[RS] Coordination

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa couldn't help but feel edgy about all this. She had an earpiece in each ear, practically blocking out any and all outside noise. She counted on Jason Campbell and the various officers of the KPD that had rallied about to help keep her informed. Not that she expected any real action to happen here. They were removed from the Headquarters, though they kept the building in sight. Someone could run from there to their spot in just a few minutes, shorter if they had any ability which would be helpful in that regard. If need be, there were a few police officers who would be quite excellent to send to fetch them.

"The distraction team should be moving into place," Elsa said, mostly to herself, but also in case anyone nearby needed to hear it. She glanced over to the medical vans they'd set up. There were only two, but both were loaded with supplies to an almost ludicrous amount, including energy supplements and the like for Dr. Campbell. If need be, Elsa would hook him up to an IV; they weren't going to lose anyone, well, at least not anyone they cared about. Elsa raised her binoculars, staring at things, seeing shapes moving into position. Guns would be firing, and Elsa would hear the noises crackling in her ears. She already began extending out, hopping from person to person, skimming. So long as she just kept skimming and kept focused, she'd be okay, but Elsa knew she'd have to start delving at some point, and the stress would be... difficult to manage.

"You'll be taking care of someone," Elsa reminded Dr. Campbell, sparing some time to look over at him. They hadn't exactly had many reasons to converse with one another before now, though Elsa had explained the situation to him. "As I said, my sister was tortured at the least, and I can't imagine that the others are in much better shape," she took a deep breath, looking out again. This shouldn't be happening, but she supposed this is what they should have expected. All things considered, it could be worse. "Part of me wishes we really were the monsters they think we are," Elsa mumbled, licking her lips and staring harder than ever. She just wanted it to start; everything would move so much quicker then.

[Jason Campbell]

Not so long ago, Jason had received a call, detailing what was going on with SPECTRE, what they dared do and the fact they might need his help. Not so long ago, he agreed to help and went to an auditorium filled with more kids than he wished for to listen to a young woman explaining how SPECTRE attacked them and went beyond what the government said their task was by abducting children from the streets and so they had to get them back. Not so long ago, he got into a car to his designed location, right between the ones infiltrating themselves to save the kids and the ones making a diversion to allow the previous one to be able to make their move. Yet, all of this seemed like it happened such a long time ago.

He was awfully calm, or appeared so. But anyone knowing him would know that the more nervous Jason was, the more calm he appeared to be. His nerves were giving up and so it left him in an almost quiet, indifferent state. But he was nervous. And scared. Not for his own sake. He never thought one second the government would attack him personally. At most, they would have kidnapped him to heal their kind. But all those children involved... and he couldn’t help but to remember the words this Elsa said. She contradicted herself too many times. She kept saying this was not a war, yet called that an attack and told them to prepare for battle. What was it supposed to be then? Sure it was SPECTRE who started all of this, but he had a feeling it was not how the world will see it. Jason wouldn’t be surprised if whatever agent that would survive, and he was ready to give credits to Elsa for actually making it a point to avoid taking lives as much as possible, but he still wouldn’t be surprised shall those agents retaliate with all their strength. What he was mostly sorry for however was that they were letting kids fight this war. Couldn’t they call back the former students of the Academy, ask them for help?

He remained quiet as said Elsa was next to him. She was coordinating the actions of both teams. Jason had very little to do for now. His abilities would be required later, not before or during the attack. At least they provided him with as much medical supply they could get their hands on. He expected quite a few wounded people coming back, not simply tortured students. It had been a while since he removed a bullet wound. He was even surprised when they thought of things for his health, as they obviously wished for him to heal mainly with his touch. He would, of course, but he will do so strategically. If normal medical care was more than enough, he would give them that no matter what others may say to it. He had to save his energy to those who would most likely be on the brink of death.

He turned his head towards the brunette as she talked to him. She did explain his sister was one of the captive and he was really sorry for her. For a moment, he imagined if his brother had been taken. He knew in what state she must be right now. “Truthfully, I wish all I will have to do is tend to dehydrated captives,” he replied softly. Because the other alternative would be mutants shot at. Students, kids. This could not be happening. He stared at her when she talked. “After tonight, I’m afraid many more will believe so. Let’s just hope some will understand the true meaning of our operation and the wrongs they had done,” he replied. Oh, Jason was awfully realistic. He could see the war coming upon them. SPECTRE worked in that way. They either had to let them keep kidnapping their own and certainly kill them eventually, or they retaliated and would be marked as the enemy. It was all Jason could see right now.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa could hear crackling in her ears, though she could see that they were moving forward anyway. Dexter had taken control over his team, and it sounded like the distraction team was, well, distracting. Elsa lifted her binoculars, taking another look, trying to calm her breathing despite her heart racing. She was already stretching the range of her ability as it was, relying at least as much on the buzzing in her ears as on her talents. She needed to keep regulated, calm.

Talking to Dr. Campbell should've helped that. Elsa lowered her glass, her eyes flicking toward the doctor as he spoke. So many would believe they were monsters. "They ripped Erika's fingernails off," said Elsa, her tone flat. "I felt them tearing them off her hand and then searing her hand afterward. If this is a war, as you keep thinking," no, she wasn't shy about sharing that she'd almost casually invaded the doctor's mind; in truth it had just been her skimming his surface thoughts, which all chased around that idea, "then they started it, and they were violating our rights first," Elsa took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "They've started," she said, nodding. She paused for a few moments, wondering, her eyes flicking to Dr. Campbell again. She wished she knew him better; she wished she knew more about the people involved. When names appeared on the sign-ups she'd circulated, she'd done what she could. But Elsa had so many balls in the air. Hence why her little speech hadn't been quite as coherent as she would have liked, certainly not as calm.

"They also did something awful to Mr. Paige, something that laid him flat on a table,' Elsa frowned, wishing she could give the doctor more than that. "I hope you're ready to push yourself to the limit," she finished, raising her binoculars back up, once more casting her attention toward the Headquarters."

[Jason Campbell]

Jason didn’t mean for his words to sound as if what happened was in any way their fault or that he didn’t think the students should be that injured. He certainly would have wished for them to be unharmed and simply a bit dehydrated from being held captive for so long. But it would seem the government chose to act like the terrorists do on this matter, taking away innocent people and doing to them as they pleased only to show the whole community that they could. In one way, Jason wished they could have pointed out what was going on in there, but even if the infiltration team came with cameras to show what they did to children, he feared this would not change much the vision people had of them.

Perhaps he was being overly pessimistic here. He had a tendency to see the glass half-empty after all. But he learned to expect the worse out of people as it was often what they’d give you. Of course, it was no reason to share it with the girl and make her feel worse than she currently was. He too wanted to cling onto hope, however small it may be. He tensed as she mentioned what happened to her sister. Jason used to work in the emergency room back in New York, he had seen his fair share or accidents, stab wounds and gun shots. If that toughened him at the sight of it, learning what someone endured as torture was more than he was prepared to. It actually made him not notice her choice of words as she pointed out she read his thoughts.

“Oh I know they started it. What they did is no better than any terrorist organization they normally hunt down. But no everyone will see it that way,” he replied to her. It was the main issue here. People might see in this nothing more than a clear attack from the mutants, refusing to bend down to any government when in reality all they wanted was to live in peace like everyone else. He wished the government had thought about talking to them before actually setting up a military crew to go after them. He could understand to a degree they would need special measures and rules for mutants now, but there was no need to enforce it like that.

Elsa mentioned another one of the captured kid. Jason sighed heavily as he heard it. This was absolutely awful. There was a large variety of things they could have done to this Paige boy. Would they be enough to get them all out if they were all unable to walk? Elsa told him to get ready and that cut him short from this dreaded thought. “Don’t worry for me. But I want to warn you, I will save as much energy as I can until we are all back here. As long as their vitals are fine, I will use my power for those in greater needs,” he told her. She might not like to see her sister in that state and Jason not doing much yet for her. But he didn’t want to end up already drained then have one come to them with bullet wounds and Jason unable to save him because that would pretty much kill him before saving that person’s life. He had to think strategically here. If the supplies were enough, they would have it until he was certain they were all here. Then he’ll use his powers without caring much of his fate. There was everything to keep him alive even if he ended up in a coma anyway.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"They will by the time I'm finished," said Elsa with cool confidence. She'd already made certain to contact Ellen, counting on the Banks fortune. A note sent to the Paige and Cox families had done wonders as well. "You'd be surprised what can happen when four incredibly wealthy families pool their resources," she allowed, glancing over at Jason. Yes, yes she was quite confident that she could sway public opinion. She heard some squawking in her ear, holding a hand up to press against it. The various members of Distract were working out something, dealing with Devyn too. That had been a dicey decision: could they really trust the loose cannon? Well, all Devyn had to do was draw attention to herself; that coudl be managed.

Dr. Campbell answered Elsa's question, and she looked back over at him. Don't worry for him; Elsa wasn't. She also didn't blame him for his statement, nodding, "We wouldn't want to exhaust you in case of fatal injuries,' she said, agreeing on the surface. She understood prioritizing according to the severity of the wounds. Jason would be sadly mistaken if Elsa didn't plan on pulling strings to some degree, however. Her sister was who she cared about here; most of the others were simply tools to achieve that end. Well, that end and the end of dealing a blow to SPECTRE.

"There are a few others here trained in emergency response too," she said, gesturing vaguely behind her. She kept Jason close, as well as a few police officers, including a rather scrawny one that she heard had an impressive power. Elsa didn't focus on them, instead looking toward the complex. "The infiltration team needs to move quicker..." she mumbled, tapping her earpiece. She'd sent a notice to their leader if she had to. If that team delayed, this was all pointless.

[Jason Campbell]

Jason remained silent as she talked. It was not exactly the kind of talk made to reassure him. Of course, he had no idea what she meant by all of that. But he hoped she didn’t intend to blow the place up or anything that would appear too much like an offensive from their part. He thought the best line of action was to get them out and protect each other. If they avoided killing anyone or even injuring them beyond necessary and simply defended themselves as SPECTRE attacked them, then perhaps they would have a chance for people to see they were not the enemy here. He raised an eyebrow though as the mention of family fortune. Well, sure, if those were going in the balance, that would sure help. And it was enough to reassure him a bit. Playing on money instead of weapons... none of those were fields he was good in but he still felt safer with the first option.

He remained silent a moment as it was clear Elsa was getting some heads up on the situation from one of the other teams. He tensed, perking his head up even though he knew he could probably not see much that way. His jaw clenched out of expectations. They were soon able to talk again. He knew Elsa was saying this now, but when she’ll see her sister’s state, she might sing another tune. “I will make sure your sister gets the care she needs,” he promised her. Then again, she certainly must be expecting such. Why else would he be there? But if anyone was in a worse state, they will get priority, fortune or no fortune.

He nodded as he looked behind at the few other people with them. They better have some training for when they’ll start swarming all back here, they would most be in need of care in some way, he expected. He wouldn’t have enough arms to deal with them all at once. “I also noticed the medical supply and the energy supplement. Nice touch,” he said as he knew this was for him mainly. He stood up as she mentioned the infiltration team. He supposed she might have to communicate with their leader and he left her alone to do this, taking a few steps back to the medical supplies in question. Right now he didn’t need any boost but he tried to see where everything was so it would be faster when his work will begin.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Yes, the distraction team had started pulling people away, which was the hope. Elsa tapped her other earpiece a bit, wondering if she should send a direct order to the infiltration team. They needed to move and move quickly, else they'd find themselves getting left behind or stuck. That couldn't happen. Elsa sighed though, lowering her hand. No need to micromanage: she'd put responsible people in charge of each group. She couldn't help but worry about the distraction team though: they would be coming under the most fire...

Make sure her sister gets the care she needs: "Of course you will; I wouldn't expect anything less,' said Elsa, attempting to dismiss the notion. He'd better take good care of her, if he intended to keep his job and his position in Kalispell. Elsa pushed down such thoughts and comments though; she needed Dr. Campbell on her side, comfortable, and, well, he would be doing what he'd been trained to do. It wasn't as if she were asking him to suit up and go charging into the front lines.

He proved observant too, taking stock of what Elsa had put together. she glanced behind her at the supplies, nodded, and looked back at him. "I intend you to be at your best," she informed him. There was a hint of the pressure she intended to put on Dr. Campbell there too, though she certainly wasn't going to say as much. She raised her binoculars back up, wishing that they could see into the building. she hazarded attempting to cast her mind in there, but she lacked a connection. She sighed, lowering her binoculars. "Sorry that I'm making you stay up here in the boring part with me,' she said, flicking her eyes at him, "but we couldn't risk you," he probably knew that, but it never hurt to confirm things with people. Besides, a little ego stoking could go a long way, especially with what they had planned now.

[Jason Campbell]

There was something unnerving about their position. They couldn’t really see anything all that clearly. Seriously, how did the generals do to stand that far away from their men and watch them die? Sure there were no canons or gunshots, none yet, but Jason could already feel his nerves tensing him to the breaking point. He expected to jump should they start hearing anything. He probably would even if it was only Elsa touching his arm or something. It wasn’t just the fact they were kids, although it played a big part. It was the whole idea of staying here to wait and see who shall come back. Jason bet he’ll age of a decade with this night only. Probably will start growing grey hair or something.

Thinking of the students they came to rescue didn’t help either. Elsa seemed to have a very good idea of what happened to her sister. At this point, he didn’t really care to know exactly how she was privy to that much information. What he worried him was in what state the others would be. What could seriously justify taking a young girl’s nails off and then burn her fingers? He was getting angry at them and he didn’t want it to obscure his judgement.

Jason passed a finger on the energy supplement. How many of those will be needed? He already knew the answer. He was ready to take as much as required. He would not fail them because he didn’t want to tire himself when they went through all of this. “I don’t intend to disappoint any of you,” he told her. Girl, he was a doctor! Her pressure was nothing compared to that. You don’t really know what pressure is unless you’ve worked for hours continuously and even though you’re drained, someone comes in on the brink of death and you still have to be as alert as if it was your first hour of work. But he would not tell her. She shall see enough tonight already.

Elsa focused her attention on the facility and Jason let her be. He hoped she didn’t make him stay here also to keep her company because he would be a pretty boring one. “Don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn’t be of any help to you out there and I know that,” he replied, nodding in direction of the woods, where he knew two units of theirs were playing their part. “How are they doing?” he asked. She kept in line with them and he was anxious to know how things were going.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa didn't say anything as Dr. Campbell insisted that he wasn't going to disappoint. Of course he wouldn't: Elsa wouldn't let him. She fully intended to use everyone she could to their greatest potential. Though she hardly thought that, at least in this case, she had to do overmuch. Most of the people here wanted to be used, to be a part of what this was. Elsa reminded herself of that even as the sound of mutants fighting armed soldiers crackled in her ear.

"They're engaging," she said, speaking flatly. "The Distraction team," she pointed, handing over to binoculars, figuring that she could do without them for a few precious seconds, "has engaged SPECTRE's attention. They're engaging with hostile and there's bullets flying. I don't think anyone's been seriously wounded; at least they haven't reported anyone," she frowned. Would they? She'd think they would. She stretched her mind out again, wanting to catch the others, to read those various thoughts and understand better what was happening out there.

"The infiltration team's been quiet," said Elsa, tapping the other ear, "but I think they've gotten deep. There's something niggling at the edge of my attention, demanding that I look at it. That feels like Erika, and it may be that her mind is waking up, getting ready," Elsa smiled. "It looks like we might get out of this relatively easy..." she paused then, leaning forward. Something felt... off... there was another sound crackling in her ear, one that she barely recognized. Roxana? Why would Roxana contact her? Elsa tapped it, frowning. Probably her imagination; the school wasn't under attack.

Even if it was, what could she do about it? They had to finish here first, or else it would all be for not.

[Jason Campbell]

Jason took the binoculars she handed over to him and tried to locate their own from what he recalled of the map. Of course, it would be a lot easier to know where they were for sure without all those trees. He knew the forest was as much an ally to them as a complication but Jason was a city boy so he couldn’t help the thought of it. She explained to him as he checked that they caught SPECTRE’s attention already. He stiffened at the mention of bullets though he did expect it. He doubted they would really hold back their fire on mutants they had so little esteem for. He had a small nod of the head when she said none was injured yet. He hoped it would remain that way. But he was ready whatever was going to happen.

He lowered the binoculars as she talked of the infiltration team. He frowned a bit as he handed them back to her. “Maybe a little too easily, don’t you think? If you were at their place, would you really think those are the only ones there? Shouldn’t we hear them more?” he asked. He feared they might get trapped or something. Well, he mostly feared the something. He honestly would find it extremely suspicious if the only ones he’d have to heal were the kidnapped kids. What was SPECTRE doing, what was their plan?

Jason tried to think like them. Not an easy feat as he was obviously not a man of war. He was no strategist, he never try to attack anyone, hurt anyone. This just gave him an idea, one he wished he had not. “Why do you torture someone? To get information. What did they get from your sister?” he asked. He supposed it was a bit late to ask yourself such questions. They could not back down now. But perhaps they could warn the others and so get the upper hand. After all, how could SPECTRE know they were aware of their camp and plans?

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Too easy... it was entirely possible. Elsa thought it over as she chewed her lip, her attention and her senses stretched. She kept reading a few people, and had to wince. "Several of ours are wounded," she said, speaking flatly, "especially on the distraction team. I'm--" she paused, hearing more crackling and what she seriously thought was Roxana's voice and other sounds. Now Elsa had to split her attention between Jason, the team she could still read, and the team that kept communicating with her via her earpiece.

"I don't think they got much out of her,' said Elsa, keeping her voice level. "They torture you when you don't talk, after all," she said, flicking her eyes over at Jason. "Besides, there isn't much information that my sister is privy to," she didn't elaborate on that, instead pausing to lick her lips. more noise sounded in her ear, confirming what she'd feared: someone attacked the school. that explained why there weren't quite as many agents here as was to be expected.

"It's probably a light agency though," she said, nodding, "only sending out a strike force and the like. they clearly weren't expecting us to attack en force," this struck her as being true, though she wasn't mentioning the flashes of information she got regarding the armaments that were being used on their own. And they'd sent teenagers into the fray... Elsa actually felt a slight pang of that, only for a moment though. They'd done what was necessary; she wouldn't apologize for that.

[Jason Campbell]

Elsa finally said the words Jason expected yet dreaded for: some of theirs were wounded. Sure, he didn’t think all he would have to do was tend to the kidnapped ones, but he would much rather not have anyone too badly hurt during this attack. He was about to ask if she had any detail, to prepare himself on what to expect from the distraction team. But she stopped midsentence and Jason stared at her. At first, he remained quiet. She might be getting information and he didn’t want to have her miss something of value because he was eager to know what was going on. He waited but after a time, he frowned and couldn’t help himself. “Well?”

He nodded to Elsa. Yes, it was true they tortured you only when you refused to talk. But no matter how strong you believe you were, torture would make you talk, that much he was certain of. Especially a young girl like her who mustn’t have experimented physical pain so much. He had to be positive however. As Elsa said, what could they possibly get from a bunch of students? Well... He shook the thought off. “You’re probably right. There are other reasons why they could have injured her,” he said, trying not to think about it. Maybe she tried to get away or she wanted to show them all they better behave. They were talking of a Bellefonte, as in Bellefonte Academy. They probably got her as some sort of leverage. He shouldn’t worry. It was not like he could help anyway. He was a healer, he will heal her once they got her out, but his work ended here.

Jason sometimes forgot others might expect some comfort out of him. He was too much of a realist to think this would go out smoothly. But Elsa sent them, some perhaps to their death. She was awfully young to deal with such a burden. “I heard some we sent did military service. And there are cops too. We have to trust in them and their experience,” he said, mostly to her. Perhaps he should have tried more conviction in his voice. It was the most he could do right now though.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Her ear crackled, telling her of more. The agents were on the grounds; they weren't going to show mercy. They were there, and Elsa had taken the best trained people off the school grounds and put them there, just within eyeline. She felt almost like she should be turning up the volume, listening as Beau LaRoux, Roxana Strix, and Guylian Dove fought a battle that they probably shouldn't win. Hell, Guylian's power was all but useless in a firefight, and LaRoux was a musician with a hero complex. Elsa had put everything on Roxana, gambling hard on the lean blonde bodyguard, and she had a feeling that gamble was only going to lower her losses instead of mitigate them.

she picked up thoughts that distracted her back, a Bellefonte, use them. Elsa laughed dryly at that, shaking her head. They would've taken a Bellefonte who didn't want to be one. She'd keep that to herself. The next bit though, as Dr. Campbell talked about the ones she'd chosen, the ones with military service, with police training, with combat experience, as if Elsa hadn't just been thinking it. She clicked her tongue against her mouth.

"That's right, Dr. Campbell, I chose," she said, her eyes flicking to him. "I chose, and my choice led to people dying. I chose who I wanted to live, who I thought was more important, Dr. Campbell. Someone needs to know that, and it looks like you get to be my shoulder angel for the time being," she tapped her earpiece, "the school's under attack: there's at least one casualty already. The team's found them though, they're bringing them out. I'll let the distraction team know," she spoke stoically, not letting this affect her. People died. People died because Elsa had a vision and led people to rescue her sister. At least she'd been right. God knows how this all would've turned out if there hadn't been anyone in that complex.

Perhaps more than Dr. Campbell would release Elsa's intentions then. Oh well.

[Jason Campbell]

The tension was simply building up around here as they waited to see what was going on. There was little he could do however. Jason had to stand idle as long as they would not come back. His task was to heal them. And since he could not heal himself, it would be stupid to run along to help them out as the wounds appeared. He also wondered what got Elsa’s attention so much. Which team just contacted her? She was still pretty tensed, perhaps even more than earlier, so it could not be the infiltration one, as she’d be relieved to know they at least reached her sister, even if the biggest challenge would be to get them out.

He turned his head towards her as she called him out. He frowned at her words. He wanted to tell her they made their choice, they decided to come and help out, that she should not feel bad about it. He tried to understand as she claimed to have chosen who shall live and die. It was not how he’d put it, not at all. He wanted to correct that, tell her she forced no one and was not responsible for anyone’s death should anyone have died already, he dared not think of this eventually even though he expected it.

But she confirmed what he feared and he startled slightly as he was told the school was indeed under attack. Worse, there was a casualty. “The students?” he asked, wanting to know what would become of them. They were mere children, helpless children on the most part, they shouldn’t be going after them. Jason forced himself to stay calm. Now was not the time to panic. Like Elsa, he had to remain stoic. “We’ll have plenty of time to play the blame game later. For now, what’s going on with the different teams? Do we have to send more people to the school for backup?” he asked her. He knew a few mutants thanks to his function that might be able to lend a hand. JJ sure owed him as much, even though he was not sure the man would do it. A voice in his head told him his brother could help too, with his ability and all. But Jason simply refused to call him. It may be selfish, but he didn’t want his brother and only family left to risk his life. He also feared to ask who that casualty was and the only reason why he did not was because she might not know just yet.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"The teams are doing their jobs," said Elsa, speaking flatly. her mind buzzed as she kept hopping thought-streams, flicking through the different trains of thought while still listening and keeping track. Elsa knew she was pushing herself, even with her mastery of her ability, but it had to be done. She wasn't going to let anything slip through, not with her sister's life on the line. This would turn out alright for them.

"We don't have people to send," said Elsa, flicking her eyes to Jason for a moment. "They're attacking because they know we're weak. I'd almost wonder if someone told them, but I don't think I left enough time for that. Regardless," Elsa sighed, licked her lips. Yes, she knew what had to be done, what would actually help them the most. She dug her hand into her pocket, fishing around for only a few moments before producing her cellphone. Elsa reached up to dislodge one of the earbuds, putting her phone to her ear.

"Yes, this is Elsa Bellefonte, reporting that Bellefonte Academy is under attack by a government agency bent on wiping out innocent children and their caregivers. You should be able to catch them at it if you hurry," and with that, Elsa slid her phone off, lowering it to work her earbud back into place. "The local press have been waiting for my calls for months now, though they probably would've preferred if I actually granted them better access the the school." Elsa frowned, looking over at the facility. "I suppose I will now," she looked at Jason then. "Get ready: several of ours have been shot," she then turned, barking orders and gesturing, wanting to get as many people ready for the inevitable as she could.