He was silent for a moment, a little surprised by her accent, but smiled smoothly at her.

"I am." he replied, his own voice as velvet as he could make it.

"I'm here to inquire about a service you provide." he told her. "One that's... well-known in underworld circles, and one that it seems people are afraid to ask you for." he continued.

He then crossed his arms over his chest, and looked her straight in her eyes.

"I hear you're a Priestess." he told her.

"A specific kind of Priestess, with a very specialised set of skills."

He just smirked again.

"I intend to launch a crusade against one that has slighted me in the past." he told her.

"For that, I need an army. One that can take on their might." he continued.

"And to that end, I require the power of someone that carries a demonic curse." he went on. "However, they are... well... shall we say, not sympathetic to my cause." he went on.

"So I need to... coerce them into joining my cause." he reasoned.

"However, I need to do so in a way that does not step past the boundaries that demons are forced to recognise."

He was starting to get annoyed now, but he held his tongue. He needed her help, so he needed to let her play her little game of 'more information'. However, it was clear that she wasn't one for vague talk and allusions. It was something he could respect.

"...all right." he said. "I'll be blunt." he told her.

"I know you possess an artefact." he said. "One that not even the Council or Triad is sure exists." he continued. "And I want you to use that artefact to make the mind of one Erica Windsor under MY command." he said further.

"Just tell me what you need to link her to that artefact." he went on.

"And tell me how much this service will cost." he then said.

"Will $150,000 suffice?" he asked.

"I am willing to wait." he responded.

"I have waited millennia already." he told her. "I've been pondering and planning this for... a VERY long while." he assured her. "A few months? Nothing to me." he continued.

"Just tell me if you need anything more from me. Or from the woman, herself." he said.

"And how do you take your payment?" he asked.

"Before? After? Half-and-half? Another split of sorts?" he asked further.

"I wish to conduct our business as respectfully and amicably as possible."

"Hair. Got it." he told her. "I will acquire some of her hair." he said. "How much?" he asked.

"A decent-sized lock." she replied. "And at least 2 inches in length." she said further.

"Done." he said.

"I will have it to you within the next few days." he went on.

He then flicked his wrist, and a black and red briefcase appeared beside her, on the workbench she had. She found it unlocked, and when she opened it, she found $150,000 in US currency.

"Your payment." he told her.

"I suspect you will start to prepare thing while I acquire the hair?" he asked.

"Then I will return in exactly 3 days." he responded.

The woman took down the barrier, causing him to chuckle lightly.

"Toodles." he said, before leaving the room.

As he did, she found herself relieved to be out of his presence. She had no problems doing what he requested, and she had to agree that the payment was more then adequate enough, and seemed to be legitimate, for all intents and purposes... but she just didn't like being around him.

He made her skin crawl a little.

Sure enough, the following evening, Erica was returning home from a shift at the Unit, and as soon as she approached the building and put the keys to the lock, she felt it.

Him.

He had arrived, and was approaching her from behind.

She was about halfway through the message, before she felt him RIGHT behind her. And when he spoke, his voice indicated that he wasn't even an inch away from her, he was so close.

"Ah-ah-ah." he said, snatching her phone.

"Trying to call some backup in?" he asked.

"Your demon and nepilim friend are nowhere NEAR as strong as I am. They can't help you." he then said with a laugh... but it stopped abruptly, and his tone took a turn for the serious.

"That being said, I can feel that an archangel's been meddling." he commented.

"You're like one of those fish on a hook... that just keep struggling and flopping around, despite it being over." he snarled.

He looked at the phone, before gently chucking it off to the side, not caring what happened to it.

"Oh, not much." he told her, following her to the kitchen.

"See, you rejected my proposition to join my army." he said. "And, sadly, I can't use my powers and mana to force you. Red tape is so inconvenient like that." he lamented.

"And I know that if I continue to make your little curse flare up worse than before, whatever archangel was here will probably bring it back down." he went on. "Detestable beings, the lot of them." he growled.

"So... it seems I am to pursue another avenue." he went on... before the next thing she knew, he'd grabbed her by the top of her head, his fingers painfully locked into her hair.

"One that DOESN'T breach my demonic bindings, AND won't tip off your celestial allies." he snarled in her ear.

He just chuckled deeply.

"Make it that you're a dumbass?" he asked. "How vulgar. How crude." he said.

"No, no. I need more subtlety than that." he continued.

"Regardless, the specifics of my plans are none of your concern." he told her. "...well, actually, they are highly of your concern, if we're being honest, but I wouldn't tell you." he said. "And even if I did, you won't remember them anyway." he added ominously.

"But I like to err in the side of caution." he added.

"Right now... all I need is some of your hair."

She watched him place the hair he'd cut in a small plastic bag, and stuff it in his pocket, before he looked at her.

"Are you deaf?" he asked.

"I got what I came for." he told her.

"I said I needed your hair, and I got it." he went on. "That's it. I'm leaving now." he continued, before pausing, thinking a moment, and then snapping his fingers.

"Ah!" he exclaimed.

"You're probably VERY confused right now." he guessed, stopping at the door.

"Do you wish for me to alleviate you of that confusion?" he asked.