The Interview had been tough for Sharon Barlow, but she believed that she had managed to get her point across effectively, right now though what she had to handle was the even harder part of the whole thing. Seated in the passenger seat of the middle of the three cars that served as her transport, a forced requirement of the panicked imposition of measures design officially for Public Protection, but really for quelling predetermined presumptions about werewolves. At least it was large enough that she could sit somewhat comfortably during her transportation, even if there were two armed guards behind her with their weapons hot, to use an applicable term.
Knowing when and where the interview was going to be held had required her to contact the LA Police Department and inform them of all the facts she was required to give them, her name, address, basic medical details, where she was staying, how long she would remain, and her expected arrival and departure times, in particular for the duration of this night. All in all, it had been quite the bureaucratic spider web to navigate, but it had been something she was fairly used to given her profession in her San Francisco Office.
Arriving at the Hotel she’d booked, they passed the car she’d used to drive herself here, the near-400 mile, six-hour journey possible by car for her second night here. And tomorrow, she’d have to repeat the trip in reverse to be back in time when she expected to be able to return to work.
But she was forced to wait until all the cars were parked and the guards were in position before the door was opened for her.
“Out.” A gruff command was given to her.
Complying, she exited the vehicle and was allowed a moment to stretch herself, their attitude towards her suggested either this was something they didn’t particularly want to do, or it was just her they didn’t like. Whatever the reason, she wasn’t going to give them any reason to open fire as she remained inside the circle that took her inside.
“Miss Barlow? Here.” The Night Receptionist left the key card which one of the guards took, taking point with another behind her as the remainder patrolled outside.
It was peaceful enough at least, Sharon decided once she was alone in her room, thankful her system could accept hot chocolate (milk chocolate) even now as she was. And as she sat down and properly relaxed for the first time all day, the Moon bright and pale in the sky, her mind wavered to her own Practice.
Thankfully for her, close to all her Clients had maintained their contracts with her, even though it had been forced to be a private one now, given what she was. In fact a few had even stated that given her own circumstances, she was perhaps better qualified to effectively represent them than some others.
That was a point that did hit home. The History of the United States, amongst countless others, had been one filled with fear, prejudice, and a system engineered to favour one particular group over the others. Here, being a straight white Christian male had the effect of placing you on the lowest difficulty setting to use a relevant gaming term, and Sharon knew that while she had never been on that setting, the Reveal made knocked her difficulty rating up by a notable margin. But she also knew that the worst thing she could do was anything to ‘justify’ the fears and misguided hatred many held towards them.
True, her time on The People’s Talk would by itself only have a tiny impact, and only for a small number, but she was far from the only one putting forward the case that werewolves were very much like humans, and thus deserving of the same legal protections that humans had. And it would be that cumulative effect that would make possible the goal in question.
Draining the last of her drink, she flopped down onto the bed, determined to get as much sleep as she could before she would have to return to San Francisco, one small advantage of her fur being that she didn't have to switch out of clothes she wasn't even wearing to get into nightgear that she didn't have. Sleep that came within a minute of her closing her eyes.