#𝐓𝐇 03. ┊ true leaders offer helping hands. ( 𝐅𝐄𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍. )

[thiefofcrows]

   The truth was that Kaz Brekker did care. He cared deep into his bones and throughout his difficult life, he'd gone on believing that revealing that he cared was dangerous. Now, however ... Kaz understood that danger depended on who was listening. Caring is what made people stay and, while he did believe that openly admitting to Matt that he cared likely wasn't dangerous ... old habits died hard.

❝I'm not some character from a children's story who steals from the rich to give to the poor,❞ said Kaz. He'd said much the same thing to Inej once, both leaning against the hull of the boat that had taken them to the Ice Court, the sea breeze encircling them. Kaz knew it wasn't entirely the truth; he wasn't a hero. He wasn't made to be one, nor did he try to pretend he was. Regardless, he did want to be better than people like Pekka Rollins, or Jan Van Eck — and he suspected he also would prefer to be better than the man who had clearly inflicted a great deal of suffering on Matt enough for him to escape. Another long sigh escaped him.

   ❝Ruthlessness has a time and a place, but you can't sustain a legacy on that alone. You don't ask for respect, loyalty — you earn it. And you can't genuinely earn those things with nothing but fear and cruelty, no matter if you're leading a band of cut throats and thieves or a bunch of pigeons who've never broken the law in their lives.❞ It was a round about way of accepting the compliment, but it was the best Matt was going to get for now.

As for the planning, that was something they could discuss another time. The idea that being given room to be human, to work within the confdes of how truly messy the world really was could make a considerable difference to what Matt was able to master expanded in Kaz's mind. He found himself wondering what else Matt would be capable of simply because his environment was more reasonable. If even then he still wasn't much for planning, that was fine — but passable skill was better than none. For now, he tucked such thoughts away.

   Kaz pushed himself off of the edge of his desk and limped around to the other side of it, standing in front of a large framed map. He pushed it up to reveal a safe, which he took a moment to open and pull out a stack of kruge. He pulled it back down into place with a faint click and then he limped back to where he'd been leaning. Kaz extended it to Matt to take. ❝Here — you did good work.❞ Kaz found himself hoping his words of praise, even if it wasn't as grandoise, would mean more to him this time. Once Matt took the kruge, he continued.

   ❝When you make mistakes, you tell me. If you get injured on a job, you take care of it, don't ignore it — if you need a healer, obviously I can get you one, it's fine to ask. No more hiding, no more lying. Familiarize yourself with the Barrel, the rooftops, but I hardly expect you to do it all in one night. Get some damn rest — you can't do your job well if you're sleep deprived.❞ Inej would've laughed at him for saying so, given his own track record, but ... Matt needed to stop with the all or nothing mindset. ❝Fair enough? ❞

 There was no doubt that Brekker’s words were genuine. Whatever he was saying, he meant it. Which didn’t mean it made it any easier for Long Zhi to wrap his head around it. All his life he’d been told that failure —no matter how small, or how good the rest of the job had been completed— was worthy of punishment. You were either perfect, or a failure. There was no in-between. And yet, Kaz told him that there was.

 “The Ice Court heist?” Now that one was most certainly a complete surprise. He didn’t know all the details, but even he knew it had been a big deal. He remembered the clan members talking about it for weeks. About how big of an achievement it was, how it should’ve been completely impossible, and how that had to have been the biggest heist anyone’s ever pulled off, not to mention how the Fjerdan’s were supposedly scrambling to try and cover it up. It had meant very little to Long Zhi then; after all, he had countless other things to worry about, and didn’t have the time to wonder about someone else’s achievements. But now he suddenly found himself incredibly curious. Perhaps he could bring it up some other time and learn a little more. It didn’t seem as though Kaz was entirely unwilling to talk about it.

 But… Another time, another place. For now, he hesitantly nodded his head at the other’s words. “Planning… Planning’s never been one of my strong suits. It’s not really something you can learn, either. No matter how hard you try. I just.. can’t come up with all of those elaborate plans in my head, let alone a bunch of backup plans. I’m better at following orders, at being told what to do. If something goes wrong, I can figure it out then and there, but that’s it. It used to drive him mad.” How can you be a leader, if you can’t lead? It had always been Long Zhi’s biggest failure, and it never got better. He never seemed to learn.  

 “I thought you were like him, you know.” He looked up at the other, once again studying his face; his hard lines, the sharp angles, and then the eyes that gave away that there was something softer underneath. A softness that had always been missing from Xiao Dan. “Ruthless and terrifying, using people as tools to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve, with no concern for their well-being. But you care. You care a lot. And you have morals. You don't treat people as commodities, as a way to make money. You're nothing like him.”

[thiefofcrows]

   Kaz could imagine what would be worse than a beating — emotional damage was long lasting, it left deep scars that rarely ever fully healed. He knew that intimately … but Matt’s answer made him angry. It wasn’t an anger directed at him. Whoever it was that had dealt him so much suffering deserved what was coming to them — and if they didn’t get it, Kaz was more than happy to serve it to them himself. He tore his eyes away from his cane when Matt looked up at him properly, one brow arching higher than the other as they rose.

   ❝I trust that you wont,❞ Kaz assured him. ❝But you’re right — they could’ve done a number of those things and you would’ve had to shoulder the responsibility for that. But they didn’t. You got in and out with what we needed in, what, two minutes?  Maybe three? And they weren’t able to track you down because you lost them, despite having a very painful injury. Those are impressive feats, especially for a first job.❞

   He almost didn’t want to share his own failures, but … Kaz could see how they could potentially give Matt further perspective. Perhaps make it much, much easier next time, so that getting the damn truth out of him wouldn’t be as difficult as pulling teeth. Besides, assuming they continued to work together, Matt would experience Kaz's mistakes first hand regardless. A long, quiet sigh escaped him and, again, Kaz averted his gaze towards his cane. ❝Do you think the Ice Court heist went anywhere near exactly as planned? I lost count of how many things went wrong. It was much more of a mess than I’d planned, but I adapted. I’d gotten my crew into it and I got them out.❞

   He glanced back over to Matt, hoping to catch his gaze again. ❝Mistakes happen, things go wrong, that’s inevitable and you have to expect it. If you expect everything to go exactly as planned, then you won’t be prepared for when things go wrong. And they most likely will,❞ Kaz shrugged — if his past had taught him anything, it was to always expect things to go wrong, because if you didn't ... it could destroy you.

   ❝What really matters is that you have a way out. And if you don’t have a way out, you make one. I expect you to make mistakes. What I care about is how you handle them.❞

 Just as instructed, Long Zhi didn’t move. Not a muscle. Not when Brekker left, nor while he was gone, or when he returned. He didn’t move until the healer told him to, lifting his arm to make it easier for him to take a look. His gaze, however, still remained on the ground. He didn’t want to look at anyone, least of all Brekker. He hardly even moved when the healer placed his hands above the broken rib and started the healing process. A maddening sensation, but Long Zhi had long since grown used to it. The Black Dragons had their own healers, too, and although he could —and oftentimes would operate with injuries— Xiao Dan always made sure to send them Long Zhi’s way when he had an important job to do that required peak performance.

 As soon as the healer was done, Long Zhi returned to his previous position, not moving until he was told he was dismissed. It wasn’t a dismissal, however, that broke the silence. Instead, it was a statement that completely caught him off-guard. Involuntarily, he lifted his head to meet Brekker’s gaze, but it was brief and he quickly returned to staring at the ground.

 “No.” For a moment, he said nothing else. Instead, his right leg started to subtly bounce up and down as if he were nervous, and his thumb rubbed the fabric of his left pant leg. “Not… Exactly. There are worse things than taking a beating. But I know the beating always follows, to make sure I remember not to make the same mistake twice.” He gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. “I never do.”

 The praise of a job well done was finally what made Long Zhi look up properly. He studied Brekker, trying to find the lie and mockery that surely had to be written all over his face. But there was none, not even a hint. “How can you say I’ve done exceptional work? They saw me. They could’ve shot me down. They could’ve searched me. They could’ve found the documents. Then they would’ve known. Known we were on to them. After them. It would’ve ruined everything. And it would’ve been all my fault.” Despite his words, however, Long Zhi wanted to believe the other. He wanted to grab those words and hug them tight to his chest, never letting them go.

 Letting out a sigh, he then shook his head and dropped his gaze again. “No. No, I don’t want this to be difficult, but—” I don’t want to admit my failures. “I won’t let it happen again.”

[thiefofcrows]

   Kaz didn’t like the way Matt had stood so straight, his hands clasped behind his back, tension clearly having wound throughout his limbs, expecting the worst. It had made something in his chest twist painfully, but in the end, he believed his approach had made some kind of difference in his thinking — or, perhaps that was just a foolish hope. Matt had done the job he’d been assigned and he’d done it exceptionally well, save for the injury, but that wouldn’t have been nearly as pressing as it had ended up being if he’d simply told Kaz the truth. After he’d closed his office door behind him, he believed he understood the why of it, but … it was only surface level understanding and clearly, surface level was not enough.

   He returned and, shortly after, the healer arrived, a little uneasy and looking tired — Kaz knew it was late and he’d likely woken him, but … he couldn’t find it in himself to care. All he cared about at the moment was that the healer did a sufficient job in fixing the broken bone and went on his way. All the while, Kaz simply leaned against the front of his desk, arms crossed, a thoughtful expression coloring his features — to some, the sharp incline of his brows and the shape of his mouth likely seemed to be more of a scowl, but … Kaz Brekker rarely had any interest in looking friendly.

   Once the job was done, he did glance up to first offer a nod and then a tilt of his head, dark eyes briefly flickering to the door. The message was clear enough and the healer left without a word. There was a moment of heavy silence … but eventually, Kaz’s rasped voice cut through. It was strangely soft and his gaze was lowered, not looking at anything in particular, least of all Matt’s face.

   ❝You took a beating every time you made a mistake,❞ it was less a question and more of an observation, but … he left room for correction. It wouldn’t have surprised Kaz if Matt spun it as a way to weed out weakness, that he’d deserved it. Part of him expected it, although he found himself hoping he’d done something to make Matt doubt that perception. ❝You’ve been anticipating it. You’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.❞ Finally, Kaz lifted his gaze to study what he could of Matt’s features. The fire in his eyes had dimmed, but now all that resided there was determination and he briefly shook his head.

   ❝It’s not coming. I told you how to fix your mistake and your agreement is all I needed. If you’d simply told the truth, it would’ve given me the opportunity to tell you that you did exceptional work much sooner,❞ Kaz reached to take his cane in hand — and it was simply to divert his gaze to it, letting his gloved hands stroke over the ghastly crows head. It offered him comfort. ❝I knew you’d be an excellent choice for the job and I was right … but it’s very difficult for us to work together if you lie to me. I don't particularly want this to be difficult. Do you? ❞

 It didn’t matter what Long Zhi said, it always seemed to be the wrong thing. Perhaps he’d grown more comfortable around Brekker than he’d realized, and it led to him speaking without thinking first. The deliberateness of the limping steps wasn’t lost on him, and he immediately knew he was in trouble. So much so, that he expected to be whacked over the head with the cane, like he’d seen Brekker do many times before now, and briefly flinched in response to him lifting it up.

 Yet again, nothing followed. And perhaps he should’ve been glad for it —he’d seen the damage the crow’s head could do— but instead he braced himself for something worse. There’d been countless other occasions like this before; Xiao Dan had never lifted a hand against him, either. He, too, had always remained calm and collected with nothing more than that slight edge to his voice. Because some things cut deeper than a blade, and some things left bruises far worse than any fist ever could.

 So Long Zhi stood there, hands clasped behind his back, back straight, head held high. Like a soldier awaiting his command — or his punishment. But his eyes remained on Brekker as he recounted the details of how his permanent injury came to be, and all he wanted to do was apologize; for being stupid, for speaking without thinking, for not being more considerate, for... well, everything. He wanted to say that, no, he didn’t think Brekker weak at all. In fact, he was one of the most intimidating men he’d ever met — and that included his own grandfather. That his injury wasn’t a disadvantage, nor a weakness. That, instead, it had become a terrifying tool Long Zhi never wanted to experience. But he didn’t dare to speak.

 Instead, he simply picked up the chair and sat down as instructed, hands resting on his knees and eyes staring at the ground. “Understood.”

[thiefofcrows]

   The abrupt movement, after Matt had briefly seemed so docile, certainly took Kaz by surprise. Aside from the fact that what he was saying was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard, it filled him with a surge of rage that he too hadn’t been expecting. It took him a few short seconds to understand why — of course, it was because he experienced pain every moment of every day himself. Every step he took was painful to some degree and Kaz accommodated himself when he needed to. He accommodated others as well, learned their strengths yes, but their weaknesses as well in order to be prepared for it. He did these things because it was the most efficient way to utilize someone’s potential. It was stupid and reckless to force yourself to do things you simply could not.

   Slowly, Kaz stood from his chair and turned slightly, reaching to grab his cane. Then he took deliberate, limping steps towards Matt until they were properly facing one another head on. Matt was slightly taller than Kaz, but that didn’t matter. He lifted his left hand that held his cane and tossed it to catch in his right hand, lifting it slightly further for emphasis. Dark brows quirked upward, challenging, and his dark eyes were filled with a passionate kind of fire. ❝Do you think this cane is for show? ❞ Kaz asked him, his rock salt rasp dangerous, but he was attempting to be patient.

   ❝Do you think my acceptance of the fact that I feel varying amounts of pain with every step I take is weak? ❞ He was practically daring Matt to say yes. ❝I broke my leg dropping down from the rooftop of a bank. The bone never healed right — instead of completely ignoring the need to alleviate pressure on my leg and making it leagues worse, I use a damn cane. It’s just as much of an aid, a comfort for me as it is a weapon. I can break bones with a single hit. I push past my limits and I pay for it, so I do what I can to avoid it. Because it’s the fucking smart thing to do. ❞

   Kaz returned his cane to his left hand, shifting to balance his weight now that he had it to lean against. ❝No one is above pain and it’s stupid and reckless to pretend otherwise. I don’t know who drilled that shit into your head, but it has no place here. I am not letting you traverse the damn rooftops with a broken rib, because again — it would be reckless and stupid. It could easily get you killed and that defeats the point of surviving. You work with me, you play by my rules. If you refuse, then you can find some other gang that will let you grind yourself down to nothing. Everyone in the Barrel answers to me — and it isn’t because of dumb luck.❞

   After a long second or two of silence, he took a step back and turned to regard the chair that Matt had toppled over. Calmly, he went on, ❝Fix the chair you knocked over and sit down. You stay here and I’ll get someone to fetch a healer for you. I have one or two who owe me a favor.❞ Kaz turned back to Matt. ❝If you try to leave anyway, I will break your leg with this cane, do you understand me? ❞

 Long Zhi knew he was taking a risk by lying to Brekker —even if by simple omission— yet again. But what else was he supposed to do? He clearly didn’t know the other well enough to gauge his reaction, so defaulting back on what he did know was the easiest, and safest, bet. It usually offered the smallest amount of repercussions. After all, they could both simply pretend that he was alright and could resume his duties as if nothing had happened. Broken ribs hurt and would no doubt make moving difficult for a while, but… he’d manage. He always did.

 Despite Brekker’s slow movements, the hand to his chin caught him off-guard and for a long moment, Long Zhi just sat there, staring at the other. He didn’t know how to react, what to do, or even what to feel. Touch, apart from when he was training with someone or fighting, was not a privilege he’d been granted very often. And gentle touch had been rarer still. Hell, his mother hadn’t even been allowed to hug him since he was about ten so she ‘would stop softening him up’.

 It was nothing. A gloved hand, cold and impersonal, and yet it left him overwhelmed. With everything. The past, the present, and the future. Perhaps even with a little bit of longing for more. And all he wanted to do was pull away and retreat to the safety of his room so he could deal with it on his own. But, instead, he swallowed it all back down and instead averted his gaze by turning his head so Kaz would have an easier time cleaning the cut.

 “I’ll start running the rooftops in my spare time, then. Until I have every inch of them memorized.” Long Zhi’s voice was quiet, calm, but only a hair’s breadth away from breaking. It didn’t help that Kaz had very obviously not been fooled by his (admittedly poor) attempts at hiding the obvious. And perhaps now was the time to admit it; that, yes, he had broken ribs, and, yes, he had lied to Kaz, and beg him for forgiveness before he decided that Matt wasn’t worth the effort.

 But instead, he simply pulled away from Brekker’s grip and jumped up, knocking the chair over in the progress. “I’m not wasting your time. I will study the rooftops of Ketterdam, and I will know them all by heart. Give me a month— maybe two. I won’t rest until I do. Broken ribs mean nothing. Pain means nothing. My mind is too strong to feel pain. Pain is for the old and the weak. I am neither.” Swallowing hard, Long Zhi bowed as low as he could, trying to prove his point. “I’ll prove it. I’ll start right now, if you want. I’ll know half the Barrel by morning.”

[thiefofcrows]

   Kaz focused most of his attention on fishing out alcohol wipes to clean away the blood, but he listened to Matt’s story with a keen ear nonetheless. He could tell that most of what he said was indeed the truth, but close to the end was where he decided to craft a white lie — all this told him was that Matt was reluctant, perhaps even afraid to share how bad the mistake had been. Kaz still knew very little about where he’d come from or what he’d experienced there, but … he could guess that mistakes were punished severely.

   Personally, he didn’t see the point in handling things that way with most people — clearly the only thing it had accomplished here was making Matt inclined to lie rather than improve, which was … counterintuitive. It wasted time and energy in the long run.

   He glanced up, briefly meeting Matt’s gaze before his eyes drifted to the gash across his cheek. Kaz lifted his hands slowly, in an attempt to give Matt time to anticipate the contact before positioning one gloved hand underneath the other’s chin, gently but firmly holding his head in place. Then his other held the damp alcohol wipe before he began to clean the cut and the excess blood — he partially expected a flinch, or even just a tensing as the alcohol no doubt stung, but … it also wouldn’t surprise Kaz if Matt simply didn’t react.

   He could sense the tension and the fear that radiated off of him in waves and all it did was make Kaz curious, it made him want to understand the shrouded pieces. A puzzle to solve, but it was the puzzle of the human mind, of the trauma endured … both of which were none of Kaz’s business. And yet …

   ❝Hm. Such an uneventful slip and yet, you're favoring your left side, almost as if you've broken something ... I wonder why that is? ❞ Kaz cast Matt a glance that clearly said are we really going to keep doing this? A sigh escaped him again and he returned his attention to the task at hand.  ❝Your mistake wasn’t that you relied too much on the rooftops,❞ he continued — if nothing else, he had enough information to figure that out. ❝Your only mistake is that you’re still unfamiliar with the terrain of the city, rooftops included. Outrunning or outsmarting your enemy is much more effective when most of your movement relies on muscle memory — frees up more of your mind to strategize.❞

   Kaz finished cleaning the wound and tossed the bloodied wipes into a trash bin near by — then he glanced over to meet Matt’s gaze again, brows lifting with emphasis. ❝Which means you have to better familiarize yourself with the available paths, the tiles that are strongly in place that can support whatever weight you put on them … and the loose ones that can come out from under you. But —❞ He cast a pointed glance at Matt’s left side. ❝Accomplishing that won’t be very effective with a broken rip, don’t you think? ❞ It was purely a guess on Kaz’s part, but … he had a feeling he was right.

   ❝If you won’t trust me at least enough to tell me the whole truth, why are you wasting my time? ❞

 Long Zhi felt an immediate unease, whenever Brekker said that this wasn't it, that there was something else. That unease only grew, whenever the other demanded he close the door. The tone of voice was completely lost on Long Zhi as he mentally prepared for... well, tons of different scenarios. Best case scenario he would receive a beating for his incompetence, but was allowed to remain in his current position. He could easily handle a beating, and pain had always been a constant companion thanks to years of ruthless and relentless training. Then there was the possibility of being dismissed and kicked out of the Dregs. Devastating, sure, but by no means the worst case scenario. No, the worst case scenario was Brekker following in the footsteps of Xiao Dan by not laying a finger on Long Zhi, but instead proclaiming his deep disappointment, before stripping him of any and all responsibilities and privileges until he deemed him worthy enough again.

 Too terrified to argue, Long Zhi did as he was told and closed the door, before sitting down. His heart was pounding in his chest, as he dropped his gaze to stare at the ground. His pride was nowhere to be found now, and he barely managed a glance in Brekker's direction in an attempt to see what he was doing. Much to his surprise, the other didn't pull out an instrument of pain, but first aid supplies instead. Still, it did very little to calm him down and he instead remained tense and vigilant as he observed every move Brekker made.

 Had his lie really been that obvious? Sure, he probably could've thought of something better, but... Damn it. He should really know better by now. Kaz Brekker wasn't your usual knucklehead, and he certainly wasn't fooled as easily as one. Letting out a heavy sigh, Long Zhi shrugged his shoulders — though without realizing that the side with his broken rib barely moved — and dropped his gaze to inspect the bottom of Brekker's cane as though it had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world.

 "I wrapped the job up without any issues, but relied too heavily on the rooftops to obscure my escape. They started shooting and—" he paused briefly, contemplating his words, "I had to make a decision. Keep running, or break their field of vision. I decided on the latter and made my way down the other side of the houses. I slipped, and apparently cut my cheek. Should've been more careful, but speed was of the essence. It happens."

[thiefofcrows]

   Kaz knew it was a blatant lie the moment it came out of Matt’s mouth. They’d both reconned that house and, unless he’d somehow managed to shatter the windows without making a sound, there hadn’t been anything to cut himself with. Kaz would’ve made note of it — after all, getting yourself injured because you didn’t pay enough attention to the place  you were sneaking into was a sure fire way to get yourself killed. Again, he found himself wondering what kind of circumstances Matt had come from that made him think pretending he wasn’t wounded made any useful sense.

   Is that it? ❝No,❞ said Kaz after a beat of silence. Briefly, he tilted his head towards the door first then cast his gaze pointedly to the chair across from his desk. ❝Close the door behind you and sit down.❞ While it was certainly said with authority that he expected to be heeded, there was a hint of something softer underneath. He almost sounded exasperated, but it wasn’t unkind — the same kind of exasperation from someone who cared about who they were speaking to, but had no intention of humoring any of their bullshit. He didn’t even spare the documents Matt had placed on his desk anything more than a glance.

   Once Matt did as he was told, Kaz rose from his chair, grabbing his cane and he limped over to a cabinet that was nestled into the back left corner of the room. He gathered the supplies he thought he’d need — overestimating, as he didn’t particularly want to have to grab things out of there twice— and placed them on the edge of his desk. Then Kaz took hold of the back of his chair with his free hand, briefly lifted it and carried it over to place it on the side Matt had been favoring. He grabbed the supplies again before sinking down into the chair, briefly reaching to rest his cane against his desk again, within easy reach.

   ❝You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that if you want to lie to me,❞ Kaz said, the words escaping on a sigh and he tossed Matt a venomless glare, one brow quirking higher than the other before he returned his attention to finding what he needed to clean away the blood. ❝Can’t teach you anything if you lie about what happened, either, so — come on, out with it. I know you've got more than just a cut on your face.❞

@thiefofcrows said: "[Injury] ... whether or not you want to reverse it is up to you :))" {♚ x PROMPTS FOR COMFORTABLE INTIMACY ||  Accepting x}

 This wasn't supposed to happen. His first solo job and he fucked it up. Well... Kind of, at least. Long Zhi had managed to steal the documents he was supposed to steal with no one any the wiser. No one had seen him, no one had heard him. He'd been in and out within a matter of three minutes tops. 

 It wasn't until he was making his way back to the Slat that someone spotted him on the rooftops. And it was then that Long Zhi realized that Brekker hadn't been exaggerating: word had traveled fast. He hardly even knew which gang those men belonged to, but they seemed to know exactly who he worked for, and in what capacity. And apparently, that put a big, fat target on his back, even without the knowledge of what he had on him. 

 The first few bullets were easily dodged, so were the next few. Problem was, Long Zhi wasn't paying as much attention to his surroundings as he should've been, and the next roof was much narrower and steeper than the one before. He lost his footing and tumbled down, hitting something hard on his way down, and only narrowly avoided the breaking of his neck by cushioning his fall with his powers. Fortunately, he'd fallen down the opposite side of where the rival gang members were and managed to get away without further incident.

 By the time he arrived back at the Slat and made his way into Brekker's office, the adrenaline had long since worn off. There was no time to assess the damage, but he was fairly sure he'd cut his side and broken a rib, too. He was mad more than anything. Mad, and disappointed in himself. He absolutely couldn't let Brekker know he'd been so fucking stupid. There was no way he'd keep him around if he couldn't even make it unscathed out of a simple fight. Especially one he had had the upper hand in.

 Pulling out the folder, he dropped it onto Brekker's desk, before backing away again. He had expected the other's attention to immediately be on the stolen documents, but instead, his narrowed eyes were resting on Long Zhi's face. Slightly confused and feeling somewhat self-conscious, he reached up and wiped his cheek, only to see his fingertips covered in some blood. Ah, shit. Stiffening a little, he pressed his arm closer to his battered side and cleared his throat. "Accidentally cut myself climbing through the window. Their place wasn't in the best shape. Anyway, I got what you needed, and they won't know until it's too late. Is that it?"