Something unfamiliar washed over Chris while he made his way to the hospital entrance. He felt his eyes widen, his teeth clench, his muscles push against their psychological boundaries. Soft pain emanated from his joints. He walked absentmindedly, his mind busy with imaginary scenes of the caller's throat being ripped out of his body, his spine broken, his skull caved in. The young man almost collided into the doors.

But when his hand reached out, his 6th chakra finally caught up with his 2nd. They knew where he was. They wanted to isolate the hospital. This entire thing was a trap. He felt his hand muscles waver as he realized the lives of everyone inside might be in his hands - And it wouldn't matter if the person on the other side of the phone was a mass-murderer out for blood or a criminal who wanted revenge on a single partygoer. It wouldn't matter to all those people marked "collateral". So he closed the door just enough for it to be opened with a well-placed kick.

Done with the building, he turned towards the cars parking in front of it. He felt himself going numb with anger and helplessness. With a moment of focus, he turned his adrenaline down to nominal levels, relaxed his muscles, and normalized his breath.

[color=aqua]"I am doing what you asked. Stop hurting her."[/color] He said to the phone while looking for the aforementioned car. [color=aqua]"My cooperation is dependent on her well-being. Give her the phone."[/color] His words were not hostile, angry or fast. They were a text being read by a bored radio show host. But for now, he had decided to make their Lambo guy a cripple, and hoped they could convince him otherwise.

[color=red]"Stop hurting her?"[/color] The voice asked over the phone, [color=red]"Kid, you don't know the meaning of the word pain, but never mind all that."[/color] The voice went quiet for a moment before the phone was handed over to his young lady friend,

[color=pink]"Chris,"[/color] she spoke quietly, but there were signs in her voice that she was terrified, that she was crying, [color=pink]"Christopher, do what they want-"[/color] that was all she could say before the Voice returned.

[color=red]"Y'know, this isn't our first rodeo, and you definitely aren't some alpha male Bull,"[/color] the voice taunted him while down the parking lot, a brown UPS delivery truck pulled into the Hospital parking lot and pulled up to the Lamborghini, [color=red]"Your move kid, keep your girl safe, or somehow screw up what we're doing and you'll wish she was dead, the things in my head I want to do to her, it's scary,"[/color] he added with a laugh as the UPS driver started to get out and go around the back of his truck.

Chris was perfectly still, trying to listen to the phone while keeping the UPS man in his peripheral vision. He wondered if with enough experimentation, he could learn to discern emotion and intent from a person's tone of voice. But Carrie did not seem to be in shock or in need of any immediate medical aid at least. He hoped these people were professionals, but he had really no way of knowing. [color=aqua]"Alright."[/color] He said, absentmindedly.

Some loiterers were turning to look at the UPS guy's work. Chris casually walked towards them, phone still in hand. He did not want to hang up - it felt as if the conversation was Carrie's lifeline. In his head, this situation slowly became similar to a medical operation. He had been in one where one of the company's new devices was tested, and his expertise was needed in real time to keep the patient alive. The staff was surprised at how calm he was, given his almost nonexistent experience. But it was simple - he did not [i]have[/i] to be physically affected by fear. And he wasn't planning to start now.

[color=aqua]"Hey."[/color] He said, a bit louder than necessary, when he was close enough. [color=aqua]"My buddy's running late - do you know how long this gig is gonna be up?"[/color] [color=red]"Ah,"[/color] the voice said, [color=red]"I see our first test of loyalty has come into play,"[/color] in the background he could hear the sound of a gun clicking for live fire, [color=red]"will you keep your girlfriend alive? Warn these punks about what is to come? Or will you save your own skin? Choices, choices,"[/color] he laughed.

Inside the abandoned hospital, the crowd was now being fired upon as the assault team raged onto the crowd and was met with opposition by the mutants to the rescue. Outside, the fake UPS driver was loading two duffel bags worth of weaponry into the trunk of the luxury sports car, not looking over at Chris or the street kids. The young man, oblivious to the gunfire due to the music and the building's acoustic isolation, bothered the kids until they got annoyed and left, and so did he, moving away from the Lamborghini and towards the entrance of the hospital, so as to not draw attention.