Evenfall (45 page)

Boyd watched him for a moment and then smiled slightly and turned to leave. They walked back to the elevator together, not saying anything but alternatively watching each other.

Boyd couldn't get that stupid comparison out of his mind about a date, which was ludicrous considering the circumstances. He didn't know why it was so prevalent in his mind. Sin was one of the only people he'd spent any amount of time with in a long time, but he'd spent time with Ryan as well. And as far as date analogies went, going to someone's apartment to eat dinner and watch shows fit the bill much more than walking out of a place of work with a coworker.

So why couldn't he ignore the flush of pleasure he felt at being able to extend his time around Sin just those scant few extra minutes? Why couldn't he ignore the fact that Sin was so attractive? And, most of all, why couldn't he ignore that Sin had seemed equally reluctant to part as well?

Nothing of import occurred on the way down in the elevator and out into the courtyard. Being out in the clear night, Boyd slid his hands in his pockets and tipped his face up toward the sky.

The buildings of the compound were like monoliths in the night, but he could see dotted spots of color scattered across them where lights glowed through curtains and windows. There were probably other agents returning home from missions right now, and still others getting ready to depart. In the quiet of the night that thought made him feel, just for that moment, like he was part of a greater whole. It was reassuring, after having felt isolated for years.

He paused at the point where their paths would diverge and looked over at Sin.

"I'm parked over there," he said, tilting his head toward the main parking lot. As if Sin wouldn't know, since that was where Boyd usually parked. But it seemed as good a way of saying 'I have to go now' as anything else.

Sin nodded, pulling up his hood again and letting it fall to shade his eyes. "See you around."

Boyd nodded and after a moment, the two of them parted. He glanced back once on his way to his car. Sin was walking silently toward his building, the hoody making him a tall, dark figure that slid in and out of the shadows like a wraith.

C
hapter 14

Eugene Yardley was different in both attitude and appearance than any of the other rebels that Boyd had met thus far in his career at the Agency. It left Sin wondering how his partner would deal with the man. Up until now, most of their assignments had dealt with obtaining information, dealing with small, somewhat disorderly groups or with informants who were paranoid and shaken by whatever caused them to turn double agent for the Agency.

Eugene fit none of that but maybe that was because he was an ex-Janus soldier.

Even that description seemed odd.

He didn't look downtrodden, rough or bitter like so many of the others who joined these insurgent groups. He looked more like he should be watching a tennis match at a country club rather than standing in a back alley in a shady part of Seattle. Eugene looked fit and preppy in corduroy pants, a v-neck sweater and running shoes. His light brown hair was a mess of curls and his dark brown eyes were sharp and alert behind his thin-framed eyeglasses.

He almost looked nonchalant with his hands slid casually into his pockets but the way his bodyguards surrounded him showed that he was not taking any chances. Whether he was actually frightened of them or he always had this much back up was unknown. It was highly possible that he always went around with an entourage.
Apparently Janus was as fond of deserters as the Agency was.

Regardless, Sin found the whole thing to be amusing. He didn't think it would take more than three minutes to take them all out, unless Eugene could afford exceptionally trained guards. Actually, it was entirely possible that that was the case. If someone could afford cashmere sweaters and diamond crusted watches in the post-war economy, they could afford mercenaries instead of street thugs.

"I'd ask how you boys found me but I'll assume you weren't the clever ones doing the finding," Eugene said after a long moment, his eyes sliding from Boyd to Sin and back again.

"We have our sources," Boyd agreed mildly.

"I doubt you have anything. You two are just little messenger boys for whichever government agency is currently trying to nail Janus." Eugene arched a brow. "Which is it this time?"

"We represent an independent group that is unrelated to the government." Boyd's expression remained impassive as he glanced at the bodyguards and then back at Eugene. "I imagine you already heard of us from your time in Janus. We are often referred to simply as the Agency."

A smirk slid across Eugene's face at that. "Right."

"We have some things we'd like to discuss but perhaps there's a better setting than this." Boyd gestured to the alley, which was dark, damp, and had traces of the smell of the garbage in the dumpster at the end of the block.

"The setting suits me fine," was the calm reply. "I didn't know you Agency boys were so high maintenance." Eugene's gaze slid over to Sin who stared at him blankly.

"The ambiance doesn't concern us," Boyd replied with a shrug. "I simply thought you may be hesitant to discuss potential business in the open where anyone could overhear, especially given Janus' notorious distaste for former members."

"I'm not fond of repeating myself."

As always, Boyd seemed unperturbed. "As I'm sure your time is valuable, I will make this short." He put his hands in his coat pockets. "Our organization is interested in purchasing information from you. As you've recently been running into some financial difficulties and the information we seek is likely no longer of use to you, we feel it could be mutually beneficial for all."

Eugene's other brow rose to join the first one and he rocked on the balls of his feet. His gaze switched back to Sin and focused on him for a moment as if waiting for him to contribute something. When Sin just stared at him with complete disinterest, Eugene scoffed and slid his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

"While I'm sure it must be difficult for people such as yourself-- meaning opinion-less lackeys who are sent on errands and kill quests without much say in what's happening or understanding of why it is-- I'm... not. Is there a particular reason why the Agency thinks I'd start helping them now?"

"There are several reasons, two of which being your financial situation and your defection from Janus itself," Boyd replied. "Having left their group you're liable to be targeted by them as a traitor, which no doubt would result in your torture and death. Information from our sources implies Janus may be closing in on your location. We do have the ability to aid in your continued escape by slipping conflicting information into the market, should you choose to work with us."

This time Eugene snorted and looked at his guards. "Am I hearing a broken record? I asked why would I help the Agency? Everything about you people disgust me. It's the reason I joined Janus to begin with. I left because I didn't like what they were doing down in Mexico-- not because I'm suddenly going to switch sides."

Boyd studied Eugene quietly. After a moment, he looked over and met Sin's eyes.

So much for plan A. Negotiation was out. Neutralizing was in. If he wasn't going to be of any help, his continued existence was unnecessary. All it would accomplish was allowing Janus to possibly find out that the Agency knew about some of their defectors if Eugene ever went back. Marshal Connors wasn't taking any chances with that. He didn't even want Janus to know that the Agency focused on them specifically at all.

Without speaking or giving any indication of his intentions, Sin moved. Within two blinks, one bodyguard lay on the ground with a bullet in his head while the other was flung across the alley to crash into one of the brick walls that surrounded them.

The scene exploded into motion as the remaining guards rushed Sin. As Sin had suspected, it seemed that Eugene had the money to buy skill. These guys were trained-- likely ex-military or even spec ops. These were no green kids straight out of boot camp.

As Sin traded attacks with one of the more skilled of the group, he noticed Eugene scrambling away out of the corner of his eye. Baring his teeth in annoyance, Sin evaded a jab at his throat, twisted out of the way of a knee to his side and barely dodged a bullet careening past his head. He flipped backwards and allowed his booted foot to crush the other man's throat in the process.

"Get cover!" he shouted at Boyd, dodging another bullet as he started down the alley after Eugene. He could hear footsteps pounding after him as they pursued.

The ground was damp from recent rain and he splashed through the puddles without even noticing. The sound of the guards chasing him lessened as his legs pumped faster, distance growing between him and them. Eugene was moving like a man possessed-- managing to somehow keep a block between them as he shot terrified glances over his shoulder.

Lips turning up into a cold smirk, Sin narrowed his eyes and sprinted forward. There were no civilians in the dark neighborhood that they were in but if Eugene got any further, they'd be hitting the main street. Abandoning his plan to do it soundlessly, Sin opted instead for speed and extended one hand.

He shot Eugene twice in quick succession in the back of the head. The man dropped to the ground lifelessly.

Within the space of one second and the next, Sin had turned on his heel and run back the way he'd come. Somehow he'd failed to realize that the sound of pursuit had died away entirely.

A trill of alarm ran through him and he grit his teeth, cursing himself silently as he crossed the distance that he'd come. It had been further than he'd thought-- several blocks, and two avenues. The seconds it took to make his way back seemed to stretch unbearably as he realized that he'd fucked up by letting Boyd out of his sight.

This was confirmed when he skidded back into the alley. Boyd was sprawled on his side with the remaining bodyguard standing over him, about to blow his brains out.

Sin narrowed his eyes and unloaded into the man, barely pausing before he ran to Boyd's side. He pushed the corpse aside to get to Boyd. He scanned the perimeter quickly before he determined that Boyd had dispatched the other guards before going down.

"Boyd," he demanded harshly, dragging his partner up.

Boyd's jacket was ripped and damp with blood. Sin swore when he noticed that there was blood in Boyd's blond hair as well. A quick assessment of their surroundings told the story easily-- whenever the teen had fallen, his head had slammed against the edge of the garbage bin. It was now smeared with blood as well.

"Boyd, get up," Sin snapped again, eyebrows drawing down.

Boyd's fingers twitched followed shortly by his expression scrunching. His eyebrows drew down laboriously and his lips pulled up; making him look pained. He barely squinted his eyes open, looking blearily up at Sin, before letting them fall shut again.

After a second he grimaced further and made an effort to sit up. It took him a moment to manage it and he moved gingerly. When he was slouched, his hand went to his head where the blood matted his hair, standing out starkly against the pale blond.

"Ow..." he said thickly.

"What the fuck happened?" Sin growled, glaring at Boyd furiously.

Boyd looked around, a blearily confused expression marring his face. His hand was still on his head. "I don't know..." Given how disoriented he sounded, it was unclear whether he didn't know the answer to Sin's question or whether he was still trying to understand the situation.

"Forget it."

Sin stood up impatiently, grinding his teeth with irritation and pulling Boyd up gingerly. It was obvious that Boyd had a head wound but he didn't have time to check anything here, with dead bodies all around them and gunshots still echoing off the buildings into the night. He slid a hand around Boyd's waist and crushed him against his side, more carrying him than supporting him as he started towards the car.

Boyd stumbled along beside him, one arm around Sin's waist with his fingers seemingly absently wrapped in Sin's clothing. He looked around but didn't say anything, his dazed expression not fully leaving.

It would have been easier just to toss Boyd over his shoulder and hurry out of the vicinity but Sin was loathe to draw attention to them so soon and settled for gripping the teenager as tight as possible against his side. He took as many turns as possible to get out of the general area of the shooting.

It wasn't long before sirens sounded in the distance and Sin gave up on being discreet. He looked over at Boyd who was still trying to get his bearings, and picked the younger man up. He could feel the warmth of blood against his own shirt when Boyd's jacket pressed against it and there was no denying the startled worry that exploded in him.

The sudden feeling irritated him and Sin shook his head sharply, pushing everything aside as he ran the rest of the distance. They'd examined the maps of the area closely before coming to the meeting, just in case of an ambush or a need for a quick egress. It was convenient since he wasn't at all familiar with the labyrinth of streets in the city, and their escape was kept to empty side streets and alleys due to the knowledge.

Only once did he have to duck under an awning and into the doorway of a closed shop. A group of drunk young people were stumbling by and Sin slid sideways, blocking Boyd's bloodied face and hair from view. It likely looked like they were doing something unsavory but at the moment, he didn't give a shit.

Taking the opportunity to examine Boyd further, Sin ignored the catcall that they drew from the passerby.

"Are you more alert?" he murmured, leaning forward to hiss into Boyd's ear as he allowed his fingers to reach up and seek out the wound. Boyd twitched away from the touch. There was a gash from the sharp edge of the dumpster but the blood had already seemed to clot around the wound. It didn't stop Boyd's pale blond hair from looking garish in the light, though.

Boyd looked up at Sin, his honey brown eyes dark in the dim lighting. He nodded, although the movement was gingerly done and he still held himself in very careful positions. "I think so," he said quietly. Sin could hear pain like a faint undercurrent to his words.

"Can you run? The motel is another twenty minutes away."

Boyd's expression was taut and his face a little pale but he nodded.

"I can carry you," Sin added quickly, frowning. "You're bleeding a lot. It may be better."

Relief was unmistakable in Boyd's face. "Okay."

As soon as the noises of the group disappeared down the block, Sin picked up Boyd and began running through the darkness again. He could feel Boyd's face pressed against his chest; Boyd's arms tight around his neck. Warm blood was sticky between them and beneath that Sin could feel the beating of Boyd's heart.

The city streets went by in a blur, until they returned to the area their motel was in. It was as equally shady as the area they had met Eugene in but several portions of the city hadn't regained their stature after the economic collapse. The end result was boarded up businesses that had never acquired new owners, copious amounts of beggars, street walkers and drug dealers in equal numbers.

Their motel was one of the few in the area that afforded separate units in a ranch style that didn't require going near the management office. Sin moved silently through the shadows, melting into them and then separating himself easily once he reached the unit they'd requested. It was the one farthest from the parking lot and closest to the tree line of the surrounding area.