~ In Dreams Reborn ~

Umm...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:26:51 GMT

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

This year I've been busy!

In February I bought porn for arachanster (-10 points). Last Wednesday I signed my organ donor card (28 points). In March I helped jemck hide a body (-173 points). Last Tuesday I invaded Iraq, broke it, and couldn't glue it back together before Mom got home (-1012 points). Last week I pulled aramuin's hair (-5 points).

Overall, I've been naughty (-1172 points). For Christmas I deserve a spanking!

Sincerely,
deannawol

Meltdown on Amazon

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:23:58 GMT

I write as a hobby. Most of my friends list know that. Don't particularly see myself submitting to publish at any point in the future. I just like writing. However, if I ever do get published, and if I ever do something like this, just take my computer away. I'll refund any airfare costs accrued if you take my keyboard away from me in time to save my reputation. That's a promise.

Also, it just seems to me that blaming your editor for everything that's wrong with your novel and saying that you have no creative control over editing is a little worrying. I've followed several authors' blogs and it seems from an outsider view that it's a give and take process. A conversation pointing out flaws that aren't immediately obvious to the author. After all, you know what you're trying to say, but you may have skipped over something that is the actual explanation for the scene.

The whole thing is worse than Laurell K Hamilton's 'Dear Negative Reader' blog post and she comes off sounding like a complete nutcase. Watch out for the end of it and the Federal Cyber Crime case that's got her collecting all the comments and sending them to the FBI. 'Cause damn, everyone's under the jurisdiction of the good ol' U S of A.

Have a read for yourself, it's a cracker: www.amazon.com/review/R1BA0D6J2GS59/ref=cm_cd_pg_pg1

Yuletide Assignments

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:49:28 GMT

So I decided to sign up for Yuletide. Crazy, I know, but well... It had to be done.

And with that, here's my secret santa post!

To whoever is fantastic enough to get my prompts, I've left them fairly vague for the most part. I don't mind what you pick, what you write. If you have an idea, go with it. Whatever you write will be absolutely brilliant. Just have fun with it, after all, isn't that what it's all about.

For the Dark Hunter series prompt:
I love any of the characters who aren't Ash. He's someone who should pop up as a bit character in the books but he's her standby Deus Ex Machina. I love the shifters and the current storylines with the bear clan has me itching to write fic. So feel free to pick one of the Dark Hunters or one of the shifters.

For the Sharpe prompt:
I'm a die hard Sharpe fan and love the interactions between Sharpe and Harper. Harper is the perfect Sergeant to his Officer. He's always there for him, making sure he has what he needs and keeping the rest of the idiots in the army from getting too close.

For the Fast and the Furious prompt:
Dom and Brian hit off each other from movie one and that hasn't changed over the four movies. Yes, okay, it's only two movies that they're actually in but Brian's wrecked his career for him so many times that there has to be something more there than adrenaline, fast cars and money, right?

For the Sons of Anarchy prompt:
Clay and Jax have been fighting and backbiting for the last year and it's been getting worse. Zobel immediately pegged her as the family matriarch and the one common point in the family, the lynchpin holding the world of the Sons together. This rivalry has gotta be pissing her off massively. She's a strong woman, no way is she going to let this go further than it already has.

How do you see me?

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:03:27 GMT

So, along with the fact that I'm considering doing an adult education course (Open University degree or otherwise) and the fact that I'm currently having a few stresses at work*, I'm considering a vast range of things to do to take my mind off stuff. Which has led me to a question that I would like you guys to answer if you can.

If I wasn't doing what I'm doing, what job would you consider me most suited for? Or to put it another way, knowing me as well as you do, what profession do you think I would most enjoy or excel in?

* and in saying that I am the mistress of understatement.

Can't stop grinning...

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:27:43 GMT

So went into town today and found these...

Of course they had to be bought!!! Suggestions welcomed for what should be used to christen these wonderful little things. Cocktail shots, straight shots, anything...

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - Master Post

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:33:42 GMT

Title: Dreaming in Cordite
Author Name: deannawol
Artist Name: sandrainthesun

Master Fic Link: Master Fic Post
Master Art Link: Master Art Post

Genre: RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Sam Ferris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christian Kane, Various Others.

Rating: 18 Overall – Sexual situations, graphic violence in places and adult language
Warnings: Slash (M/M) relationship, oral sex, violence, off-screen death of a non J2 character.
Word Count: ~51,000

Summary: J2 Cyberpunk AU; Jared is a free spirit with a passion for mercenaries and street fighters. He doesn’t want to be involved in the family business, but during an extremely hostile takeover bid for Padalecki Microcybernetics, he finds himself to be the heir to the empire. When he starts to make moves to take control of the business however, someone takes exception to this and puts a contract out on his life and the life of his little sister. Enter Jensen Ackles, ex-soldier and current mercenary ready and willing to put his life on the line to save Jared and get them to safety. However, things get more complicated when they start to develop non-professional feelings for one another during the run. Will they? Won’t they? Find out in Dreaming in Cordite.

Author Notes: This is a slow build up story with a slightly schmoopy ending. Cyberpunk specific terms have been explained in mouse-overs for people unfamiliar with certain phrases so that explanations will not slow down the story. If you see a word or phrase underlined, simply hover over it and a small dialog box will appear with the definition. Feedback is welcomed. Enjoy!

I want to say a huge thank you to my beta, aramuin, whose painstakingly good beta means that you won’t have to put up with the many errors that existed in the first draft. As always, any existing errors are my fault. I, also, want to apologise to my friends who have been avoided during the editing phase or been subjected to daily progress reports. My artist, sandrainthesun, is fantastic so make sure to check out her artworks and I just want to say thanks for choosing my story outline.

Disclaimer: This is not real and no insult is intended. Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, as well as the various others in this story, are real people and I have taken extreme artistic liberty with their characters. No profit is being made from this work. All situations are purely fiction and any relationship to real life is strictly coincidental. However, if people happen to discover cyberware, I’ll be first in line!

Master Fic Post | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Epilogue | Master Art Post | Soundtrack

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - Soundtrack

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:32:33 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 1

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:25:58 GMT

Title: Dreaming in Cordite
Author Name: deannawol
Artist Name: sandrainthesun

Genre: RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Sam Ferris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christian Kane, Various Others.

Rating: 18 Overall – Sexual situations, graphic violence in places and adult language
Warnings: Slash (M/M) relationship, oral sex, violence, off-screen death of a non J2 character.
Word Count: ~51,000

~#~#~

Chrome rock thrashed its way around the room as people struggled to find space on the crowded dance floor of Pixies, Dallas’ hottest new nightclub. The Glitterati of the city bumped and ground with street-riders and nobodies, occasionally dragging them into strobe lit corners hoping to hit the headlines on tomorrow's society pages. Everyone who was anyone was here under the spotlights, BrainDance stars and VidQueen Divas.

Jared had been lucky to get in, given that he was still a few years shy of twenty-one. He'd elbowed and shoved his way through the crowds moving deeper into the club's depravity. He'd shimmied with some street samurai, mercenaries, and their poser hangers-on before slipping into the underused VIP section. With all the tabloid snappers downstairs, very few headed up out of the by-line. But he hadn’t let that stop him from dropping a cred-chip, only fifty bucks but more than enough to sweet talk one of the underpaid waitresses into bringing over a bottle of Jack.

From his place on the upper level balcony, Jared watched the pulsing crowd. He wished that he could just fade into the background and be part of it, grinding and thrashing with the pretty, pretty people but his father's little 'Coming of Age' press conference put paid to that. His face was plastered across every TV station and dataterm in the state, much to Jared's annoyance. They'd had words over that, very loud words and way too close to the cameras for anyone's liking. So he broke free and ran to the most media heavy place in the city. Not one of his best ideas but he was in the mood for a little fun to wind down and get the anger out of his system, and there was nothing like a slow, deep fuck to work out the kinks. Only problem was picking what flavour he wanted tonight, something to get his father boiling and avoiding the snap-happy bastards looking for the money shot; him working his way through a bottle of Jack on his own.

It would just give his father yet another opportunity to roll out his usual 'irresponsible teen' rant that he so loved giving. And of course, that would be followed by the requisite 'There's still time to enrol in that MBA in UT’ speech. Every fucking week.

Christ, if he didn’t want to spend four years staring at mind-numbingly, boring books, wasn’t that his decision? He was nineteen years old, damn it, hardly a child, but Gerald Padalecki was already planning for him to take his place in the family business, Padalecki Microcybernetics. There was one son signed up to carry the technology torch, shouldn't that be enough? Who cares if Grandpa Harold invested in the microchip before the so-called giants of the computer industry even knew that they existed, holding them to ransom for the highest price? And before that, Great-Granddad P decided to start stockpiling plane parts all ready to sell to the government when they got desperate enough to agree to his exorbitant prices, starting the chain of capitalist wheeling dealing. Father to son through four generations, with his older brother as the latest mogul in the legacy. And no matter what Jared said, his father just couldn’t get it through his head that his youngest son was more interested in getting tech installed than overseeing its creation. Sitting behind a desk just wasn't for him. He wanted to be out on the streets with the bullets flying past him and adrenaline burning through his veins. Well, maybe without the bullets. Sure it looked good on the sims but Jared liked living too much to simply walk out of his cosy penthouse life.

That was part of the reason he was here tonight. A little fun and excitement without his bodyguards looking over his shoulder and making snide comments, or worse, reporting back to the great Gerald Padalecki on his every move. It hadn't been easy to shake his shadows. The guys were trained, highly trained and shit scared of their boss. He'd tried to bribing them but no dice. He'd tried slipping past them in his stockinged feet but damn that heightened hearing. But a pack of worm tablets in the coffee pot had done what nothing else had. Wouldn't do anything worse than keeping them within five meters of the bathroom but it would give Jared the chance to live a little, be closer to that edge. His other reasons were a lot more basic; pick up some hot, young someone and get his rocks off. And there was a prime candidate.

Decked out in enough armour to cover a small family, the man moved with a panther's grace across the floor, neatly sidestepping problems before they stepped into his path. There was no mistaking this guy as anything other than a street fighter, fresh from the grime and grit of Dallas' underside. A couple of years ago, the normals would have scattered scared as soon as someone like him walked in through the doors but now it seemed like the city couldn't get enough of their darkest sons. And the darker the better. Blond hair, slicked and flattened out of his face. Eyes hidden behind mirror shades as he looked over the crowd with an ease that only his extreme height could offer him. Jared estimated that the guy was at least as tall as he was if not an inch or two taller judging by how he towered over the rest of the population. He had an edge of danger about him and that was all that Jared needed tonight.

The man was full of confidence and a certain unidentifiable quality that woke Jared’s primal instinct. Tan dark skin under darker leather. The man was a walking wet dream. If he fucked like he walked, then Jared was in for a very good night.

That was presuming, of course, that he could get close to the guy and that he would want to be seen with the kid from the lead feature on the six o'clock news. That was where Daddy's AmEx came in. Nothing like an open tab to help with making a good impression. The perfect precursor to his fabulous, dimpled smile.

Checking himself out in one of the mirrored panels that decorated the walls, Jared ran a hand through his hair, giving it that artfully dishevelled look that he was famous for. He looked over the fit of the red leather jeans and white shirt; tight enough to show off his assets. He looked damned good and knew it. Throwing back another swig of Jack before dropping the bottle on one of the tables. If everything went well, he wouldn't be needing it, and if not, well... It was easy to bribe another waitress.

Jared moved past the ropes sectioning off the VIP section from the rest of the club, tipping the bouncer a wink and, more discretely, a cred chip with enough money to get him and his evening's entertainment back in without any problems. He'd seen the man move towards the bar. If everything went to plan, he would swoop in, pay the man’s bill and invite the man back upstairs for a little... rest and recreation.

It was easy to navigate the wake the man had left behind. Platinum girls and diamond boys could do nothing but watch the fighter pass, none of them getting even the barest of glances from the fighter. One or two who did work up the courage to step into his path got about as far as their overused pick-up lines before being treated to his withering stare, sending them scampering. Luckily for him, Jared liked a challenge and it took a lot more than a scowl to shake him.

His target had already ordered a drink by the time that Jared had made his way to the bar. Jared let his eyes crawl over his target, taking in the fine details. Sun-streaked blond hair, eyes so blue that they had to be cybered, and hot as hell. Just Jared's type.

Pulling the black credcard from his pocket, he slid it across the bar as the bartender returned. “Let me,” Jared smiled one of his winning smiles, dimples showing clear and easy on his cheeks.

The blond looked him up and down, lip curling into a sneer, “I buy my own drinks.”

Jared didn't let the knock back faze him, just slipped the card back into his pocket “Fine! You can buy me a drink then. JD, neat, no rocks.”

The blond quirked an eyebrow. His eyes tracked the bartender as he made his way to the other end of the bar, “Yeah, 'cause I really wanna end my night in handcuffs.”

“Dunno what you mean,” Jared frowned.

The merc looked around the bar, letting his eyes crawl over the patrons standing close to them. He leaned in close, dropping his voice so that only Jared could pick up his words, “Managed to catch the early edition before I left. Gotta say, the camera didn’t do you justice.”

“Well...” Jared smiled again, as he turned his head, his breath caressing the fighter’s ear, “we don't have to use the handcuffs.”

The blond’s eyes widened for an instant before he chuckled, “You don't hear 'no' often do you?”

“Not very. It just gets in the way of what I have planned.”

“And what do you have planned?” The blond asked, curiosity playing across his face.

Jared smirked and pushed away from the bar. He was about five steps away when he stopped and looked over his shoulder, “You'll have to follow me if you want an answer to that.”

The blond tossed a couple of battered bills on the bar, knocked back his drink and took off after Jared. The bouncer snapped the velvet rope out of their way, inclining his head as Jared reached out a hand and grabbed the other man, dragging him deeper into the restricted section.

He had the perfect spot picked out; enough shadow to hide the specifics but bright enough that people would appreciate that disturbances were not welcome. It was just moments before Jared was bouncing down on the plush seat. He could feel the tightening of muscles in his partner as the man resisted for an instant before letting himself get dragged down onto the seat. There was a flash of something in the man’s eyes but it was gone before Jared could pin point it. He pulled back a second, brow furrowing as he checked that the man wasn’t getting cold feet.

He was about to ask him if he was still okay when the fighter pushed him down to lie on the couch, covering Jared with his body. He let one of his hands reach out to push the hair back from the younger man’s face. The merc lets his fingertips trace over the younger man’s cheek and then down the column of his throat. Jared arched his neck. The blond leaned in close enough for Jared to feel the pant of breath against the sensitive skin before licking a long swathe along his pulse line. He shivered and not from excitement.

Teeth nipped at his earlobe and Jared started. A flick of tongue stole the moment of pain and moved higher, licking inside the shell of his ear. Jared squirmed at the horrid wet feeling. He'd had a fucking shower before he'd come out, he didn't need another one.

“So how we gonna play this?” The fighter asked between licks.

“You're gonna make me feel like Heaven and then I'm gonna make you scream for the angels,” Jared grinned, “that good for you?”

“Yeah, fine,” another unidentifiable something flashed across the merc’s eyes as Jared watched but it vanished as the man smiled and asked, “What do you want first?”

“Go down on me?” Jared asked, hoping to shift the man's attention away from his ear.

“Sorry, man, don't do that,” the blond went back to his licking.

“The fuck?” Jared swore, “Anything else you don't do? Your hands still work or y’got a problem giving a guy a hand?”

“Suppose not,” the man shrugged awkwardly.

“Well, what you waiting for then?”

“Pushy for a kid that shouldn't even be in here, ain’t ya?” the man grinned as he moved his hand down until it rested on Jared’s crotch.

Pushing back into the seat, Jared gave the blond room to flick the buttons open and push a hand inside. Jared hadn’t bothered with underwear, which seemed to please the over-eager blond. He closed his eyes as he felt fingers wrapped around his shaft. Jared brought his hand up to the back of the fighters head, letting his fingers card through the streaked hair before extending his neck and pulling his lover down.

This time, the fighter took the hint and nibble, licked his way down the corded muscle. Jared lost himself as the man ran a thumb over the head of his cock, spreading the first drops of pre-come over the crown.

“Aw yeah, baby, just like that,” Jared groaned, panting.

The blond stroked faster, driven by Jared's words. Jared fisted his hand in the other man’s hair as he edged closer to climax. He could feel the precipice coming near as his body tightened and his balls drew tight. One more second, one more stroke and...

BZZZZZ

Jared's phone buzzed in his pocket.

“Ignore it!” Jared ordered as the man started to push away. “I’m almost there! Don’t-Jesusfuck-don’t stop!”

He thumped his thigh, trying to blindly disconnect the call, but it didn't seem to be working. Fumbling in his pocket, he tried to pull the phone out without answering the call. Just as the tiny Japanese creation was free, the buzzing stopped. Jared tossed the phone on the couch beside him, ignoring it as the blond picked up the pace again. Tensing, Jared found himself re-approaching his interrupted peak. His breathing was ragged, his pulse echoing through his ears.

Trailing a hand down, he wrapped his long slender fingers around the other man’s hand, showing him the perfect rhythm to hurry him along. The fighter had just found the right speed when the phone buzzed again. Jared fumbled for the phone again, looking at the display.

“Shit, I gotta get this,” Jared apologised as he clicked the green button to answer the call.

The blond tried to withdraw his hand, but Jared kept his hand over his, stroking slowly until the blond got the message.

“JD, you got the shittiest timing!”

The voice on the other end was firm, brokering no jokes, “Jared, I need you to tell me where you are.”

“The fuck, JD?” Jared frowned. “Where do you think I am? I told you, I was going out for the night and, no offence, but I don’t exactly need a wingman.”

“Damnit, Jared, this isn’t funny. I need to know where you are and I need to know now!”

There was something to the man's voice that made Jared push away from his companion and sit up. A note of desperation that didn't generally cross his father's head of security's voice.

“Jeez, JD. Dad must be riding you hard over my ditching tonight to get you this riled up.” Jared said, trying to get the older man to calm down.

“You got three seconds or I track your cell,” JD shouted down the phone.

Jared pulled the phone away from his ear, “Christ, if it means that much to you, I'm at Pix...”

Cold steel pressed firmly to the skin on his neck, shutting him up.

“Jared? Jared, say that again, I didn't catch the name,” JD’s voice was only a shade away from frantic.

The phone was taken from his hand. He turned to see the smirk on his companion's face.

“Jared can't come to the phone right now. He's a little … incapacitated,” the blond's cold smile make Jared shiver. “Really, Morgan, I gotta say I'm surprised you let the kid out on his own. I mean, fifty grand for this, I feel as if I'm being overpaid. I really expected better from you. Should have beaten the ‘slut’ outta him, makes him a really easy mark.”

With that he dropped the phone and crushed it under the heel of his combat boots.

“Honestly, you should be a little less predictable.” The fighter slid closer to Jared, knife pressing hard against Jared's jugular as he spoke. “Anyone worth their guns knows that you're a danger junkie, always attracted to the bright and shiny world of street fighting and merc work. Hell, if Morgan had given us about five more minutes, I reckon I woulda got you to agree to bring me home.”

The merc played the knife over Jared’s throat, pressing deeper, “Imagine the look on ole Jeff’s face as he opened your door and finds your laid out corpse decorating the room. Shit, that would have been priceless. As it is, I gotta do this quick and dirty.”

Jared turned his head slowly, giving the merc enough time to move the knife with him and not slice him, “Wh...” He felt a warm trickle down his throat. He gulped, closing his eyes before fear got a proper foothold. “Why?”

“Talking isn't the best idea at the moment, kid, not with a monoblade at your throat,” the merc dug into Jared's skin drawing another drop of blood. “One little slice and they'll find your body up here in a nice, wet mess. Ya know how rare it is in my business to find a ’weave virgin? Someone with just ordinary skin. A little flick,” the merc flicked the blade again, drawing more blood, “and you’re gone. Only ones interested in you then will be the vultures of the body banks.”

Jared's eyes frantically searched the shadows hoping that someone would notice his predicament, one of the bouncers, the floor staff, even the waitress that he bribed into bringing him the bottle of Jack earlier. But there was no way they could see the knife; the merc was blocking all the lines of sight. He'd chosen his little hideaway too well. Everyone was either on the dance floor or buried deep in their own diversions.

The merc leaned in close, whisper-talking over the music straight into Jared's ear, “This is how it's going to be, kid. We're gonna walk outta here, you and me. There's a fire exit down the corridor. That's where we're heading. And don't go thinking that you can just ditch me and run for it. I'm gonna have my knife here at your back. One step outta place and I'll sever your spine. Ya got that? And that’s when I’m going to get interesting. And trust me, you’re not going to like that.”

The knife drew back a fraction, giving Jared just enough room to nod his head. Guided by the blade, Jared rose slowly. The self-defence lessons that JD had taught him ran through his mind but with the threat still at his throat, there wasn’t much he could do without being sliced and diced. Maybe when the merc moved…

But the blade went from his throat to his back in half a heartbeat, less maybe, setting alarm bells off in Jared’s head. The guy had to be wired. He remembered JD warning him about it and telling him to stay the hell outta any fights if he thought they were packing any sort of speedware.

The thin cotton of the vest top split under the pressure and a drop of blood escaped to run down the hollow of his back. Jared held himself still, trying not to shiver as he felt the cold metal against his skin.

“Now, do up your pants. Don’t wanna give the nice people a show while we’re walking outta here all quiet like.”

Jared shoved himself back in before fumbling with the buttons. His fingers slipped and slid over and off the buttons, so much so that he was barely half finished when he felt the knife poke deeper into his back. The merc leaned in close, hiding the knife between his body and Jared’s. Anyone that looked their way would assume they were lovers disappearing home to work off some frustration, not a boy in desperate need of help.

A painful stab, the blade biting deeper into his flesh, hurried him along across the floor towards the corridor leading to the bathrooms. He could feel the slow, steady ooze of blood running down his back and seeping into the leather of his pants making them warm and sticky. Jared’s mind was working overtime, trying frantically to think of something, anything, to do or say that might get him that all-important moment of indecision but he was drawing a blank. He, the boy that JD had accused time and time again of always having a smart assed comment, couldn't think of a single thing to say. Sweat prickled his skin, forming cold drops that ran down from his hairline. Not thinking, Jared reached up to wipe them with the back of his hand. He instantly regretted the action as the merc pushed forward, slamming him through the swinging doorway. Arching his back, Jared cursed God and Heaven as pain traced lines through his system.

"The fuck, man," Jared spun to face his attacker, knife dragging across his back, slicing open skin and shirt alike.

The merc's eyes were wide, "The hell you think you're doing kid? You some kinda stupid?"

"Ain't like you're not just gonna kill me soon as you get me outside."

The merc actually stopped at that, considering the words. Jared was opening his mouth to add something when something clicked in his brain. The blade was no longer at his back. He could see the same realisation dawn on the merc. Shit. Jared ran, sprinting for the emergency exit at the end of the corridor. He had about 5 inches on the guy and all of that in the legs. Jared ran for his fucking life. The pretentious purples and pinks of walls blurred past as he pushed himself harder than ever before.

He was almost under the green emergency sign but Jared didn't slow. He reached out, grasping for the push bar. As soon as his fingers found it, he pressed down hard causing the door to fly open. He stumbled as his foot caught on the lip of the door, almost tumbling down the metal fire escape. Arms pin-wheeling, he tottered at the edge of the step, frantically trying to catch something, anything.

A hand shoved him, pushing him closer to the edge. Jared just managed to catch the metal safety railing. He looked back over his shoulder into the feral smile of the mercenary. He kicked out but missed the merc's knee by a city mile. The fighter grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked, hoping to pull Jared free of the railing and get him off balance. He could feel the cotton vest start to rip as the man hauled him back. Jared felt his shoe slip on the metal surface below him. He could see the railing rise to meet him. He dropped his hands, hoping to stop himself before his face met the galvanised steel but his aim was off. He felt the jarring pain crack through his fingers as his hand took the impact in the worst possible way, digits bending back, almost breaking under the force.

That’s when it came to him. Christ, why hadn't he thought of it before? JD and his fucking paranoia. He'd complained at the time, argued until he was blue in the face, but JD had insisted, selling the idea to his father so completely that the old man had volunteered for the operation himself. Jared took a deep breath and swung his leg back again, trying to buy himself another second or two. A quick glance showed the merc skipping back out of the way. Jared slammed his hand down again, thumb first. But it wasn't enough. He couldn't bring himself to hit the metal that hard, pulling his punches.

Jared looked around, frantically trying to see something he could use, anything at all, to break his thumb but he was coming up blank. He tried to pull himself up but the merc was there, pushing him down with a hand in the middle of his back. He flailed, trying to nail something but the guy was a much better fighter than him, moving neatly out of the way of the wild swings without allowing Jared even the slightest leeway.

All the merc needed was one good strike, one blade in the right place and...

Jared screamed as the merc shoved the knife in between his ribs, hitching it sideways as it glanced off bone. Another stab, then another and he was fighting for air. His mind filled in the images as he pictured the blood seeping into his lung. He could already taste the blood on the back of his throat. He was going to die on the back fire escape of Dallas' new club with his trousers only half done up.

Jared sucked in a wet, bloody breath and dropped his hold on the railing. He slammed down onto the platform. His hand buckled as he hit, trapped under him. He had heard the snap of bones breaking but the pain from his ribs overwrote the pain in his hand. He could only pray that one of those bones had been his thumb. He heard the merc cursing somewhere above him.

Slowly shuffling until he was face up, Jared hucked a gob of blood soaked spit at the man's shoes. He didn't have the energy to aim any higher. With goliath effort, he pulled his hand up until it was in front of his face. Two fingers twisted back at a grotesque angle. He'd never seen such a beautiful sight. He smiled, slumping back down to the metal floor. He’d done it. Another minute, maybe two and help would be here. All he had to do was

The merc frowned, mouth opening and closing as he tried to work out why the kid was smiling. Jared watched him look around, searching for something, anything to explain the sudden smile.

"Dunno what the hell you think you got planned but..."

Jared kept his smile as he forced two words out, "Trauma Team!"

Trauma Team were the last word in ambulances, available to anyone who could afford their exorbitant rates. The merc paled, eyes going to the skies to search for the silhouette of an AV4 .

"Shit!" He cursed, "Shit! Should have just done you in the club. Idiot!" The man ran a hand through his blond hair, skritching his scalp with the hand not holding the knife as he tried to think. "You just cost me the biggest pay check of my life!"

Jared smirked, “Not my fault you suck, dude!”

The merc knelt down beside his mark and shook his head, "They'll patch you up, kid, get everything back in the right place but that don't mean I’m gonna make it easy for them."

Jared's eyes widened as he registered the mercenary's words. Struggling, he tried to back away but the railings were in the way. He was trapped.

Light flashed off the blade as it slashed down, opening vest and skin in one slick move. Jared's eyes slipped closed as he screamed. Another slice and then another. He could feel the pain flash through him. His world narrowed to the wetness of blood flowing and the agony running through him. He could just make out the manic laughter of the mercenary somewhere above him.

“Don’t forget to give Morgan my regards,” the older man whispered in his ear, “if you survive.”

There was one final deep thrust and nothing.

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{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 2

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:03:04 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 3

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:56:45 GMT

Title: Dreaming in Cordite
Author Name: deannawol
Artist Name: sandrainthesun

Genre: RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Sam Ferris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christian Kane, Various Others.

Rating: 18 Overall – Sexual situations, graphic violence in places and adult language
Warnings: Slash (M/M) relationship, oral sex, violence, off-screen death of a non J2 character.
Word Count: ~51,000

~#~#~

“Sugar, you just keep your darn hair on 'til I get to you. I swear, you men! Ain't got the patience of a rattler with a hole in his belly!” Laurie drawled, rolling her eyes and paying no attention to her customers’ demands for service, “We’ll have to finish this later, hon. The natives are gettin’ antsy.”

She walked around the tables in her slinky, blue velvet dress and high heels , collecting glasses and cat-calls from the decrepit customers of the Hard Times Bar 'n' Occasional Grill. Jensen sat back, watching her as she made her way over to the back booth. She'd dressed up a little today rather than slumming it in the jeans and t-shirt she usually wore because Frankie was taking her out after work and the rat-trap that Jimmy, the owner of this fine establishment, called a ladies room was not the best place to change. Especially since one of the regulars had busted through the lock in a desperate attempt to escape his bar bill. Nothing special, just a shirt and a little jewelry, but given the look on her face and the scuzzbag's hand on her wrist, she was regretting the decision now.

There were two types who spent their cred and more in the Hard Times: down on their luck mercs looking for a place to sit and drink until their next contract came crawling out of the woodwork, or well-to-do collar-boys looking to slum it for the night, and this skuzz in booth five was definitely at least ten streets south of his usual 'safe' haunts.

Something about the guy had pinged Jensen’s radar earlier in the evening, pulling his attention from the glass he’d been polishing. Whether it was the man’s style and the way he’d looked everyone up and down with his lip curled or the way he’d slunk into the bar and grabbed the back seat, Jensen couldn’t say, but six years of buzz cuts and war zones had trained him to listen to his instincts and the guy was tap dancing all over his danger sense. He’d seen corpboys like this time and again working mercenary jobs up city and he hadn’t found one he liked yet. He’d thought it would be better working the bar, filling in for a friend who’d gone on what should have been a cakewalk and gotten his ass shot but he should have known better.

He hadn't wanted Laurie to go near the guy, actually volunteered to take the order instead, but she'd just patted his hand and told him that tips were tips and that while corpboys weren't as free with the cred as mercs, they still left a decent chunk of cred on the chip for the help. The woman had a mind of her own and a dagger-sharp tongue to go with it, but it seemed that even that hadn't been enough to keep the guy from making a play. Jensen hated being right, especially when his friends were caught in the firing line. The man had flirted and grabbed and refused to let her go when she backed away. He didn’t know how they raised boys in those high rise towers, but if he ever even thought of doing that, his momma would be whooping his ass so hard he wouldn’t be able to sit for a month.

“Hey Jimmy, be right back, 'kay?” Jensen said as he set aside the glass he'd been polishing. “Just gotta rescue Laurie from some corpboy who's lookin' to lose a hand.”

Jim Beaver, or Jimmy to his friends, looked up and over at where Laurie was struggling and fighting to get herself free. His hand dropped below the bar to the loaded Ragnarok shotgun he kept there, just in case.

“Sure thing, Jen. Just holler if you need me to pull out Bessie.”

"Will do, just watch where you point her yeah? My momma'd be upset if you had to post me home."

Jensen nodded, his eyes never leaving Laurie and her wannabe paramour. He sauntered towards the booth, his hand already dipping to the small of his back, where his Colt AMT 2000 sat in its holster. Connectors slipped free of the recessed compartment in his wrist, automatically clicking into place in the matching slots on the gun. Picture-in-picture appeared in his cybernetically enhanced vision, showing him the images captured by the tiny camera in the barrel of the gun. Wasn’t showing anything ‘cept the inside of his holster at the moment. Another thought and he felt adrenaline flood his system. He doubted he’s need it but like his old sergeant used to say, ‘better to kick it and not need it than not and drop dead with a case of the I shoulda’s’. Anything the guy threw at him, he was ready for it. More than ready.

“Hey Laurie,” Jensen called to the waitress, “Jimmy needs a bit of help at the bar, asked me to come over and fetch ya.”

“Sure thing, sugar,” Laurie forced a smile, mouthing 'Thank you' at him. “I'll just get right over there.”

She started to move away but the corpboy just yanked on her wrist, toppling her back into a half sitting, half leaning position on the booth seat. His other hand slid around her waist, keeping her pinned tight against his chest. Jensen let his eyes run over the man, accessing him. Shoulder length brown hair, washed recently but left untied to kink out at the bottom. Distressed chrome rock t-shirt and torn jeans, by design not wear and tear. Expensive too by the look of them. Gold watch on his wrist and real, if Jensen was to guess. Jensen's eyes turned to the guy's face. It was handsome but the expression he wore said that he knew it, instantly detracting from his appeal. Hard blue eyes stared back at Jensen. This wasn't a guy who heard 'no' very often and Jensen doubted he took it well when he did.

Squaring his shoulders, Jensen addressed the man, his voice almost a growl, “Sir, I'd very much appreciate it if you'd unhand my sister.”

She wasn't really his sister, just a girl he enjoyed working and talking, but the bluff was usually enough to make customers back off. After all, who wanted to piss off the guy in charge of making your drink in a place like this or the guy responsible for taking out the trash and tossing the drunks?

The man didn’t bother looking up, just buried his nose in Lauren’s hair, “An' I'd appreciate it if you turned around and disappeared back behind the bar. Me and Laurie here were just talking. Ain't that right, honey?” the man asked.

Laurie didn't answer but her eyes were pleading with Jensen to do something, anything to get her away from the letch.

"Well, see, much as I'd love to do that, sir, I'm afraid that I can't," Jensen shrugged and said truthfully, "you don't know my momma. She'd skin me alive if I left Laurie here in trouble."

The corpboy pushed himself to his feet, dragging Laurie with him, his arm wrapping around her neck as he pulled her in front of him.

"You gotta choice, boy," the man's voice dropped dangerously low. "You can back the fuck off, or I can snap her pretty little neck. Up to you!"

Jensen drew in a long, slow breath, mentally checking his options. That Laurie was being used as a shield was a complication, cutting down his possibilities. He'd need to get her away before he did anything. His hand tightened on the grip of the gun as plans ran around his head. Whatever he did, it was going to have to be quick.

"Well, kid?"

Jensen saw the muscles in the guy's arm flex as he started to crush Laurie's throat. Her hands flew to the arm around her neck, nails digging in. Shit, out of time.

Jensen surged forward. His free hand shoving into Laurie's stomach, driving her back into the corpboy. Caught off-guard the man went flying backwards, hands flailing. Jensen grabbed for Laurie, catching an arm and yanking her clear before the corpboy had a chance to recover. His gun cleared the holster, smooth and clean. Jensen's eyes flicked down to avoid the disorientation as the image from the barrel's camera blurred as he brought it to bear. As he looked at the corpboy again, he saw the guy's hand start to go to the small of his back. Crap. A half step forward and Jensen's gun was pressed to corpboy's jugular.

"Don't move, asshole or they'll have to get you off the walls with a hosepipe," Jensen threatened as he cocked the gun. "Laurie, you okay?"

Laurie coughed a little as she answered, "Little warning might have been nice, but yeah. I'm okay."

"You wanna reach around and grab whatever this guy is carrying?"

Laurie crept past him and grabbed the knife sheathed at the small of his back. It was a largish hunting knife with a fancy carved handle inlaid with silver. Commercial as hell, but it would cut almost well as any of the pro-knives that Jensen had hidden about him.

"Not bad,” Jensen nodded appreciably. Taking the knife from Laurie, he tucked it away safely. "Must have cost you at least, what, an hour’s wages?" Pressing the barrel of the gun a little further into corpboy's neck, Jensen continued. "I'm gonna give you a choice. You can agree to leave the bar and never come back or I can shoot you where you stand."

Jensen pulled back slightly giving the corpboy enough space to answer.

"Screw you and this miserable excuse for a bar."

"I'm sorry, sir but the answer we were looking for was 'Yes, I wanna run my bitch-ass home and cry under the covers." Jensen offered him a razor-edged smile. "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave without any of our wonderful prizes but thank you for playing."

The guy snarled but the pointed click of the Colt's trigger sliding back cut off whatever smart-ass bullshit he was planning.

"We're done here. Get your ass outta here before I decide to give you an extra hole to breathe through,” Jensen gestured towards the door with the gun.

Chris glared, pointing at Jensen, "I'll remember you, boy. I owe you for this and I'm gonna collect."

Jensen growled, “Anytime, corpboy. Anytime.”

Chris spun on his heel and walked to the door. He stopped just at threshold and turned, eyes narrowed, “Remember this when your life starts to fall apart and everyone is hunting your hide.”

Jensen pulled the guy's fancy knife from his waist band and hefted the weight, getting a feel for the blade. He tossed it up to turn it, catching it by the blade before flinging it at the door frame right beside the corpboy's ear. The corpboy ducked reflexively, hand rising to make sure that everything was still attached. He glanced over his shoulder to where the knife lay embedded in the doorframe.

"You've made a huge mistake today. Huge," the corpboy told him, practically snarling the words. "Remember my face, 'cause it's going to be haunting your nightmares."

With that, the corpboy left, slamming the door behind him.

"Christ, melodrama much?" Laurie spoke up from behind him.

Jensen grinned widely, "You know these corp types. Don't get enough drama during their nine to fives so they gotta sneak into our section of Dallas just to get their adrenaline pumping."

Jensen rolled his shoulders, pulling out of fight mode now that the corpboy was gone. He looked around the bar and all the familiar faces. He didn't miss hands reappearing from under armoured jackets and connectors unplugging from guns, big and small. Sure they were regulars but if anything had gone down, who knew what way they'd react or which side they'd pick. The men sitting here around had a lot of scores to settle, both personal and professional and very few of them didn’t have some corp or other willing to pay for their scalps. Thankfully though, nothing had happened beyond some alpha male posturing.

"You okay, Laurie?" Jensen asked, focusing again on the waitress. "I know I hit you pretty hard."

"I'm fine, I just..." she started, "... I guess I just wasn't expecting."

Jensen patted Laurie’s shoulder. She shivered and threw herself against Jensen, her small hands digging into his clothing. Jensen put an arm around her awkwardly, "Hey Jimmy, can you give Frankie a call, see if she can pop around early and take Laurie home?"

"Sure thing, Jen,” Jimmy called back, pulling out the ancient rotary phone that he kept behind the bar. "Got her a good, strong brandy here as well. I'd give you one too but ya went and got a knife stuck in the fittings. Can't go giving ya a reward after ya damage my place, so you'll have to settle for a shot of rotgut."

Laughing, Jensen shook his head, "Free booze? Should mark this on the calendar."

"Frackin' smartass!" Jimmy cursed.

"See, now. Whole night was good for something. Ya get a couple hours off and free booze," Jensen joked with Laurie.

She nodded, not making any move to let go of her saviour. Burying her head against his neck, she wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. He wasn't overly tall for a street soldier, scraping six foot and change but it took every inch of those three inch heels for her to reach. He ran a hand over her silky, blonde hair as he reassured her, trying to quiet the tremor running through her.

"Don't worry, hun, Frankie'll be here in a few."

Laurie looked up at him with big, wet eyes, a slight smile pulling at the corner of her lips, "Ya know, this is just gonna have her trying harder to get you into a threesome."

"Really?" Jensen asked. "Shit, if I'da known that, I woulda let the scuzzbag have ya. I mean, propositioned by lesbians. Eauch!" He shivered, smiling.

"Nothing wrong with lesbians, mister," Laurie pinched him lightly on the back.

His eyes crinkled as he smiled down at her, "nope, not a thing," he agreed, giving her a quick squeeze.

Laurie pulled back, looking at him seriously for a moment. "Seriously, thank you. Thank you, Jen, for saving me."

"Aw, hell, Laurie," he answered, cheeks pinking up, "it was nothing that anyone else wouldn't do."

She raised her voice a fraction, making sure that it carried across the bar, "No, I'm serious Jensen; you were the only one who got up off their ass and did something when I needed it. You ever need anything, you just call, okay honey?"

"Laurie..." Jensen started.

"No, I'm serious. If I can do anything, or you need anything Frankie can put your way, you just let me know and I'll make sure it happens, ya hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am," he agreed, pulling her back into a hug.

"Now, that the mushy stuff is over, I heard Jimmy mention something about free drinks!" Lauren laughed, stepping back. Her hands were still shaking a little but she seemed calmer.

Keeping an arm tucked tightly around Laurie's waist, Jensen walked her over to the bar where Jimmy had poured out their drinks. The show over, the patrons dropped back into small talk, swapping stories of their exploits on the rough, tough streets of Dallas. Jensen chatted to Laurie while Jimmy hunted around on the half-busted TV for something sports related. The last fifteen minutes had been enough reality for the evening.

"Jen,” Jimmy whispered, tapping the bar in an attempt to try to grab his attention, "Hey, Jen."

Jensen looked up, "Yeah, Jimmy?"

"I think we gotta problem."

Jensen followed his gaze, looking up at the television then scanning the mostly-quiet bar.

"’Nuther one, Jimmy? What are they, combat cabs? Wait all night for one, then the fleet shows up at once?" Jensen asked, not seeing anything noteworthy on the snowy set.

"Wait for it. He was there just a second ago."

Jensen was about to turn back to Laurie when he noticed what had drawn Jimmy's attention. There, in all his two dimensional glory, stood the scuzzbag that he'd just thrown out of Jimmy's bar, shaking hands with the fracking mayor himself. Fuck. Same shoulder-length brown hair, same blue eyes. Even had the collar of his T-shirt peeking out where his fancy-ass shirt collar was undone.

"Well... shit!" Jensen cursed.

Laurie grabbed for the remote, pulling it out of Jimmy's slack fingers and pressing the plus button to increase the volume.

"... met today with Dallas mayor, Daniel McKenzie. Kane, the interm CEO of Padalecki Microcybernetics Limited, the City's leading provider of cybernetic technology, commented to reporters that this new deal to supply free upgrades to the City's emergency response units was 'just a way of acknowledging all the work that the guys on the front lines do to keep us safe at night'.

The first stage of this landmark deal will be to offer any member of the police and emergency services replacements for any existing cybernetics.

When asked what prompted such a massive show of support, Kane reminded reporters of the events of June 3rd of this year, when the then CEO and founder of Padalecki Microcybernetics, Gerald Padalecki, along with his wife and eldest son were brutally murdered on the streets of Dallas.

Kane then added that while he had to commend the emergency services' response times, he couldn't help but feel that maybe if they had slightly better equipment, they could have gotten there just a little quicker and that might have made all the difference..."

"Shut it off, Jimmy," Jensen said, his voice low, barely audible against the crackling sound of the television. He knocked back the shot, shrugging off the prickle of unease.

"But Jen..."

"Doesn't matter, Jimmy," Jensen poured himself another drink. "He crossed the damned line. Woulda done the same thing if the Mayor himself had been sitting there trying to make Laurie do something she didn't want. Doesn’t matter who he is, he deserved what he got. No way you wouldn’t have done the same if you’d gotten there first. He’s just lucky I didn’t decide to take it further."

"Aw sweetie, you're so cute when you're being heroic!" Laurie leaned in close, placing a kiss on his cheek. "But seriously, honey, maybe we need to..."

Jensen smirked, "What's he gonna do? Send some of his goons after me. He's an exec. The ultimate collar-boy. He's got bigger problems than some street runner and part time bartender throwing him out on his ass. No one here is dumb enough to post the damn footage and risk icers tracking them down."

"I dunno, Jen," Jimmy pursed his lips, scratching at his salt and pepper beard, "ya know corpboys and their egos. He pays the bills and he's got thousands just clamoring to carry out his every word. Ain't nothing to him to send one or two guys and gun ya down in the street on your way home."

"Jimmy, ya worry too much," Jensen grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Didn't survive six years of Hell in South Am just to let some collar boy gun me down in the street."

Laurie looked at Jimmy, nervously chewing her lip. Jensen rolled his eyes. Worrying wouldn't do any good. If the corpboy, Kane, did come after him, he'd deal and no amount of trash talking in the bar would help. Ducking, covering and fighting back was what he did best. Might be a close one but a year in Boot and five years buried up to his neck in jungle shit with his fellow Rangers had given him a helluva nose for trouble that served him well on the streets. Long as they didn't try to do something stupid like sue him, he was golden. And hell, even if they did, all he had to do was drop outta circulation for a while.

"Oi, Jimmy, what type of crud you let into your bar that threatens my girl?" A woman’s voice roared across the bar.

"Aw shit, the bitch is in the house. Lock up the liquor," Jimmy spoke just loud enough for Jensen to hear. Turning to face the storming woman, Jimmy forced a smile, "Frankie, babe! Now don't go shouting up my joint. Got paying customers in here don't appreciate your shriekin'."

Frankie moved over to her girlfriend, hands running over her, checking for injury and muttering threats in the general direction of the whole male gender. Laurie, for her part, just stood there and took it. Jensen smirked over at her, catching her eye. Frankie was all leather and lace, black with cappuccino skin showing through the artfully cut peep-holes. Subtle as a brick and twice as blunt. White and red light tattoos covered her shaved scalp, glowing dully under the harsh lights.

"Where're you hurt, baby?" Frankie growled, stroking back her hair.

"I'm fine, Frankie. Don't have to do your momma bear impression," Laurie sighed.

Frankie's mouth tightened in annoyance, "You think this is a momma bear impression, you just wait until I get you home, girl!"

"Damn," Laurie rolled her eyes, "and I almost had Jensen convinced to join us for an evening of lesbian debauchery!"

Frankie's jaw dropped as she looked from Laurie to Jensen to Jimmy and back again. "Right someone better start talking! I wanna know who and why so I can make this little piece of shit’s life a misery. No one touches my girl and gets away with it."

Laurie pulled out a stool and pushed Frankie over to it, forcing the woman to take a seat before she started. Jimmy poured her a drink, but held it back. No point in wasting liquor, giving her the booze early. Frankie drank like a baby, often and as much as she could get. She probably hadn't had a proper meal in months, despite Laurie's best efforts. Jensen and Jim had had front-row seats to Laurie's increasingly difficult campaign to get her clean but from what they could tell, it was a losing battle. Jensen knew that Jimmy hated feeding Frankie's little problem - Laurie was a friend and a damned good worker and he didn't like to hurt her - but getting told that your girlfriend had almost died was one of those things that was filed under 'special occasions', and not just in Jimmy’s book.

"Wasn't no one, babe. Not really anyhow," Laurie started, "Just one of our patrons got a little handsy and Jensen helped him to remember that no actually does mean no."

"So that's why you got a bruise rising on your neck, yeah?" Frankie growled, eyes flicking between Laurie's throat and the drink sitting patiently beside Jimmy's hand. "One of your boys wanna give me something concrete?"

Jensen ran a hand over his short brown hair, scratching at his scalp.

"It was just a corpboy, Frankie, just tryin' it on to see if he could get a little action," Jensen shrugged, "ya know the type that ain't entirely sure what it means when someone says no. He started insisting. We stepped in and persuaded him different. It's all over now, guys gone back to his crystal palace. Ego is smashed but the rest of him is fine."

"Fucking fuckwad..." she cursed, her hand grabbing for the drink. "He hurt my baby. We need to find the no good son of a whore dog and teach him what's what."

"Frankie," Jensen spoke softly, "he's gone and he's not going to lay another finger on Laurie. There's no reason to push harder than that. Just take her home, make sure she's okay, look after her and then take her to bed. Don’t let the asshole ruin your night anymore than you can help,” Jensen smiled. “Now Laurie, why don’t you wash up and grab your gear so Frankie can take you home."

Laurie nodded and headed into the back. Jensen watched until the door flicked closed behind her.

"She needs you Frankie, she's scared. But Frankie, she needs you, all of you, there for her,” his eyes flicked to her hand, her fingers closed around the shot glass.

No one said a word. Seconds stretched to last minutes as everyone watched Frankie. She tapped her long nails against the glass. Jensen could see the need in her eyes, as well as the flick of a glance towards Laurie as she came out of the back room, bag over her shoulder. It seemed to take every ounce of willpower that she owned and then some to uncurl her fingers from the glass and reach out to take Laurie's hand.

"Come on, babe. We got a nice big tub at home. Little hot water, some magnolia oil. Frankie's prescription for getting over stressful situations. Whatcha say?" Frankie asked, rubbing a thumb over the back of her girlfriend’s hand.

"Sounds like a little bit of heaven," Laurie smiled widely, eyes twinkling, "throw in a massage and you got yourself a deal, lady."

Frankie hemmed and hawed for a minute, pretending to think it over before caving. "Suppose I could throw in a massage! But ya better not get used to it. Gotta rep to protect here!"

Laurie wrapped herself around Frankie, chuckling, "My big bad street hustler. Don't worry, you're secret's safe with me, babe."

Jensen shook his head, the corners of his mouth twitching up at the corners. He wasn't exactly sure what they had or how come it worked but it was good to see the girls happy. He kinda missed the easy camaraderie of a relationship but merc work didn't leave much of a chance to settle down. You had to be another merc to understand the adrenaline kick of a job going right. You had to be understanding and not freak at finding blood on the kitchen floor or clothes in the bin. Best partner for a merc was another merc but given that the women tended to be ball-busting bitches bent on proving that they could rock as hard as the boys and the men tended to be weapon-carrying sociopaths out for guts, glory and enough cred that they could do this just for the pleasure of the hunt, it kinda limited the choices.

He shrugged off the melancholy thought and waved to Laurie as Frankie dragged her out of the bar and home to peace, solitude and a complete lack of assholes bent on having their own way at all times.

Maybe it was time to head back to his family for a while, duck and cover until the corpboy, Kane, cooled down enough to forgive the insult and brush the entire thing under the carpet. He hadn't seen his momma in quite a while and she was starting to leave insistent messages on his voicemail. Wouldn't take much to track Josh and get the family's travel plans off him. He smirked. Leastways then he'd be able to find them and surprise his mom. He wondered if it was as hard to drop home if you were part of one of those nice city-settled clans or if it was just Nomad families that had these sorts of problems.

"Gotta say I'm surprised,” Jimmy shook his head as he spoke, drawing Jensen from his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Didn't think Laurie would ever get her to a point where she turned down liquor."

Jensen huffed with laughter. "Never underestimate the power of nagging. Well, nagging and a good measure of love."

Jimmy was just about to say something else when they heard something outside. The shriek of an engine being taxed to its limit, brakes squealing in protest as someone took a corner way too damned fast and an exhaust backfiring? No, it was sharper than that. It was more like the sharp bark of nine mil bullets leaving an unsilenced muzzle somewhere outside.

Jensen was moving before Jimmy could even think about reacting. Man might have been a good fighter in his day but tending to the needs of Dallas' degenerates didn't exactly keep a person in prime shape. Jensen didn't even slow as he slammed through the door, paying no attention to the crack of the hinges or the splintering of wood. His Colt was in his hand, links clicked in and the barrel camera image sitting in the corner of his vision.

The world was dark around him, only the flash-flutter-glare of a half-working streetlight shining temporary light down on the road, but it was enough. He could see the lump on the pavement flickering blue-black as the neon caught it. Dread turned his bones to lead and the world slowed around him.

Running, Jensen quickly covered the cracked concrete of the sidewalk until he was at their side. Heart beating hard, he hunkered down, gun still in had. The dark leather of Frankie's clothes shone in the stuttering light, wet with blood. Jensen's free hand went to her throat, feeling frantically for the trace of life but there was nothing. Only the still-warm blood pooling in the dip of her throat. He slid around to where Laurie lay, half covered by Frankie's now lifeless body. Her eyes blinked sightlessly at the sky as she tried to speak.

Jensen took her hand, squeezing hard, "Laurie, babe, can you hear me?"

Her lips moved but no sound came out.

"Ya gotta hold on honey, ya hear?" Jensen dropped the gun, leaving it to dangle from his connectors as he fumbled for his phone. "I'm gonna call for help, Laurie. You just gotta stay with me."

His fingers fumbled with the phone. He forced himself to take a deep breath as he dialed Trauma Team. A couple of minutes, they said. Just a couple of minutes. He was vaguely aware of Jimmy beside him, cursing up a full and proper storm.

"Laurie, ya gotta listen to me. Ya gotta hang on. Trauma Team are on the way."

Voice croaking, Laurie forced a word out, "Frankie?"

"She's right here honey. She's waiting for you," Jensen lied.

Laurie jerked, muscles seizing and contracting all at once. But Jensen was there, pulling her up and to him. His hand groped hopelessly for the wound but it was a through and through. Two bleeding holes, one front, one back. He dropped the phone, pressing tightly down, trying to stem the bleeding. He could feel the movement of her chest, too shallow, too slow. He flicked a look at Jimmy who panted beside him, eyes scanning the sky for any sign of Trauma Team coming but the skies were quiet. There wasn't even a hint of the tell-tale whine of the trademark AV6's engines cutting up the night sky.

The minutes were slipping away and with them, Laurie's goddamn life.

"Something's wrong. They should have been here by now, Jimmy," Jensen said, voice low. "Could you…?"

Jimmy nodded and gathered up the dropped phone. Jensen listened to his boss talk, relaxing when Jimmy got straight through to the Trauma Team dispatcher. Jensen leaned closer to Laurie smoothing back her hair. "It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay, Laurie. They're on their way." This wasn't his area; he'd never bothered with more than the more basic of first aid. Put pressure on the wound, then bust ass for the medic; that was his philosophy. He needed help. He needed help now.

"What the hell do you mean 'cancelled'?" Jimmy shouted down the phone.

Jensen looked up as he pressed harder on the wound. He wanted to ask Jimmy what the hell was going on, where the hell the medics were but he didn’t want to distract Jimmy.

"Do I sound like the kinda person who’d make a prank call? We have a woman here dying on the street and another already gone. I don't care what it takes, you put a chopper in the air and you get it going now!" Jimmy's voice dropped glacially cold.

Jensen could feel the frantic pulse under his hand slowing. Laurie took one more long ragged breath and then nothing.

"Jimmy!" Jensen said, laying Frankie out on the pavement, "Jimmy! How long we got?"

Jimmy turned slowly, face down. "They ain't coming, Jen."

"What?"

"Call out was cancelled before liftoff," Jimmy answered, "Let's see, how did she put it... Oh yeah! 'A platinum level customer reported that the call out was a prank'."

Jensen thumped the ground with a fist, ignoring the crack and flare of pain.

"That little shit! That little corp bastard excuse for a piece of walking scum," Jensen cursed. "I'm gonna..."

"You're gonna do nothing, Ackles," Jimmy stood over him, face stern in the flicker of the streetlight. "You're gonna do nothing but get your ass the fuck off the grid. Go home. Go to Dixie for all I care but get the fuck away from this maniac. He might be satisfied cutting the girls down or at least satisfied enough that he ain't gonna go looking for you too hard."

"He's not gonna get away with this, Jim," Jensen pushed himself to his feet, "I don't care, Jim. It was Laurie. He can't get away with this. He can't. I'm gonna get him somehow."

Jim shook his head, "You're a damned fool, boy. A damned fool."

He forced a smile but it stopped a long way short of reaching his eyes, "S'why you hired me!"

"You wanna get going, Jen," Jimmy asked, "'fore they comes back for a second pass. I ain't in the mood to lose anyone else tonight."

Jensen hesitated, eyes drawn to the bodies on the street. Friends just on their way home to piece together their ruined night.

"Go on," Jim said, "I'll make sure they're taken care of. Send you on the details when I know them."

Jensen nodded, already backing away. His eyes traced the streets looking for anything out of the ordinary, any watchers, anyone paying too much attention. All the usual signs that trouble was about to find him. But true to form, the streets were deserted, no one paying attention to anything that could get them involved in someone else's shit. Perfect for making good his retreat. There was nothing in Jimmy's that couldn't be replaced, nothing that couldn't be dropped with no regrets, so he ran. He was lost amid the Undercity before he even considered stopping to look for a data terminal. Finding one in a shadowed recess, he slotted his credchip and dialled his brother's number.

"'Lo?" the voice on the other end answered, cautious.

Jensen looked around, his back to the data terminal as he watched the street from the shadows, "Josh, it's Jensen. I need your help..."

Master Fic Post | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Epilogue | Master Art Post | Soundtrack

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 4

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:34:44 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 5

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:27:31 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 6

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:04:24 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 7

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:53:44 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 8

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:34:17 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 9

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:20:18 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 10

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:02:54 GMT

Title: Dreaming in Cordite
Author Name: deannawol
Artist Name: sandrainthesun

Genre: RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Sam Ferris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christian Kane, Various Others.

Rating: 18 Overall – Sexual situations, graphic violence in places and adult language
Warnings: Slash (M/M) relationship, oral sex, violence, off-screen death of a non J2 character.
Word Count: ~51,000

~#~#~

The gunshots had him on his feet and dragging Megan up with him. Fear gripped him, making his mind flash back to the night in the club. He ran to the door, opening it a fraction. Dark clad men exchanged bullets in the hallway. Jared let the door click closed again. Shit, there was no way out. All they could do was hide and hope that someone came to rescue them.

The couch was probably the biggest thing in the room, so Jared dragged Megan down behind it, hoping that it would hide them from any quick glances that were made of the room. His hands were trembling. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. Wouldn’t do Meg any good to see him like this. It would only scare her more.

They waited, listening to the shots dying out. Jared held his breath, not daring to breathe as he prayed that no one would think to look in here. But no one was listening. The door opened a fraction. He saw Megan reaching for the vase but couldn’t bring himself to say anything. She threw it, aiming for the guy’s head but she was a mile wide. It was enough to give away their hiding place. The mercenary turned to look at them.

Dark blond hair and wide green eyes were all Jared could see behind the wealth of armour that the guy was wearing, but the way the man carried himself and the huge hand-cannon that he, no doubt, called a pistol, Jared could tell that he was a professional in every sense of the word.

Jared pulled Megan closer to him, putting himself in front of her. He wasn't sure if the guy was friend or foe but no matter what, he wasn't going to let go of his little sister. Should the worst happen, she wouldn't be alone. The man held out a hand. Jared looked at the hand and then up at the man, taking in the blood spatter and the live-wires leading to the still-smoking gun.

"Come with me if you want to live," his eyes twinkled as he delivered the line and the sudden smile lit up his face. "Damn, I've always wanted to say that!"

Jared shuffled back, pushing Megan back with him. Getting to his feet, he helped Megan up, never taking his eyes off the stranger.

"You gonna kill us?" she asked, the hand not held by Jared on her hip. "Because if you are, I'm sure that between us we can make you a very good offer to leave us alone."

Jared turned to stare at his little sister, begging her with his eyes to shut up, "Megan..."

"What?" she asked, brow furrowed in puzzlement, "I've seen this on TV. He's getting paid to knock us off. If we make him a good enough counter offer, maybe he'd leave us alone. Honestly, Jay, if you spent a little more time watching Real-TV and a little less time dropping your..."

Jared's hand shot out, muffling the words coming out of his sister's mouth. He looked at the mercenary in front of him with a hint of a blush on his cheeks.

"Look, Megan doesn't realize that not everything works like it does on TV," Jared apologized. "But if you would be willing to leave us alone, I can make sure that you get double your fee. She’s just a kid, man, let her go. Please?"

"Tempting offer," the mercenary nodded his head, "and not a bad plan. But there's two problems with it."

Jared waited for him to finish, Megan trying frantically to pull his hand away from her face.

"First one, and it is quite a big one that you should bear in mind, if you're hiring a merc, choose one with a good track record of staying bought. The guy who hired me made sure that he looked into my street rep. I'm what you might call an honourable guy. Once I'm bought, I stay bought until the job's done. Never made any exceptions and I'm not about to start now. Y'all understand?" the man's voice was quiet as he spoke. Jared couldn't look away from the gun in his hand, cyber-optics helpfully scrolling through its stats. A gun like that would punch clean through his Skinweave. He didn't want to think about what it could do to Megan.

Jared nodded. He felt Megan slump into him and looked down at her. Her hazelnut eyes were shiny with the beginnings of tears. Jared pulled his hand away from her face and hugged her to him.

"Now, the second point, and this may be important, is that I'm not here to kill you. Got hired to get you outta here before the other guys kill you," the man paused, "You heard the firefight earlier?"

Jared’s brow furrowed, “You’re not?”

"That was the first wave. I have no doubt that another party is on it's way back up now with more guns than the average Cyber-Swat patrol. So if you don't mind, could you hustle? Miss Ferris is throwing a couple of essentials into a bag for you and then we're gone."

It took an elbow in the side from his sister to get him moving.

"What do I... we... call you?" Jared asked.

"Street name is Winchester."

"Like the rifle," Jared remarked.

"Yeah, like the rifle," the man responded.

"Yeah, but what do we call you?" Megan asked, obviously not happy with the street name.

The man grinned and shook his head, "Well, you, little lady... I guess you can call me Winchester. That okay with you?"

She considered it for a moment before nodding, "I guess it'll do."

Megan was moving around, to Jared’s annoyance, meaning that he had to move to keep himself between her and the merc. He was about to say something, anything to get her to settle when the door flew open again. Before he had a chance to act, Winchester was in front of them, pushing them down, but it was just Sam with their bags. Winchester relaxed and let them back up.

"We ready?" Winchester asked.

Sam nodded, "Yeah, got everything packed. Should be enough to last a couple of days."

"Right, lets get gone," Winchester shrugged and went back to the doorway to the hallway, cautiously checking for any contacts as bags were juggled and handed out to the right people.

Jared’s eyes met Sam’s, brow wrinkling. She flicked a glance over to Winchester and then back to Jared, nodding. Relaxing slightly, Jared felt a little calmer. Sam had a nose for trouble and keen instincts. If she said he was okay, then more than likely he was.

Waving, Winchester signalled the all-clear and they moved past him into the corridor. Jared went first, pulling Megan behind him. Sam went next to Winchester's surprise.

"You think I'm leaving them until I know that they're safe?" she smirked, "Boy you ain't getting rid of me until I get bored of you. Try it and you'll find yourself looking down the business end of my marble friend."

"Long as you use that gun when you need to, ma'am, I'm fine with that." He shrugged and held his arm out in invitation. Nodding to him, she moved on, to leave him bringing up the rear.

"Take the stairs," Winchester whispered as he caught up to them. "Should be safer."

Megan sighed, "Yeah, cause who’d want to go up fifty flights of stairs, or down them?"

“I know how these guys think. All they want is a quick mission, in and out, no hassle. Why arrive up out of breath when you can hop in a lift? But we’re not going to let them have it easy. We're gonna make them work for every step."

Jared watched the man as he checked every corner, every angle before letting them move forward. Jared was in awe. The man moved like a panther, slow and steady with an edge of danger to him. There was no mistaking this guy for the posers that he saw every night on the TV-Sims, aside from the smoking hotness. When Jared talked to JD about being able to handle himself, this was what he pictured. Total confidence and belief in his abilities.

Jared walked close to Winchester, hoping for inspiration, for something to say that didn't make him sound like a fourteen year old teenager with a crush. He opened his mouth to start a conversation when Winchester pulled out a tiny cellular phone and clipped it into the phone splice.

"Bro, where you at?" Winchester spoke quietly, angling slightly towards the microphone.

"The hell you doing in the motor pool?" his voice rose. "I got a bug load of hostiles on my ass and three targets to watch over."

Jared's hands clenched at the choice of words. He felt useless. JD had gone through the basics of both ranged and melee weapons but he hadn't even thought to duck into his room for the shoe box he kept there in case of emergency.

"Yeah, hostiles. Yes, with guns. Jesus," Winchester spoke again. "The bastard double hired, externals and, I’d guess, internals. If you can spare the time, I could use a little help."

That was the opportunity that Jared needed. He tapped Winchester on the shoulder, "I can help."

"Gimme a sec, bro," Winchester said before turning to look at Jared. Jared almost buckled under the weight of the green eyes. "What did you say?"

"I said... I can help," Jared tried again, "I mean, I've been trained with handguns and small arms."

Winchester was still looking at him.

He squirmed, "Just targets and stuff but... If it helps?"

"Ya ever have to shoot someone?" Winchester asked, quietly. His eyes flicked to their companions before returning to look him squarely in the eye.

Jared shook his head. Winchester sighed. He reached back and pulled a gun, the Colt loaded with blanks, and weighed it carefully in a hand. With a practiced ease, Winchester unloaded the gun, slipping the magazine into his back pocket.

"Loaded this with dummy rounds to start with. Wasn’t figuring on a double cross but I brought enough regular rounds just in case," Winchester's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "But I reckon we can do better."

He pulled out another black magazine and clicked one of the bullets from the top. He held it out to Jared, prompting the younger man to take it. Jared picked it up and turned it over to look at the base.

"HEAP ammo?" Jared asked, eyes widening. "You expecting to run into ’borgs or something?"

"Ain't nothing gets these gun-shy idiots outta the way faster'n explosive rounds being fired at their heads," Winchester nodded. "High explosive armour piercing. Don't get better less you pick up some of the military grade stuff. You fire at anything shooting at us. Don't gotta aim at them, just in their general direction and I guarantee you that they will duck and cover. Think you can do that...?" Winchester paused. "Heard your sister call you Jay, it okay if I call you that or you got another name you'd like me to use?"

"Jay's fine. Name's Jared but all my friends shorten it. Either's fine, I guess," Jared caught himself starting to babble and blushed.

"Well, Jay, you gonna be okay with that?" Winchester asked. There was a sympathetic look in his eye that Jared couldn't miss. "Not everyone can do it, and if you have a problem shooting at people I'll understand. More than likely you may recognise some of these guys, they're wearing P-Corp Uniforms. All you gotta do is fire at the walls, the floor, anything close enough to them to put the fear of the Almighty into them. I'll do the rest."

Jared nodded. He knew that he could ace any of JD's tests. He could put a bullet through the heart or head of a target at a hundred feet but a live person, someone that maybe he knew. Someone that he'd laughed with, snuck beer with or played poker with on a Saturday night when he wasn't out burning up the dance floor. He wasn't sure that he could do that. He turned and looked at Megan, watching her talking animatedly with Sam. He pulled in a breath and let it out slowly. He needed to keep her safe. He needed to help her get through this. And if that mean shooting someone out to kill him... Well, he'd deal with that when it came up. He was used to nightmares. He could definitely put up with a couple more for Meg's sake.

"Don't worry about me," Jared looked back at Winchester. "I'll be fine."

Jared clicked the bullet back into the magazine, sparing a moment to make sure that it was lined up correctly before taking the gun from Winchester and slamming it home. He cocked it with more force than necessary and grinned. He rolled up his sleeve and pulled back a flap of faux skin. He flicked his eyes over the TS logo in the bottom of his vision. The target scope picked out possible targets, the gun's stats and ammo remaining popped up in individual windows at the bottom of his vision. He moved the gun around, getting used to it before turning to face Winchester again. Winchester had an eyebrow raised.

"Got them after the last attack," Jared said, "Figured they'd come in useful."

Winchester opened his mouth to say something but his partner, or whatever, interrupted.

"Dude, stop fucking swearing into comm. You good or do I gotta haul your ass outta the fire too?" Winchester asked, smirking at the reply. "We're coming down the stairwell. Figure it'll give the most cover. You gonna come up? I got a second gun here and someone to use it so I should be good for a little while but we still got at least one sitting duck."

Winchester paused, listening to the voice on the other end.

"A'right. See you there, then and try not to get your ass shot, okay?”

Turning, Winchester looked at the assembled company, "Miss Ferris, ya still got that gun?"

Sam nodded and pulled out the Beretta.

"Good, I want you to stay glued to Megan here. You're the last line of defence, ya understand? I'm gonna be alternating between point and drag. Eh, front and back," Winchester amended, catching Jared's blank look. "We have another friendly in the building, but don't worry, he'll announce himself before he pops up. I'd appreciate if no one shot him," Winchester's eyes twinkled as he continued, "He gets a mite annoyed when people take pot shots at him. Jared, here, is going to be at the front watching out for any guys trying to shoot us. One quick word before we start moving. We're going to take it slow. Last thing that we need is anyone falling and twisting something. Keep an eye out, keep an ear out too. If you spot anything don't yell out, just tap me or wave at me. Let's see that we avoid as much trouble as possible. Everyone good with that?"

Megan was curled in on herself, arms wrapped around her as she watched her brother take the gun. Sam nodded, eyes checking behind them. Jared gripped the gun and forced a smile.

Winchester checked his gun links and nodded to them, "Right then, let's get moving."

Winchester was first to move, moving to stand over by the safety railing. With a cautious eye, he watched for a second before waving Jared on. Jared could hear the blood rushing through his veins as he took his first steps. The clatter of his boots seemed impossibly loud as he walked down the stairway. He could feel the beads of sweat start to bubble and prick at his skin through the palms of his hand, making the grip of the gun damp and clammy, but he didn't dare stop to wipe them off. He looked back over his shoulder once, making sure that Megan and Sam were behind him. Megan was flat against the wall, with Sam walking beside her. She carried the Beretta low but firm, her hair swinging as she looked back up the stairs and then forward again. Behind them was Winchester. The man could have been out for a walk in the park for all the nerves he was showing. Jared envied him his cool. Turning forward again, Jared stepped slowly down the stairs. His back was to the wall as he took the steps one at a time.

They were barely at the half flight landing when Winchester overtook him and held up a hand.

"I'll take the lead until we get to the exit door," Winchester explained in a whisper, "Just keep your gun trained on the door and be prepared to cover me if I need it."

Jared nodded. He relaxed his fingers for a second and then moulded them back to the grip, his index finger resting lightly on the trigger. Jared watched as Winchester worked his way down the stairs, coming to stop just beside the door. He leaned against it for a second and then motioned them on. Jared took the steps two at a time, until he was past Winchester. He stopped at the next half landing, stopping to scan for anybody on the stairs below him. And that was how it went. Him and Winchester leapfrogging down the stairs and keeping Sam and Megan bracketed between them.

They'd covered fifteen floors before the penthouse exit door burst open and men came pouring into the stairwell. Jared noticed and pinned Winchester to the wall. Sam followed his lead, pushing Megan behind her. A tap on his shoulder and a pointed glare made him blush and move out of Winchester's way. Should have known that he’d have spotted them first. Jared lost focus for a second as he felt the warmth of Winchester's body push past him but the opening volley of gunfire brought him back to reality.

"Shit," Winchester cursed, "There's a lot of them. Might wanna try to aim for any support structures you see, or try to keep them back from the railings."

Jared nodded and leaned out to take his shot. Before anyone could fire, Winchester was forcing them back, stealing away their ability to do anything more than fire down randomly. With a hand signal, Winchester urged Sam and Megan to move. They didn't even pause, just started to run down the stairs. Jared and Winchester were slower, stopping to fire or cover the two women as they moved past a particularly open place.

"Frack it, they're gaining ground too quickly. Bro, please tell me you're somewhere close. We're close to the thirtieth."

He paused to fire twice upwards. Jared heard a cry somewhere above followed by a lot of cursing.

"You got your bag with you, the one with the little surprise?" he asked. "Great, set it up around twenty-two if you can. Should be able to get down that far."

Sam looked ready to lay into him, but a splash of plaster beside her prompted her to turn and run again, bringing Megan with her.

Winchester nodded to Jared, "Keep moving, I'll keep them off you. Maverick should be able to get you the rest of the way out when you get down to him."

He started to turn but Jared caught his arm, "What the hell are you planning on doing?"

Winchester's eyes were cold as he answered, "My job! Get your sister out of here. I'm going to buy us some time."

Jared looked at him for a long moment before turning and starting down the stairs. He was halfway down the next flight when he stopped and looked up at Winchester.

"Hey Winchester?" Jared waited until Winchester looked his way, "Good luck!"

Winchester nodded once and then turned back and started up the stairs at full tilt.

Jared started down the stairs, his long legs giving him what he needed to catch up to Sam and Megan. Sam looked behind him at the empty stairwell, brow furrowed. Jared shrugged, not trusting himself to speak at the moment.

"Come on, we need to get down to twenty-two," Jared whispered.

They heard the sounds of explosions and gunshots behind them, worryingly close. Random insults flew back and forth above him. Winchester's voice rang out once or twice, cool and derisive with no suggestion that he was running for his life. He didn't know how Winchester did it, facing death with a quip. Part of him wanted to run up to stand beside him but he couldn't leave his little sister. He kept an eye on the stairs, watching for any balaclaved targets but Winchester seemed to be keeping them busy.

They were out of breath by the time they got to the twenty-third floor. Jared pulled them up sharp, asking them to stay still with a gesture. He stepped forward, trying to peer down to the lower level. He could see a flash of black there, just at the edge of the viewable space. He glanced upwards but could see nothing. Chancing it, he moved closer to the edge to get a better view. The figure was pulling things out of a large backpack and then disappearing back out of view. Jared descended, keeping his gun in hand and pointed at the figure.

Brown eyes looked up at him as he stepped onto the last half-flight of stairs. Jared's hand shivered as a cramp ran through his muscles but he didn't dare drop the Colt.

"Jay, right?" the man spoke, voice calm as he worked away at one of the steps, Jared noticed that he never took his eyes off the Colt. "I'm Maverick. Winchester sent you down to me while he went and played the hero. You'll be wanting to move your sister and Miss Ferris down here."

Jared measured the man with his eyes before retreating back up the stairs and gesturing for Megan and Sam to come with him. They moved quickly, moving carefully around Maverick. Jared kept himself between his sister and the unknown quantity, flinching occasionally as a stray bullet caused a puff of dust to rise where it impacted the concrete. His eyes caught something on the edge of one of the steps and he paused to look. Slathered over the side of one of the steps was a pale grey substance, putty-like in consistency. Wires and plugs seemed to erupt from it in several places, running to a device in Maverick's hand and also to a push button that was seemingly stuck to the wall.

Jared's brow crinkled as he looked at the collection of wires and putty for a second before it all clicked into place for him.

He turned to Maverick, "You're planning on blowing the stairs?"

"You have a problem with that?" the merc asked.

"Yeah, kinda," Jared admitted.

Gunshots continued to ring out as Maverick reached out to put a hand on Jared's shoulder. The gesture was comical given the half foot height difference in Jared's favour.

"I'll make this real simple for you, Jared," Maverick started, "Do you want to get out of here alive and with your sister?"

Jared's eyes flickered to Megan, watching her shrink back into a corner with Sam curled down around her, "Yeah."

"Then, we need to make sure that they have a lot more to deal with than a couple of bullets. If we take out the stairs here, we kick in the seismic sensors which will lock down the lifts. The stairs below this will be fine," he dropped his voice a little, "if we move quickly. I know what I'm doing here, so trust me."

"And Winchester?"

Maverick's eyebrow rose at the concern that the younger man was showing for his brother, "Well, I'm hoping that he hurries his ass up and stops playing cat and mouse with the hired guns."

Jared looked up the stairwell. The shots were fewer now but still coming too fast for Jared to be completely sure who was winning.

"You and your kin start down the stairs. I gotta roll out the cable so as I can get to the next level. I'll be right behind you," Maverick reassured. "We'll get you outta here before you know it."

Jared looked at him warily but couldn't argue. Maverick didn't fill him with confidence, not like Winchester. There was a sloppiness to his movements that wasn't present in the military toned body of the other man. He was happy to leave him behind and make their own way down and out. After all, JD had to have figured out what was going on by now. Any minute now, he'd show up with the guards he knew were loyal and blast hell out of the guys trying to off them. Right?

Jared made his way over to his little sister and knelt beside her. Megan's curls were starting to droop and she didn't look too far behind them. Sam wasn’t looking much better. She wasn't used to all this running around and being on guard constantly and it was clearly taking it's toll. Jared could feel his own muscles aching but in distant disconnected way.

Jared ran a finger over Megan's cheek, forcing a smile, "Hey Munchkin, dunno about you but this is starting to get boring. Think you can go another couple of floors?"

Megan glared at the nickname but nodded, "Anything you can do, Jay..."

Jay grinned for real this time and straightened up. He gave a small bow and held out his arm.

"After you ladies..."

Sam pushed herself to her feet and then extended a hand to Megan, helping her up, and they were off again. Jared went last this time, making sure that they were covered. The trio kept to the wall, fearing stray shots but moved quickly.

They were two floors away from single digits when there was a godawful boom and the whole building rocked. Jared was slammed to the ground, dragging Megan with him as the blast of plaster and rock stole his footing from under him. He groaned, shaking his head to clear it. It took him a moment to realize what the uncomfortable surface was below him. Panicked, he backed away, scrambling to roll off of Megan's limp body.

"Christ, Megan," Jared cursed himself, "Shit, I'm sorry. Megan, can you hear me? Please. God. Can you hear me?"

His hands fluttered over her as he tried to figure out if she was unconscious or... He wasn't going to think of the alternatives.

He looked up for Sam, mouth opening to call her over, but she lay crumpled against the wall, blood running down from a cut on her forehead. Jared closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He couldn't help Megan or Sam if he wasn't thinking. He took another breath, letting it out slowly before he opened his eyes. Don't move her, make sure she's alive. His hand was steady as he reached out, feeling for a pulse. He could see the blue of a vein running up Megan's neck against the paleness of her skin. Tentatively, he reached out, letting his fingers press down on the fine tracery. It was slow but it was there, weak, slow but there. Jared almost collapsed in relief.

"Dunno who you got on your side, Munchkin, but they're sure looking out for you."

A moan had Jared on his feet and at Sam's side. He dug around his pocket for a clean tissue. Sam winced as he pressed it to the bleeding wound, eyed flickering open. Jared smiled down, happy to see her awake and mostly okay. Or at least, alright enough that he didn't have to carry her out of here.

"That damned fool went and blew up the building, didn't he?" Sam asked, trying and failing to get to her feet.

"Looks like," Jared shook his head.

"Oh my God," Sam cried out, seeing Megan laid flat.

"Far as I can tell, she's just unconscious. But I'm not sure if I should move her."

Sam held out an arm, inviting Jared to help her to her feet. Using one hand on the wall, Sam pushed herself to her feet and used Jared for stability as dizziness sent the room spinning.

"Help me over there, Jay-baby."

Jared guided her around the chunks of rock. Her nails dug into his arm as she held on for dear life but he couldn’t feel anything. Skinweave or shock, he couldn’t tell.

"You're gonna have to check her, hon. It's all I can do to keep my two legs under me," Sam closed her eyes, only to open them as she started to sway.

Jared led her to the wall and left her clinging to the dusty blocks, "Just tell me what I need to do."

"Ya gotta check her for breaks," Sam instructed. "Start with her head. It's a good bet that if she's unconscious she's banged her head up but good."

Jared knelt beside her and gently ran his hand over Megan's scalp. There were a couple of bumps but nothing felt weird. Relaying his findings to Sam, he moved down, checking her neck and down her arms. Ribs and stomach came next, making him feel mildly uncomfortable, then down her legs. Nothing seemed to be wrong apart from her not being awake.

"Jay, we gotta get out asses in gear and get outta here. I know by the textbook, we shouldn't move her, but alive and not able to walk is better than dead and never able to move again. We'll get to..."

Jared interrupted, "We could just crack a Trauma Team card, get her air lifted outta here. You too."

Sam sighed, her voice sad, "You know we can't do that, honey. Second we do that, they know where we are and what we're doing. Those idiot boys up there would have gone on for nothing. And I saw the eyes you were throwing at that soldier boy. Real shame that, but he's given us a chance. We'd be as dumb as that other boy up there if we didn't take it."

Jared's cheeks were red as he opened and closed his mouth, not knowing what to say to that.

"She's right you know," came a voice from behind him.

Jared turned to find himself looking into the smirking face of Winchester, eyes crinkled up in genuine amusement. Behind him stood Maverick.

Jared glared at the older man, "What the hell were you thinking blowing the stairs. You could have killed us."

Maverick shrugged, "But I didn't. Christ, but you're a whiner!"

Winchester thumped Maverick and moved past Jared to check on Megan and then Sam. Jared watched him as he checked their vitals and had a quick chat with Sam. His face went dark for a moment and then faded back to neutral.

"Jay, you good to carry Megan?" he asked, looking up at Jared.

Jared nodded, "Yeah, sure."

Jared ducked down, arms going under Megan. He breathed out as he lifted her. She was heavier than he thought, but still manageable. He cuddled her to his chest, making sure that her head was tucked under his chin, sheltered. With only a slight stumble, which Winchester was there to help him with, Jared got to his feet.

"You good?" Winchester asked, his hand still on Jared's arm.

"Let's get moving," Jared replied.

Maverick pushed past him and started down the stairs. Jared went next. Winchester wrapped an arm around Sam's waist and helped her to navigate the steps. They weren't making much speed but with everything locked down, they didn't need to.

Maverick cleared the way into the parking garage. Slipping a small case out of his pocket, he made his way over to one of the combat SUV's. Opening the case, he pulled out a small black box and placed it against the car door. A click and central locking was disengaged. Winchester pulled open the door for the backseat and helped Sam in. She shifted over in the seat until she was on the opposite side. With a gesture, Winchester called Jared over and helped him get Megan safely strapped in. Jared got in next and pulled the door closed behind him. Megan was now braced between himself and Sam. Her breathing was shallow and she didn't look any better, which was worrying Jared. He looked over at Sam, briefly meeting her eyes then looking away. This whole thing sucked enough.

"Where are we going?" Jared asked as Winchester climbed into the front passenger seat.

"We're going to have to lay low tonight," he said, "probably a motel on the edge of town. But don't worry. As soon as we get the keys, Maverick is going to go grab a ripper doc that I know and trust. He's a real good doc, Jay, owes me a favour too so there's no danger of anything leaking back to anyone."

Jared settled Megan against him, trying not to think about the way her head rolled slackly against his shoulder. Wouldn't a hospital be better for her? Somewhere with lots of equipment and doctors and nurses in pristine uniforms who knew exactly what they were doing instead of some cheap hotel and whatever can fit into a tiny black bag.

Winchester's eyes flicked from Jared to Megan and back again, looking Jared in the eye as he spoke, "I got a little sister myself, round about her age. I'd bring her to this guy rather than take her to the Medical or Parklands... He's good, real good and he's prepped for things like this. He's a combat medic, ex-army. Knows his stuff, Jay. Wouldn't suggest it otherwise."

Jared softened, not trusting his voice to speak. He ran the back of a finger over Megan's cheek and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Fine, we'll do it your way," Jared agreed, "but if anything happens or if she..."

"We'll get her into the hospital and me and Maverick will keep y'all safe," Winchester nodded, "You have my word."

Jared flicked a glance at Sam, trying to get her take on things, but she was swallowing carefully and trying not to move. Her eyes were pained but accepting and Jared swallowed.

"Okay, lets get gone."

Winchester tapped Maverick on the shoulder, reloading his Colt as the engine roared to life. Winchester took aim as men poured out of a second exit and opened fire. Jared braced Megan as Maverick swerved wildly towards the exit. The shutters were coming down as they sped up the ramp. The engines revved dangerously as Maverick floored it. The jeep smashed through the barrier with little more than a snarl of metal and a crack in the windscreen. He threw the wheel to the left and the tires screamed but they were on the road and moving. It would take their pursuers time to start the chase and Maverick was making every second count.

Jared watched the world fly by as he looked behind them. He smoothed back Megan's hair, whispering nonsense as he watched the Padalecki building, dwindle into the city's skyline. He felt numb. The building that they'd called their home was now behind them in more ways than one. Their haven had turned into a death trap and someone in there had targeted them, tried to kill them and very nearly succeeded. They may not be safe but they has some time and it was high time that there were some answers. He had to know if he was going to keep his family safe.

"Who was it?" Jared asked, voice low.

Winchester glanced back, "What?"

"Who put the contract out?"

He could feel Winchester's eyes heavy on him but he couldn't look the mercenary in the eye. Couldn't look anyone in the eye. He was going to have to call Chris or JD soon if he didn't want the cops on their tail. JD was going to kill him. Chris was going to laugh his ass off and bust Jared back to the secretarial pool. Just the idea of going back with nothing made his fists clench. He could at least get a name; it'd be an alias but it would something to work with. Jared was fucking through playing victim, he wanted this son of a bitch dead. And at the moment, the one thing standing between him and the answer to his question was the man sitting in the front seat. And yes, even though he was the hottest guy that Jared had seen for a while, he wasn't going to let that blinker him to find out exactly who was threatening the life of his little sister.

"Damnit," Jared cursed, not pleased at the silence from the front seats. "You know who put out the contract. You have to if you were told to kidnap us before they got to us, so don't bullshit me. Someone wanted my guts splattered over the arty white fucking walls and I want... No, I need to know who cared enough to try to kill Megan."

"Wasn't just Megan they wanted to kill, Jared," Winchester's voice was almost lost to the screech of tires as Maverick took a corner too fast.

"You think I don't know that? Fuck it, I was in the hospital long enough," Jared's voice rose.

"Christ, Win, just tell him, would ya?" Maverick spoke up, "Kid's batshit enough to keep yammering on until you do and some of us are trying to make sure that we're not going to have a whole party of gatecrashers tonight."

Winchester shook his head, a slight smile on his lip, "Might be right, Maverick."

A minute passed and still Jared didn't have an answer.

"So? Who was it? You better fucking start talking or I swear to God-"

Winchester scruffed his hair roughly and took a deep breath, "You're not going to like it."

Jared curled his lip and stared at Winchester, "You show me anyone who likes being targeted."

The words got a chuff of laughter from Maverick, "Kid's got that right."

"Right, but don't say that I didn't warn you," Winchester said. He stopped, looking over at Maverick, then turned to look Jared right in the eyes. "It was Kane. Christian Kane put out the contract."

"That can't be..." Jared started, shock drowning out the rage.

"Not a chance..." Sam cut him off. "That boy's been part of the family since his parents were killed. The boys grew up together. They were closer than brothers. Hell, the boy was the first one to help out after..."

Jared reached out to grasp her shoulder. Sam trailed off, head dipping as she took a shaky breath.

"How do you know?" he asked, chancing a look at Winchester.

"My girlfriend is a paranoid fixer. Contract came across her desk." Maverick said tersely, swinging them around a minivan.

"She's a fix- you mean you work for her? But that doesn't make sense. Why didn't you take the job?"

Maverick didn't speak as he turned into a parking lot and put the car into park. He turned off the engine and turned to face Jared. His voice was cold, "Who says we didn't?"

"Maverick, stop being a fucking asshole already!" Winchester growled, unclipping his Colt and scrubbing a hand through his hair. "We got our reasons but those ain't your business. Just leave it at the fact that I'm not exactly his biggest fan and if keeping you guys safe screws his plan up the ass sideways, then I'll sleep a little happier tonight."

Master Fic Post | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Epilogue | Master Art Post | Soundtrack

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 11

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:22:07 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 12

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:11:36 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 13

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:01:46 GMT

Title: Dreaming in Cordite
Author Name: deannawol
Artist Name: sandrainthesun

Genre: RPS AU
Pairing: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Sam Ferris, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christian Kane, Various Others.

Rating: 18 Overall – Sexual situations, graphic violence in places and adult language
Warnings: Slash (M/M) relationship, oral sex, violence, off-screen death of a non J2 character.
Word Count: ~51,000

~#~#~

The clock ticked away. Jensen sat on his heels, one eye on the patients and one on the long-legged kid pacing a track in the cheap carpet. They swapped small talk and worried observations as they watched the minutes tick by. The kid was taking what he probably thought was covert peeks at Jensen. Boy was trying to be discreet so Jensen kept his smile clear off his face. Jared was chewing at his lip and Jensen tried to remember being that young, when everything was immediate and itching under your skin. Jared flitted from the window to the beds then perched on the armchair for a few seconds then he was off to the window again. Jensen kept an eye on him but didn't say anything. Looked like he was putting a couple of things together in his head. Boy'd talk when he was ready.

"Hey, Jensen, can I ask you something?" Jared spoke up sooner than Jensen had expected.

Jensen nodded, eyes on the parking lot, "Yeah, sure. What can I do for you?"

"If you're right- I mean," he continued, "If Chri- if Kane is the one behind it..."

"He is."

"Okay, so if it's Kane, then it means that we can't go home. Everything and everyone we knew, we gotta leave it behind us or else he'll just track us down and cut us down. And I don't even know why he's doing it. I mean, he's already got what he wants; he's running the company with a free reign... Why does he have to take us out?"

It was Miss Ferris who answered. "You told him that you wanted in. You'd been putting in the effort and most people thought that you were ready to get back into the company, Jay-honey." She paused, panting a little as she rolled her head to look at Jared. "You did the one thing that he was praying for you never to do. Honestly, Jay, I think his whole plan backfired."

"His whole plan?" Jared asked.

"Yes, baby, Jeffrey and I had a poke around after your father... Well, just after, and we couldn’t find anything. Chris was cut up about the whole thing and then he was so good with the two of you and making sure that you all had time to get yourselves together that we never even considered it possible," Sam paused, "This is all our fault, baby, mine and Jeffrey's. If we'd done... If we'd... We shoulda…"

"Sam, Sam, no! It wasn't your fault!" Jared pulled her into a hug. Sam's eyes rolled back in her head and she screamed at the sudden movement. Jensen moved closer, hovering close as Jared gently lowered her back down on to the bed.

"Sam, what's wrong? What did I do?"

"Nothing, baby. You didn't do anything, I just..." she stopped, panting slightly. "It was the wall, honey, when I hit it, and when the concrete fell, I caught one or two of them. Don't worry baby, once the doctor comes, he'll fix us both up right and we'll be outta here 'fore dinner."

Jared cast a worried look at his sister who hadn't even twitched since they'd brought her in.

"We got any idea when Josh is gonna be back?" he asked.

Jensen shook his head, but before he could say anything, a knock came on the door. Jensen drew his gun and moved to the wall, bracing himself.

“Si?”

Josh's voice came back strong, "Open up, little brother."

He unhooked the chain again and opened the door, still staying cautious. A small man, tweedy and slight, moved past him and over to the bed.

"Right, who's worse and how much you paying me?" he asked as he looked between the two women.

Jensen bristled. He didn't like Doc but what he'd told Jared was right, he was a damned good doctor and as long as you paid him, he wouldn't say a word to anyone who asked. But even with all that, he still thought the guy was a bastard.

"Good to see you too, Doc."

"Spare me." The Doc dropped his duffel on the bedside locker. "Which one first?"

"We got Miss F here who's gotten herself knocked around by a couple of pieces of masonry. She's got internal bleeding that needs looking at soon. Then we got Miss M here, she got injured at the same time, knocked out and hasn't woken up since. Her eyes are good but that's about the height of what I can tell you," Jensen informed him calmly.

The doctor let his eyes wander over Megan for a moment before going to sit beside Miss Ferris on the bed, "Now, Miss F, I'll need to have a look, you don't mind, do you?"

Jensen took that as his cue and hunted Jared and Josh from the room, "Come on boys, we'll just go grab our ladies some food for when the doc's all done. I'm voting for Italian, you boys got an opinion?"

He winked at Miss Ferris as he pulled the door behind him.

"You sure we should be leaving him alone in there?" Jared asked, eyeing the closed door.

"Jared, from what I've learned, Miss Ferris is the closest thing you got to family besides Megan, that right?" Jensen asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Jared replied.

Josh picked up what Jensen was trying to say and continued from there, "You really wanna watch her strip down and get cut open?"

A blush crawled up his cheeks, "Not really."

"Well then, you want Italian? Mexican?" Jensen asked, refocusing the conversation and giving Jared something else to think on. And if he needed distraction from how pretty the kid blushed, well that was no-one's business but his own.

"Sam and Meg hate Mexican, too spicy for them. A Chinese might be good, some Chow Mein and spring rolls?"

Jensen nodded, smiling as he followed Josh to the car he'd procured. The black car had sleek lines, hidden under a thin layer of city dirt. It was old but it was in good condition. He saw the symbol on the front and grinned widely.

"Ya got me a Chevy, Josh? Damn, you shouldn't have!" Jensen held up his hand, asking for the keys.

Josh raised an eyebrow over the use of his real name but chucked the key ring over. Jensen caught it easily and popped over the driver's side door. He slid into the dark leather seats and let his hands run over the worn steering wheel.

"Well now, this is just fine. Didn't think you'd remember, man."

"Yeah, yeah, don't say I don't do nothing for ya! I saw her and she just screamed take me!" Josh grinned as he slid into the back seat, leaving the front seat for Jared.

"I think I'm missing something here," Jared looked lost.

Jensen tapped the ignition and the car grumble-roared to life.

"Sweet as a kitten, now lets see if she's got the claws," Jensen threw the car into drive and pulled out of the lot slow and easy. He didn't look across as he answered Jared's question. "My Dad gave me my first car, a '67 Chevy Impala, a real classic, rebuilt from a couple of junkers at one of the places we settled. Damn but I loved that car. Got it shot out from under me about five years later. Fucking raider-scum. We tried to salvage it but they'd hit the engine block." He flicked a glance in the rear view mirror at Josh, "Dude, you've got first refusal on my first born."

Josh muttered, "Yeah, like that'll ever happen!"

Jensen glared back at his brother, "Josh…"

Josh grinned, "Come on, bro, even if you liked chicks, you've been livin' like a monk the last two years!"

Jared smirked, shifting in the seat until he could see both brothers, "Now, there sounds like there's something interesting here. Come on, spill!"

Josh sat back against the upholstery, and threw out the comment, "Baby boy here, ain't exactly interested in the fairer sex, if ya know what I mean."

"Josh..." Jensen warned.

"Oh what? Not like Jared here is gonna be shocked," Josh said, "Hell, he might even help you get that stick outta your ass!"

Jensen gritted his teeth and just focused on driving. It’s only another block until Jensen pulls in. Pulling out a credchip, he tosses it to Jared. "Grab us a couple of different things to try Doesn't matter what, yeah?"

Jared looked between the brothers and nodded. Looked like being out of the car might be safer than staying. Jensen watched the kid practically run for the sanctuary of the restaurant.

"Look, Jen, I just thought..." Josh started.

"I don't care if you're sitting here with the biggest queen in the country, you do not try to set me up with a mark. You got that? If I like someone, I’ll tell them. I’m not some shy virgin who doesn’t know what he wants, Josh. Are we clear?"

"Jeez, baby bro," Josh held up his hands in surrender.

"Are we clear?" Jensen asked again.

"Yeah, right, we're clear."

"I know you were just trying to help but we're in the middle of a run here and it ain't over until we get them set up somewhere safe," Jensen's voice was soft again, fingers rubbing the worn leather as he tried to focus on the car, the job, anything but the too-pretty rich kid. "I mean, kid's sister's still out of it, and unless Doc has a miracle up his sleeve, it doesn't look good for Miss Ferris."

"Yeah, I guess, it's just..." Josh faltered, "I guess it's been a while since I seen you laugh, or even smile and well, from what I can tell, and I may have gotten it wrong, I'm just your big brother, but you broke street code for the kid, telling him your name. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you using my name."

"Was just easier. We’re going to be spending at least another day with them."

"Don't exactly matter. Kid's been making doe eyes at you," Josh tried again, "Not saying that you gotta do something drastic like haul him off to a church or nothing, just ... might be fun! He sure as fuck needs a bit of R&R anyway, ya know? You ain’t let yourself relax in a while, not since you showed up in mine. Not going to get a chance once you get back to the family with Momma watching over you all the time."

"Christ, Josh, don't you think with anything but your dick?" Jensen shook his head. "The kid's just that, a kid. It'd be wrong of me to..."

"Not like you'd be his first, baby brother, if half of the tabloids is to be believed."

Jensen went quiet, eyes still fixed on the restaurant and Jared standing just inside the window. "I'll... I'll think about it, Josh, but it really wasn't cool the way you did it."

"We'd be waiting 'til Doomsday if we were waiting for you to do anything about it," Josh joked, leaning over to scruff his brother. "Think of it as a little grease on the wheels. Least this way the kid knows that you're not exactly opposed to the idea. Who knows, he may even jump you when you're not expectin'."

Jensen said nothing. It wasn't long until Jared left the restaurant with three paper bags in his hand filled with food. Jensen reached over and opened the door, just enough for Jared to hook it with a knee and pull it open the rest of the way. He folded himself into the front seat and looked from brother to brother.

"Everything okay?" he asked tentatively, tucking the Chinese away at his feet.

"Yeah, sorry about that,” Jensen apologized, flicking on the fan.

"Don't worry about it," Jared assured. "Megan did the same to me a while ago, blurted everything out in front of Sam and my dad when they were neck deep in the middle of an argument about her dating. Dad wasn't too happy. Sam either cause he sent her off to have the chat on propriety and discretion. Dunno which of them was blushing worse by the end of it."

Jensen laughed, pulling out into traffic and hanging a sharp U-turn, "Not sure I can imagine anything making that woman blush."

"There's not much, but being forced to have a chat with the kid you used to change diapers for on what exactly constituted safe sex, that one had her lit up like the fourth of July," Jared's voice trembled as it reached the end of the sentence. "She's going to be okay, right?"

Josh spoke up from the back seat, "Doc's the best there is. If anyone can do anything for her, it'll be him. Contrary bastard right enough but he's good at fixing people and making sure they stay fixed. Now why don't you have a think about where you'd like to go after this to lay low."

Jared looked down, playing with a sliver of loose skin around his thumbnail, "Not exactly sure we have anywhere to go. I mean, we've never left the city. Sam used to but that was years ago. Unless she knows somewhere, I'm pretty much outta ideas. I suppose heading outta the city would be an idea but with a fairly large lack of cash, we're boned after a couple of days."

Jensen met Josh's eyes in the rearview for a second. Clean water, bug-free food, sand masks, a car that didn't need fancy calibrations or parts and could run for miles; just some of the things that it took to survive a trip out of city. Even if they got to another city there were scavengers and runaway criminals to deal with. Even supposing they made it that far, the press would splash their names across every paper in the state inside twenty four hours. Corps would know the Padaleckis had been spotted in twelve. Only option would be to sneak in and with a teenager in tow, possibly an injured teen too, the black market would kill them. Best they could hope for was to find a small town and settle down, get a job, all that other steady crap that people did if they were legit or legal.

They arrived back to the motel without incident and hopped out of the car, both mercs letting their eyes crawl around the car park for any problems. Jensen helped Jared with the bags, sending Josh on to knock on the door. The door opened and they found themselves looking down the barrel of a sawn-off.

"Doc, it's us. Put up the shotgun and let us in," Josh growled.

"Otherwise, you ain't getting fed!" Jensen added in.

The door shot open and Doc was ushering them in and almost attacking Jared to see what he bought. Jared pushed the man out of the way gently and made his way to the tiny plywood table in the corner of the room. He put the bags down and started pulling out cartons and chopsticks. Doc popped open the cartons as he sniffed and hemmed over the choices. Jared left him to it, going over instead to hover nervously on the side of Megan's bed.

Jensen went over to assess the patients as Doc devoured the Kung Po Chicken. Sam was asleep, blankets pulled up over her chest, shoulders bare. She was pale, ghostly pale but her breathing was regular. He put the back of his hand against her forehead. She was a little warm but not overly so. Long as it was monitored, shouldn't be a problem.

Turning, he checked over Megan. He looked up at Jared who seemed afraid to even breathe on his little sister for fear of touching her. He could understand the nerves, but holding her hand wouldn’t break her. As the back of Jensen’s hand touched her forehead, her eyes fluttered open, shocking a cry out of Jared.

"Welcome back, Princess," Jensen's eyes twinkled as he spoke, "Good to see those baby blues again."

Megan struggled to speak but managed to get one word out, "Brown."

Jensen pushed a stay strand back from her face, "They sure are, darlin'. You've had a few people a little worried here."

She grimaced as she turned her head to look at Jared.

"Hey, there Munchkin," Jared spoke softly, taking her hand in his much bigger one. "How you feelin'?"

"Sore," she replied, voice warming up as she spoke. "Where?"

"We're in a motel at the edge of town, just waiting on you to wake up and feel better," his voice cracked, "You had me worried. Who'd I have to bug me if you wandered off and left me alone?"

She smiled, and then grimaced as pain flashed.

"Hey, darlin', you wanna take a nap?" Jensen asked.

Megan didn't answer, just closed her eyes. Her breathing steadied out almost immediately and she was asleep. Jensen looked up at Jared and smiled. Jared blinked furiously and offered a wobbly smile as the tears started. Ducking his head, he wiped furiously at his face. Jensen gave him a moment to compose himself, moving to stand between Joss, Doc and the kid.

"So what's the prognosis, Doc, how are the girls?"

"Not too bad considering everything they've been through. Girl there just got knocked on the noggin but she's likely to be puking her guts up when she's properly awake. But once she's done with that, she'll be fine. Nothing damaged. Course, if she gets worse then you'll be needing to get her back to a doctor, quicklike," Doc paused to stuff his face with noodles but didn't pause to swallow before he continued. "Miss Ferris over there is the hugest pain in the ass I ever did treat, but I swear, if she wasn't slit open and stitched up, I'd be tryin' my best to get inna her pants."

"Less perving, more diagnosing, Doc," Jensen growled. "Or so help me..."

Doc chewed and loaded up with sweet and sour chicken, "She's busted up good, but I did a patch job on her. She's got a couple of stitches and if things don't go well, she'll have a bit of a fever. Nothing that can't be fixed with drugs. Gonna leave you with a supply of everything you need. Winchester, you good to do injections?"

Jensen nodded, "Yeah, been trained up on it. Been a while since I done it, but it's like riding a bike, yeah?"

"Smartass," Doc accused. "But yeah, it's easy once you remember. She tops out over a hundred, start giving her the drugs. Thirty mils three times a day, into her stomach. She's gonna piss and moan but she'll be good. Got all that?"

"Ain't like it's rocket science." Jensen held up his hands as Doc scowled." Yeah. Yeah, no problem. Hey, guys, you wanna tuck in before Doc finishes the banquet?"

Josh tipped a container of chow mien to his brother, "Way ahead of you."

"Jared?" Jensen asked, "Last chance 'cause I guarantee there ain't going be a cracker left once I start."

"Dude, you better not eat my damned food," Jared was up and over, composed again. "You do not want to have me hungry."

Jensen laughed and tossed a carton of rice over along with a pack of chopsticks. Jared demolished it, then started on what was left of the pile.

Doc finished the last of his fourth carton and wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve, "So there's the not-so-small matter of my bill?"

Jensen glanced at Josh, then turned to Jared, "You got your credit card?"

Jared shuffled until the chopsticks and the box were in one hand and the other was fumbling for his wallet, "Sure dude, what you need?"

Jensen held up his hand and Jared tossed the whole wallet over. He could see Josh rolling his eyes. Kid hadn't learnt to be cautious yet. Flipping over the leather, Jensen had a look through the assembled plastic until he saw one he liked. He pulled the black rectangle free and tossed it at Doc.

"That do you?" Jensen asked.

Jared's eyes were wide as he followed the motion of his Amex card, "The hell?"

"It's a corp card, Jared. You don't think Kane isn't going be trying every lead he can find while he's looking for you?" Jensen asked. "I give it two days tops, before he cancels them on you. Doc here can pull enough off in the short term to pay his bill. Best about it is that Doc'll lay us a false trail that Kane will be chasing for months."

"Suppose..." Jared admitted.

“Always said you’d go far boy, mind like yours,” Doc smiled, “Devious but practical. I’ll have one of my boys do a couple of circuits of the city. We’ll have them chasing their tails.”

Jared thought about it, “But isn’t he going to know?”

Jensen smirked, “Can’t afford not to look into it, never know if you’re just paying people to use your card. All he knows is that once he stops investigating, you might slip by, taking a chunk of cash with you.”

Slipping the card into an inside pocket, Doc thanked them for their custom and left, grabbing all his stuff. Jensen threw a look at Josh. Josh grabbed his keys and left to give the doctor a lift home.

"You should get some sleep too when you're done here. It's been a tough day and you'll need your wits once we get out of the city," Jensen said, crumpling up the empty cartons.

"Sleep sounds good." Jared admitted around a yawn that gave Jensen a perfect view of his tonsils. "Only problem is where? I don't like the look of that carpet."

Jensen pulled a key from his pocket, "We have a second room."

Jared looked at the key, then back at his sister. He looked torn and Jensen could sympathise but the kid was like nine feet tall. Adrenaline would only get him so far before he crashed and burned. Fucked if Jensen was hauling his gigantic ass through a firefight. He tossed the key to Jared who snagged it midair then blinked at it like it was the tooth fairy or something.

"Go on, Jared, grab a couple of hours, I'll stay here and watch them," Jensen pushed.

"You're sure?" Jared asked.

"Yeah, go on," Jensen persisted, "I'll call you if anything happens."

Jared nodded finally, taking the key from Jensen, "Thanks, man. You need anything, anything, just call me, yeah?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

Jared paused in the doorway, thumb thumping on the wooden surround. Jensen frowned as he watched the younger man falter, trying to say something.

"Are... Will you... You'll be grabbing sleep later, yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll probably grab a couple of hours when Josh gets back, then swap with him before we head out. Got at least eight hours before we can move. Least that way, there'll always be someone with them," he gestured with his shoulder.

Jared looked out over the car park. Jensen could see the tips of his ears go dark red.

"Well, when you do want to ... Just knock on the door?"

Jensen blushed. The kid couldn’t mean… He wouldn’t… Sure, the kid was a teenager but he could go one night without jerking off, right? Thankfully, Jared was gone before he could ask.

Christ, if only they were finished the job, he'd be in there giving the kid a helping hand... Or maybe not. He'd never been that forward about picking up guys. He generally took opportunities rather than courting his own engagements. He ran a hand through his hair as he laughed at himself. He had to be the worst excuse for a gay guy. Didn't like the booming music of the gay bars, preferring instead quiet soldier bars with a decent beer and football on the TV. But unfortunately, it wasn't the best place to look for dates. Sure the city was fairly liberal these days but the mercs and the military were still a bit backwards when it came to this sort of thing. Asking a guy if he wanted to head back to yours for a beer and a blow was like asking if he killed babies in his spare time, and got about the same reaction - a fist to the face to get them down and a bullet to the brain.

It wasn't like he'd be seeing the boy again once they left the city. They were heading home after this, getting their heads down in the company of family. Whereas, the kid and his family would have to shelter themselves and find their own place in the world while Jensen was roaming the wilds of rural Texas.

Christ, he was tying himself in knots here. Wouldn't do much good to anyone if he didn't stow this shit and get his head back where it's supposed to be, watching for Kane's goons and making sure that Sam's okay. Speaking of, he went to her side and checked her temperature again. She was still warm, but no warmer than before, which was a relief. He ghosted back to the window and settled in to keep watch, resolutely not thinking about the room next door or stupidly gorgeous teases occupying said room.

He was still there, propped against the wall and watching the car park when Josh rolled back in a couple of hours later. Jensen suspected that he'd used to opportunity to go see Inez and sleep in his own bed, or rather the bed of their back up apartment. Couldn't blame him for that. Unless he manned up and invited her out to visit the family, it would be the last chance he'd get to see her in a while. And damn it, if Josh didn't do it, Jensen was going to. It was about time that Inez met Momma. The woman was as good as married to his brother and she still hadn't met his family. It was getting to the point where Jensen had his own ass to consider. His Momma wasn't going to be happy about this as it was.

The familiar knock came on the door and Jensen pulled it open.

"You good to take over?" he asked, not really giving him a chance to answer before he started to stow his guns.

"Yeah, grabbed some sleep at ours, figured that you wouldn't mind!"

"It's cool. I'll just grab a few next door. Holler if you need me.” Jensen said as he zipped his bag closed. "Miss Ferris seems fine, but she might be starting a fever so keep an eye on that, yeah? Megan woke up for a minute or two but she turned over and went back under afterwards."

"No problem, bro," Josh pulled his own guns out and started placing them on the table. "I got this covered!"

Jensen didn't argue, just left. He was tempted to just get another room but there was no point. He rolled his shoulders, trying to work out the kinks before he knocked on the door. Inside, it was quiet. Jensen knocked again, a little louder this time. He was on the verge of going for the lockpicks when he heard the shuffle of feet on the other side. The door cracked open just a few inches.

"Jeez, man, sorry. Was sacked out. Didn't hear you," Jared's voice was raspy and sleep-slurred. He swayed a little, leaning into the door as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.

Jensen's eyes travelled up and down the hard frame of the man who answered the door. No bruises, nothing that needed attention but where the hell had he been hiding that body? His clothes had been tight but somehow he'd missed the well toned abs and pecs. And Christ, the man wasn't wearing even a smile. Jensen forced himself to look up at the other man's eyes.

"So, you going to let me in, or am I gonna be stuck on the doorstep all night?" Jensen asked, reminding Jared that he actually had to move out of the doorway if Jensen was going to get in.

"Shit, yeah, sorry, man..." he moved.

Jared shuffled back, letting Jensen slip past him. The room was typical, the same flowered wallpaper and crappy carpets as the other room. The main focal point of the room was the bed. Singular. Just one double bed.

"The hell...?" Jensen muttered.

He was going to skin Josh for this one.

"Yeah, I know... Figured it would be a twin like the other one, but..." Jared scruffed his hair, ruffling it further. "Oh well, I don't mind if you don't. I mean, I'm too damned tired to do much more than roll over and go back to sleep, if that's what you're worried about!"

"Nah, man, I don't care, I need a pillow and a flat surface, maybe a blanket if I'm lucky and I'll fall asleep anywhere," Jensen yawned and dropped his bag on the floor.

"Sounds good."

Jared stumbled back towards the bed and face planted on it. Jensen winced. It looked like it had to hurt, although the wiggling and the struggling to get the blanket pulled out from under him had him biting his lip to keep from laughing at the other man's antics. Kid looked for all the world like a super-sized toddler getting settled. He pulled his weapon free from it's holster and put it on the locker on the side of the bed that Jared wasn't sprawled across. Next came the inner pants holster, the shirt and the trousers. He deliberated over the jockey shorts but kept them on, to the apparent disappointment of his bed mate to judge by the look on Jared's face.

Jensen smirked deciding to play with the boy a bit, "I don't put out on the first date. I'm a classy lady here. Gotta at least buy me dinner with your own damn money."

Jared huffed a laugh and turned so his back was to Jensen and just like that, he was asleep and snoring. Jensen rolled his eyes and settled under the blanket. With practiced ease, he cleared his mind and let sleep take him.

Master Fic Post | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Epilogue | Master Art Post | Soundtrack

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 14

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:46:31 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 15

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:40:52 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 16

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:33:54 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 17

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:31:02 GMT

{Big Bang - J2} Dreaming in Cordite - Cyberpunk AU - 18

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:27:26 GMT