ILLEGAL

Chapter 15

I was anxious. I wasn't specifically nervous, I'd faced tougher opponents before, but just walking mostly unarmed where my enemy was unknown to me, seemed crazy. Stupid, even. All I had were tranquilizer darts in my bag and my trusty knife in my boot. Jack too, had only a pistol tucked into his waistband, hidden by his jacket.

When he had stepped out of the bathroom wearing a suit and tie, my heart skipped a beat. We'd be quite the pair. No, my mind said, you will only tell him so you can get rid of distractions. I nodded.

I had slept with my hair in a braid so it'd be wavy today, and I had twisted into a bun on the nape of my neck. When the taxi hit a pot hole or rock in the road, my hair would bounce against my neck. My sparkling chandelier earrings swung and hit my throat.

Jack was in the taxi next to me, his elbow propped up near the window. He had put gel in his hair, slicked it backwards to get the hair out of his face. It was quite a change from his usual sticking-up-in-every-direction style. It just made his eyes stand out.
I didn't want to look at him directly, so I looked at him through the rear view mirror.

He was beautiful, he truly was. His blonde hair (when not forced down) was ruggedly handsome. It made him look like a teenage boy again, not a care in the world. Everything, all of his facial features, were just the right size and shape. Even the scar above his eyebrow.

Then there were his eyes. So many blues. There was the amazing color of the oceans from space, the familiar color of the sky, a darker tint like blueberries, and still the more grayish tint of blue, like a bucket of paint. The more you stared at his eyes, the more the complex the colors seemed. Like in space, the farther you go, the more beautiful constellations you find, the more mysteries of the unknown you uncover.

He must've sensed me staring at him, cause his eyes flicked to mine in the mirror. I quickly looked away, and tried to dispose of my oncoming blush.

The rest of the ride was quiet. Shortly, we stopped outside of a huge white building. The cabbie looked at us in the mirror. "Is this where y'all need to be?" He asked in a dry voice.

I nodded, and tossed a wad of cash at the dashboard. I swung my door open, and nearly soaked my shoe in a dirty puddle of gray water. I stepped over it onto the sidewalk. Being out in the fresh air, I hadn't realized how much the taxi had reeked of cigarettes and tobacco.

Jack took my hand in his own. We were acting like a couple, so we had to look like a couple. My hand was trembling, and he gave it a supportive squeeze. As we neared the building, I saw armed guards standing like a fence a little past the entrance.

I stopped walking."Shit,"I said under my breath.

Jack stopped too."What's wrong?"

I gave a small thrust of my chin in the direction of the long line of police. He looked their way."They've taken last minute measures to keep the area safe."

Jack exhaled through his teeth."Then we'll have to go with Plan B."

I began to say there is no Plan B, when Jack started to tug me down the sidewalk. Instead of holding my hand, he linked my arm through his and speed-walked.

Jack was pissing me off, but I didn't say anything. We went up to where people were checking tickets and allowing entrance. "'Ello!"Jack said in an accent. I wasn't sure what the accent consisted of, British, Welsh, Scottish, Australian, but whatever it was, it was damn funny. I had to keep myself from bursting into laughter.

He began to walk in, and the ticket collected stopped him. He held out his hand."Ticket?"

He looked about mid-twenties, with a face that radiated 'I hate my job'. His face was still covered in pimples. He rolled his eyes at Jack as he pretended to search for a ticket.