The Orb And The Onslaught {COMPLETE}

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    Florence and Quentin hastily retreated from the office and rushed down the corridor to the elevators. Quentin pressed the call button repeatedly and peered around them nervously. It must have had something to do with what he'd heard Mr Romader say, though nobody seemed to be coming after them yet. When the elevator arrived they rushed inside and Quentin pressed the ground floor button simultaneously with the button to close the doors. 

     They reached the ground floor several moments later and they walked quickly through the lobby. The receptionist tried to call them back but they ignored him and headed out into the storm. Immediately the cats took the lead, Florence and Quentin had no choice but to follow them through the streets. They didn't seem to be heading back towards the Cantercraft or the playground, instead they took a new route that led in the opposite direction. 

     They didn't stop for nearly an hour, not until they'd put enough distance between them and Mr Romader's building. At one point Florence got the peculiar feeling that the cats knew exactly where they were going, they didn't hesitate around any of the corners or look worried about getting them lost. And when they finally stopped, they were outside of a fancy restaurant with a green awning that briefly sheltered them from the rain. 

    There was no sign of pursuit and the other people in the street didn't give them the time of day. They could breath a little sigh of relief for now.

"Shall we?" Quentin asked, he was a little breathless but otherwise looked pretty good to say what they'd just been doing. 

    He gestured towards the restaurant and Florence stared inside. "We shouldn't, we need to do something about what happened back there and if there's no Rikari, we need to get back to the Cantercraft and think about the clue." 

"The Cantercraft isn't going anywhere and we need to get out of the rain before you catch a cold, I'll tell you what that jerk was mumbling about while we eat. Come on, you'll want to hear this before we do anything else." 

    The dark look on his face caused Florence's stomach to drop, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear what he had to say. But she followed him inside anyway and they were greeted by a very stern looking hostess. 

"No pets, no animals, no whatever they are." She spoke hurriedly, she had menus in her hand and her hair pulled back so tightly it stretched her fairly young face. 

Florence peered down at the cats but they ran back outside before Florence could say no to the stuffy service. 

    As soon as the cats were out of the door, the hostess forced a smile and showed them to a table. The other customers paid them no attention when they passed. The restaurant was particularly light and open, though it had none of the usual homely feel Florence had experienced in other restaurants. The decor was bright and colourful but it clashed horribly and felt wrong for a restaurant, it was like a child had decorated. 

    Florence hoped the food was better than the decor as they sat down and took the menus they were given. Quentin ordered the biggest platter of food he could while Florence ordered something she knew she'd be able to eat. The moment the hostess strutted away, Florence turned back to Quentin. 

"Now tell me what Mr Romader said that struck you so badly." 

     Quentin was about to speak when the hostess returned pretty quickly with their drinks, she placed them on the table and left again. They both frowned at her retreating back but they had more important things to focus on and Florence leaned closer while Quentin explained. 

"I don't think he realised I could hear him, either that or he didn't care. He was cursing my orders to call his partners and he followed it by mumbling, 'if they hadn't covered up the Linhollow man's murder, I wouldn't have been forced into this mess in the first place'."