Rain tapped softly against the dark windows of the conference room.
Inside, the atmosphere remained cold and sharp.
Several men sat around the long table speaking carefully while documents and weapons lay spread across the polished surface beneath the overhead lights.
At the head of the table, Izana listened silently.
One elbow rested lightly against the chair arm while the fingers of his other hand turned a knife slowly and precisely across his knuckles.
Nobody ignored that.
Nobody ever ignored it.
A man across from him finished speaking cautiously.
"…The shipment should arrive by Friday evening."
Izana's red eyes lifted slowly.
"…Should?"
The man immediately stiffened.
"It will."
"…Good."
Silence returned again.
Dante sat nearby already looking exhausted from the tension filling the room.
Meanwhile Izana's phone vibrated once beside his hand.
Just once.
His attention shifted downward briefly.
Leah:
Zarek tried feeding his lion plush soup.
A picture followed immediately after.
Tiny Zarek sat at the dining table looking deeply serious while holding a spoon toward the stuffed lion balanced in front of him.
Soup covered half the table.
And apparently part of Zarek too.
Dante saw the faintest shift in Izana's expression immediately.
"…You're smiling again."
"I'm not."
"You literally are."
Izana locked the phone calmly.
The meeting continued.
Routes.
Money.
Negotiations.
At one point one of the men casually mentioned needing to delay something because of his daughter's birthday party next week.
Izana barely reacted.
Birthdays meant very little to him.
For years they had simply passed unnoticed.
Another day.
Nothing special.
But about three years ago for his twenty-ninth, was the most precious day of his life.
The conversation moved on almost immediately.
But miles away at the mansion—
Leah had just realised something important.
She sat curled on the sofa while Zarek played on the carpet nearby surrounded by plush animals and toy lions.
Soft afternoon light filled the room warmly.
Leah looked down at the calendar on her phone again.
Then smiled suddenly.
"…Oh."
Zarek looked up immediately.
Tiny now compared to earlier years but still unmistakably Izana's son.
Same red eyes.
Same serious little expressions.
"…Mama?"
Leah looked toward him.
"Do you know what next week is?"
Zarek thought very hard about this.
"…Toosday?"
Leah laughed softly.
"…Yes. But it's also Da-da's birthday."
Zarek blinked slowly.
"…Birfday?"
"That means it's a special day just for him."
Silence.
Then suddenly—
"Cake?"
Leah smiled immediately.
"Yes."
"Big cake?"
"Probably."
Zarek gasped softly like this was incredible information.
Then his expression became very serious.
"…Da-da gets present too."
"He does."
Tiny determined nod.
"I make one."
Leah's chest softened instantly.
"…You wanna make something for him?"
"Yes."
"What should we make?"
Zarek immediately stood up.
"…EVERYTHING."
Leah laughed properly this time.
Less than an hour later the dining room looked like a disaster zone.
Paint covered half the table.
Several crayons had rolled onto the floor.
And somehow—
despite Leah's best efforts—
paint now existed on:
the chair
the tablecloth
Zarek's cheek
and one of the lion plushies.
Zarek sat proudly in the middle of the chaos wearing one of Izana's old shirts backwards as protection.
Unfortunately the protection had failed completely.
Leah looked at the tiny red handprint now stamped onto the table.
"…How did you even reach that far."
"…Magic."
"That sounded exactly like your father."
Zarek grinned proudly at this.
Leah placed fresh paper in front of him.
"Okay. Draw Da-da."
Zarek nodded seriously and grabbed a black crayon immediately.
For the next several minutes he worked with absolute focus.
Tongue sticking out slightly in concentration.
Leah quietly watched him.
Eventually he held the paper up proudly.
It was mostly:
black scribbles
giant red circles
several confusing lines
and what might've been hair.
"…That's Da-da?"
"Yes."
"And the red circles?"
"Eyes."
Leah smiled softly.
Honestly?
It was perfect.
Zarek immediately grabbed another crayon afterward.
"…Mama too."
"Oh? I'm included?"
"Yeah."
Apparently Leah was represented by yellow scribbles.
An improvement perhaps.
Eventually Leah helped him make another card too.
Tiny painted handprints covered the front.
Mostly crooked.
Some upside down.
One suspiciously looked like a foot.
Leah decided perfection didn't matter.
Not when Zarek looked so proud every few minutes.
Halfway through the disaster, Leah's phone suddenly started ringing.
Zarek looked up immediately.
"…DA-DA."
Leah checked the screen.
Sure enough.
Izana.
Zarek gasped dramatically.
"…NO LOOK."
Leah blinked.
"…What?"
Zarek grabbed the painted papers instantly and tried hiding them beneath himself.
"…SECRET."
Leah nearly laughed.
"Okay okay."
She answered the call carefully.
Izana appeared on screen still inside the conference room.
Dark suit.
Cold expression.
Knife still turning slowly through his fingers.
Until his eyes shifted toward them.
Then softened immediately.
"…Hi."
"Hi," Leah answered warmly.
Zarek immediately climbed onto the sofa beside her trying to see the screen properly.
"DA-DA!"
Izana's entire attention shifted fully toward him.
"…There you are."
Zarek almost accidentally lifted the birthday card into view before Leah quickly lowered it again.
Izana narrowed his eyes slightly.
"…What are you hiding."
"NUFFIN."
The answer came much too fast.
Izana looked unconvinced immediately.
"…Zarek."
Tiny panic crossed Zarek's face.
Then he loudly whispered toward Leah while still fully visible on screen.
"…Mama he knows."
Leah finally laughed.
Izana's eyes narrowed further.
"…What exactly do I know."
"SECRET MISSION."
Dante's voice appeared faintly somewhere behind Izana.
"…He's terrible at espionage."
Zarek gasped dramatically.
"…NO TELL."
Izana leaned back slightly in his chair now clearly amused.
"…I see."
Leah smiled softly watching him.
Even after all these years—
the change in him still felt unbelievable sometimes.
The terrifying man feared across cities now listening patiently to toddler whispers about secret missions.
"When are you coming home?" Leah asked quietly.
"A few hours."
"Otay," Zarek answered before Leah could.
Izana smiled faintly.
"…Behave until then."
"No."
Dante snorted somewhere offscreen.
Leah covered her smile quickly.
Izana looked entirely unsurprised.
"…At least he's honest."
The meeting clearly needed him back a few seconds later because someone started speaking in the background.
Izana's attention shifted briefly.
Then returned immediately.
"…I'll see you later."
"Bye Da-da!"
Izana's expression softened one last time.
"…Bye."
The call ended.
Immediately afterward Zarek looked around suspiciously.
Then whispered very loudly—
"…Da-da can't know."
Leah nodded seriously.
"Absolutely not."
"Secret mission."
"Correct."
Zarek looked deeply satisfied by this.
Then accidentally sat directly in wet paint.
Leah stared.
Zarek stared too.
Silence.
Then—
"…Oops."
Leah laughed so hard she nearly cried.