"..."
There was an interesting weight to the actions Vivienne could take here. As Orion had pointed out, having this standoff in the middle of the Library when literally anyone could walk in at any moment was... not exactly ideal. However, preceding the desire to remain discreet and avoiding collateral damage to public places, was Alex Terrot's safety -- and Orion could still be a threat to it. Or possibly, Vivienne's paranoia was simply being excessive, and the 'handyman' that had gotten rid of Alex was someone different than this 'genuine' helper of Barney's. Or Alex may have gotten herself killed in a totally different way via an investigation gone wrong as well!
Ultimately, there was no way to properly tell, the only thing Vivienne had to work with now was guesses and prophecies that may have already been invalidated. Cause and effect, etcetera...
Still, to trust an armed person that doesn't appear to be very honest about their intention and nature would be a mistake, thus Vivienne elected to not drop her guard and watch the situation unfold with care...
.. or perhaps that she's elected to do even more than watch on, as one could tell by her donning a venetian mask.
The atmosphere around her suddenly changes the moment she puts the mask on, and the emotionless lips form into a smile as she turns around and looks at Alex for a moment, giving her a silent nod as to wordlessly reassure the journalist that 'everything is going to be fine.'
Hopefully.
But now to play on the tension that has been built. Vivienne now speaks totally different from before, with renewed life and vigor in her words, intonation alluding confidence but still... having a degree of restraint as to not appear overly smug. A voice that does not belittle, but rather tries to open an avenue of dialogue by putting everyone at ease. The confidence is just there to keep credibility.
"Now now, let us not get too hasty Miss Anna. While I do agree that there are many details that appear suspicious about our good friend Orion here, being so rude to him might not make him very comfortable in divulging his true nature and reasons to us, good keepers of Road End's safety. After all, we are aware of things we should not know, I take? A previous week might have made us rather grumpy, like waking up on the wrong foot after having the worst of nightmares..."
It is indeed, an individual totally different from Vivienne Bianchi now speaking, with not a speck of the previous, emotionless girl left to be seen.
"I must applaud your cool headedness in dealing with the rather fiery temperament Anna has, Orion, and while I sympathize with being show an excessive amount of hostility while one is nothing more than a guest, there happens to be a reason why perhaps I am... not trying my hardest to appease Miss Anna here.
You see, let us pretend that hypothetically, someone was aware that there was an Assassin running around that would be after a certain reporter's life... would it not be natural for the former to be mistrusting of mysterious individuals, especially if said mysterious individuals played hard to get and showed that they were armed?"
She pauses for a moment, giving some time for Orion to process what she has told him so far, and perhaps to not bother them too much with her monologuing though... it would appear that this outspoken lady is not done yet. Indeed, after a silence in which she gave a good look at Anna, Ramia and Orion, the masked woman resumes her speech:
"Now, would you not give us a helping hand here Orion? As you are aware, Road's End is a cesspool of the Turnside, a Nexus that has attracted all kinds of people from different walks of life. This very room is proof of it, no? Now, I am certain that it would be lovely if you could help us a bit and be more transparent. Who knows, it could be that we have some more knowledge that you aren't privy of? Anna there does appear to have run into people that both of you have a... 'disagreement' with. Wouldn't it be nice if rather than bickering and being stand offish we simply partook in... jolly cooperation?
Please... be a sweetheart and help us out.
Ah, but of course... I can't guarantee what Anna might do here if you get on her bad side even worst... I am just Mademoiselle Terrot's assistant after all, and my main objective is to keep her safe! Heh."
What did they call that again... good cop... bad cop?