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

Ch 6 Through the Window

Phil Madison fell asleep on the drive home. Jess had to drag him with the help of the driver into the house and sit him upright on his sofa, in case he threw up in his sleep. She tipped the driver generously for his help and his confidentiality on the matter. The last thing Phil needed was a salacious rumour running about drunken antics at a Vought fundraiser.

The driver then offered her a ride home and she obliged. When she finally made it to her apartment door she was ready to sleep for a full 24hrs. Unfortunately, her alarm was set to ring a mere 4 hours later.

She wrote herself post-it notes to remember the following day.

'Metallic drink' 'Who dank from Phil's bottle?' 'Check on his friends tomorrow' 'Where did Chrissy go?' 'The Deep pouring drinks?'

On the roof of the building across from Jess' apartment, Black Noir watched her frantically scribble her notes. He had followed the entire journey back to Phil's townhouse and across the city again to the apartment.

Once again he felt confused by the situation he found the so-called 'White Widow' in. Was this shabby New York apartment all she could afford or was she trying to hide outside of Manhattan? More importantly, how had she found herself in the US and at a Vought dinner, no less? Was she there for Homelander? What would have happened if their paths crossed? Did she see him at the event or did she choose not to seek him out?

A million questions buzzed around his head. Whilst silent on the outside, Black noir was a constant questioner. He was ultimately aware of everything that surrounded him. He'd notice the slightest change in wind direction, subtle drop in room temperature, the sound of footsteps from miles away.

But Jess represented the unknown to him.

She was, of course, a pawn in a way. One he kept alive in case she would prove useful in the downfall of Homelander. Almost similar to the way Jess used Chrissy as a crutch on set, but in Black Noir's case he was used to disposing of his human tools shortly after they had served their purpose. To see her again felt dangerous but at the same time exhilarating. Like a cheating husband trying not to get caught, he was watching a known enemy of Vought, letting her frolic right under Vought's nose and watching from the sidelines, letting her get away with... well, he wasn't sure what she was getting away with.

She kicked off her heels and headed to the bedroom without turning on any lights. Black Noir focused on the gaps in her window blinds to follow her movements. He considered scaling the rusty fire escape of the building for a closer look, but he wasn't comfortable in his surroundings yet.

He watched as she brushed the straps of her dress off her shoulders, but he could only see a small section of her as she shimmied out of her dress. He longed to see more. As she tied her hair up for bed, he fought the urge to get closer to the window to see what the displaced shutter blinds were hiding.

Not yet. The time wasn't right.

Jess was too tired to even consider that she might have been watched. She felt mentally drained from watching the crowd all evening and she knew that if she didn't sleep for at least a short while, tomorrow would not be a good day. She slipped under the covers and closed her eyes. It was hard to block out the questions that swirled around her mind but the exhaustion soon took over.

Without any further movement, Black Noir called it a night. He knew where she lived and who she hung around with at Vought, he just didn't know why.

But he was sure that he would soon find out.