Bodyguarding

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Felt almost strange to even bother with this. A formal call sent to Roxana's phone, requesting that she come to the Headmistress's office. At the same time, Elsa didn't want to completely demoralize the other girl. True, she expected Roxana's presence in her upcoming work regardless of what she said today. However, she felt that she also owed the other girl at least the same respect and courtesy she gave the rest of her nascent council.

So she'd summoned Roxana to her office, as she often did.

This time, Elsa wore a full pantsuit. she had several files on the desk and a few other tidbits tucked away in said desk. Her hair had been pulled back into a tight, neat bun, one that almost made her look more severe then she did normally. For now, she rested her elbows on the desk and looked into the middle distance, her mind rehashing the various strange meetings she'd had recently, all the reactions everyone had given her.

And, strangely, she wanted Roxana's take on it, as well as her sister's. Erika had already approved the choices, probably thrilled that her boyfriend and a few of her close friends had been included. Amazing how that often turned out.

The door opened. Elsa waited, knowing that Roxana's training would kick in and the other girl would address her first. Then they could begin, and see where it went from there.

Roxana Strix

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana had just got finished the report she had gotten from her organization when the call from Elsa had come in. Today was really not the best day to meet with the girl one on one and have a little chat. If Elsa didn't have the power that she did, then Roxana would have felt fine with going to talk to the other girl. Yet, Elsa had her mind reading power and every time they were around one another, Elsa without fail had gone into Roxana's head and read her thoughts. She really didn't need the other girl finding out what she had read and normally would feel confident about keeping things hidden from Elsa, but the news she had been given were weighing heavy on her mind. Still, she just took a moment to herself to get her thoughts together and headed to meet Elsa in her office.

It would have probably seemed more suspicious to Elsa if Roxana didn't show up but Roxana could have said that she was just busy with other things. It didn't take long for Roxana to arrive at the Headmaster's Office since she knew the way there by heart and had been their often. She gave a small knock on the door but didn't wait for a 'come in' or anything and just walked in. Elsa was expecting her after all so she doubted the other girl would be doing something that she didn't want Roxana to see. Her eyes quickly looked Elsa over and then what was laid out on the desk as she stepped in and closed the door behind her. "You called and I'm here. How are you doing today Elsa?" Roxana asked as she moved further into the room, stopping about a foot away from the desk. As per usual Roxana didn't really expect to get a full out honest answer when asking how Elsa was doing, but she was always going to ask that question.

"I could probably guess what this is all about, but I'll leave it to you to explain so I'm clear on everything." Roxana added after a moment as she remained where she was standing and crossed her arms over her chest. She was good with standing and being this distance away from Elsa at the moment. Looking over Elsa once more before her eyes looked over the files on the desk for a little while longer to see if she could spot anything of interest.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Didn't surprise Elsa that Roxana was there, and it didn't surprise her at all to hear the exasperation in her voice. "I'm doing quite splendidly, actually," she replied, looking up to meet Roxana. The new Headmistress grinned pleasantly, then gestured toward the various folders spread out in front of her.

"Your guess is most likely accurate," agreed Elsa. She took a folder and nudged it toward Roxana. "I've put together a council of various individuals that are around our age, give or take. They're all people that I trust to a certain degree, and they've all some sort of pull, either power wise in the literal sense or in the more metaphorical, loose sense. I want to have a group of people together for the next time something happens."

Elsa paused. She lowered her hand to the folder, fingers splayed. Her expression went deadly serious, and she locked eyes with Roxana. "And I want your organization to know."

[Roxana Strix]

There was a small eyebrow raise when Elsa responded that she was doing 'splendidly' and Roxana was unsure if she was going to buy that or like usual just assume that Elsa was just saying whatever in order to get Roxana to not bother with something. Then again, normally Elsa would just not answer, so maybe she was getting an honest answer. She just had to stop thinking for a moment; she had already been over thinking everything with her new orders and needed to just stay focused on whatever it was Elsa had called her for. She had a guess based upon just her general ability of gathering information and keeping a close eye on her targets. "That is good to hear..." Roxana responded, still getting used to the whole Elsa smiling thing but was less in shock over the matter like she had been a little bit when Elsa had actually first smiled. Elsa gestured to the folders in front of her and after a moment Roxana moved closer in order to get a better look.

Elsa pointed out the Roxana's guess was most likely accurate and then went ahead and explained what she was doing. Roxana had been right and just gave a small nod over the matter, understanding what it was that Elsa was getting at when she started to talk about the people she had in the group had some sort of pull, even if the pulls were on different levels from being an actual pull to just a metaphorical pull. The only thing that Roxana didn't know fully was every member of the group but she figured that Elsa would either tell her or she would find out within the hour. Since it was of upmost importance to get down such information to be reported in. Even if Roxana had new orders, she knew the organization would have still wanted her to do what she had always been doing. Or at least she was not willing to risk just focusing on her new orders and neglecting her old ones.

Roxana did however not expect Elsa to say what she did with such a serious expression and eyes locked with Roxana's. Roxana's organization would have found out about the group because Roxana would have more than likely reported on the matter even if Elsa had not brought up that she wanted Roxana's organization to know. The fact that Elsa had pointed it out put Roxana a little on edge as she looked right back into Elsa's eyes. "Why?" Roxana asked simply, not going into detail over her question since she figured Elsa knew the weight of that simple word in this situation.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Unlike most of her meetings to establish the council, this time, Elsa kept her reading power going. For that matter, she did it quite purposefully, practically trodding on Roxana's thoughts like an eleven year old who'd just discovered her power. Again: she did it with purpose.

"You would report to them anyway, as you just thought," said Elsa, reinforcing that very obvious work she'd been doing. "But I want them to be aware that we're preparing, that we're readying ourselves if need be. I also want them to be wondering, because you will, of course, be on that council," there Elsa did pause, looking up at Roxana and raising her brow. That wasn't a question, but it also didn't quite sound like an order.

Because that wasn't Elsa ordering Roxana as an employee to join. That was Elsa expecting the person she trusted and had befriended to want to participate in this, to see that it was right and a worthy idea and project and go forward. Elsa met Roxana's gaze, her eyes serious, but without quite as much challenge as they had normally. There was an invitation in there, a hint that things were about to get more serious and that this was Elsa opening the door for Roxana to enter fully, knowing that it may very well close the moment she stepped through.

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana didn't say anything as Elsa pointed out that Roxana would have told them about it even if Elsa had not said anything about mentioning it to them. As Roxana figured, Elsa was in her head and she had to be careful what she was thinking about. She just made sure to focus only on what Elsa was talking about and figuring out why Elsa wanted Roxana's organization to know. Was she issue some sort of challenge or had she figured out what the organization wanted and was not taking matters into her own hands? Roxana doubted the latter since even she only knew a little bit of what her organization had in mind for her targets. She quickly stopped thinking along that line and paid attention as Elsa began to explain why; a why that Roxana was practically recording with her mind, the level of importance behind it. As well because of the amount of confusion over the matter since Elsa had seemed to be more concerned with one upping Roxana's organization them letting them know herself; in a way, what she was up to.

Elsa wanted Rox's organization to be wondering, pretty much as Roxana was wondering what Elsa really had planned. She was caught off guard again and actually took a slight step back when Elsa pointed out that Roxana of course would be on the council. Roxana did understand that Elsa trusted her, that the other girl in fact sought out Rox's views and opinions on certain matters, and that they were friends. Roxana didn't expect that such conditions having been met would get her a seat on this council that Elsa was putting together. It made sense, upon every level except that Elsa knew that Roxana was working for her organization still. It was one thing to work for Elsa as her body guard, but to be a part of some council was another step towards having probably some say or handle over whatever Elsa had planned. All of it was just causing Roxana to think, a lot. Elsa was looking at her and Roxana did catch that the words were sort of a question.

If she had not gotten the new order that she did, she figured she would have had less of a hard time working through all of this. Yet, she felt that was probably a lie because she still would have been trying to figure out what Elsa was planning and like her organization would be wondering why she was a part of such a group. "Sorry for my...hesitation. I'm just trying to figure out a few things." Roxana said after a moment pf silence as she ran a hand through her hair and started to play with a little bit. "Who all are you planning to be a part of this group?" Roxana asked the, figuring she ask some questions to buy herself time to weigh the options because this new invitation would result in her going against her new orders. Unless...

[Elsa Bellefonte]

So many thoughts to continue reading, moving quickly. Elsa made certain to practically stomp on Roxana's thoughts, purposefully rolling on specific thoughts that drifted on through. Organization, for example, though Elsa didn't expect anything to pick up. She just wanted Roxana to be aware of how this conversation was going to play out, on how many levels they were operating right now.

"I know," replied Elsa. "Like how this contradicts with orders yet at the same time puts you in a perfect position. Let's not play games here: you could very well stab me in the back. I'd like to make sure that when you do, you'll feel guilty. Well, that and that I'll walk away. As for the who," she reached for the files again, nudging them toward Roxana. "There's the full roster of people I've talked to, including how they reacted to the offer. Only you and Trevor Paige are getting the full roster."

Elsa nodded and then leaned back into her quite comfortable, quite opulent chair. "I'm also hoping that Ellen Banks hears about it and starts demanding a position. That should put us at around nine," assuming that everyone accepted, but Elsa didn't need to let that detail slip. She simply looked up at Roxana, her fingers templed, her brows raised.

[Roxana Strix]

Elsa said she knew. Yet again pointing out that she was clearly reading Roxana's thoughts but that was not revealing just how deeply Elsa was going into Roxana's mind. All of it didn't sit well with the crystal manipulator as she was already having a hard time figuring out if she was going to obey all of her orders, part of them, to ignore them completely. There were so many factors to account for and now Elsa was bringing up this Council. One that Roxana understood why Elsa would put together such a group and the benefits of having it. All of it made sense, and again she understood why Elsa would want her on the group but at the same time she did not. Not someone that may have wanted to protect you and worked for you, but still worked for someone else that had a greater pull on her strings.

Elsa clearly understood all of this with her words about how she knew Roxana could stab her in the back but that she wanted Roxana to feel guilty about it. The other girl sounded confident in her words, Roxana noting the bit about how Elsa would walk away from whatever the backstabbing would be. Was it safe for Elsa to have such confidence when dealing with Roxana and the organization she worked for? "Smart move, offering me a position within an even closer group within your circle. Bit of a gamble, but smart." Roxana responded back simply, her mind still weighing the options, the risk, the results, and the punishments of it all. She moved closer than when Elsa nudged the files. Reaching out to pick them up and read over them, just giving a quick look over it for now and thankful for it being a distraction from her thoughts on her orders. Roxana glanced up at Elsa for a moment when she said Trevor Paige, but she didn't say anything and looked back at the files.

Roxana smiled a little bit at Elsa brining up how she wanted Ellen to hear about the group and then demand a spot. "So you just want her to squirm instead of just inviting her? You never cease to amaze me Elsa." Roxana said as her eyes looked over the files some more before setting it back down on the table. Roxana let out a sigh after a moment as she ran a hair through her soft hair. "This position you have put me in..." Roxana started to say but her voice dropped off as she moved to sit down. Relaxing in the chair and taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. She needed to think for a moment, to just sit and think about all of this.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa shrugged: "I don't see it as much of a gamble. If I'm gambling, I'm rigging the game," she half-smiled at that. Roxana surely knew what she meant by that. She'd spent time with Roxana, befriended her. Yes, a part of that was just to counteract whatever this organization was and to be ready for the future, but a large part of that, to Elsa's surprise, was a natural, organic feeling, which was part of why Elsa was relatively eager to get Roxana to join her willingly.

Unwillingly would just be rough.

"Ellen Banks deserves to squirm every once in a while," replied Elsa, tapping her fingers on the desk. It was a bit of a power play, purposefully setting Ellen to actually come and ask her to be on the secret council or what have you, but Elsa felt it was somewhat needed. After all, she still saw Ellen as one of the few here who could keep up with her, and that kind of respect meant that you had to play games like this.

Which possibly explained what was going on with Roxana now. Elsa nodded as the other girl sat, giving Roxana a few moments, watching the closed eyes, the deep breaths. The thoughts went through Elsa's mind as if narrated in a loud voice. She tapped her fingers absently on the desk again. "The offer won't be on the table forever," she said, "but I'm certainly going to give you time to think about it. We both know how you'll end up deciding in the end," and yes, the confidence was part of the game. Only part though: Else fully believed that Roxana would do this out of some loyalty, not to mention taking the sweet position for the benefit of her other employer.

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana did smile a little at Elsa’s words about if she was making a gamble then she would be rigging the game. She understood what Elsa was getting at and was amused by it, but Elsa always had a way of making Roxana smile just a little bit with her words. Words that probably would worry others that heard them, but with Roxana’s line of work she was not bothered by such words. Still, Elsa was making a gamble in a way and when you thought about it she was working to make sure that the game was rigged. Having Roxana on her side would ensure that the game would be rigged a little bit in her favor, and that was probably why Elsa was indeed doing it. They were friends, and it did seem to be a natural friendship with that bit of boss and employee from time to time.

All Roxana knew was that Elsa had made her feel conflicted in many categories of her life and caused her to think and wonder. She would not dig too deep into because knowing how Elsa was; it would be foolish to think that there was something more behind the conflicted feelings. Roxana would just accept them as they were and not mess with such things, even if her orders were not telling her to do so. “Ellen deserves a break.” Roxana said simply, knowing what Ellen Banks was dealing with and it worried her a little bit. She didn’t think too much about that because she didn’t want Elsa to know about such things since it was Ellen’s private life. It was Elsa’s council, so Roxana was not going to tell the other girl what she could and could not do. She just sat down in silence to think about everything that was going on and what could end up happening.

The tapping of Elsa's fingers against the desk didn't help Roxana feel like she was alone with her thought, but then again she was not. Elsa was likely still in there, reading around like she was in a library and just grabbing a hold of her favorite book. Roxana opened her blue eyes, and her gaze looked up at Elsa when the other girl talked about the offer would not last long but that she would give Rox time to think. Being confident in knowing what Rox was going to decide in the end. That had Rox smirking as she leaned back in the chair in a more relaxed manner. "You confidence never ceases to amaze me Elsa. Might be why you cause me to feel so conflicted all of the time when I deal with you." Roxana said with a lighter tone then her normal casual tone as she took a deep breath and relaxed a little more in the chair. "It you already know how I will choose, then you already know my answer." Roxana said after a pause there, just closing her eyes and actually relaxing for a small moment in that chair.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Ellen deserved a break? Elsa picked up a few more thoughts there, and she was fairly certain they weren't meant to be picked up. Something about Ellen's private life, there being some kind of trouble. Elsa felt a slight twinge at that, wondering if she should look up the other girl. They weren't friends, at least, not in the strictest sense, but they had that uneasy tension.

Later: she had Roxana in her office now, facing her. Rox smirked; Elsa raised her brows. "I find it interesting how often people say that to me. You'd think you'd all adjust after a while," she flicked her fingers, moving some of the files. "In that case, here are in depth files on each of the members of the council, including some personal notes. I've also included some summaries of the McLisk papers, which I'm opening up to a degree. I don't want many people aware; I don't even want the full council aware, but there needs to be at least a handful."

And Elsa waited again, confident that she'd guessed correctly and would be ready for whatever came next.

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana would have scolded Elsa for digging around in her head when the topic of Ellen needing a break was brought up but she figured it would be a waste of her breath and time. There were other topics that Roxana would fight harder for to keep Elsa from finding out and would make it a point to let Elsa know when she had gone too far. She didn't know how Elsa would take such a thing or if she even cared but even Roxana had her limits to how much she wanted someone digging around in her head and reading her thoughts. Elsa committed back on how she found it interesting that so many people kept saying those same words to her. Pointing out that she figured that they would all just start to adjust. Roxana figured that at some point she would, at least she hoped she would but when someone caused different levels of confusion in you...how were you supposed to adjust to that?

Roxana didn't really get a chance to commit on the words because Elsa was already moving on, back to business and bring up the files. Informing Roxana what was in them and even a bit about some personal notes. Elsa even brought up the McLisk women who had helped the school out a lot before her passing during the SPECTRE attack. If only she had still been alive then some of these problems would have been solved already or at least someone else that Elsa could talk about when wanting to form a group, try things out, discuss various tactics, and the like. Yet, Roxana honestly didn't mind it all and was just over thinking because of her new orders and now this council group that Elsa wanted her to be a part of. Roxana picked up the files and started to at least flip through the reports, just doing a quick skim.

"Is it safe to assume that I am one of those handfuls that you want to know about such a thing, or not?" Roxana asked and felt that it was a good question since Elsa obviously knew that Roxana was more than likely going to be reporting in a lot of this to practically all of it perhaps to her organization. It was her job after all. Roxana was going to agree to be part of Elsa's group, even if part of her felt like Elsa should not have her in that close of a circle but she was not going to fight it. Roxana did pause in her looking over the files for a moment before looking to Elsa with a serious expression on her face. "If I were to kiss you right now, a real kiss. How would you react? Don't over think it and just go for what you think you would do in that very moment." Roxana went ahead and asked and while it might have seemed random it was actually a very important question that Roxana could have just did instead of asking but because of her respect for Elsa she did not do such a thing.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"Well, seeing as you already know, whether or not I wanted you to is rather a moot point,' replied Elsa lightly. She did want a handful to at least have some idea of what was going on. Too much secret information held too closely to the chest could backfire on all of them, causing horrendous wounds. Too much distributed too far would have much the same effect though, and to a wider population. It made the decision a lot easier to Elsa's mind.

Much like another decision: "I would slap you across the face and likely fire you," replied Elsa coolly. "I might even go so far as to begin spreading word throughout the school that you're actually a foreign agent of some kind sent here for mysterious missions that involve the student body directly.

"Because I'm just certain that will go over swimmingly with your organization."

And there was that tight smile, again.

[Roxana Strix]

"True, but there could have been more that you were leaving out." Roxana pointed out because it was not hard to believe that if Elsa was not fully revealing everything to others on this council that she was putting together then she could be doing the same with Roxana. Elsa trusted Roxana but probably only Erika knew all of the details...well, possibly not Erika but maybe someone knew everything. Or perhaps Elsa went with the route of revealing all that she had planned but only telling certain parts to some people while keeping the rest hidden. That way she was not really keeping any secretes of her overall plan but just not revealing every aspect of it to every single member that she wanted on her group. Part of Roxana didn't like that but her organization did the same thing because not everyone was on a need to know basis with everything going on in the group.

Roxana had gone ahead and asked her question and got a response that she had expected but not to the degree that Elsa had gone into it. The slap and then being fired all did fit with the kind of person that Elsa was. Roxana did not expect the added effect of Elsa going ahead and start spreading rumors of what Roxana was doing and then bring up Rox's organization and how they would not like that at all. All very true points and Roxana could not help but to let out a half chuckle at how quick Elsa had responded and that tight smile on her face. "Noted." Roxana responded back simply and went back to looking over the files a little more closely. That solved that one mystery and certainly Roxana figured that she could not be at fault then.

Running the risk of Elsa going around and spreading rumors would just result in Rox being killed more than likely and she wanted to avoid that if at all possible. Punishment was going to come either way but that did not matter so Roxana just focused on the files, skimming mostly because she didn't want Elsa to hear of all her thoughts pertaining to what her organization would think about the members involved. "Meetings with all of these people in the same room...would be interesting." Roxana said after a moment, shaking her head for a moment. Elsa at least seemed to know what she was doing and the people she picked were not horrible just Roxana did have some doubts on a few of them.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

It was true that Elsa kept things close to the chest, though she was purposefully showing quite a bit of her hand right now. In fact, she showed nearly all her cards... save for the few she had tucked up her sleeves. Something about Roxana's mysterious organization, a group that Elsa didn't even know of the name of, sent up far too many red flags. Hence why Elsa was quite willing to draw their attention....

.... just not quite yet. IMAC would be bringing enough trouble without openly inviting yet more. No, Elsa wanted tot able that for now. Wouldn't stop her from leveling the threat. Roxana knew she'd follow through with enough of it, and that was what Elsa wanted. Roxana didn't even blink, though her thoughts certainly skittered about for a few moments there.

It took a good deal of will not to comment on Roxana being killed if that should happen. It did give Elsa far, far more power then even she had anticipated. Yet again, something to keep close to her chest. At least Roxana finally gave Elsa something she could respond to more easily: "I'm well aware," said Elsa, nodding, "and I plan on adding Ellen Banks to the group at some point in the near future. I believe Vera already called dibs on punching her in the face," Elsa smiled. "That's why Francois Laffont is on board: he's supposed to prevent us from killing each other. Though I imagine you'll be fulfilling that function as well," not to mention being Elsa's spy and someone with far more training in certain matters then the rest of the group.