Disclaimer: I own nothing but Jules and anything without a copyright symbol beside it. I also do not own any of the music or movies quoted in this except on DVD or CD.
Summary: "So why Tokyo?" She knew the answer but she wanted to know it from him. "No extradition." "So you're a regular cowboy? Bet your mama's proud." She replied as a joke and saw him smile as she swept her bangs from her face. "She is." Han had a thing for motorcycles, leather and pretty girls a long time before Giselle came around. Based on the song "You and I" By Lady Gaga, named after "Mama's Don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys" By Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. Spoilers for everything from Better Luck Tomorrow (where Han Lue is introduced to the criminal world) to all five Fast and Furious movies. So if I ruin it for anyone…sorry!
Okay so you guys are so awesome- it entailed another update today. Thank-you to Mrz LOT, HistoryNerd, D (You're back!), Evenlight, Miss Hood (Hahaha the saying is true…), ILuvOdie, marye cat (I know what you mean about the intensity I apologise. I'm usually a pretty mellow writer- it's hard on me too! Lol), Chocolate and diamonds and Shades Soul. So the general consensus is that Han can't die and DK needs his ass kicked. Well lets see. I hope this isn't too confusing and it makes a bit more sense. It was always the idea. Enjoy!
Playlist -
Adrenaline - Bush
Need This – Jessie J
Chapter Thirty-Eight – In which things become clear
You know it's not personal
Sorry if I'm hurting you
Please don't give up on me now
I needed this time alone
To know I could come back home
To breathe, breathe, breathe
I need this space
Just like you need it
I need this time
Time to clear up my mind
-Jessie J
Unbeknownst to them, a few hours earlier, halfway across the city, Han was being lifted into the back of a black SUV and being driven across town to the hospital.
The huge hulking figure had been buying a burger when he'd seen the accident in the square. He'd hit his friend beside him and pointed to the streetracers as they came drifting into the middle of the city and he recognised the black and orange Mazda that was in the lead. He flinched when it made impact with another car and flipped into the air, rolling across the asphalt and landing in a crumpled heap. The young boy that he also recognised ran towards the car as the smell of gasoline filled the air, over the top of burger grease and the car exploded. Suddenly cars were revving and disappearing into the night, but he didn't see that. What he saw was the prone figure crawling along the bitumen on his stomach on the other side of the burned wreck. He hit his friend again before taking off in a loping run as fast as his thick legs could carry him his friend not far behind him.
When they reached him, his face was covered in black soot and blood.
"Jules…" the younger man mumbled as they leant down to help him. "Jules." Waving to his friend he pulled his cell phone out and dialled, speaking quickly in japanese to the man on the other end of the line. Minutes later the black SUV playing loud hip hop music pulled up near the wreckage and the other two men put the victim into the back of the car and started towards the hospital, oblivious to the crowd around them, as the sounds of sirens filled the air.
He leant over the seat to check if the younger man was still breathing, he was losing a lot of blood, and he seemed to have passed out.
"What're we doing?" His friend asked and he shook his head. He wasn't sure what they were doing but he knew that the boy was important, he kept Uncle Kamata and Takashi and the rest of the Yakuza out of their business.
"Hang in there Han." Said the man with the claw.
Eighteen Months Earlier
"That mouth of yours has gotten you in trouble before Jules, if I remember correctly you were once taped to a chair." He threatened and Jules shrugged, "You want to go there again, or are you going to keep your mouth shut." Sighing Jules stuck her phone back in her pocket and making a zipping motion across her lips. "Good, now get her out of here." Morimoto jerked at her collar again but DK called him to a stop. Before Jules, or anyone else could object, DK backhanded her across the face. "Killing you would only make things more difficult for me Juliet."
The instant Jules was positive she wasn't being followed once she was out of the restaurant Jules walked to a payphone and dialled the lofts number.
"Moshi, moshi."
"Can I talk to Han?" She asked and heard a reply before there was another sound.
"Moshi, moshi."
"Han, it's me." She breathed out, looking around the crowded street.
"Jules, whats up?" He asked, unaware of the panic that was coursing through her body.
"Can you meet me at Viper in an hour?" She asked still glancing around.
"Fuck Jules, I'm not going to Viper." Han replied, "We were catching up later."
"I would not be calling you right now if it wasn't important." He finally twigged that she was freaking out, the fact that she was calling on the bar phone was another sign.
"An hour." He hung up quickly and Jules checked her surroundings again before walking back to her apartment, well aware of the blonde haired man that was standing on the corner. The thing about growing up as a cops daughter was that you noticed people watching you. She'd been watched for months by DK's cronies. Well aware that it was because DK was protecting his interests in his business arrangement with Han. He needed all the information he could get in case Han decided to turn on him. But now, now Jules knew that Han was the least of DK's problems.
She walked quickly down the street to her apartment and walked through the glass doors knowing that he wouldn't follow her in. It was too conspicuous to hang out in the apartment building lobby. She kept walking down the hall to her flat and pushed the door open, arming the alarm and locking all the doors behind her before switching on all the lights.
First thing was first.
She walked over to her laptop sitting in front of the couch, thankful that her apartment was windowless and booted up the computer and searched for the USB storage she kept in her handbag for work. Then she plugged her phone into the computer and let it read as she went and changed out of her work clothes and pulled on a pair of jeans and sneakers and a sweater and a jacket, tugging a beanie over her ears as she pulled her hair from the bun it was in.
By the time she walked back into the living room the photos had loaded. Photos she'd taken over the months since she'd first seen the Italians in the restaurant on the date with Han. And of course, the money shot- taken less than half an hour ago of DK sitting at a small table with the two Italian men. She'd seized the opportunity when DK had mentioned Han and instead of actually calling him, clicked on the camera and snapped as many photos as she could. Backing the photos up onto the USB she stuck it in the pocket of her jeans before turning on the television.
All the lights on and the sound, Jules unarmed the door and stepped out into the hallway, looking around for anyone. The stalker couldn't be seen and she guessed he wasn't far away so she jogged down the hall to the elderly man that always insisted on looking out for her.
When he answered the door Jules tried to look as flustered as possible as she bowed.
"Konbonwa, Naru san." (Good evening) she smiled sweetly and the old man grinned back.
"Juliet, g'day." This was part of their routine. He loved to joke with her, and spoke English relatively well so she always fell back on it.
"Can I please borrow your car? Mine has a flat battery." The old man didn't ask any questions just walked back into his apartment and walked back with the keys. "Arigaato gozaimasu." (Thank you) She gave him another grin.
"Go, go child, you in hurry." Waving Jules checked the glass doors again for any sign of DKs man before starting towards the basement steps and down into the underground carpark. The royal blue Mercedes was older than her, but a lot less flashy than the green Nissan parked a few spaces away. With great care, and the speed of an elderly person Jules pulled out of the garage and onto the street, going past her building and seeing the man sitting on a bench nearby. It wouldn't be long before he went and checked that she was still in the flat.
Once she was out of his range she put her foot down on the accelerator and sped across town to Viper, hoping that she could use some of the same charm on Huang. More like praying.
The look she'd gotten when she'd walked straight up to the door and past the line was one she would rather not have been subjected to, but she was on a mission. Thankfully the bouncers shift was over and just as he looked at her strangely another bouncer appeared. One that she knew from when she'd frequented there. He let her straight in and she made a beeline to the VIP room upstairs where she knew Huang would have seen her come in.
"I don't think that's dress code." Huang said as he stood on the other side of the velvet rope that separated Jules from the VIP room.
"Thanks for the compliment. " She knew there was no point trying to fuck around with Huang. He was like Han, either get to the point or get out kind of attitude. "I need to talk to you."
"Can it wait? I've got guests." Huang said lazily, gesturing to the women behind him. Jules leaned around to see the women.
"Not really, this involves your little arrangement with Kamata." Huangs face darkened. That would do it.
"Come on." He gestured to the bouncer and the velvet rope was lifted.
"Han's on his way- you'll want to let him in." She said pausing and Huangs brows went up.
"No, sweetheart, your boyfriend is not invited."
"It's really not up for negotiation. You either let him in, or I take my information else where." Huang rolled his eyes and Jules turned to the bouncer. "Han Lue." The bouncer nodded and Jules followed Huang to the back of the VIP room where there was a large office.
She wasn't left to make small talk with Huang for long before Han walked in, flanked by two burly bouncers.
"He's fine." Huang waved them off and Han looked over at Jules.
"Fuck, what happened to your face?" Jules touched the bruising, wincing.
"Nothing. I have something to show you." She said, before gesturing to the computer on the desk and Huang nodded. Walking over Jules flopped into the chair and wiggled the mouse to turn the screen on before sticking the USB into the drive.
"Jules, what the fuck is going on?" Han asked walking over as the photos loaded and Huang leant on the desk beside Jules.
"Remember that night we saw those Italian guys in that restaurant and you said nothing good could come from the Italians being in Tokyo?" She asked and Han nodded, leaning on the table on her other side as Jules typed in her password. "Now if any of you decide to bail out and steal these from me- you should know I have copies." She said looking between the two business men. When they nodded she opened the files. "This was a few months ago when your American friends were here." She said pulling up the photo of the two men walking into the back room of the noodle bar through the large glass window. "And I think Han will recognise this." She clicked again and the picture she'd taken of the charcoal grey Nissan Fairlady 350Z outside the same place.
"DK."
"Yep. And now the best part. Tonight." She said clicking again and the images of the three men sitting around the table came up on the screen. "And if you look closely." She pointed to the piles beside DK's arm.
"There'd be about three grand there." Han said, leaning over her and zooming in.
"Money shot baby." She replied and looking up at Huang who was staring at the screen. "Now, I'm no professional, but it looks to me like your buddy DK is cheating ojisan with the Italians." (Uncle)
"You weren't joking." Huang said shaking his head in disbelief.
"He give you the eye?" Han asked, spinning the chair around, leaving the photos for Huang and inspected the bruise in the light.
"It was purely innocent, I didn't even know they were there and I was looking for the bathroom." She shrugged.
"DK knows you have these?" Han asked seriously and Jules shook her head.
"No, but he knows I know, one of his boys followed me home, took some effort to shake him." She replied and Han shook his head, sighing loudly before looking over at Huang.
"What do you want to do?" He asked the Viper owner and Huang shrugged.
"He's your business partner. It's your move."
"He's going to come after you Jules, you know that right?" Han asked, turning his attention back to the girl.
"I had a sneaking suspicion." She said quietly, finally admitting the truth.
"Shit." Han breathed deeply and nodded. "You're on the next plane home."
"If I take off, it will raise suspicion." Jules reminded and Han sighed again.
"She's right, Han. He's going to go out of his way to keep her quiet, it's a matter of making it look like she ran before she got killed." Huang said, watching the couple.
"He knows I won't leave if you're still here." Jules said looking up at Han. "He knows you'll protect me and that you'll kill him if he touches me. One of his boys was there when they took Ben and Daric out."
"If you go to Australia, Jules, it means you can't contact me, he'll pull all the strings he has." Han warned and Jules nodded.
"I don't want to go."
"If you want to stay alive, you'll go." Huang chimed in as he scrolled through the pictures again.
"He's right Jules, you have to go." Jules nodded.
"It's just a matter of time then. You'll fix this though?" she said gesturing to the computer. "DK has had his run of power, it's time someone took the bastard down." Han nodded.
"Yeah, I'm going to fix this."
"And Neela?" She asked quietly.
"I'll get her out too, I promise." Jules nodded. "Okay, so what's the game plan?"
The idea of taking down DK and Uncle Kamata was all too tempting for Huang to go back to the women that were waiting for him in his VIP room. Jules sat huddled in Hans side as they discussed the consequences of their actions. Both of them knew that the moment DK knew Han was up to something he would try to kill him. It was just a matter of beating him to it. They knew it would take a long time, and Jules felt sick at the thought of leaving Han for that long, possibly forever. She didn't even realise she'd fallen asleep until someone nudged her and she woke up on the couch, stretched out along Hans body.
"We better get going." He said quietly and brushed the hair away from her face, his fingers running down her neck and tracing the line of the necklace she still wore consistently.
"I don't want to go." She said quietly as they sat up and Han pulled her chin up so that he could kiss her.
"I don't want you to go." They didn't speak the words they both knew were there. The idea of leaving each other indefinitely sucked. Han had caught a taxi to Viper so he drove Jules' neighbours Mercedes back to her apartment and climbed the stairs with her. There was no one else around as Jules walked in and saw the light on her microwave said it was three am.
"I'm sorry for this." She said quietly and Han shook his head.
"It's my fault."
"I'll miss you." And without another word Han kissed her lips roughly and Jules kissed him back with just as much force, ripping at his clothes with a frenzy as she led him to the bedroom and fell on the bed.
When she woke she was alone.
A/N; The heaviness these days is sorta due to the fact that I'm two seasons in to Sons Of Anarchy (I'm a Charlie Hunnam fan from way back)! Please Review x