As Luna and Marcus continued their conversation, Kira entered.
She was dressed in tight gym shorts that accentuated her ass and hips, along with a long sleeve crop top that revealed her stomach.
Her hair was tied in a ponytail, she wore a confident expression.
"Nice." A guy whistled as he nudged the guy he was spotting.
"I thought women weren't allowed in?" One guy whispered to another.
"No, but it is strange to see her pick this gym over the women-only one." The other guy replied.
Marcus, completely oblivious to what was happening behind him, continued to talk with Luna as he walked on the treadmill. "But, just do what you think is right, ok?"
Luna didn't respond to Marcus, instead, her gaze was lasered in on Kira, who was now stepping on the treadmill to the right of Marcus. "…Luna?" Marcus asked worriedly.
Luna pointed to the right of Marcus.
With a raised eyebrow Marcus turned his attention to the right. As his eyes fell upon Kira they widened in surprise, but it quickly turned into annoyance. "What are you doing here?" Marcus whispered angrily.
Kira smiled as she began walking on the treadmill. "I wanted to exercise beside someone I trusted, you know, to protect me from any harassment." She answered, pointing back to the men who were still ogling her.
Marcus sighed as he followed her finger, looking back at the men. Upon noticing Marcus's gaze they quickly went back to their exercises.
Marcus wanted to tell Kira off right then and there, but he then realized this was the perfect time to talk to her about what she knew and what he wanted from her. "Alright then," Marcus said calmly.
"I've been meaning to talk to you in private since yesterday." He began, his tone is soft but stern.
Kira smiled. "Oh, what about?" She asked curiously.
Marcus sighed as he grabbed his water bottle. "About what you know." He said with a frown, screwing the top of his bottle. "I'm serious about you need to keep quiet about that because I wo–"
"I won't tell anyone, Marcus," Kira said with a sincere expression and tone. "I've been thinking about it, and I realized that you deserve to keep your secrets."
Marcus was slightly taken aback by how fast she agreed. He had been expecting a long conversation full of threats to keep her quiet.
"That's sudden," Marcus said while sipping from his water bottle.
Kira sighed. "I know, but I realize it must have been a lot to deal with." She then smiled at Marcus. "I can't imagine how complicated it would become if Kinsley knew as well, you'd be forced to keep talking about it instead of pushing it aside."
Marcus raised an eyebrow as he found himself nodding along with Kira. "Yes, exactly that." He said in disbelief of how perfectly she put it in words.
Had she finally come to her senses, Marcus wondered.
Kira smiled. "I also wanted to apologize to Marcus, for how I've been treating you." She then gestured towards her head. "I'm a bit of an airhead and in my infinite wisdom, I thought that if I forced my feelings onto you physically, you'd reciprocate that."
Marcus nodded, he had been also wanting to talk to Kira about that as well. "Yeah, that's not going to work, Kinsley, and are a thing now." He said sternly,
Kira nodded. "I get that, I really do Marcus." She replied with an apologetic tone. "You deserve to be happy with her, without me messing everything up."
Marcus nearly choked on his water at how fast Kira was ripping the words from his mouth. "what… who are you?" He asked half-jokingly between coughs.
Kira giggled as she smiled at Marcus. "I've been replaced by an Alien Marcus, oooooh."
Marcus couldn't help but chuckle at Kira's antics, he couldn't believe how understanding she had become. Maybe that threat from yesterday really did put her back in place.
Luna watched the two with an unreadable expression, she seemed neither happy nor sad.
"An alien huh?" Marcus asked curiously as he whipped his mouth. "But seriously, are you fucking with me?" Marcus asked as he leaned towards her.
Kira shook her head. "No, I'm serious Marcus, I want to be better, to both you and Kinsley." She said with a determined expression. "I want to start by being a better friend to you if I can still come around you that is."
Marcus paused for a moment, then hesitantly nodded.
He had only told Kira to stay away because he was tired of her forcing herself onto him. And because she knew far, far more than Kinsley knew about him.
But if Kira was serious about respecting his boundaries and she continued to act like this then maybe…
"Yeah, it's not fair for me to keep you from Kinsley and I know you and Luna are friends." Marcus said with a smile, "Just, stay out of my business and we'll be fine, alright?"
Kira nodded. "Yeah, I'll stay in my place." She said with a smile.
Marcus couldn't help but chuckle in disbelief. "Wow, I-I uhm, thanks I guess."
The rest of the time in the gym went by uneventfully, Marcus continued to follow the plan Blake had laid out for him while Kira and Luna followed.
Marcus kept his guard up the entire time, watching her for any deceit or anything suspicious.
Her character seemed to change drastically and it seemed almost too convenient, but true to her word, Kira kept a certain distance from Marcus.
She would help if he needed it, and he would do the same for her.
Whenever they got too close, Kira was the first to step away, and if the help would prove to be too intimate Kira would ask for help from someone else.
By the time Marcus was done and was preparing to meet Kinsley at her practice, Marcus decided to give Kira the benefit of the doubt.
As the trio walked out of the gym, Kira tapped Marcus's shoulder. "Hmm?" Marcus curiously looked down at her. "What's up?"
Kira smiled. "I had fun today Marcus, can we do this again tomorrow?" She asked curiously.
Marcus nodded. "Yeah, I don't see why not." He then gestured towards Kinsley's practice field. "Are you coming to pick up Kinsley with us?"
Kira shook her head. "No, I don't want to be a bother." She answered with a sigh, "I'll see you later." She said with a wave as she split paths with Marcus.
Marcus waved back. "See ya."
As Marcus watched her leave, the growing sense of dread he had earlier seemed to recede just a bit. "What do you think?" Marcus asked Luna.
"I think she's changed," Luna answered as she squeezed her grasp on Marcus's hand. "Do you like the new Kira?" She asked.
Marcus shrugged. "I don't know, I never hated the old Kira." He answered. "I mean, I didn't like how persistent she was, but when she kissed or touched me I never hated it, I just… I know she's trouble for me." He answered. "Kira isn't safe like Kinsley is."
Luna nodded. "But if you weren't an officer, and you could freely pick between the two, who would you choose?"
Marcus signed as he continued walking with Luna. "It depends on when you're talking about, if it was when I first met them, then obviously it would be Kinsley."
"But who would you choose now?" Luna asked.
Marcus frowned, his expression perplexed. "Will you keep this conversation secret from Kinsley?" He asked.
Luna nodded. "Yes."
"It would be Kira, by a long shot."
Luna's eyes widened at his admission, her gaze lingering on the man who walked beside her. "You're serious?" She asked, quickly masking her shock.
Marcus quietly nodded. Scratching his chin, he turned his attention towards Luna. "But this is just a hypothetical, right?"
"Of course," Luna replied.
It wasn't long before the duo reached the practice pitch, where Kinsley and her teammates were making their way out of the locker room.
Upon seeing Marcus and Luna, Kinsely smiled. "Hey you two, how was the gym?" She asked, her forehead beaded with sweat along with her clothes.
Marcus smiled. "It went well, Blake give me some tips and pointers, and allow for a productive workout."
"Who's Blake?" Kinsley asked curiously, reaching for Marcus' free hand.
"A guy I met yesterday at the gym, he's a nice guy, even gave me a routine I can keep following when I'm back to working."
Kinsley smiled as she began leading Marcus to her dorm. "Good, I'm glad you're making more friends, especially some who are guys."
Marcus chuckled. "Hey, you never know Blake might be interested in me." He teased.
Kinsley gave Marcus a knowing look. "Yeah, but with how you keep grabbing my goods, I doubt you are gay, highly unlikely, in fact, I'll bet my house."
Marcus chuckled. "Alright, alright, let's all jump the pervert."
Luna giggled at Marcus' joke, causing him to smirk. "What are you laughing about?" Marcus asked.
"Nothing," Luna replied with a smile. "Well, I do find it funny how perverted you're becoming, or maybe you were always this way, and just didn't have any women."
"Damn," Marcus replied with a chuckle.
Kinsley cackled.
— — —
As the trio made their way back to Kinsley's dorm to prepare for their afternoon date, Kira met up with Cora to discuss their plans.
"So far things have progressed smoothly," Kira said with confidence in her smile. "My intuition was right, Marcus opens up like a book if you don't challenge him."
Cora nodded, tapping and finger on a hardcover journal she had in her lap. "Ugh, so he's just controlling, isn't he?"
Kira nodded as she sat on her bed. "In a way, yes." She answered with a nod. "But it isn't the manipulative kind of controlling, it's more sophisticated than that."
"Explain."
Kira sighed as she crossed her legs. "Marcus wants to keep everything about him secret." She began, "It's easy to draw information out of him if you push him enough, whether it's sexual, emotional, or physical."
"Okay…."
"But by default, he's reserved about his personal life, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to keep it that way." Kira said as she twirled her finger, "he's wary of me because I know how he operates, and I got a lot of information on him, but as long as I stay quiet, he plays nice."
Cora nodded. "I understand that, but we're trying to get him to cheat with you, how can you do that if you're obeying his every command like…. a dog?"
Kira smirked. "I didn't understand Marcus at first, I thought by pushing the issue he'd fold, but no Marcus is like that saying about the frog and the boiling water."
Cora raised an eyebrow. "Frog and water?"
"If you place a frog in boiling water, it would jump out immediately." She explained, "But if that water starts cold, and you slowly raise it to a boil, it'll stay until it's too late."
Cora's eyes widened in realization. "T-that's genius!" She said with an impressed smile. "So is that what you're doing, slowly warming him up until it's too late?"
Kira nodded: "Precisely." Kira said with a giggle. "Marcus had already confirmed he finds me desirable, but he's cautious and stubborn. I need to form a connection with him, one that I can exploit, all under the illusion of him controlling me and not the other way around."
Cora smirked as she pointed a finger a Kira. "You're a dangerous girl, it almost makes me feel sorry for Marcus." She said with a sigh. "Almost."
Kira nodded as she crossed her arms. "While we're on the topic of Kinsley, I've been wondering, what is your ideal man for her?"
Cora sighed as looked up towards the ceiling. "Someone like Felix, he was perfect." She said with a faint smile. "He was nice, caring, considerate of others, and even when you threw me under the bus to isolate Marcus, he treated me well."
Kira smirked. "I think you just have a crush on Felix."
"I do not!" Cora said defensively, her cheeks flushed pink. "But he's a good man." She murmured, "Better than Marcus and all his emotional baggage."
Kira nodded. "I agree, Felix is the safer option out of the two, not to mention he isn't bad on the eyes." She said with a smirk. "He's tasteful, intelligent, and smooth when it comes to deflection." Kira then sighed. "But what turned me off about him, is that he's practically perfect."
Cora widened her eyes in disbelief. "Are you seriously saying that you would give up Felix, a man who practically had everything figured out, for Marcus?"
Kira giggled. "I know it's stupid, but Marcus feels real, his reactions, his anger, his unpredictability, it's all so fun to watch." She answered, "Not to mention that he's obviously hurting, I can't help but feel sympathy for him."
Cora shook her head in disbelief. "Well, you're better than me because I'd have Marcus turned over to that government if I wasn't afraid of getting silenced by his 'organization'."
Kira giggled. "Well, I plan on digging further into his organization after I seduce him." She replied, "There's a lot he didn't tell us, and even more that not even he knows."
Cora shrugged. "Sure, but I don't want anything more to do with that mess." She then sighed. "So what's next?"