Archangel

[Sparkles]

Sierra smirked as she watched the vampire trot after Allire like an obedient puppy; she really did love chips - such handy little gadgets they were. She doubted this practically newborn vamp was even slightly powerful enough to 'over-ride' the effects of the chip, but even still, Sierra didn't move until Allire had the vampire seated in the back-seat beside her.

Walking around the front of the car to the passenger seat, she opened the passenger-side, almost ready to get in. retrieving her phone from her pocket, she pressed a number of buttons in quick succession and lifted it to her ear.

Bare seconds later, Mr. Ebrose's head of security was answering the phone. "We've got him."
The voice at the other end instructed her to drop the package off at a private airstrip.
Unsurprised by the chosen location, she hung up and relayed the information to Garret as she got into the car, buckled her seat belt and closed the door behind her.
She decided it would be a bit redundant to try make conversation with the vamp as it had lost all ability to speak the moment Allire had clamped him. The muting was a side effect of the neural straightjacket created by the chips. Before the inception of the chip-embedded devices, vampire hunting had been something of a suicidal career choice, as even the baby vamps had the ability to tear the human to pieces. Of course, according to the latest research, the hunter-born weren't quite human, but they were close enough.

Instead of harassing the vampire, as Allire seemed to be rather adverse to the idea and Sierra wasn't about to start making enemies out of her coworkers, she leaned against the heavily tinted window.
As the coldness of the glass seeped through her skin, Sierra watched as the outside world passed by as they approached the airstrip.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Sara rose her brow at the hunter when he chose not to sit.
Deciding not to joke around this new guy, as it seemed humour was below him, she decided to make this meeting as short as possible for her own sanity; staying serious and foreboding only gave a person a really bad headache, and it sure wasn't one of her stronger points.

"You're working with America's elitist hunters - Sierra, Garret, Allire and one or two others, though they're currently out of the country for reasons I'm not obliged to tell you" she said matter-of-factly. "Your next assignment begins tomorrow and as I think the Core is about to receive it, you'll need a brief from them; not me." she offered him a pen, trying to prompt the Australian hunter to just get the signing over and done with.
Right on cue, her headache was beginning to form.
"You'll most probably find them in Verlaine Bar between Ludlow and Essex."
Sara, being rather in-tuned with the workings of the majority of her hunters, knew that it would be Sierra's choice tonight - and Sierra would never pass up an opportunity to go laze around at Verlaine - She'd said previously that it was something about the Vietnamese influence that drew her in.
Sara couldn't quite grasp the appeal, but at least it was a tidier place for Allire then where many of her new graduates hung out after work. She shuddered to think.

[Elario Luminus]

"Fast enough. It gets me from A to B," he smirked, as he merged into the traffic on the highway. To his dismay, it was evening, which meant peak-hour traffic. Cursing under his breath, he relaxed against the seat and waited for the traffic to move. As he waited, he checked his destination on the GPS installed in his car. 'Not long now...'

An agonising half hour later, Garret was pulling into the small car park parallel to the private airstrip. After getting out of the car, he was glad to see that the area surrounding them was a lot nicer than the Bronx, even though it was only across the river. He walked around and opened the door for Allire and her captured vamp, keeping an alert eye on the roads in case they were ambushed by...something. He knew no vampire would have the guts to do anything stupid, not while the three of the best Hunters in the USA together, but he didn't get anywhere by being careless.

Off to the side, Garret spotted two burly looking men standing in a small security checkpoint. Past them, on the airstrip itself, was a small private jet with a group of men standing near the steps that led into the jet.

[Lykaios]

Sensing that she had said all she would, and coming to his own conclusion that he didn't particularly favour the woman, Constantine was more than a little enthusiastic to escape her presence. He maintained a solid air of separatism from the environment however; opting to continue to seem unappeased. It was in this moment that he decided only a few more words were necessary, despite how...helpful she had been.

"Very well. I shall take my leave, and allow you to return to whatever pressing issue I'm sure you have at hand." he announced, nodding as politely as he bothered to muster, and easing out of his seat. He calmly and -surprisingly- maintained a decently presentable stride out from behind her desk, and to the door. He mockingly bowed at her, and closed the door behind himself. In the hallway still within earshot of Leader Haziz; Farlius humphed and asked himself a question.

"Where the hell do I find that bar, in this skata-trupa? I've never even been here." he cussed a little in Greek as he walked away. Finding this 'Verlaine Bar' as she suggested was going to be harder than he wanted it to be.

Walking back into the reception area, he quickly decided he'd rather go to the hotel and get a meal and some sleep, than waste his time shuffling around for some bar.

"Malaka..." he cursed a few more times, each getting a bit more vile than the predecessor, and walked towards the front door.

[Arcane]

Allire responded to Garret's explanation with a simple nod and a brief "Nice," then settled down to enjoy the ride in silence besides the vamp. Fortunately, he was pleasant enough company. Funny how much more bearable a chipped collar made just about anyone. Probably had something to do with the silence and lack of free will. Made them passive, at the very least, and most people dumb enough to run out on a contract with an angel hadn't made much productive use of their free will anyway. She should try collaring her friend Kyle one of these days. He wasn't a vamp, but if he had been...It would do him some good, being helpless for a change. Too bad he'd probably never speak to her again, otherwise she'd been tempted to do it just for kicks.

The drive went by all too quickly and before Allire had had time to settle her thoughts, let alone take a well-deserved nap, they were pulling up to an airstrip and she was getting down and walking out, ordering the vampire to follow along behind her. Hmm, Allire grinned a bit at the site of the jet and the bodyguard. Angel was going all out for this one. Shame his passenger would be in no position to appreciate it.

Allire walked straight up to the largest of the men. He was the leader, she presumed, from the way he held himself and the suspicious look he was giving her. She was aware she must look mildly ridiculous, a short woman in a bright red t-shirt and jeans that were muddy from a day of hunting, but she'd caught his vamp, while he'd been sitting here gossiping or whatever it was angelic servants did with there time.

"And you are?" the guard asked her shortly, his deep voice clipped and his eyes calm. There had been a time when she wouldn't have been able to read the disdain behind them, but she'd grown up since then.

"I'm Allire, member of the Core. And you could sound a bit happier to see me, considering I've been traipsing all over the city looking for something your boss seems to have misplaced."

His look didn't change much, but the edge faded from his posture. Good. Aggression worked with some men, clearly including him, "Now then, where would you like him? And tell your boss to pay us on time this time. I'm not flying to Australia for my pay."

Allire most certainly was not tracking another reneging customer down. Last time an angel had tried to back down on her, she'd had to chase his vamp secretary across France for a month before she'd gotten him to pay up. The money hadn't been worth it, but the look on the birdbrain's face when she'd shown up with his servant collared had.

[Sparkles]

Sierra followed behind Allire at a leisurely pace so as to not interfere. It hadn't taken her long to figure out that this capture really meant a lot to their newest member.

As she walked up to the head guard, he held out an envelope for her as he watched Allire. "The transfers have been made to your guild accounts as per our agreement."
Sierra checked the confirmation slip. Her eyebrows rose. "Mr. Ebrose has been generous"
Switching his eyes back to Sierra, the member of the Wing Brotherhood inclined his head to her slightly, "He expected the best and was satisfied with what he received.. He also wishes to free your schedule." By your, it was obvious he meant The Core.
There were always more vamps to chase down. "Mr. Ebrose want us to track another renegade?
"No. He has a friend who requires your services.."

_____________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, another guard approached Allire; this one with a much softer approach, "No injuries. Impressive..
He directed his body in the direction of the sleek black jet and held his hand out, palm up, also towards its direction. She had to stow the package personally, as they didn't have the license to handle him at this point in the journey. "If you will, Ma'am"

_____________________________________________________________________________

'What an arrogant, self-loving twat,' she thought, crunching her fingers at the side of the forms that Constantine had left on her desk behind him. She'd spent the good portion of the last few hours writing these documents up for him, and he'd barely skimmed them, then, regardless that she'd offered him her hand and then the pen, he'd ignored both and left without signing! 'That was the whole point of you coming in here in the first place you twat!', she huffed, bringing one of her hands up to her forehead and rubbing it across her eyes and temples, trying for some sense of ease to her rapidly accumulating headache. She wasn't going to go chasing after him.. it was something he would have to learn soon enough. Things worked differently here in the United States.

He wouldn't be able to start any hunting legally until he signed the forms she'd prepared, and he wouldn't know what to do or where to go unless he took her advice and took a trip to Verlaine.
Sara could already see that this new hunter was going to cause her problems.

[Elario Luminus]

Garret waited by the car, leaning on the hood with his arms folded, while the girls did what they needed to do. He didn't really enjoy talking to guards and middle men, so now that he had the chance to avoid the menial task, he took it. He watched on as Allire approached a guard to drop off their quarry and as Sierra took the envelope and conversed with the head guard.
'Maybe we've already got something else lined up. That would be nice. I hate staying still for too long...'

Getting bored quickly, Garret pushed off the hood of his car and sat back down in the drivers seat, turned on the stereo and reclined the seat, listening to the gentle sounds of the engine and soft music with hands behind his head.

[Lykaios]

Stepping out the front doors, Constantine drifted aimlessly forward. He hadn't though much about what this town would be like, and had only agreed to come in the first place, to collect his pay from his last job. It had only been when he had accepted and nearly completed the job that his Guild Leader had requested he participate in the first few missions of the Americans new Core project. He'd agreed, because he'd not really been left an option. Thinking back, he realised that perhaps his Guild Leader had wanted Constantine gone for a while. He was the 'no bullshit' type of guy, and because he took no crap, his fellow Hunters respected his skills, but drifted from his company. He didn't care, and nor did he think it was bad. Because Farlius only wanted to maintain his own self. If he got too close, he'd just ditch them. Socialising wasn't his forte.

Lost in his thoughts, Constantine wandered the main streets after leaving the Guild, and only after an hour of walking, did he realise that he was perhaps in nowhere-he-knew town. He looked around, trying to find a street sign, and realised he'd managed to wander to that 'Essex' she'd spoken about. He found that incredibly lucky, and luckier still that he hadn't been attacked yet. He expected that kind of garbage everywhere in America. Looking around, he found he was at the wrong junction of Essex, and quickly decided that he should consult his phone. Withdrawing his mobile from his pocket, he launched his phone's global positioning application, and discovered the junction he needed was only a ten minute walk East. Shrugging nonchalantly, he proceeded in the correct direction. Only hoping he'd find the bar she had mentioned.

"What was it again? Varlin? Verrin? ...Vernard?" he asked himself as he walked, nearly passing a young couple, chatting pleasantly. He stopped and interrupted the pair. "'Scuse me. I'm looking for a bar around here. Ver...something? Do you know where it is?" he asked, not even attempting to look pleasant, only sounding genuinely interested.
"On vacation? Where from?" the girl asked, smiling. She'd clearly acknowledged his Greek-Australian mix of accent.
"From Australia, but Greek-born. I'm a Hunter. Trying to find where the local Hunters hang out." he supplied a small smile. Thin, but responsive enough to not be quite so confronting.
"A Hunter?" the guy asked, raising his eyebrow. "Damn. I guess I know who not to screw with...the bar you're looking for? It's the Verlaine bar? It's just the end of the street, take a left and should be within sight." he answered, looking at Constantine as though he was inspecting him.
"Thanks." Constantine said, and continued moving.

Once he was out of earshot, he suspected their conversation would be on an entirely new track, but that was not his concern. What concerned him now, was finding this bar...and the stark realisation he'd forgotten something quite important...

"CHESTA!" he swore, realising he'd forgotten to sign that document Haziz had had him look over. There was no way in hell he was intending in returning to her office now, to do that. He'd look completely stupid. No, he decided he'd do it in the morning, as he had to return there then anyway, to get organised for whatever the first assignment would be. After that, he crossed the street and discovered very quickly the bar he'd been directed towards. He walked up, being stopped for ID. He pulled out his Hunters 'licence' instinctually, and the bouncer maintained his cool. Though was seemingly a little put-off by Constantine's licence, after having looked at him.

Not everyone needs to be the star jock, to be a Hunter. he thought, mockingly as he walked inside.

[Arcane]

"Of course," Allire nodded, well-pleased with the compliment. She did her best not to grin too broadly as she led her captive aboard. She should be feeling pity, or something sentimental and idealistic like that, but it was hard to ignore the warm glow of pride. She'd always enjoyed success a bit too much. It was her best and worst quality. And, minor though this victory was, it was enough to leave her feeling, for the moment, completely and utterly content, "This work for you?"

Even as she spoke, Allire was pushing the vamp back into a waiting crate. The look in his eyes was pure terror, enough to stir a jolt of sympathy within her, but not nearly enough to make her feel truly sorry for him. She'd spoken on the phone to the sister of one his human victims. The girl had been crying hysterically. While Allire hated histrionics, even she hadn't been heartless enough to hang up so she'd been stuck listening long enough to have lost any compassion she might have felt for the runaway.

One of the guards, a tall, blond man with icy eyes, nodded briefly. Accepting this as her cue to leave, Allire walked back outside into the sunshine, where her fellow hunters were waiting. Seeing Sierra speaking to one of the guards, Allire walked over to Garret. He looked rather absorbed, just sitting in his car with the seat reclined and the engine running, and for a moment she was reluctant to trouble him. But she'd had no arguments with him so far and she wasn't about to wait outside his door like a lost puppy, so she knocked on the window, hoping to jolt him from his thoughts.

[Sparkles]

The guard passed over a second envelope, this one sealed. "The appointment is for eight a.m. tomorrow. Please ensure you attend - it's been cleared with your Guild, the deposit paid."
If the Guild had signed off, that meant it was a legitimate hunt. "Sure. Where's the meet?"
"Manhattan"
Sierra's soul went ice cold. For only one angel would that single word suffice as enough of a direction. Even the angels had a pecking order and she knew very well who was at the top. But, fast as it had swept over her, the fear passed. Mr. Ebrose, while powerful, was hardly likely to know an archangel, one of the Cadre of Ten that decided who would be Made and who would do the Making.
"Is there a problem?"
Her head snapped up at the guard's quiet comment. "No, of course not." She made a show of checking her watch. "I better be going. Please give our regards to Mr. Ebrose." With that, she exited the tarmac and made her way back passed security and the two burly guards who obviously throught they were the real muscle around here.
Coming around to her side of the car, she gave Allire a weary smile over the bonnet before opening the front passenger door and shrugging into the car.
And because she wanted to tear open the sealed envelope with her teeth, she would wait until they were all settled at Verlaine before she did so.

Putting the envelope on the dash, she turned slightly in her seat so that she could see Allire and Garret both as she plastered on a fake smile; the kind she would normally have after completing one of her missions; especially when it was her choice tonight. "I shouldn't need to say where but..." she directed her look to Garret, "Take us to Verlaine."
She winked at Allire, "you'll love it - it's got a great little vietnamese feel to it"

[Elario Luminus]

Garret's eyes popped open and looked at Allire before he sighed. 'Should've known the peace wouldn't last.' Resignedly, he fixed his chair so it sat straight and turned down the music. Reaching back to unlock the door from the inside, he tapped once on the window to let Allire know the door was open for her. He nodded once when Sierra told him where to go, and he noticed the envelope on the dashboard as he looked back to the road. Curiosity filled his eyes and he frowned slightly at it. Pushing it aside for now, he put the car in gear and drove away from the private airstrip.

Garret had always hated peak hour traffic, and it was with apprehension that he approached the ever-glowing city of New York. From afar, he could see the lights from almost everything that had electricity; cars, street lamps, buildings. Over the gentle hum of his Viper's engine, he heard the distant and quiet sound of car horns beeping angrily over one another, and he sighed.
"You'd think that, because traffic is always so bad in the city, people would learn to walk to places. Or better yet, get a push bike or something."

[Lykaios]

He wasn't fond of bars, this he knew from his adult life in Australia. That said, however; he usually avoided popular locations for people to interact anyway, so it hadn't really been his usual hangout in the first place. As it were, he couldn't understand the appeal of a bar, regardless of its menu, or what it's focal point was. Here he was, walking into the Verlaine Bar, which seemed to have a very good Vietnamese odour of food, wafting through the interior, but he was otherwise undeterred. Hell, he was almost completely incompetent as far as people skills were concerned, but he had decided long ago, that he'd never have need for them, anyway.

Approaching the bar, Constantine knew he was getting hungry, but he was actually really craving some good souvlaki. God, he missed good, Greek souvlaki. He waited at the bar until a fairly attractive - he had to admit - young Vietnamese waitress served him, and he ordered a bourbon chaser. He'd have a drink, and wait for there to be some action that would scream out 'Hunter' to him. It was bound to happen if Hunters arrived. There'd be some sort of commotion, or something that would tell him certain patrons were in fact, Hunters.

Now, he only had to play the waiting game. Good thing he had a drink...

[Arcane]

Allire slid into the car as Garret opened the door. Seemed she was in the back again. It didn't bother her. She was the new girl, after all. Allire knew how it worked. Liked it, even. As long as she stayed the "new girl", she'd have her privacy. Or, as much privacy as she normally had anyway.

Allire offered Sierra a tired, but genuine, smile as she slid in. It had been a long, hard day, true, but it had ended with Allire catching a vamp. A loser vamp, but still vamp enough to leave her feeling confident and content. Sierra didn't look much better, looking a bit strained as she instructed Garret to take them to Verlaine. Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine... Allire racked her brain, but she couldn't remember ever hearing of the place. Apparently it was a restaurant or a bar of some sort, but not one she'd ever been to. Allire shrugged to herself and leaned back into her seat. Seemed she was invited after all. She'd make nice with her new partners for as long as they wanted, she decided. She had to work with them, after all. And a dinner wouldn't kill her. She couldn't see either Sierra or Garret getting too drunk to stand.

"Sounds good," Allire nodded to Sierra, "Thanks for inviting me. I've never been."

Allire stared out the window for a bit after that comment, watching the city flash by, trying to get a feel for the neighborhood. She smiled a bit as Garret commented on the traffic. It was truly atrocious, but at least he had a nice set of wheels. She needed to get herself a car once she had the cash, even if walking was quicker. It looked classy, cool. And Allire had always liked cars.

Allire examined the place as they pulled up. Looked fairly nice, civilized, not her normal kind of place where she could fade into the crowd and slip off. From the outside, at least. Inside, Allire was sure there were plenty of sweaty people dancing and it would be easy enough to lose herself if things went sour. Well, she might decide to look out for her new "partners" first, but only maybe. Allire took a deep breath and stepped out of the car, bracing herself to enter the human mob.

"I don't drink," she burst out suddenly. Then she walked quickly inside, blushing a bit as she realized what she'd blurted out. Oh well, better they knew in advance. Allire slid into the bar area and asked for a water, steadfastly ignoring the patron sitting next to her, a glass of something distinctly alcoholic in his hand, and looking for her partners over her shoulder. Allire'd spent some time in bars, but she'd never liked them, had never been really comfortable in them.

[Sparkles]

Once Garret had parallel parked in front of the bar, Sierra made sure she remembered to take the envelope and it's daunting contents as she opened her door and got out of the car; letting the door close with an almost silent woosh behind her. She barely caught Allire's proclamation that she doesn't drink as she was rather focused on the dry folds of parchment between her tingling fingers.
Of course, when it did register, she couldn't help but chuckle a little. Just a little. She didn't want to offend Allire, but she did find the sudden outburst rather amusing; more-so than what was said itself.

Walking in after Allire, Sierra observed the usual.
A dance floor scattered with a few scantily dressed teens that decided a bar was a bar and alcohol was all you needed to have a good time; they'd leave to find a better breeding ground as the night wore on.
Tables that would slowly but surely be filling up over the next half an hour or so with young business men and women, dating couples, a few bikers; undeterred by the warm aroma (this, of course, would normally include Ransom.. although not so much as of late), and a rather large mix of seasoned tourists and other locals like themselves.. without the hunter license.. or weapons.

Upon noticing that her usual table was already occupied with a couple flirting over a bottle of champagne and some turkish bread, an odd combination, Sierra went and sat to the left of Allire and beside another open seat which she assumed Garret would take in a few moments. "I think... you should check your bank account." she said in a rather thoughtful voice. She knew the deposit in her own, but she needed to make sure it wasn't a mistake before she either told the others her theory or opened the dreaded envelope she now held with both hands face-down on the bar once she'd waved off the bar tender.

[Elario Luminus]

Garret stepped in line behind Sierra as they entered the bar, and was met with the terrible sight of teens wearing as little as possible while trying to wear as much as they can at the same time. For the most part, the results were terrifying variants of short dresses and low cut tops. Sighing in disdain, he went to go towards his usual spot and frowned at the inability to go there. Once again, flirtatious adolescents.
'Dammit...'

He resigned himself to sitting next to Sierra and, upon hearing her suggestion of checking his bank account, slid his phone from his pocket and began toying with it to unlock it and access the net. While his phone set about loading the page he needed, Garret looked up and scanned the bar again, looking for...he didn't know what. He found he was just plainly looking, when his eyes came to a rest on a man to the side of Allire, drinking a chaser. He looked foreign, but from a Western developed country. 'Not England; he's too dark-skinned for those lily-skinned people. Maybe Greek?' He discarded it and refocused on his phone, now readily waiting for him, displaying his bank balance. His eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Surely that vampire wasn't worth that much? He was newly made, and for all it took to find him, he was an easy catch. Garret regathered himself and turned back to Sierra and Allire. "I don't think we'll be wanting for a while. It's certainly odd though, the amount he gave us...each."

[Lykaios]

After about ten minutes of waiting, and slowly drinking his chaser, a petite young woman sat beside him. At first, he paid no heed to her; until she was joined by another woman and a stern looking man. He gave them a cursory glance, taking in their stature and appearances. They had a strong look about them, and he took a shine to how they carried themselves. He had suspicions they too were Hunters, but was unsure about whether or not he should ask it out loud. It wasn't something that was brought up quite so publicly at all times. He ground his teeth, frowning and released his with-held breath. He took another sip from his drink, and placed it back on the bar. The noise and vibe of the bar and restaurant, was far from his style and sense of comfort, but this was where he was supposed to find these guys.

"Ghamoto." he cussed lightly, and after a few moments he turned towards the newcomers. "Sorry, but would you happen to be..." he paused for a moment, and moved closer, almost whispering the words. "Guild Hunters?" he waited a few moments, till one of them responded to him, and was very close to displaying his ID to them. After a few moments, he decided that wasn't the best idea, in case he was mistaken.