While Warlock expounded upon the ' dabblers ' and Ret'aeyaced, John's gaze shifted from his companion back to the sigil inscribed on the wall. A gate, a puncture — it sounded akin to tearing a hole in whatever fabric existed between this plane and another, then using it to step through. As it was, after witnessing Rasputin attempt to open a portal and release Ogdru Jahad, he supposed that he wasn't wholly unfamiliar with the concept; hell, he had very nearly seen it for himself.
However, before he could decide if he wanted to mention that, he heard a wavering in Warlock's voice, like it was close to cracking. That drew John's attention away from the infernal emblem.
His gaze first settled on green eyes, then flickered to everything else. Warlock's jaw appeared tense, far more than usual, with hands beginning to curl into uncharacteristic fists. So, this was extremely personal, far more than any other case they had investigated together. That made two of them, yet he shoved his part of that aside. Whatever was brewing, John would look out for Warlock — even if it was something inside that his friend was grappling with alone.
Nevertheless, he wasn't apt to broach the subject in front of Vaughn, who was still standing just inside the doorway with seemingly no interest in moving any closer again.
He had just looked back to the etching, now glowing as Warlock spoke, when the sound of the elevator reached his ears. Immediately, John's lips pressed into a thin line. Only someone with access to the building could have made it inside after it was locked down, but even then, the caution tape should have stopped them in their tracks. They were going to compromise the scene ( and he hadn't tried for fingerprints around the symbol yet! ).
Unless that was what they wanted. Apparently, Warlock harbored a similar thought process, though a far different method of handling it than he would have chosen.
Abruptly, the elevator exploded, slamming their unexpected guest into the ground. The sudden eruption and burst of flame jolted John's heart until it was hammering in his chest ( it's fine, it's fine, it's fine ), though his regard was only fixed on the ' workman ' the second he came back to himself. Gesturing for Vaughn to follow him, they raced into the hall and to the fallen suspect.
He rolled the still breathless man face-down on the ground before planting his knee between the shoulder blades. With a twist of one arm backwards while John pinned the other man to the floor, Vaughn was able to begin handcuffing who he was certain wasn't actually a custodian. "Are you aware that crossing highly visible police tape repeatedly is illegal? And if a phone call tells us you're not a staff member who somehow didn't get the memo not to come in today, then we can add interfering with an investigation and obstruction of justice on top of it. Unless, of course, you're directly responsible for what happened here, and then those charges will be the least of your concerns."
Getting to his feet and approaching Warlock while Vaughn hefted the man off the ground, he took a deep breath. After an explosion and a handcuffing, he hoped this guy wasn't some moron who was so dedicated to the job that bypassing police tape seemed acceptable in order to do it. Nevertheless, with his gaze still on Warlock's he gave a faint nod of his head. I'm trusting you about this. "Tell me what we should be asking to figure out if he's involved in this. I'm used to questioning people, but you're the expert on this. Is there anything to say, anything to use, to get the truth?"