Evenfall (36 page)

As usual the compound was relatively quiet around his residential building. It was set apart from the others and was considerably smaller due to the fact that it was meant for special cases. There were the usual guards posted by the main doors who stared at him as he went by but other than that, he was left alone on the walk across the courtyard. It wasn't until he got closer to the Tower that crowds of people began to appear.

The tension that had built in his shoulders only worsened as he walked up the steps. He didn't have social anxiety but he did have idiot agent anxiety.
Most people avoided him or went in a different direction if he came near them but there was always someone who would inevitably piss him off. He was dully hoping that Rueben had fulfilled the universe's asshole quota for the day just so he could work out in peace. It didn't take long to figure out that that wouldn't be the case.

It started out well enough; he'd managed to get the only remaining private room off the side of the main training space so that he wouldn't have to deal with gawkers. He spent over an hour doing various exercises and stretching in relative peace and quiet. His mind cleared and the anger slowly melted away as he lost himself in the repetition of what he was doing.

Unfortunately, when he briefly left the room to get some free weights he noticed that Harry Truman and Dennis McNichols were in the main room. It was even more unfortunate that Harry immediately noticed him. The tension returned almost instantaneously and Sin set the weights down before standing up to wait.

A blanket of quiet rage slowly swept over him but he kept it in check, narrowing his eyes. Harry was the only person on the compound who wasn't afraid to touch him. He knew better than anyone what the senior agent was capable of but that didn't deter him at all.
In fact, he seemed to want Sin to react to him. Harry did everything in his power to get him to lash out. No one seemed to understand it, even dimwitted Dennis didn't seem to entirely grasp the reasoning most times, but Sin had figured it out instantly.

Harry wanted him on the Fourth and he was upset that he'd been released. Their interactions went back a long way but it had only been after the introduction of the box that Harry had taken it to the next level. While Sin was kept drugged, Harry was able to do whatever he wanted. He'd never actually gone as far as he could have but Sin had enough muddled memories of large hands groping at him as a hot wet mouth slobbered on his mouth and neck to figure out that Harry had a sexual fixation with him.

The cause was baffling but after a background check into the man's file, Sin hadn't been surprised to see that in Harry's civilian years he'd been a registered sex offender with a long history of stalking, even though he was only in his late twenties. The Agency had taken him for his military background and sociopathic tendencies but even they had shied away from a field agent path once they realized that the man couldn't reign in his sexual impulses.

"We just keep running into each other, Vega," Harry drawled as he entered the room with Dennis close behind.

"Imagine that, considering we both live on the compound," Sin said flatly, maintaining his position even as Harry kept walking closer.

"Oh is that all it is?" Harry stopped only when he was less than a hand span away from Sin, well into his personal space. Light brown eyes flicked over Sin's sweaty form, focusing on the crotch of his sweatpants before sweeping back up to his damp neck and pursed lips. "I thought maybe you were doing it on purpose."

Sin smirked, revulsion twisting with the hatred he felt for the man. "You wish."

Harry just raised his eyebrows slightly and didn't bother denying it. He looked over his shoulder at Dennis. "Why don't you give us a minute?"

Dennis blinked in surprise. "I don't think that's a good idea, Har--"

"I said get the fuck out," was the snarled response. Harry's lips curled back in a sneer and the look he shot his friend was full of venom. Judging by the way Dennis quickly departed, it would seem that Harry's abusive personality came into play in his friendships too.

Sin uncrossed his arms and curled his fingers into loose fists. He cast a quick look around the room and noted that there was indeed a small camera mounted in the ceiling although it was nearly disguised by the light fixture.

"You just keep playing hard to get now that you're free, don't you?" Harry asked, moving closer and forcing Sin to back up unless he wanted the other man pressed against him.

"Groping someone who is in a drugged stupor doesn't count as compliance," Sin replied blandly, not flinching when the other man pushed him against the wall. "I know that must be hard for a pedophile--"

"I'm not a fucking pedophile," Harry snapped, cuffing Sin upside the head.

It took all of his willpower not to respond. Sin took a deep breath and exhaled slowly but his fingers were now balled into white-knuckled fists as his eyes burned into Harry. "Is fourteen the age of consent in your fantasy world? That was the age of the boy you attacked before the Agency recruited you wasn't it?"

A flash of anger glittered in Harry's eyes and he grabbed the front of Sin's shirt, bunching the fabric. "That's a lot of talk from someone who kills civilians and rapes his shrink."

Sin grit his teeth but didn't deign to respond. He didn't know how the rumor about him having raped Lydia had come about but he wasn't going to respond to it. That was what Harry wanted-- to get a reaction out of him.

Harry smirked when Sin didn't answer and leaned forward again, raising a hand to slide down the side of Sin's face as he leered. "Now when are you going to start playing nice?" He rubbed his thumb against Sin's lower lip, trying to force the finger inside.

Sin responded instantly. Without thinking, he wrapped his hand around Harry's wrist and twisted it backward until the other man grunted in pain, stumbling back.

"Touch me and I'll kill you," Sin said flatly as he wiped a hand across his mouth. "We aren't on the Fourth floor anymore."

The other man flexed his wrist, looking at Sin darkly. "Attack me again and you will be, boy. I'll activate that collar and zap you so hard your eyes will be rolling for a week. When you wake up you'll be back on the Fourth--" Harry stepped closer again and Sin tensed. "--drugged, helpless and fully at my disposal."

The words caused a rush of memories to crowd Sin's mind. The feel of a heavy body crushing him, an erection digging into his thigh-- unable to move, unable to defend himself. The power Harry held over him at the moment was just as bad as what had happened then. The inability to react without even worse consequences made him freeze in place. He was just as helpless as he'd been in the box. Everything Harry said was true and Sin was damned either way.

Black rage rolled off of him and his lip curled, nostrils flaring as his breath began to come faster.

"Don't like that do you?" Harry taunted, thick lips lifting in a filthy smile.

Harry leaned forward again, hand outstretched as the anger began to consume Sin completely. The image of Harry in front of him began to shift and flicker as everything around them started to dim. His peripheral vision was nonexistent-- his eyes only focused on the threat before him.

"Touch me and you will be sorry."

The threat seemed to excite Harry, who chuckled deep in his throat. But just as his hand wrapped around Sin's arm, the door behind them opened. Boyd walked in, taking in the room with the same disaffected look as ever.

Sin didn't take his eyes away from Harry's as he panted harshly. His heart was pounding and his hands were starting to tremble as he forced them to stay down. But he could feel himself starting to lose the tenuous control he had over the violence that wanted to wreak havoc.

Boyd's eyes shifted over Harry, moving down to his hand on Sin's arm and then flicking back up to Sin's face. He walked toward the two, turning an even stare onto Harry. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Mind your fucking business," Harry snapped, not even looking at Boyd.

"This
is
my business." Boyd stopped next to Harry, pointedly looking down at Harry's hand on Sin's arm. The young agent was the picture of nonchalance, with his hands loose at his sides and expression impassive, but there was definite strength underlying his tone when he continued. "I suggest you take your hands off my partner."

Dennis came hurrying through the door, his expression a mixture of irritation and fear as he shot Harry a look. "Sorry dude I walked away for one minute--"

"Shut the fuck up," Harry snarled, casting his friend a dark glare.

Sin wrenched his arm away but Harry responded by grabbing the front of his t-shirt. He yanked Sin against him, ripping the collar in the process. Their faces were only inches apart although Sin's bangs were shading his eyes. All that could be seen of his face was the vicious sneer that twisted his features.

Boyd's hand suddenly snapped out, wrenching Harry's wrist away from Sin's shirt. Harry jerked his hand back with a swear and Dennis slammed Boyd back against the wall. Dennis reared back his fist just as Sin snapped out of his hate-filled daze. Before Dennis could strike Boyd, Sin's hand shot out and wrapped his hand around the guard's neck.

Another guard entered the room before anything more could happen. Sin's eyes flicked over to him quickly and he realized that it was Luke Gerant.

"What the hell is going on?" Luke demanded, staring at the scene incredulously.

Harry snorted in disgust and flexed his hand. "Nothing. Piss off."

Sin released Dennis although he noted that his fingers had already made red marks on the man's throat.

"Officer Truman was harassing Sin," Boyd spoke up, moving around Dennis. "He was using Officer McNichols to watch the door so no one would enter and obviously planned to escalate the situation. I attempted to intervene and you see the result."

Sin looked at Boyd with surprise and adjusted his shirt. Adrenaline was still pumping through his veins but the desire to eviscerate both men was slowly fading. "Boyd--"

"Shut your mouth and mind your business," Harry interrupted, narrowing his eyes at Boyd hatefully. "It's between me and Vega."

The look on the guard's face gave Sin pause. There was genuine animosity there for Boyd and that did not bode well for the future. Shaking off the last vestiges of the episode that hadn't actually come, Sin kept his eyes focused on Harry. He wouldn't put it past the man to try to attack Boyd now-- his temper was that bad when he didn't get his way. But at the same time he usually didn't strike out with an entire audience.

"It isn't between you two," Boyd replied flatly. For the first time since he'd entered the room, his expression shifted from bland and emotionless; his eyes narrowed and he turned a cold, hard stare on Harry. If he noticed Harry's obvious ire, it didn't seem to bother him. "You're clearly a deranged man taking advantage of the situation. Sin may feel unable to properly respond but I don't. I'll file a formal report on you if that's what it takes."

A vague feeling of unease shot through Sin and he shifted where he stood. "Let's go."

Luke ignored him and looked between Dennis and Harry with a scowl. There was obvious dislike imprinted on his expression as he nodded. "It may be a good idea for you to report this."

Dennis shot him an incredulous look. "You're taking their side over us?"

Harry just sneered, not looking surprised in the least.

"It's an incident that clearly needs to be put on the record. You were on camera the whole time anyway. It may be best if everyone has their side of the story documented," Luke replied diplomatically despite the way his eyes betrayed his clear disgust. "Besides, others in the training facility were aware that something was going on. A maintenance worker grabbed me while I was passing to inform me that something was happening."

Sin just shook his head, impatient to leave. He had no interest in filing reports or documenting anything. "I'm out of here."

Boyd remained focused on Luke. "How do we file official reports through the guards' database? Do I report what I've witnessed to you or should I write a report and send it in?"

Harry scoffed with disgust and turned around to walk out but not before giving Boyd another dark glare. He brushed by Luke rudely with Dennis following behind him.

Ignoring them, Luke nodded. "Go to the third floor-- that's where the guard command center is. All incidents that occur on the compound are reported there before being distributed to the proper chain of command for the individuals involved. Since it involved Truman and McNichols, I'll make sure my captain gets it."

Boyd nodded. "I'll do that. Thank you."

Luke looked at Sin and opened his mouth to speak but before any words could come out, Sin walked out of the room. He almost kept going until he was clear of the training area but he made himself stop. As much as he wished that Boyd would have left it alone instead of pressing the issue, he couldn't deny that he felt oddly... pleased that the younger man had been so vehement about defending him.

Frowning, Sin looked over his shoulder and saw that Luke was exiting the room with Boyd right behind him. The guard stopped and stared at him for a moment.

"Not terrified of me anymore?" Sin asked with a raised eyebrow, flicking his gaze over the man.

Luke frowned at him. "So you were awake that day..."

"What does it matter?"

"I guess it doesn't." Still frowning, Luke shook his head and looked at Boyd. "Let me know if you have any issues filing the report. You can find my number in the directory. Take care."

Sin ignored the thoughtful stare the guard pinned him with and waited until Luke walked away to speak. "Why did you do that?"

Boyd's gaze idly ran across the room before he met Sin's eyes. "You seemed like you were about to hurt him and I wanted to intervene before you could get in trouble for something that isn't your fault. I also wanted him to know that not everyone will ignore such blatant harassment. By reporting it, maybe he'll see some consequences for his behavior."

The comment was met with silence as Sin stared down at his partner for a long moment. Several things about Boyd's answer stood out to him as unexpected and it threw him off guard momentarily. However there were too many eyes on him and he still felt the burning desire to bash someone's face in. "Let's get out of here."

Boyd's gaze was thoughtful on Sin before he nodded and followed him out of the training room. Most people avoided looking directly at Sin when he came close to them but as soon as his back was to the rest of the room, there was the instant heat of stares on his back. A few mutters echoed around the room and Sin thought they undoubtedly believed he'd once again caused some issue. He couldn't help wondering what people would think if they knew the truth.

They continued walking until they were through the lobby and outside of the Tower, well out of earshot of anyone who would be brave enough to eavesdrop. They ended up stopping to the side of the courtyard, with trees nearby and most of the others on compound far away. Only then did he glance down at Boyd's serious face.

"You unnecessarily brought yourself to the attention of someone you would have been smarter to avoid."

Boyd shrugged, looking entirely unconcerned. "It doesn't matter. I wouldn't have stayed quiet walking into that regardless."