Evenfall Read Free Page A

course."
    He watched as Sin's calculating gaze shifted between the two of them slowly as if he were trying to figure out what they were saying and what they wanted from him. What their plans were now. "I am aware of the man's reputation," Vivienne replied with little inflection. "Although I remain unclear as to how he met his demise."
    Carhart pressed his lips together briefly, still not turning away from the glass as he explained, "As far as we know, Agent Vega was killed during the course of an assignment. After some time it became apparent that something had changed; his usual style was notably absent from missions. As you said, Emilio was known for his flair for theatrics, his inability to remain covert. Later we found out that Sin took over the assignments after his father's death. He carried them out so efficiently that for a long time we didn't know what to make of the change."
    Vivienne didn't respond so Carhart continued the story. "As I'm sure you know, it wasn't until Sin responded to a recall for his father that we found out about the previous events. Nobody knew until the day he arrived that Emilio even had a son. Sin's 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 and he was already a lethal killer."
    The Inspector raised a slim eyebrow and she scrutinized Sin as though she were inspecting a tool that she was planning to purchase. "To my knowledge, even as a boy he was determined to be certifiably insane. And despite his incompetent mental state, the Marshal insists on using him again."
    It wasn't a question so much as an obvious judgment call.
    Carhart sighed and shrugged his broad shoulders. "Yes, he can appear quite insane at times. 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 abuse as a child which is what led to his current unstable and unpredictable mental state."
    Vivienne appeared to be unmoved by this explanation. After a moment in which she did not respond and Carhart stared at Sin, Carhart continued. "He has difficulty sticking to mission parameters; he's wild and impulsive, doing what he pleases most of the time. But it's when his mental instability rears up that he is known to snap completely, turning into 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 killed them all within a week of their perspective trials. Despite his insistence that it was 'self-defense,' he was put into the box indefinitely."
    "Charming," Vivienne said evenly, and then looked at the General briskly. "I will see him in person. Those chains will hold if I walk in, correct." The question was said as a statement and she was already moving toward the door to enter without waiting for confirmation. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Carhart pause; her eyebrow quirked, as if fin ding fault in his hesitation. Carhart shook his head slightly, returning her gaze steadily. There had been a reason why, despite the fact that she was higher up in the chain of command than he was, she had been kept out of mostly all dealings with Sin. Her role as Inspector of the Agency was to make sure the organization remained underground, covert, and basically invisible to the outside world.
    She was a direct liaison to the people who orchestrated the Agency but despite that, she was not agent-trained, had no military background and was mostly regarded as a civilian employee by the staff because of this. The official story was that the Marshal had felt it imperative to