Jesse wakes up the following morning suffering from a dull, alcohol induced headache. He groans and turns over in bed, accidentally knocking an empty bottle to the floor. There's an irritating amount of sunlight shining through the window he'd forgotton to draw the curtains on last night.
He drags himself out of bed with some effort and makes his way to the window to yank the curtains shut. He closes his eyes, leaning forward slightly. He's no stranger to hangovers, but they never got any less miserable. He needed a good cup of black coffee and a shot of whiskey.
He turns to look back at his room. He'd never stayed anywhere this extravagant in his life. This would probably be the last place he ever stayed in his life, so at least he was going out with a bang.
His clothes are all sticking to him uncomfortably, and he can smell himself through the fabric. He groans and drags his feet across to the bathroom on the opposite side of the room, peeling off his shirt as he goes.
The bathroom is all smooth black tile, and the sink is styled to look like a black geode with hints of white and purple. It seems impractical and hard to clean to Jesse, but he was never one for this kind of 'high end' decorating. He manages to figure out the shower controls and turns up the heat until steam starts to fill the room, fogging over all the fancy black tile. He just needed to be clean.
He scrubs his skin as best as he can with the hotel provided soaps. The shampoo and conditioner smell like synthetic flowers, and it's nauseating against his current hangover. Sickness is a welcome distraction from his current predicament however. Anythign was better than dwelling too long on his very near future. He had to pick his poison...Deadlock or Shimada. Which was worse?
He wraps a towel around his waist tightly after he forces himself from the heat of the shower. He rinses his mouth out with a tiny bottle of provided mouthwash and runs his fingers through his tangled hair. Slowly but surely, he was beginning to feel something close to human again.
He's expecting to be hit with that Vegas summer sun when he opens his bedroom door. The entire back wall of the hotel room living area was one long window after all. To his surprise, and relief, the windows have all been darkened. He's not sure at first if it's some kind of automatic function, but he's grateful for it.
Hanzo is standing in a small kitchen area when Jesse comes around. The man appears to have also taken a shower. His hair is loose and damp, hanging around his bare shoulders. Jesse can see for the first time an intricate tattoo, beginning on his toned shoulder and extending down his arm. He has a strong muscular build, and the softest looking skin Jesse had ever seen on another man.
Jesse clears his throat as he approaches him, "Don't suppose we have any coffee.." He eyes trail over Hanzo quickly. He didn't want to get caught looking at him, but damn he was hard 'not' to look at.
Hanzo points to the table without looking at him, "I made you coffee, and ordered some breakfast. You should eat."
Jesse turns his attention to the dining table. He hadn't smelled the coffee at first, but his head was still spinning from the flowery hotel soap. He glances to Hanzo again, "You made me coffee?"
"And dimmed the room." Hanzo looks at him finally. His pupils seem to dilate when he finally gets a look at Jesse, but that could just be wishful thinking on Jesse's part.
Jesse rubs the back of his head, "Thanks...thank you." He finds his way to the table and sinks into the chair. Relief washes over him as he pulls the cup of strong black coffee over and breathes in the steam. Nothing quite cut through a hangover like coffee.
Hanzo walks around and sits near Jesse. He's only wearing a pair of plain gray slacks, so Jesse assumes he must have had clothes brought up. Hanzo taps the table after a long moment, "I know you were doing your job. You're loyal to your people...as I am to mine."
Jesse sips his coffee, enjoying the heat it spreads through his throat and chest. He closes his eyes and sighs, "Look I...it ain't the same for me as for you. Understand? I didn't have many options. Never had money for places like this, or any kind of finery growing up. Could have been shot dead at any time. Deadlock was a necessity."
"We are not so different as you may think. I have always been a target. I have never had say in what I do with my life." Hanzo tells him. His tone is softer than Jesse has ever heard it. Usually he was irritable and demanding, but his was entirely new.
Jesse presses his lips into a tight line, unsure how to react to the change. He can feel his headache pulsating just behind his eyes, and he's sure it's equal parts booze and stress. He shakes his head slowly, "You're lookin' at it from the top, and I'm lookin' at it from the bottom. Same shit I guess...all dangerous. Gang is a gang in the end, no matter how well funded. I get what you're sayin', Darlin. I do. I was just doin' a job. Loyalty though...I ain't with Deadlock for loyalty, I'm with them for necessity. Survival. I wasn't going to stay with 'em forever. Just 'til I had enough savings to get away and start a real life."
"I am loyal to my family." Hanzo tells him, "There is nothing else more important to me than my family and the honor of my clan. Your people...Deadlock...by taking me they've tarnished our image."
Despite the heat of the coffee, Jesse feels himself suddenly running very cold. He can't imagine what the Deadlock bosses must have been thinking when they kidnapped a Shimada. It was such an arrogant mistake, and they were all going to suffer for it now. People like the Shimada's didn't get their reputation by allowing things like this to pass.
Jesse chokes down more coffee and nods stiffly, "Yeah...I reckon I knew that. So you can't let me go. Tables have turned."
"Cooperate with me, Jesse." Hanzo requests, "With my family. They're going to remove Deadlock for this transgression. You have a unique position here. Assist us, and we will pay you. As soon as it's done, we can let you go free."
"What is it you need my help with?" Jesse asks him. He's sure he's not going to like the answer.
"We will want the locations of any outposts you have knowledge of. Names of the highest ranking members of the operation." Hanzo begins.
"And what are you going to do? Just...go through and kill all of 'em. Just like that." Jesse snaps, "Except me...because I rat them out?"
"They will be made an example of as a warning to any other rivals considering similar actions against our family." Hanzo explains, his voice still all milk and honey.
Jesse laughs and closes his eyes, "There are kids...young kids just like I was. Men and women who got caught up just like I did. I won't lie and say we're harbouring honorable folks in our ranks, that gets beat out of you real quick. But I can't rat on people in the same position as me. The boss...and the higher ups...yeah, I'll be the first to admit they got this comin' to 'em. Maybe even the rest of us for what we done. But I can't be the one to help you do it."
"I thought you weren't loyal to them." Hanzo says, watching him closely. His eyes are always so focused and fierce. There's a fire burning in him, and Jesse feels like he's being overwhelmed by it.
Jesse stares down at his coffee, "Yeah...guess I might be a little."
"I..." Hanzo trails off, "It would have been easier if you'd just said yes."
Jesse's eyes shoot back up to Hanzo, "What would have?"
"Turning you over to my family. You're an honorable man...I wasn't expecting it. You're not what...I expected."
Jesse swallows hard, "And that's...you mean that in a good way? You don't want to hand me over?"
Hanzo sighs and stands in a single fluid motion. He seems to be struggling with something. Some decision he can't quite make.
Jesse stands quickly and follows after him, "You don't have to you know. Your family has the resources to do this shit without me." He grabs Hanzo's arm because the man is still walking away from him. Hanzo's reaction is so fast Jesse barely has time to register it before he's flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him.
"Do not touch me." Hanzo tells him sternly, his knee pressed to Jesse's chest and pinning him to the floor.
Jesse coughs and tries to get his head to stop spinning from being tossed like a rag doll, "Right...no touching." He looks up at Hanzo's face. He is so stunning and predatory...easy to read and impossible. Jesse licks his lips and moves his hand carefully up to touch Hanzo's face again, despite the warning. Hanzo flinches back like he's been stung, but he doesn't pull away completely.
Jesse smiles a tad deviously, feeling slightly more confident, "You ain't so hard to read. What're you really struggling with, Darlin'? What do you want?"
Hanzo pupils are blown wide and Jesse can see his breathing pick up. He's still struggling so hard to maintain all that control.
Jesse tilts his hips up as much as he can in his current position, "I'm not fighting you on it. Tell me what you want."
Hanzo presses his hand down against Jesse's chest to stabilize himself. He's flushed and his last threads of control are being stripped away. He leans down closer to Jesse slowly, resolve crumbling piece by piece. His breath catches as their lips just barely brush.
He's gone just as fast. There's a heavy knock at the door, and Hanzo looks half manic for a moment, his eyes darting around. He runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head quickly as he hurries across the room to answer the door. Jesse's sure he's never seen anyone run as fast from anything as that man ran away from him.
Hanzo gathers himself and opens the hotel door. There's a large handosme man standing there. He has a crooked smile and strong dark features. He seems to tower over Hanzo, not just in height but build. The man nods his head once, "Hello Mister Shimada. Pleasure to meet you face to face...you can call me Reyes."
Jesse stands up slowly from the floor and straightens his towel back out, resecuring it around his waist. He'd never seen that man before, but he knows dangerous when he sees it, and he looks like he could break both of them in half. Jesse takes a step toward his room, "Hanzo...darlin'...you're gonna want go ahead and close that door now."
Hanzo shifts his weight back away from the man standing in front of him. He attempts to slam the door quickly but it's thrown back open again with enough force to nearly take it from the hinges. Hanzo has already sprung back away from it.
The man who had introduced himself as Reyes saunters in as Jesse and Hanzo both bolt for the back room. Jesse slams the door shut, "I'm just...spitballing here, but we did in fact leave my gun in the truck?"
Hanzo shoots a look at him, "Of course it's in the truck! Why would I have let you keep your gun?"
"For shit like this!" Jesse yells back at him and something slams into the door hard enough to crack the wood, "Shit!" He presses his full weight back, trying to keep whatever hulk demon Deadlock had sent from busting down the door.
Hanzo runs and grabs the heavy lamp off the nightstand. He rips open the curtains and slams the lamp into the window until the glass finally shatters. He drops the lamp off to the side with a heavy thud and looks back to Jesse, "This way."
Jesses eyes the open window and shakes his head, "Nah...how many stories up are we? I ain't fond of heights."
"Would you rather take your chances unarmed against him?" Hanzo demands as Jesse is very nearly thrown off the door again when Reyes slams into the other side.
"You make an excellent point." He catches his breath and makes a run for the window. Hanzo has already hopped through onto the tiny balcony space. He hangs himself off the edge and starts to work his way down quickly.
Jesse stares after him for an extended moment, "God damn monkey..." The door behind him shatters and Jesse jolts before he scrambles down after Hanzo. He definitely lacks the other mans grace, but fear is a good motivator.
Gabriel comes to stand at the window and looks down at the two men scrambling down. He laughs and calls into Jack, "They're climbing down the balconies on the west side of the hotel."
"Don't you think you should follow them?" Jack replies dryly.
"I'll take the elevator. I don't want to deal with the police, do you?" Gabriel steps back and walks back out to the kitchen area, "We should stay at a place like this sometime. We never get away anymore."
Jack groans on the other end of the comm, "Could you please have a little sense of urgency here?"
Gabriel shrugs, "Yeah...sure thing, 'Commander'. I'm going." He heads back out the damaged front door and makes his way back to the elevators. He wasn't in any hurry, they weren't going to get far.
Notes:
In case anyone didn't catch me say it before, I actually live in Las Vegas. I said they're staying at the Cosmo, which if you've seen the Cosmo you know there's no balconies on most of the rooms. This is the future, so I'm saying...yeah maybe they installed them or something. Also, this hotel room is based on an actual hotel room in Vegas I saw while working on a client a couple years ago. The high end hotels all have suites that are insanely over the top with their designs.