He sends Thrasher off, telling him to pass on that Sparky needs to still drop off a crucifix, but they can all just watch the rest of the hunt.
He smiles when the kid doesn't question his choice of words. They'll learn, after all. One contract at a time.
"Here, uh, I'll go back?"
"Ask Thrasher about the teeth, he'll show you. I'm sticking around. EVP is on the list, so see if we get that."
"Don't they hunt you? How-" She falls quiet as he pulls out and waves a smudge stick in front of her. "Oh."
He huffs in laughter to himself, prepping the ends of the stick. Once this thing hunts, he needs to have it ready. Ghouls hate them more than others.
[We're all back, Tussle. What are we watching?]
"Just keep your eyes open. You'll see it."
He smirks as, right on cue, the lights flicker and dim.
A man in rags materializes near the sofa, staring at Tussle with empty sockets instead of eyes. It begins to move, slow for all of two seconds-
And then sprinting.
There's a tell-tale crackle as the interns try to say something, disrupted by the presence now full-force in the room. He laughs, dodging to the side at the last second and lighting the end of the smudge stick. The first swipe is on the back of his hand, quick and fast, then he starts to blow the new smoke at the ghoul.
It screams.
Holes start appearing in its form, a few teeth falling out, before it seems to shift like a glitching screen. The next heartbeat, it dissipates, and all the lights in the room go out.
Tussle breathes deep, letting the feeling in his bones and blood fade. He loves this job.
[TUSSLE! TUSSLE, ARE YOU OKAY?!]
He grunts, radioing in at the sudden painfully loud concern.
"Yeah, yeah, ghouls hate incense. Smudges are wonderful against them, the hunt's ended early, I'm heading out. Cruci should have handled it."
He glances down at the item on the floor, dropped by himself after Sparky brought it up. The attic, for now, will be free of ghostly interactions.
Crosses, whether one believes in the divine or not, are intersections. The ghoul will be bound within a few paces of it for three hours, more than long enough for VV to finish it off.
[Oh, by the way, we did get EVP right before that hunt.]
"Then unless it's a particularly ugly onryo, we got the ghost right," he replies, smiling at how it's still Thrasher speaking. Apparently, Snow isn't that assertive, but they don't need everyone to be assertive. All it takes for team harmony is a willingness to listen to even the soft-spoken.
He flips the breaker again on his way out, guided by muscle memory instead of a flashlight. There are only a few maps that are houses in DQ, and this is the Tall House, aka the only one with three floors and then an attic and basement added in. He much prefers the Stout House, or even the Fish one. At least the Fish House only has two floors and an outdoor area. If he had to deal with more than that, he'd never use it.
The van is clean and organized, all items that had been brought back left in it. He smiles, because that's something. He never puts items back. There's only time to drop it on the floor, or leave it behind.
"Alright, everyone circle ghoul, and Snow? Push the big red button."
Before he can say anything more, like, say, what the big red button does, Snow has slammed his hand down on the thing. Blind trust is a surprising thing. Then again, they know he doesn't want interns, so they probably trust him to try and teach them properly and quickly.
"Yeah, that, it sends the sensor and video info straight to the main system. If you don't do that, it docks some points. Not usually a big deal, but if you're pretty certain, why risk getting docked? Now, close the doors and let's go."
Just to be a bit difficult, because he didn't get to use his rock salt, he doesn't tell them that it's the same button that opened the doors. Instead, he just sits back down in his spot and settles in for the return home.
And that sweet, sweet success.