James only nods, counting the absence of questions as a 'no'.
"So. If anybody asked, you'd say that you're hunting a traitor. If -I- ask you, outside of this room, you'd also be hunting Marcus. This is what you'll tell our men standing guard at the crime scenes, what you converse about when you're anywhere other than here. No exceptions. No mention of the actual theory. Nobody is in on this other than you, me, and LaCroix."
As if to signify that he's done with the topic, James finally sits down on the chair he kept avoiding until now. This could mean one of two things: either he was done with the most serious issue...or he was just about to get to it.
"That is the first half of your job. From what I know about you, you should be able to succeed at it reasonably well. Besides dossiers to the murder victims, full access to the crime scenes and suitable apartments inside the tower, there's one more thing we'll supply you with."
-His eyes turn towards the corner where a certain Malkavian is sitting, remaining there for a brief moment of silence before he continues.-
"One of the best interrogators at our disposal. Seven is very gifted at getting each and any information out of a person, if need be. This might help you greatly if you run into possible suspects and witnesses. However..." -His gaze turns back to the others, looking at all of them sternly, yet none of them in specific.- "...you must not lose her under any circumstance. Don't let her out of sight, don't let any harm come to her, don't leave her alone. Specifically no breaks of the Masquerade. She's in the same boat as you, and her next transgression -will- be her last. You're not allowed to let this happen. If you have to decide between the mission and Sevens well-being, decide in her favor. It's unlikely that the murderer - or murderers know how useful she is, but losing her is a failure condition of this endeavor. There's..."
The repeated mention of her name actually seems to wake up the girl, which is only implied by her expression growing more and more sour. Until she interrupts the speaker, that is.
"I'm not a damn car key, jerk." - she declares in an incredibly monotone voice, which doesn't take away from the fact that she just openly insulted their host. James however only portrays an odd grin. Odd because it doesn't quite seem to suit his face. Even through the mask of perfect composure, the attentive observer could see how much this displeases him, but for some reason he refrains from reacting. It's obvious that he doesn't tolerate such behavior, yet he forces himself to take it as a jest. His words sound a lot colder for the entirety of the following sentence, though.
"Part of your qualification for this job is your capacity to restrain someone by force, should a situation arise. Expect this to be necessary."
If Seven understands James' implication, she doesn't show it. She doesn't really react to anything other than her name, it seems as if James angered her by using it and turned irrelevant shortly afterwards. The girl returns to staring at nothing in particular.
"She is the wild card up our sleeve. There's no telling what she'll be able to find out by 'asking nicely', or even just visiting the crime scenes..."
He made it sound pretty easy considering the group had to put up with the antics of a Malkavian. And Seven was not just your everyday run-of-the-mill maniac, either.
"Ideally, this whole deal will be over sooner than we all expect. The fine lady..." -he nods towards the corner- "...pointing at a random passenger and you taking them out, for example. Uncover who's behind the killing spree and bring them back to me. Or have Seven 'interrogate' the culprit, she -will- be able to tell if you got the right person, and if she passes judgement you're allowed to end them where they stand. Then you get your clean slate. Simple enough, isn't it?"
He folds his hands, leaning back. It feels like there won't be much more explanation from here on out, unless someone demanded it. This impression is reinforced by the Ventrue throwing a glance at his watch - an unfitting gesture considering the gravity of this matter.