keeneyes | Asher + Elijah = why are you like that?

Elijah caught the pack and pressed it to his face while he watched Asher. He could overpower Asher now that he was alone. It wouldn't even be that hard. Elijah was bigger than him, he had a life long combat training behind him and Asher wasn't going to shoot him as long as he could avoid it. But for some reason Elijah didn't do that. He still believed that maybe he could actually talk Asher out of this nonsense.

"Think about it. You don't have that much left of your cake. And if you go through with this, you'll have several other offences added to your resume." He moved a bit closer, sitting down on the edge of the sofa table to look at Asher seriously.

There was a tinge of betrayal in that gaze but also something hard and determined.

"You didn't have much of a choice before. Now you do. If we go right now, we can still get out before Rob returns." It was risky of course. Very risky. But the other option was riskier. Eventually Rob would just shoot Elijah and then all bets would be off.

"Relax," Asher said, watching the way Elijah moved while keeping his own posture relaxed on the couch.

He really, really didn't want to shoot Elijah.

"Robert won't kill you, I won't let him. You're much more useful as a hostage and once he calms down it'll be a cakewalk convincing him of that. Provided you don't do anything stupid," Asher said with a pointed raised eyebrow. "So relax, enjoy the paid time off. There's more beer in the fridge."

Elijah quieted for a moment, trying to plot his way out of this situation. If he would push Asher too much, he might pull a gun on him and that would be a hard place to come back from. Then again, if he did push just enough, Asher would have to make a decision and hopefully it would be a good one.

"He's going to shoot me eventually," he said quietly. "You know that as well as I do. You can't keep dragging me along with whatever you have in mind. Eventually I will become a hindrance and then he won't ask you, because he thinks it'll be easier to get your forgiveness rather than your approval."

Elijah knew how these people behaved. It was his job to know.

"You’ve worked with dear Robert often, then? By all means tell me more. I’m certain you must have much more information about him than I do in that case,” Ash said, the sarcasm dripping from his voice with a single eyebrow raised.

He didn’t wait for the other man to respond, he knew damn well that he’d never worked with Robert. To put a finer point on it, he’d never worked with Asher when Asher was the one driving the getaway car, so to speak. Asher had only ever been the pitiful low level turncoat for the BAU. Even as he knew he shouldn’t give that up, god he was itching to prove himself just the same.

That was the awful part of his job, though. If you’re good at it, no one ever knows you’re doing most of it.

Still, it was best to act when Robert was gone. Ash felt fairly confidant that between the two of them, Elijah would trust Ash more than Robert. Call it a hunch. So he set the beer on the coffee table and pulled out a slim, older-model tablet from under the couch they were sitting on. Booting it up he was pleased to see the battery was still fill enough for what he needed, because he wasn’t certain he remembered where the charger was.

Time to get to work at one of his better, secret skills. Forgery. He missed it so.

“Tell me, Elijah, do you have any strong feelings about Milan or Tokyo? I simply can't choose between them. If you feel equally about them I'll just flip a coin or something,” Ash said with a dismissive hand wave as he brought up the files he had saved on this tablet, back accessed his cloud storage that hadn’t been found by the FBI when he was taken in.

Passport files. Several hundred.

Elijah sighed, his shoulders squaring up as he let his head hang between them for a moment. Then he got up suddenly, a flash of violent energy alight under his skin, irritation, frustration... fear.

Passport files. Milan. Tokyo. They would have to get rid of Elijah before the airport. There just wasn't a way to smuggle an FBI agent over the border like that. By the time they would get there Elijah would have been noticed to be missing and his picture would be all over the airport.

He left the cold pack on the table while he paced to the window, hands on his hips, back hunched a little.

Rob would kill him. The man knew just as well as Elijah that they couldn't escape without doing that. He was thinking about Mike. His little boy. He should have taken the desk job they offered him a while back.

He needed to make a decision here. Commit. If he couldn't talk Asher out of this foolish plan, he probably should just try to overpower Asher and take off before Rob had time to return.

"You could just let me go," he said softly.

Elijah was really being far too dramatic about this. Asher didn't want to drug the other man until they crossed a boarder but it was looking more and more like he'd have to. That'd be difficult. Elijah was not a small man, moving him without him walking would be a pain in the ass.

Which was heartbreaking, really. Under other circumstances, violent energy Elijah was a sight to behold which Asher found very appealing, but right then he couldn't even appreciate it. The things he did and sacrifices he made, he was such a martyr.

"Not happening," Asher replied, turning back to the tablet and his work as he went about forging documents for Elijah. He had a few pre-filled out ones that hadn't been caught yet, at least a couple could work. Only one of his own stash of identifications had ever been found, he'd been keeping up on that as much as he could. Rob, well...

Robert wouldn't be an issue for much longer. Not with the couple messages Asher sent out. Poor stupid dear Robert, if only you'd just fucked your feelings out you'd probably be living the good life.

"Sit down, Elijah, stop being so dramatic. You've had no trouble trusting me before now, why is that suddenly changed?"

Asher obviously didn't appreciate the seriousness of the situation at all. He was still playing, always playing, not seeing how there were so many ways this could be the worst thing that happened to either one of them. The Ugly could return any moment now and then everything would go south from there.

Elijah sighed again, resting his hands on the window frame and leaned against it. Sun was casting its last rays of light over the top of the buildings and drawing him a long shadow on the floor. Usually Elijah was calm and collected, smooth in his G-man suit. Right now he was agitated, full of regrets and wrinkles. His suit jacket somewhere on the floor, his sleeves wrapped up to his elbows and blood spattered across his front.

"Before you weren't riding with an escaped con who just threatened to kill me, Ash. It's not very complicated at all. It's you, not me."

And still, he somehow hadn't even started plotting out overpowering Asher. Why was that?

"No, before we were riding with your people who would just as soon break my jaw as follow due process," Asher shot back, anger boiling over as well before he could stop himself. That was what it had come down to, though, he figured. Elijah had no problem trusting Asher when surrounded by allies but when the tables were turned, suddenly the man was an island with no friends to be seen.

It stung, Ash was surprised to find out. He knew it shouldn't, lawmen were all the same at their core, but he'd liked to believe they had some kind of bond build up beyond that.

There wasn't much time to dwell on the sudden upsetting feelings, though. As the saying goes, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Asher's new phone buzzed with a message and he flipped it open, his expression growing dark. He'd spent too much time focusing on Elijah when he should have been focusing on the plan. Robert would be back soon.

"Look, I don't have the time to argue this with you. Get in the hall closet - take your beer or a book and a flashlight or something but stay quiet and don't come out until I come and get you."

Elijah frowned as he turned to look at Asher. There was obvious hurt and anger in his tone, emotions that Elijah wasn't used to hearing from the conman at all. Usually he was playful and easy going, teasing, never that serious.

Somehow Elijah had hit a nerve.

"Ash..." he started when the phone buzzed and they both went quiet while Asher read the message. Obviously it wasn't good news. Elijah wasn't sure what to make of that.

Instead of trying to figure it out, he strode back to the table and took a seat on it, facing Asher. "What are you planning? Tell me. We can still turn back and I'll explain to the bureau, you'll still get your freedom at the end of your contract."

Oh, sure, that got Elijah sitting down and being compliant, something that would have been helpful thirty minutes ago. Asher didn't even attempt to hide his frustration with the other man, standing and setting the tablet aside for the time being.

"Are you familiar with the phrase 'plausible deniability', Elijah?"

"Of course I am," Elijah said with a frustrated tone of voice as he followed Asher to his feet.

He reached over to grab Asher's shoulder to turn him towards himself. "Let me help you. This doesn't have to be the end. Give me the gun and I'll take Rob into custody when he returns. I'll make sure they know you assisted me in the arrest."

It was clear the diplomacy thing wasn't working. Fine, he would have to try another way. Schooling his expression, he sighed and nodded,

"You want to help? Fine. Just sit back down and give me a minute, okay?"

It was time for Plan B. Which did not actually involve giving Elijah the gun.

Frustrating as it was, it was time for Elijah to show some trust as well. He knew he had gotten through to Asher somehow, maybe a little bit. If he would push now, he would just ruin it all together.

Hopeful, he nodded and let that hand drag down from Asher's shoulder, all the way down to his wrist, which he held for a moment in a warm hand before letting it go.

Then he sat down. "A minute," he said softly. As if it would be just a minute. It never was. But he was trying to give Asher a chance to do what he was about to do.

He had indeed gotten through to Asher, but not in the way he intended.

Squeezing Elijah's hand for the brief moment it was in his own, Asher absconded to the kitchen for the minute he was given, pouring them both a glass with whiskey. Not enough to get drunk, just enough to take the edge off of a very difficult decision.

Or at least that's what it looked like. That Asher also fetched one of the many tranquelizers that the safehouse had and dumped it in Elijah's glass as well as pocketing a syringe of it in case Elijah decided to not drink, well. It was for the best. He didn't want Elijah hurt, and the man was too good hearted and honorable, he was predictibly unpredictable, and Asher couldn't trust the man to act in his own best interests. A subdued Elijah couldn't get shot straight through his noble intentions.

The troubled look on Asher's face was sincere as he brought the glasses out, even if it wasn't because of what he was pretending it was. Placing one in front of Elijah, he took a drink of his own glass right away before placing it on the coffee table.

"So. Dear Robert. Your moles in the various organizations don't know everything. Let's just say that dear Robert has rather run low on a lot of his good will credit to some very nasty people and run out entirely with others."

Elijah felt as if he had gotten through to Asher, truly. This was why he didn't even think about the possibility of Asher drugging him. He took the offered whiskey without even thinking and actually downed it in one go.

It burned right and well down his throat, relaxing him in all the ways that he had wanted.

He put the glass down, leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and listened to Asher, watching him quietly as he explained the situation.

The problem was that it was really hard to concentrate. His eyes kept getting heavier and heavier. He wanted to say something about Robert. Warn Asher because that made a dangerous man if he was so driven into corner, but it seemed like so much trouble to open his mouth and actually speak.

"Asher," he finally managed when it became clear that this wasn't natural at all. "What did you gave me?"

Then he was trying to stand up, as if that would make things any better. It was an instinct. Get away! Right now!

Asher had downed the rest of his whiskey while he waited for Elijah's to set in, relieved he wasn't going to have to stab the man in the neck with a syringe. Some things it was hard to bounce a friendship back from.

"Sit down, Elijah," Asher said, moving to pull the other man back to lay down on the couch so he wouldn't fall and hurt himself. Asher would have felt terrible of Elijah cracked his skull open on the coffee table.

Both for the loss that would face Elijah's son, and just sincerely missing the man.

"Relax into it - you'll be facing a hangover when it wears off either way but if you fight it, it's going to be that much worse. Ideally you'll have a peaceful little nap for a couple hours, worse case scenario you doze off and are barely conscious but still can't get in the way. I know it can be hard to believe Elijah but I know what I'm doing and as long as you don't screw this up we both walk away from this safe and sound and better off than we started, savvy?"

"Asher," Elijah growled, his eyes flashing dangerously as he was easily pulled down to the couch like a little child, manoeuvred by Asher like if he were nothing but a rag doll.

His mind was going black, the edges of his vision blackening and slipping away as his eyes closed against his will.

He did struggle, stayed barely awake even as his body refused to comply with his wishes to get up and do something.

"This is somehng... ur fckng... sher..." The last attempt to form words didn't go quite as well as he thought it would and soon he would be just laying down on the cushions, breathing heavily, while his sleepy mind was swirling in panic that seemed to be somewhere far, far away.

"I'm going to assume that was a 'you are terribly correct Asher and thank you for saving me from myself, you're awful clever'," Asher said, still half crouched over Elijah after laying him onto the couch. When no snarky reply was forthcoming, nor any threat, he waved his hand in front of Elijah's face.

Well. If not unconscious then unresponsive, which was good enough, though he hoped unconsciousness for Elijah's sake.

Right on time, there was the sound of heavy boots coming down the hallway. Asher popped open the top buttons on his shirt. Time to get this show on the road, the countdown clock was on as soon as Elijah and him went off the radar and he did want to have a little fun and take care of an annoying loose thread before going back into that playpen of the FBI.

Asher ended up having to use the syringe after all to put Eli back under twice more before he could get squirrely. The first time they were in the back seat of an SUV like the BAU had, skin around Asher's right eye turning that sickly yellow that foretold a black eye on the horizon, blood from a nasty cut on his lip and more bruising around his mouth as well, if fainter. Eli was buckled in next to Asher who made soothing sounds as soon as the other man began to stir. There was only the faintest pinprick when the syringe went in, not even enough time for the hangover to begin.

The voice from the front seat asked something to indistinct to make out, while Asher calmly replied "No, no problems," before everything went dark again.

The second time he was strapped in a seat again, this one much more luxurious. First class, the faint white noise of an engine roar from outside of the airplane cabin. Nothing was in English. Asher was in the seat next to him, dark mirrored sunglasses hiding the black eye, though there was little to be done about the cut on his mouth. Not profusely bleeding anymore, it didn't seem bad enough to warrant stitches which was what mattered.

Neither of them were wearing the same clothing as before, Asher's style more reflecting the understated luxury he was known for before he got arrested, Elijah dressed similarly. He signed when he saw Elijah stirring, checking a watch on his wrist.

"Damn high altitudes messing with these things. I'd really rather not ... maybe just enough to get you back to the ground agian," was all he said before, again, things went dark.

The third wake was the final one, voices chatting amiably if quietly around Elijah as the world came back into focus. More understated luxury, this time a hotel lobby, with Elijah being pushed on a wheelchair through it towards the elevator where an Asian woman waited as an attendant. Asher was the one pushing him as the mirrored doors showed, still in the sunglasses and the clothing that fit well enough to be tailored to him.

Seeing Elijah stirring again he quickly leaned down to murmur to the other man.

"Nobody here speaks English well enough to understand you - they think you're my companion who had too much to drink on the plane. They'll not take kindly to finding out you're law, either."

After that he straightened, assuring the attendant that his companion was going to be just fine, you know liquor and altitude and all. After another comment that got her trying to stifle a giggle he directed her fe their floor - the top one please. All in Japanese. He had decided on Tokyo after all.

Elijah came about finally. It took what seemed like forever to gain the control of first one finger, then the whole hand and finally his arm. He felt heavy and difficult, like everything was awkward in a way that was impossible to even describe.

His mouth tasted like a roadkill. He felt like a roadkill.

He would make a roadkill out of Asher.

In all the confusion, struggle and bright colours that didn't mean anything to him, he knew two things, Asher was behind this all and that he was mildly surprised to be alive.

He took his time while coming about. It didn't seem there was anything immediately threatening around his near vicinity. He needed his wits about him while dealing with Asher.

He rolled his eyes merely as Asher rolled him into the elevator and then to a hallway, making the young woman with him giggle and look at him like he was some kind of a rockstar. Ridiculous.

Once the door closed between them and the woman, though, Elijah was on his feet, staggering, his expression near murderous as he approached Asher. His body felt still heavy and it wanted to just slump down back to the chair but he forced his limbs to move so he could grab Asher's shirt front and slam him against the door.

"What did you do?" he asked, or rather, he thought he asked, because barely a whisper came out of his throat, raw and dry.

Asher had expected that. Well, he had expected Elijah to not be happy when he came out of it enough to control his body, but he thought he'd have a little time to settle in and maybe calm the man down first. So Asher was mildly surprised when he ended up with his back slammed against the wall, sunglasses clattering to the ground and abhorrantly dark black eye now apparent.

"... wow, you shook that off much quicker than I thought," Asher remarked first, blinking owlishly ar Elijah, hands raising to show he held nothing in them. "Still, you'll probably not want to strain yourself, darling. Drink some water, maybe get a shower or take a nap under your own volition?"

"Asher," Elijah growled, his voice coming back to him after a few good swallows. He still sounded hoarse, like a man whose throat had been dry for weeks in a desert.

It was a warning. He needed to know what had happened. And he needed to know right now.

His hand went up from Asher's front to his jaw, tilting his face up to see that bruise properly. Something dark and dangerous curled in the pits of his stomach.

"Where's Rob?"

Asher did flinch when Elijah took hold of his face, but to be fair the man had just slammed him back against the door and not in a sexy way. When all he did was examine the still painful bruise on his face, however, and demand to know where the assumed culprit was... Asher was briefly left speechless.

Ash was good at people. Really good. Good enough that sometimes he figured things out even before the geniuses in the BAU's thinktank because unlike them he also had the boots on the ground expirience of knowing how and why people who commited awful deeds did what they did. No matter how good, there would always be a difference between being able to think like a criminal and actually being one.

Sometimes though Elijah could still surprise him.

"Which part?" He asked, not quite as flippant as he was originally going to go for.

Elijah's touch wasn't rough surprisingly, it was rather gentle as he tilted Asher's face and watched light play on the bruises. Finally he brushed his thumb down to press it onto Asher's lower lip to get him to open his mouth. When someone took that much hit it was possible he also had some teeth missing or had broken something else. Asher couldn't have seen a doctor.

"Did he hurt you elsewhere?" he asked, seemingly not bothered by the idea that Rob was in pieces somewhere.

He would get to the bottom of that. But first things first.

Elijah leaned his other hand to the wall behind Asher to give himself a bit of support as he looked down along the length of Asher's body.

"Did you kill him?" Elijah realised that he might have been tempted to get the job done himself if Asher hadn't taken care of it already.

Ash's mouth opened for Elijah's touch, showing that while one tooth right by the split lip had a new crack in it that wasn't there before, it didn't look in danger of actually breaking any time soon and all other teeth were present and accounted for. Ash leaned his weight against the wall, finally relaxing to the idea that Elijah was probably not going to give him fresh bruises to worry about.

It still was distracting - checking for injuries was one thing, touching the other man like he was ready to make use of the hotel bed was another. Especially with the way he looked Asher over. He had a nasty bruise over his kidneys as well, but the clothing hid that.

"Please, do I look like a killer?" Asher asked first, all light hearted scandal before he stopped and sighed. "No, I didn't. Clean hands."

Apparently Asher wasn't going to tell him. Elijah just would have to check.

He let his hand fall from Asher's jaw to his shoulder and down to his chest, patting him down firmly enough that he would notice if even a hair twitched on Asher's head at any pain the contact would spring. When he got to that bruised area, his eyes narrowed and he was quick to yank up the hem of Asher's shirt to see what was what.

"Stop trying to dodge and tell me what you did." And don't lie. Elijah could tell, he was trained to pick up all the signs and he knew Asher by now. Better than well in fact. "Did he hurt you? Or was it someone else?"

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