[b][center][h2]Paige Kennedy[/h2][/center][/b]

Paige wasn’t entirely sure why she was headed to the Luna Sports Facility other than when she heard it on the scanner earlier next to Club Aether, her instincts simply told her [i]GO[/i] and her gut feeling seldom ever let her down. The small light bar on the dash of her BMW scattered the traffic for the most part and she made it to the expansive parking lot of LSF only catching a few glimpses of the smoking MODUS building along the way. Elvin was dead and his office was on fire, but it would have to be dealt with later. Sol City Fire & Rescue wouldn’t be letting anyone near an active blaze. Her frustration mounted. The whole morning felt like they had been set completely back to zero and she gritted her teeth furiously at the thought. Nothing Shannon said had been true, but the fact that CT had unknowingly seemed to verify it was even more unsettling. She stopped to text Milo where she was and flung the door open letting the heat of the interior clash against the cool morning again.

Staring at the massive facility, she stopped in her tracks momentarily before closing the door. The parking lot was still mostly full and people were chatting outside, coming and going, even making light of the situation. In spite of the morning she was having, it was interesting to remember that to the average citizen, things still weren’t [i]that[/i] off-kilter: There was a fire in a high-rise and an unfortunate gas ignition at The Run had exploded overnight. Fires happened and gas exploded- Power outages [i]happened[/i]. It was still Friday and people were glad for the weekend, everything else be damned. Paige glanced back inside the car at her gym bag and then back towards the entrance. Her instincts again tickled at her subconscious. The bright yellow lettering on her blue Marshal’s jacket would make her arrival evident along with her standard brash entrance. Her lips twitched in consideration, playing out the possibilities in her head before she tossed her jacket in the trunk, tucked her gun and badge in her gym bag and set off. 

Not wanting to go through the main entryway, she found what she was looking for in a local contractor working to restore the outage. A service-van was parked on the curb outside an emergency exit and the technician had propped open the door with a cone saving the trouble of having to continually unlock the mechanical handle. Her intuition was forming a clearer picture and she was sure she was being followed as she swiftly ducked through the open door unseen.

The corridor inside was dimly lit in a blue-gray wash of light from backup power. Still, she could hear the sound of conversation from the lobby echoing through the walls. The area she entered was not a part of the regular facility, but reserved for the professional sports teams. She crept carefully along the wall passing various posters and placards displaying the Sol City Angels football team that she so loathed until she found a women’s restroom and checked over her shoulder before going inside using the light of her cellphone.  

Reemerging a few moments later Paige’s glance was partially concealed under the brim of a weathered Florida baseball cap. The rest of her ensemble blended in nicely with those congregating in the lobby: A black form-fitting tank top, some olive drab shorts and high-socks that matched the hat with black sneakers. She ran a hand through her ponytail tucked through the cap and put her phone against her face as she walked though there was no call on the line. The lobby was in a fairly jovial attitude, much like the outside and with the power outage the smoothie bar was giving away the entire stock for free before it spoiled. With the outage it seemed the management hadn’t even attempted to vacate the building, but were merely just trying to wait it out like everyone else.  Scanning, she walked on between small gatherings and others making calls or simply hanging out. The sound of free-weights clanging from the gym amidst more chatter could even be heard with the regular ambient music silenced. The great skylights of the lobby made visibility at least somewhat workable though the realization that was catching up with her finally brought her to a stop and she leaned against the wall dropping her bag and sliding down to the floor.

[i]The trail was cold…[/i]

She didn’t know what or who she was looking for and felt stupid for changing her clothes just to blend into the crowd. Her senses felt scrambled, like a bloodhound that had lost the scent and she felt it was the fact that she didn't know what do that she was really running from and not some unknown pursuer. There were no leads and nowhere to go. While she sat alone watching everyone moving about so careless and oblivious, Nikki and his thugs were likely laughing at the whole Marshal Service operation and her especially. It was supposed to be [i]her[/i] big opportunity, [i]her[/i] big score and instead the whole day had been a complete disaster just like everyone else that attempted to tackle the Giancana file. She felt exactly as she had when they told her she was being reassigned from Delta to Sol City: [i]Completely Defeated[/i]. She hung her head. [i]Goddamnit Paige, you fucking dumbass[/i]. She thought. Her mind was blank as she stared ahead at the carpet, cursing herself silently. Different faces passed through her mind: Milo, Sio, her fellow Marshals- She didn’t want to show her face back at the office and she thought about how the others would view her failure. No one would say anything openly, but it would just be there like a wet blanket on her career right next to being transferred from her home and in the din of a moment she hated herself. An image of her father drifted behind her eyes and as she thought about him, did something she hadn’t done in years.

She prayed. 

It wasn’t anything reverent or even particularly spiritual, but it felt right and she knew her dad would be glad she had done it. She sat alone watching, thinking about how she could possibly make a living as a private investigator when her phone blinked with a new message on the floor next to her. Thinking it was likely Milo, she swiped her thumb.