By the time the trio returned back to the Cyber-tech store, the sun was beginning to set, casting its shadow against the sky.
Lance was waiting at the back door with his arms crossed, his expression was unreadable. "So, how was your patrol?" he asked curiously.
"It was fine," Kael answered. "For the most part anyway, there was one hiccup."
"You mean that kid?" Lance asked as he approached the boys.
Both Marcus and Kael looked up to Lance with skeptical gazes, "How…."
"I have my ways," Lance answered, glancing at Luna before giving her a wink.
Luna smiled, Marcus looked up to her with a curious expression.
"Did you tell him?" He asked.
"No," Luna answered. "But I did see him…"
"He trailed us," Kael said.
"Smart cookie," Lance said with a grin.
Marcus smirked, "You talk a lot of big game, but I had a feeling you couldn't just throw us off the deep end without a rope.
"So will this be a thing?" Kael asked with a hint of irritation in his voice.
"Maybe." Lance answered, "Maybe not."
Marcus looked over at Kael and grinned. "Stop being so dramatic, think of what this means, we could totally slack off."
Lance's eyes widened slightly, causing Luna to chuckle. "Really Marcus?" She asked as she looked down at him.
Kael shrugged his shoulders, "So what's next, do we file a report?"
Lance shook his head, "You only file reports when you come across something worth noting, otherwise it's best just to note suspicious things for yourself to check later."
"So would qualify as something to report?" Kael asked.
"Anything related to anomalies or anything affiliated with the organization's enemies," Lance answered.
"Enemies?"
Lance sighed as he nodded, "Yeah, I'll send you a file tonight, there's more than a few groups operating in this city alone."
Kael nodded, looking up at the sky he licked his lips, "Anything else?" He asked.
Lance shook his head. "No, you're dismissed."
He then turned back into the basement, leaving Marcus and Kael to stand alone.
Luna, who was still on Marcus's shoulders, sighed, "I think I'm staying home tomorrow." She said.
Marcus chuckled as he and Kael parted from the Cyber-Tech store. "What would you even do?" He asked.
"I want to learn how to salsa." She replied.
Marcus raised an eyebrow as he glanced over at Kael.
Kael shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see anything wrong with it, if she stays home maybe you'd actually focus on your job."
"Just say you're jealous," Marcus said with slight irritation, he then looked up at Luna. "And you, of all things, salsa?" He asked in slight confusion.
Luna nodded. "Yes, salsa specifically." She went into further detail. "You see, I find myself attracted to the quick, yet elegant moves this particular style of dancing provides."
"But don't you need a partner?" Marcus asked.
"Not necessarily," Kael commented. "She could probably pull off loose salsa."
"Loose salsa, that sounds like a bad time." Marcus joked, "salsa everywhere…."
"No, it's…. Never mind." Kael said with a frustrated sigh.
Marcus chuckled as he gently punched Kael's shoulder. "Relax man, I'm just messing with you." He said with a smirk.
Marcus then tapped Luna's cold thigh, "and you." He said, faking a stern tone, "You better behave yourself, if I let you stay home that is…"
Luna giggled as she looked down at Marcus, her long silver hair falling down and covering Marcus's face. "Are you really going to deny me such a simple request?" She asked with a pout.
Marcus averted his gaze, and after a brief moment, he smirked. "Of course not, but only I can be your partner if you need one, understand?"
Luna smiled warmly. "Yes." She answered.
With Marcus's permission, Luna had been spared the boring day she believed tomorrow would provide.
The trio continued their journey home, walking under the cool breeze as the sky was painted with a distinct indigo color.
The next day, Marcus and Kael made their way back to the Cyber-tech store. Kael had a strange expression on his face as if he had eaten something wrong.
"You ok?" Marcus asked curiously.
"No," Kael said as he shook his head. "I just got a gut feeling."
"You know, if you're going to complain every time I cook, then just don't eat it," Marcus said in annoyance. "But I know my cooking isn't nasty, because Luna ate every bite."
Kael rolled his eyes as the duo reached the store. He knocked on it three times before stepping back and crossing his arms.
It wasn't long before the woman from yesterday came to the door with that same exhausted look.
"We're closed!" She said with a sigh. "Go away."
Marcus raised an eyebrow, "It's us!" Marcus said as he tapped his chest with a smile.
The woman narrowed her eyes as she approached the door. "Go away." She repeated.
"I see." Kael said with a sigh, "My bolts are loose, and my chip is fried." He said with an annoyed look.
Marcus had a confused expression, "what are you–"
"Took you long enough, ya green bastards." The woman grumbled as she unlocked the door.
"Oh," Marcus said in realization as he stepped into the store alongside Kael.
The store was the same as yesterday, with Androids and other tech gadgets placed all throughout the store.
"Basement is open, that Lance fella isn't here tho." The woman explained, waving her hand in annoyance as she grumbled something candy corn.
Kael sighed as he made his way to the basement, Marcus followed closely behind.
Entering the basement Kael immediately set to work on getting today's patrol route and people of interest.
"Looks like there's an objective near the residential district." Kael said as stared at the computer screen, narrowing his eyes, "A known seller of red acid is rumored to be selling today, he's of Hispanic descent, bald, he has several face tattoos of various snakes…."
Marcus grinned as he walked up behind Kael to look at his computer. "Looks like today might be interesting after all, I can't wait to rub it in Luna's face."
Kael rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, yeah, but it says we have to capture the guy, or at least find out where he's getting his supplies from."
Marcus nodded as he crossed his arms, "I suggest we corner him if we find him, beat the info outta him then turn him over to the police."
Kael looked at Marcus with a mixture of pity and frustration. "I-I'll take the lead on this one." He stammered as he logged out of the computer.
Marcus shrugged, "lead the way."
With route and mission details confirmed, the duo exited through the back door same as last time, and began making their way back to the residential district.
As they walked, Marcus had a conflicted expression. "It's weird." He finally said after a while of thinking silently.
Kael glanced over at him curiously. "What is?"
"That this guy would deal red acid near the same spot the guy overdosed at, and a day later no less."
Kael nodded. "I was thinking the same, but maybe that's the point, he's probably this ballsy because anyone would logically assume he wouldn't sell there."
"Because it's like returning to the scene of a crime," Marcus added.
"Yeah," Kael confirmed.
The duo continued their journey, eventually nearing the area where the dealer was suspected to be. Kael almost immediately spotted the guy matching that exact description from the file.
The man was leaning on the side of a car, nodding his head as the speakers in his car blared loudly. He was surrounded by several guys all chilling around and playing cards or just chatting.
"This is harder than I thought," Marcus commented as he crossed his arms.
Marcus had no doubt he could beat all these guys, but there would definitely be witnesses, and he wasn't sure how the organization dealt with officers showing their abilities in front of civilians.
As the two boys studied the scene, one of the guys playing cards looked back and narrowed his eyes. "Yo!" He called out with a frown, "What you two kids doing, scram!"
The man's shouts called everyone's attention towards the boys. Including their target.
The target widened his eyes as he studied the boys for a few seconds, his expression growing with complex thought.
"Shit." Kael hissed as he started sprinting towards the right, away from Marcus and towards another block.
"Yo!" The target shouted as he started spirited away, heading further into the residential area.
One of the men who were playing cards watched the target begin running, his expression filled with confusion. "Why are you running bruh?!"
Marcus was caught between two choices, chase the target or follow Kael.
Marcus had faith in his partner, he knew Kael wouldn't have darted off unless he had some sort of plan.
Without wasting another second, Marcus began sprinting forward with quick strides. His speed quickly ate up the distance between himself and the target.
The target looked back over his shoulders, his eyes widening as he stared at Marcus. "I ain't do shit cuz!" The target shouted as he weaved around kids playing football in the alleyway.
Marcus couldn't help but chuckle as he picked up his pace, "then stop running!" Marcus shouted back.
"Fuck no!" The target exclaimed as he hoped a fence, crashing on the ground with a thud, before quickly picking himself back up.
Marcus laughed, yet his speed never diminished. "I just wanna talk!"
The target ignored him, picking up his pace after taking a quick glance at Marcus.
Kael meanwhile, was outlining the route the target was taking. After a minute of chancing, Kael began examining his surroundings. He noticed a tall skyscraper in the distance, which was under construction, along with several closed-off buildings and fenced-off roads.
"Shit." Kael hissed. "He's trying to escape through the commercial district expansion."
Marcus's heart began pounding in his chest as he continued chasing the target. It was clear that this man had experienced, and was well-versed in evading capture.
As the chase continued, Marcus noticed that the area was becoming increasingly difficult to traverse, and less populated.
There were several signs that read "under construction" or "high visibility vest and hard hat required."
"Is this…."
Before Marcus could finish his thought, he noticed what looked to be a construction worker sitting between what seemed to be an unfinished office building and a parking garage.
The target noticed her as well, and reached into his pocket, pulling out a pistol and pointing it towards the woman. "Don't move bitch!" The target shouted as he reached the unexpected woman, yanking her up by the neck and holding her out in front of him.
The woman was shocked, her eyes wide as she breathed heavily.
Marcus paused in his tracks, kicking up the dirt and dust of the unfinished paths.
Kael had arrived on the scene seconds later, skidding to a halt as he looked at the target holding the woman at gunpoint.
"Hands up!" The target shouted as he held the gun to the woman's head, "or I'll blow this bitch's brain all on this fucking pavement."
Kael slowly raised his hands, looking over at Marcus with a blank expression.
Marcus's expression was of slight confusion, yet he raised his hands as well.
They had trapped the target, but it seems they trapped an innocent woman as well, and inadvertently themselves.
The target had beads of sweat running down his forehead as he glanced from Kael to Marcus. "I know who y'all are." The target said frustratedly, "But I also know y'all don't go after small fry like me, so what's with the switch up!" He shouted angrily.