It's not a terrible story, if he didn't already know who Mike really was, he might've been convinced. "An interesting story." Ba'al's hand tightens on Mike's throat. "Let's see if it's true." He's not being terribly careful about choking him. He loses nothing if he dies.

His other hand comes up to pry one of Mike's hands off. He immediately pins that arm against the wall. Once he's sure he has a firm grip of his wrist, he releases Mike's throat. Then he moves to pin his other arm. He's moved in close enough that any attempts at kicking him wouldn't land.