The Grey Zone (Black Noir / The Boys Fan Fic)

Ch 5 One More Won't Hurt

As the taxi turned onto the avenue, the traffic came to a standstill. In the distance, a few buildings down, a huge crowd had gathered on the sidewalk. Members of the public and paparazzi were all desperate to catch a glimpse of any supe on Vought's roster, but most of them called out and screamed for The Seven. The main superheroes on the roster were Queen Maeve, Translucent, The Deep, Lamplighter, Black Noir and of course, Homelander, but Vought had many more Supes in their back pocket to deploy at a moment's notice.

The Uber driver sighed, slowly inching his way towards their destination. "I'll get out here, don't worry about it." She said as her long legs kicked their way out onto the sidewalk.

"Jessica!" She heard a voice call and immediately cringed. No one was supposed to know her in New York.

Immediately a wave of relief passed over her as the click-clack of Chrissy's heels assaulted the pavement. "I'm so glad I don't have to walk in on my own. Would you mind if I tagged along with you? I'm just so nervous. I've never been to anything so... so showbiz before."

To the average person, Chrissy probably came across as overbearing, but Jess took an instant liking to her. Her naivety was somewhat refreshing and separated her from the cold world of Vought. If Jess wasn't so focused on the case, she'd probably have a moment to question exactly how someone like Chrissy ended up on set and what sort of exploitation she faced on her way into the industry. Despite that, Chrissy remained her own signature brand of chipper. Whilst the two had only met a matter of hours ago, they both used each other as a crutch. Jess needed Chrissy's gossip and authenticity. Chrissy needed Jess' approval as a step closer to Mr. Madison for a leg up in the industry.

The two shimmied past the crowds and into a side entrance for 'regular' attendees. They were both thankful not to walk Vought's cheesy red carpet. Whilst that would have usually been right up Chrissy's street, she didn't want to throw herself in the deep end and let her nerves get the best of her.

The two of them scanned the faces they passed on the way in, but both for very different reasons. Chrissy looked out for anyone who could possibly improve her career prospects and Jess clocked the faces of many attendees, trying to match them to the photos on her make-shift evidence board.

A busy-looking woman with a radio mic and clipboard stood by as guests entered. "Excuse me mam, we're with Mr. Madison. I was wondering if you could be so kind as to point us to our table." Chrissy was nice to everyone, as she believed that you never knew who you'd need on the way up to the top.

The same couldn't be said to the hard-faced event executive, who looked back at Chrissy as if she was a deranged fan from off the street. It was time for Jess to swoop in.

"Oh we are sorry to bother you." Jess interrupted with a smooth, warm smile. "You know how easy it is to get left behind with Phil."

Jess spoke with much more confidence than Chrissy and the demeanour of the event executive shifted instantly. The cherry on top of the cake was when Jess cupped her cheek with fake embarrassment igniting a sparkle from the engagement ring. It was a gorgeous canary yellow diamond. Synthetic of course, but the eyes of the executive clutching her clipboard clearly thought otherwise. "Our names will be on the table read I'm sure. Jessica and Chrissy. We came through the... 'pedestrian' doors to avoid all the hassle." Jess looked around her with a look of judgement upon the other guests. It was subtle but it helped to influence the event executive into realising the two of them were in the wrong place and were too important to linger around a foyer.

"Of course, of course." The executive gave a delayed smile as her eyes darted through the list on the clipboard she carried. "I have two B-tier guests at the second lobby who require an escort." She called into her mic. Chrissy's stomach did a flip at being referred to as 'b-tier', a matter of hours ago she was a simple set runner.

A second event executive arrived to whisk the two of them to the booth table where Phil was already sat, surrounded by a gaggle of female models. "There you are, I trust you've been... investigating?" He gave Jess a look down his nose. The empty glasses around the table hinted as to why he would be so obvious. "Girls, meet my Spiritual Advisor." He announced to the women around the table, forgetting to reference Chrissy. The women around the table looked up in wonder. All of them slightly tipsy themselves. 

The two of them shuffled into the booth. Jess made sure she was on the outside seat. It wouldn't be ideal to get trapped in by another guest if Phil went wandering off without her close behind. It also meant that she could dip in and out of the group conversation, whilst looking around the room in case anyone was watching their table. The truth was, it was very unlikely that anything would happen to Phil at such a high profile event. However, The Agency liked to make client's feel pampered and it definitely would be a good idea to see how others interacted with Phil.