RAVEN/DOVE Joint Headquarters, White Coast_
Only a few minutes ago, Andrea had parted ways with Aaron, carrying a plastic baggy on her arm to her car carrying a couple unscented palm-sized candles with every intention of using them for emergency purposes (a la blackout via power outage). Then she drove off after a few failed attempts of starting the ignition. Only a few minutes ago, she had a conversation with a man she had helped a couple of days prior, and left feeling as though he had helped her back with nothing more than a few words of reassurement. She left the candles in a lunchbox cooler in her car once she stopped in the DOVE/RAVEN Joint HQ parking lot and tied her blonde hair back into a ponytail before she entered the building. It was only a few minutes ago when everything was okay.
When she entered, she didn’t find office workers milling around until they could finally leave and go home like she expected. It wasn’t the same quiet day as it was when she left, instead, the offices were a chaotic flurry of activity. People were yelling at each other - not angrily, but urgently, and it seemed no one could hear each other over the crude, imperfect cadence of ringing telephones. A man walking out of the building abruptly brushed shoulders with Andrea, nearly causing her to stumble backwards, but he barely seemed to notice. In-between all the noises, she could also barely ignore all of the surface thoughts that were practically shouting at her. Her eyes darted between the apparitions, and with barely any thought, the volume died down.
Something was wrong. It took something very big for hell to have gone to the hand basket so suddenly. She had to - no, all it took was… she looked toward one of the office workers on the phone, and through her eyes, an apparition floated next to them. The woman’s thoughts live-streamed as she spoke, “...don’t know how bad the situation is right now, we just started getting calls ten minutes ago from the Orchestra Mall at Courtbridge in the Prince district…”
Andrea looked at a different worker, “...is insane. I don’t know about you, but there’s no way in hell I’m staying in this city. Not after everything that’s been happening.”
“--dozens of them-- ”
“--the thing that attacked the Golden Throne…”
Andrea’s heart sunk. Not again - not again, not again! She knew where Orchestra Mall was, she knew what it was like and what kind of people hung out there. She might not have been sure before, but now? How long was it going to take until people around here started to believe her? How many more people had to get
hurt? She had to find Ms. Bayard. She was bound to be busy, but she had to talk her! As though on cue, the apparitions around her formed a line that cut through the crowd. Andrea mumbled a silent thanks and followed the chain, dodging and weaving through the crowd, the line adjusting to every change, to every thought as the crowd of people moved. It wasn’t long until Andrea practically appeared right next to her supervisor who was so busy barking orders that she barely noticed her. “Miss Bayard--” “And you, relay the information to the mayor ASAP, the city has to act on this too.” “Miss Bayard…!” “Hayes, make a record of all the dispatched RAVEN agents for posterity. Coordinate with the DOVE ground team to record all present civilians.”
“Miss--” “I know you’re there, Pasternack, I’m
busy.” Bayard snapped, finally looking back to her with a frustrated expression. “You can direct any and all questions to your handler in HR.”
“I think I know--”
“I don’t care what you
think, Pasternack.” Bayard said. She started flipping pulling papers out of a printer and hastily scribbling over lines. “We don’t have time for crazy theories or ideas or anybody trying to make waves, we just need people working so this place can run like a well-oiled machine.”
“Then at least let me help with that!” Andrea pleaded.
“I don’t need you!” Bayard retorted. “I don’t need interns getting in the way, I need experienced workers who know what to do at a moment’s notice without somebody else holding their hands. Unless you coming in to bring us more
coffee, you can walk up to HR and stay put there.”
Andrea looked hurt. She said, “But you said yourself that I could do twice the work of half the people here.” Instead of changing the supervisor’s mind like she thought it might, it instead prompted a vicious glare, and it was at that moment Andrea came to the haunting realization of why.
“I don't ever recall
saying that, Pasternack.”
“I-I'm sorry, ma'am, I--”
“That doesn't matter right now. Go to HR or go home, I need to get back to work.”
"...Yes ma'am." She answered. She watched the supervisor storm off to finish her business, leaving Andrea alone to figure out what to do next while she processed her feelings. She felt hurt by the woman's words, frustrated by everyone's lack of belief in her when felt so sure - God,
so sure - and with so much research to support it, she hated being an intern, but yet, she also felt miserably awful from the realization that she hasn't been respecting of everyone's privacy this whole time.
She kept her face rigid, but wiped away tears that were welling in her eyes. She couldn't hide that. She couldn't hide the redness in her flushed cheeks. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Okay," she said to herself, "I'll just... get out of the way then. They don't need me. HR won't need me. I guess I, um, I'll just go home then..."
Of course, right when Francis was getting into his paperwork, something happened.
It was like the situation at the Golden Throne... but times ten. This was
not a coincidence. RAVEN was getting fully geared up and prepared for war against these monsters. Francis heard that Maximilian himself may show up to help. Either way, Francis was in the armory, putting on his black RAVEN armor, along with his black longcoat. He threw on his sunglasses as he grabbed his Stranger BS 211 Semi Automatic Shotgun. It was modified to fire taser rounds, but it was still a reliable weapon. Maximilian, and Deborah want these people back alive so they can figure out a way to fix the affected, and put a stop to this.
But, it felt like just the beginning.
Francis rushed his way to the vehicle all the RAVENS were going to get into. He needed to be quick, because the longer they take, the more people are going to die. However, during his sprint, he caught Andrea with a dreary look on her face headed out the door as he was, and he had to bring those legs of his to a stop. He doubled back to Andrea, and looked at her.
"Andrea! Ain't got a whole lot of time here," Francis quickly said... and with his accent and fast manner of speech, it was almost like he was speaking another language. "I'm startin' to see a connection here!"
Andrea looked back at the RAVEN with an expression of disbelief, but as her eyes focused on him more, her mouth fell slightly agape. She said incredulously, "...You're suspicious!"
Francis figured he was talking a bit too fast.
"HQ's story just doesn't add up, and..." Francis looked to the side for a moment to see the rest of his RAVEN buddies leaving. "... There's no way possible that this is a coincidence if it happened a second time, on this scale!"
"A dozen or so meta-manifestations spontaneously going wrong at the same time does sound like a stretch, doesn't it?" Andrea asked. Her voice sounded passive-aggressive, though not directed at Francis; it was more like she was just venting. She took a deep sigh the threaded her fingers through her hair. "I... don't know what to do. No one else here believes me, and... I can't do anything to help! I was ordered off the floor, and now, I just..."
He understood her emotions, and he did one thing. He extended a hand.
"You seem to be the best bet for putting a stop to this," Francis said. "Come with me... you can just say you're there to help with the evacuation."
Francis probably didn't have the authority to waive the orders of another. But he knew that, with his link to Maximilian, he can pull a lot more than other agents. Andrea was taken back by the agent's offer. Her? Helping at a scene as grisly as a massacre by the hands of tumored monstrosities? The very idea made her feel sick to her stomach, and yet... it was either that or going back to feeling helpless and she had enough of being pitied. She took another deep breath, clearly trying to process Francis' offer. She remembered being called in the other night to be questioned and the monster... no, the man that was behind the window. It was a man that needed help, now there were more of them at the mall, whether it was keeping at least one of them under control or helping civilians evacuate.
"Are you sure?" Andrea asked after some hesitation.
"Absolutely."
There was another brief moment of hesitation, fully conscious of the fact that Francis had to get going this very instant, so she tried to push herself to come to a decision. Finally, Andrea held her breath and said, "Lead the way, then."
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