The weather was unseasonably warm on Tuesday and had been for the last several days. Cadence had parked a few blocks away from the place where she was supposed to meet Jack so she could walk up and do some observing. Most of the team had been in or near their assigned positions for hours so that they could keep a lookout. When Cadence was about a block away, she got confirmation from Elliott that Jack had arrived on foot from the west. He was lingering in the shadows near the pharmacy building.
Cadence could see him from a distance. He looked like Jack, at least from there. Already, she was having a hard time convincing herself that he was a monster. She had gone back and forth several times over the last few days, especially, trying to figure out what would happen if she just brought him in instead of destroying him. Obviously, she knew Aaron would be mad. But he couldn't make her pull the trigger.
She stopped about ten yards away from him, making him step out from the shadows. Immediately, she was reminded that he was, in fact, a Vampire by the irritating lurching motion in her stomach. There was a handrail at hip level that somewhat separated her from the fifteen-foot drop to the concrete area below, next to the front part of the pharmacy building. She knew Jamie was down there somewhere, which made her feel better, though she wasn't worried about herself getting hurt in the least.
"Hi," Jack said smiling as he stepped forward. "You look amazing!" he said.
Cadence smiled. She was wearing a long black knit dress and thick black tights with knee-high boots, but he couldn't see much of that through the trench coat she wore that hit just above her knees. She was also wearing a Glock on her hip holster, which was also concealed. "You look pretty good yourself,” she remarked. He looked as if he had put quite some effort in his outfit and wore khakis, a nice sweater, and a brown leather jacket.
"Thanks," he said. "It's so nice to see you, Cadence," he added.
He was fidgeting with something in his jacket pocket, but it didn't seem large enough to be a gun. She felt fairly safe. There was no sign whatsoever of Giovani, and her team was assuring her of this over the IAC. "It's nice to see you, too," she remarked, not sure how in the world she was going to bridge the gap between it's nice to see you and bang, bang you're dead. Thoughts of all the things he had been accused of recently invaded her thoughts, but she pushed them away. Looking at him now, she thought they couldn't possibly be accurate. She returned her attention to the conversation. "The weather's nice," she continued, nodding her head nervously.
"Yeah," he said glancing around. "So, where did you want to go?"
She hesitated. "Uhm, well, I'm not really sure," she began, leaning on the railing. "I think we should go somewhere sort of private, you know, so we can talk."
Jack looked around again. There had been no cars pass by on the street next to them the entire time they had been talking, no pedestrians, nothing. "You're right," he admitted. "I guess we do have a lot of things to talk about. Well, this is a pretty good place," he said gesturing with his elbows, his hands still in his pockets.
"Yeah, I guess," she smirked, realizing how isolated they seemed to be. "Jack, I just think..." she was about to say, "you should come back to LIGHTS with me," when he interrupted.
"Oh, I brought you something," he said, as if he wanted to sneak it in before she could ruin the moment by bringing up the unpleasantries of reporting.
She watched as he pulled the tiny object out of his pocket. "What is it?" she asked, confused.
"It's a ring," he smiled. Cadence's eyes widened. "Oh, no, it's not... I mean, I'm not asking you to marry me. I mean, not yet. It's just, like... a promise ring, I guess," he said stepping forward and waiting for her to produce her hand.
"Oh," she said. Curiosity got the better of her, and she stuck out her left hand, waiting for him to slip the ring on. It was an opal ring with a gold band. An odd choice for a promise ring, she thought, but a kind gesture, nevertheless. "Thanks, Jack. You didn't have to do that," she remarked.
"I love you, Cadence," he said simply. "I want to be with you... always. I don't care what you are. I love you no matter what."
She found it ironic that he was speaking to her like she was the one with the horrific confliction. "Well, Jack, if we are going to be together, you're going to have to come in and get tagged," she replied matter-of-factly.
He exhaled sharply. "That again, Cadence? I thought you were here because you didn't care about that anymore."
"Jack, it's my job. How can I be with you if you're not willing to follow the rules?" she implored.
"Cadence, can't we talk about this later?" he begged her. "Can't we just go to dinner, and have a good time and then sort this all out?"
"Do not let him take you to a second location," Elliott ordered.
Simultaneously, Christian reported, "We've got movement in the parking lot across from the park."
Just then, a shot rang out, filling the night sky with a reverberating repercussion. By the time Cadence realized what was happening, Jack was pushing her over the railing, and she was tumbling to the ground below, a sharp stinging sensation in her leg, and several more gunshots resounding.
As she fell, she could see the ground growing closer, almost in slow motion. She hit hard on her right side, and it knocked the wind out of her. Cadence tried to keep her eyes open, to stay focused, but the pain was overwhelming, and she felt herself starting to fade.
