Two pills go down with water to calm the nerves. Finally free from the meetings and the Admirality office. In a long enough timeframe even the highest rank becomes a prison. Time to share part of that prison. "Yeah. But for tonight, we're breaking free."
With the shirt kept loose and against any possible Navy regulation, Alan unclips his watch and leaves it behind in the apartment. Time didn't matter tonight. Elevator doors close as Alan zips up the old brown leather jacket. Looking down at his hands he's holding a necklace with a motorbike key that had been passed on to him. "Fucck.." Elevator doors ping. The garage level.
Sitting under a dust cover and a mountain of dust, the silhouette of a bike could be seen parked at the corner. Alan doesn't waste another second and pulls the cover off revealing the bike. Arclight-V 96 with enough power to it to make the world around you slow down. A lethal gift from a mercenary that saved his life, ironic in a sense. A reving sound, lights turn on and nothing to be left behind but a trail of smoke.
* * * * *
Reving slows down, as Alan parks the bike outside the residential megatower. He leans against it as he sends Rachel a message that he had just arrived and waiting for her to show up. He looks up at the top of the megatower, the penthouse on top is barely visible but the lights turning off. He looks back down on the bike keys.
"If your heart is filled with faith, then you can't fear."
The datapad vibrates and Rachel opens her eyes, she was staring at the ceiling, white like snow, peaceful she thought. The datapad vibrates again, more aggressively this time, as it lights the darkened room in a faint shade of blue emanating from the screen. "Alright already, fuck." Rachel had fallen asleep waiting on her couch, mostly dressed already, she groaned and wiped her hands over her face before grabbing the datapad and standing up.
"Lights, on!" She growled, in a voice honed by years of command experience as a military officer. The apartment lit up, bright white piercing the darkness. She walked across the main room glancing out the floor to ceiling window that lined one wall, the top of the Manhattan skyline with it's neon glow, looking back at her, she loved this city.
She kicked on a pair of short black synth-leather boots, almost military style, but clearly meant for fashion over practicality, ankle height with a small heel and none of the armor plating found on the real thing. She smiled slightly, turning to the mirror on the wall for a final fit check before heading out the door. For tonight she'd picked a navy blue knee length square top dress, with clean seams, a low back, and no shoulders, along with her black leather Naval Aviator jacket over top, a large white Star of Liberty emblazoned on the back. "Fuck yeah." she thought with a grin, stepping out of her apartment and into the elevator.
"It's gonna be nice to get out for once, and seeing Jones again?" She sighed softly. "That'll be good, too." She spoke quietly, thinking out loud. The Elevator doors closed and she leaned against the back wall as it began its rapid descent.