The Job: Chapter 1
Exiting the door, I habitually noted where the security cameras were. Those people were meant to see, and those they weren't. Wasn't hard, once you knew what to look for. Nor was keeping a body between me and most of them. Those I couldn't avoid, I turned my head letting my hair obscure that side of my face. I spent the last two years learning to be the best at what I did; not the most well known. Something I planned on keeping that way. More fun.
Keeping with the flow of disembarking passengers I didn't break off until we neared the restrooms. Setting my purse on the back of the sink once I entered the -thankfully- clean room, I started washing my face. While no stranger to crowds there was something about how airlines packed people into, and off of, them that made me feel dirty. That, or maybe it was just that most of my fellow travelers just didn't seem all that friendly. Just people going about their day. That was probably it. Mediocrity; fast friends we were not. More like estranged cousins better suited to avoiding each other than interacting.
Patting my face dry with the provided course paper towel, I checked that my makeup was fine only to look back at the sink in a panic.
It wasn't there. Shit.
Looking back I stared at my right eye. Notably my iris. Red; unlike the green of the contact covering my left. Not just any red but blood red. I might, might, have gotten away without contacts if it had been a darker shade. Even with how there was no white in my eye, but all black, but that ring of bright blood red was just too noticeable.
Not needing contacts to see, I completely missed when I lost it. Thinking back over the short trip, I couldn't see any time when it happened. Damn sure if anyone had noticed, they'd have reacted. Everyone else had. I was probably safe then. Sighing, I started looking through my purse both thanking and cursing my luck. And of course I don't have my spare set with me. Or my sunglasses.
Damn it. I knew I forgot something.
So far someone else hadn't intruded into the bathroom, so I took the opportunity to touch up my make up. The last thing I needed now was to draw undo attention as an unescorted minor. I'd be found out for sure then. Finished, I was satisfied that other than my eye, I looked like a perfectly normal young woman. One good thing about being tall was it made pulling off this disguise easy. While it probably wouldn't work for anything that required an ID check, it was more than perfect for casual glances. One final touch moved my hair to partially cover my right side and I left heading for the gift shop.
The stand of sunglasses was the first thing I headed for. Luck seemed to cut me a break as the little shop only had one other customer. An older woman looking through novels and magazines lining one of the walls. Browsing through the selection it took me a few rounds before choosing an oversized pair that easily covered my eyes but didn't look ridiculous. Adding a case of playing cards from the shelf behind me ended my needs here.
The cashier -a bored looking guy maybe a couple of years older than me- smiled in amusement before teasingly saying, "You must like playing with cards."
"I like solitaire okay," I replied smiling winningly. "That is, unless I have someone to play with."
My smile widened when he blushed as well as dropping the deck of cards he was scanning. He was still looking a bit flustered as I left which pleased me. He was kinda cute, but not cute enough for me to push back my plans for the day. Still, phone number in hand if things went smoothly; there might be something later. I only planned on being in town a few days but you never knew and it was always good to have options in case I found myself here longer than expected.
While waiting at the carousel for my suitcase, I swapped out cards in my phone, reactivating it. A trick Jess taught me to keep under the radar. I hadn't been caught yet so that had to mean something.
Still not seeing my luggage, I checked my email. Nothing yet. Of course not. Why was I even surprised?
I pulled up a map of Brockton Bay as I waited. Big city, kinda. About the size of Baton Rouge. Which until now was the only other place I'd ever been aside from New Orleans. The Bay was, however, a lot smaller than I was used to. Both in people, and in size.
Closing out that page, I brought up a couple of others I'd saved but hadn't read through yet. Flicking through, I noted there were four main things Brockton Bay was known for. First, there seemed to be a huge emphasis on its historical value as being one of the nation's oldest cities. Huh, settled in 1623. That was kinda back there. As expected there were various colonial Museums, galleries, and other neat stuff that appeared to be targeted at various important times in history from then to now. Those might be fun to check out. If nothing else it would be a lot different than the nightlife of Bourbon St.
Hopefully whatever Jess needed my help to steal wasn't in them. While Jess didn't discriminate, I had standards and art and historical pieces went against my principle of 'Never take something that belongs to more than one person'. Also, it was such a pain in the ass to fence stuff like that; if you even could. More than a few local thieves and capes had been caught that way in the short time I'd been around.
Skimming through a lot of dry facts about the efforts put in to restore and keep it that way, I came to the second thing that drew tourists. Lots of waterfront views, most of that revolving around the Boardwalk. Lots of shopping areas aimed at tourists as well as various other bits and bobs. I'd have to check that out. While window shopping wasn't really my thing, it might be fun even if just for the novelty.
Which brought me to the next bit. Once, this city had a huge shipping industry once. Both on land and sea. That explained the maps I looked at. But that was about ten years ago before several ships were sunk in some kind of labor riot. With the shipping industry tanked, the railway fell on hard times unable to keep up with demand. Business started looking for greener pastures where the labor force was less organized, more docile, and less likely to revolt. The huge spike of unemployment was just the final nail in the coffin of an already fading economy. Which also explained why those satellite maps showed the buildings looking pretty rough.
I wasn't surprised after reading that to find out Brockton Bay was the eighth ranked 'cape city' in the nation. Though I was surprised to read that the Teeth came from here before being driven out. I'd had my run in's with them a time or two before the local Protectorate drove them from New Orleans.
Scrolling down the Parahumans Online thread I also discovered that the city had been visited by the Slaughterhouse Nine more than once. It seemed the only major horrific event they hadn't had yet was an Endbringer.
Looking away from my phone, I couldn't help but wonder why Brockton Bay was only ranked eighth. Or hell, was still standing. If you accounted for the capes here, and those in the past from some of the news bits tagged on the website, it almost seemed like a breeding ground for parahuman violence. Though it looked like the place had a kind of equilibrium at the moment.
What a lovely city.
Breaking from my introspection, I looked around noting that where I was once surrounded by a crowd of people, I was now alone. Aside from a single lonely small travel case still spinning slowly on the carousel.
Taking the handle of my luggage, I let it roll behind me as I navigated the halls and walkways. The pay for this job better be worth dragging me here. After two years I finally had a good thing going. Checking my email still showed a lack of any messages from Jess. Nor was she outside waiting when I finally passed the doors. Only to immediately walk right back in once I made sure Jess wasn't there.
Jess was going to owe me double. It was cold out there. Jess knew I hated the cold.
The dirty lying thermostat on the wall outside said it was thirty-eight out there. It never got lower than mid-forty back home and even that was rare. I didn't have anything for dealing with the cold except my body armor and that wasn't going to be an option until after nightfall.
Crap. It was going to be colder at night.
Triple. Jess was going to owe me triple. Just for dragging me into this frigid wasteland.
Nodding, I called a cab to pick me up while looking for and finding a large mall outlet about twenty minutes away. Settling in to wait, I put my earbuds in and selected an album Penny suggested I might like. While my roommate's tastes in anything tended to be about as far from my own as my love for cold weather; I found myself nodding to the first song that started playing. It wasn't anything that you would find on Frenchmen Street, but I had to admit, it wasn't bad.