[img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjE0Mi4yNDkwZjIuUTJ4aGVYUnZiaUJVWlhKeWVRLjA/grosball.regular.webp[/img] [hr] [code]Webb Family Coffee House[/code] [hr] Clay sat through the rest of the conversation without much else to say, only loosening a faint, exasperated chuckle to Lily's suggestion of [i]enhanced interrogation techniques[/i] with the doctor. It made sense, they could probably take the British girl over, have her pass off as a tourist who had come down with heatstroke. He'd seen it back during some of Memphis' worst summers, particularly among those coming a good few hundred miles northwards. The others had things in hand, but he couldn't get much of a size of them yet. His gaze briefly flecked towards the kid with the [i]Texan[/i] drawl, among others, but he didn't keep his focus there. Too early to say what this group were like. He did find it strange, however, that this Jennifer was basically sending them to go away while she did something solo. One [hr] [@FernStone][@Punished GN] [code]Doctor's Office[/code] [hr] The Doctor's Office was far from what he'd have considered welcoming, even by the low bar set by some of the rougher local clinics of his hometown. Paint almost looked like it was ready to peel off the wals, the wood halfway to rotting, or at least that was his perception - not that it would've been a surprise if it was, in this humidity. He questioned what they were really going to get out of this, but it was as good a bet as any. Maybe there'd be some medical records they could peel out of Dr. Harkness' office. [i]And the supposed missing girls.[/i] For the most part he kept quiet, gesturing or nodding as Charlie and Lily conversed. He did offer a brief suggestion, [b]"So uh, if you're wantin' to speak with this Doctor, maybe [i]you[/i] can pass off as a tourist?"[/b] he idly gestured at Charlie, [b]"I mean, none of us really from aroun' here, but I'm guessing you ain' used to this sorta heat, right? I used to see that a lot when I was a Fire L-T, humidity and heat gets a lotta folks down this ways."[/b] [color=Mediumorchid]"Ah, mami, here's the place but there's something I gotta get off my chest, I can't just be the only one that doesn't trust our little fearless leader? There's something about her - especially with the little Bambi act she puts on - like she's up to something. Liiiiiiiiiiiiiike.... let's think... she drops all these fucking leads on us, waves in our fuckin' faces that she knows something, then insists she works alone then dips."[/color] Clay shrugged, letting her continue back and forth with the British girl. [color=Mediumorchid]"It's just a hunch right now, mami. But, if she's using us or something imma' bitch slap her little nerdy ass with a padlock...."[/color] It was difficult to tell if she was being sincere, but anything was possible in this day and age. [b]"Jesus, goin' heavy there, huh?"[/b] 'Carl' snorted, puffing out an almost exasperated chuckle, [b]"I mean, I dunno, I kinda [i]figure[/i] where you're comin' from, but this whole thing's a little weird, right? We're all-"[/b] He didn't get a chance to continue that line of thought, as some stranger wrapped in a clay-tone cloak skipped over, near enough thrusting a rose of all things into Lily's hands. [i]In this heat? Probably methed out.[/i] When he saw the stranger keep a hold of Lily's hand, he didn't like that at all, instincts about her being a junkie or transient paying off. He [i]was[/i] about to physically intercede, when... "... You all need to leave Quintin, there are things here that none of you are equipped to handle! Just pack up and leave. Before you all get more in over your heads. Eleanor Black is not real. Repeat after me... [i]Eleanor Black is not real.[/i]" The mantra echoed at the base of his skull, contrary to all manner of logic - and he held back from grabbing her by the arm. For a moment, he wondered if this was a set-up, and he was at the center of it - a nice big [i]fuck you[/i] from IA. He peered over his shoulder, briefly pulling his eyes from the girl in the cloak, but the only thing that caught his eye was a momentary glimpse of a feminine silhouette, peering out through the window at them. He blinked, and [i]she[/i] was gone. "Mhr," he bristled, rubbing at his jaw, attention flicking back to the laughing flower-girl. "I don't know her, actually. But, in a way, I might as well know her... because like your fearless leader said, other people came to Quintin looking for Eleanor Black. What she left out - either due to obliviousness or something more... sinister - is that twenty-seven people came to Quintin - including those girls, who I also tried to convince to leave - and guess what?" Flower girl's name was long-winded enough. [i]Odessa.[/i] OKM. Even more long-winded was what she had to say ""Twenty-six of them are missing... the body of one was found in town and umm... it's not pretty," Odessa snorted. "When I say that Eleanor Black is not real: [i]something[/i] is luring you all here - and I suspect that [i]something[/i] is killing you all." if not for the mention of Eleanor, he was ready to believe she was just a transient coming off her latest bump, and even then he wasn't convinced that wasn't the case anyhow. The vague threat to their person rolled off him, for the most part - but his hands were a little closer to his side, a little more self-conscious of his surroundings. Lily beat him to the punch, which he was glad for - [i]how did she know about Eleanor?[/i] "I was hiding in the bushes, listening to your whole conversation! Next time, close the window!" [i]Fucking junkie,[/i] he quietly bristled with a certain inner contempt, before reminding himself that he was just a civilian here. [color=Mediumorchid]"That's not cute or funny at all..."[/color] Lily had trailed off, but Clay finished that line of thinking. [b]"No, it's [i]sick[/i]."[/b] "But do you all have an idea of what's out here? Strange things that shouldn't be possible, but are!" For all he knew, there could've been shades of truth in the apparent batshit crazy of it. Even junkies could carry fragments of a real story, however [i]fucked[/i] their sense of reality was. [b]"Right, let's just back up"[/b] Clay stepped forward to firmly grasp and [i]remove[/i] Odessa from within grasping distance of Lily, drawing on her wrist, [b]"You're-... I'm just trying to figure out what's going on with [i]someone[/i]. You can't be telling people they're gonna die, I mean how do you even [i]know[/i] about all this, huh?"[/b]