Everyone had their own demons. Mark had a habit of inheriting other people's demons, taking them onto himself to no benefit to the original carrier, like a disease. He scowled a bit, not looking as Josh received a message on his phone. He caught the body language in his peripheral vision though. The kid was twisting a bit, uncomfortable. No, it was something more than that. He was at war with himself, his heart battling with his heart of hearts.

Gee, that light over in the corner really was interesting, wasn't it? What he didn't need at all was to get his mind wrapped into an affair of the heart. He had never had those problems, but inheriting the problems would be something he didn't even want to begin to experience. He took a deep breath. His hands were sweating and starting to shake gently. He was running out of things to look at when the door of the elevator opened. Josh stepped out. Was he supposed to wave or...

The door closed.

Mark leaned his head back against the wall of the elevator, letting out am audible sigh, hands releasing one another as the elevator continued down to the underground garage. His hands stopped shaking before the door opened again and he moved out into the garage, moving quickly. Many of his students were still in the building, and there was a chance that they might not have gotten word that he was reassigned, or worse, they had and they had decided to ask him if they could tag along to accentuate their studies. The last thing he needed was a potential Butcher groupie. He sighed in relief as he reached his car, starting it quickly and getting out of the garage as soon as was legally possible, and was out on the road. Twenty minutes was it? He was home in five. He was greeted by a chorus of meows.

He set about assuring all of the cats that he wasn't going to be gone forever, all the while packing an overnight bag and putting foot in their bowls and calling his next door neighbor to come on over every day to give them food and water. He closed the door quickly behind him, quick enough to keep any of his kittens from escaping and moved back into his car, checking his watch on the way. He had ten minutes to get to the base. He broke... a handful of laws to get there in record time. He was challenged at the entrance, and he showed his badge to the guard," I'm expected," He said, cautiously avoiding eye contact with the guard.

Apparently Josh had gotten the message through. After only a cursory inspection of his badge, the guard waved, and the crossbar was lifted," They're waiting for you at hangar 14."

Great, Mark thought. Mommy issues, Hentai based fetishes, and a recent break up. He pushed the car into gear and moved forward.