Hello! I finally got a new chapter typed up! Yay!
I'm sorry this took so long to write out! I've not only been busy (moving houses is a real pain in the aft DX) but I also had a bout of writers block for this story! With any luck, the next chapter won't take so long to write!
Anyway, as always, thank you to everyone who's faved, followed, read and reviewed! You're all awesome! I hope you will all continue to not only tell me what you think about the story so far, but also share any ideas you have for future chapters! What's something you guys would like to see happen? Any special bonding moments you'd like to read about between Jason and Jack?
Disclaimer's on my prof.!
Sorry for any spelling errors, my 'B' button is sticky and it's so dang offsetting it can get a bit tough to type at times! DX
Enjoy and please review with thoughts/ideas!
Jason woke up before the sun even rose above the horizon, at about five a.m. He wanted to leave as soon as possible, and thus he was doing his best to pack quickly.
His array of guns and knives went in a large duffle bag, as did some of his emergency medical supplies. A large backpack was filled with the rest of the medical supplies, non-perishable food, several bottles of water and a map. His helmet joined his weapons in the duffle bag, Jason knowing that a bright red helmet would draw unwanted attention during the day.
Jason shoved his wallet into his back pocket while looking around the room. Once sure he hadn't forgotten anything, the tall vigilante entered the main room of the dingy apartment.
Jack was fast asleep on the mattress on the floor, curled up under the blanket Jason had managed to procure from the remaining belongings of the apartment's previous residents. Upon closer inspection, Jason could see the outline of Jack's arm through the blanket, clutching his middle. It was clear he was still in pain.
Jason sighed, then moved over, lightly nudging the boy's leg with his boot.
"Hey, kid. Time to get up."
The teen stirred, groaning quietly. Jason went to the kitchen to grab himself one of the remaining boxes of cereal in the cabinet while Jack dragged himself form the depths of sleep. When he looked back to the teen, Jason found blue-grey eyes blinking up at him tiredly.
"Morning." Jason greeted, grinning crookedly. Jack blinked a few times more, then pushed himself up into a sitting position with another groan.
"Wh-...What time is it?"
"'Bout five thirty. Probably in early start by your standards, but we need to get moving."
Jack only hummed in acknowledgement of this, nodding as he rubbed his eyes.
"Yeah." Jack paused when his voice came out as a croak. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "Yeah, alright. I'm up."
Jason glanced at the boy's side as the blanket slid away to reveal the bandages wrapped around the boy's bare torso, trying to judge whether of nor they needed to be replaced. His eyes then turned to Jack's ankle.
"Think you can handle walking? If you need it, I can wrap it up some more so you get more support-"
"That's okay." Jack interjected, shaking his head. "I can move just fine without the extra gauze."
Jason watched as the boy picked up his discarded shirt and looked the bloodied, dirty and ripped article clothing over with dismay. The teen then regarded his pants with the same expression.
"I think the only problem is if I'm seen wearing these. I already look like I went through a warzone. If someone sees me dressed in these? I'll get arrested for sure - it looks like I killed someone."
Jason grunted, somewhat taken aback by the intelligence Jack showed. Even he hadn't realized how it would look if the boy wore his torn and bloodied clothing, much to Jason's chagrin.
"I'll handle it." Jason replied shortly, pulling on his jacket. When Jack went to ask something, the older male cut him off, "Eat something and get ready to go. I'll go find you something to wear." He added in a grumble to himself, "I think I saw a 24-hour store 'round the corner..."
Jack looked like he was considering arguing, but seemed to think better of it and simply nodded. Satisfied, Jason moved to the door. He paused, though, as another thought crossed his mind. He glanced back at Jack.
"Don't open the door for anyone, got it? If you keep quiet, no one should come investigating, but if someone does come, you leave this door locked and wait for me to get back, got it?"
Jack regarded the door and its less than spectacular chain-style lock, then turned his dark eyes onto Jason.
"What if someone does come and they get in?"
Jason scowled at the thought, silently cursing the apartment's horribly underdone safety measures. His eyes flickered around as he formulated a reply, and when he finally did respond, he sent a nod in the direction of the bedroom door.
"There's a duffle bag in there with my weapon stash. If someone busts in, lock yourself in the bedroom and arm yourself." Jason pointed at Jack sternly. "But otherwise, don't mess with my stuff. I don't want you going in there and touching my things unless a f****n' psychopath knocks down the front door, got it? The last thing I need is you wrecking my stuff."
Jack seemed none-too intimidated as the tall man scowled at him, simply nodding.
"Got it."
Jason's eyes narrowed momentarily, searching for any hint of a lie on the boy's face. Determining that Jack was being truthful and wouldn't go messing with his weapon stash, Jason nodded.
"Alright. I'll be back in forty-five. Be ready by then."
Jack nodded again, his dark eyes still meeting Jason's own gaze. Satisfied, Jason left, hoping that the teen had enough sense to do as told.
It had only taken a quick stop at the 24-hour shop a few blocks away to acquire the clothing Jack required. After determining what size Jack was and dealing with a half-asleep cashier, Jason was on his way back to the apartment building. He moved as quickly as possible, in case Jack was making a mess of things back at the apartment. If that was the case, Jason wanted to ensure that the boy didn't muck things up too badly. The last thing they needed was police on their doorstep.
Sneaking past the drowsy doorman and taking the elevator to the seventeenth floor, Jason strode quickly down the hall. Once reaching door 203, the apartment he and Jack were occupying, he pressed his ear to the door. There was a faint shuffle of feet, but otherwise the apartment beyond the door was relatively silent. Jason knocked.
The footsteps stopped and there was complete silence. The door didn't open, and Jason smirked. At least Jack was good about following directions.
"Its just me, kid." Jason called. He was careful to keep his voice lowered, as to not wake any of the other occupants who lived down the hall.
There was a pause, then there were soft footfalls again. The door opened a jar, and Jason could see the chain lock still in place and a dark eye peered out. Jason's grin widened. The boy was smart enough to not grant full admission into the apartment unless he knew for sure who was outside the door.
The door shut once more, there was the sound of the chain being undone, then the door reopened fully. Jason stepped past Jack and into the kitchen, dropping a plastic bag on the counter. Jack closed and locked the door before moving over to join Jason. The boy had a limp to his gait, Jason noted grimly. Jack had earlier said he could walk, but it was clearly painful for the teen. Jason had to admit he was somewhat impressed by the youth's steadfast determination. There were few teenagers who would willingly walk on a sprained ankle without a single complaint.
Hoisting himself up to sit on one of the counters, Jason watched as Jack peered into the plastic bag.
"I had to guess your size, but they should fit." Jason stated as Jack pulled out a simple, dark blue hoodie. It wasn't the most ideal clothing in the Texas heat, but it would cover all of Jack's injuries and allow a certain amount of anonymity with its hood.
Jack turned and bowed his head in thanks, surprising Jason.
"Thanks." The boy stated gratefully, wincing and cringing his way into the shirt, pulling it carefully on over his bandages.
Jason waved off the teen's gratitude with a scoff.
"I didn't do it for you." He retorted. "I did it so you won't blow my cover."
"Still." Jack offered a smile, "Thank you."
Jason paused, feeling something in his chest constrict. How long had it been since someone smiled at him? Since someone said "thank you" to him?
Shaking himself, Jason hopped down.
"Yeah, well." He huffed. "Whatever. Get dressed. I'm going to go grab my things and we'll get going. There's a train heading out to Tucson at nine, and that train has our names on it."
"A train?" Jack questioned, looking confused. "Why not just drive, or even take a flight out-"
"Kid, I'm packing more heat than an armory, there's no way we'd get through airport security. As for driving there, my bike isn't exactly subtle. M.E.C.H would see me coming a mile away and would pack up and leave before I could even get close. I have enough supplies that we can hitchhike on that train comfortably and get to Arizona without M.E.C.H being any the wiser." At Jack's unconvinced look, Jason added, "You said you don't want the government finding you, right? Well look at it this way: hitchhiking on that train makes us untraceable."
Jack sighed, grimacing.
"Well...Okay."
Nodding, Jason moved past the boy and towards the bedroom.
"Good. Now, finish getting changed so we can go." He called over his shoulder before disappearing into the bedroom.
Gathering everything, Jason counted to twenty, just to make sure he didn't walk in on Jack getting dressed, then reentered the main room. Jack was now fully dressed in clean clothing that didn't look like it had been through a massacre. Jason took the boy's old, torn clothing and stuffed them into the empty plastic bag. He chucked them into the corner carelessly, where they landed among the stuffing that had spilled from the shredded couch that was left by the apartment's former inhabitants. With that out of the way, Jason turned to Jack.
"You ready to go?"
Jack nodded, wincing as the action sent a jolt of pain through him.
"Yeah, I'm ready."
Jason nodded once in approval, heading for the front door.
"Come on then. If we miss that train, we're gonna be stuck here another couple of days, and that's the last thing I want."
Jack only nodded, following without complaint.
Jason grunted as he managed to pull open the heavy, sliding metal door of a train car. Once there was just enough room to squeeze in, Jason stepped into the car. He dropped his two bags in the corner, then turned to Jack, who was carefully sliding in as well. The boy was favoring his ankle, which was no doubt aching after the long walk to the railroad stop and was now proving to be a hinderance for the boy as he tried to pull himself up into the car.
Rolling his eyes, Jason grabbed the teen by the collar and hoisted him the rest of the way in. He jerked his head in the direction of the back of the train car, silently telling Jack to go sit down. As the boy went to do so, Jason went to the door and slid it almost completely shut, leaving it open a mere crack to provide a little light and a way to see where they were at any given time (it wouldn't do them any good if they missed their stop, after all). Once done, Jason released a breath. So far so good. It was unlikely any railroad workers would notice the broken lock on the door, or deem in necessary to peek into the train car. So he could relax for now.
Moving over to the back of the compartment, Jason sat across from Jack, leaning against one of the large crates that occupied the car with them. Pulling a knife from his boot, Jason fiddled with the sharp blade absently in an attempt to stave off the beginnings of boredom he was already feeling. He glanced up surreptitiously at Jack.
The teen was staring at his lap quietly, eyes clouded with thought. For the barest moment, Jason wondered what the boy was thinking about, but he quickly dismissed that musing. As long as the kid was staying out of his way and keeping his mouth shut, then who cared what he was thinking about?
Jason frowned as he felt an almost immediate sense of guilt at that offhand thought. His brow furrowed, the man troubled that he was feeling guilty for what, in his opinion, was no good reason.
Withholding a scoff, Jason forced his attention onto his knife and began to sharpen its blade. Best he ignore the teen for now. It wouldn't do to get attached.