As Clark drove away, a broad smile outlined his face. The past hour and thirty minutes were well spent to him, he had a chance to reunite with his old squad-mates and he also got the help that he wanted. He had to thank Captain Briggs for that. The fact that the captain didn’t tell them before now only made the sudden revelation that he was now a 3rd rank high-grade soldier more effective. Despite this fact, he was still surprised that every single one of them agreed to help him. He suspected that Captain Briggs did something behind his back, soldiers of their ranks were not so gullible. He sighed after deducing this, it seems that he already owed Captain Briggs a favor. Though this was done behind him, he still appreciated it. He loved results more than effort, that was his creed. Though seeing Warrant Officer Antonia’s grave dampened his mood a bit, he was able to recover pretty fast. Death was not a pleasant thing, but as ingrained in him d

Clark took public transport back to Vatican City. Since his parents’ death years ago, this was his first time entering a train. Because of a lot of coincidences that were induced by his special identity as a soldier, he hardly stays in the country. For the few times when he stayed, he always had other better modes of transportation. Casually activating his camouflage device before entering the train, he was able to make himself look like a gangster teenager, making the other passengers feel repulsed at his presence. In recent years, he hardly noticed it but he was now a celebrity. In Vatican City, he was practically the hero of every citizen. They looked up to him as a leader and as the one to give them comfort. He didn’t hate being treated and looked at like that, but experiencing repulse from people now became a new special experience to him. He basked in this feeling. By the time the train got filled with passengers and started moving, it w

“Arrange the tie to be a little tighter and to the right”. “Yes, ma”. The female fashion designer gave her apprentice instructions as they worked on Clark under Rose’s supervision. Though this was not her profession, as a trained assistant she knew a little about everything. The Spartan army did not spend so many years training her to be the assistant of a bigshot just to have skills that could be described as just so-so, she was the real deal. Clark who was under the expert hands of the 2 female designers was currently dressed in a black custom-made suit. After seeing him get custom-made weapons, Rose suggested that he start wearing custom-made clothes too to match his status as the sovereign of a city in the republic. In such a setting with a useful argument supporting her, Clark knew that he could not win any verbal argument so he just kept quiet and accepted. It may seem like Rose was imposing rules on him, but no. If they

“Yes, it’s me guys”. Though it was not a question that they asked, Clark felt it was right that he announced to them again that he was fine and well. Diana already told them that he survived and was back, but hearing it from his mouth was much more convincing. People could disguise his face, but they could not speak to them in the same way that they were familiar with. As soon as he spoke to them, he saw them fidgeting a bit, some of them even stealing glances at him which left him confused. At a moment, he even felt that he saw one of the female soldiers take a step forward to hug him. He didn’t know why, but seeing this made him feel goosebumps immediately. “Umm, where is Diana?” He tried to change the topic. “I’m here”. Clark was startled, turning his head to the side. There, he saw a projection slowly turning visible. It took only a few minutes before Diana’s projection stabilized, she turned and flashed them a smile. Seein

A few hours later, in the afternoon, both friends finally got back to Vatican City. They decided to come here as everyone was practically waiting for them here, including Leo’s wife. Detecting the car from afar, the electronically controlled gate opened after Clark drove close enough to it. Having received the signal of the gate opening already, Rose led her troupe of female companions down to meet the 2 mischievous men who left them unceremoniously the previous day. Leo brazed himself for the reprimanding words that would come his way soon, to Clark’s amazement, but to his shock, Kate said nothing to him after she came down with the other 2 ladies. “Umm, is something wrong?” Kate snorted. “You expected me to talk at you, right? I’m decent enough to recognize that you went out with your friend for a good cause”. “Oh, ok”. Leo nodded his head. “So, how was it?” Emily came forward and asked. “It was a pretty down-to-earth