Prologue

Vivienne and Sin

Uploaded on 3/13/07

Voices echoed down the hall before anyone could be seen. Several men murmured with the occasional louder grunt or excerpt of a conversation. They seemed to be discussing what to do if 'the monster' escaped, and rehashing tales of men who had already been killed by him. One man spoke louder, going into gruesome detail regarding a throat that was ripped out, the spray of the blood, and the way the meat hung from 'the monster's' mouth before he was incapacitated.

Vivienne strode down the hallway with her back perfectly straight, eyes scanning the area in the same economical, cold manner as she walked. There was nothing but disinterested ice in her pale blue eyes, though she showed proper respect when she glanced to the man on her right. "One would expect the creature to be prowling the room judging by the conversation I hear ahead of us. Are you certain it is properly restrained, General?"

General Zachary Carhart walked stiffly with his hands behind his back; he was clad in the faded green military fatigues that he was known for, ribbons and medals glinting in the hall lights. He was handsome but rough looking and despite the fact that he'd obviously been a highly decorated officer in the past, only appeared to be in his early forties. "The men exaggerate. Hsin is just as human as you are," He said coolly.

Vivienne did not bother answering. As her heeled stride echoed down the hall ahead of them, the men realized someone was approaching and fell silent. By the time the two turned the corner the dozen guards were standing at full attention and looking completely alert.

"General, Inspector," they said smartly, saluting to Carhart and Vivienne respectively.

"What is the status?" Vivienne asked coolly before General Carhart could speak. She looked through the bulletproof glass to the room the men were watching.

"Secured, Inspector," one of the men said immediately.

Inside, a man who looked in his late twenties was heavily chained and slouched on the ground. He looked emaciated and wild, with startling green eyes despite his partially Asian ancestry. He looked every bit the crazy bastard that general consensus seemed to consider him.

"Hsin Liu Vega AKA Sin, twenty-eight years old, son of the late Emilio Vega. You are familiar with his father?"

Vivienne looked at Sin coldly with her head tilted just enough to be looking down her nose. "I recall a vulgar man who was nonetheless quite skilled at assassination, yes. This is his child? I see the barbarity certainly followed the genetics."

Carhart paused and stared at her for a long moment, blue eyes hardening. "He was a good man and the best assassin to ever be in this organization. That is, until his son of course." He looked at Hsin and watched as the medication began to wear off. The pale green eyes were starting to lose the glazed look although they were just as mad as always.

"Agent Vega was killed in combat and his son took over his missions. He carried them out so efficiently that we had no idea there was a change until a year later when Agent Vega was to come in for a debriefing." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"But I'm sure you are already aware of that part of the tale. His origins are murky and we still aren't sure who his mother was or how he came to be trained, but he was only fourteen when we first came in contact with him. As you can see, he is quite mad. Attempted psychiatric evaluations have ended disastrously; the last doctor who saw him is now in a vegetative state in a nursing home. However, common consensus is that he suffered severe child abuse which is what led to his current mental state."

Carhart stared at Sin for a moment before continuing. "He has difficulty sticking to mission parameters, he's wild and impulsive, doing what he pleases most of the time. He can be overly violent, killing at will, and is sometimes known to snap completely, turning into what people sometimes call 'The Monster', a totally ruthless killer who will not stop until all threats in the vicinity have been neutralized. Despite this, he is an efficient agent and as I already said, the best assassin we have. Most difficulties he has with missions tend to be staying within parameters and negotiating successfully. Because of this we began attempting to assign him partners six months ago but he murdered them all within a week. Despite his insistence that it was 'self defense', he was put into the box indefinitely. However it seems that once again Connors has need for his… talents. In his words, Hsin is a 'necessary evil'."

"Charming," Vivienne said with cool inflection. "You will recall that I am in charge of rectifying the gross blunders these killers make, so you will excuse my lack of enthusiasm to see his insanity." She looked at the General briskly. "I will see him in person. Those chains will hold if I walk in, correct?"

Carhart paused and he tried to hide the concern he almost showed for her. He knew she would just find it insulting. He had the utmost respect for Vivienne but he didn't understand how such a beautiful woman could be so hard. In the past he'd almost felt something for the French woman, often admiring her slender curves beneath the impeccable suits and the way wisps of her pale, blonde hair could sometimes escape the coiled French twist she constantly wore. However, as the years passed he'd realized that there would never be anything between them. Not unless it would prove useful to her career anyway, he mentally added bitterly. "They should. If they don't, the collar will."

"Excellent. I can hardly pass the chance to speak directly with such a," she looked between Sin and the General pointedly, and said in a tone that clearly showed it was not her own terminology, "man."

Walking up to the doors, she merely had to glance at one of the guards for him to jump to attention and nervously move in front of her. He opened his mouth, as if ready to dissuade her, but her ice-cold glare silenced any protests. He pulled the door open and stepped inside immediately, a few other guards following to ring around her as she walked in. She did not comment on the guards, but watched Sin with a perfectly detached, cold expression.

"You," she said to him clearly, "Can you understand me?"

Sin's head rolled to the side and he stared up at her through his hair. He opened his mouth, closed it, wet his lips, and opened it again. "I've been fluent in English for some time," He slurred, then seemed annoyed at the way his words came out. "Although they pumped me full of something nasty so you'll excuse me if I'm not at my best."

"A useful excuse, no doubt," Vivienne said curtly. She surveyed the chains with a clinical air, and strode a little closer, stopping far enough away that he should not be able to reach her even if he surged to the ends of the chains. "Do you understand your situation here? You are a tool to us, and nothing more. You are intelligent enough to be aware of this, I imagine?"

"And all this time I thought I was Carhart's lovetoy." He stared at Vivienne through narrowed green eyes that made their way up and down her figure slowly and deliberately, smirking at her mockingly.

"I'm fully aware of my situation, woman. Though I'm not aware of why you're in here reiterating it."

"You will address me with no term, or Inspector. Nothing else," she informed him coolly. "And I hope you do not expect me to be intimidated by where your gaze may lie. As for this conversation, I like to be upfront. I am the person who will have to clean up after your public mistakes, and thus I must invest a minimal amount of interest in you.

"I will tell you this much clearly: I do not enjoy dealing with any, shall I say, 'fuck-ups,' and will not take kindly to any stunts you may think to pull when you believe you are out of our view. I assure you, in some way or form, I will always be watching you, very closely, and without any sympathy whatsoever."

She paused just long enough to look at him very firmly, and let the point sink in. "That being said, I appreciate it when my job is made easier for me. If you do not cause issues when you are in public, then I will be more likely to err on the side of generosity when it comes to controlling you. You are and will always be merely a tool to us, but useful tools that do not irritate me are more likely assured my vote in future decision-making meetings. Do you understand me? If you work with me, I will not get in your way, and possibly help you. If you displease me, I will show you absolutely no mercy. And I assure you, my voice holds a lot of weight in this organization. I do not recommend you get on my bad side."

Sin struggled to right himself and managed to kneel in front of her, smiling coldly. "Keep me out of that box and I'll do whatever you want, woman."

"Clearly not," Vivienne said with mild disgust, "as you are still referring to me as 'woman.'" She looked down at him with cold blue eyes. "I am pleased we understand each other, however."

He stared up at her silently for a very long moment although it was unclear what was happening behind his pale, green stare. "Why specifically are you here?"

A small smile pulled at her lips, but if anything it only added cruelty to her coldness. "Partially to view the 'monster on Fourth' with my own eyes. Partially to inform you of my position so you cannot claim ignorance later and, hopefully, I will have fewer headaches to deal with in the future. And partially to see if you have the appropriate disposition for someone I know."

"And what conclusion did you come to?"

"One that is hardly your business," she said with teeth bared in anything but a smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other important business to attend to." She stepped back, ready to leave.

He seemed to let his eyes feast on her one last time. "I've never met a woman like you before. It's been a pleasure."

Vivienne paused just long enough to give him a cool look before turning and striding back into the hallway. Once the guards followed her out and the door was firmly shut, she turned to the man who initially let her in. "Give him another dose of whatever you are using to control him. If he has the energy to be disrespectful, he has the energy to escape. Remember that." Turning to the General, she said with cool simplicity, "He will do."

The General looked in at Sin and frowned at Vivienne's instructions. "What did you conclude?" He asked.

She watched Sin through the window as she spoke simply to the General. "He seemed reasonable or at least intelligent despite his insanity. I would not hesitate to have him exterminated should he become a liability, but he will be useful. I also have a recommendation for his future partner after meeting with him."

Carhart's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Oh?"

Vivienne's nod was curt and her gaze slid to him with detached professionalism. "Indeed. I will notify the party tomorrow."

"Who do you have in mind?"

"My son."

Carhart's tried to hide his shock and stared at Sin intently. There were times when he felt like Sin's foster father although he knew that the man would kill him if given the opportunity. It still pained him to see him in the position he was in now. He couldn't imagine his real son... He shook his head and banished the thoughts, thinking it better not to go down that road.

"What makes you think he would be a good candidate?" He asked with forced professionalism.

"He would be unaffected by Sin's mannerisms," she said simply. "And he is intelligent enough not to play his games."

"Well, Vivienne, you have the best judgment of anyone I've ever met so I hold no objections to this. You know, though, Marshal Connors will have a whole list of other recommendations?"

"Yes, and they will all be as incompetent as he," she said coolly.

Continue to Ch 1 ~ Silence Like Shadows