Run Rabbit Run [5/?]
Psych
Explicit
Carlton Lassiter/Shawn Spencer
~39900 words (total so far)
When strange envelopes are delivered to Shawn and Carlton with instructions and threats, they have no choice but to run for their lives. But trusting a stranger to watch their backs is easier said than done.
Shawn woke up, the alarm clock flashing 4:14 AM from nightstand next to Carlton's head. He slowly unraveled from the sheets and blanket that he'd managed to twist around himself in the night, stealing more and more from the man across the way. The hotel room was cold on his bare skin, but Shawn's first stop wasn't at his own duffel bag.
Shawn felt Carlton's suitcase, quickly memorizing the exact way it was laying in the dark. It was tempting - take what he needed then get out. Let them go their separate ways because Shawn was almost completely sure he'd be better on his own. Before he'd even started unzipping, he found that the 'almost' had stilled his hands.
"Come on," he encouraged himself in the dark. It shouldn't have been a difficult decision to make. He was smarter. He couldn't afford to be weighed down by dead weight that seemed to like giving orders and being in control. All he had to do was take it - wallet, gun, keys - then go. And so what if that meant when the sun came up, Carlton was a sitting duck? Not his problem.
The idea had come to life while he'd slept, had driven him from the bed purposefully and eagerly, telling him that he was better, but as Shawn blinked the sleep-inspired bravado away, he realized that this was possibly a monumentally bad idea. He could pretend all he wanted, but truth be told, he thought he could like Carlton's company, would be happier with someone to travel with.
And, no matter how often he tried to convince himself otherwise, he did have a conscience that kindly reminded him that Carlton had stuck his neck out for him when he hadn't needed to. They could have parted ways in Sioux Falls, and what sort of thanks would it be if Shawn punished him for that? Shawn had watched enough movies to know those were the actions of a coward and a very bad person.
With a sigh in lament for his half-brained plan, Shawn backed away from Carlton's suitcase and went to his own duffel bag, fishing out the least dirty of his laundry and noting that they should stop at a laundromat sometime in the next few days. He realized faintly that planning for the future meant conceding that there would be a future.
Maybe Carlton was right. Shawn didn't think he'd tell him that.
By the time he got done showering, shaving, messing with his hair (he missed having it long - getting it cut had been his punishment for stealing the car a few weeks ago), and brushing his teeth, Carlton was awake, grumbly and half-asleep as he took over the bathroom. Shawn packed up his things and peeked outside. It was definitely starting to get lighter out.
Shawn turned on the TV, fidgeting as he waited for Carlton to get done. Thinking about the arrest for even just a moment had him wondering how Henry had taken it when Shawn had just disappeared. How he would explain it to Mom. What Gus would be doing when he noticed that Shawn had lifted his first credit card out of his wallet. What he would think.
He tried to shake it all away - none of it mattered. Not now.
And he desperately didn't want Carlton to see him looking contemplative. When he heard the water shut off, he forced on a smile, lifted his head and his shoulders. Once the door opened, he asked quickly, "I'm driving first?"
"Yep. Unless you've got good objections to it." Carlton tossed him the keys as he shoved his dirty clothes into his suitcase. "Come on. We need to get going."
-----
After a quick breakfast of donuts and coffee, Shawn said, "When you call Lightly, I want it to be on speakerphone." He gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to sound firm, unyielding. "I need to hear him, and I need to know what he says."
"Don't trust me?"
"Difference in trusting you and trusting him," Shawn pointed out. He caught Carlton's shrug out of the corner of his eye. "Besides, didn't you tell me not to get too comfortable?"
"Fair enough."
-----
It was a pleasantly quiet day, and Shawn wasn't often the sort of guy who enjoyed quiet days. They were headed down the I-94 to Chicago when Carlton finally seemed to pull himself out of the thoughts that had him quiet and them both listening to the radio for the last hour or so. He had taken to contemplating the atlas they'd bought, flipping here and there.
Finally, he said, "Could New York wait?"
Shawn looked over at him only to be met with a scowl and he hurriedly looked back at the highway. He reluctantly shrugged. He'd rather get to New York to be close to his mom, but he didn't want to say that. So Shawn decided to sound as if he didn't care at all. That was easier than to be expected to ignore more personal questions he didn't want to answer. "Sure. Why?"
"Because if they did their research and they know you have a reason to be there, they may be headed that way. I was thinking of heading south a bit for today and asking Lightly tonight what he thinks the best plan might be."
Shawn nodded reluctantly. One day out of the way wouldn't kill him. Well. Hopefully. "Fine by me."
-----
When they stopped to get lunch and snacks at a gas station, Carlton picked up a few books of Sudoku, crossword puzzles, and word finds. Shawn, after a quick flip through all of them and realizing that he'd be bored to tears with them, insisted on stopping at a used bookstore just down the road. Books weren't really his thing - Gus was the bookworm not him. But without something else to keep him occupied, he was going to go slowly crazy.
He picked out a few books with terrible covers near the front of the store, paid the $9 with Gus's credit card, and then was hopping back into the car less than fifteen minutes after he'd gotten out of it.
He realized after a few minutes that he'd somehow managed to pick out four trashy romance books.
A few pages into the first one, laughing and reading a paragraph out loud to Carlton, he decided he didn't care.
-----
The day ended up being somewhat relaxing. Shawn couldn't see any cars that seemed to be following them, and he hadn't seen the two people from the McDonald's yesterday at all. Part of him stayed on guard, convinced that there might be others coming after them, but without evidence of it, his worry dropped to a mild simmer, still present but not as pressing as it had been previously.
They stopped in St. Louis in the middle of the afternoon, Carlton deciding that they'd gone far enough for the day. They spent a few hours downtown, out in the open and watching nervously to see if they were being followed. Hand in hand, they went through the crowds, from shop to shop, slowly finding that they were safe for the time being.
By the time the sky began to get dark, most of Shawn's apprehension came from the idea of talking to Lightly. It only got worse as they ate dinner and drove to the nearest cheap hotel advertising unoccupied rooms. He was jittery as they settled in the room, looking out at the rapidly-darkening sky. Shawn sank down on the edge of the bed, peering at Carlton as he locked the door with one more paranoid glance outside.
Shawn couldn't keep himself from asking, "What if Lightly tells you to kill me? What'll you do?"
Carlton shook his head, distractedly looking around the room. Checking for wires and cameras and everything Shawn could have already told him weren't there. "Tell him I'm not going to commit murder."
Shawn sighed, more frustrated than relieved, "If he tells you to ditch me?"
"Tell him to make a convincing case." Carlton looked at Shawn severely. "Or tell him to come up with an alternative. And strongly suggest that he does." He gave a very small smile. "I'm not going to leave you behind unless I have to or unless you want to leave."
Shawn slowly nodded, agreeing. "Or until you get sick of me."
"Then you should stop reading those god-awful books out loud while I'm trying to drive." Even as he said it, Carlton's smile became softer. Amusement, Shawn thought. It looked good on him. Shawn hadn't hit on him for no reason - he would rather go without than attempt to make a move on someone he wasn't actually attracted to.
But he quickly reined those thoughts in, locked them firmly away. That might be the one thing he couldn't get away with, the one thing he wouldn't try. Carlton had made his position very clear, and Shawn wasn't going to push him on it.
"You liked it," he accused with a grin. Carlton shook his head, still smiling. "You totally want to know what Hans and Greta do to the the naughty witch."
"I'm on the edge of my seat." Carlton sighed and looked towards the desk with the phone sitting on it, waiting for them to stop avoiding the inevitable. "Come on, let's get this over with." Shawn rolled across the bed to sit on the side nearest the desk while Carlton slid into the chair. He pushed the phone to the edge of the table and pulled the phone off the hook. Shawn leaned forward, nervous and excited to finally get to talk to the man who might be able to save his life. Carlton chuckled at him, and Shawn glared half-heartedly back. "Trust me. It's not as bad as you think."
"I dunno. This whole running rabbit thing has just been reaching new levels of bad." Shawn tried to keep himself smiling. "But yeah, okay. Let's do this."
Carlton pushed the speaker button, a red light glowing brightly on the bottom of the phone. He punched in a series of numbers quickly, practiced for a number he'd only known for a little over a week. Shawn breathed deeply, clasping his hands together and trying to contain his jittery nerves.
Two rings, and there was an audible click. And silence.
"Lightly," Carlton said.
"Carlton," a thin, nasally voice answered. Shawn wasn't sure whether the laugh he stifled was out of amusement or out of sudden desperation as he realized that this was the guy they were trusting with their lives. "How's St. Louis?" Shawn immediately stiffened, his eyes going wide.
Carlton, on the other hand, seemed unnerved by Lightly's apparent omniscience. "Safe. For now, at least."
"Ah. Good, good." Shawn didn't like how... calm he sounded. How unaffected. He frowned but said nothing as Lightly continued, "Why don't we talk about the elephant in the room, Carlton? Well. I'm assuming he's in the room."
"Elephant?" Shawn asked, trying to sound amused, trying to keep smiling even though both were hard due to the sudden anger and dislike Shawn took to Lightly.
"I have other choices. Cop's son. Troublemaker. Genius." The smile he heard made him all the more nervous, "Hello, Shawn."
He ignored the odd look Carlton was angling at him, and forced himself to reply, "Hey, Lightly. How's it going?"
"Ah, flippant. You see, I thought you'd either be flippant or angry. Either trying to shrug off your discomfort or attack it head-on."
Shawn's smile got harder to hold. "I'm sorry. Do we know each other?"
"I make it my business to know everything about these matters that I can. I can't be helpful if I'm not informed. In any case. I'm sorry you have to be a part of this." Even as he said it, his voice sounded devoid of emotion, empathy. Shawn shivered slightly and leaned forward again, listening intently. "How much have you told him, Carlton?"
"Enough to fill in the gaps."
Shawn cut in quickly, "He said we can get out of this alive?"
"They can call the hunt off. Either because you're too good at running and hiding and end up being too inconvenient to keep chasing or because they take mercy on you." After a second, Lightly added, "I wouldn't bet on mercy. If I were you."
"So we run until they get bored."
"And he helps us stay ahead," Carlton said, looking grim. "Hopefully."
"Right," Lightly agreed.
"So," Shawn ventured, "what would that help entail, exactly?"
"I'm setting up my contacts as we speak. They'll help you along the way. Give you supplies or training that I can't."
"And you're sure we can trust them?" Carlton immediately asked.
"I wouldn't give you to them if I didn't trust them. They're all like you - people who were running at some point, people who got away. Or they were close to someone who didn't make it. I trust them with my life. I'm sure you can trust them with yours."
"You're running too?"
"Of course not, Shawn. But you can't think the people chasing you would let me live if they knew where I was."
"No," Shawn admitted. "So you trust them."
"We will too," Carlton lied, silently shifting his left arm. To feel the weight of his gun, Shawn thought. The reminder that they weren't helpless. Or at least Carlton wasn't. He caught Carlton's eye and nodded, showing him that he understood and was with him on all counts.
"So, where's our first stop?"
Lightly considered for a moment before he answered. "I'm still trying to get my contacts on the East Coast in working order. They all got a little scattered, but they should be in line soon enough. If you want to get help the quickest, one of the best I can get can meet up with you in about three days if you keep heading west."
"I need to get to New York," Shawn said in the ensuing silence.
"You'll be better off with him helping you, Shawn. And I don't think I need to tell you how unwise it would be to contact Madeline. Chances are, your hunters will be waiting for you there if you go now."
"Madeline?" Carlton turned to glare at him. "You're after a girl?"
Shawn wanted to deny it - or deny the truth and confirm the lie because he didn't want Carlton knowing. It wasn't an issue of trust but an admission of his own weakness. He didn't get the chance, as Lightly clarified, sounding almost embarrassed though Shawn didn't believe it. "It's his mother, Carlton." He continued, unable to see the way Carlton stiffened, clenching his jaw as he looked away from Shawn. "If you start moving west, they'll follow you."
"Fine," Shawn growled finally. "Whatever."
"Good," Lightly said easily, like he hadn't, in this one conversation, revealed more about Shawn than he'd been willing to admit to Carlton on his own. "And if I may offer some advice? Move slower. Driving seven to ten hours a day is going to burn you out quickly. Your pursuers are going to catch up, just don't let them catch you alone or surprised. You should both be good enough for that."
"Any other advice you want to give us?" Carlton sounded cold. "About being in a group?"
"No, actually. This is a first for me. Never had more than one person before." Shawn's stomach turned, and the room spun around him as he gripped the bedding tightly. Lightly sounded excited. Happy, even. "Call me tomorrow night, and I should have everything about your meetup confirmed. For now, get some rest. And good luck tomorrow."
Carlton hung up the phone, and Shawn growled angrily, "He's fucking getting off on this."
"I know," Carlton admitted, sounding no happier than Shawn did. "But he's what we've got."
"And what if he's delivering us to the people who are trying to kill us? What happens then?"
Carlton shrugged, his shoulders seeming heavy to Shawn's keen eyes, but he couldn't spare mercy for him at the moment. The dizziness of fear and distrust was clouding his mind. "We do our best to make sure they die too." Carlton looked at him, expression intense. "Mutually assured destruction."
"Great. Fantastic plan for staying alive."
"What were you going to do? Go to New York, talk to your mommy?" He spat the word out almost hatefully, pushing himself out of his chair. "Get everyone in your envelope killed? That what you want, Shawn?"
"I wasn't going to contact her," Shawn said, glaring up at the older man and refusing to stand up, crowd his space, push him like he suddenly wanted to. "I wanted..." He paused, shook his head, shaking with anger.
"Wanted what?" Carlton's hands were curled into fists. "What was your master plan, Einstein?"
"I wanted to see her one last time before I was chased down and slaughtered." Shawn met his gaze evenly, scowling and refusing to mask himself. "I wanted to see how she was doing. She has to know I'm missing by now. I needed to see that she was going to be okay. That-" he took a deep breath and continued, "that she wasn't lying to me when we talked on the phone. I haven't seen her in almost a year because Dad wouldn't let me after the divorce. The last time we saw each other, she was getting on a plane to New York because he got the house, he got everything. He got me." He pushed himself to his feet finally, still too short to be intimidating to Carlton, but he didn't care. "Happy now? Any more questions?"
Shawn didn't wait for an answer. He left Carlton standing there, expression undefinable as Shawn walked around him, stormed to the door. He fiddled with the lock then threw it open, making sure to slam it behind him as he stepped out into the chill night air.
"Fuck."
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