Earth Mars Love (The Marsikons)

Chapter 38

For the whole night, Marcus tossed and turned, exhaling loudly from time to time. For that, he got smacked with a pillow from Darius first and then Kos. Eventually, he got up before anyone else and made a video call to his father. King Robert was in his sixties in earthly years, but he looked no more than forty. He looked more like Marcus' older brother, and he smiled warmly when he saw Marcus' face on vi-com.

"Son, finally! We've started to get worried, especially when we saw the news from Washington. What happened?"

Marcus told them about Wisel and Melissa, how she deceived Kosmas, and how they stole their work. This battle they'd won, but from now on they must keep even a closer eye on the Martian's side of Mars. If they had that amount of plastic, they'd be able to raid Earth at any time.

He told him about the agreement for plastic and what other issues they discussed with the President. Marcus's heart was heavy when he told his father about returning. He still yearned to be with Regina, but he couldn't find a way to make it happen, and he couldn't ask his father for advice. He thought, he won't understand him, and it will make a breach in their relationship.

Father listened to him carefully, and Marcus saw a respectful and satisfying look on his face.

"I'm proud of you, son! And please forgive me for my reluctance to send you to Earth. As I see, that without you, things would have turned out bad for Marsikons and for Earthlings too."

"No, father, Earthlings are as brave as we are, and if not for the Senator and his daughter, we wouldn't have this agreement." Marcus' heart skipped a beat when he mentioned her. If not for her, they would've never completed their mission.

"Come home, son. And as soon as you're here, we'll prepare for your coronation. You're our savior, you're our future. Without you, Mars would die." Father said like he was aware of his reluctance to go back.

He ended the connection and sat for a long time thinking. If only he had a brother, real blood brother, who would step on the throne and spare him this fate. But duty calls, as they say on Earth, and all that... things. No. Shit. He smirked under his breath, of the absurdness of it. It was his second time when he thought a foul word.

His head again was pulsing.

Regina.

Fuel.

Trip to Mars.

Coronation.

Life in misery.

Shit.

He liked that word. It summed up his situation to perfection.

***

After breakfast, everybody went to the private airport to fly to LA, where a container with plastic was waiting for them. Arthur and Belinda thanked Marsikons profusely and welcomed them back any time, preferably very soon. Clare shook their hands, and when it was Darius' turn, he pulled her in a bear hug, so her feet were dangling in the air. She yelped, and when he released her, she sent a stare full of daggers at him, but at the same time, she was blushing. Interesting.

But there wasn't any sign of Regina. In the morning, Kos had told Marcus that she said to him and Darius goodbye, while Marcus was not in the vicinity, and she was sorry, that she couldn't make it to the airport, because she had to run to the meeting with the Boss.

Kos' brow furrowed, "Did she said goodbye to you, Marcus?"

His gut caved in like he'd been punched. "Yes, we had our farewell yesterday. You not need to worry, Kos."

Kos wanted to say something more, but Marcus turned around, and with familiar aloofness went to the waiting car.

Through the six-hour flight, Marcus hadn't said a word. Darius with Kos didn't bother him with anything, likely feeling that he needed some privacy.

Then they quickly made a fuel, all the while Darius was filming the procedure, and sent it to Regina. They'd left the NucliBeam to one of the trusted agents from ROTOR, so it could be later used for fuel transition on Earth.

The black SUV with tinted windows was driving Marsikons to the beach, where they'd left the ship. All fuel was packed in containers in a truck, which was going right behind them.

Suddenly Darius hit his leg, "Hey, look at them. The ripped shorts are really a fashion here." He was pointing with his finger at women who were walking along the street. Indeed, many of them were in ripped shorts. Hearing it, Marcus' heart bled harder because it reminded him of Regina. The vast hollow emptiness spread inside like the vital part was ripped from him and crushed.

"Marcus are you okay?" Kos looked at him with concern.

"I will be." Marcus continued to stare at the invisible point in front of him, feeling numb. His mind was blank, he was drained emotionally and all he wanted to do, was to get home as fast as possible. Oh, the irony.

When they arrived at their destination, all they saw were a sandy beach and blue water. The ocean. It was the first time when they properly saw it in the light of the day.

Darius and Kos got out of the car and ran into the water like little boys, discarding their clothes on the way.

They were laughing when they hit it, and a big wave washed over them.

Marcus squinted in the sun, and the shadow of a smile tugged the corner of his lips. He would give up anything just to feel the pure joy of feeling the big water on his skin. He wished that Regina would be here with him sharing that joy.

Stop. You need to stop thinking of her.

She chose her path, without him in it. His aching heart felt sorry for her. And for himself.

He undressed and ran to his brothers, thinking that maybe water would wash away some of his grief. They swam and splashed like children, despite the cold water, and drivers who were driving them waited patiently on the shore, smiling.

Marcus didn't want to go out, but he had to. After almost an hour of swimming, he turned off a cloaking system on the ship. Drivers gasped looking at their bird, and Marsikons invited them to see inside the ship, while they were helping to transport the fuel with the boat.

Everything was done, and they were ready to go.

"You should navigate very, very carefully, or we would end up in the brightest fireworks ever known," Darius said optimistically.

He and Kos grunted, not replying anything, as not to jinx their trip.

Marcus turned on the engines, put on a cloaking system, and slowly started to ascend.

Would Regina ever think of him again?

Because despite himself, he would think of her.

Every time he breathed.