[center][color=0076a3][h2]Zachary Ackerson[/h2][/color] 
[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/301690986252206080/379378144672743424/Zach.gif[/img]

[color=0076a3]"Am totally not whipped by Jez or anything"[/color]
[/center][hr]

[color=lightblue][b]“Seriously? Zachary, take a chill pill.”[/b][/color] Jezebel commanded, still smiling. She folded her hands behind her back and pivoted her hips side to side. [b][color=lightblue]“You so told me about 'the incident' on the stairs before we saw Marianne's body."[/color][/b] and with that, there really wasn't much Zach could say against that. She blew him out of the water. It was fairly embarrassing, being called out so blatantly, but this much was to be expected. They needed the truth if they were going to get to the bottom of this case, and Jez was only doing what was right. That said, it wasn't his inability to lie anymore that made him open up, rather than Jez. 

To Zachary, the Infinite Archer, Jez's smile almost reminded him of a mother smiling at a child throwing a silly tantrum. Her ability to handle herself in this situation while Zach's pride and guilt won out was rather upsetting to the young man, but it had also finally opened his eyes. Something terrible had happened because of him. He was at fault and it was only proper he shouldn't try to hide from it. Even if it was embarrassing. Even if it hurt. He needed to come clean. 

Zach closed his eyes tightly and attempted to take control of himself. 

[i][color=0076a3]Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Alright. I am not a child. This is a very serious and important debate. There is no escaping what I have done here and if I fuck up here, there's no second chance. [/color]
[/i]

His eyes opened, and his gaze turned to Jezebel. 

[color=0076a3]"You're right, we did speak a bit of this before we found Marianne,"[/color] he admitted calmly. It was her he felt the most guilt for lying to. [color=0076a3]"I'm sorry I lied, it was very out of character and immature of me and this situation calls for none of that. It's not going to happen again."[/color]

Zachary was rather sincere with his apology, but given the state of everybody in the room and how tense the air was, perhaps some might have thought he was doing so sarcastically. Unfortunately, the bear decided it was going to interrupt, providing another clue to the case and, very unluckily, this also happened to bring even more suspicion on him. 

[color=0076a3][i]Well... shit.[/i][/color] 

[color=0076a3]"Hrm."[/color] 

He was going to remain calm. He rubbed his chin as he took the notes into his mind and while he was then accused of being the Trickster. Well, the OTHER trickster. The young archer locked eyes with the Infinite Cop after his accusation, trying his best not to cave under the pressure. But since he'd already stared death in the face, a cop really shouldn't prove to be too much. [color=0076a3]"I may have lied, but as you can see, I'm not that great at it. Me, the other Trickster? I'm good with bows and handguns, not deceit."[/color] he vehemently claimed. 

Whether or not anybody bought this, Cyrus didn't seem to want to trust "instinct". In fact, Cyrus appeared to be more concerned with confirming if the Trickster was the killer or not. What was more important now? The information he knew, or seeing if somebody would reply to Cyrus' summons? 

Zachary wasn't so sure. He was nervous as can be, he was fairly embarrassed at how he acted, and he most certainly wasn't even sure how things were going to turn out. Would he win or would he lose? He feared the evidence was against him and he knew of no way out. But... well, if Jez believed in him, then he'd do his best. It was the least he could do for his first friend, even if otherwise he was the worst.