Just because Zev was a seasoned killer and professional hitman didn't mean he never had bad days. Occasionally, a target did something unpredictable, or some external factor forced a change in his plans. On that day, his mark — a former supporter of Silas Blackwell, one who had gone to great lengths to hide himself for many years — had momentarily bested Zev. A knife fight had almost turned fatal. Zev had managed to dodge quickly enough, avoiding the blade aimed for his lungs. Still, the jagged slash along his ribs, while not very deep, burned like fire and stained his white dress shirt in a wash of fresh blood.

Damn. What a waste of a good shirt.

Zev's prey had escaped down a rickety fire escape, but Zev shot the fleeing man in the calf before he could run out of sight. An injured leg was a nightmare to drag for any distance, and it bled a lot, ensuring that Zev would be able to trail his limping target with ease, even though he himself was injured. He brought out his Lycanroc for help. Luna sniffed at the blood trail and walked ahead of her master, slowly enough that he could keep up.

But damn, the wound hurt. Zev momentarily leaned against the wall of an alley to catch his breath. He needed to stop the blood flow and bandage it before he could continue. Any strenuous movements, like another fight, would cause the wound to worsen if he didn't address it first.

As the man shrugged out of his suit jacket, movement down the alley caught his eye. Luna saw it, too; her ears perked up and her tail stood as she stared down the intruder. But then Zev saw a familiar flash of blonde hair and recognized the other person's gait from the first time they'd met.

Isaac.

Of all people, Zev thought with a mental sigh. But outwardly, he only grimaced at the pain in his side. He looked like a mess in his tailored black suit and bloody shirt, one hand holding his jacket and the other pressed against his wound.

Isaac Merlo

NOTES
+ Mission: The Purge

Isaac's sincere effort to help Zev almost caused the older man to laugh, though it came out as a grunt of pain. Still, Zev could not help but smirk, an expression that likely did not convey his amusement as accurately as he intended.

"I don't need to lie down," he said through gritted teeth. He almost told Isaac to put his things away, but he paused upon seeing the first aid kit. Bandages. Perhaps even a suture kit. Zev had been prepared to rip his own shirt into rags for makeshift bandages, but clean, real ones would be best.

Zev dropped his suit jacket onto a nearby ledge and sat down next to it. Swiftly, despite the pain and the bleeding, he unbuttoned his dress shirt to reveal a well-muscled torso with fresh bruises from his earlier struggle and many, many scars. The slash along his right ribcage glared, red and raw, against his pale skin.

"Knife wound," Zev explained dispassionately, holding back the right half of his shirt so Isaac could see more easily. "Not deep, maybe half an inch at its deepest. I need stitches if you have needle and thread, but cauterizing it is faster. Got a fire Pokémon?"

If not, Zev had Infernape's Pokéball with him.

Isaac Merlo

NOTES
+ Mission: The Purge

Zev had to admit, Isaac knew how to field dress a wound. While the blonde man gave instructions to his Numel and dug through his things, Zev pulled off one of his leather gloves and held it in his hand, waiting. His Lycanroc, Luna, licked the back of his hand as if to reassure him he would be fine. He ignored her. Normally, he would pat her head or scratch her behind the ear, but not when he was mentally psyching himself up to endure the pain of cauterization.

When Isaac approached with the heated butterknife, Zev stuffed the glove into his mouth and bit down hard.

The agony was indescribable. Nerves electrified. Flesh cooked. Stars burst in his vision. Zev roared into the glove, which thankfully muffled the sound of his scream. He could barely keep his arm up as he held back his shirt; his other hand gripped his own knee in a vice, his knuckles white. His entire body trembled as he focused every ounce of willpower on keeping it together.

The smell would linger in his nose for days.

At last, it was over. When Isaac's Amoonguss puffed some spores onto the sealed wound, Zev did not protest. In fact, as the spores took effect and the pain began to fade, Zev allowed himself to relax. Reaching up wearily, he yanked the glove out of his mouth.

"Thanks," he said to Isaac, his voice low and rough. With some effort, he buttoned his shirt back up, leaving the top button undone and his tie loose. Easier to breathe that way. Then Zev stood and put his glove and suit jacket back on.

He cast a critical look at Isaac, then turned down the alley to follow the trail of his prey. Without a backward glance over his shoulder, he ordered, "Come with me."

Isaac Merlo

NOTES
+ Mission: The Purge

"I have a contract to kill a Blackwell supporter who had gone underground for the past few years," Zev explained matter-of-factly, in the style of a mission briefing. Luna padded down the alley ahead of them, her nose to the ground, sniffing ceaselessly.

"I've injured him enough that he will want to rest and bandage his wound, same as I did. So we just have to follow his trail, corner him with a two-pronged attack, and eliminate him."

They rounded the corner and found themselves in an abandoned shopping district. Boarded up windows and tattered, fraying signs decorated the storefronts. A trail of fresh blood led down one side of the street. Zev's Lycanroc sniffed at the nearest splashes, gave a quiet bark of confirmation, then pointed her nose in the direction of one of the shops.

Isaac Merlo

NOTES
+ Mission: The Purge

Zev was about to give instructions to Isaac when the boy released a bunch of his Pokémon and gave them rapid orders. Everything sounded sensible until Isaac climbed onto the massive Aggron's shoulders and then it started levitating.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Zev demanded in a hushed tone, but the ridiculous troupe was already hovering toward the indicated butcher shop with, apparently, full intention to knock down the front wall.

Sighing with aggravation, Zev headed for a narrow alley along the side of the shop, though considerably slower than he'd like to move even though the pain of his wound had numbed. Truth be told, he was exhausted, all the adrenaline in his system being expended just to keep him on his feet. Once the job was over, he would have to crash — hard.

But that was a concern for later. Zev reached the side of the butcher shop. One of the windows along that wall was not boarded up; in fact, there was a jagged hole in the glass, as if someone had thrown a rock through it. Gingerly, he reached through the opening and tugged on the latch that should open the whole window.

Should. It was, unfortunately, stuck.

Isaac Merlo

NOTES
+ Mission: The Purge

By the time Isaac and his team of Pokémon had slipped into the butcher shop on their side of the building, Zev had pried apart the entire window frame using the pocket crowbar he always carried. He had paused momentarily to peek around the building's corner and check on what Isaac was doing, surprised to find the younger man and his Pokémon taking apart some boards in a similar manner, with relative silence too.

Not bad, Isaac, Zev thought, returning to the window to finish his own task.

Before long, he'd taken it completely apart — mesh, frame, and panes. Luna immediately jumped through the large, rectangular opening. Zev followed. Both landed quietly on the other side. Using her nose, the Lycanroc started ahead of her master while he waited, crouched, beneath the window until his eyes could adjust to the low light inside the shop.

After a while, Zev could pick out distinct features. He was in the front part of the shop. To his right was a display counter, empty and covered with a thick layer of dust. Behind it was likely a bunch of shelves and drawers, perhaps some abandoned tools he could use in a pinch. To his left was… well, the Aggron and the smaller figures she was carrying at the far side of the room.

Slowly, Zev stood up. At a higher angle, he could see a doorway behind the display counter that led to the back part of the shop where the butchering had likely taken place. Luna stood in front of it in a rigid hunting stance, her ears pricked, her tail raised. At her feet was a large puddle of fresh blood.

The target was just beyond that doorway.

Zev tensed as a new rush of adrenaline flooded him, sharpening his senses and temporarily dampening his fatigue.

He drew his gun, caught Isaac's attention with a gesture of his free hand, and pointed to the door. Then he put a finger to his lips. Quiet now.

Isaac Merlo

NOTES
+ Mission: The Purge

Luna retreated from the doorway as the Aggron floated into the space in front of it. The Lycanroc had completed her task perfectly, which earned her a quick head pat before Zev recalled her back into her Pokéball. He then turned back to Isaac, who made two quick hand signals at him and gave him a quizzical look.

Zev mimicked the motion of opening the doorknob. They would go in quietly. If the former Blackwell Rocket had prepared an ambush, it was better to exercise caution than to go in blindly. Isaac on the Aggron could see better than Zev on the ground, so it would be smarter for Zev to flank around their target's side while Isaac and his Pokémon distracted him from the front.

Easier said than done when talking wasn't an option.

Still, Zev positioned himself behind the Aggron and nodded to Isaac when he was ready.

Isaac Merlo

NOTES
+ Mission: The Purge