call-sign, as they were out in public.
There was a long pause. “It was her eyes, Charlie,” he said at last, using Justin’s own call-sign, letting him know he wasn’t happy about being forced into answering.
Her eyes. Once more he was looking up into those greenish-blue eyes.
A horn sounded and he shook himself. The traffic light was green and he was holding people up. Cursing himself, he sped ahead, waving an apology behind him. He was in the heart of the lair now, less than a block from the building.
“I’m at the target,” he said as it came into view.
It was a squat building, no more than seven or eight floors, painted a dull off-white, almost cement-like color. It looked as brooding as those who inhabited it.
“I have two visible guards on either side of the entry ramp. But there are two SUVs parked on the road as well. They look loaded. Probably a quick-response team of some sort.”
The building was on the corner of two major streets. One side, the one Justin was slowly cruising by, had the vehicle entry ramp. The other one, that Connor would be going by shortly, had the personnel entry.
“I have heavy activity,” Connor said, his voice quiet in Justin’s ear.
“Are you whispering?” he asked incredulously.
“Fuck you, I counted almost two dozen men in the lobby of the place, not to mention the half dozen or more loitering around outside, doing their best to seem inconspicuous. What the hell is going on?” Connor hissed back at him.
“Bigwigs in town,” Justin said. “We have to be right. They wouldn’t have this much security out front and visible. They must have all their teams on alert, or else these guys brought a lot of reinforcements with them when they arrived.”
There was silence for a bit as they contemplated the implications of that.
“So when are you going to see her again?” Connor asked as they circled around. They switched sides this time, so that each side of the building had two separate sets of eyes upon it.
Later, at night, Jared and Josh would do the same thing, to see what changed after dark at each of the three known Agency strongholds.
Justin felt the same sort of tension well up within him as he cruised by the lobby. The sight of so many Agents, many of whom he knew had to be aided by the Extremis serum, was definitely nerve-racking.
He began to fervently hope that Valen would release that second Sentinel team. There were a lot more men than expected.
“I’ve seen enough here,” he muttered. “Let’s go try the shipyard, shall we?”
“If we must,” Connor said, though Justin was sure he was already heading that way.
The Coleforn Shipyard, an Agency front, was quickly developing a reputation amongst the Underground. Several times now it had played a critical role in their actions against the Agency. Justin hoped that one day they would get around to just wiping it off the map.
“So, no plans to see her?” Connor pressed as they quickly made their way toward the harbor front, leaving the crowding of downtown behind.
Justin frowned. “She didn’t give me a number,” he admitted. “Said she didn’t have one, so she gave me her hotel room instead.”
Connor chuckled. “Sounds like you’re in, buddy.”
He snarled. “It’s not like that. I mean, it’s not-not like that, I hope. She’s stunning, and her hips…” he trailed off, catching himself. “But I don’t want to assume that. So I need to go over in the morning, I guess. Which means I have to wait until tomorrow. But I have to go early.”
“Why?” Connor asked, not teasing him at all for once.
Perhaps it’s because of his recent experience in this sort of situation.
“She’s here looking for her dad. I guess he disappeared? I’m sure she’s out during the days. I can’t go at night, because that’s just rude and presumptive,” he said.
“Ah,” was the only response he received.
Sometimes he just wanted to punch Connor. For a friend, he wasn’t being all that