Hanzo has had quite enough of the desert. He finds it ugly, barren, and unbearably warm. The sun seems to always be in just the wrong spot, either blinding or warming them until they're both nearly hanging out the window for some air. It takes until the sun has already set for Las Vegas to finally come into view. By some miracle, they make it without running into anyone from Deadlock.
Hanzo has seen a lot of things, but his first look at Las Vegas is anything but what he expected. They round a mountain, and suddenly there it is. The entire city just laid out in front of them, lit up so the glow fills the sky and blocks out the stars. The lights are beautiful, and the city seems to shimmer with a life of its own.
Jesse lets out a heavy sigh of relief, not seeming nearly as struck by the city as Hanzo, "Need a good nights sleep, that's for certain. Need to figure out some kind of plan for a hotel."
"I just need to make a call and I will handle it." Hanzo tells him simply.
"Oh good...just a call to your mysterious family?" Jesse asks him, leaning over the steering wheel. He looks completely worn out. The days of driving through the heat without enough food, water, or sleep are wearing on him. He's running on empty.
Hanzo crosses his arms and leans back, "Yes. As I said...they will assist us."
"I'm still not so sure I won't end up dead at the end of all this." Jesse tells him.
"I gave you my word. My word is worth something." Hanzo tells him again irritably. He was getting tired of being forced to defend his word when Jesse was the one who had taken an active role in kidnapping him.
Jesse shrugs a little, not wanting to argue with him anymore about it. He knows Deadlock has some business in Vegas, but their hold isn't nearly as strong as in Arizona or New Mexico. Vegas has old gangs that go far deeper than Deadlock, and they weren't keen on sharing.
It doesn't take Hanzo long to change his initial opinion about Las Vegas. Jesse drives them down to the main area of the city, filled with tightly packed casinos and oversized hotels. There's bright neon lights and flashing signs everywhere, advertising everything from food, to women, to concerts. Despite the vibrant flashing lights working to draw attention, Hanzo can't help but notice the dark areas hidden between the buildings. The places where broken down Omnics are scuttling about, and bundled up homeless are peddling for coins from passers by. It's a city with a pretty front to hide the problems underneath.
'Not so different from home then.' Hanzo thinks bitterly.
"So...what do you think?" Jesse asks him suddenly.
Hanzo glances over at him, "Think of what?"
"See anywhere you want to stop? There's cheaper places in other parts of the city. This is the tourist shit here, but Deadlock don't operate around this area."
Hanzo glances briefly over the surrounding hotels. It seems to him that one flashy hotel will be the same as another, so he just picks one at random. A tall building with a bright neon blue spiral of lights wrapping around it.
"Good...we'll park and find some way to call your family. Long distance I'm assuming?"
Hanzo nods slowly at him and Jesse sighs again. He drives them around to the valet and they both practically fall out of the truck. The valet driver has a tight smile as Jesse drops the keys into his hand and tells him they'll be staying the night. Hanzo can only imagine what the man must be thinking. The truck looks like it's been on its last legs for awhile, and it smells like rancid sweat and tobacco.
Jesse doesn't seem to care though, he just makes his way toward the entrance to the casino. As soon as they open the main doors, they're hit with the cacaphony of sounds inside. There's so many bells, chimes, whistles, and slot sounds it makes Hanzo dizzy for a moment. He had been in casinos back home, but they weren't like this.
The lights and the sounds are overwhelming. Omnics are whizzing about to offer assistance to patrons glued to their individual machines, or gathered around tables. There are large lit up advertisments for strip tease entertainment, and upcoming shows.
Hanzo feels his anxiety rising suddenly. He's used to more controlled environments, where it's easy to spot anything out of place. In a place like this he is at a disadvantage. How do you notice something out of place in a place where chaos is standard?
Jesse touches his arm gently, catching his attention, "You alright, Darlin'?" His warm brown eyes are watching him with concern. Hanzo hadn't realized he'd stopped moving.
Hanzo licks his lips and nods slowly, breathing slowly to calm himself, "It is...overwhelming."
"Yeah...that's Vegas for you. It'll be better off the casino floor. Front desk ought to let you make a call...not sure if they'll allow long distance. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Jesse smiles.
Hanzo hates that he's comforted by it. The man had aided in his kidnapping and illegal transport. He shouldn't be comfortable around him at all. Here he is though...following close behind him and focusing on his back so his panic doesn't set in.
Jesse gets them to the check-in desk and manages to talk to the staff into helping Hanzo contact his family. Hanzo calls his brother first, knowing that his father would likely be very angry and less reasonable.
The relief in Genji's voice makes Hanzo's heart ache. He hates worrying his brother more than anything, "Brother...where have you been? I've been searching...everyone has been searching. Father is furious."
"I know...it was a set up. I will take responsiblity." Hanzo responds to him quietly in Japanese, "I am in America..."
"America!" Genji shouts from the other end and Hanzo holds the phone away from his ear, "How?"
"I am not clear on that just yet." Hanzo tells him gently, "I need money...and a room. I am in a city called Las Vegas...at a Cosmopolitan hotel. Have a room set up for us here and a team sent to retrieve me. I have a man here with me...he works for the gang that did this."
"Is he going to be a problem?" Genji asks him, waving to catch one of his guards attention.
"He's going to give us answers." Hanzo tells him, "I promised him his life, but that's not going to be worth much if he doesn't cooperate."
"I'll get everything for you, Brother." Genji is quiet for a long moment on the line, "I was really worried, Hanzo. I thought I wasn't ever going to see you again."
"You know me better than that. I will be home soon...this will be behind us. I will not be so careless again." Hanzo promises, "Thank you, little sparrow."
He ends his call with Genji and thanks the nearby employee. He walks back out to Jesse, "They will get us a room here."
"Just like that huh? Well...does the room come with food? Maybe a few drinks. I'm feeling mighty thirsty after all this." Jesse rubs at his eyes. He's feeling weary down to his bones.
"I am sure it does." Hanzo nods at him.
A man hurries down not long after Hanzo finishes his call, "Mister Shimada...our manager, Mister Cane, would like to tell you how much we appreciate your patronage at our hotel. Please..come with me. We have our best suite prepared. Do you have any luggage?"
Jesse suddenly feels like he's going through a tunnel. His vision distorts and the sounds all seem far away. Shimada...he knows that name. Everyone in the crimminal underground knew that name. Shimada was international...they were the top of food chain. Everything suddenly makes sense. It all snaps into place. It's only right when he hears that name that Jesse suddenly realizes just how fucked he is. There isn't any running from the Shimada clan. He was a dead man...he had been as soon as Deadlock put him on this job. As soon as he got involved with kidnapping a direct relative to the most powerful crime lord on the planet.
He's numb as he follows after Hanzo. The man who had greeted them turns out to be the butler, and he keeps eying Jesse like he's a stain on a carpet as they go up the elevators. The room they're taken to is the most extravagant Jesse has ever seen. The large pane windows that make up the entire far wall offer a spectacular view of the city far below. There's a full sized pool at the very center with shimmering gold tiles. Nearby is a screen built into the wall, and a fully stocked bar just next to that. There's two bedrooms and bathrooms on either side of the main room, and each bedroom comes with a massive king canopy bed.
The butler says something to Hanzo, but it still all just sounds like buzzing to Jesse. His throat feels dry, so he stumbles over to the bar and pries open the first bottle he can get his hands on. When he looks back, Hanzo is standing there on his own, watching him.
Jesse takes a long swig from the bottle and sets it down, gathering his thoughts. He finally takes a deep breath and looks directly at Hanzo, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"You would not have helped me." Hanzo tells him honestly.
"You're damn fucking right I wouldn't have helped you! Your family won't kill me...how much of me is going to be left alive? They gonna keep my head on a shelf somewhere? Stuck on life support so I really understand how badly I fucked all this up? I don't need this...I worked hard to get where I was. Here you come...fuck all of it up."
"You work for a gang. I did not force you to do that. I was kidnapped...brought here against my will. You were assisting with that as well. You chose this path, Jesse." Hanzo says evenly.
"I work for a gang?" He shouts, "I do? Me? What about you? Who are you anyway? How close to the head of Shimada?"
"I am his eldest son." Hanzo tells him, "Heir to the empire."
"Oh fuck.." Jesse covers his face. He takes another long drink and walks passed Hanzo so he can sink into the plush black couch, "I wasn't gonna be in Deadlock forever. I had a plan...to get out. Move somewhere nice and green. Settle down maybe. I don't need this shit. Should 'ave known...life don't pick up, does it? Just keeps kicking you in the ass til you keel over."
Hanzo watches him down more alcohol and sighs, "If you cooperate...then it will be much easier for you. You may even go free. You did assist me in the end...even if it was for selfish reasons."
"You don't know the first thing about me." Jesse points at him sharply, "So...keep on your end of this...fancy fuckin' room. I'll stay on mine." He stands and walks to snatch up a second bottle of booze. He stomps back to the far bedroom and slams the door. He's not one for tantrums usually, but he's tired and being faced with a fate certainly worse than death.
Hanzo lets out a long sigh and looks out to the city. He's not sure why he's so effected by Jesse. The look of betrayal had nearly driven him to let the man go. To lie to his father about how he escaped. All so he wouldn't have to see those warm brown eyes look at him like he had stabbed him in the back.
He couldn't let him go though. They had to know how Deadlock had gotten close enough to pull something like this off. They were small time, trying to bust into the big leagues. There were rival clans more powerful and better financed that had tried to get close enough to cause harm to them, but never succeeded. How had a small operation from the middle of nowhere managed to pull it off?
They needed Jesse. It was for the clan, not just Hanzo. He would do anything for his clan. Because of that...he just can't let Jesse go.
"What do you think you're doing?" Jack's voice springs to life over Gabriel's ear piece.
Gabriel grins broadly, even though he knows Jack can't see it, "Playing the slots. This is Vegas, I have to try my luck."
"You're on the job, Reyes."
"Reyes...so formal." Gabriel taunts and takes a seat, "I'm keeping the sharpest eye out for Shimada and Deadlock. I deserve a break sometimes too, Jackie. Besides...trail went cold."
"Blue assured us they had to be in Vegas." Jack tells him, "You don't have time to waste playing games. Shimada will have his family there quickly to get him, and we'll lose our best chance..."
"Vegas...is big city. I'm working on it. Trust me, Jackie...I'll find them." Gabriel laughs and presses the button to start the slots spinning. He laughs when it comes to a stop, "Hey Jackie...we've got dinner money when I get home. I've got some luck after all."
Jack sighs audibly on his end and turns off the comm.
NOTE: Thank you so much for reading. I also have this posted up over at AO3. I posted the first few chapters here all at once, so I hope you enjoy. I have a little contest going right now. Comment with your favorite Overwatch character to play and why (or send it to me personally if you don't want to comment). I'll pick out a winner in the next chapter, and they will get a one shot of their choice and a commissioned artwork to go with it.
Don't forget to comment and let me know what you think!