork and ran it through the rice on his plate but he didn’t eat. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. His eyes were still on his plate. “I don’t … I know I don’t have to explain that to you. I just don’t like to hear anyone speak like that. Some of the Freed Ones … they don’t understand, not really. They still see themselves as nothing more than parts and hardware. You see it a lot when you’re in my line of work.”
“When you make house calls?”
“It’s the reason I do what I do,” Jared looked up at Jensen when he answered this time. “Most of the time I go out its simple problems. Too often though, I’m replacing parts over and over again because a Sentient Android won’t walk away when they’re being hurt. Some of them just turn off the pain receptors and act like it’s okay for someone else to hurt them. I choose who I visit and who I don’t. I don’t normally go out unless I think there is a real problem.”
“You thought I was a problem?” Jensen asked. He needed to say something because what Jared just said was big. He wasn’t just some repair guy, not if he was calling the shots like he was. Who was he, that he was able to make his own call on who to visit?
Jared smiled at him. “You asked for parts often enough that it made me curious. They weren’t the kind of parts that made bells ring but you had a lot of repairs come in over the last two years since you moved into the area. When I started to backtrack your movements I realized you had always asked for a lot. I needed to find out why.”
“What was your guess?” The company had been following his request for parts. It could have been someone there that tipped off his mistress this time. Jensen had been careful, always, but he hadn’t figured out how he screwed up this time. Maybe it was someone at the company?
“With the reports of your attitude towards people and all the parts, I thought it might be a fighting ring. You moved often enough you could have been moving from one place to the next to keep in the circuit.”
Jensen shook his head. “I keep my fighting to a minimum whenever I can.” He looked down at his burger and didn’t have much of an appetite. He needed to eat but he wished his emotions weren’t so keyed in with his body. He’d once heard it said that it was that problem that had caused them to become sentient in the first place. He didn’t believe it, but he also knew how much his emotions interrupted his body’s optimal performance.
“I need to ask you something, Jared. I don’t blame you for anything. I trust you, but I need to know if you think someone at Rockbell Robotics could have sold me out. I can’t figure out how my Mistress found me this time but-“
“She isn’t your mistress.”
Jensen’s eyes widened at the slip. He shook his head slightly and let out a deep breath. “No, no she isn’t. I covered my tracks. I was well established in the area and I’ve done nothing out of the ordinary to attract attention. It could have been a chance encounter; someone they knew recognized me or saw me from a distance. But if you were checking my history, then you had access to all the addresses that I’ve had parts send to. Could my- Ms. Harris - have paid someone for the information?”
“Legally, no. We all sign a confidentiality agreement when we start there. If she offered enough money though, I can’t say that someone wouldn’t have spilled the information.” Jared dropped his fork onto his plate. “This is my fault. I led them to you.”
“No, we don’t know that. I just … I told you, Jared. I trust you. I just don’t trust anyone else.”
“That’s why you always made sure you had the extra parts, in case they came and you had to run.”
Jensen nodded. “I’d prefer to not have to worry about it. The rich and the poor can’t seem to leave us alone, but the middle class? I’ve heard there’s more success for my kind there. The rich bought us in the first place and the poor see us on the street corners. It’s hard not to be considered a fucking toy when people are used to seeing you that way.”
“We’ll find a way, Jensen, I promise.”
Jensen gave Jared a grateful smile before he looked down and began to eat. It tasted like mush but Jensen ate so he didn’t have to talk anymore. He still didn’t like the way Jared said ‘we’ and he didn’t like the way his heart raced when he heard it.
**
The drive back was blessedly uneventful. Jared kept quiet on the ride but Jensen needed the silence to think. They couldn’t hide out like this forever. As much as Jensen enjoyed Jared’s company, eventually Jared would need more than just him. He needed to be engaged in life, and he needed to be back at work. Jensen could see the way Jared watched him sometimes, his mind focused on the way Jensen’s endoskeleton worked, rather than the way he looked. It was encouraging and discouraging in equal measures. It was for the best, after all Jensen was on the run and he wanted Jared to get free of this, but if he thought Jared might be receptive to him, he had plenty of ideas on how to work out some of the tension in Jared’s shoulders. Jared saw Jensen as a person, but he couldn’t help but think if he made a move that Jared would attribute it to his programming instead of his own desires.
They unpacked their groceries and Jared put away the games he’d insisted on buying. He set the movie player up in the small living room in their trailer and put the movies they’d bought next to it. Neither spoke more than they had to but it wasn’t uncomfortable between them. Just thoughtful.
They both jumped when Jared’s phone rang.
Jared had assured him early on that his phone was untraceable so the call didn’t bother him, except the look Jared gave him when he answered.
“Hello?”
“Jared, it’s Jim. How are you, boy?”
“We’re hanging in. Keeping our heads low.”
Jensen moved closer and didn’t bother to act like he couldn’t hear everything the other man said.
“Good. The people you’re on the run from are bad news, Jared. They’ve been putting a lot of calls out lately and they’re looking for something.”
“You think it’s Jensen?”
“It’s a codename for something.”
“What is it they’re saying?” Jensen asked.
Jared passed on the question and Jim answered. “We’ve overheard a number of calls from Harris and Morgan or between their known associates. They’re looking for their lost songbird and trying to find the right cage to keep it in when they get it back.”
Jensen closed his eyes and sat down on the chair in the kitchen area. He wanted to walk out of the trailer and give himself space but he couldn’t, not until he heard it all.
“Yeah, they’re talking about Jensen,” Jared confirmed.
“The good news is that they don’t seem to have any leads on him. The bad news is they’ve got people everywhere. Not only do they have their people looking for him, but there are a lot of people hoping to find him to get in good with the organization.”
“Guess it’s a good thing we’re in the middle of nowhere then.”
“Just stay that way Jared. Better to hole up in a cave somewhere than risk this.”
“I hear you, Jim. Thanks.”
“I always knew you’d end up getting caught up in something like this. Keep your head on straight. This isn’t the same.”
Jensen looked at Jared but the other man had his eyes turned to look out the window. “Yeah, I know. Doesn’t mean this isn’t the right thing to do.”
“Take care, kid.”
When the call ended, it was Jared who walked out of the trailer.
On to Part Four