Luca Bennett has spent years talking to thousands of aquarium guests. He can confidently explain the anatomy of a stingray to a crowd of fifty, calm screaming toddlers, charm grumpy parents, and answer every ocean question imaginable without missing a beat.
After leaving the military, Elias Mercer is still trying to figure out what civilian life is supposed to feel like. New York is louder than he remembers, lonelier too. He keeps to routines—early morning runs, quiet apartment, a private security job he barely cares about, and the same coffee shop he stops at every day because predictability feels safe.