Marc hummed thoughtfully as he enjoyed the weather, adjusting his grip on his uniform under his arm. He was going to near to bring that back to London once this was all over. “And this one we’re going to, is that one you’ve been to before or do you just know where it is?” he wondered.
"Yes," Ariella nodded her head. "I have my usual routes memorized and this is one of them. I try to stick ti them but sometimes when I'm in a bind, I jump through the nearest portal. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't."
“That's good to know.” Marc admitted, looking around. “It's amazing how different some of these places are and how similar this one is. How many portals did you say we would have to go through?”
Ariella just smiled at his amazement. She remembered when she had been young and amazed by such things. Now she had known this life linger than a life without traveling. "To get you back home or to my safe house?"
Marc shrugged at the look she was giving him. He knew he looked and acted like a tourist but there wasn't much he could do about it. If it became necessary he could pretend, but he would still let Ariella take the lead. “Either one.” he admitted. “I am curious about all this but I have a job to get back to and a life.”
Ariella linked her arm with his. "Two more portals to get to our safe house location. As for Earth, it might take a few weeks. There aren't many portals to get to earth. Only to leave it. And I'm still technically a fugitive so I have a feeling we might run into trouble at some point."
Marc hummed as her answer only stirred up more questions about all this. But he decided not to ask them right now since he was probably bothering her enough as it was. “Will we be seeing your mates that were in the car with you?” he chose to ask instead, raising a brow at Ariella calling herself a fugitive.
Ariella knew he had more questions and she would try to answer them as best as she coukd. But there were still somethings that were a mystery to even her. "I hope we find them. And not just because we need to finish the job. I'd like to know they're alright."
“I can understand that.” he nodded. “I doubt a police stakeout sounds similar but if I was on a case with other officers, I would want to check on them too.” Marc admitted, thoughtfully.
"We did prepare for this. We designated a location to meet at in case of emergencies. I'd like to check it out soon and pray they're there." She didn't know what she would do if they weren't.
Marc nodded, understanding. “Well, if it's going to take weeks for me to get back, I don't see why we can't check for them.” he agreed, not minding the possible detour… if that's even what this was.
"I wouldn't want to keep you away from home any longer than necessary." Ariella already felt guilty enough at dragging him here with her. She didn't want to make him stay here with her. Or travel with her she supposed.
Marc shrugged nonchalantly. “Do you think it will add that much time to our travels?” he asked, knowing Ariella had much more experience with this but he didn't think it would take too long. At the very least, it would be interesting.
Ariella thought carefully before speaking. "It depends if we find them or not. And it depends on what condition we find them in. We're technically still on a job and we have a deadline. If it's not completed by a certain date, they hunt us all down."
Marc’s eyes widened at the possibility of Ariella being hunted. “Well, let's go to the safe house, then we can look for your mates.” he suggested, clearly willing to help her. It was part of the reason why he worked so hard to become an officer.
To Ariella, this was a typical Tuesday. She dappled in the more dangerous part of life. And she was so used to this that she didn't bat an eye at it. "Sounds like a plan. It doesn't mean that we still can't enjoy the way there. You're new to this. I want you to be able to look around and see everything."
“Thank you. I’d appreciate that.” Marc smiled, actually looking forward to getting seeing more of these worlds. His… admittedly geeky side was very interested in getting to see things that very many people back home would see or even believe in.
Ariella smiled back at him and nodded. "So now that you've got your coffee in you, how are you feeling? Want to shop around or ready for the next stop on our list?"
“Much better now.” Marc nodded, clearly looking more bright-eyed and awake than before. “Honestly, if we can spare the time, I wouldn't mind shopping a bit. At least for a bag to carry this in so I don't look stranger than I already do.” he chuckled as he gestured to the bundle of fabric that was his uniform that he was holding.
Ariella smirked at him. "I'm sure you have more uniforms at home. Or could have gotten issued another one. You didn't have to bring it with us." She shook her head in amusement. She already had a feeling in what his response would be. There were a few places that could look through on their way to the portal. This just meant they could take their time and be lazier about it.
Marc shook his head at her assumption. “All uniforms are provided by the department. And if we damage or lose one, we have to pay for it, except if or when we are injured or killed in the line of duty.” he explained, though his tone turned a bit somber at the end before giving a slight shrug as he pushed the thought away.
Ariella gave him a strange look, peering her head back as she held onto him. "You do know you're officially MIA now, right? I'm sure you could come up with an elaborate story as to how your uniform got ruined." She didn't know why she was trying. She knew her words were pointless. "I guess it's a good thing I like my men in uniforms anyways."
“I know that.” Marc chuckled. “But I was last seen in my uniform, I would like to bring it back if I can. Besides, I am already trying to come up with a story to explain why I am missing without ending up in an asylum.” he admitted with a teasingly raised brow. Though he laughed again at her last statement. “Even after all we’ve been through… I don't think we know each other well enough for you to call me ‘yours’.”
Ariella was curious as to what his cover story would be. But she also knew she wouldn't be there to help him with it. When they reached the portal for Earth, which would definitely not drop him off in England, he would go alone. She'd open up the portal and let him walk through it by himself. Then they would go their separate ways. "Hmm, not yet, at least. Just give it more time. They always fall in the end."
Marc hadn't quite thought of what his story was going to be but he was thinking of possibly using the incident at the hospital to lead into some kind of kidnapping and escape. Though it also would depend on how long he ended up being missing. And he hadn't even considered the possibility of the portal not opening in England.
He chuckled at Ariella’s cocky attitude and couldn't help rolling his eyes. “Well, we’ll see about that.”
Ariella giggled quietly next to him. She bumped his hip with her own and sent a wink his way. "Anyways, see anything worth shopping for? Or are you content to just look around." She didn't need anything, especially not here.
“Not yet.” he admitted, shrugging a little. “I really just want a bag or something for my stuff but I don't know where to look here anyways.” Marc reminded since he wasn't familiar with this place despite the similarities to Earth.
(So sorry this took so long. I've had a bunch of stuff going on at home and I really haven't had the time to respond.)
Ariella nodded her head. She stopped in front of the equivalent to a Walmart, only smaller. The prices were generally the same, even though it was different currency. "Do you want like a backpack or a satchel or something?"
(It's ok. I kinda figured something might have come up.)
Marc nodded gratefully as Ariella lead him inside. “Maybe a backpack. Just in case we end up needing to carry anything else.” he shrugged, looking around at the familiar items on the shelves. It was actually pretty nice to see some of these things after the strangeness of the whole situation. “I can pay you back for anything if they don't have an exchange for what I have.” he offered.
Ariella finally released him as they strolled inside. She was still sipping on her sugary blended Frappuccino. She was almost finished with it. She had about a fourth of the way to go. She nodded her head and led him to the backpack aisle. "Don't worry about it. I don't mind." Plus it technically wasn't her money.