No More Guns (Levi)

[MORRISON CAMERON WHELAN]

It wasn’t at all strange that Iivan had asked Morrison to meet him for lunch that afternoon. They always went out at least once a week when it was possible, since Iivan often vanished for days at a time and he had to catch his friend up on all that had been going on. He thought it was ‘too dangerous’ to tell him where he was going beforehand, but he thought that the man just liked to seem mysterious. Of course, that was just ridiculous, but Morrison would humor him for as long as he came back from his trips.

What was strange was that Iivan needed to be picked up at the apartment. Usually, the met at the café or restaurant, and then drove home after one and another. But Morrison shrugged the strangeness of it off; perhaps the other were was just taking a day off. He had to work hard every single day; he always had extra money in his pockets at the end of the day.

It was 4:30 not, that meant that Morrison had half an hour to do what he wanted. He could have picked the man up early, but he wanted to have some time to himself for a while before being bombarded by Iivan’s sometimes stifling personality. On the way back to the apartment, he stopped in a shopping center, to get himself some coffee and then perhaps walk around for a little bit. Not wanting his car to get scratched by any of the less than careful drivers around there, he parked as far away from the crowds as he could, which was back by a karate studio, a local optometrist, a denist, a video store; nothing special. The coffee shop was actually just around the corner from there, but once he got in, he walked right back out. Waiting in that long of a line was not worth $5 coffee that he could easily make at home.

He decided that he’d cut his losses and started to walk toward the video store next to that optometrist’s, glad that these stores were actually still around these days since he needed something mind numbing to watch tonight. Perhaps a good action flick would do, or a really stupid horror movie, Iivan would get a kick out of that. And as if on cue, the same were was waiting on the sidewalk just as Morrison turned the corner. The blond wolf was just walking out of the door of the karate studio, holding a hand up in farewell to whoever was inside.

“Hey you,” Morrison called to his friend, continuing to walk over to him with a smile on his face. Iivan stiffened, letting the door slowly swing shut behind him. “Hi,” the man replied a bit lamely before smiling back. “What are you doing here?” Morrison asked, tucking his hands into his pockets and surveying the man. He seemed a little winded, his breath was too fast and his hair was disheveled, and he was holding a small duffle bag in one hand. “Lessons,” he shrugged, gesturing at the door he’d just left through, “we still on for lunch?”

Morrison ignored his question and started to move around him, wanting to get to the door of the dojo. “Lessons?” he asked slyly, “what kind of lessons?”

“Self defense,” Iivan said, shrugging again, “I thought it would be a good idea. I’m all ready to go now though. So...”

“No,” Morrison said, shaking his head. “I want to meet this wonderful person that has made you gain some sense.” Iivan tensed and frowned at this, trying to move between his friend and the door. “What?” Morrison said, grinning, “are you afraid I’m going to embarrass you? I’m not your pa.” He chuckled again at the look on the man’s face then leaned in. “Stop being so immature, you’re over 200 years old.” Iivan glared at him then shook his head and fell behind him as Morrison pushed past through the door. He caught sight of a man still out front, tidying up and such, and from here the smell of his was obvious. “Hello sir,” Morrison announced himself politely.

[levi]

OOC: Sorry for the short, late post. My muse is currently AWOL and I have no idea where it is.

IC: As usual, Levi's class had been a mixture of beginners who needed to work on their self control and experienced martial artists who wanted to try something different. What was unusual was that one of the newer members of the class, Iivan, was a werewolf. a very recent member of a pack, Levi had had trouble controlling himself during the lesson and not trying to stare Iivan down or start a fight with him. Or, more correctly, he'd had a hard time keeping his wolf, now nicknamed John, from trying to do that. It considered Iivan to be an interloper was was trespassing on pack territory, even if he was probably older than Levi. Unfortunately, Iivan had left right at the end of the class and Levi hadn't had a chance to invite him into the pack. So Levi was surprised when Iivan returned to the class, following another man.

He'd heard them talking outside of the door, his sharp ears catching their conversation above the sound of the hubbub of the city, so he turned to face them when they entered. Surprisingly enough, the second man also smelled like a werewolf, and John growled in Levi's head, wanting to take them both down before they could become a threat to the pack. Levi, not sharing his wolf's lust for blood, decided instead to invite them to join the pack when he got the chance. That didn't stop him from trying to stare the orange haired newcomer down, though, and he locked eyes with him.

“Hello sir.”

"Good afternoon, Mr...?" Levi's voice was friendly and light hearted, containing a strong Australian accent that either put people at ease or made him completely incomprehensible to them. It would fool anyone else still left in the building, but the other man would be able to smell the challenge that Levi's wolf was giving to his wolf.

[MORRISON CAMERON WHELAN]

"Good afternoon, Mr...?"

Morrison blinked slightly at the man’s strong accent, but then a grin lifted his lips and he stepped closer to him, keeping the eye contact. “My name’s Morrison Whelan,” he said, reaching out to shake the man’s hand. Getting even closer to the man the scent coming from him was much stronger, Morrison had to try hard to keep his lips under control since he could feel them start to curl up into a snarl. His wolf was a strong temperamental bastard, but he’d had such a long time to tame it that at the moment, he had an easy enough time keeping him completely suppressed. Though it didn’t much help that there were three wolves in the room at the moment.

Iivan was standing back from the other two and Morrison glanced at him quickly. He was biting his lip and looking off to the side, frowning softly. It was hilarious how easily he could be embarrassed sometimes. He had always thought that carrying a gun was the toughest thing in the world and that there was no need for this hand-to-hand combat. But, he’d been injured so many times that it had finally been knocked into him (probably literally) that he needed to learn how to really defend himself. It was about time that he got off the shooting range and had finally come somewhere like this. Even if it made him feel like a bit of an idiot.

“I just wanted,” he started, dropping his hand and tucking it into his jacket pocket, “to meet the man that could convince my stubborn friend to finally get some proper training.” He glanced back at Iivan who was glaring at him, then looked back at the other wolf. “It’s…” He stopped speaking when he heard his friend start to walk away and turned around to watch him go. “Where’re you going?” Morrison asked. Iivan stopped and sighed, lifting a hand and rubbing at the back of his head. “I’ve got a lot of take care of,” he said before continuing out of the building. “No dinner then?” Morrison called after him, but he was already walking away from the closing door.

The were rolled his eyes then looked back at the other man. “I’m sorry about him,” he said, almost a bit embarrassed himself, “he’s got way to much pride.” Morrison shrugged softly and lifted his hands out of his pockets, since it felt a bit rude for him to be doing. He should probably have run out after Iivan, but he was interested enough to speak to this man. “It’s nice to meet another were for once,” he said, changing the subject. They were alone and it was getting to the end of the day, so he felt it was safe to talk about this sort of thing. “Well, as nice it can be,” he added with a slight smile. He was sure that the other man was having a much harder time holding back his wolf, since it was pretty obvious how much younger he was.

[levi]

“My name’s Morrison Whelan.”

Morrison shook Levi's hand and moved in closer, maintaining eye contact, obviously trying to intimidate him. Levi returned the smile and took half a step forward, bringing the two of them chest to chest. Any human walking in would have easily taken in the scenario, but they would have missed the massive amounts of hostility and testosterone that the two wolves were radiating, Levi more than the other man. Normally Levi would have assumed that to mean that he was more dominant, but this wolf smelled old, older than even Vis. Morrison was probably just hiding his dominance.

“I just wanted to meet the man that could convince my stubborn friend to finally get some proper training.”

Levi relaxed and backed off some as Morrison did the same, but he still kept his eyes on the other were when he turned back to look at Iivan. His wolf, ever present but far more amenable not that Levi was part of a pack, was insulted by the action. Morrison, a stray with no pack, had dared to dismiss him like some pup? The wolf wanted to teach the stray a lesson, but Levi was more cautious, not wanting to get into a fight in public. Iivan leaving had evened up the odds, and Morrison hadn't seemed to expect it, but it was still too risky. Anyone who saw the fight and tried to break it up would probably be killed, and that would take some explaining to do.

It became harder to control the wolf as Morrison kept talking and Levi struggled with the wolf. Morrison hadn't looked down or acknowledged that Levi was the more dominant wolf, and it was making John, Levi's wolf, more and more angry. Levi did manage to keep his breathing fairly calm and his muscles from locking up, but even then he was on the edge of the abyss. Morrison's smile, innocent from malice as it was, became twisted by Levi's wolf into a snarl. Morrison stopped speaking, although Levi hadn't heard a word he'd said. Trying not to sound stressed, Levi maintained eye contact and decided that honesty was the best way to resolve the conflict.

"Sorry, my wolf's making things hard for me." Levi clenched his fists and continued, "He's become territorial since I joined the pack, and you turning your back like that didn't help any. You might want to leave before I lose control."

[MORRISON CAMERON WHELAN]

Levi should have been glad that Morrison had more control over his wolf than he. It was becoming hard to stay calm at the moment, with the musky, canine smell that was trying to cloud his senses, but Morrison still managed it. He’d had this other self since he was only a child and had had to learn fast how to deal with it, especially once puberty hit him. Of course, he’d had slip up, the worst of which caused him to kill, but his mother had always been there afterwards to help him until he’d no longer needed her.

These days, he didn’t find so much that he had a wolf in his mind to control, but that he had his own self to control. If he really kept the two separate, he’d be having mood swings all day and so he let the two personalities mingle, letting out a little wolf in his human and a little humanity in his wolf. As he saw it, it was the only way to work through the condition. His wolf didn’t even have a name like he knew others’ did, since he thought it ridiculous to distinguish it like that when it was so much a part of Morrison.

This man, Levi, didn’t seem to feel the same way. His wolf was downright pissed that there was another male in the room and he was showing it loud and clear.

"Sorry, my wolf's making things hard for me."

Morrison glanced down at the man’s clenched fists and had to keep himself from smiling and raising an eyebrow at him. He was a very confrontational were if anything.

"Sorry, my wolf's making things hard for me."

Again, Morrison felt a smile pull at his lips, yet he kept it down. It was no time to lost his own head and burst out laughing. Though he wasn’t about to leave since he was never, ever one to back down from a fight, especially when he was so sure he could easily win. This man might be skilled at his age, but he didn’t have as close to as much experience as Morrison did and would probably be less inclined to use cheap tricks.

“You need better control of him then,” Morrison observed, offering a small shrug of doubtfulness. His words may have been nonchalant, but his attitude started to change. His chin lifted softly, his shoulders shifted back, pulling him into a straighter, more confident posture. For a moment, his eyes grew darker, the deeper amber color of his wolf’s eyes, yet they quickly switched back; he and his wolf were the same, there was no need for a physical change.

Now, that was a better feeling. Before, though he may not have shown it, he had been slightly insulted that Levi had tried to intimidate him, since he was never, if rarely, intimidated by anyone. But now he took the initiative to let this other were know that he was the dominant one in this situation. Pack or no pack, Morrison was so much older and knew how to get things to go his way. If this man wanted to defy that, then he’d have to deal with the consequences. The challenge was there, and Morrison waited silently for Levi to accept or back down.

[levi]

OOC: Morrison thinks that Levi's not likely to use dirty tricks ;D!

IC: Morrison didn't look like he was going to back down, but his glance down made Levi's wolf more confident that it could win. His body relaxed for a second as Morrison glanced down, lowering his eyes being a sign of submission, but then he took the challenge back up. Still, that one glance away had betrayed a weakness to the man, and the wolf wanted to take advantage of that. For his part, Levi would have loved a non-confrontational dominance fight, just the two of them staring each other down and trying to bluff the other, but he knew his wolf. It didn't like being looked down upon, and it wasn't going to let a stray insult it like that. Morrison, a stray who had challenged the second of the Vision Pack, was going to die.

“You need better control of him then.”

Levi slouched and bowed his head, eyes pointed directly at the ground and his height shortening by a couple of inches. His breathing and heart rate had increased, but he was starting to smell of fear now. In a weary, defeated tone, Levi gave his answer.

"I suppose you're right, it's just..."

Without so much as a warning, Levi straightened up, stepped forward, reached out to grab Morrison's shoulder with his left hand and threw an uppercut at Morrison's solar plexus with his right. The series of movements might have seemed complicated but, even as a human, Levi had been capable of performing them in the blink of any eye. Now, though, he moved so fast that a human would not have been able to follow. Morrison would, no doubt, would be able to see what was happening, but Levi was hoping that his act had fooled the lone wolf. It had taken a lot of concentration to fake his body language, but the training he had taken to help him fool lie detectors had helped enormously. Levi was a very rare individual who could lie with his body as well as with his mouth.

The hardest part of all that, though, had been suppressing the wolf long enough that he could fake being submissive, and now the wolf wanted to come out an play. Levi's eyes changed from brown to green and a very wolfish snarl now graced his lips. Levi might have started the battle, but it would be his wolf who ended it.

[MORRISON CAMERON WHELAN]

OOC: Levi seems like a man of integrity! … Or maybe not.

A smirk lifted Morrison’s lips as Levi looked away and his shoulders relaxed. He was glad that he wouldn’t have to fight to let his dominance be known because he would always love to go through one day without having to physically fight someone. And now they could have a civil conversation about the class Levi had and about this pack of his. It honestly that often that he could really talk to another were that was a complete stranger since they always got so defensive when they realized how old he was.

"I suppose you're right, it's just..."

Morrison had begun to let his guard down, wondering if Levi was about to explain something that he would like to help the other wolf with, because he was just that sort of person. But, no, they weren’t going to talk any time soon. There was less than second where Morrison could have reacted and he tried, yet he was under Levi’s grasp after one quick movement. The next moment, his breath was pushed right out of him as the other man’s fist rushed into his gut. He was used to this sort of move, since it was the easiest way to get someone down on the ground, and he was able to keep his feet under him.

Even though he was gasping to get his breath back, Morrison wasted no time in retaliating. His left hand shot up to take a hold of the wrist of the hand on his shoulder while his right elbow swung around to smash into Levi’s jaw, shoving him backward. “You stupid bastard,” the wolf huffed, moving to swing the man around and trap his arm behind his back.

This man certainly did know how to lie with his body, but it offended Morrison that he thought this would be able to give him such an upper hand. Unfortunately, he was never lax when it came to defending himself. Though Levi had gotten in the first hit, Morrison was sure that he would deliver the last. This wasn’t going to end very well for someone, which he’d been thinking before this had even started, and he knew that they both be sporting some nasty cuts when they were done.

[levi]

OOC: The SAS play to win . If you're on an equal footing with your enemy, then you've already lost ;D.

IC: Morrison was an experienced brawler, and it showed. Levi's punch had knocked the wind out of him, but Morrison wasn't doubled over in pain or going on the defensive. No, he went on the offensive, grasping Levi's left hand with his own, pulling it loose and allowing his right elbow to be used as a weapon. It was a smart move, one that would have an inexperienced fighter off balance and unable to block the elbow, since it tied up their left arm and turn their left side to the attacker. Levi wasn't that green, though, and countered the move by bracing himself, twisting his arm around so that he had hold of Morrison's arm, and pulling back at Morrison. That way, he could make the attempted elbow useless and have Morrison in an awkward position.

Assuming that his move worked, Levi had a couple of options. He could try and force Morrison's left arm around behind his back, attempt to smash his elbow, kick out Morrison's knee or try to get behind and put the man in a choke hold. Each move had its own advantages and disadvantages. Putting Morrison in a chicken wing would allow Levi to break the man's shoulder and get behind him, but it was hard to do to someone of such equal experience and body type. Smashing Morrison's elbow was an easier choice, but it required his arm to be completely straight and didn't get Levi behind the older were. Kicking the knee out had a similar problem, since it required the leg to be at the right angle, and trying to choke Morrison out had the problem of getting behind him.

In the end, the wolf decided to keep its options and formed an adaptable plan from Levi's list of options. If it could straighten Morrison's arm, then it would use an open palm strike to shatter the elbow. If not, then the wolf was going to add a new move to the list and launch a punch at Morrison's face, aiming for a nerve behind the ear. It would stun Morrison long enough for the wolf to put him in a sleeper hold and choke him to death. The wolf hoped that it would get to break Morrison's elbow, though. The upstart deserved some pain.

[MORRISON CAMERON WHELAN]

It had been quite a while since Morrison had had a fight with someone who was as skilled as he was. Last time, it had been with that vampire and she hadn’t stood a chance against him, especially once she’d tried to steal his knife from him, the one with the silver handle. Though this was different, with Levi actually having been trained and with him also being a wolf. And this time around, Morrison didn’t have anything on him that would incapacitate him as easily as silver had taken down the leech because he wasn’t about to start carrying wolfsbane with him. Even if he was now wishing that he did.

Levi had twisted Morrison’s arm around so he was forced into quite an awkward position. His other arm was made useless for a moment and the hit he’d tried to make missed completely. Now his neck was completely exposed and that was no good, he was always incredibly conscious of what and who was around his neck, even if they were just there to kiss him. Actually, the kissing was probably the worst because of all his experiences with vampires, the last one which had left him a bit paranoid about being bit again since he still had the scars showing on his skin.

Acting quickly, though not necessarily thinking things completely over, Morrison yanked his arm back away from Levi’s grip, pulling the man’s arm with and making sure that his own arm couldn’t be pulled straight. His right arm was still useless when it came to his offense, so he brought it up to block Levi from getting his hands at his neck, sure that he’d try to choke him if he had the chance. With another yank, he spun the other man off to the side, trying to rip his arm away so he could use it to defend himself again.

OOC: It took me forever and it is short, but there you are! It is how fight posts go x)

[levi]

Morrison was an old hand at fighting, and it showed. He anticipated Levi's attempt to break his elbow and pulled back at Levi's arm. That was fine, Levi had factored that into his plan. His hand formed into a fist, and he attempted to strike Morrison behind the jaw. The other were seemed to have anticipated such a blow, because he didn't just try and protect his face, he was actively protecting his neck, and the area where Levi wanted to hit in particular. Then, to top it all off, Morrison tried to fling Levi off towards the side. The wolf, while not the calmest of creatures, saw an opportunity through Levi's mind and took it.

Most people might have tried to resist the attempted fling or tried to get free of it, but Levi went with the fling, right up until Morrison decided to let go of Levi's hand in an attempt to see Levi go stumbling off into the distance. At this precise second, Levi released his grip on Morrison's arm and stood his ground. While Morrison would theoretically continue his swing for a few microseconds, no doubt expecting Levi to still be hanging on, Levi could act. If Morrison turn his body enough, so that he was side on to Levi, Levi planned to launch an uppercut at Morrison's floating ribs in attempt to break them. The floating ribs were the easiest ribs to break and, attached to muscle, would case Morrison immense pain every time he moved or breathed. The wolf wanted that more than anything.

However, if Morrison didn't turn enough, then Levi was just going to cut to the chase and go in for a grappling match. He'd step in, grab Morrison, hook his right leg in behind Morrison's left and then push, hopefully shoving the man over. If he succeeded, then he planned on coming down on top of Morrison, knee firmly planted on his stomach so that, when they landed, Levi's weight had a chance of rupturing some of Morrison's internal organs. If the move failed, well, then there was a very real chance that Morrison might do the same to him.

[MORRISON CAMERON WHELAN]

Morrison had really been wanting to cause Levi to stumble back and smash into the wall, hoping that would be enough to stun him long enough that Morrison could end this. Unfortunately, Levi had more control over himself than that and was still on his feet when they disconnected. At least now Morrison had both of his hands back to defend himself with; that was always a plus in his mind. He always preferred being on the defensive over offensive, since to him, being on the offense meant you were losing and he did not lose easily or graciously.

Having braced himself enough, Morrison wasn’t twisted too far around by the momentum of the throw he’d tried to give Levi and it meant that the two of them were facing each other. Levi did just what Morrison would have in this situation, only he acted first. At least he could anticipate the other man’s moves and just before Levi’s hands came onto his shoulders, his hands shot out to grab a tight hold of the were’s neck, glad to feel like he’d gained some sort of control in this.

Though Morrison had also expected to be pushed to the ground, he found himself a bit powerless to stop it. Being so concentrated on trying to choke Levi, he didn’t notice the leg hooked behind his own until he was falling backwards, pulling the other were on top of him. Not wanting Levi to be able to knock the wind from him (again), or worse, he pulled a leg up slightly just before his back smashed into the ground. This resulted in Levi’s knee connecting painfully hard with his pelvis and though nothing had broken, he knew it would be hard to walk on. Morrison pressed his hands harder around the man’s neck because of the pain, pressing his thumbs into his Adam’s apple and hoping he could at least cause him to pass out.

[levi]

OOC: If you want to change anything, just let me know and I will.

IC: Morrison finally made a mistake, and it was a critical one. Instead of grappling with Levi, Morrison decided to try and choke the living daylights out of him. Levi's face slowly started to turn red but, rather than try to break free, Levi just continued his move, sweeping out Morrison's feet. Ideally, he'd have winded Morrison and caused him to release his hands automatically, but Morrison managed to get his leg up just enough that Levi couldn't do any major damage. There would be a big bruise for sure, but nothing permanent enough to stop the fight. The fall did seem to have loosened Morrison's hands, because he tightened them again, this time digging his thumbs into Levi's Adam's apple. Once again, Levi didn't didn't try to break free of the strangling hands. Instead, he hit Morrison's head twice, right on the temple, the knuckle of his index finger digging into the little concave dip. As if by magic, Morrison's hands fell away as he slipped into unconsciousness.

If this had been a normal fight, Levi would have gotten up off Morrison, rolled him over into the recovery position and called an ambulance. This wasn't an ordinary fight, though, and Levi wasn't in control. He might have been providing tactical knowledge to the wolf, but the wolf was in control of the his body. And, so, although the fight was over, the wolf kept on doing damage. Levi struggled to control it, but it broke half a dozen of Morrison's ribs, both his elbows and dislocated his shoulders before Levi managed to get a handle on his wolf. He knelt next to Morrison's unconscious body, sweat dripping off him and murderous thoughts in his head.

Slowly getting up, Levi staggered to the door, exhausted by his mental battle with the wolf, and locked the door. Then, pulling out his mobile phone, he dialled Vis' number. No doubt Vis already had some inkling of what had happened, but he should really inform Vis about the situation.

"Hey Vis? Yeah, it's Levi. I've just got into a fight with a lone wolf who decided to psych up my wolf. No, he's still alive. He's got a few broken bones, though. Yeah, yeah, I'm going take him out through the back and drive him up to the Den. Yeah, see you then. Bye."

Hanging up, Levi pocketed his phone and then regarded Morrison. Carrying the man in a fireman's carry was going to risk puncturing the man's lungs and heart, so Levi decided to carry him. Relocating Morrison's arms so that he didn't do any more damage, Levi put one arm under Morrison's head and another under his knees and carried the man out to his ute. Levi placed Morrison on the back floor of his ute and covered him with the old blanket he used to cover the seat. It wouldn't do to be seen driving around with a body in the back.

Now all he had to do was get to Vis before Morrison woke and tried to attack with his broken arms. That would not be fun for either of them.

[MORRISON CAMERON WHELAN]

Oh shit, was all that ran through Morrison’s head before Levi’s fist hit him hard in the temple. The second hit he wouldn’t even feel until he woke up. That had been so stupid of him, not thinking of disabling the other man’s arms and putting himself completely at risk. He just didn’t think and he usually didn’t because he rarely ever fought someone with so much knowledge. Most of the people he got into tussles with acted on complete instinct and it cost them badly. He would really, really regret not thinking this time around.

Before Morrison could do a thing about it, he was aware of what was going on. His vision wasn’t exactly working, but he could feel himself being bumped about on whatever he was laying on and he barely made out the smell of gasoline, oil, Levi. The other man was driving him somewhere and he wasn’t so sure he wanted to find out where that was. The pain didn’t register with him yet, all he was worried about was that Levi was planning to dump him some place so that he wouldn’t feel guilty about killing the man himself and then he wouldn’t have to see him ever again. Well, fuck him if he thought he could get rid of him that easily.

Soon they were coming to a stop and Morrison’s head was becoming less fuzzy and his vision clearer. Unfortunately, this also meant that the pain from all of his injuries rushed onto him. He might have been planning his escape the second before, yet now all he could think to do was lie completely still. His shoulders were sore and stiff and his arms were hot, stinging, somewhere around his elbows, so he didn’t even try to move his arms, afraid that they might just fall off. Breathing also felt hazardous, sharp spots of pain blooming in his chest every time he took a breath. It was a slight miracle that he felt his legs completely intact.

Not that he was going to use them immediately. He couldn’t try to run now, sure that such a thing would make him even more vulnerable. He needed to find a chance to harm Levi in some way when he went to drag him out of the car. He hoped that the other wolf would lean over his head so he could lift himself up enough to bite in the man’s neck, possibly killing him. This bastard needed to pay for trying to kill him. Morrison might be incapacitated for a week, but he wanted to incapacitate Levi indefinitely.

[levi]

Levi's ute was old, but he kept it in good running order. The seats were always clean, although their seat covers were often stained, and the floors were kept clear of any rubbish. As a result of his care for the ute, Levi heard quite clearly when Morrison woke up and smiled as he listened to the change in breathing. It was obvious that Morrison was trying to fake unconsciousness, and that was one of the oldest tricks of the book. Levi's wolf wanted to stop the car right now and bash the other were's head in, or at least bash it until he went unconscious, but Levi was having none of it. He wanted Morrison to be in the same shape that he was when Levi had called Vis. Of course, if Morrison tried anything...

Pulling into the pack mansion, Levi heard a change in Morrison's breathing as the pain finally hit him and suppressed a laugh that came from his wolf side. It enjoyed Morrison's pain, but Levi was sickened by the wolf's amusement. It wasn't right to take pleasure from another sentient being's pain, nor was it right to enjoy killing one. Still, it was a bad move to show those feelings around a wolf, so Levi kept that thought locked away and drew on a mixture of the professionalism that the army had taught him and his natural bastardness.

"Good, you're awake."

Levi leaned across to the passenger seat, reached underneath it, and pulled out a plastic case with a padlock attached to it. He reached into his pocket, brought out a key and unlocked the padlock.

"Now, you're going to be pissed. I know I would be,"

Reaching into the case, Levi brought out a CZ-75B handgun. Most people figured him for a 1911 man, what with his 7.62 Tokarev versions but, while Levi did like the M1911 and fired one several times a month, it wasn't what he chose to carry for self protection. Instead, Levi preferred the CZ-75, a handgun that was more or less identical in look and feel to the Browning Hi-Power, the official side arm of the Australian army. Levi liked the feel of the Browning and CZ, and improved trigger and magazine capacity of the CZ made it his weapon of choice.

"But don't try anything. The wolf's just looking for an excuse to kill you."

Levi pulled the slide of his pistol back about a quarter of an inch and checked that there was a round in the chamber. That meant that he had sixteen rounds in the magazine, plus one in the chamber. That was sixteen more rounds than he would need to kill Morrison if the idiot made a run for it or went on the attack. Levi had practised just enough to keep his old skills form the SASR in working order, and he wasn't likely to miss a shot at this range. One 146gr hollowpoint bullet would do the job, especially at the pressures Levi loaded his rounds to.

Holding his pistol with both hands, Levi stepped out of the ute and walked around to the side that Morrison's legs were facing. He held the pistol one handed, trained through the window at Morrison's head, flung the door open, stepped back and resumed his two handed grip on the gun in one fluid movement, just like he had been taught.

"Now, I want you to get out of the ute. Don't make any sudden movements, or I will drop you."

Levi was very serious about that. If Morrison gave so much as a hint that he was planning something, Levi was going to put a couple of rounds through his head to be on the safe side. He was even planning on moving back a few paces when Morrison left the ute. There was no point risking his life needlessly.

[MORRISON CAMERON WHELAN]

A soft, pained grunt left Morrison at Levi’s comment at him being awake. He hadn’t been trying to seem still unconscious before, he just hadn’t wanted to stay as still as possible to not aggravate any of his obviously broken bones. And he’d been sort of hoping that Levi would be fooled into thinking he was incapable of moving that much, though apparently he wasn’t.

"Now, you're going to be pissed. I know I would be,"

Morrison frowned slightly, biting the inside of his lip, and turned his head to see what the wolf was pulling out of that case. Iivan had something that like that in his room, what was in it that he’d be so pissed about? When Levi lifted a pistol out and Morrison felt a grumble reverberate in his chest, though it didn’t rise to a full growl when the vibration caused his ribs to ache. Know he imagined that he was just going to be led to a ravine and shot in the head, and what a fucking terrible way to die that would be.

"But don't try anything. The wolf's just looking for an excuse to kill you."

Then why didn’t he just let it? This was ridiculous, dragging this entire thing out and giving Morrison more time to psych himself up for an attack. As soon as Levi opened the door, he should just try to run at him and then at least he’d die fighting. Although, there was something strange about all of this, that Levi was controlling himself so much. And he wasn’t even sure where they were yet. Morrison had to figure out the terrain in the least before going all suicidal and attacking.

"Now, I want you to get out of the ute. Don't make any sudden movements, or I will drop you."

Morrison lifted his head to glance at Levi, standing by his feet, then let it drop back down onto the seat. Well, he’d cooperate for now, but he wasn’t going to be happy about. “You think I can move fast like this?” he huffed, his voice so rough and his accent so thick, he would barely be able to understand himself, “you’re a crazy fucking bastard if you do.” After taking a deep breath, the wolf rolled onto one shoulder then lifted his upper half up so he could sit. He stopped there for a moment, gritting his teeth, and did his best not to make a sound. The pain in his arms had been made worse by moving them, but he barely noticed it over the aching, stinging pain in his chest. He felt sore and weak and would have loved to lay back down or lay forward, yet that would risk puncturing one of this lungs and he rather liked breathing.

“Gimme a second,” Morrison grunted. He shut his eyes, taking short breaths and getting himself ready to move again. He’d been hurt worse than this in his life, felt more pain, but it was almost more than he could handle and he wasn’t at all sure that he would be able to walk very far, let alone try to attack Levi. Finally, he opened his eyes again, locking onto the other man, and slowly slid himself off of the seat and onto his feet. Now that gravity was pulling down on all of his broken bones, the pain was worse than it had been before, yet he kept his watering eyes on Levi, never one to look weak. He could handle this and he was beginning to think that this wasn’t where he was going to die. He’d noticed, though he hadn’t quite registered, that they were outside of a rather huge home, a mansion even, and he was able to be curious enough through the worry and fear he was feeling for his own body.