Evenfall (116 page)

They'd spent the last week perfecting the minute details of their plan and memorizing hand drawn maps of the city and of the center. By the time Boyd had left to check into his hotel as Kadin Reed they were pretty confident about how everything was going to go down. Sin had planted the explosives in the pertinent areas around the northeast wing and his sniper rifle was carefully hidden in the mezzanine above Theater B.

The only thing to do now was to wait until the targets arrived and Sin was more than a little anxious to get this all over with; his job as a security officer was dull and tedious. After all of the preparations and training they'd put him through, all he seemed to be doing was making rounds in the South wing to make sure no one was doing anything or going anywhere they weren't supposed to.

Other than getting rid of a few attempted party crashers and handling a couple of guests who'd had too much to drink during, what appeared to be for many, such an emotional occasion, nothing had really occurred all evening.

It seemed like a waste to have spent so much time and money training such a large force of guards for the event but he supposed that it had more to do with the fact that it made the rather famous guests feel secure than anything else. And besides, he thought with a hint of unease, if there wasn't anything going down at the moment there certainly would be when the bombs started going off. In the back of his mind he hoped that the other guards on duty would be able to get all of the guests out safely; he didn't want to be responsible for civilian casualties.

"Good evening everyone. Welcome to the 5th annual Global Arts Exposition! I'd like to thank everyone for coming on this night, the 20th anniversary of the start of the war, to honor our fallen loved ones and the people that were left behind after the last of the bombs fell."

Sin looked towards the stage and saw that Diane Goldberg, the founder of the event, was standing there and officially starting the ceremony that would follow. He rolled his eyes and moved closer to the exit that led to the southeast corridor. The good thing about his position was that he had freedom to wander around the entire wing and the surrounding corridors in the pretense of doing his rounds so he really didn't need to listen to emotional speeches and sentimental babbling about the plight of civilians post-war. "I can't wait until this is over," He grumbled and slipped out of the door and into the wide hallway. On each side of corridor were various doors which led to maintenance closets or service and employee areas.

"Won't be long," Boyd said over the radio.

Sin didn't reply as he began surveying the area; since there were adequate bathrooms and exits in the Ballroom and the surrounding rooms of the south wing, he didn't think any guests would have reason to be in this section of the center. Casualties could be completely avoided if they followed safety procedures when alarms began to go off and if the guards did their job of keeping order. He did, however, note the staff which moved in and out of the corridor for access to the service areas and he hoped that they would be smart enough to run south when explosions began going off in the northern part of the building.

He moved towards the northern part of the hallway with the intentions of seeing whether or not the staircase which led to the mezzanine was being used but before he could go any farther, a familiar voice was calling out to him. Or to 'Jason' rather.

Sin paused, almost debating entirely ignoring her and going about his business but knowing Jessica, she would most likely just follow along and he didn't want her going anywhere near the mezzanine or the northeast wing.

He closed his eyes briefly, fighting the sudden surge of irritation that flowed through him, and turned slowly to face her. His first response to was to be rude but he honestly didn't want to give anyone any reason to note his bad attitude tonight; most likely every member of the staff and guest in attendance would be questioned and asked about anyone or anything that had caught their attention. "Hi Jessica."

She looked beautiful as usual but for a change she was not clothed in anything remotely provocative. She wore a white blouse with black and silver suspenders and slim cut black pants, hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and makeup at the minimum. He actually thought that he preferred her this way and if it weren't for the situation he was in at the moment, he may have even paused to admire her. "I didn't think I'd actually see you," She said with a big smile, eyes wandering over him. "You look so handsome in a suit."

"Not really. It's just clothes."

 
She rolled her eyes and reached out, running her fingers lightly through his hair. "They made you dye your hair, huh? Not too surprising. They can't have a total punk wandering around all of the elite guests. Too bad about the lip ring though." Her smile turned slightly flirtatious, one arched eyebrow raising. "I think I miss it already."

He couldn't help but make a face at her and slid his hands into his pockets. "Didn't you say you weren't going to be here?" He asked pointedly.

She shrugged, leaning against the wall to get out of the way of waiters who were rushing back and forth to refill champagne glasses. "I wasn't originally but I decided to stick around for the art. Those people are so disturbingly talented, it's just mind blowing to me how they can create such beautiful paintings. I especially like the sculptor. I'm a big fan of the painting that inspired Venus Reborn, so I was really impressed with it. I can't believe someone so young could create something so amazing."

Sin stared at her blankly and absently looked at his watch.  "What exactly do you do here anyway?"

She shrugged again, not seeming bothered by his complete lack of interest in her previous comments. "Like I told you, I helped to plan the event. You know, the decorations, furniture, placement of exhibits-- the music too. How do you like Madeleine Peyroux?" Jess waved a hand in the direction of one of the speakers which sat perched in the corner of the wall. "I think her voice is just amazing."

"Never heard of her," Sin replied uninterestedly.

"She's a French American jazz singer, was really popular around the time the war was going on. She actually sang at the first Exposition but has since died of radiation poisoning, which is why I chose her." Jess' expression dropped a little as she thought about it but after a moment it passed and she shook her head. "Anyway, I'm sure you don't want to hear about that..."

His eyebrows rose and he said nothing in response. What could he really say? That the deaths of civilians during and after the war didn't move him no matter how prettily they sang? He'd seen enough death in the past twenty years, killed enough people, that he was incredibly desensitized to everything the people at the Expo seemed so forlorn about.

Jessica shook her head briefly and smiled at him again, completely changing the subject. "So how are you? How have you been these last couple of months? I haven't even been able to find someone to replace you. I tried out a couple of guys but they were just no good." She made a face. "Everyone seems like a complete pansy compared to how efficient you were."

He glanced his watch briefly before scanning the area around them. "Everyone is," He deadpanned.

Her laugh floated down the hallway although it eventually got lost in the clapping that emanated from the Ballroom. "I've missed you, Jason."

Another shrug. He saw another one of the guards, Eric Jiminez, leaving the Ballroom with an exasperated look on his face. Apparently Sin wasn't the only one unmoved and bored by emotional speeches; the same speeches that were probably given every year at this event. His eyes followed Eric and although the man thankfully didn't come any closer to them, his eyes fell on Sin and he shot him an impressed smirk after giving Jessica a once over.

She remained oblivious to the silent communication and moved closer to him, tilting her head to the side as she reached out and slid her hand up his chest, slender fingers wrapping around his tie. "I mean that." She tugged him close and he didn't pull away, not really wanting to make a scene with so many people randomly passing them. Despite the hesitance that she'd shown in the past when touching him, this time her movements were full of confidence and she seemed very sure of what she intended to do, what she wanted to say.

"Would it be out of line for me to ask if we could see each other sometime? Now that you're no longer my employee and I can no longer be sued for sexual harassment?" A teasing smile played on her full lips and she continued to gaze up at him through her eyelashes. It seemed obvious to him that this was her usual routine when going after someone she wanted; the flirtatious gestures, the smiles, it was all very well practiced but despite that the look in her eyes seemed to be genuine fondness, hopefulness.

It made him pause for a moment and truly consider the question. Would it be? He honestly didn't know how to respond. After tonight he would never see her again but she wasn't supposed to know that. Would he have agreed if this hadn't been the end of the assignment? He really didn't know but since this would probably be the last time he ever spoke to her, he didn't see the need to upset her. "If you want."

Her smile widened. "I'll call you then. Unless of course, you want to meet up after this shindig is over? My apartment isn't too far from here..." She let the implication hang in the air and once again, he wasn't entirely sure how to respond.

"We'll see what happens," He said finally and slowly backed away from her, unsure of how to go about dealing with her or the proposition. He had too much going on to deal with it at the moment. "But for now I have to finish my rounds."

Jessica nodded. "I'll message you later, then." With another smile she turned on her heel and headed back towards the Ballroom.

He watched her go for a moment before shaking his head and going back to what he was doing once she was far enough away. The woman was frustratingly determined.

===

Boyd had arrived at the JKS Convention Center a little early in order to acquaint himself with the people and, he had to admit, give himself a chance to see the art. Part of it was for his cover; because he'd mentioned at Lunar that he may stop by the JKS to see the art, he felt that it was important for him to be seen in the area wandering around. Even though there shouldn't be anyone at the Center who knew him as Kadin, and certainly no one who knew he'd made that comment, he didn't want to create anything suspicions later by not being seen where he'd told several civilians he would be.

But the other part was that he was honestly curious. He was a child of the war; maybe not so much as those like Jorge, who had not been alive before the second bombings and who did not know what a totally clear sky looked like, but he was still born in the time of the first bombings.

So having a convention centered around art and the war was something that somewhat interested him; he wondered what others had to say, he was mildly curious about their stories, their views. He didn't suspect that his views would necessarily align, but somehow he still could not let himself be at the JKS during such an event without stopping by.

On some level, in his mind he almost felt as if he owed it to people like Jezebel, even to an extent Lou, Ryan, or the idea of people that he'd never met like Anderson McCall. Everyone's lives had been inherently changed by the war, regardless of how close to the front line they or their loved ones had been, regardless of if they knew anyone who'd died. There were, he knew, those who had hated the war or were devastated by the fact it had existed at all.

Beyond that, he just wanted to see the art. He would never call himself an artist and he would not even claim to be adept at drawing, but he did have a certain appreciation for some art. He'd always wanted to learn how to paint in vivid colors but somehow had not found himself very good at it; Lou used to inform him that it was because he spent so much time in that gloomy house wearing nothing but black that he'd forgotten what colors looked like. Whatever the reason was, it was true that when he drew he typically used charcoal, shades of black and grey against white without any color in between. But he still remembered loving sunsets and he still remembered crawling up the mound of debris by Crater Lake to watch the colors meld across the stagnant water.

That was probably the reason that Corrina and Toby's paintings had caught his attention. The sight of the sun contrasted against the harrowing scenes had made him slow and pause. Several others were around him at the time, staring at the paintings and commenting, expressing their interest and how impressed they were. Corrina and Toby were each involved in a conversation with an admirer and did not seem to notice at first that others had appeared. Boyd stood to the back, looking at the centerpiece at first before one of the side paintings attracted his attention instead. He shifted so he could see it better, noting that this was the only one that was a cityscape rather than landscape.

Skyscrapers were twisted and destroyed, leaving the skyline a mess of jagged edges that looked like metal mountains and crags. The painting was done at a perspective that was looking into one of the levels high up on a half-destroyed skyscraper; the ceiling and most of the walls were  missing from the room in the foreground although were strewn by a bed that looked like it had just been slept in. A body was half-obliterated and tossed to the side like an unwanted doll, and in the other rooms that were seen through the broken, smoky windows and rooms behind walls that had been destroyed, there were any number of other corpses. Many of them looked as though they had fallen while trying to run away but a few, somehow even more eerie, were simply lying in beds as if they were sleeping despite the fact that they were missing most of their body or they were clearly dead.