Last Stop

[Nox]

They returned to Mexico City and it was late. Their day trip had ended and Nox sat in the safe house room working out the fastest route to collect the two caches his father had stashed around the city. The maps were easy enough to plot out, but it was still a mystery to Nox whether or not they were still intact. It didn't really matter. He supposed he could give the locations to Enrique and let him deal with it.

Dane might be happier then, but he really didn't have any means of contacting the other man other than meeting him at the airport. Nox glanced at his message and sighed. He'd been putting of calling Aria. He didn't want to know what trouble she'd gotten into. So he sent her a text. I'll be home in two days. I know about Ascendancy. Aria be careful. When we get back we need to talk about something too.

Nox's wallet beeped with a new message. "That was fast."
But when he read the message it wasn't from Aria. Just another hunter looking into the underground.

He looked her up in the database and found her record and started reading it, she had a cute picture and grinned as he sent his reply. Flirting came naturally, and it usually yielded better results not that he was looking for anything.

Nox went back to work and started nodding off when the next message came in. She was flirting right back. Nox sat up straight and returned a witty reply with information.

He flirted with her for several more replies and as she put it 'eager' to see her next comment. He hadn't flirted this much with a girl in a while. And she was flirting back just as eagerly. It was fun. And nice. He read Elyse's reports from her first few hunts with her parents to her solo missions. Everything the Atharim had on this girl he was reading. And he wondered if she thought to do the same about him, granted he wasn't nearly as cataloged as she was - being new to the Atharim as a whole and American at that.

Nox had hit send to his last comment and a stab of uncertainty welled in his gut, had he just made a date? Said he'd cook. Fuck! Maybe she'd take it as it was - a flirting conversation.

Nox's heart started to race as the conversation continued on. Personal information slipped from his fingers and he could have let it slide but he wanted her to know he wasn't all just some muscle guy wanting to kill things so he told her about his mom and dancing. She seemed to enjoy that and said she could sing.

Nox sighed as he looked at the time. He had to get up early if he wanted to get shit done before meeting Dane at the airport.

Slipping off into the bed that was rather comfortable for being in a basement safe house. Nox's thoughts drifted to the girl he now had a dinner and dancing date with after a hunt. What the fuck am I doing? I don't date.

Nox sent Aria another text. I'm so fucking screwed. See you soon. Nox wasn't sure how Aria would feel about Dane's return. Nox wasn't sure how he felt about it. The combination of those two in the came city much less the same timezone scared the crap out of him, but the temptation to wield his power unabashed with another godling as too strong.

As predicted Nox started awake from his nightmares a few hours later and started his morning routine.

The first cache was long gone, the dust on the locker floor hadn't been disturbed in a long time, there was even a dead carcass of a rat lying in one corner. It had been mostly guns, now stolen he could report them but really not a bother, this was Mexico.

The second however seemed to have accumulated gear. Nox took only the few pieces that were nostalgic to him. A high powered rifle his dad would use with a laser scope and a few other things he really had no idea how to use nor did he need now. But this was his dad's it was sentimental. The rest he left for whoever had commandeered the cache. It was all theirs.

Nox found the cheapest shipping company in Mexico and had all the gear properly stored and tagged. It was a three hour process and his Spanish sucked thankfully their english was far better. But his stuff would arrive at Aria's old apartment in three weeks.

The last thing Nox had to do before heading to the airport was to sign over the Jeep. Nox took the title out of the glove box and signed it over. He left it and the keys on the table in the safe room. Enrique would find it eventually.

Nox hefted his duffle bag over his shoulder and took a cab to the airport. He was so not looking forward to this flight. And he didn't really need Dane to pay for his ticket but he wasn't going to complain.

He waited in the lounge chairs facing the entrance to the airport. The warmth from the inside seeping out through the doors, but the cool breeze felt good against his damp skin. He was not looking forward to flying again, but he prayed this was the last one.