With nine people in the room the heat had grown to become unbearable. 

It was for this reason Carbon's eyes remained locked on the only individual that mattered in the room at the moment. 

He had embraced Lightpost's comment regarding his death threats with what sounded like laughter, which was the equivalent of a grim grunt for Carbon.

The truth was he would've taken his own offer. 

Joke. 

That was a joke. 

Ignoring the other people in the room for not only his sanity, but theirs as well, the figure leaned forward in his chair letting his head hang and closing his eyes. 

The room melted away in the heat as he flushed away the unnecessary image of his current surroundings. It was a darkness that hooked onto him, tugging at his very soul. The man shivered, an instinctive panic spreading over him as he lapsed further into solitude. 

Everything was drained away.

The calm darkness stripped at his grief, his self loathing nature, his apathy but most importantly his self destructive anger. It left only the cool rationale of a sociopath. 

One who was determined to do his job no matter the circumstance. 

Then the voices flooded in. 

Each one was like slap across his face. Then there was her's. 

Sadly he didn't have time to listen, so instead he focused on the smooth, carefree but carefully orchestrated chords of Lightpost. 

It was like listening to an old church bell, soothing but filled to the brim with a gripping tension.

[b]"Widow from a small farm five miles west of here...searching for her son...three-mile radius around town, but due to terrain...There's been no sign of a struggle, so this won't be a kidnapping or an attack by a wild animal....pay special attention to water sources. Flight level below the tree line will be optimal."[/b]

The droplets of information trickled in. It was a search mission with a low chance of having any combat involved. 

[i]"How boring..."[/i] rang a strangely nostalgic voice in his head, [i]"I'm a big boy now, so why don't you give me some big boy missions."[/i]

Opening his eyes he looked up with a calm intensity that was usually expected from him.

[b]"Where's the mother now?"[/b] he asked abruptly, cutting off anyone that might have been speaking at the time. He wasn't intentionally trying to be rude. It was just how events played out this time and every other time they had a mission briefing.

[b]"Did he have anything on him?"[/b]