He remained so quiet in the car that it actually did make the wheels spin inside Skye’s head. Not that she didn’t like the silence—in fact, it was a welcome change to the constant bantering between the other agents—but she rather wondered how she was supposed to wrap her head around him. If he wouldn’t talk, there was only one thing to do, so she accepted the silence and resorted to just carefully studying him as he drove the car across town. 

It was noticeable that he seemed to be on edge, but whether it was because he was new and reserved or whether it simply meant that he was actually trying to do his job, Skye struggled to see. She definitely hoped that it was the latter, but she had seen agents that upon first impression seemed thoughtful and actually capable of the job, and then, once it got down to business, either got too heated or grew stone cold. Both instances seemed to be especially common among mundanes, many of whom had rarely interacted with supernaturals, so she reminded herself to keep an extra watchful eye on him to discern any behaviour that indicated the possibility. 

So far, however, so good. 

As he parked the car, looked at her and broke the silence, Skye straightened her back to look around the area. It was a relatively run-down neighbourhood consisting of lonely, grim-covered houses with fenced-in yards. Having been near the area before, Skye knew that just a couple of blocks away, the houses turned more upscale and well-kept, most of them lacking the chipped paint and rusty fences seen on the street Skye and her new agent had just parked at.  

”[color=skyblue]All set[/color]”, she confirmed as she leaned her head to the side to get a better view out of the window. She gave a single nod. ”[color=skyblue]See that house over there? That’s it.[/color]”

Unless someone really paid attention to it, they probably wouldn’t notice that the house was any different from the other buildings lining the street. It was covered in the same white paint that had since long turned a weird gray, or possibly green colour caused by the dirt, lichen and algae amassed upon its surface. If, however, one paid close attention, one could see that the house seemed to lack any signs of someone actually living there. While its surrounding neighbours had plastic toys strewn across their lawns and cars parked on their driveways, that sole house had an overflowing mailbox and drawn curtains preventing any stranger from looking inside its windows. 

Skye looked at it with a suspicious gaze and doubted that their mission would prove successful. 

”[color=skyblue]Let’s go.[/color]”

Convinced that Stan didn’t need any more briefing—he probably remembered what they were there to do and was probably more annoyed than relieved by her concern—she grabbed her bag and strung it across her body before getting out of the car. Skye made sure to close the car door quietly, anxious that any noise might scare the old man away if he actually [i]was[/i] at home. 

Agent Humes seemed to be experienced enough to take his own initiatives, so this time, Skye didn’t even bother waiting for him to make sure he was alright. Instead, she headed straight to the closed fence. She’d offered, so he knew the deal. If he wanted to stop or ask her anything, all he needed to do was raise his voice. Still, there was that little nagging part inside of her that caused her to look across her shoulder and back at the new agent while she walked up to the house to make sure that he was following her. 

The flimsy gate to the fence gave off a piercing sound as she opened it, and she cringed slightly inside, but the rest of neighbourhood seemed to remain unaffected in its empty silence. Skye walked up the pathway leading to the tiny porch outside of the house and stepped carefully up in front of the door. She almost raised her hand to knock, but instead, as a last minute decision, she gestured for Stan to do it instead. Whether it was to be nice or to play with him was left to his interpretation.