Evenfall (10 page)

The General didn't show any signs of answering Boyd's first question but just when it appeared that he wouldn't, his eyes turned on Boyd again. "The purpose of this endeavor is to find someone whose personality can adapt to Sin's. He is valuable material to the Agency but his behavior can be extreme. We need someone who he cannot mentally eviscerate, to say the least. Someone strong enough in mind to handle him and the tasks that he refuses to perform."

Boyd was silent a moment as he considered that in conjunction with what his mother had told him the first day he'd arrived on the compound. "Are those tasks related to mediation?"

"At times but you will find that in our line of work, there is very little mediating with insurgents and terrorists. More often it will be conducting oneself with contacts, double agents and tasks that require going undercover. These are things Sin does not excel at. He excels at being a living weapon. For my unit, I need both."

"I see."

The information was not particularly surprising to Boyd; it fell in line with what he had heard of Sin so far. He supposed working with double agents and such must be the additional duties his mother had mentioned.

He could only assume the further training they would give him would include some sort of instructions regarding how to mediate or work undercover. The conversation felt, in some regards, one step removed. He may as well have been reading a spy novel about someone getting inducted to a secret agency for all that he felt personally invested in the situation.

"So you would be my supervisor," Boyd observed.

"Your commanding officer," Carhart corrected tonelessly. His brow quirked as he looked down at Boyd and for a moment a shadow of dismay crossed his face before it was gone. "Your role in the Agency exists within the confines of my unit. The purpose of that unit will be disclosed to you when you are chosen as Sin's partner or upon Blake's death if he is instead."

"Then whose unit would I be assigned if Blake is chosen?" Boyd asked. "As I would be functioning as back-up I assume the Agency would retain me in some function until the point I may be needed."

Carhart leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest as he went back to calmly observing the teenager. He didn't seem irritated by the questions and in fact, appeared to have expected them.

It was possible that he had arrived before Blake specifically for this purpose; to finally give Boyd the details about the job he would possibly be performing. Considering the General would serve as his commander, it made sense that he was taking charge of this aspect personally.

"Despite the fact that your training would be considered grueling by a civilian, it is not at all proportional to the training a real field operative would receive to achieve the rank you will be given if you are chosen. In that way, you would be stunted and could not perform as a regular agent. It works within my unit because you have a specific task and are not expected or needed to be much of a fighter so much as being able to defend yourself if need be. Outside of my unit, that would not be the case."

Carhart's cerulean eyes flicked away to the two-way mirror again. "If Blake is chosen, you would function in a menial civilian role on the compound until you are needed. Unless of course, you were to eventually consign yourself to the months and years of proper training to make it as
an
agent of rank who can perform independently."

"Ah," Boyd said in understanding. He looked at the empty room through the two-way mirror, and although his expression didn't change he was inwardly frowning at the thought.

He didn't relish the idea of being a menial civilian employee. He didn't care for the idea of being stuck in a job he had to do simply to do it; he had the sort of personality that strove to better himself. If he was stuck doing something meaningless like mail delivery, he suspected it wouldn't take terribly long before he grew tired of the position and wanted to leave.

As far as that went, he would rather simply leave the Agency and return to his former life than take on a menial position. Not to mention, he doubted his mother would appreciate him failing the trial and being given such a pointless role. Would she think he'd failed her?

Still, he wasn't surprised by Carhart's answer. He hadn't expected that the Agency would let him leave after all the work they'd already put into him.

For those reasons, he felt somewhat invested in this whole process. But he didn't particularly care to be an agent either, he had to admit. Nor did he really care whether or not he ever ended up as Sin's partner aside from the fact that it would potentially make his mother pleased.

The thought brought to mind what he'd thought his whole reason for being in the room was in the first place. He wondered idly what the man labeled a monster was like.

"I was told I would be receiving a glimpse of Sin."

"Perhaps a bit more than a glimpse," the General said vaguely before looking at the door which had opened just as the sentence left his mouth.

Level 9 Field Agent Adam Blake entered the room. His eyes, onyx-colored and dull, moved between Boyd and Carhart briefly. There was surprise evident in what Boyd had come to recognize as his typically somber face.

"Am I late, sir?" He asked, addressing Carhart.

"No." The General didn't bother to explain any further and nodded his head at the seats. "Both of you can sit down. You will be observing a psychiatric session between Sin and an Agency doctor. It's an evaluation. You're not the only ones being tested during these few months."

Boyd glanced at the other two briefly. He hadn't expected to be privy to Sin's psychiatric sessions, yet it made sense. Since a significant portion of the assignment as Sin's partner would rely on working with his personality, it seemed as though it would be of use. Psychology had also been an interest of his during school.

Even so, it did briefly make him wonder what would happen if Sin failed the tests. Adam would probably return to his current assignment and Boyd would probably receive that menial civilian position Carhart had mentioned. As for Sin, Boyd didn't know or particularly care what would become of him.

He sat down in one of the chairs toward the right side of the large one-way mirror. In his peripheral vision, he saw Adam take a seat as well.

They spent several minutes waiting, some of which were interrupted by Carhart speaking to someone briefly on his comm unit. During this time Boyd didn't speak and Adam, as usual, acted as though Boyd were not in the room. Adam stared at the mirror in the same morose fashion that he seemed to stare at everything. The man never seemed very thrilled to be doing whatever task was assigned to him although from what Boyd had seen, he completed them with neat efficiency.

After ten minutes Carhart flicked the lights off and within moments, the door on the other side of the mirror opened.

The figure that appeared was not what Boyd expected. After hearing ominous warnings and rumors for a month regarding the monstrous qualities of the man in question, the image Boyd had unconsciously formed was of someone who looked more... alarming. He'd thought the man would have a wild look to his eyes, perhaps be heavily scarred and look more like a prison convict than anything.

Instead, Sin was tall, well over six foot, and almost perilously thin for his height. There was a slim metallic collar clamped taut around his neck but Boyd was unsure of what its intention was. The worn cargo pants Sin had on were practically hanging off his narrow hips but the sleeveless t-shirt he wore displayed sculpted arms. Apparently the weight he did have on him was crafted entirely into muscle.

He moved in a manner that showed the extraordinary control he had over his own body. Every movement seemed naturally precise and simultaneously predatory. Every movement had a purpose but he didn't seem to consciously be giving that impression. It wasn't surprising; after all, Carhart had said the man was a walking weapon.

Sin unceremoniously sat down on one of the chairs beside the plain table in the center of the room. Almost immediately, he looked up at the mirror and stared. It was obvious that he knew he was being watched. Perhaps he even knew who was watching him.

Now that his eyes were unwittingly locked with theirs, Boyd had the opportunity to see the man's features clearly for the first time. They were strange and contradictory. He had a straight aristocratic nose that sat above well sculpted and full lips. His cheekbones were high and his complexion looked like a caramel tinted tan. It was his eyes, however, that truly made his appearance out of the ordinary. They were almond shaped, heavy lidded and a startlingly vivid green. Thick, long lashes framed the pale green hue that contrasted starkly with his olive skin.

It was not immediately clear what his ethnic background was despite the fact that the name Vega would imply he was Hispanic in some form. He could have passed for South Asian as well.

Boyd had planned to expend only the cursory amount of attention on the session but the man's unexpected appearance intrigued him for a reason he could not initially identify. It was probably because Sin had such unique features that Boyd's automatic reaction was to consider him more carefully. He ran his gaze briefly along Sin's face, studying him. There had been a time when Boyd had been interested in art, when he had drawn for fun. Sin's was the sort of face even a former artist couldn't help observing more closely.

The contradictions created questions in the back of his mind that he didn't fully pay attention to; questions that were fueled on a purely intellectual basis. What was Sin's background; how could he supposedly be so strong with a body like that; why was he known as such a monster when he appeared relatively calm? Then again, some of the best serial killers had seemed not only perfectly reasonable, but charming and attractive as well.

Sin's eyes narrowed slightly, almost as if he heard Boyd's thoughts. Sin's gaze was intense; hawk-like. It was the glower of someone who could very easily reduce someone to a mass of shaking limbs if he chose. It made it abundantly clear that he was not pleased.

For a moment, Boyd wondered why Sin seemed displeased before it occurred to him that it was possible Sin had not been aware this session would be observed. He couldn't blame Sin if that were the case; Boyd wouldn't want a psychiatric session of his to be watched either. But then, he didn't have a reputation as a psychotic killer, to the point that someone had to watch over him.

One dark eyebrow arched and Sin scoffed quietly. "Well let's get on with it, then," he said out loud, still glaring at the mirror.

In the darkness, General Carhart chuckled quietly.

Boyd shifted his head just enough to glance over his shoulder at Carhart. Strangely, the General had an almost... fondly exasperated expression. He seemed more amused than anything and the implication was that he was used to Sin acting like that. If anything, Carhart looked more approachable in that moment than he had since Boyd had met him.

When Boyd glanced past Adam, he saw that the agent was looking back at Carhart as well. Adam looked thoughtful as he considered the General, but he didn't seem surprised. That made Boyd uncertain of whether this was an example of typical interaction between General Carhart and Sin or if Adam even knew.

It all only added to the oddity of the entire situation. Rather than try to analyze it since he didn't have enough information, Boyd returned his attention to the other room.

Sin continued to look through the mirror unflinchingly. Even when the psychiatrist entered the room, he didn't tear his eyes away.

The psychiatrist introduced himself as Dr. Osland and sat down across from Sin. He appeared to be in his
mid-forties
and had a distinguished look about him. There were silver streaks through his hair. His form appeared as impeccably fit as most people seemed to be in the Agency and his clothing was well made for the cold climate while still managing to be stylish.

For the most part the Agency staff appeared sophisticated, a step emotionally removed in one way or the other from typical civilians and notably
blasι
about what they did at the Agency. At first glance Dr. Osland seemed to fit that mold perfectly but a closer look at his expression when he sat across from Sin showed otherwise.

Despite the fact that he should have appeared objective towards the man who he was supposed to be evaluating, a perceptible look of dislike crossed Osland's countenance. His lip curled down as Sin's eyes finally focused on him but the doctor smoothed out the expression quickly. There was still, however, animosity in his brown eyes.

Boyd wondered idly if there was bad blood between the two men on the other side of the mirror but he found it unlikely. If Osland felt the need to introduce himself, it was obviously the first time they had formally met. Perhaps even the Agency doctors shared the contempt and disgust that the general population of the Agency appeared to have for Sin.

The evaluation began with formalities. Sin had a history of incarceration on the Fourth that dated back nearly fourteen years when he had apparently been inducted into the Agency as a teenager. He had an equally long history of psychological examinations. Despite this, Osland made it clear that Sin's difficult behavior made it unlikely that there would ever be a clear diagnosis made for whatever his mental problems allegedly were.

Sin calmly agreed. It was clear throughout the first fifteen minutes that he found the entire thing to be a charade and a crock. He appeared quite aware of the doctor's dislike of him and didn't seem to be making any pains to change the other man's opinion.