"Now that you've agreed to cooperate, I'm trusting you. Please don't take it for granted. Most people in my profession don't live to be this old... If you'll kindly follow me back to the station. It won't take long."
Florence felt her heart speed up. For once, it wasn't because she was frightened or anxious. She actually felt excited about this. She would finally be allowed to live among the humans again and escape from that horrible forest! She followed closely after Ben as the group moved down the stairs out into the lobby. She searched Adeline's face to see if the other girl was as happy as she was.
As they exited the hotel, Florence noticed something was slightly off. Why could she still sense Valis so close by? She thought he didn't want to be ID'd. She scanned the area around them as they walked, looking for him. It didn't seem like Ben or that other Protector noticed anything so far.
What's he planning?
Zach raised a brow at the girl's surprise to see him, a bit entertained by her attempt to be casual. She was obviously out of her element, so the charade was just embarrassing. He didn't blame her though. With all the recent vampire activity and the police's lame excuses for what really happened, it was only natural that this girl should be curious.
"Yep - that's why I'm here - to catch a glimpse of the Sheriff wrestling a jewel thief to the floor. I've come to scope out the action. I'm not normally too bothered about whatever's going on in the town but business in Cal's Computers has been a little slow as of late - especially since Cal, himself, never turns up. I'm starting to get a little fed up of the place."
So she ditched work to come here? That peaked Zach's interest. He nodded as though he understood exactly what she was talking about, even though his own personal morals prevented him from skipping out on a job, ever, no matter how boring it got. But she didn't need to hear about that, so he kept his mouth shut and let her continue talking.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I almost forgot - I'm April May Norton. I work over at Cal's Computers. Live just up the road with my folks, Harry and Sue Norton. Trying to get a place of my own but you know, Cal isn't exactly the most generous payer."
That sentence seemed to clam her up, but Zach wasn't sure why. He complained about clients in his line of business - the one he worked in when he wasn't busy fighting vampires - all the time. It wasn't that unusual. Maybe her boss had spies to report his employees' bad behavior outside of work, so he could punish them. It was a ridiculous idea, but he found it amusing nonetheless.
"April May, huh?" Zach echoed. "That's a nice name. I'm Zach Anderson." He offered out a hand. "Oh and by the way, if you're looking for some action, you're not gonna get any around here. It was a false alarm with those criminals. The sheriff just walked in on a couple of normal tourists. Scared the living daylights out of 'em; you should have seen it. Anyway, that's all that happened here. No robbers or anything for him to take down, sorry." He hoped that would be enough to satisfy the girl and, if she spread that story around, squash the rumor about the robbery or whatever it was this time.
"Oh right," Zach added abruptly. "You're probably wondering how I know that. You see, I work with the sheriff. I guess you could say I'm with the police." It wasn't a total lie, but he couldn't exactly tell her the truth either. 'By the way, that sheriff up there chases vampires for a living. I get to help him kill them! Nice to meet you, April.' Well, it's not like she would have believed him anyway, but why even bother?
At that moment, Ben walked out of the stairwell with Chris and the two vampires trailing after him. Great, now he had to make up an excuse as to why the "tourists" were being led out of the hotel by a sheriff. He pretended to make light of it by offering Ben a friendly wave when the group walked past.
"I'll catch up with you guys in a bit," Zach told him. He turned back to April. "Um, right. So, the tourists did not rob anyone. The sheriff's just taking them to the station for further questioning. You know, like, asking them if they saw anyone suspicious and whatnot." Perfect timing, Ben Zach thought irritably. Now I have to change my story ten seconds after I first told it! He studied April's face carefully to see if she doubted his new explanation.