The SUV stopped before a modest apartment building, the neighborhood was fairly quiet, with a few kids playing around the sidewalk, and parents sitting on the steps watching them.
"This is your idea of low profile?" Kael asked with a fevered brow. "This place has more potential witnesses than a crime scene."
Lance sighed as he glanced out the window, "this is where we're staying, not working." Lance explained. "Given the city's layout, a typical home wouldn't be practical, and expensive."
"So we can't afford a million-dollar home, but we can afford a two-billion-dollar training center?" Marcus teased, "Sounds like someone's trying to hide the funds."
Lance grinned as he stepped outside. "It's called budget."
Marcus laughed softly as he stepped out, taking Luna's hand as they approached the apartment building. The change in atmosphere was a stark contrast from the training complex, it was…. Normal.
The smell of grilled chicken and toasted bread filled the air, as children continued to laugh and play.
It made Marcus momentarily think back to his own childhood.
It wasn't as social as this, especially when his father died, when Marcus was around three.
It was the start of his loneliness, and it only got worse from there.
"Are you ok Marcus?" Luna asked as she squeezed his hand. Looking up at him sympathetically.
Marcus sighed. "Eh, I'm fine, just thinking about how lonely I was a few months ago, it's almost funny how fast things have changed."
Luna nodded. "But you aren't lonely anymore, right?" She asked with a knowing smile.
"You sneaky chicken." Marcus chuckled as he picked Luna up into his arms. "What are you trying to get outta me?"
"Oh god," Kael said with a sigh as he walked past Marcus, joining Lance who was already inside the apartment building.
"Go ahead, sir." The driver from earlier said as he patted Marcus's back, giving him a reassuring smile. "I'll bring up your bags shortly."
"Thanks, Alfred." Marcus said with a smirk, "It's hard being a single father these days."
As Marcus joined Kael and Lance inside the apartment building, he was greeted modestly spaced area with several doors on either side on a corridor that led to an elevator and a set of stairs.
Kael and Lance stood by the elevator with their arms crossed. "Finally decided to join the party?" Lance joked with a faint smile.
Marcus sighed as he looked down at Luna, who was still cradled in his arms. "For what reason do they hate our love?" Marcus asked jokingly.
Luna smirked. "Perhaps because watching isn't as fun."
"I'm leaving him," Kael said as he pressed the call button for the elevator.
Lance chuckled as he motioned for Marcus to hurry up. As Marcus joined them in the elevator, it began its ascent. The ride was a quiet one. Filled with only the hum of the elevator itself.
It wasn't long before they reached their designated floor. Lance stepped out first, leading the way to the apartment, Kael and Marcus followed closely behind.
Unlike the corridor on the ground floor, which had five apartment rooms on either side, this floor had four.
Lance stopped at the second door on the right side of the corridor. He pulled a keycard from his pocket and swiped it.
What followed was a faint click from the door, indicating that it was unlocked. Lance pushed open the door and gestured for the boys to follow.
They entered the apartment, which was furnished modestly. It had a cozy atmosphere and a balcony that had a great view of the city. It felt like the home of a modestly wealthy person.
"Alright," Lance said as he clapped his hands together. "This place has two rooms, one bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen. Familiarize yourself with this place, because this is your safe house, your home away from home in a sense."
"Are you staying here too, Lieutenant?" Kael asked as he looked around the apartment.
"No," Lance answered. "You'll need to get used to operating on your own, I'll keep my distance after you learn the basics."
"And those basics are?"
"Your patrol route, people of interest, all the things you need to keep track of," Lance explained.
"Are we going to learn this stuff now?" Marcus asked as he finally set Luna down.
"No," Lance said as he shook his head.
"Today's been rough and night is approaching fast, so settle in, get comfortable." He said, nodding his head as he looked around. He then backed away towards the front door as he flicked the room's keycard to Kael.
Kael caught it between two fingers and examined it. "Just one?" He asked.
"For now." Lance said with a chuckle, "I'll keep the other one."
Just as Lance opened the door, the driver, "Alfred" as Marcus named him, was standing at the door with several bags. "Let me help you with that," Lance said as he grabbed a few of the bags from Alfred, before chucking them onto the living room floor.
"Hey, I have… clothes in there," Marcus said hesitantly, realizing there was nothing fragile in his bags.
"Because they'll just snap, right?" Lance asked as he threw the last bag in. "You boys get comfortable, work starts tomorrow bright and early."
With that, Lance exited the apartment, closing the door behind himself as he left the trio to their own devices. They stood in a comfortable silence for a few seconds, wordlessly studying their new home.
"I'm going to sleep," Kael said as he grabbed his bags from the floor, before navigating to one of the rooms in the back.
Marcus watched him briefly before turning to face Luna. "Is there anything I need to do before I kick the bucket?"
"K-kick the bucket?" Luna asked worriedly. "Doesn't that mean…. Death?"
Marcus raised an eyebrow, his expression puzzled. "No, it definitely means sleep…." He said hesitantly.
"No, it doesn't!" Kael shouted from his claimed room.
Luna giggled as she crossed her arms, "did you mean hit the hay?" She asked teasingly.
"Oh." Marcus said in realization, "r-right…"
"Well…" Luna said as she tapped her chin, "You could chat with Kinsley, or alternatively you could chat with Felix, he should be landing in Tokyo by now."
Marcus rubbed his chin thoughtfully, he saw Felix about 13 hours ago during their graduation, but he hadn't properly spoken to Kinsley within the last few weeks, only texting her good morning and good night.
"Anyone else?" Marcus asked.
"There's your mother and big sister. It's been a while since you've called them." Luna informed.
While Marcus missed his mom, he knew the moment he called her she'd bombard him with questions, half of which he probably wouldn't even be allowed to answer.
"Pass." Marcus said as he shook his head, "I'll visit her in person when I get the chance."
"Well, there's Dr. Fletcher." Luna suggested, "I'm sure she's interested in talking to you about New York."
Marcus closed his eyes as he crossed his arms, Dr. Fletcher was something akin to Marcus's weakness. The more time he spent with her, the more of a bumbling idiot he became, to no fault of hers.
"Ehh, I'm not ready," Marcus explained. "I think that movie party we had was enough for now."
Luna nodded. "Well, that's it, Marcus." She explained, "You have no other friends or associates."
Marcus sighed as he massaged his temples. "Kinsley it is then."
Marcus pulled his phone from his pocket, as he pulled it out, the black card he'd been carrying with him fell out of his pocket and onto the floor.
Marcus paused, slowly looking down at the card with a curious expression. He had forgotten about it for the most part, but now he had time to study it.
He placed his phone back into his pocket and grabbed the card. It was smooth and hard to the touch. Lifting it up, he began to examine it, noticing it had not one distinct feature. There was no name, no number, not even a simple mark or blemish.
"Can I see?" Luna asked as she grew closer to him.
Marcus handed Luna the card, which she accepted. Marcus watched as she studied the card, bending its corners front and back. When she got to the fourth corner and pulled it back, the lights on the card illuminated into a message. "Find the Mayflower."
"Well shit, grab a crayon and color me impressed," Marcus said with a chuckle as he knelt beside Luna. "Mayflower huh, I wonder what that has to do with the Kiba mercenaries?"
"Keep your voice down," Luna whispered as she approached Marcus with the card.
Marcus nodded, Luna was right about keeping their voices down, they weren't exactly in the privacy of their base anymore. "Ok," Marcus whispered, "but does this have anything to do with the actual ship?"
"That would be funny." Luna said with a faint giggle, "If it was the actual ship, well the replica anyway, but no I believe this is a person."
"A person?" Marcus asked. "Who?"
"A contact I suppose." Luna said as she handed Marcus the card. "if you wish to meet with the Kiba mercenaries again, you should find this mayflower."
Marcus hesitantly accepted the card, studying the faint blue text against the black background. "Find the mayflower…" he repeated softly. "Where would I even start?"
"Perhaps it's better to collect more information on the Kiba group, until then I recommend laying low, at least for the moment."
Marcus nodded as he bent the edges of the card in the same fashion as Luna did, causing the message to dim before turning off.
Marcus then sighed as he pocketed the card. "Alright then, I guess I'll hit the hay," Marcus said correctly, yawning as he stretched his arms.
"Are you not going to call Kinsley?" Luna asked curiously.
Marcus paused, thinking about it, he wasn't really in the mood to call Kinsley per se, but he also missed her, a lot.
"Yeah, I suppose so." Marcus said as he retrieved his phone from his pocket, he then handed his phone to Luna, "Call her, while I take my bags to our room."
"Ok," Luna said, accepting Marcus's phone.
As she contacted Kinsley, Marcus grabbed his bags and made his way towards the other back room. As he and Luna stepped inside. Marcus was greeted with a small twin-sized bed, a Thin-screen TV, two shelves, and a closet.
Marcus dropped his bags by the closet, before joining Luna who was sitting on the bed. His phone rang a few times before Kinsley's voice came through.
"Hi Marcus," Kinsley answered the phone sleepily.
"Were you sleeping?" Marcus asked as he gently grabbed the phone from Luna.
"Yeah, it's like two in the morning, who wouldn't be sleeping?" Kinsley joked.
Marcus narrowed his eyes as he glanced over at Luna, he then looked down at his phone, which changed to the local time based on GPS.
"It's like 8," Marcus said in an attempt to correct Kinsley.
"Wait…. Are you back in America?" Kinsley asked, rustling could be heard from her side.
"Yeah, my um…. Job needs me here, why?"
"Well, that explains you calling at two in the morning." Kinsley said with a soft chuckle, "But Marcus, do you have an idea of when you can visit again?" She asked with a yawn.
"No, not at the moment." Marcus explained, "I haven't even been given my assignment, much less my off days."
A faint sigh could be heard from Kinsley's end.
"Is everything alright?" Marcus asked.
"It's fine," Kinsley answered, her tone a little detached.
"Doesn't sound fine."
"Well, I said it is," Kinsley answered.
"O-ok." Marcus stammered.
There was a moment of silence between the two, the atmosphere becoming strained.
"Good night Marcus." Kinsley finally said, her tone a mixture of care and frustration.
"Nigh–" before Marcus could finish replying. Kinsley already hung up.
Marcus looked down at his phone with a conflicted expression. "D-did I do something wrong?" Marcus asked as he looked over at Luna.
"I think the distance between you two is getting to her," Luna explained. "From her perspective, she met a cool guy that she's interested in, but after a week of talking and going out, he flies far off and only texts and calls occasionally, essentially she misses you."
Marcus sighed as he laid back in bed. "It's not like I don't miss her." He explained. "But it's not like I can just drop everything and run to her every need either."
Luna nodded, her expression understanding and sympathetic. "Yea. But this is what you both agreed to, so eventually, you will need to set some time aside to visit her, because even a field of lavender dies without water."
"What does that even mean?" Marcus asked.
"Lavender is a plant that doesn't require much water, same as Kinsley being a resilient girl, but in both cases, they still need care and attention," Luna explained. "So you cannot neglect her for too long, or eventually she'll give up."
"I see." Marcus said as he massaged his temples, "Luna, relationships are hard, we aren't even dating and I feel the pressure."
"But isn't that why you two are talking in the first place?" Luna asked, "Don't start something you can't finish, no matter how hard it is."
Marcus sighed. "You're right, I'll figure something out."
"I know you will Marcus, you always have." Luna said with a smile, "But you should rest now. You have a busy day tomorrow."
Marcus nodded as he settled into bed, feeling the weight of the day pressing down on him. Luna got up to turn off the light, before curling up against him.
As Marcus closed his eyes, he thought back to Luna's advice. He'd find a way through this, he had to.