Preface

An Intergalactic Manhunt for a Mass Murderer
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/16902285.

Rating:

General Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandom:

Supernatural RPF

Relationship:

Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki

Additional Tags:

Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Law Enforcement, Revolutionary Jensen Ackles, Cop Jared Padalecki, Organized Crime, In Media Res

Language:

English

Collections:

2018 Supernatural Reversebang Challenge

Stats:

Published: 2018-12-08 Words: 4,309 Chapters: 1/1

An Intergalactic Manhunt for a Mass Murderer

by fogsrollingin

Summary

Reverse Bang fic with Evian_Fork!

--

Jared remembered Jeff's words as they'd prepped in the van. “Know that there is a slight chance the Independents might have figured out we were watching and arranged this. They might be out there right now planning an extraction.”

Everybody stopped and looked up at him.

“Don’t let them,” Jeff ordered.

Notes

Thank you so much to Evian_Fork for the amazing artwork that inspired this (and eleventy billion alternate versions of it that y'all won't be getting to see, lol). I'll link to it asap.

Also to the incredibly wonderful & patient & chill & they're-going-to-heaven moderators of the Reverse Bang.

Also my sister, who judges me for romance yet still inexplicably offers to beta.

This fanwork has been posted to AO3.org, a website that databases fanworks for free & without ads. If you are told this fic is behind a paywall, that's super false and most definitely a scam. AO3 is a fanworks database run by the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW), a U.S. federal nonprofit. Please consider donating so they can keep the lights on in here 😊

See the end of the work for more notes

An Intergalactic Manhunt for a Mass Murderer

“Target in position,” Jared murmured.

“Copy, keep back Rabid,” his ear cuff replied and Jared rolled his eyes, “just like we talked about,” Jeff finished, his leadership voice easy and focused.

“Yeah Jeff. Just like we talked about not calling me that.”

“Copy Rabid Dog, Target’s in position,” Misha chimed. Chuckles echoed through the comm. Jared shook his head, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips. He sighed and kept back, as was standard for intelligence officers.

Normally he wouldn’t even be part of the op but they were down a man - a married man with a very pregnant wife who wouldn’t be pregnant much longer. It was cause for celebration but it hadn’t been five minutes after Gabe Tigerman had left for the hospital that the alert came into Jared’s office.

A criminal informant had come through in Hong Kong identifying the source of the Anjana Health Collective information leaks. Alona Tal in Tokyo. Squeaky clean in every sense of the word, working for the AHC for two years right out of med school, a promising and ambitious researcher. Yet somehow she’d managed to get herself into the hands of the Independents. Or at least that was Jared’s suspicion. He doubted she’d become inexplicably disgruntled, hacking into the AHC for sensitive files to leak without any help.

It’d been almost too easy once they’d gotten to her place of work. AHC admin had let Chad do his thing, accessing her computer and cell phone records from inside the building while she’d been working in her usual lab several floors above. Only half an hour on her computer and they’d found incriminating material. An hour later, they caught a text message from her phone. Unknown number. Just a time and location.

And that was how Jared found himself across the street from a Tribble cafe, leaning against a building just below a giant LED AHC poster: the galaxy and a hand holding a simple glass jar with sparkling double-helix stars spilling out of it in the foreground. The neon lights and dusk city shadows obscured Jared’s features; he wasn’t noticed by a single passer-by, much less Ms. Tal as she’d gotten off the trolley and stepped into the cafe.

Misha was stationed with Gen already sharing a window table in the cafe, Jeff and Chad in their undercover laundry van parked less than half a block down, and Tahmoh suited up and chowing down over a bowl of ramen he’d ordered.

Jared remembered back to Jeff’s words as they’d been prepping in the van. “Know that there is a slight chance that this meeting is reactive to us. The Independents might have figured out we were watching. Might be out there right now intending to pulling her out.” They’d all looked up at him. “Don’t let them.”

They’d all nodded, but as soon as Jeff’s back was turned, Tahmoh had rolled his eyes and mouthed Don’t count on it. Misha smirked and shrugged in agreement: they probably weren’t going to be witnessing an Independent extraction tonight. As it’d been awhile since he’d been in the field and he didn’t want to let anyone down, Jared just resolved to keep the possibility in mind.

“Target’s ordered a cappuccino,” Tahmoh slurped.

Jared rubbed his hands together and blew into them as he surveyed the exterior. It was shaping up to be a cold evening and while this capture of Alona Tal and her accomplice would be great, Jared was leaning less enthusiastic about it. He hoped they’d be able to get it over with quickly.

Out of the corner of his eye, a young woman emerged from an alley. Red hair, fair skin, and totally normal.

“Standby,” Jared muttered. “Suspect female, white, five three, red hair, on foot crossing the street.”

“Copy. Suspect sighted.” Gen replied. The comms were quiet.

“Confirmed suspect is accomplice,” Misha said a few minutes later.

“We got an ID?”

“Felicia Day, used to work AHC systems and security. Now full-time Independent rebel. Wanted on a few planets, ours included obviously.” Chad said from inside the van with Jeff.

“Sounds like our smoking gun. We should go,” Tahmoh suggested, voice impassive and low.

“No,” Jeff responded. “We go when they leave in case there’s more than a party of two planned.”

A chorus of ‘copy’ followed Jeff’s orders, including Jared. It was understood from there on out communications could only be for orders.

Jared chewed his lip, listening to the conversation between Tal and Day. Tal had an external hard drive with petabytes of data on it. Jared noted with a kind of dulled interest that it’d take them awhile to mine so much data. Day said as much not a second later and Jared grinned.

They kept talking typical rebel news after that. Knowing his team as well as he did, Jared knew they were all picking up on how routine this felt. Tal and Day acted like two friends meeting for coffee after work: they weren’t hurried, whispering, or nervous in any way. After about ten minutes Jared was positive they weren’t going to get any more exciting than these two rebels swapping AHC conspiracy theories.

Still, Jeff hadn’t offered any alternate plans so everyone kept their stations and covers, winding their anxieties down as they anticipated an anticlimactic arrest under the cafe’s awning. Jared pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and pretended to smoke. He was bored and it was something to do.

His eyes drifted back to the alleyway. He tilted his head looking up at the two buildings on either side of the tiny cracked pathway. A department store and an office building.

Jared squinted and took a step forward, out of the shadows and further into the neon lights of the city. Tokyo was famous for its urban back alleys with their fascinating shops and restaurants lining both sides as you walked down the center. When Day had walked out of this one he hadn’t thought twice about it. But with major corporate buildings bordering the alley there couldn’t be anything interesting beyond employee exits and truck loading stations for a good half-block.

Jared pushed past the light stream of pedestrians. He flicked his cigarette down the alley - a dark and empty alley, just as he’d expected. He took a few steps in though, noticing a light green glow coming from behind a rain pipe.

“That’s weird. They just stopped talking,” Misha whispered.

“What’re they doing?” Jeff barked.

“Staring at the table, sipping their coffee.”

“Natural break in conversation?”

“Maybe. They look focused though.”

“Like they’re listening. Like they’ve got their own comms?” Chad asked, voice loud and alert. Jared heard the trace of fear in it too.

Jared knew he’d be called back to position the minute Jeff caught wind he’d deviated. He jogged over to the glow for a quick settling of curiosity.

It was a cell phone screen, the bright display glowing the symbol of the Independents.

Static snow erupted and Jared stumbled back, clutching his ear at the sharp sounds drilling into his eardrum until he had to pull it out.

“Jammer.”

Jared turned, startled once more. The voice belonged to a man: tall, wearing a dark hooded windbreaker and looking down at his phone.

“And the plan was for that,” he gestured at the green glow of the mobile on the ground, “to be a bomb. But then you arrived. Made this a kill zone. And guess what we don’t do?”

Jared’s breath caught when he recognized the voice - the cadence and style of speech.

Jensen Ackles led the Independents of the Uluka Movement. Every intelligence officer in particular could read from memory the man’s ITE profile. He’d served three tours in the military guarding small Earth-allied planet capitals from invaders. He’d proved himself adaptable to alien terrain and extremely competent under pressure so when he’d quit to work for the private security company Dvarapala, it had made sense to place him on Usha. Usha was a small planet in the middle of nowhere that held an Oxford University research outpost. Ackles’ only job had been to protect the outpost from local wildlife. After his experiences in the military, this was quiet and peaceful in comparison.

Three months after his first report on assignment, Jensen Ackles had murdered the project director in the outpost’s control station and flipped the switch to kill the forty other souls housed in the facility.

He’d been the only one to leave that planet alive.

Speculation over what exactly had happened was planted firmly in the ‘psychotic break’ category until the man finally surfaced two years later.

He’d become leadership for the Uluka Movement.

It took some kid in ITE accounting who’d just watched a short documentary about the Usha Tragedy to point out the resemblance to Jensen Ackles and follow it up. It spread through the galaxy once confirmed: the resistance group spreading lies about the Anjara Health Collective and false hope there was a cure for Vritra Disease was in some crucial part led by Jensen Ackles, mass murderer of forty-one innocent Oxford University students and researchers.

Jared blinked, not quite believing the man behind nearly every crime he’d ever investigated was standing in front of him. This very moment now counted as what had been only three other times Intergalactic Treaty Task Force teams had confirmed his physical presence during any operation. Jensen Ackles was a ghost. Except now, where he was literally within punching distance to Jared.

So Jared wound up and punched.

“Whoa!” Ackles laughed, deftly side-stepping the punch. Before Jared could chastise himself for the miss, Ackles disarmed him and slammed his fist into Jared’s gut. Jared gasped as he folded over and continued to struggle for air as Ackles lowered him to the ground.

“That’s it. Catch your breath,” Ackles coached. Jared made a face, hands pressed against his chest trying to breathe and Ackles smirked.

“Put your comm back in,” he said, holding it out to Jared in one hand, a gun in the other. The threat was all too gently implied that way.

Jared swallowed and didn’t ask how Jensen got his comm. Just took it and squeezed it back into his ear. Jensen crouched down next to him and tapped his own ear. His own comms, no doubt.

“-keep sights on Day!”

“Tal’s three minutes from Shibuya crossing.”

“They’ll be exchanging on a green light do not let her get there.”

“Day’s circling around.”

“Jared’s comm just woke up.”

“Jared do you copy?”

“I… I copy you, Jeff,” Jared coughed.

“I copy you too, Jeff,” Ackles added, his voice as loud in Jared’s ear as it was right next to him.

“What the fu-” Gen sputtered.

“Jeff, we’ve got a situation here,” Jensen started as though he and Jeff were colleagues on good terms. “Your intelligence officer here stumbled over a bomb, you see. It was going to harm no one and distract everyone so I could get Felicia and Alona outta there before you idiots at ITE could feed them to the wolves. But that plan got ruined. Shame,” Jensen tilted his head and sighed. “Anyway,” he turned to study Jared. “This is now a hostage situation.” Jared winced and sat all the way down. “I’ve got your officer Jared Padalecki and all you need to do to get him back is to stand down.”

Jared clenched his jaw, staring daggers at Ackles.

“Who is this?” Jeff’s voice crackled through the comm.

“Rabid Dog’s handler, for the time being,” Jensen replied playfully but Jared’s eyes widened. They’d been listening into their comms since the beginning of their operation.

“By the way, y’all really need to tell me how you came up with that nickname. Maybe it’s ironic because he’s got that puppy face down,” Jensen rambled, watching Jared closely. Jared was fuming but tried to keep it as concealed as possible. “You know… he’s even looking at me with that face right now,” Jensen lied and started laughing when Jared looked up at him in fury.

They heard nothing but silence back for a few beats but then Ackles nodded as though he was listening with approval. Listening to something Jared obviously didn’t hear. He tapped his comm lamely: he knew it was still working. Standard protocol for if comms got jacked: everyone except Jeff - their lead - was the only designated to speak.

“Okay. That was good. You’re free to go,” Ackles announced as he stood up, threw his comm link to their network to the ground, and started walking away.

“Wha-Jeff!? Ackles has disconnected. I repeat, Ackles has disconnected and is heading southwest in the alley-”

Jared turned around to the sight of Gen on a speeder at the mouth of the alley.

“We’re dark. Day and Tal are in the wind.”

“We’re going after Ackles, right?” Jared asked, breathless from racing over. He jumped on behind her.

“Oh yeah,” she muttered as she hit the accelerator.

Jared realized that while he had to bear the shame of having gotten captured and used as a hostage by the enemy, he could handle that role of unwitting bait considering he’d actually caught a much bigger fish than they would’ve gotten otherwise.

—

They were following the ship Ackles had jumped onto - a small piece of stealth that’d been parked hanging against the wall of one of the alley’s buildings. It lit out over the Pacific waters and their speeder was only useful for confirming target visibility at this point. It went stealth just as the Vritra checkpoint approached.

Jared swore.

“It’s okay. We got heat signatures,” Gen replied. She opened a compartment and handed him new comms. “Let’s see if we’re up and running,” she muttered, putting it in.

They both sighed with relief when their comms crackled to life. They informed Jeff they were in line at a Vritra checkpoint to get out into open ocean.

“Forget that. They’ll hit the ocean but they’re gonna leave the atmosphere as soon as they’ve got a clear shot. We’ve commandeered an AHC ship in anticipation. Collins, Penikett, Lindberg and I are on our way to it now. Get there.”

“Getting there, sir,” Gen replied.

It was good she was listening and responding because while Jeff was updating them on what to do next, Jared was busy trying to stick tiny slips of Vritra-low blood onto his fingertips for the checkpoint tests.

Vritra Disease was everywhere - it had infected everyone. It was harmless for about seven out of ten people. For those other three people, either immediately upon birth or somewhere usually in the first eighteen years of their lives, it would cause the nervous system to start malfunctioning on unpredictable triggers with unpredictable degrees of severity. Jared had been twelve years old when he discovered he was part of that unlucky thirty percent.

Growing up in such a liminal space between life and death where every episode could have been his last gave Jared a unique perspective. When he was seventeen and discovered the personal and professional limitations placed on those of “active” status regarding Vritra, he sought after and found a “cure”: the AHC had developed it and discarded it a long time ago but some didn’t forget.

It was a pill that would essentially overwhelm any human’s nervous system in such a way that it would prevent anything - including Vritra - from interfering. The only outwardly visible signs that he used it was a low-grade shake in his hands and dilated pupils for which he wore contacts.

It was too bad the medication cut lifespan by decades. It was why the drug was illegal now. But Jared had long ago decided that living to the fullest for a short time was better than the reverse.

He pressed his thumb to each of the pads of his fingertips, making sure the fleshy slips of blood would stick.

“Jensen fucking Ackles,” Gen Cortese said admiringly, sitting back and turning to look at Jared. There were only a few more vehicles ahead of them hovering over the bright blue Pacific waters just like them. “What was it like?”

“He’s a mass murderer, Gen,” Jared huffed.

“Sounded like he was being sweet on ya, d’you notice that?” She grinned.

Before Jared could object, they got up to the checkpoint and leaned over to their respective scanners. Jared placed his hand on his, felt the blast of hand sanitizer, the lightweight needles sticking into the tiny blood deposits he’d stuck to his fingers, and enjoyed the sight of the light above him turning green for go.

—

It didn’t take long for Jared to feel like something wrong was going on once he and Gen had gotten onto the AHC ship. First, why the hell did an AHC ship have an ITE-grade military ship? Second, why was Mark Pellegrino, President of the AHC, on it?

Obviously capturing Jensen Ackles was important to the interests of the AHC. After all, the Uluka Movement had targeted the corporation at the outset. Still, private interests seemed to be warring with public. They were a government team with one of the highest-profile businessmen in the galaxies and an unusually competent group of AHC employees to command. All to chase the highest-profile criminal in the galaxies.

--

They celebrated Jensen Ackles’ capture in the mess hall. Only Tahmoh was watching the security camera to Ackles’ cell. Jared suggested Tahmoh go get himself a drink. With a knowing nod, Tahmoh got gone.

Jared turned off the cameras, punched in his clearance code to the room they were using as a jail cell and entered the room.

Ackles was strapped to a medical chair traditionally used for dentistry but now occasionally used for humane restraint and stabilization of criminals during transport. His eyes were closed in forced sustained sleep under the bright white lights embedded into the ceiling. Jared studied him, finally able to get a good look at the man he’d met in the dark alley. His hair was grown out an inch or two past the standard military buzz cut. He had the full lips, strong nose, and lantern jaw of the classically handsome but his skin was pale white with a sallow yellow undertone, lips dehydrated and dull. He had dark smudges beneath his eyes that looked perpetual - as though the man just never slept.

Jared had to wrap his mind around the fact that this was the mass murderer who’d said he didn’t kill people, who’d in fact saved Jared’s life if he was to be believed that cell phone had been meant as a bomb. Spared his life again when he’d just walked off away from Jared the minute he’d discovered Tal and Day had escaped arrest.

This man who’d leveled with Jeff about his situation, who’d been playful with Jared while holding him hostage.

It wasn’t exactly the personality Jared had come to associate with the notorious mass-murdering revolutionary, Jensen Ackles. 

Jared needed a lot of answers. He made sure the straps around the man’s body were buckled and tight before he jammed his finger on the button to deactivate the sleep mode.

Ackles’ breathing hitched and faltered, remaining irregular as the rest of him awoke. His jaw clenched, eyes rolled under their lids until they finally opened. Squinting slow and careful, Jensen groggily tracked Jared’s standard issue boots all the way up to his face and made a valiant attempt to smile before relaxing his head back against the chair’s brace.

Jared waited several minutes before he decided he wouldn’t mind it if he were the one to break the silence first.

“What was on Tal’s external hard drive?”

“Can I get some water? Dry mouth.” Jensen asked as he made smacking sounds in between the words. Jared grimaced with disgust and found a spare water bottle in a cabinet. Jensen flinched when Jared handed it out to him, then guardedly reached out to take it.

“You don’t want to ask me what was on Tal’s hard drive,” he offered before taking deep gulps of the water Jared had provided. Jared shrugged.

“I don’t?”

“No, you want to ask me how I got caught.”

“If I wanted to know that I’d just go to the mess hall. I think they’re making a song about it.” Jensen huffed a laugh and shook his head. He looked tired.

“The Kalli Virus.”

“What?”

“The Kalli Virus was what was on Tal’s drive. It would exonerate me.”

“Exonerate you from which crime?”

Jensen gave him a withering look.

“The first one. The Usha Tragedy.”

“How-”

“The Kalli Virus was cooked up by the Anjara Health Collective. Deliberately released for testing on Usha. Everybody was already dead or dying by the time I flipped the switch to sterilize the entire facility.”

“Don’t bullshit me,” Jared ordered, having grown angrier the more Ackles spouted it.

“I’m not,” Jensen replied softly. “I’ve never been lying about the AHC. About the cure for Vritra-”

“You shut up,” Jared stood and stepped towards Jensen, furious.

“’It has been decided that research and development for curing anything is not a sustainable business model for the Anjara Health Collective. It is our responsibility to acknowledge the imbalance and balance it appropriately-” Jensen broke off at the punch.

“Stop,” Jared ordered.

Jensen breathed through it, testing his jaw. He sighed as he got back up and faced Jared. He didn’t look angry. Just deeply inquisitive, which confused Jared in equal measure.

“Hit a nerve,” he commented, uncertain.

Jared backed away a step and Jensen studied him, green eyes so focused and unblinking it was unnerving. He kept his gaze on Jared as he spoke his next words.

“My intelligence changed.”

“What?” Jared spat.

“My intelligence changed, so I decided to stick around awhile longer.”

“And get yourself caught?” Jared laughed mirthlessly.

“Maybe I wanted to see your face again, gorgeous,” Jensen grinned, his voice still hoarse. Jared frowned.

“Are you flirting with me?”

“Yes,” Jensen’s eyes widened. “I thought it was obvious. I’ve been flirting with you since I saw you. But also,” Jensen dipped his head in reluctant acknowledgment, “I’m trying to recruit you.”

Jared stepped back and held his hands up. “Wait. What?!”

The ship’s white lights went out and red ones came on with a low droning siren.

“What the fuck is this,” Jared whispered.

“I think they’re coming for us,” Jensen toned. In the red light, his wry smile looked sinister and Jared felt better about pulling his gun on him. He normally hated it because anyone observing would immediately notice his hands shaking.

“You orchestrated this. Stop it,” Jared ordered.

“Are you crazy? I’m not gonna cancel my own rescue,” Jensen shot back, suddenly much more charismatic. “We just gotta give Felicia a few more seconds.”

“What are you talking abou-” Jared stopped, noticing his steady hand.

He hadn’t taken his meds in over twenty-four hours.

The door to the room hissed open. Jared turned and aimed but no one was there. Ackles heaved a deep sigh of relief and Jared turned again to find him pulling the straps off and getting up from the chair.

“Stay there. Stay right there, Ackles, or I swear-”

“Oh please. Call me Jensen,” he interrupted, voice light and breezy, right before the hardest right hook Jared had ever taken.

—

Jared heard the beeping sounds first. Felt scratchy linens around him. He blinked his eyes open to bright white lights on a low ceiling. He was on a cot, connected to the machine beeping the rhythm of his heartbeat.

There were murmurs and whispers beyond and Jared tried to sit up to see them or hear better when he realized he couldn’t move.

His eyes drifted down to his hands on his chest. They laid there no matter how hard he tried.

The heart rate monitor rang loud as Jared tried to speak and came up short, basically choking and gagging on his own throat instead. He chewed his lips and tried to keep his composure.

“Hey! Hey-hey-hey,” Jensen Ackles rushed over, hands hovering over him carefully and all Jared could do was stare with wide, unblinking, panic-stricken eyes. “You’re not actually paralyzed right now! Well, you are. But we’re reversing it, okay?” Jensen spoke quickly and placed a warm hand on Jared’s shoulder.

A tear slid down Jared’s cheek as he frowned at Jensen, trying to communicate his skepticism. Whatever they thought he had, they couldn’t possible think or know it was Vritra.

“Stop looking like that. We know it’s Vritra,” Jensen whispered, tone soft and gentle as he pressed a palm against Jared’s chest. Jared’s eyes widened with shock. “And we know about those meds you were taking because we were the ones who made them. For people in just your situation. Good news: they don’t cut your life down fifty years anymore. Yay,” Jensen added hopefully.

Jared was stunned trying to grapple with everything Jensen was telling him, and the man wasn't done. He leaned back and tilted his head, gazing into Jared's eyes with a fondness Jared was starting to find infuriating and somewhat comforting at the same time.

“Still, I figured out why I was told I had to get you out. There’s people like you out there, Jared. Hiding. But none of them working your job. And anyone going so many years falsifying records, tricking blood tests, hiding their Vritra status, and all from the ITE?”

Jared swallowed and quirked the slightest smile. Jensen smirked and nodded. "A guy that can do that is one crafty son of a bitch that we definitely want on our side.”

Jared’s brows furrowed, but he managed the slightest nod.

“Get some rest,” Jensen advised, standing up and moving over to the doorway. “And once you’re feeling better, let me know when I can finally ask you out.”

Afterword

End Notes

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