"About your friend," the priest said. "Christopher."
Ethan's fingers tightened around the rim of the hard hat, knuckles whitening for just a second before he forced them to relax. He tilted his head, letting confusion settle into his expression.
"Christopher?" he repeated mildly, as if testing the name for relevance. "You're going to have to be more specific. That's a common enough name. And before we go any further, you should probably tell me who you are and why you're looking for him." A pause, deliberate. "Those feel like the basics."
The priest looked at him for a long time, his eyes calm in a way that seemed curated rather than natural.
"You're careful," he observed.
Ethan shrugged, shifting his weight slightly, casual to anyone watching. "I work with structures that fail if you skip steps. It carries over."
That earned him a faint smile.
