Nick remained silent for the entirety of the ride from the hotel to the airport. He gazed out the window. Boston had always been a city that he'd enjoyed visiting. Rather than focusing on the fact that he was being taken to NERV, he instead lamented the fact that his time in the city would be cut short. He wasn't quite sure what it was about Boston that he enjoyed so much, perhaps it was simply the close proximity to the ocean that he loved so much.
He closed his eyes and imagined that he was back home on his boat. If he tried hard enough he could almost smell the salty sea air. When he was out on his boat alone there was no room for the uncertainty he was feeling. The was only the vast water, continuing out for miles with endless possibilities.
“Nickolas?”
Nick snapped back to reality as he heard the woman call out his name. This woman who was intent on using his full name, and whose name he had yet to find out! It began to annoy him.
“It's Nick,” he said casually, trying to make it seem like he really didn't care. Even though he very much did – the only person who ever called him Nickolas was his mother. And that was only when he was pissing her off.
“Sorry,” the woman smiled as she stepped out of the car. “Nick,” she corrected herself. “We're here.”
Nick followed her out of the car and looked around the airport. It looked the same as it always had, but he felt differently. Any other time he'd set foot in this airport he'd been with the other guys, surrounded by bodyguards and on their way to a show, a press junket, a photoshoot. He even lamented the fact that he wasn't on his way to a taping of TRL – which was his absolute least favourite obligation as a Backstreet Boy. Basically anything else would have been better that wasn't a secret government organization summoning him for God knows what.
He felt a shiver run down his spine, but tried to ignore it.
“You know, you still haven't told me your name,” Nick said as they began to walk towards airport security with a couple of men who Nick could only assume were NERV appointed goons. He flashed the woman his famous Carter grin when she looked back at him. Top secret mission or not, he still had a way with the ladies.
“That's classified,” she said tucking her short blonde hair behind her ear. She winked at him from behind her glasses and Nick's cheeky grin fell.
“Sorry,” she laughed. “I'm just kidding. I'm Dr. Risa Katzen and I'm the Chief Operations Officer at NERV.”
They continued to walk briskly, stopping once they reached the line. “So, uh, what do you guys do at NERV anyway?” Nick asked somewhat awkwardly, unsure if he would actually get an answer out of her.
Risa pressed her lips together and studied Nick intently.
“Let me guess,” Nick continued when he saw her expression. “That's classified.”
She softened a little. “I'm not at liberty to discuss such things with you right now, Nick. I assure you you'll learn everything you need to know in due time. That's why we're taking you to the headquarters – not everything can be discussed in public.”
“Don't I know it,” Nick muttered, having been in the same type of situation numerous times before. “Why are you taking me there? Is it because someone there's a fan?” he asked, raising his eyebrow and flashing her the same smirk once again.
Risa only blushed slightly as they made their way through the line. “While I can't say for certain that isn't the case,” she said, placing her belongings on the conveyor belt. “Rest assured that isn't the reason for this trip.”
“Uh huh...” Nick wasn't entirely convinced. The whole thing seemed fishy. What if this Risa chick was really just some crazy fan using her job to get closer to him? “But-”
“I'll have to ask you to stop asking questions now, as I said to you before, all will be explained once we get to NERV. But in the meantime, just try to enjoy the trip and not worry so much.”
Nick sighed. Worrying wasn't usually something he did – but everything about this turn of events just seemed so unsettling.
It was late when they arrived in New York. The flight hadn't been particularly long, but between performing that night, the sudden change in his schedule, the flight and the sheer wonder of what was going on, Nick felt exhausted. He wanted nothing more than to go back to his hotel room – wherever that was going to be – and sleep.
However, NERV had other plans.
Once their plane touched down they were quickly ushered out of the airport and back into yet another car that was waiting for them. For a normal person it would have seemed very fast paced. However for Nick, this was actually slower than he was used to. They were seemingly rushed, but Nick was so well versed in moving quickly that he found the hustle to be no trouble at all.
It was already quite late, given that he'd performed in a concert that night, flown to New York from Boston on what felt like a whim, but sleep was the last thing on his mind. As the car crawled through the streets of Lower Manhattan, Nick gulped.
He tried to look out the tinted window and focus on the city lights, but it was no use. He didn’t have a clue where they were going or how long it was going to take for them to arrive at their destination. He felt strange sitting in this car that the silence was almost deafening. Any other time he'd been to New York, he'd been surrounded by screams and the constant chatter of his bandmates and crew.
In fact, he was usually the one most responsible for that chatter. The other boys would stop and have their moment of awe, but Nick just liked to talk and talk, going on about silly things until the others told him to shut up. He'd never really been one to be overly deep and awestruck. At least, not when it came to New York. To him, it was just another city that came with a lot more sleepless nights and early mornings because there was always so much press to do.
But with no teenage girls on the streets, and no Kevin beside him telling him to stop talking about how much he hated Carson Daly, Nick was at a loss as to what to do with himself.
He glanced over at Risa, who was sitting beside him. The car wasn't small by any means, and there was a fair amount of space between them. Nick was thankful for that, because he wasn't quite sure he liked the vibe he was getting from her. For someone who worked for such a crazy organization such as NERV, she sure seemed to be uncomfortable. She was sitting in her seat, her hands folded neatly in her lap – but every so often she would fidget.
She kept her gaze fixed firmly out her own window, and she didn't even take notice of Nick watching her.
She eluded him. He opened his mouth with the intent to make some kind of small talk – because he couldn't handle the silence for any longer. But words failed him, and he just snapped his mouth closed again, choosing instead to look out the window.
He actually wished that Kevin was there with him. He'd know what to do and how to make the situation less awkward. Then again, Kevin hadn't even put up a fight when Nick had been pulled away. He hadn't said a word. Nick wasn't sure whether he should have been mad or not. Truly, if there was nothing Marcus could do then there obviously was nothing Kevin could have done, but still, Kevin always liked to argue with their management, and shouldn't he have tried to -
“Nick?”
“Huh?” Nick turned his head around. He hadn't even realized that the car had stopped he'd been so wrapped up in imagining Kevin defending his honour.
“We're here,” Risa said warmly, motioning for Nick to get out of the car.
“Oh,” Nick said dumbly. He unbuckled his seatbelt and ran a hand through his hair before stepping out of the car. He glanced at Risa, who nodded at him to grab his backpack. He sighed, slinging it over his shoulders and awkwardly stuffing his hands into his pockets.
That was when he looked up.
It seemed like a regular office building of sorts. It was on the outskirts of Lower Manhattan, but still very much in the area. For somewhere that seemed to be shrouded in mystery, it sure looked normal.
That actually made Nick even more uncomfortable. He followed Risa and the two goons (as he'd dubbed the large men in suits escorting them) into the building, shuffling his feet just a little. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been an office building with marble floors and plants near the elevator.
Risa hit the button to call the elevator, and almost immediately the two silver doors opened. Nick gulped again as he stepped into the confined space. They silently rode up to what appeared to be the top floor and Nick was sure it took almost a full minute.
The silence was broken by the harsh ding of the stall. The doors opened and Risa stepped out. The goons followed her and Nick, though he didn't want to, followed as well.
The goons walked off in another direction but Risa stood still, looking at Nick.
Nick glanced around. This didn't exactly look like the office lobby he'd set foot in earlier. The walls were painted black, there were monitors and screens set up, and desks with people in lab coats working and typing furiously.
It was at that point that Nick realized how late it actually was, and how strange the entire situation seemed. Because of his job he was used to working strange hours, but didn't people with normal jobs usually only stay in the office until six o'clock at the latest?
Of course, nothing about this seemed normal to him at all, but still.
“Uh,” Nick said, looking at her. “Isn't it kinda late to be at work?”
Risa shrugged, keeping that warm half-smile plastered on her face. Nick was beginning to grow tired of that, and he wondered how much of her attitude was actually genuine. All of this was really starting to creep him out.
What sort of office had black walls, anyway?
“We have a team working 'round the clock,” Risa said, turning on her heels and beginning to walk briskly down the halls. “We need to have preparations in place at all times.”
“Uh huh,” Nick said, still glancing around. She definitely wasn't wrong – their team seemed to be completely immersed in their work – whatever that was.
“Sorry to keep you awake this late,” Risa said apologetically as she turned to him. They had stopped in front of what looked to be an office. It had a painted black door with no name on it. Just a number and a keypad. “It's just that it was imminent that we get you here as soon as possible.”
“Uh, it's fine,” Nick said, raising his eyebrow. If he hadn't been whisked away he likely still would have been awake anyway. The difference was that he likely would have been out drinking with AJ, instead of standing in some ominous top floor of a skyscraper in New York.
Risa didn't respond to him. Instead she typed some combination of numbers onto the keypad. The door beeped and the light above it flashed green, which Nick guessed signalled that it was unlocked.
He guessed right, because Risa opened the door and led him into the room. It was big, but it wasn't unlike the rest of the area that he'd seen. There were more monitors on the walls, showing New York from every single angle.
Nick glanced around, looking at the monitors much like he had stared out the car window. He wasn't sure exactly what he was looking at, he was just looking. He wasn't even sure what they were monitoring New York for, or how they somehow had all of this footage.
It took a few seconds before Nick noticed the large marble desk at the end of the room. Behind it sat a tall, thin man. His dark brown hair was balding, and he wore tinted coke-bottle glasses.
If Nick wasn't so freaked out he probably would have laughed. The man almost looked like some sort of evil super-villian.
“Welcome Nickolas, we've been expecting you,” the man said, leaning his elbows on the desk and resting his chin on the backs of his hands.
“Uh, yeah,” Nick said slightly sarcastically. “Of course you were, you sent her to get me.” He pointed at Risa, who was now making her way to stand beside the desk.
Nick just stood there awkwardly, because there were no chairs, and no place for him to sit down.
His tone was ignored. “I'm sure you're wondering why we've brought you here,” the man said.
Nick just nodded, his hands still firmly placed in his pockets.
“I'm Dr. Brentson,” he said with a nod. “I'm the head of research here at NERV -”
“And what are you researching?” Nick asked, abruptly cutting him off. He was obviously out of line, and Nick could almost hear Kevin reprimanding him for being so rude. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily) Kevin wasn't there, so Nick continued. “And what the fuck is it that you guys do here anyway?”
Dr. Brentson lowered his eyes at Nick, but he didn't falter. “That's classified.”
“Of course it is,” Nick scoffed. He was well past the point of being annoyed. He'd been dragged out to New York with nary an explanation as to why – and whenever he asked he got the same non-response.
It was actually worse than the music industry. For that, Nick thought that these people deserved some sort of award.
“What I can tell you is that our world isn't exactly how you think it is,” he said, not moving from his position. “We're under what you might call... speculation from above.”
Nick raised his eyebrow. He had no idea what that meant.
“Our existence didn't just come into being, we were created by beings that we've dubbed 'Angels'-”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Nick laughed, throwing his head back. At this point, he was being excessively rude to try and elicit some kind of reaction from either Dr. Brentson or Risa – because both of them had far too even a demeanour for his liking. “I know what angels are.”
“No you don't,” Risa cut in, eyeing Nick. “Not like this.”
Dr. Brentson nodded. “She's right. It's not the same. What you think of as angels are actually quite the opposite. This world is theirs... and they want it back. They're coming one by one to try and take this place back from us. They want us gone.”
Nick's mouth suddenly felt very dry. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be thinking or how to comprehend all of this. Hours ago he'd been on stage doing his thing, and now he was being told about angels that were (ironically) not all that angelic. Nothing about his life seemed normal, and that evening had been surreal on both ends of the spectrum.
“Where do I fit it with all this?” he asked weakly.
It was then that Dr. Brentson stood up and walked around to the front of his desk. He was still feet away from Nick. He gave the blonde a look, and continued to walk across the office. Risa followed him, and nodded her head towards Nick, indicating that he should go along with them.
Nick sighed, trying to keep his composure as he followed them to the other end of the large room.
“You're aware of the things that have been happening in this city, I'm sure,” Dr. Brentson said as they walked out of the office and down a long corridor.
“Sort of,” Nick shrugged. No one was really aware about what was going on in New York – only that this strange organization had appeared and they seemed to be very secretive about whatever operation they had going on.
“Because of the population density here and the fact that America really seems as though it's the centre of the universe, the angels have chosen this as their target. This is where they will strike, and we need to be prepared to defend ourselves. That,” he said, stopping in front of yet another door, with yet another keypad, “is where you come in.”
Nick knitted his eyebrows, looking at the two strangers before him. The whole thing seemed like some sort of movie he'd watch on the Sci-Fi network. Had he not been living it he likely would have thought it was really, really cool.
The fact that all of this was actually happening to him, he had no idea about any of the back-story, and couldn't just turn it off, made it significantly less cool.
“Uh, okay,” Nick said only because he felt he should say something.
“I'm going to have to ask the two of you to avert your eyes,” Dr. Brentson said, looking at the two of them.
For a moment, Nick and Risa made eye-contact while Dr. Brentson presumably punched in some classified password. Risa gave Nick a small smile, but it did little to comfort him.
The door slid open, and Nick's eyes grew wide with what he saw.
Standing before him was what looked to be a robotic humanoid, probably three hundred times his size.
“What is that?” Nick asked, amazed he was actually able to find words.
“That is Evangelion Unit One,” Dr. Brentson said, looking at Nick, and then back up at the figure. “It's what you'll be piloting in order to defend us against the imminent Angel attacks.”
