#hand0fgod

Bringing a knife to a gun fight was never the intelligent thing to do but in Adrian’s defence, this wasn’t supposed to end like this. It was a meeting that had been set weeks ago, Adrian going over the docks for a special shipment. He wasn’t the one who usually oversaw these things, at least not in recent years, but this one was special. And apparently, it was a set up, which suddenly explained the insistence from the other party at having Adrian there. He was rising through the ranks, started at the lowest rank and making his way to one of the most trusted in the organization. No one said it out loud, but he had replaced, if only in an unofficial way, the second-in-command who had been there for years. The other had been lacking for some time, enjoying more the tittle than the actions. It was surprising, really, how Adrian hadn’t seen this coming. There was no doubts that he wasn’t supposed to get out of here alive, the only way he did had been by killing the first man he saw and taking his gun. Being an excellent shot, it wasn’t too long before the others were injured, or worse, dead, and this would be a cleanup that would cause a hell of a headache. But it was not something he could do on his own, a quick text sent directly to the head of the organization as he clenched his side, blood quickly oozing from it. With the mess that he was leaving behind, there was no way he could go to an hospital. Adrian needed fixing and fast and the only person he could think about was Karim, his only regret in life. If the man was to die tonight, he would do it by the man he loved and it was without thinking that he ended at his doorstep. “Karim, it’s me, Adrian,” he said as he knocked on the door, holding himself on the frame. “I need your help.” His voice was pleading, the other’s words still echoing in his mind, the way he had told Adrian to never come back here again.

Disbelief prompted Liam run his hand over his face, pausing to cover his mouth and prevent a shaky breath from turning loud gasp. Following his gaze which had wandered from the derelict walls to the ceiling he raised his phone to snap a picture, then dialling a number he had not dared to call in way too long.

“Bloody ‘ell, pick up the damned phone,” he murmured, a sense of urgency tinting his voice. When finally someone did answer the phone though, Liam froze for a second, internally debating whether or not to end the call just here. He did not. And the other better did not either. “Don’t hang up,” he was pleading, “It’s me, Liam. I... I know I shouldn’t call but there’s somming ye need to see.”

    Sometimes the best approach is a direct one. After shadowing this person for some days now he’d determined a public approach could be better than a private one. He wanted this to go as smoothly as possible and if he could prevent a scene from being made he would. 

    His eyes followed the persons actions from across the room. Muscles coiling when they finally raised their head to look around. Locking eyes for only a second that was when he made his move. Crossing the room and taking a seat in the chair across from them before any sort of objection could be made, Peder leaned in with a flash of a grin. Creating what seemed to be a friendly, welcoming disposition. Though it was all a farce, behind his cold eyes was business and he was going to jump right to the point.

    “We’ve never met, pretend we have-” He quietly explained, jumping to the point,  “A few days ago an acquaintance of yours gave you something of unmarked value? This item was stolen and could be a threat to your well being.”

"It'll never be enough." Chaerin panted as she finally heard the other's voice. It was like she had been in a trance of pure rage, only seeing red. "What he did to me..." She trailed off as she fought the urge to hit the man now curled up on the ground. "He'll do to someone else, shouldn't I put an end to him?" Chaerin stopped as she caught the other woman's gaze. Her eyebrows raised in silent, challenging question. She knew Kazane was right, she knew they had to leave unless Chaerin wanted to end up booked tonight. It caused her to scream out of frustration, hands tugged at her hair before she finally could hear Kazane's words. She knew they had to leave. Chaerin let out a final annoyed huff before she grabbed for the other woman's wrist and let her fingers slide around it.

--

“Chaerin, you can’t.” Her mouth had felt a little dry the moment those words spilled from the woman’s lips - what he did to me. Horrible, dark images were already flashing through the corporal’s mind, even if she didn’t know the details behind Chaerin’s hate for the man. It wasn’t only because she was a police officer that she had to pull her back from pummeling the man to death. She couldn’t bare to see someone she cared about lose her humanity to rage. Chaerin’s cold anger, like the flame that had turned cobalt in its intensity, were met by the gleaming plea in Kazane’s eyes. 

There was nothing in this world that pissed her off than the word kill. In their world, it was common. Most people didn’t really cared about any kind of life, they were criminals, and the easiest way to get someone off of your track would be to end their life. Azure wasn’t particularly raised in this environment. Just plucked as a little girl because her grades were good and she lived in a shitty apartment in the bronx. It was a promise to her single mother who struggled to put food on the table. Trade her daughter who would be well taken care of and she wouldn’t have to overburden herself. It wasn’t the trauma that Azure really minded because she had a gut feeling that her mother was near ditching her at that point anyways. Rather, it was the influence of the brief moments with her grandmother that she remembered. She always made it a point that life was rough and every life was important. Being a pacifist in this lifestyle had almost gotten her killed more times than she could count. She couldn’t the softness inside of her who actually saw a person when she looked at them, even during a fight or an argument. She wasn’t afraid to use self defense, but she only ever brought fists to a gun fight. That’s what caused the nasty gash in the first place. ❝ No, Elijah— You can’t just fucking kill people just because they hurt me. ❞ Her words were stern. It was rare for her to get anything other than mellowness, so she was obviously trying to make a point.  ❝ You can’t just kill anyone because they don’t listen to you or do what you want. Or hell, hurt people you care about. They’re still people, regardless of how horrible they are, and really the only people who deserve that shit are monsters. And lets be honest, none of us are dealing with monsters. Just people who don’t do things that we do, or partner with other people. You have to remember that people are people sometimes. You’re dehumanizing them when you say shit like that, and I don’t like it, Eli. It’s not good. ❞

@hand0fgod

How could he deny such a request when spoken so sweetly? Behind the heavy doors of the king's chambers, the powerful and wise ruler gave way to this endearing man who wanted to be spoiled a little longer. Eshu would not hold back from indulging him at these times - besides, it was in his nature to do so. Only a few hours ago, himself and an entourage of soldiers had returned from surveying the border of the kingdom. Eshu hadn't even had the opportunity to make himself more presentable after reporting to him officially, before being called to his room.