Glad to be home

An hour had passed since leaving the safe house, where Noah and the shadow had spent the night, and they had just arrived back into town after the chopper ride. Noah stepped out of the chopper, after thanking the pilot, and looking around as he took in a deep breath. He was feeling content that things seemed to be going to plan and above all, he was feeling glad to be home again. Although he hadn't been away for long, a lot had happened in that short amount of time, which made it feel like much more time had passed than it actually had. He had missed Laila and he wanted to go see how Steve was doing, and he wanted to fill them all in on what had happened since he had last given them an update.

When they landed, a cart was waiting for them by the landing strip to take him and the shadow back into the airport. They hopped in and the driver began driving towards the closest back entrance of the airport. Once they arrived at the crowded airport, they made their way to one of the main exits and said their goodbyes. They were each heading in a different direction from here, as Noah planned on heading to wherever Laila was at the moment and the shadow had to report back at the headquarters. Not only did she need to fill in her boss on what Max and Anthony had managed to do, she also wanted to find out what her boss himself had managed to discover after arriving at the police department by the border, where Harold was being kept.

She didn't plan on reporting the accomplishments made by the bodyguard, as she assumed that he would be telling their boss about that himself, if he hadn't done so already. Aside from the things she needed to report and inquire, she also wanted to go and see what else needed to be done as there wasn't much she could do for Noah at the moment to make herself useful to the situation. Because of this they had each arranged a ride for themselves, to take them to where they wanted to go from the airport.

Noah shook the shadow's hand as he said, "Thanks for all your help so far and let me know what your boss manages to find out about Harold's arrest, something beyond what we already know of course. I hope he manages to get him transferred here asap, so that we can try them all at the same time. If I manage to find out anything else that might be useful for your investigation, I'll let you know as well of course." The shadow nodded and they each went their way.

Once Noah was inside the car he had arranged to pick him up from the airport, he called Laila to let her know she had landed safely and to ask her where she currently was, so he could meet her there. Laila picked up almost immediately and answered his call with a cheerful voice. "Hi babe! Did you come back?" Noah replied with a wordless, 'Hm-m', before adding, "Yeah, I landed a few minutes ago. I am in the car now, heading over to you. Where are you now?" Laila answered by saying, "Well, I am actually at the house. I am helping Maria pack because she is going to be staying with Steve during his recovery. The hospital thought it was best to have him recover at his own home and I figured you didn't want him as a guest in our home for weeks in the first place."

The last part of that sentence she added with a chuckle and it was reciprocated with one as well by Noah, who said, "No, I do not. The days he has been there were plenty. I think it is time they continue their little romance in their own love nest instead of spreading it all over ours." Laila again chuckled and said, "You are lucky they aren't around to hear you, otherwise you would have ended up with a hurt friend and an angry Maria." Noah was surprised to hear this. Not because of what she had said about Steve and Maria being upset but about them not being around to hear him. So, he asked, "What do you mean? Where are they while you are packing for Maria?"

Laila replied and said, "They are still at the hospital. Although the doctor cleared him for discharge over an hour ago, they need to wait for someone to actually come and discharge him. They need to remove the IV, give him the medication he needs to use during his recovery, and give them the instructions on changing the bandages and cleaning the wounds. So, until then, they are stuck there. So, while they are waiting for Steve's discharge at the hospital to be formalized, I came back home to pack up Maria's clothes and everything."