"Hold on...What?" Diego exclaimed.
"You heard me." Klaus said, "I'm taking a leave of absence."
"Yeah, but...why now? We've got a lot to clean up."
"No we don't." Klaus replied, "We've done our job. The Shield is handling the rest. We are free to continue our work, which for the past two weeks have been rather slow. I'll be available, just not in USA."
"Great." Diego slumped his head on the table. "See you whenever you intend on coming back. Send me a souvenir from Germany."
"Sure. By the way, where's Blake."
"What, you're taking him along?"
"He's my son, duh?"
"He went out with Jacquez."
Klaus looked at him for awhile, a little confused. Then the answer hit him. "Oh, right. I guess I'll wait a while."
"You don't need to come, kid." Jacquez said, addressing Blake who was a few meters behind him.
"I am aware."
"So why the tagalong? Getting all lonely back in the base?"
"Nah. On the contrary, I'm going back to Germany."
"Oh. Nice to have somewhere else to go."
The two descended into the subway, hopping onto one of the trains. The two remained standing, with Blake staring out the window while Jacquez stared at the floor. The train made two stops, before the two stepped down at the third.
Exiting the subway, Jacquez hailed for a cab and the two jumped in, and the cab sped off, the cab ride was also in silence, which made it more awkward for the driver as he was a rather chatty individual. But given that they paid him more for their ride, it was worth it.
Arriving at Roxbury, Jacquez made his way down the sidewalk, but this time it was slowed down, the tension between them grew, as they walk past the individual houses. After going past a couple of blocks, Jacquez finally stopped. He finally spoke, but it wasn't like his sarcastic usual self.
"I don't know how you know, but I have to do this. Ricardo might have been a bore sometimes but he's my friend. Its the least I can do."
Blake nodded. Jacquez turned, facing the door in front of him. Looking at it now, it now resembled the large gates of a fortress as compared to the time he and Ricardo had been here. Letting out a deep sigh, he pressed the doorbell.
For a few minutes there was no response. For a moment, Jacquez thought she was not at home. However the familiar voice of a woman changed his mind. The door unlocked and a woman with a brown hair and dull black eyes appeared. She looked at Jacquez for a moment and her eyes opened wide.
"Ivez?" She exclaimed, "I wasn't expecting you,"
"Yeah, sorry." Jacquez said.
"Come on in...what about..." referring to Blake
"Oh don't mind him." Jacquez said, "He's waiting on something."
The door closed right behind him, leaving Blake alone. He stared at the door for sometime, casting his attention to the playground across the street. His eyes settled on the black car parked right across the street. The car had tinted windows and a man leaned against it, smoking a cigarette. Their eyes met and the man was the first to look away.
Blake turned swiftly, sensing a familiar aura. The aura belonged to a young boy, probably in his teens. He was slender and tall, with dull green eyes and red spiky hair. He was glistening with sweat, bouncing the basketball as he approached Blake. He stopped when he reached Blake, recognizing the red X on Blake's hoodie.
"You seem young for an inquisitor." He said, still bouncing the ball.
"I get that a lot."
"Are you from around here?"
"Yeah."
"Then I guess you're here to see my dad."
Blake closed his eyes for a moment. "No, but I came with his friend. You might know him."
"You mean that blond guy with the plus eyes."
"Yeah."
"Why didn't come with my dad though?" He asked, "Those two always are together."
Blake didn't want to answer. Or rather he couldn't. It wasn't because Jacquez told him not to, but he couldn't bring himself to. Blake thought that saying the truth in a hard situation would be rather easy, but the words were all gone.
"I just follow the guy around. He doesn't tell me much."
"Ha. That's how he always is. Doesn't say much to me as well."
The boy passed by Blake and climbed up to his door. "The name's Joao. One day, I'm going to become an Inquisitor. Oh, and don't tell my mom."
"S...sure." Blake said, turning away.
The cab ride back was silent. Blake and Jacques sat apart from each other, each minding his own thoughts as they headed back to the base, It was Blake who broke the silence.
"Is it like this all the time?" Blake asked.
"Depressing? Yes. Yes it is. It is always this way. Always this sad and empty. But we have to do it. They deserve to know that their family died for a greater cause."
"Even if it hurts?"
"Even if it hurts. That is part of the job."
"What about after? Will it be any better?"
"Well...I can't promise you anything, kid. The world's a different place than it used to be. We'll just have to wait and see."