A TROLL in the diner! ...wait...what? {TR-HAZAMA!}

[Jill Valentine]

Well...at least this trip to New York isn't a total bust and if I find the person putting corpses in snowmen I just might find a lead on Wesker or even Ozwell E. Spencer. I thought the nightmares started by Umbrella Corporation were done with once and for all...but I guess I was wrong. There's even a company called S-Mart that I need to look into soon as I'm done here and locate the culprit behind these bizarre corpses in snowmen crimes. Chris...if you were here we'd find this sick bastard right away...you're the best partner I could have asked for. I got some good news...I've made some acquaintances who could help. It's about time I head out and meet Captain Hazama...you know, this kind of brings me back, but I won't let history repeat itself...not like that. I just hope he isn't some pathetic Wesker wannabe...one is more than enough.

A bit over an hour had passed since she came all the way over to this diner...it may have been a little longer but the clock was out of view...though when she looked to her cellphone to take a look at the time: three fifteen pm, Ms. Valentine was about to up and leave so she could continue working on the peculiar snowmen case. As much as she wanted to help someone trying to stand up against bioterrorism, she didn't want to waste time sitting around when she could be out there finding leads on some nutcase who could very well be a bioterrorist and be a lead to Wesker. Sure, it may have been a long shot but it was something and if she didn't at the very least look into it then she didn't deserve to be part of the B.S.A.A as a co-founder anymore. Five more minutes and she was going to leave...that was all she could offer in the `wasting my damn time` department...five minutes. Normally, she would have dressed a little more casually for a little interrogation but right after this she had to be on the move again since her mission wasn't complete. All she could do is hope this wouldn't take too long if he did come...hell part of her even wished the five minutes would pass and she could hurry up then try to tie up this case and be done with it so the investigation for S-Mart would begin. Of course she'd get Bridget on the case to help her if he was up to it since hell, good ol' Captain Hazama didn't seem very helpful let alone as though he'd actually be of any additional use and this whole S-Mart thing could be huge. The outfit she chose to wear today was pretty much her traditional B.S.A.A uniform, save for the cap, with a thick, blue and white snow jacket over it unzipped since this place was smart enough to keep the heater on.

As for her white gloves, those were off for now and in her pocket among other things she brought along with her like the lock pick from Barry Burton. The table she sat at was one of those booths next to the window so they could get a little bit of privacy while conversing since she doubted he was going to ask something like `SOOOO, MISS VALENTINE! HOW WAS THE WEATHER ON -insert day here-, HMMM? WAS IT NICE? AH HA HA HA HA~! I HOPE SO!`. THAT would be a waste of time and she wouldn't have any part in that...plus she was nearly done with her hot cocoa with little bunny marshmallows in them. Earlier she had a cup of coffee and used up the refill and then decided to try out the cocoa since...well...it was hot cocoa weather. Dan's Diner didn't have many people since around now, most people were working rather than sitting around and stuffing their faces with food. It probably threw the waitress off that she paid right after getting the cocoa, but hey, she wasn't going to wait around for the check if this guy was going to be a prick. Grasping onto the handle of her mug with a look on her face that showed a bit of her patience wearing thin since someone being an hour and fifteen minutes late was more than gracious, she lifted the cup to her lips and took a sip before setting it back down on the ridiculously pink coaster with a very animeish happy face and let her hazel optics glance toward the window.

Tick tok...tick...tok...a busy woman could only wait so long....

{@__@;;; Hope this is okies!!!}

[Hazama]

Hazama had to rush out of his hotel room today, only just waking up a few hours ago. After his bath and subsequent 'breakfast' (at the stylish time of two o'clock pm), Relius had decided to share with him his progress on the replica Caludron, his ideas for an Artifical Casuality Device, and that he had found new top-tier theatre in this world. By the time he was done with his chatting and the soundtrack to 'West Side Story' had been played through, it was about five o'clock, thirty minutes from when he was supposed to meet Mrs. Jill Valentine at 'Dan's Dinner'.

He quickly ran out upon observing the time, cutting Relius off somewhere between 'Shakespeare in gangland' and 'blah blah blah science blah blah blah Austria'. He cut straight through the lobby, still putting on his suit jacket at the door, and politely passing passed the path of a pleathera of pedestrians. Hazama singled a taxi, gave him ten dollars, and prompted him to drive like an insane man all the way to the dinner...and even at that, he arrived five minutes late with all the traffic in this damn city.

Slightly exasperated, he waited outside of the revolving, 50's style door and composed himself before heading inside, making sure the image he was presenting shined through as well as he wanted to -- that of a polite, non hostile enigma. He pushed through the door with his semi-gloved hand, nodding at a waitress as he walked past her and to the both where Mrs. Valentine waited.

"Ah, hello there Mrs. Valentine. Please forgive me for my tardiness, my partner held me for a conference, official N.O.L. business I'm afraid. Excuse me for that, if you can."

[Jill Valentine]

It felt almost like an eternity and a half since she knew that there was a potential bioterrorist out there on the loose roaming the streets of New York and even a bit on edge knowing for a fact Wesker was somewhere preparing something big and without a doubt dangerous to humanity. Tightening her grip on the mug while staring down at the remaining hot cocoa, the bomb disposal expert of sorts wished more and more that she could have her partner Chris back at her side today and that God forsaken incident didn't happen. If only he were there, chances were together, they would have found the culprit and either got a lead or discover the person behind it was just another sicko in the world who needed to be behind bars. Alright, that clinched it...she couldn't just sit here and wait for some no show wasting her time! Loosening her grip on the mug as she shot one last glance at the window, it was then the woman with a fondness for the color blue noticed that all too familiar green haired captain who seemed to be in a bit of a rush. Watching him head on over and get to where she was seated at the booth. Seemed like he was sincere enough but she couldn't help but make a comment about that in a casual fashion with a little sprinkle of amusement, "For a while I thought you weren't going to show up at all, Captain Hazama. I guess it couldn't be helped to leave a busy woman like myself waiting, right?"

Letting that subtle smirk across her lips polishing off those words fade into just a casual smile that was a bit more professional, she was actually a bit relieved this wasn't a complete waste of time after all and only hoped they both shared the same goals of eliminating &/or bringing justice to a particular blonde, psychopathic, bioterrorist...with sunglasses to conceal a pair of the freakiest eyes ever. Admittedly, it was a little odd that he scheduled to see her at the same time as some important conference for this N.O.L...but for all she knew it was something that just came up suddenly. All that mattered is that now she could get this questioning thing out of the way and possibly have at least one other person or even organization assisting the B.S.A.A's main target at this time. Jill needed all the help she could get...even...if...said help was a cross dresser or had highlighter green hair, mostly because her partner was no longer at her side. Even she knew a person can only do so much to change and save the world, she certainly wasn't a super hero or anything like that. "Anyway, if you want to rest a bit before we get started I understand, looks like the trip here was hell for you." Clearly she didn't need psychic powers or some crazy voodoo magic to take in the obvious observations from his entry and the way he held himself.

Her tone was a bit casual, yet having hints of a professional yet somewhat kind nature to it as though she was trying to be at the very least a little polite regardless of him running late. Traveling in New York wasn't exactly something she was finding enjoyable herself.

[Hazama]

Hazama stayed in his professional manner for just a moment, until he let Jill's words sink in. 'If you want to rest before we get started'...yes, Hazama would absolutely love to rest. He then promptly slammed his head against the table in exhaustion, and let out a sigh of relief.

"Dear lord! Thank you Mrs. Valentine...this city is so goddamn annoying and hectic and chaotic and....ugh...I need some eggs. Would you like to order something before the interview?...then again...this interview will be rather...interesting to yourself if you will. I know something you'd like to hear...really really quickly."

Slowly, and awkwardly, Hazama began to recover his professionalism, as if realizing he had just acted way too damn casual. He adjusted his hat, and the grin slowly faded from his face. His eagerness to eat had disappeared, along with his lethargery. He leaned forward to hear Jill's response.

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[Jill Valentine]

This guy was more worn out by this city than she originally thought, especially with the way he slammed his head down on the table some after she told him he could rest first! Let alone that sigh of relief, maybe his line of work was pretty stressful? That was something she'd have to ask about later, after all...it was just a little unnerving helping out some organization she knew little to nothing about. Listening to him thank her and then go on about how, in a nutshell the city kicked his ass and needed some eggs. Lucky for him they were sitting in a diner right now and ordering eggs wasn't going to be a borderline impossible task! In a way, she felt sorry for him and wondered if maybe they should have met somewhere easier to get to but it was too late for that and almost everywhere was a pain to get to, really. Unless of course it was next door or something like that and even in this big city, it's not as if the best place was next door.

Anyway, he also asked if she wanted to order something before the interview and didn't see that suggestion as a bad idea at all. Though just as she was about to suggest that would be a good idea for both of them, he mentioned something about the interview being interesting to herself. A little awkward to say the least, but the more he spoke the more it seemed like he was interested in getting some sort of response out of her in regards to knowing something she'd like to hear. He...couldn't possibly know where Wesker is so that she could open the can of ass whoop on him for that trap he set up causing her to lose Chris...right? Or...maybe they found Chris' body and he wasn't dead! No...that was too much to hope for, he probably got some potential lead on bastard of the year or something like that. Aaaaaand then he leaned in and to that she looked a bit `what the f-4KIDS-k?`.

Not about earlier, but more like his words toward the end since it was normal to just unwind a little after a stressful trip. Oh well...maybe what he knew would help her get out of here and to figuring out how much S-Mart really knew and what their true intentions were. "I was going to say we should probably order something first...but what is it you're so eager to tell me, Captain Hazama?" Saying those words as though she was a little confused but a tad bit curious...maybe even an undertone of casual caution. What to expect, hell if she knew...but it better be as important as he was making it sound since a waitress just walked on by thus causing the wait to order anything crawl up in the `tick tok` department. Her composure became less `W.T.F` and a little more `Ok, so what is it?`.

[Hazama]

Hazama sat upright, straightening his oddly small tie as he braced himself for any reaction Jill might have-- tears, joy, hell even anger was a possible emotion...he cleared his throat, and removed his hat, placing it on the table, allowing his odd green hair to 'shine'...the careful observer would notice that even his roots were green...was that his natural hair color?!...well, with what Hazama would say next, Jill would more than likely not focus on his hair, and more on what he had to say.

"Ahem...very well Mrs. Valentine. I'll tell you. Not long after I first arrived in New York City, I received information on several things perdenant to your interests as well as my own, 'my own' meaning the Intelligence Department. But the most important piece of intelligence, likely to both you an I, is this: B.S.A.A. Agent Chris Redfield is confirmed to be alive. We in the Intelligence Department have no idea where or how, but we are certain that agent Redfield is still alive. Not a zombie, not a test subject of any kind-- but alive. I'd like to request that you not know the exact method we used to obtain this information -- merely accept that we have. And we are also on the look for him."

With a mix of 'professional' and slightly 'personable' and 'sympathetic' demeanors, Hazama took from his coat five manila folders, with--the foremost one-- labeled 'BIRKIN, REDFIELD, SPENCER,UMBRELLA, VALENTINE, WESKER,'. The one behind it was labeled 'RAIDEN, SNAKE, S-MART, PLISSKIN, OCELOT', and the others behind it completely obstructed. If Jill were to pick up the 'BIRKIN' file, she would find extremely detailed dossiers on herself, an Umbrella Scientist, Umbrella as a whole, Ozwell E. Spencer, the Traitorous S.T.A.R.S. Captain Albert Wesker, as well as (and most importantly), Mr. Chris Redfield, with a footnote or two on the S.T.A.R.S., Raccoon City, The Redfield Family, and the status of all S.T.A.R.S. members complete with pictures of those living alive...and one of Brad Vickers deceased inclosed in an envelope. Hell, there was even a space or two written about the Nemesis, the secret project to 'dispose' of S.T.A.R.S. in Raccoon City, as well as a bit on Nicholai Ginovaef's 'WATCHDOG' program, even if it was extremely vague giving barely the minimum of information. At the bottoms of the paper was the neatly written signature of a certain 'Captain Hazama', no last name given...it seemed as though he had compiled most of these dossiers...himself.

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[Jill Valentine]

Watching him adjust his posture while straightening that oddly small tie of his like he was going to make one of the world's most important announcements known to man. ...and now he was taking off his hat like a total gentleman-wait...his green hair WAS natural after all! Those green to the root locks COULDN'T be a normal dye job after bleach! How that was even possible was completely beyond her since she didn't think such a pigment should even BE natural. Before her thoughts could continue rambling on and on about how out of the norm his hair was, it snapped back into `SERIOUS BUSINESS` mode as he started speaking. Mostly because it actually sounded important with the way he was bringing up the Intelligence Department. So he acquired an important piece of intelligence that he was going to share with her?

What it was caused her to just fall into a complete state of shock and almost disbelief...Chris was still alive?! That was the greatest news she had heard all day but she saw him fall into the abyss with a most certain rocky death... How...was there something in the shadows that magically cushioned his fall? As impossible as it seemed, she was glad that little thing some people call `intuition` in her mind doubting Chris' death was right. Normally, she'd call him crazy and let logic do all the work but this was just one of those rare moments where her heart's logic defied what was supposed to be taken as the obvious. Chris...Chris was really out there somewhere and not some sort of monster she'd have to destroy. Realistically though, chances were if it ever came to him being experimented on...she wouldn't be able to defeat him.

Knowing he was alive but not specifically where Chris was let alone how he survived...but the important thing is they were certain somehow. How the hell could someone know a person is alive if they didn't know where they were?! A good part of her wanted to demand that this Captain Hazama guy up and spit out how he obtained that info and more importantly how they could know Chris was alive when they hadn't a clue where to locate him. Gripping onto the hot cocoa mug a little tighter, she averted her eyes down wishing she had done more to find him... "Chris..." whispering her partner's name to herself in a tone that was practically drenched in the regret and even undertone of realization she felt in that very moment. Only wishing she did more to follow her intuition rather than try to force herself to accept `the facts` they had given her. Sitting around her moping wasn't going to find him, she had to get out there right now and try to find him! Snapping back to her more professional, on the job self...that's right sitting here feeling sorry for herself wasn't going to help at all. He'd do the same for her, there wasn't a doubt about that. They were friends and even partners, neither should let the other down if it was within their power to do something.

With the power of friendship activated JILL VALENTINE WAS GOING TO FIND CHRIS REDFIELD AND SUCCEED SOMEHOW! ...but what could they possibly want with Chris? There were two things she could do in this situation...er...that wouldn't be stupid beyond belief that is. Plenty of stupid things but she wasn't going to bother listing them off in her head. First smart option was to go and find Chris right away after this...then there was the second smart thing...keep the naturally green haired Captain Hazama around to help in the process. While leaning toward the second option, it seemed like a train tumbled off the tracks and into one hell of an epic barrel roll as he took out five folders from his coat. What the...how many folders was he hiding in that thing?

Before her brain could bother attempting to solve such a peculiar mystery, that's when her attention was stolen by two of the folders that she could actually read the labels of. This was almost eerie...he was already a step ahead of her in terms of trying to seek out S-MART and if she figured his little file system out correctly it was related to something or even people with the codenames called Raiden, Snake, Plisskin, and Ocelot. More and more the idea of seeing if Captain Hazama was here to partner up and help her or just rub this information in her face and run away into the sunset. Releasing her mug once more, she reached over to grasp onto the file that seemed most familiar to her, `BIRKIN, REDFIELD, SPENCER,UMBRELLA, VALENTINE, WESKER`. It didn't seem like her hand was smacked for grabbing it, so what did she do? Look through it of course! Getting her mug out of the way, she set the folder down and began looking through all the information he managed to gather and also found out that he hadn't really use his first name unless it was `Captain` according to his signatures.

Again, the big question kept popping up, wondering how he got so much information? Now though, it was mixing in with how many strings he had to pull to get all of this. Sure, looking over all of this give her mixed feelings of both the good and bad varieties, but...she had to get a move on NOW and make sure nothing worse would happen to her partner. For all she knew she was racing against the clock and one of the participants being Albert Wesker who, like Captain Hazama, had this nasty habit of being one step ahead most of the time. The nagging feeling to ask who his sources were, she was smart enough to know it was a waste of breath since he hinted off earlier he wasn't going to share their method of obtaining information. Looking though it as thoroughly as possible, this guy definitely did his homework....and it got at the very least an A. "I hate to cut our meeting short, Captain Hazama, but if Chris is still alive, I need to be out there looking for him."

Closing the folder as she placed it back on top of the other folders all in the order he left it in originally, she zipped up her jacket getting ready to go back out in the cold weather looking like she was ready to go out there and take some names if need be while continuing to speak, "...not just sitting here...I don't know why he hasn't contacted me if he's really out there as your Intelligence Department claims, but it can't be good. Especially with Wesker still out there." Sliding out of the booth while pulling out a few dollars to put on the table with some change, she got up and motioned for him to follow her "Let's go. If you don't mind continuing your interrogation while I'm on the job that is. Wouldn't want your trip to be a complete waste..." Sounding a little less `srs bsns gaiz, need to find my friend` and more like she was trying to remedy the situation as a pal.

[Hazama]

Lovely. Just lovely. Hazama was hoping when it came time for Jill to react, it'd be a bit more of an...inquisitive one, a retrospective reaction or something that would keep her planted in her seat asking for more information...not for her to bolt out of it on some crazed man-hunt.

'Women these days...'

Despite her 'odd' reaction, Terumi figured he'd still have no problem manipulating the ever-vigilant Valentine into at least, oh, I dunno, sitting down. As she walked out to leave, Hazama extended his hand as if to stop her -- not forcably mind you, just enough to get the message across.

"Mrs. Valentine...What makes you think merely shaking down a few of your contacts will yield you results? I don't mean to be condescending but...hm...look. I have some idea of what you might be going through at the moment, and I understand that Mr. Redfield is a...very good friend of yours. But, suffice to say, you can't just go out and demand your answers right at this moment. If you'd take a seat, I'd like to share with yo-"

Suddenly, Hazama stopped, apparently annoyed by all the 'protocol' that he had to follow -- at least from Jill's perspective. To her, he was counting on it to appear as though he was tired of acting 'professional' and actually, substantially wanted to assist her, despite the normal actions and politeness needed for the situation. In short, he wanted to appear as if he was acting with a soul-- something he seldom found hard to accomplish. He sighed before speaking with a ginger tone that tried to appeal to Jill, as he stared her in the eye with his very slightly opened...gold eyes?

"...Look. I didn't just come here to tell you about your friend's survival. As terrible as it may sound, the Intelligence Department wouldn't have contacted you just for that. The N.O.L. want Redfield for questioning behind the whereabouts of Albert Wesker, your old captain, and we have a set plan to locate him...but it involves the skills and expertise that we, with all of our dossiers, don't posses...but you do. You see, running out and beating your 'contacts' to a pulp won't let you find him. But I can help. We can help. But in order for the N.O.L. to begin effectively moving to the recovery of Chris Redfield, we need your help. Just like you need ours. Please...just sit down, and allow me to explain..."[/center][/color][/size]

[Jill Valentine]

Chris was out there and so was Wesker, a man who was hell bent on killing whatever was left of S.T.A.R.S...especially a particular Redfield. If she just sat here then what if he found him first?! Ms. Valentine dreaded such a horrible thought and nearly took her leave from this place up until she saw the guy with freaky hair reach out as though he had something more to say. Great...well she wanted to go out on what could have been a wild goose chase just to make sure her friend of a partner was ok...but this guy did make an effort to come all the way over here to let her know that. In the moment of pause, she turned back hearing him out. So he had more than just dangling the fact that they knew Chris was alive but wouldn't tell her how they knew all up in her business? Well that was interesting to say the least, but a good thing...then again it wouldn't make sense for a professional to be like `YOUR FRIEND IS ALIVE` and leave it at that.

Then again what she was doing wasn't very professional either...going out to find someone with a death certificate...not professional at all. Part of her felt like blurting out something like `Really? You know how I feel? Then tell me EVERYTHING you know!` but she held her tongue and kept on listening....and he had a point. Going out there demanding answers or holding up a picture of a `dead man` was going to make her seem like a raving lunatic all over again like they did when she tried to tell people about the mansion incident. Jackasses. What the hell...he seemed annoyed from the way he was presenting all this...then again he did have to deal with New York City traffic and it was certainly a bitch and a half from what she could tell. It was almost like walking or riding a bicycle was better than a vehicle which was a pretty messed up concept. Holy...crap...were his eyes GOLD?!

What was it with captains encountering her and having freaky eyes?! Wait...then again how was it he could see without having his eyes open most of the time...for some reason the green hair and golden eye combo was kinda reminiscent of a snake or something. Snapping out of those random, sudden thoughts...that's when she was surprised to hear about he wasn't here to tell her about Chris surviving. At that moment she had a look that seemed to radiate a whole `....wut?` sort of feel to it. Oh the next part was sort of odd...how could they obtain information about him being alive but not have the means to find him yet she some how does. That...was kinda messed up in her opinion and a little fishy but it wasn't something she'd point out, the important thing was to find her friend. Oh well...as long as with her help they could track down Chris...it was worth sitting down rather than into the snow.

"....reasonable enough." After those words, she slid back into her seat and placed her hands upon the edge of the table as though to be like `Let's get down to business`. "Alright, begin explaining. How can we help each other find Chris? I really don't know how much time we have to find him...I doubt Wesker would take a break in trying to make sure he stays dead if he knows about Chris being alive..." Oddly enough, her tone wasn't rude or pushy, more like a matter of business and a person who just wanted to make sure their friend was safe from some psychopathic power tripping freak. At least with the way Hazama was acting, it didn't seem like his sympathy toward the situation was a load of crap...so maybe it was best to just trust him...especially if it meant reuniting with Chris.

[Hazama]

"Mrs. Valentine, if Captain Wesker had been looking for Mr. Redfield all this time, he'd be dead by now. Which he is verifiably not. But...your concerns are not unfounded. Perhaps Umbrella has him right now, and are doing all kinds of nasty things to him...or at least looking to. So let's keep this concise, indeed indeed..."

Hazama couldn't help but bring up the possibility of him as Umbrella's new pet, if only to get a harmless rise out of Jill...well, harmless to him. Of course, to Jill, he was acting the part of overly polite and formal Captain Hazama, who couldn't help but let loose that possibility, as part of his own lack of frankness...how lovely facades were~!

"Umbrella is in shambles, and you know this. What you might not have known, however, is separate from Wesker, there is at least one other faction of Umbrella 'Loyalists' for lack of a better term. While not behind the recent, passing outbreak (we have reasons to believe that this was Wesker's doing), has it's hands in a few plans to re-create Umbrella. And, we also believe they have certain...connection to your friend, Mr. Redfield. One moment, please, allow to explain...do you remember a project TA-L.O.S.?"

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