alexisjane

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jensen had only been out of his car about thirty seconds when he heard Jeff's SUV pulling up behind him, roaring like a jet engine in the cavernous space of the parking lot. The big black car parked up in the vacant spot next to Jensen, and Jeff opened the door and leaned out, looking to Jensen expectantly. "Is he still here?"

Jensen nodded his head and pulled the sunglasses from his face. He gestured to a red Hyundai in the space opposite them. "Well, his car is here so I'm assuming so."

Jeff had a quick glance around the underground lot, taking in the rows of cars and the position of the stairs and elevator, before looking back at Jensen. "Okay. Well...get in then!"

Jensen smirked and jogged over to the passenger side door. It had been a long day – running around trying to get a lead on Pellegrino and coming up with nothing except emptied out bank accounts and an ex-wife that almost broke down in relief to know that he was gone – and it felt like a lifetime since he last ate. And if Jeff was anything, it was prepared. True to form, as soon as Jensen's ass hit the leather seat, Jeff was pulling a bag of snacks, chips, and soft drinks from the back, and dumping it in Jensen's lap.

Jensen grinned at him. "Did I ever tell you you're the best?"

Jeff snorted and kept his eyes fixed on the elevator doors, and mumbled, "Only when I was sucking your cock."

Jensen shoved a handful of chips in his mouth, and nodded in reluctant agreement. Jeff wasn't wrong. They never really got around to the 'I love you's, never were really much more than friends with benefits. And the benefits had been as good as the friendship. Jensen was glad that they managed to at least regain some of that after everything went to shit.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I mentioned it a couple of times when you were fucking me, too." Jensen smirked over at Jeff, who looked momentarily uncomfortable before huffing out a laugh, and breaking out in a grin that was as much exasperation as humor.

He shook his head at Jensen and snatched the bag of chips from his hands. "Christ. You're really something, y'know?”

Jensen laughed and rooted around for something to replace his lost food. Jeff watched him, waiting until Jensen stopped rustling around before he asked, "So...how is it going with you and Jay?"

Jensen slowly looked up at him. "Really? That's your segue? Subtle, Jeff. Real subtle."

Jeff held his hands up in surrender. "What? You just seem in a really good mood, is all. Relaxed. I just assumed that things were better. But if you don't want to talk about it that's fine."

"Right." The vowel was long and sarcastic. "Not testing the waters or anything so prosaic as that."

Jeff shifted around in his seat and glared at Jensen, but his voice was soft with a hint of hurt. "Jen. I wouldn't...I mean..."

Jensen's head clunked back against the headrest, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. "Shit. I'm sorry." He sat up and looked over apologetically. "I don't know why I...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Jeff nodded and shrugged a little. "It's okay."

He started to turn away, back to keeping watch for their target, but seemed surprised when Jensen said quietly, "It's just...that fucking kid makes my head spin."

Jeff paused not quite sure how to respond but settled on, "He still giving you a hard time?"

Jensen huffed out a laugh. "Yes. And no. He's still mad as hell at me, and with good cause, I won't deny him that. But then sometimes..."

Jensen didn't need to finish the sentence. Jeff smiled wide. "You know he looks for you." Jensen looked quizzically at him, and Jeff laughed. "No, I mean, when you leave the room, he watches for when you're coming back. Watches you when you're not looking too. Like he thinks you hung the moon or something."

Jensen shook his head. "Yeah, maybe. Before I fucked everything up."

"No. No, I mean since then. Last time I saw you two together, was like the first time." Jeff took a deep breath and looked away. "Y’know, given your previous profession, I would have thought you would be a little more observant."

Jensen laughed bitterly. "Yeah, well, I may have a couple of things on my mind." He paused and cleared his throat, the sound awkward in the quiet confines of the car. "And as for previous profession...I kinda wanted to talk to you about –"

"He's here."

Jeff was already half out the car before Jensen had even turned his head to see Ernie stumbling across the tarmac towards them. He jumped out of the SUV, slamming the door behind him, and straightened out his jacket as he walked around to join Jeff.

Ernie was oblivious to them as he walked up, struggling to get his car keys out of his pants pocket. When he got close, Jensen could smell the reason why. He'd figured the guy was more than a social drinker after their evening together at the club but the stench coming off him had Jensen wondering if he'd started drinking at lunch, or whether he was just sweating out the previous day’s alcohol intake.

When Ernie's head finally came up, he looked totally perplexed to see Jeff and Jensen standing next to his car. "Heh...Hey, guys. What are you doing here?"

Jeff smiled his most beguiling smile, and Jensen wondered if he knew that he looked more terrifying than charming when he did it, or if he genuinely thought it was reassuring. "Hey, Ernie. We wanted to talk to you. We have a little problem we think you might be able to help us with."

"Really? Okay, sure." Ernie looked anything but sure. He fiddled with his keys and seemed to be glancing around looking for a means of escape.

Jensen stepped forward. "Well, it's not such a little problem. More like one the size of your buddy. Mark Pellegrino."

Ernie went white as a sheet and Jensen wanted to reach out in case he collapsed. "He's not my...I...I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know anyone called that."

He started to move towards the driver's door but Jeff sprang forward and blocked his path. "Oh, you do know him. Maybe not as well as you should. I'm sure we could fill you in on some things."

Ernie shook his head and kept shaking it. "No! No, I don't want...I don't know what you're talking about."

Jeff looked over at Jensen and smiled that big old crocodile smile. "He doesn't want to know."

Jensen sighed and shrugged dramatically, taking a step closer. "Well, if he doesn't want to know, there's not much we can do."

Jeff nodded. "I guess so." Ernie let out a long breath and seemed to relax a little until Jeff continued on.

"Personally, I would want to know if the psycho cop that was threatening my embezzlement scheme was suddenly in the wind, possibly looking to cash in and leave the country by any means necessary." He paused for effect and let the smile drop away from his face. "But then I'm just fussy that way."

At that point, Ernie did collapse. He didn't faint, but whatever force that was keeping his skinny legs holding him up just quit, and he rapidly slid into a heap on the floor. His eyes rolled back in his head and he started to half-sob, half-mutter, "Oh god, he's coming for me. I knew it." He kept repeating it even when Jensen and Jeff hauled him to his feet and frog marched him over to the SUV and dumped him on the back seat.

After a couple of attempts to get Ernie's attention by calling his name, Jeff gave up and resorted to heavy-handedly patting him on the cheek. It could have looked like a friendly gesture except for the harsh slapping sound it made, but it did the trick.

Ernie looked up at the two men leaning into the back passenger doorway and cowered. Jeff shook his head and sighed. "Two months ago, you, your partner and Pellegrino got bounced from the club. What happened?"

Ernie swallowed, his voice squeaky and broken when he finally got the words out. "It wasn't my fault. I had it in my pocket, I swear I did. And then it was just gone."

Jensen's eyebrows furrowed. "What was gone?"

Ernie swallowed. "The flash-drive. With all the information on it. To get into the offshore accounts...the cop said he'd look the other way if we cashed him in. We didn't really have any choice."

"So, why the panic? Why not just take what money you had and split?" Jeff asked.

Ernie took a deep breath. "You don't understand. It has all the access codes on it. We can't get the money without the drive. Well, we can but it's going to take months. Pellegrino flipped out, said he needed the money now. Said we had to get it back."

Jensen looked at his feet and shifted his stance, not wanting to ask the next question. "So, what happened with the bartender?"

Ernie's face fell. He went very still and stared at his feet, then suddenly in a preternatural burst of energy, tried to scramble past the two men blocking his path. It took them by surprise but it didn't take that much effort to bundle him back into his seat.

When Ernie started sobbing, the sound seemed to trigger something in Jensen and he felt a cool, hard anger slide up into his chest. He was thankful for the roomy headspace in the vehicle as he had enough back swing to slap Ernie hard enough in the face that his head rebounded off the backseat cushion.

Jeff gasped in shock and pulled Jensen back before he could do it again. "Jesus Christ, Jen!"

Jensen looked at him blankly. "He's hysterical. And it worked, see." He pointed to the snuffling guy in the car, who did seem to have calmed down considerably.

Jeff glared and shook his head before leaning back down and warned, "You better start talking, Ernie. My friend here is getting a little impatient."

Ernie's breath hitched and he wiped at the trail of watery snot that was running down his top lip. "It wasn't my fault! I told him that maybe the bartender had picked it up and when he said which one, I said it was the tall one. 'Cause she is tall! It's not my fault he thought it was the other kid. And then he said he just wanted to talk to him! And I tried to tell him, I did! When he shoved that poor boy in the back of the van, I tried to tell him! But then when he started..."

Jensen felt like all his breath had left his body. He practically whispered, "You were there?"

Ernie shook his head like he was trying to deny it. "I tried to tell him, but he wouldn't listen. Devin tried to stop him too but...And then I thought that if I told him it was that girl, the idea that he would do that to her..." He fisted his hands in his hair, clenching his eyes and jaw, and whined.

Jensen didn't realize he had pulled out his gun from his belt holster, until Jeff was pushing him around to the front of the SUV and wrestling it out of his grip. Jeff was ashen faced, but still in control. He pointed a finger in Jensen's face. "Stay here." He waited until Jensen nodded, then went back to stand at the open back door.

He had to say Ernie's name a couple of times to get him to look up. "Okay, look. The situation is this. Pellegrino is gone. We don't know where but chances are he's going to want his money. Your best bet is to give yourself up." Ernie started to rapidly shake his head and mutter again but Jeff reached in, grabbed him by the back of the neck and shook. "You need to do it, Ernie! You need to confess, tell the whole story, and maybe, just maybe, you'll come out of this without ending up getting pushed off a bridge."

He let Ernie go and stood back, letting the broken man slump down. Jeff pulled out his wallet and leafed through it. He plucked out a card and pushed it into Ernie's limp hands. "Call this guy. He'll take you in, and make sure Pellegrino can't get to you. Now get out." He spat out the last few words in a tone Jensen wasn't sure he'd ever heard come out of Jeff's mouth.

Ernie seemed unsure at first, glancing around as if he'd just woken from a dream. Then he slithered out of the seat and wandered back over to his car. Jeff didn't bother to watch him leave, just stalked around to where Jensen was watching them in a daze. Jeff handed him back his gun and shoved him backwards as he walked past to the driver's side, growling out, "Get in."

They sat in the car in silence, both of them stony faced and trying not to think about how bad the situation was going to get before it got better.

Jensen closed his eyes and tried to tamp down the anger that was flooding through him. They were so close; he needed to focus. Taking a deep breath, he ran through what must have happened one more time. Ernie lost the flash-drive at the bar. When Pellegrino dragged him and Devin back there to look for it, they didn’t find it – because Adrienne had picked it up – but it wasn’t in the lost and found box when Jared and Devin looked because…

Jensen silently wrestled his cell from his jacket pocket, scrolled through the contact list and pressed call. It only took a couple of rings before it was answered. Jensen cleared his throat. "Adrienne. Yes, we're okay. Look. We think it was a flash-drive. I know, just... Okay, but just say you got to the end of your shift, and you're heading home for the night, and you remember you have something like that in your pocket, what would you do with it? Really. Okay. I call you later."

He stared at the screen, and without looking over at Jeff, whose eyes were vacantly looking out the windshield at nothing, said quietly, "Lost Property. The box behind the bar."

Jeff nodded and started the engine without a word.

~•~

For some reason, Jensen was expecting resistance when they got to the club. He thought it was a reaction to the frightening way he'd reacted to Ernie's confession that was putting him on edge, but he was sure Jeff's seething anger also had something to do with it. It wasn't like either of them to react that way and it was seriously throwing him off his game.

But when they reached the roped off stairway, the bouncers seemed to have no qualms about letting them past. Jensen opened his mouth to ask what the game plan was going to be as they ascended the stairs, but Jeff cut him off by saying sternly, "Follow my lead, okay?"

They crossed confidently to the bar, ignoring the pulsating blue lights and bustle of people starting to fill the place now that office hours were over. Jeff flashed his gold credit card and the girl behind the counter sauntered over, all smiles and cleavage. Jeff ordered beers, and then span some tale about losing his flash-drive a few weeks ago, how it had pictures of his kids on it and maybe he'd dropped it when he was wining and dining some clients. Jensen thought the puppy dog eyes and the bit about his kid being in the hospital were pushing things a little too far but the girl ate it up and coo-ed in all the right places, and in no time was opening the wooden box that they'd seen Jared showing Devin on the security tapes.

Jensen's heart was racing. It felt like they were at the end of a really long race and this was the final stretch. It was almost as if the flash-drive was the bad guy in all this. That what had happened to Jared was all its fault and he was about to lay his hands on the perpetrator.

There were a couple of fancy pens, four cell phones, a wallet, oddments of cufflinks and earrings, keychains, and at the bottom, under all the debris, a small silver shape. Jensen took it out and turned it over in his hands. There were the remains of a scratched up sticker with a cartoon ninja on the casing. Jensen's mind flashed back to the evening he'd spent talking with Ernie, and the rant Ernie went into about some old cartoon series that got banned because it was too violent.

Jensen smiled and held up the stick so Jeff could see it. Jeff grinned at the bartender. "Found it. Thank goodness. And thank you for keeping it safe."

The smile didn't last long when a sarcastic voice behind them said, "Yes, thank goodness."

The two men looked at each other and then slowly over their shoulders. Chris was standing there, arms folded across his chest, looking mad as all hell.

He reached forward and snatched the flash-drive from Jensen's hand, muttering under his breath. The bartender looked mightily affronted on Jeff's behalf, calling out, "Hey!" and looking ready to summon security, until Chris pulled out his badge and damn near shoved it in her face. He then took turns pointing in Jeff and Jensen's faces, announcing loudly, "You two! Downstairs!"

When they got onto the sidewalk, Chris span on his heel to face the two men trailing after him. "Seriously? You didn't think to call me at all? Just thought you'd breeze in and take something that's evidence in an attempted murder, fraud, and misconduct case?!"

Jensen and Jeff looked at each other for a moment then shrugged and nodded, not one ounce of repentance between them.

Chris looked at their expressions and huffed out a breath. "Un-fucking-believeable." He shook his head and started to walk away, waving them off over his shoulder, yelling, "Just go home. I'm sick of both of you!"

~•~

By the time Jensen dragged himself back to the apartment, the sky was starting to edge toward twilight. When he walked through the door, Chad took one look at him, vaulted over the back of the couch, grabbed his coat and ran out, only yelling, "See ya!" as he closed the door behind him.

Jensen looked around like he'd just had a close call with a tornado. He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, his face framed in a question but not needing to ask the words out loud. Jared smiled slightly, and explained, "Hot date. He was contemplating calling 911 if you weren't back in an hour."

Jensen smirked and collapsed on the couch next to Jared. The TV was showing a pause screen of one of the console games Jared had taken to playing, and there was a half eaten pizza on the coffee table. Jensen groaned as he leant forward and grabbed a slice, aware of Jared's eyes on him as he sat back and took a bite.

Jared fiddled with his game controller for a moment before clicking off the TV with the remote. He turned slightly in his seat so he could look at Jensen. "So...how did it go?"

Jensen chewed slowly, hoping to delay a little longer. He swallowed heavily, and said quietly, "I drew my gun on a guy for the first time in a while."

He heard Jared's sharp intake of breath and then soft words. "How was it?"

Suddenly he wasn't very hungry anymore. He threw the food back in the box and brushed his hands together in an effort to wipe them off.

"Well, I didn't shoot him. Although maybe I should have." He saw Jared's eyebrows go up in surprise. "It was...it was one of the guys that...that hurt you."

Jared slumped back against the couch and rubbed at the top of his thigh where the cast started. "Yeah. Well, maybe you should have shot him."

Jensen let out a long breath and sat back too. "I think maybe that would have been the easy way out." Jared snorted so Jensen turned to look at him, his hair scraping against the cushion as he moved. "The guy was a mess, Jared. He's a crook, not a killer. What they did to you messed him up."

Jared shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah? My heart is breaking for him."

Jensen tore his eyes away from Jared's long expanse of neck and parted, wet lips. He sat up again and rubbed at his chin. "Yeah, well. Maybe shooting him would have been kinder. Pellegrino is probably looking for him right now. And me and Jeff just let the poor bastard go."

Jared was quiet for so long, Jensen thought maybe he'd fallen asleep. But when he started to push himself up off the couch to get a beer, Jared asked softly, "Are you sleeping with him?"

Jensen looked down at Jared, not quite sure he could believe what he was hearing.

Jared licked his lips, keeping his head back and his eyes closed as he talked. "I know it's none of my business, I just...I should hate you, I know I should but I...can't. And then you're always out with him, and...fuck. You come back fucking smelling of him and it feels like my guts are being ripped out and I don't understand why I still want you...knowing what you...are."

Jared opened his eyes and turned to look into Jensen's amazed eyes, saying clearly, "I do though. I want you."

They didn't say much after that.

There were soft huffs of breath when Jensen moved tentatively forward and mouthed at Jared's tender throat on the couch; smiles and the murmured laughter of awkwardness as they undressed each other and gently pulled each other's naked bodies as close as they could get under the bed covers; aching moans from Jensen as Jared's long fingers worked him open to the rhythm of gentle encouragement in his ear, sounds that could have been words but sounded more animal than human when Jensen finally lowered himself onto Jared's hard cock, biting back the pain until it was all pleasure, and all Jared, and all over.

Jensen used his shirt to wipe them off and kissed the tears in Jared's eyes when Jensen kept trying to apologize, but finally stopped when Jared kissed him slow and deep, whispering, "I forgive you, Jen. Nobody's perfect," in his ear as they finally fell asleep.

Masterpost / Chapter Twenty-Six >>>>>