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

Ch 33 Quitters

Trigger warning: Mentions of drug use and addiction.

The sound of rushed footsteps broke through the gentle hum of fish tanks as Jess raced through the K-mart warehouse. Live crabs scuttled away from the glass as she rushed passed to reach the hidden door.

She was headed straight for The Agency and she wanted answers.

Dipping through the door, she launched herself down the stairs and rode the momentum straight through Reggie's office door. Not one office worker raised their head from the rows of computers, despite the boldness of Jess' approach.

"You sent me on a wild goose chase." She said, closing the office door behind her.

Reggie turned towards her, halfway through pinning evidence to his own cork board. His eyebrows raised as he examined her appearance. Jess was flushed in the face and breathing heavily, with a stone-faced glare.

"Where is Mr Madison?" Reggie asked.

"Fuck him. That's not what I'm here for and you know it." Jess stated.

Reggie puffed his chest defensively as he wracked his mind to unravel what Jess was talking about. Silence fell between the two of them, something Jess was getting sick of by now.

She hastily shuffled through her pocket and slammed down The Agency business card on Reggie's desk. Berrie-Lee had given it to her the night before, unknowing what trouble she would cause by doing so. Thankfully the card had been shielded from the shower of blood.

Reggie wanted to look, but caution told him not to take his eyes off Jess. "I don't know what this is about, but-"

"Yes, you do!" Jess protested.

Reggie sighed in frustration. "You're emotional and not thinking clearly."

"Russel Lennox." Jess said. She waited for a reaction. It surely wasn't a coincidence that Reggie had an important job the night after Jess and Black Noir faced their first target.

She watched Reggie as the name fell on his ears, expecting his body language to confirm The Agency was somehow working for her first target from Noir.

"Is that who the stalker is?" Reggie asked, dumbfounded by the one-sided drama unfolding.

Jess let out a long breath of hot air. She had not planned what she was going to do once she reached The Agency, but it still felt like things were not going her way. Reggie seemed genuinely lost, but that didn't mean that her employers were in the clear just yet.

She took a seat and Reggie finally looked down at the business card placed on his desk. He plucked it off the mahogany for closer inspection as he sunk into his chair opposite Jess. "It's a standard business card. What is this about?" He asked, sternly.

"I got it from Berrie-Lee." Jess spoke with widening eyes. They glazed over as she relived the night before in vivid detail. Reggie leaned backwards in thought, his fingers interlocked, covering his mouth. Jess continued as best she could, "she gave it to me," a pause occurred, with bile once again threatening her sarcophagus. "She gave it to me because someone from The Agency has been paying her to role play with-".

Reggie held his hands up. "That's enough. Say no more." He got up out of his seat and Jess turned on her chair to see him locking the office door. "Did she tell you who paid her?"

Alert and ready to rage, the sudden shift in power balance put Jess on edge. Before answering Reggie she quietly placed her hand back into her pocket. Her sweaty palms met with cold, concealed steel.

Black Noir's knife.

Before leaving, he had left her with a parting gift. He didn't understand her emotions that night, but he knew she had something to get out of her system.