It was Zachariah’s hope that this mission would succeed. It had concerned him how quickly Ivan ended their call but he trusted the man, as he always had, and took his word that he would keep things under control to the best of his ability. As he stared at the wall, chin resting on the back of his hands, there was a weary look on his eyed. He was praying for everyone to be successful, no matter what happened, and he hoped that Ivan would be able to keep everyone together. There was a lot at stake here and he was exhausted. Was he asking too much of them? For years, he has always sent them on rough missions, when they were not doing something personal, and he has always set the bar pretty high because of the image he wanted to maintain. Not just that, he wanted them to unleash their full potential.<br/><br/>Sighing heavily, he leaned back in his char, crossed his arms over his chest, and gazed at the lights on the ceiling. Azrai was his major concern. The man clearly was not acting like himself, and he could not help but be concerned. Has he reached his breaking point with this mission or was there something else bothering him that he was unwilling to share with the others? If there was something he hoped he would find a way to get it out of his system before he slipped again. As much as he wanted to believe the man could keep himself in check, and that Ivan would make sure he didn’t do anything too restless, he was very worried that he might actually do something stupid. He knew how reckless the man got when it came to people he cared about; he had a one-track mind and was stubborn. But that was not always a good thing.<br/><br/>The best example of that would be when he went after the people who had harmed Cassandra. He lost himself there, hell-bent on finding them and did not stop until he had his revenge. The aftermath was not something he wanted to see again. Hell, he was sure that nobody who knew about it wanted to see that side of Azrai again and he hoped and prayed that side would not surface. Maybe things would smooth out, but sadly he was not confident that would happen. Who was to say he was not going to go down that path, unable to control himself, again? Now that Azrai had his aggression issues, Zachariah was even more wary. He was really going to have to keep his eye out now, and hope that he could do all he could to lift some weigh off of their shoulders before anything happened.<br/><br/>And his concerns all seemed to come true when he received that report from Ivan.<br/><br/>Zachariah stared hard at his phone as soon as he read the message. He ignored the incoming call from Alice, assuming it was going to be about the same thing, and let out a slow breath. His hands began to tremble a little and his jaw tensed. It was not often that Zachariah lost his cool. He was indeed a very calm and collected man, keeping a level head at all times. But today of all days, he was simply not in the mood. Perhaps in his own way he has reached his own breaking point and simply did not want this shit right now. Everything felt like it was crashing down on his shoulders no matter how hard he tried to hold it up.<br/><br/>He shook his head and ran a hand over his face while he leaned back in his chair. Not one person was to blame here; he was actually angry at all three of them for that incident. Ivan and Azrai especially, but he was mostly angry at Ivan for losing his cool like that when he was supposed to be keeping everyone together. Part of him wanted to throw his phone against the wall. If he did, he wouldn’t have to deal with it ringing off the hook. Holding it tight in his grasp, he instead decided to call Azrai himself. He was half way through the dial when he suddenly stopped. What use would there be contacting him while he was this worked up? The last thing anyone needed was their leader coming at them in a rage, chewing them all out tactlessly. So, he decided to simmer down a little before he made the call.<br/><br/>Would this day ever end? He was really placing all of his faith in God, knowing He would continue to watch them. What was His plan? Everything happens for a reason; Zachariah was sure God had something up his sleeves, and that was why today was so rough.<br/><br/>---------------------------------------<br/><br/>After consulting the map he had on his phone for some direction, as he did not know the area well despite having been here to visit Elias enough times, Azrai had found a liquor store a few blocks away from where the hospital was located. He decided to walk instead of flagging down a taxi or taking a bus for the same reason he had decided against heading to a bar. He didn’t want to deal with the public right now. Whenever he took the time to unwind, he just wanted to be alone. It never ended well whenever he would hit the bar in one of his mood where he needed to be left alone. Eight times out of ten, some shit would happen and he’d be told to leave. Eventually he learned his lesson and just kept to himself like he always did, without the company of others.<br/><br/>Once he left the liquor store, he immediately opened the bottle, taking some time with the cork, and took a few sips. His choice today was wine. This mission couldn’t really afford having him completely intoxicated out of his mind otherwise he would have gotten something that burned all the way down. He wasn’t sure if Canada had laws against drinking in public, outside of a bar or restaurant, and he didn’t want to find out. So he pushed the cork back down into the bottle as best he could to save the rest for later once he returned to the hotel. The city was still a little on edge after what happened and he did not want to be arrest and found out that he was associated with it because the bullets matched his gun. If Ivan had to bail him out, he was sure the Russian would tear his balls off.<br/><br/>He let out a sigh and shook the thought off. The whole point of this walk was to relax, not get even more worked up over shit.<br/><br/>As soon as he was in the hotel room, he sat on the bed, staring at his vague reflection in the darkness of the television screen. He drank down some more wine after fiddling with the cork again. Already he was feeling a lot better, having taken that walk and was now with alcohol in his hands. He really needed it. Setting the wine bottle on the desk, he decided to lie back on the bed. He let out a soft breath and relaxed as best as he could in spite of his wounds still being pretty sore. Now that he was warmer, he was noticing just how sore and hoped it wouldn’t really hinder him during the rest of this mission. This day had been rough, every part of him knew it was about to get rougher, and the mission was all he could think about no matter how hard he tried to place his thoughts elsewhere.<br/><br/>He really did have a one-track mind when it came to these things no matter what he happened to be doing. It became a little worse since his aggression issues started. Keeping it under control was proving difficult, but he had to relax. Everyone was going to be keeping a closer eye on him now and he could not afford to slip like that again. He was already upset with himself. The wine was helping, as it always did, but when it came time to face Zachariah he needed to keep a level head. He was usually good at that despite his impatience and stubbornness. However, when his pride was on like line, especially when he endangered himself like he had, things tended to get a little hectic. He would have to make sure that nothing like that happened again. Zachariah had faith in him, and so did Ivan and Elias, he knew that, and… he just could not afford to fall apart.<br/><br/>Ivan soon called him to let him know that they were heading to Elias’s apartment. He sat up slowly and immediately headed out so he was there when they arrived. As soon as he was outside, looking to flag down the nearest taxi, made a promise to himself, right there and then. He was going to just keep calm and continue this mission as if it were any old mission. Falling apart was not an option. Nobody needed to tell him twice, not Ivan, not Zachariah, not anyone. Not to mention he did not want to fall apart in front of Shizu especially. She had a positive image of him. He was sure that she trusted that he would get her out of this mess, and that he would be there for her no matter what. There was no way he wanted to ruin that image and prove to be incompetent.<br/><br/>He was almost to Elias’s place when his phone rang again. This time it was Zachariah calling him. There were two reasons why he’d be calling him, he thought: one, he could be contacting him about something important. Or he could be calling him about what had happened.  He had half a mind to ignore the call, sure that it was the latter. Ivan had probably spoken to him to keep him updated like he had been told. Why should he have to listen to someone else, even if it was their leader? Then again perhaps Zachariah’s calm words would help ease his mood a little. The man always seemed to know what to say in even the roughest times.<br/><br/>So he answered.<br/><br/>“Hello?”<br/><br/>“Azrai…” The way Zachariah responded told him he was not being greeted with his leader’s usual calm and gentle tone. Instead, Zachariah sounded displeased, very displeased and somewhat frustrated from the sound of things, giving him the feeling that this conversation was not going to end well. “Ivan has kept me up to date with everything that has been going on in this mission.” He supposed that was to be expected considering everything that happened back at the hospital.<br/><br/>“If you are concerned about me losing control like that again, it will not happen a second time, I assure you. I am perfectly capable of keeping myself under control.”<br/><br/>“Are you certain that it won’t? This mission is delicate--”<br/><br/>“I am well aware of that. I did not intend to cause trouble… It was an accident. I was not thinking.”<br/><br/>Zachariah sighed heavily. There was slight annoyance in his words, not appreciating being cut off like that. “I’m not saying it wasn’t an accident. You and I both know you’re not that kind of person, Azrai. But I have to be honest--”<br/><br/>Azrai clenched his jaw, letting out a breath of frustration. “With all due respect, I am not… in the mood to have someone preach to me.”<br/><br/>“That’s not my--”<br/><br/>“No.” Azrai raised his voice a little. This conversation was pointless. Did he call him to take his frustration out, or was there something else? It sure as hell felt like he had called him just to be a pain in the ass. But of course he wouldn’t dare say something like that, otherwise he knew this conversation was guaranteed not to end well. “Zachariah, I know what I did wrong. I will… apologize for my actions once everything settles down. For now I suggest that--”<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“Azriel!”</span>Zachariah’s sharp tone sent a chill down his spine. It was not often that their leader raised his voice, but when he did it was absolutely terrifying. Not to mention, from the way he spoke, he really should listen now… “You say you’re calmed down, that you can control yourself, but I cannot believe you when you won’t even listen to what I have to say.” There was a pause, as if Zachariah was expecting Azrai to say something or cut him off again. But he did not. Their leader had his full attention, and did not need to be told twice. “Now,” Zachariah continued, “I have half a mind to remove you from this mission right this second.”<br/><br/>Azrai remained silent. It was mostly out of obedience, but he also did not know how to respond to that without lashing out. He should have seen that coming, but it still hurt. All of that stress and frustration he had tried so hard to get rid of was slowly beginning to come back. He was right in front of Elias’s apartment now. He could just end the call if he wanted to, that way he wouldn’t have to listen… He was honestly convinced their leader just called him up to bitch. Because of this conversation, which he did not fucking need, his composure was beginning to crumble. But… somehow he knew Zachariah was right. The man was always right and sometimes it really did get under his skin when he went about things the way he usually did. He knew how to bring the best and the worst out of people, but he supposed that was what made him so great.<br/><br/>“I… I do not want to be removed from this mission.” He said finally.<br/><br/>“I’ve made up my mind. I’m sorry… I just don’t know about this one. I had my suspicions from the start, and if I keep getting proved right, I’m left with no choice.”<br/><br/>Bu this point, Azrai was starting to get fed up. He was trying to calm down, and yet his leader was being pushy about it. Out of everything that was probably the most annoying thing. “I have… already told you that I am perfectly capable of keeping myself under control.”<br/><br/>There was a sound of shuffling around, and then something being placed on a surface. “I’m going to call Maverick to take your place. If he answers his phone, and is able to accept being part of this mission, you’re to head back to Israel immediately.” Zachariah had pulled out another phone and placed the one he was using to speak to Azrai with on speaker.<br/><br/>At first, he was sure that Zachariah was not being serious. But he knew their leader better than that; the man was dead serious. There was the sound of dialing, and then ringing. Azrai felt somewhat confident that Maverick would not answer but his heart was still pounding in his chest. Whenever he was dealing with his own shit, he tended to vanish for awhile until whatever was going on got sorted out. From what he understood the man always shad something going on whether it was work or dealing with family issues or whatever. The man was never very open. But he was sure that he would not answer… hopefully he wouldn’t. He clenched his jaw. He was trembling with anticipation while so many things ran through his mind.<br/><br/>A sigh of relief left him when the phone went to voice mail.<br/><br/>“You’re lucky.” Zachariah said. “Keep in mind, if I hear from Ivan again about you losing control of your aggression, you will be removed without a second thought. That is all.”<br/><br/>The call was ended before Azrai could say anything else. Running a hand through his hair, he let out a groan and shoved his phone in his pocket, feeling a strong urge to actually go to Israel just to strangle Zachariah. All that had accomplished was getting him worked up again. He was going to need some more alcohol to calm him down again. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time. He was sure that Ivan and Elias were already working on looking for Shizu and he did not want to keep them waiting much longer. He knew Ivan was aware he was calming down, so he decided to use that to his advantage before he actually went inside.<br/><br/>He knocked on the door once to let them know it was him and entered.<br/><br/>Once he was where they had gathered, he ran a hand though his hair, “I apologize if I am late.” He murmured.  When he looked at Elias, he wondered if it was obvious how relieved he was to see him alive, and how guilty he felt for leaving Shizu behind. But that was not something he should think about right now. They would find her. He was even more determined now than ever before.<br/><br/>---------------------------------------<br/><br/>Levi had only been half paying attention to what Tyler was saying to him. But he did keep him in his thoughts, and let some of his words filter into everything that was running through his mind at the moment. There was a chance he would never truly trust Tyler. He trusted David, that man has been though Hell and back with him, he was the closest thing he had to a best friend, but not Tyler. There was just something about the mythologist that he didn’t like. Perhaps it was the way he carried himself; the man was submissive, and he usually liked submissive, but there was just something else that made him wary. Oh well. This would probably be the only time he would need Tyler’s assistance. Once they were done here, he was free to go and do whatever he was doing before David had called him here.<br/><br/>“You do that.” He waved his hand toward Tyler absently while he directed his thoughts right back to the Oni woman and everything that he wanted to go down. He was really curious to see what David would be able to find for them to use. If anything. Who knows what was in those closets… Levi really did not like cleaning, and didn’t if he didn’t have to so they were probably filled with old shit he never cared to look through. Oh well, if they had to make a run then so be it. This video was going to be great either way. He could almost picture how everything was going to go down. It was exciting. He was going to have so much fun with this. Maybe a little too much fun, and he was constantly telling himself to be careful, even though that probably would not work, he could hardly wait.<br/><br/>Oh, the mental images that flooded into Levi’s mind were glorious. He thought long and hard about what he wanted to do for the video even before David went to look for recording equipment. As he paced the room, he looked around to see if there was anything he could use to aid in roughing her up aside from his knife. Even with limited options, he would find a way to make due. In the end it would all be worth it. He needed this… he deserved this. He was going to make this video message a show that Azrai would never forget. Ever since he began living the way he did, torture had quickly become one of his favorite things. Physical, emotional, psychological… sexual, just to top it all off; it was all a good way for him to relieve stress. He was always so eager to put all of his skills to use.<br/><br/>Levi sat on the couch and took in a few deep breaths. Knowing he had to hold back was eating at him a little. He liked to go all out, do whatever he pleased to really get his victims worked up and terrified of him. It was sad he couldn’t do that right now. He was going to need to calm down, think of something else. Unfortunately he was not always someone who thought outside of the box despite being… well… someone who always seemed to be far, far away.<br/><br/>Once David returned, surprised that he actually found a camera, which he made known by saying, “Christ, how long has that been in there? Well, let’s just hope it works. As long as we have something to record with, I don’t care.”  Then he looked around the room again to see where things should be placed. He muttered to himself while he moved about, rambling on about the layout of the room and if things would need to be moved around. The common area was fairly large, about the size of the average living room, but to be honest he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do things out in the open like this.<br/><br/>Before answering David, he looked to Tyler again. “Alright, here’s how I want her. Her legs need to be bound to where she’s unable to walk, or move them very much. Likewise, her hands need to be bound behind her back. I also want her,” he paused briefly, his lips curling into a grin, “vulnerable. I don’t care how it’s done, as long as those things are accomplished.” Oh yeah, he was really getting into this. It was mostly to try to piss Azrai and his friends off even more and give them a reason to storm in here as soon as possible. He wasn’t sure how well it would work, but he was going to have fun with it. That was all that mattered to him. If he was having fun, Azrai could take a little longer to get here than he’d want as far as he was concerned.<br/><br/>Once Tyler was off to prepare the woman, he looked to David again. “I guess we can just set up here in this room. There isn’t enough lighting in any of the other rooms.” He gestured towards the window, which did allow the most light to come in and light up a majority of the room, to prove his point. This really was the most lit room in the hideout. Some of the windows in other rooms were boarded up, and he honestly did not feel like prying off the boards just to try to get some more light to come in. He gave a shrug, his mind returning to more important things. “If light isn’t an issue, I don’t mind keeping her in the room she is now. There might be less of a chance of her escaping if she gets loose, if we don’t drag her out here.”<br/><br/>Maybe he should trust Tyler a little more… Even Levi caught the wary edge in his own tone when he spoke the last part. It would help unify them a little more. Now that Hank was gone, he needed unity now more than ever. But losing Hank had really put him on edge, and trusting someone he has known for a few hours, who clearly was no Hank by any means, was simply out of the question. Even more than it had been before. He was also worried about David, in spite of how much he trusted him. What if he lost him today, too? He knew that David would gladly give his life for a mission, he was a loyal dog after all, but he did not want to lose any more men on this mission. Well, men he cared about anyway. As far as he was concerned Tyler still needed to earn his stripes.<br/><br/>This mission would make or break everything. It was thrilling. How long has it been since he felt such a rush? And it was more than just trust on the line.<br/><br/>“Oh, and since we have a moment to ourselves, there’s something I should discuss with you before the action starts.” Levi said suddenly, sounding a lot more calmed down either because his energy was already spent or he was simply trying to stay calm so he didn’t do anything stupid, pulling David off to the side to somewhere a little more private in case Tyler might be listening in. He stared at him for a minute, as if trying to decide how he wanted to go about what he wanted to say. When he finally found the words, he started off slowly, keeping his voice down for a change, “First off, I apologize for not saying anything before, but just listen to me. I promise this will all be worth it in the end.” There was a bit of a glint in his eye that suggested that he was up to no good.<br/><br/>“I told you before we came out here about Sanctus Unum, the fight in Israel, and the guy that tipped me off about the Oni woman in the first place, right?” He was sure that he had, but he was probably in… well… an energetic state of mind that was worse than this one. When that happened he was usually a lot more out there and he knew that David often tuned him out whenever he started to go a little off the rails so to speak. In a way, it pissed him off but he was also appreciative of it. He could ramble on for hours and David would just sit there and take it. It was hard to find people who were that accepting, if he could call it that. Most people thought he was too far off in his own little world, Hank included. But David stuck with him and had that ‘oh that’s just Levi’ demeanor.<br/><br/>That was why David meant so much to him. Maybe it was not exactly like that, but he could still appreciate it even if he didn’t really show it as often as he should. David was just… perfect. He was human, he fucked up every now and then, but Levi was not exactly a saint either.<br/><br/>Levi smiled a little, “If we hand the Oni woman over to the man who made this possible once we’re finished with her, we might be able to join the organization he works for.” His smile widened and he placed his hands on David’s shoulders. “Think about it. This could be a huge opportunity for us, my friend! I can see it now. We’ll have everything we could ever want! We deserve so much better than we have now.” For years, he, David, and the others they associated with have never been part of anything huge. They were their own group. This tended to cause a lot of problems whenever they had a run-in with someone who did belong to a larger group or organization. Needless to say, he was excited about finally being part of something even if it did hurt his pride being a lowly peon instead of a leader.<br/><br/>Of course, it was not like what they had now did not satisfy him. He simply felt that it was time for them to expand a little more.<br/><br/>On the other hand that didn’t mean he trusted that they would be recruited by that organization. There were a lot of shady people, and he knew better. He would never be used by anyone, or set his… friends… up to be used by anyone either. It was a vow he took when he formed his little group. No matter how rough things got, they watched out for each other. The look he gave David, hopefully, told him that he was not going back on his word just because some offer was given to him.