collateral damage — IC

[viscera.]

SALEM H.

The fact that they were getting called into HQ meant one of two things: either they were getting a job, or someone had fucked up. Salem had his money on the former, but if he was going to be honest, the latter would have been more entertaining, more amusing. There was no point in getting his hopes up though. As gratifying as it would have been to see someone getting dragged through the dirt, the odds of that happening were low. They all did their jobs well, for one reason or another.

That however didn't nullify how much of a pain partnerships were. Solo runs were easy; you could pace yourself at your own time and pull of a hit with little fear of failure before moving on. They were simple, elementary even. Adding someone else to the mix just complicated things, but their director liked competition, and who was Salem to complain? He was trying to gain and keep brownie points after all, not lose them. They were all pawns in the same game anyway, might as well play along, but that was just another feature of the detached world he lived in: his sense of self-preservation was gone. It was hard to maintain a generalized fear of death and harm though, especially when it was the only thing he had to bring to the table.

Trivial information aside, the headquarters of the agency were silent and still, and Salem didn't waste any time as he made a beeline for the director's office. He'd just returned from a job in the heart of Jakarta not even three days ago, and it was obvious that he didn't want to be there, but marinating in his own self-pity was pointless. He couldn't be late, he wasn't going to be late. That was a sign of inconsistency, a label Salem would have rather avoided. It was all a competition after all. Every man for himself. They were all lone wolves looking to dominate and claim territories and build reputation. It was a vicious cycle, and even if Salem knew he was good, there would always be someone else specializing in his weaknesses. Favoritism was an easy way around that.

Fortunately, the office was empty by the time he reached it, and that made him preen. The lack of company was insignificant, and Salem didn't think twice before perching himself on the corner of the room's only desk. Standing or even sitting in an actual chair for that matter probably would have been more appropriate, but he couldn't bring himself to care about that. Instead, he just focused his eyes on the door and waited. The other agents would show up soon enough, and while Salem wasn't particularly thrilled to see any of them, it'd been awhile. If anything, he was curious.

@pines | @Kyatto | @MrCalcium | @King | @MrStoryTeller | @Alexstrasza

 

[pines]

North
return to HQ, they said. a pain if you asked him. farther out of the way then he'd have liked. ah well. his time in the rockies hunting a particularly skinny mark had proved significantly more boring then he'd anticipated. either dumb or poor the man had little to no guards and even with completely the job and killing every last one, he was still hungry. "you were a real pain you know? no meat on your bones at all." the ginger murmured, in a nearly reverent tone as he walked through the halls of the building he was meant to be in. so silent the only sound was the soft pat of boots on the ground and the quiet click of a sharpened bone used as a tooth pick.

rounding the nearest corner to the office, north tossed the head currently in his grasp onto a table, skewering the bone into an eye as he went, slowly licking at the traces of red on his fingers. what was the point of coming in again? he was hungry again.

pulling the door open with a discolored hand, a song brow raised as he took in the single occupant of the room. ah. tongue gliding over he sharpened point of a new tooth, the man smiled, charming and sharp. he took a spot out of the way, closer perhaps to greed then he needed to be, he could have chosen a spot near the other side, but north wanted to see what would happen once everyone arrived.

letting his eyes sort through the room he tipped his head, fixated on a spot near the edge of the desk, where once upon a time he kneeled, starving. a pity he'd been booted out not a minute later. letting his eyes rove to the door, the sin of gluttony waited, eyes gleaming like a feral beast waits for its prey.

 

[MrCalcium]

Emma had been relaxing in her home in the Aspen mountains. She had been making space to take in some new pets next to her squirrels and was hard at work when she got a message to come in to the office. She sighed and wasn't feeling up for a new job but she decided to show her face anyways because she had to go out to get some more stuff for her preparations anyways. She walked to her living room and got one of her squirrels out, setting it on her shoulder where it curled up into her neck.

She went outside and locked her doors, taking a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. She was glad she had chosen to have a house built in this location. It was remote, quiet and had great places for outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing and even camping if she felt up to it. It was also a great place to bring her victims because no one could hear them screaming for help as she plunged a blade into them. She got into her car and let out a last sigh as she started it up and left to go towards the HQ.

When she arrived the first thing she did was stuff a knife at the sides of each of her boots and pulled her sweatpants down over the openings. She fixed her tank top which revealed most of her tattoos quite well as she got out, people staring at her rather rough appearance when she had such a tender face. She walked inside and went up to the doors of the director's office. She stood still at the closed doors and gripped the door handles. She banged her forehead against them four times before walking in and spotting Salem and North. She sat down at the right most spot and leaned back in the chair, her feet on the table as she looked over to Salem and North, giving them a bit of a forced smile while waving at them. At that moment her squirrel glided down onto her thighs, crawling around excitedly as she ran her fingers over its back every now and then.

 

[MrStoryTeller]

Pride

Eli was enjoying his glass of whiskey as he sat on the balcony of his penthouse suite. Enjoying at least, until his phone went off. He looked down at it to see there was a meeting for the Sins. He sighed as he took his last drink. Setting his glass down, Eli scooped up his phone, stuffed his Glock in its holder inside his jacket, and headed down to the garage. Now, normally Eli would drive himself where ever he was but when he was home, he would hire a driver to take him places. He felt no need to worry himself while he was in his home area.

As he rode to HQ, his mind began to wonder what this meeting was about. It was rare to get a Sin's meeting. They weren't called very often and when they were, it was to discuss a big job that needed all of them or several jobs that they had to be split up into. Eli sighed at the thought of working with his fellow Sins. They were all talented in their own ways and had good track records, the issue was, Eli just thought he was better than them all. They all had, interesting habits to say the least.

The driver rolled up to the building. Eli told him to wait here and exited the vehicle. As the elevator opened up to the top floor, Eli looked around. It was pretty quiet and bare. All the assassins must have been out on assignment or something. Making his way to the back of the room, he came up to the door to the boss's room. Composing himself, he pushed the door and entered. He was not the first one there, unfortunately. Salem, North, and Emma were already there, sitting and waiting. All of them were quiet as Eli entered the room. He took up a chair farthest away from Salem who was perched up on the desk in the corner. Such a strange little man.

 

[King]

HQ was one of Valentina's least favorite places, but at least it was a safe complex. Nobody was there was a threat, except for the new girl who flaunted the sin of lust. Just thinking about her made Valentina's glossy lips twitch.

Her stiletto's clicked against the white floor as she made her way to the directors room. Her eyes took in the typical American decorations, or lack of. As much as she liked to complain about the boring capitalist aesthetic that America loved to cling to, she still was wearing a gucci skirt and a pretty purple beret that was worth more than her life.

Finally entering the room full of her fellow sheep lead astray as if she owned it. Head held high, gum popped and her sunglassed eyes not bothering to look at any of the others at first. Instead of sitting, she leaned against the wall, half hoping they wouldn't be there that long. Through the grape vine, she had heard they were going back to group assignments, and she wasn't looking forward to it. Nobody in the room was someone she wanted to be co-workers with, but she could probably stomach one or two of them.

With a rather loud sigh, she looked over at the clock on the wall. Valentina was very impatient, and wouldn't wait around all day. As she adjusted her standing position, you could hear the teeth clicking together from inside her purse. With another pop of her gum, she rested her head against the wall, already feeling fidgety. It was clear this wasn't going to be a quick meeting; the director wouldn't have flown her in from Sochi if it was. Still, she stood slouched in the corner with hope she was wrong.

 

[Kattzillaa]

HOWL MORTERA
Howl's soft breathing filled the air of his room as he had finally managed to fall asleep. Dried blood coated his body in various spots while the sheets weren't even pulled over him displaying the exhaustion that nestled in his body. His room was a mess with blood painting the floor, equipment strewn to every corner, and articles of clothing piled inside a laundry basket. Normally this room would be spotlessly clean but today was not that day.

Howl would have gotten a whole day worth of sleep had his phone not gone off with its familiar 'ping' noise. Unfortunately, it came from within a pair of pants across the room. Howl growled and ignored it a bit while shuffling into another position. Another ping went off causing him to immediately roll off the bed. His brown eyes held a deadly kind of anger and oceans of exhaustion. His caramel hand dug around in the pocket before looking at the phone only to be blinded by the ridiculously bright screen which heightened his annoyance.

'Meeting at HQ'

It seemed the message was sent twice on accident much to the misfortune of him as he could have just ignored it but he was up now. He wasn't afraid of missing meetings for sleep. He stood there for a few minutes before heading to the bathroom to wet a rag. The dried blood was wiped off his whole body as a clean sweater and scarf adorned his upper body along with pants and boots. Howl wore the scent of blood like cologne and held a rather pissed of aura. His face didn't show anything; it was more of a deadly calm that threatened to boil over if someone even dared touch him. The mess of curls on his head followed behind as the key to his apartment locked the door. A bustling street awaited him but was soon left behind as Howl called a cab over. The city went by pretty past before stopping.

"You gonna pay?" The cab driver got cocky with him and slightly aggressive to which Howl responded with a dead look upon his face. He was definitely intimidating right now and ready to murder.

"No." He didn't even let the driver respond as he entered the familiar building. It was a pretty modern building but has a few touches of Victorian style in it. The inside was modern all the same though. The floors were white, pictures decorated the halls, and all in all, it wasn't too shabby looking. He navigated the halls until he came across his destination. Howl entered without care of knocking and barely took notice of Salem, North, and Eli. Emma did not go unnoticed but he didn't say anything directly to her, instead choosing to lean against the wall behind her. A smell of blood still wafted from him and probably would for a while. He buried his chin into the scarf while his dead eyes watched the room for any sudden moves.

 

[Pysren]

A L I T A

Great, a meeting. How entertaining it would be if someone had fucked up? Unlikely, but it happens. She wonders what kind of mission the Director had in mind and who she'd be with. Ugh, she hoped she wasn't with Valentina, or North or that matter. Those two are like a match made in Hell. What could the director want though? Curious.


Alita had just got done having a little fun and wanted a little more when she had got the message. So, of course, she was annoyed up the wall. "Don't go anywhere little one heh." She whispered in the darkness as she turned off the lights. She cleaned up well, it only took a couple of minutes. Alita made sure her blades were clean as well and stuck them in their sheaths on her thigh.


She lived in a nice large mansion type house, as far as she could away from HQ but with a nice beeline between them for speed if needed.


--


Not bothering to be quiet at all, she stomped her way through the hallway towards the meeting room. In the distance, she saw Howl go in through the door. She put a little pep in her step as she got closer to the door. Alita licked her lips before opening the door and walking. Scanning the room she mentally placed all their positions in her mind. She then took the spot opposite of Emma.

​

 

[viscera.]

SALEM H.

Waiting was always the worst part, and Salem's excruciating lack of patience didn't help. There were places that he genuinely wanted to be--places actually worth his time. This wasn't it, but unfortunately, bailing on a meeting meant missing out on a possible assignment, and whether he wanted to be there or not, money was money. He had a few... payments that he needed to shell out anyway.

Fortunately, the remaining six funneled in with relative ease after his arrival. First North-- how pleasant-- and then Emma and Eli... Valentina and Howl... and finally, Alita. That left them with a full house, seven out of seven, and even if Salem didn't exactly appreciate the unsettling atmosphere, he didn't want to spend the rest of his day there either. "You're all so tense," he finally sighed after one too many agonizing moments of silence. "Really kills the fuckin' mood." The same mood that had been ruined the second he realized he would be abandoning Reno for HQ, but that was aside from the point.

His train of thought fell short when the office door opened for an eighth time, forcing Salem to readjust his gaze. Ah, the man of the hour. It was about time.

Salem never really understood the fear factor that surrounded the director. Sure, he was a few levels above a prick and probably knew too much, but that wasn't anything special. Maybe Salem just wasn't reading into it enough, but the older man was seriously lacking in intimidation, save for at a superficial level. He looked fairly young for someone in their mid 40's, and his eyes were steel grey, like a silver blade that could cut through metal, or perhaps a storm waiting to wreak havoc. "Nice of you all to show up," the director sighed, voice low and gravelly and enough to make Salem's skin crawl. At most, his presence was uncomfortable. "Don't worry, you're not in any serious trouble, or at least not yet. I just have an offer, something to keep you busy for a few days." Salem wasn't sure why he always referred to jobs as 'requests' and 'offers'--there was no real leeway, and turning down a job wasn't exactly encouraged.

With the slightest air of disappointment, Salem relaxed once he realized no one was on the verge of being hung out to dry before listening to the director's continued spiel. "I have a job for all of you. It's important and needs to be taken care of." The lack of elaboration was enough to make Salem frown, but he could save that for later. "But like I said, it requires all of you. I can't just send out one or two agents, this assignment's too rigorous for that." And there it was, that was the kicker. Of course, there was always a catch. Jobs with two people were painful enough, let alone seven. "I don't have the time to explain, nor do I want to for that matter--I don't expect a 'no' either way. All of the information you need will be given to you before you leave the premises," the director lulled on, forcing Salem to grimace again. So it was that type of assignment? Definitely personal, he could hear the heartstrings being plucked from there, but that didn't make it any easier to process. The inability to decline was disconcerting, but again, none of them were in any position to speak out--no point when you were just a pawn in the grand scheme of things.

"That being said, try not to mess up." How encouraging, Salem always appreciated a solid pep talk.

 

[MrStoryTeller]

Sin of Pride

It had been a while since all the Sins were in the same room together. Eli was a bit shocked no one had tried to kill anyone yet. The four of us that were already in the room watched as the other three began to pour in. First was Valentina and she did not skip the entrance. The girl walked in dressed like she was going to the strip club. How she was able to work in the heels, Eli would never understand. Next up was Howl. He looked, tired. Like he hadn't sleep yet. Eli caught a whiff of something has Howl made his way over to a wall. It smelled like, blood? Howl must have just finished killing off someone before getting here or just hasn't taken a shower from whenever he had a job last. Last, but not least, Alita entered. You could always tell her apart from the rest as her hair was actually quite lovely to look at. She took up a spot across from Emma and began to look over the room. The Seven Deadly Sins were now all together. Eli thought to himself as he looked around the room, "Yay…"

The silence in the room was broken by the one and only, Salem. Eli thought of saying something to him but was cut off by the sound of the doors opening once more. Turning his head a bit, Eli looked to see the Director walking in and making his way to the front of the room. Once at the front, he began to speak. He reassured us that we weren't in trouble but I'm sure no one in the room was really worried about that. He went on to say that he had an assignment that needed all of us to complete for him. One of Eli's eyebrows raised. It was very rare for the Director to have a mission that required all of the Sins to complete. As quickly as he showed up, the Director was gone just as fast, saying his peace and then leaving like that. Eli stood from his seat and fastened his button on his suit jacket. Looking over the others, he smirked and turned on his heels, saying back to them as he left, "We can use my plane. It will take off tomorrow morning 10 am sharp and it will leave with or without whoever isn't on it." Eli grabbed the file on his way out from one of the Directors assistants and left the room without hearing an answer from his fellow sins.

On the way back to his place, Eli looked over the file. They were going to Russia it seemed. Got to kill Nikita Vasilev and here security group. Wipe some security files. Don't get caught. Kill any other guards that get in the way. The pay looked to be great for the mission. Seemed like a straight forward mission. He had heard of Nikita and her force but never looked to engage them. Guess they were more of a problem for the organization that he had figured. The thought of working with his fellow Sins still made him uneasy as some of them like to abandon the idea of a well thought out plan and instead, they will most likely walk straight into the place and trying cutting everyone. Eli pinched the bridge between his eyes and rubbed it. He already had a headache and he hadn't even begun working with them yet. "Oh boy."

 

[pines]

north
cold dark eyes peered at each individual that passed through the door, two bottomless black pools with a deadly red gleam. once everyone showed up he stretched, letting an almost bored yawn escape. hearing salem speak caused him to tip his head just enough to peer over at the sin of greed. with a small huff, north hummed a simple "what mood?" just as the director came in. being the first sin to exist within the organization, north had many experiences with the director, all of which left a particular image of the older man.

as the director spoke, with empty reassurances and a slightly tight bear grimace, north raised a simple brow. this smelt awfully like a personal job. he wonders momentarily why they were all sent to do it. he figured it had something to do with the the mission itself. the blantent warning of not saying no had north inhailing sharply in mild annoyance. there was only one reason the director would have to tell them that. letting his eyes move to settle on salem he pulled a lip back to run his tongue over a tooth. a million bucks said they were going to moscow. north barely payed any mind to the 'encouragement', they'd get the job done, the seven of them might even come out alive, if they don't kill each other first.

being more or less dismissed, north slipped his phone out of his pocket to send a quick message, he could get to moscow by tonight, he just needed a way to get weapons. lucky for him he did have contacts. pressing his tongue against the back of his teeth in a refrain from asking why of all people nikita. he'd rather go after the bratva father himself then that annoying piece of work. shooting the director a cold glare, the sin of gluttony made his way from the room, simply waving off pride's 'look at me i got a jet' attitude. flipping through the file, north skimmed over everything until his eyes settled on the 'you have exactly 7 days'. perhaps the spider didn't have the safety of her boss this time around.

moscow. god he really hoped it wasn't a repeat of last time.

 

[King]

As more and more people entered, Valentina kept up her tiny hissy fit. When the lust sin walked in, Valentina's eyes could have bore a hole through her glasses then into Alita's head. Unfortunately, she didn't have supernatural abilities, so she just turned away and made sure not to look back at her, despite the nagging ache of jealousy in her stomach.

When Salem opened his mouth to complain like usual, Valentina just scoffed. She would have argued just for the sake of arguing if the director didn't enter the room. The man was an elusive one, and Valentina didn't feel the urge to clear any of that mystery. He paid her good money to carry out her hobby and held a threat of evidence against her and her mothers case. That was all she needed to know. She finally took off her sunglasses and listened to the description of the task.

Valentina was on the back end of spacing out as she heard it was a group mission. She frowned, almost about to throw another hissy fit as the group disbanded. With an upset pout, she snatched the case file from the table and read it from the corner of the room.

The only redeeming quality of this mission was it's location. Not having to speak English was a bonus, and knowing the country's unforgiving climate, she felt much more comfortable. Of course, she dismissed Eli's offer for a ride. Val had been flying in her own private jet since she first joined the sins, and she knew many more private places to land closest to the target. Although, she didn't plan on going in alone.

Whilst Val was comfortable with many tasks, the idea of storming a group of highly trained security was intimidating. She did her best work undercover. Alas, she needed someone with a bit more physical strength. "See you fuckers at the motherland." She spoke with a heavy accent before following North's direction out of the room, her mind trying to decipher the best route to the task.

 

[Kattzillaa]

HOWL MORTERA
Everyone seemed to be in the room not that Howl noticed as he stared intently at a wall. He didn't seem all there mentally but he was there physically as his muscular body leaned against the wall. The mess of curls on his head was messier than usual as his mouth was hidden by the black scarf hugging his neck. By now he would have teased or played with someone just to piss them off. That was what he did on an average but today was not that day. He was deadly tired.

About an hour before he has just finished killing a target. It was bloody, proved by the scent of blood wafting off him, and he had fun ripping the victim apart with his bare hands. The metallic taste in his mouth made him excited as it stained his hair and clothes. The snapping of bones was all too alluring for him, but his anger made it worse as the rooms were decorated in layers of blood and bone. A shiver ran up his body at the mere thought of the kill, the thrill as he let the target run a bit. Hunting. It was hunting as horrible as normal people may think it was. Wild was better than domesticated, runners better than submissive.

His mind barely registered what Salem, Valentina, and Eli said and even the director. All he heard was Russia, Nikita Vasilev, Kill. He grabbed a folder none the less before leaving immediately. An annoyed growl echoed down the halls while he moved with a deadly aura and stance. Wrath was feeling... wrathful today.

 

[MrCalcium]

Emma was glad to see Howl had come for the meeting and gave him a quick glance back when he stood behind her. From his posture and the look in his eyes it was clear he was exhausted. She also smelled the clear scent of blood coming off him and knew she'd have to offer him a good day's rest at her place where it was more quiet and relaxed. However for now she watched the other sins pour in, waving at Alita when she sat across from her. Her squirrel in the meantime was walking around on her lap, looking over at all the people around it.

It took a while but then finally the director came into the office. She sighed expecting someone to be in trouble but was surprised to hear he had a mission that needed all seven of them. She absolutely HATED working together with everyone because there would always be some kind of conflict due to how vastly different every person in this room was. She listened to the director explain about their task in a very simple and brief way and offered them a folder with the details. She took one of the folders but just didn't bother to look at it until she got home. She left right away to make sure she was outside before anyone else so she could avoid them.

She walked over to her car, a black Ram 1500 which was quite a big car for such a small woman, and pulled up in front of the entrance. She saw Howl and rolled her window down, pointing at the passengers seat. "You look absolutely fucking dead you know that? And you reek of blood. Get your ass in and come to my place, you'll have a nicer place to sleep than this depressing city. She unlocked the doors and waited for him to accept or decline.

 

[Pysren]

A L I T A

Alita was getting ready to retort when the Director walked in. She kept her mouth shut and glued her eyes on him. Well.. at least most of her attention was on him. Even with him in there she didn't quite trust the other sins to keep... 'their cool' and not do something stupid. She simply crossed her legs and leaned back in her seat, in a relaxed position.

She listened as the Director spoke about the mission in the shortest way possible. And she caught that it was pretty personal. Something she rather not have to deal with. Perhaps the Director knew some of them didn't want to so he told them there was no backing out. Well, at least it'll be fun to see so much killing, to say the least. The rest well... annoying as it may be. Group effort may be absolutely necessary. Which she was sure no one was keen on doing, herself included.

Internally she rolled her eyes and hoped no one would fuck it up. She watched as Salem, Eli, North, Valentina, and Howl grabbed their folders and walked out. Alita grabbed hers and skimmed through it a bit before walking out after Howl.

 

[viscera.]

SALEM H.

Realistically, Salem should have known better than to think that this mission would be something worth his time. Of course it wasn't, shit like this never was, and he knew better than to think otherwise. Still, out of every city possible, Moscow had to be the one. Maybe that was why it'd been drilled into their heads that saying 'no' wasn't an option for this mission. Realistically, there was more to it than that, but Salem hadn't had the time to interrogate the director like usual. Sneaky bastard managed to weasel his way out before Salem could stop him. Typical.

The second he landed in Moscow-- he didn't need to fly with anyone, he had connections for a reason and better things to waste his money on than a private plane-- he felt an overwhelming sense of dread. In his humble defense though, his last visit hadn't gone over very well; was arguably the worst assignment he'd ever had, but that was an entirely different story. Some memories were better left to rot, but unfortunately, Moscow was a cesspool.

Getting off the plane was easy enough. Landing in some privately-owned hangar on the outskirts of the city made for a fairly simple transition, and Salem was grateful for that much. Might as well own up to it while he could, considering how his appreciation for everything was liable to drop over the course of the next few days. He'd never been a terribly optimistic person though.

Above all else, he needed to find North. Salem wasn't particularly worried about the location of anyone else, they weren't going to do him much good, but again, long story. At the very least, teaming up with the other would make for a shorter job... and a better payout, if he had to guess. Money was his biggest drive at the moment--his only drive, really-- and he kept that in mind as he fished his phone out of his pocket. Scrolling through his contacts absently, Salem readjusted the strap of his only bag before hovering over North's contact info and hitting the call button. "Better pick up," Salem muttered, listening to his phone ring as he started towards the overhang. He needed a location before his ride showed up, and he wasn't above assuming North had already figured that much out. Who knew, maybe if they actually got their shit together, they could solo this mission on their own. It was a nice thought anyway.

 

[pines]

north.
killing had always been something he enjoyed, ever since the first time he felt blood on his hands and flesh between his teeth back when he was just a child. as the years went by and he adjusted to this life of his he gained, contacts of sorts. people who liked him enough to help when he needed, who liked his money enough to help. the plane ride down, (the one that left not two hours after the meeting with the director), hadn't been nearly as bad as they could have been. he opted not to go with any of the other sins, he didn't need to. he had bc briefly, mentioned to valentina there was a flight leaving if she wanted to get there early. if the group was leaving at 10 am the next day, it didn't matter, flight was give or take 12 hours.

getting there early was as much of a blessing as it was a curse. it let him set up what he needed to. one call had his hotel booked for the week, another and he was driving in a rented car to pick up the weapons. Mika was one of those contacts he made throughout the years, someone who liked a pretty penny almost as much as he liked his guns, and mika? mika had weapon caches everywhere. it made for easy equipping for a man who adapted to everything. once weapons were out of the way and he was back at the hotel metropol moscow, nothing but the finest) he settled back and waited.

he didn't know how long he waited, knowing he didn't much care. but eventually the antique fossil went off, lighting up and buzzing away. glancing at the light as he flipped it open he hummed a little, "you touch down?". north wanted to be done and out already, he didn't want a repeat of last time, it was too long of a story for to short a mission. shit happened though and it was enough to keep north on the phone and not do his normal routine of keeping people from his location. besides he was sure salem would find some way to locate him with or without tracing his phone. salem probably felt the same about moscow as him. maybe they could just get the job done themselves. wishful thinking

 

[Kattzillaa]

HOWL MORTERA
Howl had this sneaking suspicion that someone was following him. The hairs on the back of his head stood on end and he was probably over-observant at the lack of sleep, as odd as that is. He turned a corner than waited before gripping the person by the throat and pinning them to the wall but his brown eyes fell upon Alita beneath him.

"Sorry...." His usual nickname was forgotten at that moment. Even his voice sounded tired as his rough, calloused hand let go of her soft throat. Howl was often like this at times, lacking so much sleep that people's wondered how he was still walking, awake, and talking. His eyes barely focused on her or the voice of Emma that wafted in the air but it took him longer than usual to answer. His head shook as if to keep himself awake and resumed leaning against the wall. "Sure... Gimme a second."

The surrounded people who weren't apart of the sins knew exactly what kind of mood Howl was in and went out of there way to avoid him, not look at him, and definitely, do not touch him whatsoever. Only once had Howl's anger had serious results where someone may have died... or rather a group of people may have. After that, no one went out of their ways to piss him off or rub salt in his already existing anger.

 

[MrCalcium]

Emma sighed and left her car running as she opened the driver's seat door. She jumped out and landed gracefully on her feet as she walked over to Howl. She knew how far he was gone right now and was sure he would barely be able to get into her car by himself. She walked over to him, calmly approaching him as she took a gentle hold of his arm, her tiny hands barely being able to take a grip on his rather muscular arms. She carefully lead him towards her car and helped him inside the passenger's seat. She closed the door and walked over to Alita.

"Well I am just going to take him to my place and have him sleep there because well, he needs it. Guess we will see you in Moscow? I honestly have never been there so yeah it's gonna be amazing." Emma had a very clearly sarcastic tone in her voice as she walked back over to her car. "So uh... yeah. Again, I guess we'll see you... later?"

She started the car and started driving towards her place, turning the radio on with calming music as she looked at Howl. "I swear you have to start choosing your killing times better. This is the like... honestly I can't remember how many times I have done this. I feel like your nanny." Her squirrel remained on her shoulder as it took quite a few hours to drive to her place, it being pretty far away from the HQ. Once they got there Emma was determined to drag Howl to her bed.

She stopped her car at the door and got over to the passenger's door. She opened it and dragged Howl out, slowly carrying him inside as he was basically twice her weight. She dragged him to her bedroom and put him on the bed, leaving to put her squirrel back into its enclosure, before walking over to Howl, lying down next to him and sleeping.

 

[MrStoryTeller]

Sin of Pride: Eli Steel

As Eli began to pack up what he would need for the trip, he thought about what he had said in the meeting about if anyone wanted a ride then they needed to be there in the morning. He smiled and laughed a bit. Of course, he wasn't waiting for anyone else. He was leaving that night. He just wanted to slow down anyone who thought about taking up his offer. So far though, no one seemed to take it but that wasn't surprising. Once he had everything he needed, he headed out the door and down to the waiting car.

The plane ride was fairly quick seeing as his jet was pretty fast. Once landed, he had rented out a car for the week and already had a safe house set up for him that was only a few miles away from the targeted location. The drive took a bit from the airport to the safe house. Once there, Eli got the place set up and began to get to work. First, he was going to go and try to survey the area. See what he would be up against and if he could use any long-range weapons. From what he read from the file, the whole place was underground which he wasn't a fan of but he could manage. This would not be easy as the bodyguards that were hired are close to the same level of skill as the Sins. He sighed and hung his head as he remembered that the other Sins would be on this mission too. That just throws a whole stick into any planning he would come up with because he knows some of them will just walk in the front door and start stabbing people. Eli would adjust though to whatever action he needed to take.

Later that night, Eli went out and surveyed the area that the compound was under. It looked like a small mansion house was on top of the grounds. The underground area obviously was underneath it. He had brought along some binoculars to look over the area. The guards around the house looked fairly easy. Packing mostly machine guns and not too heavy on guard presence. Would be easy to take them out or sneak past. The real question was how to get down into the underground where the main target and the control room would be.

 

[Pysren]

A L I T A

She often doesn't care if Howl is tired, it's only asleep where she leaves him alone. But before she could think to do anything or even say anything. Her throat was grabbed and immediately she was pinned against a wall. Under normal circumstances, this would be very exciting in more ways than one. But unfortunately, it was a tired Howl. Though that didn't stop her excitement. She simply smiled deviously. She opened her mouth to say something as he said sorry which caught her off guard. Her hand which she wasn't fully aware of relaxed off her knives on her thigh. "Who knew you'd be so much fun so early?" She softly said.

Once his rough hand let go, she took a deep breath. Alita narrowed her eyes a bit. "You'll have to pay for that one, Howl." She managed to say before Emma came up and pretty much dragged Howl away. Alita stepped away from the while and started walking towards her car when Emma made her way to her. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever little one." Not that she planned on working with any in particular. Or even traveling with anyone. But missions like these never really go according to plan, do they? Alita "Later." She said simply, sickeningly sweet and short.

It took quite a while for Alita to arrive home, but once she did she quicked off her shoes and clothes. Being stark naked in her own place was hardly a surprise; it was always a given. Rarely was she clothed. She looked around for Juni, her cat. Once spot she picked up the ol' gal and petted her which followed by a hug swiftly before setting her back down. "Oh... right.. my guest." Alita picked up one of her knives and disappeared into her bedroom.