Owner	Pose
Chas Chandler	Chas had taken the laptop, earpiece, and goggles after the incident with the blood monster and the mysterious River. He'd given the laptop a once over but couldn't find anything of note on it. It looked like it was used more as a communications hub for the devices provided than anything of true storage or data colating.     That left the goggles and the earpiece. He didn't want to give this mysterious woman any (more) nightmares--the Velvet Room, while fairly tame could be disorienting for the uninitiated. So that left the earpiece. He eyes the device warily and then pops it in his ear and hits the transmission button.     "River, are you there?" he ventures. He isn't expecting an answer, but stranger things have happened and nothing is gained without a bit of testing.
Tomie Kawakami	The answer is an eventuality. "... I am here. I was wondering when you'd turn this back on." The delay was there, as it clearly took her a minute to get back into the groove or perhaps to get a headset on, but she did answer. Eventually.
Chas Chandler	Chas has almost given up when River's voice comes over the comm. "Good. You're there. Sorry for the delay. There was... much to do in the meantime" he says. "How are you?" He can't help but make -some- smalltalk, even if the motivation for this communication was more information gathering and impromptu interrogation.     He moves from the small desk to a sitting chair in the room and settles down, resting his elbows on his knees as he talks to the still faceless benefactor that led them to that creature at the abandoned store.
Tomie Kawakami	"Oh, I'm just fine. The weather is also lovely, I had an excellent lunch, and have you watched that game slash seen that movie yet? There. I believe we've covered appropriate subjects and then you can get to the reason you're on the line, which I assume is trying to learn more about me." River is very cursory about these things at the moment. Perhaps even a bit impatient.
Chas Chandler	Chas sighs in relief as River passes through the small talk. "Straight to business then. Yes. I suspect we have questions for each other. You want to go first, or should I?" he asks, pulling over a notepad and a pencil.     He want's to get this documented and spent some of his freetime collecting ideas for questions to ask of this woman. He's good with a list. Once he has more information... well, there were steps to go with through this whole thing and what those were would depend entirely on what River's answers are.
Tomie Kawakami	"I do have one or two," she remarks to him, "given what I saw over the camera." There's a sound like the drumming of her fingers. No, not LIKE the drumming of her fingers. It's totally that, picked up by her microphone's sensitivity. Impatience.
Chas Chandler	"Then an answer for an answer" Chas says, his own tone turning professional. This isn't his forte, in fact most of the interrogations of this sort he left to Constantine, but Constantine isn't around anymore so... someone's got to do it. "Go ahead and ask one. I'll answer and then you do me the same courtesy? Deal?" He nods and waits for the woman's question.
Tomie Kawakami	"That depends on your question. I won't tell you anything I don't want to, same as you. Ugh, this is awful," she says sof something else entirely. "I look into odd occurences from time to time. Your friend stumbled into one of them. Are you, or her, for hire? Because I have more."
Chas Chandler	Chas is brought up short by the question. "Ummm... you're looking for a supernatural private eye?" he asks for clarification. "Uhh..." He pauses. Another thing that he usually left to John Constantine. Was that to be his fate? He had power now... a -cosmic fuckton- of it to be honest. But... could he use it for that purpose?     A memory of words given to him by an Archangel comes to his mind. He was given this power to help the world. If this woman had more instances of phenomena and he could get to it more easily... he could save people instead of letting more like what happened to the Agent, the woman, and who could guess how many others that monster had consumed in its... gestation.     "I could be. Cael's an FBI agent, her positon could compromise things if you hired her outright. I'm not assocaited with anything of that sort myself..." he says, writing something down on the notepad. "But if I work for you... I'm going to want a name. A -real one,- not a pseudonym."
Tomie Kawakami	"Sure, why not?" she replies, dismissively as to the quesrtion of a supernatural private invesigator. There's a long pause at the mention of someone being an actual FBI agent. Don't have to be psychic to feel the way they must be pinching the bridge of their nose in annoyance. "I suppose she isn't going to report any of what she encountered, outright. I am fine with being pseudononymous at this time. It's for my own security. Surely, you can understand my desire for safety, and surely you wouldn't want something so small as a name to get in the way of those people you want to help, or the slights you want to resolve. I saw how you dealt with that ugly ... thing, remember." There's a pause and her voice goes low. "Besides, maybe you need help yourself, hm?"
Chas Chandler	Chas scowls at the nonanswer for a name. "Fine... River you will be until you feel more comfortable with giving out your name" he says. He didn't like it, that much was clear but he seemed more concerned with helping people than he was with finding out the identity of this helper. He pauses and considers his list. "Then a different question... these occurances you look into? Do they all involve the same sort of being or are the suspects different across the board?" he asks.     His mind contained a veritable plethora of knowledge about how to kill any variety of creatures that threatened supernatural circles. But that thing at the shop, while not imminently dangerous to him, was unlike anything he'd encountered before and that bothered him more than the ease at which it went down.
Tomie Kawakami	"I just go with whatever piques my interest," she remarks, casually, "Relax, though -- these are more often than not busts! Scouring youtube for the one 'real' sighting of something that isn't a known quantity or isn't easily explainable is time consuming and more importantly *boring*, but it is how these things go. I suppose I don't need to tell you that sifting through the garbage is what I pay other people to do."
Chas Chandler	"That's typically part and parcel for what PIs do..." Chas replies dryly. "It's just that supernatural PIs deal with larger laundry bills..." A pause. "Because of the slime and ichor, you see." He snorts softly. "Alright. So you hire me when you have a lead. I look into it and dispose of whatever needs disposal. Fair enough. Your turn. Next question?" He jots down a few more notes on his notepad and waits.
Tomie Kawakami	"Wherever did you get that fire?" she asks. A loaded question if there ever was one.
Chas Chandler	Chas pauses. A question of his new origin. He shrugs. If the woman on the other end of the line is able to handle blood monsters on a regular basis, his situation isn't nearly as horrible. "A parting gift for an unjust imprisonment at the Gate of Heaven. I'm an angel now. Or well... I'm an angel in everything but Purpose." The capital P is emphasized enough to show in the word.     "The fire? I summoned it from the memory of a dying star at the edge of the galaxy" he says with complete honesty. "I can't do giant things... yet. But in time, and with training, I probably could do more. Should I care to. But at the time, I needed fire. Stars are the most readily available flame source in the universe, and because of what I am, it comes easiest to me."
Tomie Kawakami	There is a long pause. that long pause is followed by an, "Oh." What do you say to that, anyway? It's not like she has any idea.
Chas Chandler	Chas seems to find that acceptable. "My turn" he says. "You weren't lying to me when I asked you what these people were to you? These victims? You have no connection whatsoever to them? Or the creatures who are attacking them?" he asks. There's not a hint of judgement in his tone. Not like when he faced the blood creature. It's curiosity. After all, it'd be pretty hypocritical of him to cast judgement on a failed summoning... considering what he did back in November of last year and all the pain it caused.
Tomie Kawakami	"No, not a thing connects me to any of that." If it's a lie, she's a good liar. The answer is earnest sounding and forthright. "To be honest, if my agent hadn't been so wed to his idea of noirish competency, he'd probably still be alive."
Chas Chandler	Chas can detect lies... but it's not something he can do over long distances. Not yet. He nods and accepts it at face value. "Alright... anything else you need to know from me and any leads you have on hand that I should look into?" he asks finally.     They've covered surprisingly little of the list he had on hand but if this woman is wed to her level of secrecy... he's not going to push her when she isn't directly a problem. If the situation changes... well, then their agreement might have to as well.
Tomie Kawakami	"Yes. Soon, probably. Check back in in a week's time." That's her answer. Looks like he's just gonna have to wait it out until whoever she is has a new 'mission' for him. At least this message won't self destruct.
Chas Chandler	"Fair enough" Chas replies. "I'll keep the glasses and earpiece then. If you don't mind. It's secure enough and seperate from what I usually do that it's a good method for you desire for secrecy." He writes down another note, probably the time to check back in.     "I take it you won't mind if I bring others in on these missions as long as I keep your involvement to what we've discussed?" he asks.
Tomie Kawakami	"I would ask for your discretion, but if it helps, I will ensure they are appropriately paid which, by the way, we do need to discuss..." A beat. "Do you take Bitcoin?"