Caution: Volatile Chemicals [Ven]

[Sparrow]

Sparrow pressed her thumb against the camera she'd been fiddling with in an attempt to arm the thing to explode if anyone tried removing it from her home. She heard a distinctive crack as the copper piping she'd been trying to fit into place snapped, and she threw the now broken metal at the ground beside her bed.

"Stupid thing... I'll have to see if Carisa can scrounge up some more for me from... somewhere."

Her phone pinged at her, and she leaned forward to pull her phone from her back pocket, crossed legs nearly spilling the container of foul smelling chemicals she'd placed by her knee for when she'd thought she'd need it. The bright yellow label with "Caution: Volatile chemicals, handle with care" obviously meant little to her. She didn't even notice it had started tipping over until she sat back and she felt a stinging sensation creeping over her skin. The Russian quickly wiped the chemicals off her leg with her bedspread, a concerned frown taking over her expression as her wonderfully white comforter took on a rather grotesque colour.

The woman looked at her phone, then.

'CALL ME URGINT i got sumthin u might wnt 2 hear'.

She'd never get over the way Carisa typed. Never, ever, ever. The human had been a friend to her since the day she'd been enthralled, though, and was still young. She had no choice but to forgive her. Her fingers tapped through the touch-screen buttons to call the woman and she shoved the phone between her jaw and shoulder as she moved off the bed, container of chemicals going with her to be set atop her computer desk.

Ring. Ring.

“Oh, come on. You JUST texted m-“

“Hello?”

“What exactly do you have to tell me that’s so urgent? What if I had been asleep?”

“Then I would have come in and woken you up. You’re still looking for a job, right?”

Sparrow hadn’t mentioned looking for a job in awhile, though admittedly, she still was. She was impressed with the normally scatter brained woman’s memory.

“Yes. What’d you find?”

“Place just a few minutes away from the house is hiring. It’s called The Handle Bar or something like that. I dunno. Buncha weird people with tattoos were standing around outside, but I overheard someone say the place had an opening. Go check it out. Once you’re out of the subdivision, hang a left and just walk a little while.”

Sparrow stared at her phone as everything went silent after that, and pulled the thing from her ear to eye the screen. ‘Call ended’ flashed for half a second at her before it went dark once more.

“What a brat,” Sparrow thought to herself as she shoved her phone back into her back pocket. She didn’t really have anything exceptional to wear, save for a few select pieces of clothing set aside specifically for religious observances and holidays. He jean capris, ribbed tank, and Converse would have to do. She ran a brush through her hair and pulled it into a ponytail before she headed out the door and towards... wherever it was she was going. A new job, she hoped.

----

Sparrow stopped just outside the building. It looked fairly new, and based on the looks she was getting from a couple people, she wasn't exactly going to get a warm welcome. She stepped carefully inside and took a look around: nothing special, mostly still under construction. Maybe Carisa had actually found something worth while somehow.

The Russian stepped over to an older looking gentleman near the bar itself. Older than her, anyway, though there seemed to be a lot of people that were. She cleared her throat before she spoke.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you happen to know who owns this place, or where they might be?"

[Mkvenner]

It had been a fairly quiet night, so far. Which was not that odd, in all fairness - the bar was still not technically open, despite the way that the club tended to use it as a hangout and various gangsters and blood thieves had decided, rightly, that it was a haven for their kind. There had been a few people wandering in and out, too, but he was pretty sure that was due to their feelings about the rest of his clientele and the occasional fadebeast more than a desire to inbibe or socialise. There didn’t really seem to be much socialising. Just sitting around and quietly drinking. He supported this entirely.

At present, Mkvenner was stood by the bar leafing through a sheaf of papers detailing just how much it would cost to get the place fixed up and looking ship shape. This was more of a chore than it would seem at first. Mostly due to the multi-level nature of the place and the things he wanted to have done to it. It turned out that a cage fighting ring that was up to code was fantastically more expensive than he had ever thought possible. Same with the pool tables and the arcade machines. Part of him wished that he had realised the cost of all of this stuff before he had decided it was something he wanted to do.

Not that this had changed his mind, of course. It was just going to take a fair while longer to get everything sorted than he had expected. When he had taken over the building from its previous owner, it had been in quite a state. All the flooring had needed to be replaced, the roof leaked and most of the glass was missing from the windows. It didn’t quite give the impression that he was looking for. On top of all of that, he had needed to knock down several of the interior walls simply so that he could actually make a bar out of the space. It had been almost a year since he had taken the place over and his work was really only just beginning.

On the plus side, he had a few staff working for him now. Most of them from the club, granted, but they were staff all the same. He had even been thinking of advertising the positions he still had available, but had not yet done anything about it. Mostly because he wasn’t sure how that would go. ‘Vampire owned, paladin-friendly, bar looking for mildly criminal staff members who don’t mind associating with gangsters and blood thieves’ might not be the best way to go, and that would mean that he’d need to actually interview people. More work that he didn’t really have time for. It never ended.

He was just about to reach over the bar to grab himself a blood pack when someone, female from the sounds of things though that was never an accurate measure, asked if he knew where they might find the owner. They even called him ‘sir’. He could get used to that. He turned to face them with a grin, making sure a little fang was showing, and found that they were, in fact, female. It’s always nice to be right from time to time.

“Evenin’, sweetheart,” he began, “The owner, you say? You’re lookin’ at him. Mkvenner at your service. Ven to my friends.”

[Sparrow]

"--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--"

* Sparrow paused to blink a moment, but quickly realised she needed to introduce herself. She held her hand out. "I'm glad it was simple enough to find you, then. I'm Sparrow Kalashnikov. A friend of mine told me you might be in the market for employees, and I decided to stop by and see if she was going crazy or not."

* Mkvenner grins, "She might be? But she's right about that. The office is this way, lass. Let's at least give being official and **** a try, eh?"
* Mkvenner showed her through to the back room and into his office, motioning for her to take a chair once they were inside
‹Mkvenner› So. Why here?

* Sparrow followed the man, a small knot settling itself into her stomach. She'd not done a job interview in ages. She sat at the edge of her seat, back straight, ankles crossed right under her chair and hands folded in her lap. "Here specifically? It's the first place I've heard of in awhile that's been hiring. I decided to follow through on the possibility, though, because liquor, people, and the two being mixed are nothing new to me."
‹Sparrow› ...and that might sound bad, but I swear I won't try drinking the place dry.

* Mkvenner laughs, "Wasn't even a minor worry, that. Now... do you know who we are and what we do, here?"

‹Sparrow› Not even a little bit, other than a bar, but I figured I'd find out when I talked to someone.

‹Mkvenner› Right, well. We're not what most people would consider a... reputable establishment. Personally, I have no time for the rules others try to make us live by, so I'm not fussed by the whole 'secrecy' thing. I say if they're paying customers, I like 'em.
‹Mkvenner› On top of that, I was a blood thief myself, once. So I like them. I like Paladins, too. And I do what I can to help them out, 'cause it's profitable.
‹Mkvenner› Do you have an issue with any of that?

‹Sparrow› ...um.
‹Sparrow› So long as I don't get attacked or followed home, no?

‹Mkvenner› Happy days. Now then, onto the fun part.
‹Mkvenner› What can you bring to the table?

* Sparrow decided that mentioning Ty if her current life affairs came up would probably not be advisable.
‹Sparrow› It would really depend on what kinds of positions you've got open.
‹Sparrow› I couldn't do a thing for you if all you need is security.

‹Mkvenner› Security I'm good with. Got a prospect taking care of that - they're good for bitchwork. Clerical's taken care of, too.

‹Sparrow› It's easy for me to talk to people, though.

‹Mkvenner› So sales might be a good fit for you?
‹Mkvenner› I do need a barmaid.

‹Sparrow› I don't sell things. I trade them.
‹Sparrow› Tending bar would work, though. Finding ways to make vodka tolerable is a talent of mine.

‹Mkvenner› Is that so? We can probably work with that, if that's something you'd like to do. And if you wouldn't mind dealing with the gangsters and so on we get in. We're not set up yet, but they seem to like it all the same. Buggered if I know why but I'm not complaining.
‹Mkvenner› Might be a rough crowd, but they pay.

‹Sparrow› I've had people come after me with torches and pitch forks. The gangsters around here don't bother me any.

* Mkvenner grins, "Yeah, I'd think that'd be hard to top, really. And, on the upside, we don't tend to get too many torches and so on in here. Just guys with a lot of ink. All you need to do is smile at them and they'll quieten down. Something about the teeth, I think."
‹Mkvenner› Every so often we'll get a party come in for a meeting. Those guys like to be left alone.
‹Mkvenner› Like, they really like to be left alone
‹Mkvenner› Try not to smile at them, either. They really don't like that. Trust me.

* Sparrow furrowed her brow.
‹Sparrow› I don't think I'll ask why.
‹Sparrow› But alright.

[Mkvenner]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--


‹Mkvenner› Probably for the best, really. You'll soon get the hang of things round here. We're pretty relaxed and we pay better than most. Which is always nice, really, I think.
‹Mkvenner› Oh, and there's no dress code.
‹Mkvenner› No need to wear a belt for a skirt and so on to work the bar, here.

‹Sparrow› That's... probably a good thing.
‹Sparrow› All I've got is variations on what I'm wearing now.

‹Mkvenner› I mean, they prolly wouldn't complain? But it's not a thing.

‹Sparrow› Minus some of the chemicals on my pants right now. Those normally aren't there.

‹Mkvenner› Eh, don't worry about that. As long as you keep the drinks coming, no-one's going to complain.
‹Mkvenner› Oh, and try not to touch the bikes outside? My guys get a little... peeved when people mess with their rides.

‹Sparrow› I've got one of my own. I know the rules.
* Sparrow grinned.

‹Mkvenner› You do? I approve. I think you're going to fit in well around here.
‹Mkvenner› So... anything you want to ask me?

‹Sparrow› Where's employee parking, and when do I start?

‹Mkvenner› You can park out front with the rest of the bikes, I'd think. Leaving yours with ours will probably keep it a lot safer than elsewhere.
‹Mkvenner› And... you can pretty much start immediately, I'd think. Or as soon as you're able, anyway

‹Sparrow› I've got -almost- nothing else to do. Will it be an issue if I've got to run without much notice sometimes?

‹Mkvenner› Nah, that shouldn't be an issue. Like I say, we're pretty relaxed here. As long as stuff gets done, it doesn't really matter to me when it gets done.

‹Sparrow› Awesome. I'll probably never stay gone too long, but uh... people don't like to tell me what's going on and then text me at random sometimes.
* Sparrow was really bad at paying attention to when Ty was on the hunt until she had someone asking her to run somewhere to help.

‹Mkvenner› That sounds inconvenient all round, really. Flick them.

‹Sparrow› Typically it isn't an issue because I'm never doing anything but hiding in my house.

‹Mkvenner› Well then I guess now you get to come out and meet people. 'cause let's be honest, the job's yours.

‹Sparrow› Sounds good to me!
‹Sparrow› And thank you.

‹Mkvenner› Fantastic! If you want a name tag, make one yourself.
‹Mkvenner› Oh, and try not to eat the patrons
‹Mkvenner› They can't pay us if they're dead.

‹Sparrow› I use blood packs. I never know what these people have been drinking or eating. Doesn't help that I seem to draw attention to myself on occasion either, so I leave the live bait to the big fish.

‹Mkvenner› Well, that works too. There's a shop a couple of blocks south of here, and one to the east, too.

‹Sparrow› I know. I don't live too far down the ro-
* Sparrow cut herself off as her phone beeped at her. 'DID U GO YET WAT HAPIND I NEED U 2 LOOK AT WAT I GOT FRM THE MALL' the message across the screen flashed after she'd pulled her phone partially out of her pocket. "It sounds like that friend who sent me this way has gotten home and has potentially destroyed my living area. When would be a good time to come back and meet everyone else?"

* Mkvenner laughs, "You should probably go deal with that, then. As for the rest, I was thinking of calling a staff meeting for some time this month, actually. I'll let you know the details when I know them.

‹Sparrow› Alright. That sounds excellent. Here... do you have a pen and paper I can make use of?

‹Mkvenner› Yeah, sure... somewhere... Try the desk in the corner over there?

* Sparrow moved to find what she needed, and wrote down her name and cell number on it. She handed it to Ven. "If I don't answer my phone, I can use mindspeak. Thank you again, sir. I really do appreciate this." She considered shaking the man's hand again, but simply gave him a brief hug instead before skittering off to make sure Carisa hadn't exploded her already disastrous living room with clothes.