Fire In The Hole 5/6
FIRE IN THE HOLE 5/6
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: NC-17
Words: 5,562
Beta: candygramme
Disclaimer: There is absolutely no truth to this and I am not earning a penny.
Warnings: violence, adult, language, political themes, homophobia
Summary: At seventeen and growing up in a white supremacist camp, Jared's life is going nowhere fast. He doesn't feel like he belongs, but sees no way out - until the arrival of a new member shakes things up in the paramilitary group. Jared doesn't know whether he should be intrigued or afraid of Jensen Ackles, but when he gets caught in the power play around him coming to a head, he's left with little choice in the matter.
ART POST . STORY MASTERPOST
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER
Part Five
There had been hesitation in Jared Padalecki's answer, Jeff was sure of it. The bruises on the teen's face looked a lot like he had been in a fight, but his knuckles had been clean. The kid had taken a beating, and he hadn't fought back. There was a silent rage inside of the sheriff that he hadn't shown the boy. He had tried to reach out, and Jared looked like he wanted to take JD up on his offer, but he was too scared. It always came down to fear.
He sighed as he got out of his squad car and walked into the station. He hoped that maybe Jared would come around, but it was unlikely. The scared ones hardly ever did.
Entering his office he was greeted by a corpulent African-American woman in a dark pant suit leaning against his desk, and his steps slowed down suddenly as he threw an angry look around the station wondering who had let a stranger into his office, and why they hadn’t told him before he walked in, all unsuspecting.
“Who the heck are you?” He wasn't on his best behavior when he was surprised.
“I am the woman of your dreams, Sheriff. I came to take care of your inbred problem.”
- -
Jensen was unusually quiet as they drove back towards the camp, making Jared feel uncomfortable. Usually Jared didn't have to strike up conversation with Jensen, because the man always showed interest in small talk on his own. Sitting in silence like that from the moment that Jensen got into the car was odd. A few miles out of town Jared finally managed to decide on starting a conversation of his own.
“You're quiet. Are you alright?”
Green eyes looked up with a slightly surprised expression as Jensen seemed to have been lost in thought. “Yeah. I was just thinking about something.”
Jared nodded. He didn't want to dig, didn't think he'd want to know what was on Jensen's mind.
“How was your day in town? Did anything interesting happen?” Jensen asked, probably to avoid any possible questions about his own thought processes.
For a few seconds Jared considered not mentioning his run-in with the sheriff. But if somehow Jensen or the Brothers would hear about it and he hadn't mentioned it, he would have questions to answer. Taking a deep breath he hoped that he could phrase this in a way that would keep him out of trouble.
“It was nice... until I ran into that sheriff. He was waiting by the truck.”
Jensen's head snapped around to look at him for a moment, eyes narrowed. “What did he want?”
“To nose around, I guess. He asked about my face,” Jared admitted with a shrug.
“What did you tell him?”
“That it's none of his business.” Maybe that wasn't entirely the truth, but it was exactly what the Brothers would want him to say - if you added some choice curses to it.
Jensen was quiet for a moment before nodding. “Good.” For a while Jared thought that this was it, and they would go back to their earlier silence, but just when he thought that Jensen wouldn't say anything more, the man cleared his throat. “Jay, I hope you understand that the cops are after us. They are going to keep looking for something they can pin on us, until something sticks. And when it does, the Feds will ransack the place.”
Jared looked at Jensen, almost forgetting to turn his attention back to the road after a moment so as not to crash them into the next tree. He nodded. On an intellectual level he knew that bad stuff was going on in the Brotherhood camp, although he had grown rather adept at sticking his head in the sand. Jensen's words were an affirmation of all the things he'd feared to be true. But in a weird way they also gave him hope that someday the police would end this ill-bred social experiment he was living in.
“I need you to promise me to not do something stupid when they come. Okay? Don't pick up a gun and play the hero. You're not part of the worst of it, and for now you're still a kid. If you just lay low, get out of harm's way and let things play out whatever way they are going to play out, you'll be fine afterwards.”
Surprise was the best way to describe what Jared was feeling at the moment. He was always told to become a man, to stand his ground, to stop being a stupid child. Now Jensen was telling him the exact opposite. “Really? You want me to hide and do nothing?”
“Yes. Don't be an idiot, Jay. You don't fit in with the Brothers anyway. Why stick your neck out for them?”
Frowning Jared shrugged. He didn't get it. “But you're one of them.”
“Yes and I will make my own decisions... and live with the consequences.” Jensen's face was a blank mask of controlled emotion, and Jared stared at it for a moment. He liked Jensen, didn't think the man would deserve to go to jail. But he also knew that there were a lot of things behind that pleasant exterior that he couldn't even imagine. Jensen probably deserved a lot worse than Jared thought he did.
“Okay. I promise.” It felt good to say it and know that at least one person in his life thought that he shouldn't throw his life away for a cause he didn't believe in anyway.
A tight smile appeared on Jensen's face before he leaned back in his seat letting his body relax. “Good.”
- -
Jared stared at the fire wondering where Jensen had gone. The man hadn't been in the cabin by the time Jared came back from his favorite reading spot. Maybe some of the other men had asked him to help out with something. That had been a couple of hours ago, and Jared sighed as he poked the fire to life. The sun had started to set maybe half an hour ago.
The door snapped open with a bang and Jared turned around instantly wondering who it was. Jensen didn't bang doors, at least not that Jared had seen before. He froze when he saw his father standing there with an unhappy expression. After a few seconds of staring at each other Jared jumped to his feet pulling himself up to full height, so he stood only an inch or so smaller than his dad. It wouldn't be a good idea to be on the ground when the man was angry.
“What do you want?” Jared asked as if he weren't shaking inside.
Something heavy thumped against the floor and fell over in several smaller thumps. There were several smaller bags sitting on the floor between them, books and fabric sticking out of them.
“I brought your shit, since you seem to think you're too good now to live with your old man.”
Jared didn't answer to the accusations. Anything he could say would only be interpreted as an insult, so he just shrugged murmuring a thank you.
“Obviously you're not even man enough to pick up your own stuff. You can be glad I didn't burn it all.”
Jared nodded although his mind reminded him that he was usually the one to make a fire because he didn't think it wise to let a drunk man play with fire. His silence didn't fare all that well with his father, who seemed to have found his tongue on the way over.
“I don't know why that boy would let you stay here. Could give a man the wrong idea, you know?” There was a nasty edge to the man's smile, and just enough slur to his words to make it obvious that he wasn't even slightly sober.
“He's my friend,” Jared protested, remembering Jensen's insistence that anything of the kind that his father had just suggested would get them into deep trouble.
“Sure.” Sarcasm dripped from the single word, and the man stepped forward, giving one of the bags a kick that sent it toppling across the floor. “You're just buddies.”
“What's going on here?” Jared's eyes focused behind his father on Jensen who was coming through the door that moment. He was moving slow, almost deliberately so, nonchalantly ambling into the cabin.
Jared could see the way his father's shoulders tensed, and he had to bite down a smile when he noticed that the man was wary - if not afraid - of the former soldier who'd won the last physical altercation between them.
“He's all yours now!” The oldest of the three snapped before turning around and walking from the room, front door slamming shut behind him.
Jensen watched him go until he was gone, then his stance seemed to relax. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. He didn't do anything,” Jared answered trying to will his running heart back into walking pace.
“Oh?” The look Jensen gave him was doubtful at best, but he didn't press for a different answer, instead leaning down to pick up the clothing that had spilled from the kicked bag. He stuffed them back inside and put Jared's spare belongings into the small room of the cabin.
“Thanks,” Jared said, fully aware that Jensen had tacitly accepted the fact that he would be staying more permanently now.
- -
It seemed that Jensen had a tendency to leave for longer stretches of time, and Jared wasn't sure if he was out on Brotherhood business, or if he even left the compound - maybe he just sat in the community hall with the guys playing cards. Jared never asked, tried to make himself as unobtrusive as he could. He knew that if he asked, Jensen would probably answer just as nonchalantly as he ever did. But Jared had to yet find the line with Jensen, and it was the one thing that made him worry. Because if Jensen were to throw him out there would be nowhere to go but back to his dad, and, after what had happened between them, that was just not an option.
Admittedly Jared was a little curious, but he just squashed that curiosity and did what he always did. He was used to spending time with only himself. The few hours of school the Brotherhood hosted every weekday morning weren't much more than a joke, because the things that were taught weren't tailored for anybody beyond sixth grade, so Jared spent his time there helping out the younger kids. The rest of the time, he read. He read a lot. Thankfully Jensen had brought him enough books to keep him busy for a while.
“What'cha reading?”
Jared held his book up so that Jensen could read the title. It was the autobiography of an ex-pat woman who grew up in South Africa during the fall of the Apartheid. It was interesting, sad, and most surprisingly not at all racist while discussing the topic in detail.
“Any good?”
Nodding quietly Jared looked back onto the page, trying to find the line he'd stopped at. He could hear Jensen grabbing his jacket and leaving the cabin with the glare of early afternoon sun shining in through the door for a few seconds before it closed again.
- -
When he first met ATF special agent Loretta Devine, he had thought that it was too good to be true. Now that he was strapping on his bullet proof vest and instructing the last of his guys to do exactly what the joint forces of FBI and ATF would tell them to do, he wondered if this would be the best or the worst day of his time as Sheriff in his town.
“And you're sure you can trust this informant?”
“Our guy has infiltrated the web of white supremacist organizations for over a year now. If he says that this is the time to crack open their coconut, we'll go in with all we have,” Agent Devine said, her dark eyes staring him down for questioning her source.
JD checked his watch and waited. They were waiting for their guy, whoever he was, and had been doing so for half an hour already.
“There he is.”
The sheriff followed the woman's eyes as she nodded towards a trail in the woods a few yards down the road. Jeff's eyebrows flew up almost immediately. He didn't voice his surprise, just waited as the man approached them to shake hands with Agent Devine, followed by the leading FBI agent and finally JD.
“I didn't see this one coming,” Jeff admitted with a shake of his head.
“Sheriff Jeffrey Dean Morgan, this is ATF special agent Jensen Ackles. He will be in charge of the strategy for this sting.”
Snorting out a laugh Jeff shook his head in disbelief. “Wow, you must have dug in real deep for this cover. I looked through all of your files, even called the leading FBI agent on the Texan case... and I never suspected a thing.”
He wanted to believe that this really had been an exceptionally solid cover because JD always thought that he wasn't as dense as people always made small town sheriffs out to be.
“That's because it's not a cover, at least as far as the paper trail is concerned,”
Special Agent Ackles said with a smirk.
Frowning, JD wondered what that meant, exactly. “How so?”
“Up until my discharge from the Army everything's true. I came home, went into rehab... and became friends with some of the other veterans there. One of them got into shady business with his brother, who was in the Aryan Army. They tried to recruit me, and I wanted to turn them down. But then I was approached by the ATF. They wanted me to go in for them, and I did.”
“And they just kept your paper trail running like you were just another guy who fell in with the wrong crowd,” Jeff added with a nod of understanding.
Jensen shrugged again. “When this is done my record will be sealed, and my files will be updated.”
“That's enough small talk, buys,” Devine interrupted them shoving a blue ATF kevlar vest into Ackles' hands. “We should get going, and you will tell us where!”
- -
When the first shout sounded across the camp, Jared sighed and decided that he would not be annoyed by whatever drama was going on this afternoon. That got increasingly harder when other shouts followed the first accompanied by car engines roaring and more shouting. Jared sat up wondering what the hell was going on out there.
Then the first shots fell and Jared's book slipped from his hand to land pages down on the wooden floor. His heart sped up to double time and he swallowed. He flinched at another salve of shots and got up from the chair to look out of the window.
“Federal agents! Drop your weapons!”
There were men and women in blue kevlar vests and dark helmets swarming across the camp. This was what Jensen had warned him about. Jared swallowed, wondering if it would be wisest to just go outside with his hands over his head but jumped away from the window immediately when a salvo of shots sounded nearby. There were live bullets flying out there, and Jared looked around, trying to come up with an idea. Nothing came, so he quickly ran to the storage room that was little more than a cupboard and got inside.
He sighed out a breath of relief, until he remembered that this was where Jensen stored his rifles and Jared quickly slipped back out. It wouldn't do to be found hiding with a whole stack of weapons on his hands, so Jared ducked behind the couch and hoped the chaos would be over soon.
The shouting and shooting seemed to come in waves, ebbing down for a while just to rise up again in infrequent recurrence. Jared wondered where Jensen was and if he was alright. He crouched low and crawled to the window next to the door to look outside hoping he would see something that could tell him what was going on. Twice he already had his hand on the door knob to leave his hiding space to go find his friend. But then he remembered his promise. Jensen said he would make his own decisions and bear the consequences. Jared just hoped that the man would not make a decision that would get him killed.
Jared had to bite his lip to keep quiet as he finally saw Jensen walk by the gravel road outside. He was carrying a semi-automatic handgun that Jared had never seen before. For a moment Jared was confused. Then he saw the blue bulletproof vest strapped around Jensen's chest, and his eyes went huge. It didn't make sense.
“Federal agent! Drop your weapon!” Jensen shouted loud and clear, and Jared gasped unable to keep the shock inside any longer. “I said drop it, Clay, or I will drop you!”
The camp-leader stood several yards down the road, a rifle sitting against his shoulder in perfect hunting manner. The man was shouting something at Jensen but between the rage in the man's voice, and the window between the street and Jared, there were only some understandable words in there... most of which would be considered impolite to say in good company.
For a moment Jared was reminded of an old western he had seen shortly before they left behind the comforts of television and normalcy. None of the two men seemed willing to step down and Jared found himself wondering where all the blue vested, helmed agents had gone. Fortune didn't favor Jensen as the next person to enter the road wasn't an agent or a cop but Conner
It took only a few seconds for Jared to run to the storage room and grab one of the always clean and loaded rifles stored there before running towards the door, promise forgotten. By the time the door banged open, Conner already had his gun raised and pointed at Jensen in a three-man stand-off with two barrels pointed at Jared's friend, and none pointed at Conner
Jared shouted something that wasn't even any intelligible word and evened the odds a little. He held his rifle a lot like Clay did but other than the old man, his sight was set on Conner, who seemed flustered to say the least.
“Wh- What are you doing?”
Yes, what was he doing? Jared didn't know what he had been thinking barging out of the house like this, but it was too late for second guesses now. “Drop it, Conner”
“He's a fucking traitor!”
Jared didn't answer but didn't lower his rifle even by an inch. “Drop. it.”
For a few painfully long seconds Conner didn't move at all, then he dropped his gun and took off at a full run. Jared was almost too surprised to turn his rifle around towards Clay... But just almost.
The old man looked furious, sputtering insults at Jared before dropping his rifle suddenly and almost unexpectedly with a face reeking of disgust. “Traitors.”
Jensen didn't hesitate to close the space between him and Clay. He kicked away the rifle before slapping handcuffs onto the man with quick ease. Maybe that was the moment it finally sank into Jared's conscience: Jensen was a fed. He had played them all from the very beginning. Suddenly Jared felt hurt and betrayed.
“Jay? Jared lower your weapon.”
He snapped out of his thought at the words that sounded so much like the shouted orders he had heard before, although they were spoken much more quietly. It took him a moment to realize that his rifle was pointed at Jensen, if only sloppily so.
“You're a fed. You lied to me,” Jared hear himself voice his thoughts suddenly.
There were loud footsteps audible, and several people started shouting “Drop your weapon”, “Federal agents”, “Police!” and over them all he heard Jensen screaming for them to “don't shoot!”
Jared looked around and found half a dozen barrels pointing at him.
“I'm sorry, Jared. I know it's hard to understand. But right now I need you to lower your rifle.” Jensen's gun was raised but not pointing at Jared's head like it had done with Clay. “Please. Nothing happened here that you can't walk away from.”
Jared was afraid and confused but he knew that he was currently doing something really stupid. He let the barrel of the rifle drop to the ground. Jensen was there within a few heartbeats to take away his rifle and push him to the ground.
“I'm sorry, Jay. I'm gonna have to put cuffs on you.”
Jared nodded. He felt numb inside, the adrenaline and the fear of what might happen to him burning away all emotions.
- -
The raid went better than JD could have hoped. There were some minor injuries on a few officers and one FBI agent who had caught two bullets from a handgun in his kevlar vest. He had bruised a few ribs, but would be fine once the blue and black would fade.
Several Brotherhood members had to be transferred to the hospital as well after resisting arrest, two had died in a shoot-out, and JD coordinated his men to make sure they would be watched at all time. All in all there were about two dozen people in cuffs by the time they were done. One of his first phone calls went to Child Protective Services. There were kids of several ages in the compound who needed to be taken care of while their parents were arrested or taken in for questioning.
The oldest of the minors, Jeff led to his own squad car. Jared was quiet, chewing on his lower lip and staring at his own feet like they held an unknown revelation.
“That was a really stupid thing to do, Jared,” he said quietly as he moved to open the back seat door.
“I had to. They were gonna kill him.”
Jared had been read his rights, so everything he'd say could be used against him later although somehow JD hoped that the boy would get a second chance somehow.
“Who was gonna kill who?”
The teen looked at him through the shaggy fringe hanging into his eyes. “Clay and Conner. They had Jensen cornered... I couldn't just watch.”
The sheriff's eyebrows rose at the boy's words. “So you got the rifle?”
Jared nodded standing next to the open car door. He was standing hunched like he was trying to hide his tall frame.
“Then why did you point it at Agent Ackles when the reinforcements came.”
“I... I didn't think. I wasn't aiming or anything. It went so fast. I was confused... I'm sorry.”
Sighing out a breath JD put a hand on Jared's head as he let him get into the car.
“It's gonna be okay, Jared.” ...if Agent Ackles would back up his story.
- -
The Sheriff's office was much too small for this whole ordeal and most of the arrested people were taken to the next city where they had the capacity and manpower to deal with them. JD looked around his buzzing station wondering if it had ever been this busy before. He couldn't remember.
He stood outside of his office. He had willingly given up his space to Agent Devine to debrief her agents. It was the least he could do to show his appreciation for their help in finally getting rid of his biggest worry.
Agent Devine on her part had not closed the door when leading in a worried looking Jensen Ackles. JD had relayed Jared's claims to the leading lady of this investigation and it was now on her to determine whether to pursue Jared's possible involvement in anything.
“Did you find the plans?” Ackles asked in a voice that carried well enough for JD to wonder if they were aware that he was standing right outside.
“Yes. They were exactly where you said. So were the guns and the bomb kit.”
“Told you so.”
The older woman chuckled. “Yes you did... Now tell me about Jared. You said he wasn't involved.”
“No, he wasn't. He might have suspected that there could be bad things going on, but they didn't trust him enough to let him partake in anything.”
“And you?”
There was a long silence and JD leaned against the wall next to the door waiting to hear the answer as he flipped through paperwork he wasn't reading.
“What do you mean?”
“He lived with you, didn't he?”
“I let him sleep on the couch. His father's a violent drunk...”
“And he slept on the couch?” Devine asked slowly.
“What are you gunning for Loretta?” There was anger streaking Ackles' words, and JD could understand why.
“You two seemed... close.”
“I was trying to be a friend to him, okay? It might not be the most professional thing to do but I went with my gut on this one.”
“So nothing inappropriate happened?”
“Are you really asking me this?” Ackles hissed and there was a scrape of wood on wood that made JD deduce that Ackles had gotten up from his chair.
“If there's anything to tell then I need to know it now.”
There was a sigh and JD listened closely.
“I'm not stupid. But... he kissed me once when we were alone. I told him off, said to never do it again, that it was dangerous. He listened.”
“That's all?”
“Of course that's all. He's a minor for god's sake.”
“Good.”
There was another pause and JD wondered if that was the end of the conversation. It wasn't.
“So what happened today?” She didn't disclose the things JD had relayed to her. It was classical technique. They wouldn't have had time to make up a story yet, so if Jensen told the same story Jared did, it would have to be true rather than just Ackles trying to cover for the boy.
“I thought I saw Clay on the east road, so I went after him... He tried to get the drop on me and there was a stand off. I told him to put his gun down, he didn't. I didn't see Conner turning up but he was suddenly coming at me from behind. Without Jared, I'd probably have a few more holes in me now.”
- -
“Jared?”
He startled awake when he heard his name, wiping his hands over his face hoping he hadn't drooled on himself while sleeping with his head on the table.
“Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you.”
It was Jensen standing in the door. He was carrying a white paper bag and a paper cup and set both of them down in front of Jared.
“Thought you mind be hungry.”
Jared shrugged but the growl in his stomach betrayed him and he opened the bag to find a sandwich inside. He started eating quietly looking at Jensen, trying to figure out if the man looked any different now that he was a fed. For one, Jensen was wearing a gray suit. It was odd in Jared's opinion. But it made the whole federal agent thing more believable somehow.
“I know must feel betrayed now and I apologize for that.”
“Is Jensen even your name?”
“Yes. I'm agent Jensen Ackles with the department for alcohol, tobacco and firearms.”
Jared nodded glad that at least he didn't have to start thinking of him by some weird name like Barney or Luther.
“We explained what happened to the state's attorney and because you probably saved my life, they will overlook the little misunderstanding in the end. You weren't knowingly part of any illegal activities, so you won't be charged with anything. Child protective services should be here shortly to sort out where to put you for the next few months until you turn eighteen.” Jensen spoke slowly and clearly as if to make sure that Jared was able to follow everything that was said. A huge weight seemed to lift from Jared's shoulders at the words and he closed his eyes for a moment.
“Wh- What about my dad?” It was the question that was burning on his mind. He was afraid of being alone... but he was maybe even more afraid of being sent back to his father after everything he'd done to betray the man.
“He will be charged with several federal offences. He'll probably go away for a long time.” Jensen didn't offer any condolences on that fact, just the hard truth and Jared was grateful for the lack of pretences.
“Okay... thanks for telling me all that.” He wondered if he was supposed to put a 'sir' at the end of the sentence since Jensen was some kind of authority figure but decided against it.
“You're welcome. If you want you can wait outside. There's no need for you to sit in an interrogation room anymore.”
That was true. Jared had answered more questions than he could have thought of concerning the Brotherhood. He'd tried to answer truthfully, but whenever it got to the things the prosecutors seemed really interested in Jared had only hearsay or no knowledge at all to offer. That was probably what had saved his ass here. That and Jensen's testimony.
He got up and followed Jensen outside. In comparison to the interrogation room, the sheriff's office was a bustle of sound and motion.
“Can I ask you something?” After spending hours answering questions he felt kind of paradoxically clueless.
“Sure.” Jensen nodded as he led Jared to a waiting area.
“Was this all just an act? I mean... why did you befriend me of all people? I didn't get you any closer to finding whatever it is that you found.”
Jensen stopped in his steps only a few steps from the seats that were scattered across the room.
“Helping you had nothing to do with my job, Jared. I just figured that as long as it didn't interfere with it, it would be best to just be me as much as I could. They always say to keep the lies to a minimum when you're undercover because otherwise you will start messing up. I want you to know that everything I told you about me in private is the truth,” Jensen said quietly but solemnly.
Jared knew what the ATF agent was talking about, the story about his father and the reason why he had protected Jared in the first place. To know that it hadn't just been Jensen trying to make Jared trust him was a good feeling.
“I'm sorry,” Jared said before he could think about it.
“What for?” Jensen gestured for Jared to sit down before seating himself in the chair next to his.
“Everything. Being stupid today and making your life harder before... being an idiot when we were hunting.”
“Don't,” Jensen said almost interrupting Jared before he could finish his last word. “Don't apologize for that.” There was a deep frown on Jensen's face as he met Jared's eyes with all seriousness. “It was an asshole move of me to make you feel bad about that. I was just afraid of what might happen if any of the others in the Brotherhood found out.”
“So you really weren't mad?”
“No,” Jensen stated matter-of-factly before a small smirk crept onto his face. “But you are a little too young for me, not even mentioning the conflict of interest while this thing is still brewing.”
Jared blinked at that because at first the words didn't make sense and then they just... what? “You- wait.” Jared's fingers were curling around the seat of his chair as if to keep him steady in a twisting world. “You're... like me?”
He couldn't make himself say it, not out loud, not in public. He had spent so long hiding it to the best of his ability that it felt just wrong.
“Yeah.” A small smile appeared on Jensen's lips and he clapped his hand on Jared's shoulder fingers pressing it firmly. “So don't let anybody make you feel bad about it, okay? Especially not me. Hypocrisy has never been on my to-do list.”
Jared couldn't help chuckling at these words coming out of Jensen's mouth, Jensen who until a few hours ago Jared had believed to be the nice version of the narrow minded, thick necked hillbilly.
Before he could think about any witty reply, the CPS lady came.
NEXT CHAPTER >>
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Rating: NC-17
Words: 5,562
Beta: candygramme
Disclaimer: There is absolutely no truth to this and I am not earning a penny.
Warnings: violence, adult, language, political themes, homophobia
Summary: At seventeen and growing up in a white supremacist camp, Jared's life is going nowhere fast. He doesn't feel like he belongs, but sees no way out - until the arrival of a new member shakes things up in the paramilitary group. Jared doesn't know whether he should be intrigued or afraid of Jensen Ackles, but when he gets caught in the power play around him coming to a head, he's left with little choice in the matter.
ART POST . STORY MASTERPOST
<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER
Part Five
There had been hesitation in Jared Padalecki's answer, Jeff was sure of it. The bruises on the teen's face looked a lot like he had been in a fight, but his knuckles had been clean. The kid had taken a beating, and he hadn't fought back. There was a silent rage inside of the sheriff that he hadn't shown the boy. He had tried to reach out, and Jared looked like he wanted to take JD up on his offer, but he was too scared. It always came down to fear.
He sighed as he got out of his squad car and walked into the station. He hoped that maybe Jared would come around, but it was unlikely. The scared ones hardly ever did.
Entering his office he was greeted by a corpulent African-American woman in a dark pant suit leaning against his desk, and his steps slowed down suddenly as he threw an angry look around the station wondering who had let a stranger into his office, and why they hadn’t told him before he walked in, all unsuspecting.
“Who the heck are you?” He wasn't on his best behavior when he was surprised.
“I am the woman of your dreams, Sheriff. I came to take care of your inbred problem.”
- -
Jensen was unusually quiet as they drove back towards the camp, making Jared feel uncomfortable. Usually Jared didn't have to strike up conversation with Jensen, because the man always showed interest in small talk on his own. Sitting in silence like that from the moment that Jensen got into the car was odd. A few miles out of town Jared finally managed to decide on starting a conversation of his own.
“You're quiet. Are you alright?”
Green eyes looked up with a slightly surprised expression as Jensen seemed to have been lost in thought. “Yeah. I was just thinking about something.”
Jared nodded. He didn't want to dig, didn't think he'd want to know what was on Jensen's mind.
“How was your day in town? Did anything interesting happen?” Jensen asked, probably to avoid any possible questions about his own thought processes.
For a few seconds Jared considered not mentioning his run-in with the sheriff. But if somehow Jensen or the Brothers would hear about it and he hadn't mentioned it, he would have questions to answer. Taking a deep breath he hoped that he could phrase this in a way that would keep him out of trouble.
“It was nice... until I ran into that sheriff. He was waiting by the truck.”
Jensen's head snapped around to look at him for a moment, eyes narrowed. “What did he want?”
“To nose around, I guess. He asked about my face,” Jared admitted with a shrug.
“What did you tell him?”
“That it's none of his business.” Maybe that wasn't entirely the truth, but it was exactly what the Brothers would want him to say - if you added some choice curses to it.
Jensen was quiet for a moment before nodding. “Good.” For a while Jared thought that this was it, and they would go back to their earlier silence, but just when he thought that Jensen wouldn't say anything more, the man cleared his throat. “Jay, I hope you understand that the cops are after us. They are going to keep looking for something they can pin on us, until something sticks. And when it does, the Feds will ransack the place.”
Jared looked at Jensen, almost forgetting to turn his attention back to the road after a moment so as not to crash them into the next tree. He nodded. On an intellectual level he knew that bad stuff was going on in the Brotherhood camp, although he had grown rather adept at sticking his head in the sand. Jensen's words were an affirmation of all the things he'd feared to be true. But in a weird way they also gave him hope that someday the police would end this ill-bred social experiment he was living in.
“I need you to promise me to not do something stupid when they come. Okay? Don't pick up a gun and play the hero. You're not part of the worst of it, and for now you're still a kid. If you just lay low, get out of harm's way and let things play out whatever way they are going to play out, you'll be fine afterwards.”
Surprise was the best way to describe what Jared was feeling at the moment. He was always told to become a man, to stand his ground, to stop being a stupid child. Now Jensen was telling him the exact opposite. “Really? You want me to hide and do nothing?”
“Yes. Don't be an idiot, Jay. You don't fit in with the Brothers anyway. Why stick your neck out for them?”
Frowning Jared shrugged. He didn't get it. “But you're one of them.”
“Yes and I will make my own decisions... and live with the consequences.” Jensen's face was a blank mask of controlled emotion, and Jared stared at it for a moment. He liked Jensen, didn't think the man would deserve to go to jail. But he also knew that there were a lot of things behind that pleasant exterior that he couldn't even imagine. Jensen probably deserved a lot worse than Jared thought he did.
“Okay. I promise.” It felt good to say it and know that at least one person in his life thought that he shouldn't throw his life away for a cause he didn't believe in anyway.
A tight smile appeared on Jensen's face before he leaned back in his seat letting his body relax. “Good.”
- -
Jared stared at the fire wondering where Jensen had gone. The man hadn't been in the cabin by the time Jared came back from his favorite reading spot. Maybe some of the other men had asked him to help out with something. That had been a couple of hours ago, and Jared sighed as he poked the fire to life. The sun had started to set maybe half an hour ago.
The door snapped open with a bang and Jared turned around instantly wondering who it was. Jensen didn't bang doors, at least not that Jared had seen before. He froze when he saw his father standing there with an unhappy expression. After a few seconds of staring at each other Jared jumped to his feet pulling himself up to full height, so he stood only an inch or so smaller than his dad. It wouldn't be a good idea to be on the ground when the man was angry.
“What do you want?” Jared asked as if he weren't shaking inside.
Something heavy thumped against the floor and fell over in several smaller thumps. There were several smaller bags sitting on the floor between them, books and fabric sticking out of them.
“I brought your shit, since you seem to think you're too good now to live with your old man.”
Jared didn't answer to the accusations. Anything he could say would only be interpreted as an insult, so he just shrugged murmuring a thank you.
“Obviously you're not even man enough to pick up your own stuff. You can be glad I didn't burn it all.”
Jared nodded although his mind reminded him that he was usually the one to make a fire because he didn't think it wise to let a drunk man play with fire. His silence didn't fare all that well with his father, who seemed to have found his tongue on the way over.
“I don't know why that boy would let you stay here. Could give a man the wrong idea, you know?” There was a nasty edge to the man's smile, and just enough slur to his words to make it obvious that he wasn't even slightly sober.
“He's my friend,” Jared protested, remembering Jensen's insistence that anything of the kind that his father had just suggested would get them into deep trouble.
“Sure.” Sarcasm dripped from the single word, and the man stepped forward, giving one of the bags a kick that sent it toppling across the floor. “You're just buddies.”
“What's going on here?” Jared's eyes focused behind his father on Jensen who was coming through the door that moment. He was moving slow, almost deliberately so, nonchalantly ambling into the cabin.
Jared could see the way his father's shoulders tensed, and he had to bite down a smile when he noticed that the man was wary - if not afraid - of the former soldier who'd won the last physical altercation between them.
“He's all yours now!” The oldest of the three snapped before turning around and walking from the room, front door slamming shut behind him.
Jensen watched him go until he was gone, then his stance seemed to relax. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. He didn't do anything,” Jared answered trying to will his running heart back into walking pace.
“Oh?” The look Jensen gave him was doubtful at best, but he didn't press for a different answer, instead leaning down to pick up the clothing that had spilled from the kicked bag. He stuffed them back inside and put Jared's spare belongings into the small room of the cabin.
“Thanks,” Jared said, fully aware that Jensen had tacitly accepted the fact that he would be staying more permanently now.
- -
It seemed that Jensen had a tendency to leave for longer stretches of time, and Jared wasn't sure if he was out on Brotherhood business, or if he even left the compound - maybe he just sat in the community hall with the guys playing cards. Jared never asked, tried to make himself as unobtrusive as he could. He knew that if he asked, Jensen would probably answer just as nonchalantly as he ever did. But Jared had to yet find the line with Jensen, and it was the one thing that made him worry. Because if Jensen were to throw him out there would be nowhere to go but back to his dad, and, after what had happened between them, that was just not an option.
Admittedly Jared was a little curious, but he just squashed that curiosity and did what he always did. He was used to spending time with only himself. The few hours of school the Brotherhood hosted every weekday morning weren't much more than a joke, because the things that were taught weren't tailored for anybody beyond sixth grade, so Jared spent his time there helping out the younger kids. The rest of the time, he read. He read a lot. Thankfully Jensen had brought him enough books to keep him busy for a while.
“What'cha reading?”
Jared held his book up so that Jensen could read the title. It was the autobiography of an ex-pat woman who grew up in South Africa during the fall of the Apartheid. It was interesting, sad, and most surprisingly not at all racist while discussing the topic in detail.
“Any good?”
Nodding quietly Jared looked back onto the page, trying to find the line he'd stopped at. He could hear Jensen grabbing his jacket and leaving the cabin with the glare of early afternoon sun shining in through the door for a few seconds before it closed again.
- -
When he first met ATF special agent Loretta Devine, he had thought that it was too good to be true. Now that he was strapping on his bullet proof vest and instructing the last of his guys to do exactly what the joint forces of FBI and ATF would tell them to do, he wondered if this would be the best or the worst day of his time as Sheriff in his town.
“And you're sure you can trust this informant?”
“Our guy has infiltrated the web of white supremacist organizations for over a year now. If he says that this is the time to crack open their coconut, we'll go in with all we have,” Agent Devine said, her dark eyes staring him down for questioning her source.
JD checked his watch and waited. They were waiting for their guy, whoever he was, and had been doing so for half an hour already.
“There he is.”
The sheriff followed the woman's eyes as she nodded towards a trail in the woods a few yards down the road. Jeff's eyebrows flew up almost immediately. He didn't voice his surprise, just waited as the man approached them to shake hands with Agent Devine, followed by the leading FBI agent and finally JD.
“I didn't see this one coming,” Jeff admitted with a shake of his head.
“Sheriff Jeffrey Dean Morgan, this is ATF special agent Jensen Ackles. He will be in charge of the strategy for this sting.”
Snorting out a laugh Jeff shook his head in disbelief. “Wow, you must have dug in real deep for this cover. I looked through all of your files, even called the leading FBI agent on the Texan case... and I never suspected a thing.”
He wanted to believe that this really had been an exceptionally solid cover because JD always thought that he wasn't as dense as people always made small town sheriffs out to be.
“That's because it's not a cover, at least as far as the paper trail is concerned,”
Special Agent Ackles said with a smirk.
Frowning, JD wondered what that meant, exactly. “How so?”
“Up until my discharge from the Army everything's true. I came home, went into rehab... and became friends with some of the other veterans there. One of them got into shady business with his brother, who was in the Aryan Army. They tried to recruit me, and I wanted to turn them down. But then I was approached by the ATF. They wanted me to go in for them, and I did.”
“And they just kept your paper trail running like you were just another guy who fell in with the wrong crowd,” Jeff added with a nod of understanding.
Jensen shrugged again. “When this is done my record will be sealed, and my files will be updated.”
“That's enough small talk, buys,” Devine interrupted them shoving a blue ATF kevlar vest into Ackles' hands. “We should get going, and you will tell us where!”
- -
When the first shout sounded across the camp, Jared sighed and decided that he would not be annoyed by whatever drama was going on this afternoon. That got increasingly harder when other shouts followed the first accompanied by car engines roaring and more shouting. Jared sat up wondering what the hell was going on out there.
Then the first shots fell and Jared's book slipped from his hand to land pages down on the wooden floor. His heart sped up to double time and he swallowed. He flinched at another salve of shots and got up from the chair to look out of the window.
“Federal agents! Drop your weapons!”
There were men and women in blue kevlar vests and dark helmets swarming across the camp. This was what Jensen had warned him about. Jared swallowed, wondering if it would be wisest to just go outside with his hands over his head but jumped away from the window immediately when a salvo of shots sounded nearby. There were live bullets flying out there, and Jared looked around, trying to come up with an idea. Nothing came, so he quickly ran to the storage room that was little more than a cupboard and got inside.
He sighed out a breath of relief, until he remembered that this was where Jensen stored his rifles and Jared quickly slipped back out. It wouldn't do to be found hiding with a whole stack of weapons on his hands, so Jared ducked behind the couch and hoped the chaos would be over soon.
The shouting and shooting seemed to come in waves, ebbing down for a while just to rise up again in infrequent recurrence. Jared wondered where Jensen was and if he was alright. He crouched low and crawled to the window next to the door to look outside hoping he would see something that could tell him what was going on. Twice he already had his hand on the door knob to leave his hiding space to go find his friend. But then he remembered his promise. Jensen said he would make his own decisions and bear the consequences. Jared just hoped that the man would not make a decision that would get him killed.
Jared had to bite his lip to keep quiet as he finally saw Jensen walk by the gravel road outside. He was carrying a semi-automatic handgun that Jared had never seen before. For a moment Jared was confused. Then he saw the blue bulletproof vest strapped around Jensen's chest, and his eyes went huge. It didn't make sense.
“Federal agent! Drop your weapon!” Jensen shouted loud and clear, and Jared gasped unable to keep the shock inside any longer. “I said drop it, Clay, or I will drop you!”
The camp-leader stood several yards down the road, a rifle sitting against his shoulder in perfect hunting manner. The man was shouting something at Jensen but between the rage in the man's voice, and the window between the street and Jared, there were only some understandable words in there... most of which would be considered impolite to say in good company.
For a moment Jared was reminded of an old western he had seen shortly before they left behind the comforts of television and normalcy. None of the two men seemed willing to step down and Jared found himself wondering where all the blue vested, helmed agents had gone. Fortune didn't favor Jensen as the next person to enter the road wasn't an agent or a cop but Conner
It took only a few seconds for Jared to run to the storage room and grab one of the always clean and loaded rifles stored there before running towards the door, promise forgotten. By the time the door banged open, Conner already had his gun raised and pointed at Jensen in a three-man stand-off with two barrels pointed at Jared's friend, and none pointed at Conner
Jared shouted something that wasn't even any intelligible word and evened the odds a little. He held his rifle a lot like Clay did but other than the old man, his sight was set on Conner, who seemed flustered to say the least.
“Wh- What are you doing?”
Yes, what was he doing? Jared didn't know what he had been thinking barging out of the house like this, but it was too late for second guesses now. “Drop it, Conner”
“He's a fucking traitor!”
Jared didn't answer but didn't lower his rifle even by an inch. “Drop. it.”
For a few painfully long seconds Conner didn't move at all, then he dropped his gun and took off at a full run. Jared was almost too surprised to turn his rifle around towards Clay... But just almost.
The old man looked furious, sputtering insults at Jared before dropping his rifle suddenly and almost unexpectedly with a face reeking of disgust. “Traitors.”
Jensen didn't hesitate to close the space between him and Clay. He kicked away the rifle before slapping handcuffs onto the man with quick ease. Maybe that was the moment it finally sank into Jared's conscience: Jensen was a fed. He had played them all from the very beginning. Suddenly Jared felt hurt and betrayed.
“Jay? Jared lower your weapon.”
He snapped out of his thought at the words that sounded so much like the shouted orders he had heard before, although they were spoken much more quietly. It took him a moment to realize that his rifle was pointed at Jensen, if only sloppily so.
“You're a fed. You lied to me,” Jared hear himself voice his thoughts suddenly.
There were loud footsteps audible, and several people started shouting “Drop your weapon”, “Federal agents”, “Police!” and over them all he heard Jensen screaming for them to “don't shoot!”
Jared looked around and found half a dozen barrels pointing at him.
“I'm sorry, Jared. I know it's hard to understand. But right now I need you to lower your rifle.” Jensen's gun was raised but not pointing at Jared's head like it had done with Clay. “Please. Nothing happened here that you can't walk away from.”
Jared was afraid and confused but he knew that he was currently doing something really stupid. He let the barrel of the rifle drop to the ground. Jensen was there within a few heartbeats to take away his rifle and push him to the ground.
“I'm sorry, Jay. I'm gonna have to put cuffs on you.”
Jared nodded. He felt numb inside, the adrenaline and the fear of what might happen to him burning away all emotions.
- -
The raid went better than JD could have hoped. There were some minor injuries on a few officers and one FBI agent who had caught two bullets from a handgun in his kevlar vest. He had bruised a few ribs, but would be fine once the blue and black would fade.
Several Brotherhood members had to be transferred to the hospital as well after resisting arrest, two had died in a shoot-out, and JD coordinated his men to make sure they would be watched at all time. All in all there were about two dozen people in cuffs by the time they were done. One of his first phone calls went to Child Protective Services. There were kids of several ages in the compound who needed to be taken care of while their parents were arrested or taken in for questioning.
The oldest of the minors, Jeff led to his own squad car. Jared was quiet, chewing on his lower lip and staring at his own feet like they held an unknown revelation.
“That was a really stupid thing to do, Jared,” he said quietly as he moved to open the back seat door.
“I had to. They were gonna kill him.”
Jared had been read his rights, so everything he'd say could be used against him later although somehow JD hoped that the boy would get a second chance somehow.
“Who was gonna kill who?”
The teen looked at him through the shaggy fringe hanging into his eyes. “Clay and Conner. They had Jensen cornered... I couldn't just watch.”
The sheriff's eyebrows rose at the boy's words. “So you got the rifle?”
Jared nodded standing next to the open car door. He was standing hunched like he was trying to hide his tall frame.
“Then why did you point it at Agent Ackles when the reinforcements came.”
“I... I didn't think. I wasn't aiming or anything. It went so fast. I was confused... I'm sorry.”
Sighing out a breath JD put a hand on Jared's head as he let him get into the car.
“It's gonna be okay, Jared.” ...if Agent Ackles would back up his story.
- -
The Sheriff's office was much too small for this whole ordeal and most of the arrested people were taken to the next city where they had the capacity and manpower to deal with them. JD looked around his buzzing station wondering if it had ever been this busy before. He couldn't remember.
He stood outside of his office. He had willingly given up his space to Agent Devine to debrief her agents. It was the least he could do to show his appreciation for their help in finally getting rid of his biggest worry.
Agent Devine on her part had not closed the door when leading in a worried looking Jensen Ackles. JD had relayed Jared's claims to the leading lady of this investigation and it was now on her to determine whether to pursue Jared's possible involvement in anything.
“Did you find the plans?” Ackles asked in a voice that carried well enough for JD to wonder if they were aware that he was standing right outside.
“Yes. They were exactly where you said. So were the guns and the bomb kit.”
“Told you so.”
The older woman chuckled. “Yes you did... Now tell me about Jared. You said he wasn't involved.”
“No, he wasn't. He might have suspected that there could be bad things going on, but they didn't trust him enough to let him partake in anything.”
“And you?”
There was a long silence and JD leaned against the wall next to the door waiting to hear the answer as he flipped through paperwork he wasn't reading.
“What do you mean?”
“He lived with you, didn't he?”
“I let him sleep on the couch. His father's a violent drunk...”
“And he slept on the couch?” Devine asked slowly.
“What are you gunning for Loretta?” There was anger streaking Ackles' words, and JD could understand why.
“You two seemed... close.”
“I was trying to be a friend to him, okay? It might not be the most professional thing to do but I went with my gut on this one.”
“So nothing inappropriate happened?”
“Are you really asking me this?” Ackles hissed and there was a scrape of wood on wood that made JD deduce that Ackles had gotten up from his chair.
“If there's anything to tell then I need to know it now.”
There was a sigh and JD listened closely.
“I'm not stupid. But... he kissed me once when we were alone. I told him off, said to never do it again, that it was dangerous. He listened.”
“That's all?”
“Of course that's all. He's a minor for god's sake.”
“Good.”
There was another pause and JD wondered if that was the end of the conversation. It wasn't.
“So what happened today?” She didn't disclose the things JD had relayed to her. It was classical technique. They wouldn't have had time to make up a story yet, so if Jensen told the same story Jared did, it would have to be true rather than just Ackles trying to cover for the boy.
“I thought I saw Clay on the east road, so I went after him... He tried to get the drop on me and there was a stand off. I told him to put his gun down, he didn't. I didn't see Conner turning up but he was suddenly coming at me from behind. Without Jared, I'd probably have a few more holes in me now.”
- -
“Jared?”
He startled awake when he heard his name, wiping his hands over his face hoping he hadn't drooled on himself while sleeping with his head on the table.
“Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you.”
It was Jensen standing in the door. He was carrying a white paper bag and a paper cup and set both of them down in front of Jared.
“Thought you mind be hungry.”
Jared shrugged but the growl in his stomach betrayed him and he opened the bag to find a sandwich inside. He started eating quietly looking at Jensen, trying to figure out if the man looked any different now that he was a fed. For one, Jensen was wearing a gray suit. It was odd in Jared's opinion. But it made the whole federal agent thing more believable somehow.
“I know must feel betrayed now and I apologize for that.”
“Is Jensen even your name?”
“Yes. I'm agent Jensen Ackles with the department for alcohol, tobacco and firearms.”
Jared nodded glad that at least he didn't have to start thinking of him by some weird name like Barney or Luther.
“We explained what happened to the state's attorney and because you probably saved my life, they will overlook the little misunderstanding in the end. You weren't knowingly part of any illegal activities, so you won't be charged with anything. Child protective services should be here shortly to sort out where to put you for the next few months until you turn eighteen.” Jensen spoke slowly and clearly as if to make sure that Jared was able to follow everything that was said. A huge weight seemed to lift from Jared's shoulders at the words and he closed his eyes for a moment.
“Wh- What about my dad?” It was the question that was burning on his mind. He was afraid of being alone... but he was maybe even more afraid of being sent back to his father after everything he'd done to betray the man.
“He will be charged with several federal offences. He'll probably go away for a long time.” Jensen didn't offer any condolences on that fact, just the hard truth and Jared was grateful for the lack of pretences.
“Okay... thanks for telling me all that.” He wondered if he was supposed to put a 'sir' at the end of the sentence since Jensen was some kind of authority figure but decided against it.
“You're welcome. If you want you can wait outside. There's no need for you to sit in an interrogation room anymore.”
That was true. Jared had answered more questions than he could have thought of concerning the Brotherhood. He'd tried to answer truthfully, but whenever it got to the things the prosecutors seemed really interested in Jared had only hearsay or no knowledge at all to offer. That was probably what had saved his ass here. That and Jensen's testimony.
He got up and followed Jensen outside. In comparison to the interrogation room, the sheriff's office was a bustle of sound and motion.
“Can I ask you something?” After spending hours answering questions he felt kind of paradoxically clueless.
“Sure.” Jensen nodded as he led Jared to a waiting area.
“Was this all just an act? I mean... why did you befriend me of all people? I didn't get you any closer to finding whatever it is that you found.”
Jensen stopped in his steps only a few steps from the seats that were scattered across the room.
“Helping you had nothing to do with my job, Jared. I just figured that as long as it didn't interfere with it, it would be best to just be me as much as I could. They always say to keep the lies to a minimum when you're undercover because otherwise you will start messing up. I want you to know that everything I told you about me in private is the truth,” Jensen said quietly but solemnly.
Jared knew what the ATF agent was talking about, the story about his father and the reason why he had protected Jared in the first place. To know that it hadn't just been Jensen trying to make Jared trust him was a good feeling.
“I'm sorry,” Jared said before he could think about it.
“What for?” Jensen gestured for Jared to sit down before seating himself in the chair next to his.
“Everything. Being stupid today and making your life harder before... being an idiot when we were hunting.”
“Don't,” Jensen said almost interrupting Jared before he could finish his last word. “Don't apologize for that.” There was a deep frown on Jensen's face as he met Jared's eyes with all seriousness. “It was an asshole move of me to make you feel bad about that. I was just afraid of what might happen if any of the others in the Brotherhood found out.”
“So you really weren't mad?”
“No,” Jensen stated matter-of-factly before a small smirk crept onto his face. “But you are a little too young for me, not even mentioning the conflict of interest while this thing is still brewing.”
Jared blinked at that because at first the words didn't make sense and then they just... what? “You- wait.” Jared's fingers were curling around the seat of his chair as if to keep him steady in a twisting world. “You're... like me?”
He couldn't make himself say it, not out loud, not in public. He had spent so long hiding it to the best of his ability that it felt just wrong.
“Yeah.” A small smile appeared on Jensen's lips and he clapped his hand on Jared's shoulder fingers pressing it firmly. “So don't let anybody make you feel bad about it, okay? Especially not me. Hypocrisy has never been on my to-do list.”
Jared couldn't help chuckling at these words coming out of Jensen's mouth, Jensen who until a few hours ago Jared had believed to be the nice version of the narrow minded, thick necked hillbilly.
Before he could think about any witty reply, the CPS lady came.
NEXT CHAPTER >>