Jack Lancaster - Hunter

He drove into town in his big silver truck. He pulled into a seedy hotel's parking lot and pulled parked near the exit. He made a mental note to have a nice hotel be a condition as part of his payment for the next job, and he promised himself that he wouldn't put any of his stuff in the room until after he had checked for bed bugs. He headed in with his wallet to claim his reservation, and then he went up to his room. The room was rather ordinary with white sheets and comforters on the beds. There was brown carpet and gray walls. He checked under the sheets for blood stains or bugs. Finding none, he decided that it was safe enough to bring in his belongings. However, he decided to save his energy he'd go out and get something to eat. He'd bring up his stuff, when he came back.

As he let his phone get access to the free wifi, he looked up the local eateries. Choosing a place that had salads, he headed back to his truck to get some food. As he drove through the town, he kept his eyes open and observant trying to get a feel for the place.

He had been told that a young woman named Aderyn Devane would be able to aid him in his search. Hunters like himself never publicized what they were doing. Not only was it frowned upon, but word could get to their target. A few of hunters had asked her where other supernaturals were, and she had a special knack or was somehow connected to them. She had always been able to give them a better idea of what they would be facing. He intended to enlist her unwitting help again if he could help it. Although the hotel was unpleasant, he decided to head back to free wifi, while he tried to figure out how to get to the place where Ms. Aderyn worked or lived. He figured she might be a little less alarmed and more willing to help if he didn't head to her private domicile.

Once he was back in the hotel parking lot, he repeated the process. This time he had his belongings, including his many weapons that he kept stored in a huge box in the back of his vehicle. He flopped on the queen sized bed in the room, and heard the springs squeak in protest. As he settled himself, he sighed a little pulling out his phone and looking up directions. Aha. That's how you get there. He thought to himself. Standing he headed back out once more determined to find her before she left for the day.

When he got there, he looked around not quite sure what she looked like. He asked for direction until he was pointed her way. He took a deep breath repeating what he expected to say to her. He would prefer to play it more subtle, and figure out what she thought of him before he was too obvious.

(Sorry this was so bad and took so long. I was waiting for you to answer my pm, but felt bad for making you wait for a starter.)

When he entered the shop, he noticed a few customers. He wasn't sure which one she was at first, so he hoped that the person he asked to find Ms. Aderyn wasn't the lady herself. It was probably unusual enough that he knew her name. Not knowing her identity might help her feel safer. He observed her apron, when he was pointed in her direction. He walked to the side, trying to find a place where people would find it hard to overhear them.

"Hello. Are you Ms. Aderyn Devane? I am delighted to meet you.” He extended a hand for her to shake. “My name is Jack Lancaster. I protect people from dangerous creatures. I was hoping you could help me with something. It's a little more difficult than choosing the flower to buy for my mother, and iIt could be dangerous, which is why I need to get my job accomplished quickly. I’m new to the area, and your help would be of great assistance. If you agree to help me, it would be helpful if we could meet outside of work. I wouldn’t want to waste more of your time here. We can meet wherever you would prefer at whatever time. I don’t know this area very well, so I wouldn’t know of a good place to meet. Sooner would be better than later. I don't want anyone else to get hurt.” He had other jobs that would be lined up for him, so he could help more people. It was better not to dally.

He was rather skeptical that a young woman would come alone. It would be very unwise for her to meet a stranger by herself. “Please feel free to bring a big group with you, and tell whoever you can think of where you are going. I wouldn’t want you to feel unsafe, however I do wish to speak to you alone. Your friends can spread out throughout the place where we meet out of earshot.” He continued to try to convince her that this was urgent. She needed to give him a chance to explain what was happening. “I do have evidence that this is a nasty business. It’s been very violent. Gorey pictures. I would be willing to show you, but I wouldn't want to without warning. My predecessor didn’t survive. If you would please help me stop the loss of life, I would be very grateful.”

He rubbed his neck awkwardly and gave a self deprecating smile. “I know it’s selfish, but I would like to keep on living.” He was determined to survive with or without her help, but he hoped it would give the finishing touches to convincing her. “Here is my number if you find the need to contact me and decide if you would like to meet.” He handed her a slip of paper. “Different people in this city have had complaints and fears. I’m here to hopefully alleviate them. These people will probably never know what the cause of them was, but they will become safe once more.”

He knew that he had been more blunt than he would have wished. However, he hoped that the vagueness would entice her curiosity. He prepared himself to leave. "I wouldn't mind buying that bouquet of flowers." He pointed to some roses." He would find them someone random to give them to. If he was a paying customer, he hoped the flowers would make her feel more kindly about him. "I hope to be seeing you, and I hope that I don't get lost if you do decide to meet with me." He waited for his bouquet to be brought to him. He paid for it, tipped his head toward Aderyn, and left.

Jack was taken aback to see how quickly and easily she lied to somebody who he assumed was a manager. Looking at his watch, he calculated how much time he had left until he needed to meet her and felt like he would have plenty of time as long as nothing unexpected occured. He raised his brow at her, but didn't argue and left quickly. If she was lying, he expected that something would happen and that she would show up. "See you around?" he said, parting ways.

Jack was rather surprised, when he received a text from Rin soon after he left. He had expected her to think harder about meeting a stranger, and he wondered if his willingness to meet her with a group at her side had anything to do with it. He made a mental note to arrive at least thirty minutes early. He wasn't sure what the traffic would be like, and he did not want to be late. Instead, he preferred to have time to scope out the place, relax, and chill for a moment. He was unfamiliar with this restaurant, so he didn't know the best and clear exit and entrance points.

When he entered, he looked around. Over by the register, he noticed someone spilling coffee. It was still steaming, and he was sure it would leave a red burn. He had to resist the urge to wince, as he imagined the stinging constant pain. He considered going over to help him. He normally kept something for burns on him, but when he finished his look around he realized that she already had a table. Instead of being early as he had hoped, he found her sitting in a private booth away from everyone, so he began to head in her direction.

He was a little surprised that she would choose such a private booth, and he realized that if more of his kind had visited her, she probably had some idea what the stakes were. Before he sat down, he inhaled deeply, because there was the nice scent of baked goods. He hoped that he would get a chance to eat. It seemed to be too good to pass up.

From a distance he noticed that she was laughing, and she appeared to be looking in the direction of the waiter. He was surprised to see that she seemed delighted by what had happened to the waiter. It was not the kind of cruelty he expected from a girl who worked in a flower shop. Either that or she had an eerie sense of humor. "You picked a nice spot," he nodded. Taking the seat across from her, his brows raised. "Is this seat fine?" He expected she didn't want him too close, although her seat was better for looking around the cafe. He looked around from where he was sitting, trying to pinpoint the best exit points from here. "How long have you been waiting? I didn't realise you'd be able to get off this early. I hope you don't mind that I tried to get here early as well."

"Were you laughing at the waiter who spilled the coffee?" He wanted to be sure about what he had seen. While talking to her, he tried not to focus too deeply on her. He wanted her to feel safe, and he didn't want her to feel interrogated. "Where did you hear about this place? Did you want to eat something?” It looked like she had already done that. "Otherwise, I am ready to talk some. I'm not sure what all I can tell you. I need help locating someone/something. I know that you can help me. You've done it before. These people are dangerous, but you know how to find them. I know, because you've done it before."

He sighed, "I don't think I need to tell you much more. You just need to tell me where I can find the cause of this." He showed her a picture of the destructions. "I'm trying to help people, and any information you can give would be helpful. I don't know the area well." At the rate he was checking out this town, it wouldn't be long before he knew the area better than she does. However, he wouldn't have this town's trust, and he stuck out by those who knew each other.

Jack didn't like to be thrown off guard by her being here early, but it made him take a new look at her. Obviously, he had discounted all of her other experience helping other hunters. This little thing didn't mean he couldn't trust her, but it also meant that he needed to keep his guard up. There was more to her than you would think of someone who worked at a flower shop. He took a moment to not be annoyed and be thankful that she had done this. Perhaps this would save his life down the road.

He nodded his head once. "Oh." He should've paid more attention to what was going on. He nodded his head wondering if it would be a bad idea to eat. Eating caused him to put his guard down, and then it would be awkward possibly trying to talk around a large mouthful of food. "I think I'll wait towards the end to order something, or until someone comes over here angry at me for sitting here and not being a customer." He smiled easily. It made more sense why she had wanted to meet here, if this was a place she went to often. At the same time it meant she could be recognized. He supposed that most would assume they were on a date, so it might not be a big deal. She had picked a fairly private table, so he'd just have to deal with whatever happened.

He dipped his head as that made sense, and sounded reasonable. It might make him uncomfortable, but he could hardly disagree with her points. He was about to tell her that hunters didn’t throw this kind of information around, yet she had helped a few of them. How else did her name get out? It was a moot point. “Yes of course. I can keep your name to myself. A vengeful supernatural won’t come after you because I blabbed.” However, if she worked closely with him, he couldn’t promise that she wouldn’t be a target. He was just certain it wouldn’t be because he had told them. He almost told her that perhaps she should stop helping hunters, if she wanted to maintain a normal life. However, if he ever needed her help again, he didn’t want to be the one who had convinced her not to. It would be incredibly annoying.

His head cocked in disbelief as she seemed to already have a hint for him to go on. “That place sounds…safe.” His mouth twisted wryly. He cocked his head. “How did a girl in a flower shop get involved with these kinds of people?” While he supposed it was common sense that the people they wanted to find were only out at night, she seemed to have a lot of information that didn’t add up. It didn’t make sense unless he knew her source. “I will be sure to bring plenty of weapons.” He sighed. “What time do you think is best?” Perhaps he should schedule this for a different day, so he would have time to do reconnaissance and report back. At least that way he wouldn’t be going in on hearsay and second hand information.

“I don’t want to be too late. I want people to be out and about, but I feel like earlier might be better. It’ll take a while for them to get into full swing. Do you have any idea what type of supernatural made that kind of damage? If we meet sooner rather than later, where would you like to meet up before we head in? Are you sure you are willing to go into that section of the town? I think I can manage without you.” He wasn’t sure if that was true or not. He might need help, and it would be one more person to look after.

"Tell you what. You think about it. I'm going to go ahead to the counter to order something to eat." He thought it might give her a chance to think things over and plan so that things would turn out better. At the same time he had a feeling they were nearing the end of their discussion, and he wanted to take some food with him, when he was ready to go. Something about his demeanor discouraged anyone to be rude to him although he was rather being a nuissance, as he hadn't ordered when a waiter had come to his table. They told him he could go back to his seat, and he would be served hot food there.

He waited for his scone, and sandwich. There was something about scones that he particularly liked. They were thick like biscuits yet they were still sweet enough to be a dessert. He had surprised himself getting a sandwich. He normally only ate them because they were fairly quick and easy to put together. It was something normal that he was used to. He sast down with his hot cup of black coffee and raised a brow questioning if she had decided what needed to happen next.

"Unless you have an idea who this supernatural is, I suppose I'm going to have to go around and question people. I wouldn't want to get the wrong person." That would raise a lot of awkward questions. The waiter brought him his order, and he gobbled down his sandwich. He slowly nibbled on his scone, trying to make it last. "That doesn't sound like a very safe method, but I doubt working like a detective will be any better for myself. I'm assuming that people in the Red Light part of the town are like most places, they prefer not to have questions asked and they are rather suspicious of those who ask questions. I'm not sure why they are so scared of the truth. Someone is going to figure it all out someday."

He took his photo back. "Why do you help hunters Mrs. Aderyn?" She didn't seem like she had any particular hate for them. Unless she held a deep dislike of them, he found it hard to believe she was willing ot help hunters. It put a lot of personal stuff mainly her life at risk to help him.