Edgehaven General Hospital

[Nicholas Wright]

Wright quickly pulled his hand down with his other hand and did his best to look innocent.

"Urr, my hand just had....a twitch." He said as an excuse, and limped onwards. "So, anybody know if the world's ended yet? Or if any more gignatic demons have been dropped on my city?"

By 'my city' he wasn't just being arrogant. He meant the parts of the city he cared about. For example, if he heard a cocktail bar, or even better, the Circle's HQ had been crushed, he really wouldn't mind.

Hell, he'd buy the demon a drink.

Not a cocktail.

[Anake Kavanagh]

Anake reached the exam room and waited. Wright's question reached her ears. She stopped a passing nurse and asked it again.

"You'll be happy to know" she told them as they caught up "that no huge demons have been spotted, and we haven't had any more admissions for explosion injuries." She frowned at Wright. "However, there have been a number of smaller demons seen."

She spoke in a very business-like way, although inside she was worried sick about the state of the city. She and her staff were used to having quite large numbers of people admitted at a time, usually thanks to the Circle, they could deal with injuries from vampires and werewolves, but Anake couldn't remember the last time she'd seen this many people waiting in A&E.

[Nicholas Wright]

"More demons, huh?" Wright considered this. A good few of his brain cells told him to stay put. He was injured, and they'd probably die anyway. Nobody expected the EHPD to do anything in a crisis. Most people didn't even know it still existed. Plus, he'd made a career out of avoiding trouble. Why break it now?

But then he looked at Eleri. She'd been right with all the pressure she'd piled on. They were meant to be good guys. They were meant to help people out. And he'd just blown up a police station to save a street, and that had actually felt pretty good. Apart from, you know, the pain.

He drew himself up, the best he could, and made his decision.

"Right, listen up." He addressed his officers, ignoring Anake. "People are still in danger out there and I've got a job to do. You two? It's up to you. The station's gone. After tonight, the EHPD is no more. We've got nowhere to go and nobody's gonna help us out. The city'll be glad to see us gone forever."

"But for one more night it's still my city, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let any more people get hurt."

He paused to reconsider.

"Unless they're demons of course. At which point, y'know, hurt them all you want." Unfortunately, it underminded his speech a little bit.

[Hadrian Beaumont]

Hadrian shifted, "So, this is a clean-up operation? Go in, kill as many as possible and keep going? Or are we just looking to subdue and capture? We don't have the resources for the latter nor the place to put the captured Demons that will keep them away from the general populice. Not to mention a Severe lack of Blessed-Equipment." He pointed out with a sigh, he wanted to go out and help, usually he was one of those types who had a NMP issue - other wise known as a Not My Problem issue - but he had to admit, knowing that by destroying that giant great big hulking Steroid Abusing Fire-Breathing Demon saved god only knows how many people was a good feeling. Even if you know he just really wanted to crawl under his bed and go to sleep, and hug his sister, and his mum. Not that he would ever do that in public, he had an image to uphold.

He glanced between Wright and Eleri and sighed, "I know you're really not going to like this sir, but we should consider a temporary alliance with the Circle. Just until everything is under control again. We'd have a better chance of protecting people if we did." He admitted unhappily, he must have been hanging around with the Captain too long, his dislike of the Circle was beginning to imprint onto Hadrian as well.

[Eleri Mortymer]

Eleri groaned at the mention of more demons. The Captain had been right, she must have been mad to want to be a police officer in Edgehaven. She could've just gone back to London and had a nice job chasing car theives and bank robbers, but here she was, blowing up stations, arresting vampires and now, apparently, rounding up demons.

She listened to Wright's speech in a mixture of awe and astonishment, with an growing feeling that some of this at least was her fault. Damn her need to improve people...

The last part of the speech confused her a little, and she said as much.

"No more, sir?" She asked. "We still have the badge, don't we sir? The uniform?" Her voice grew steadily sterner and more business-like as she continued. "You're right sir, there are people in danger and we have a job to do. The station might be gone, but we're not. We're here and I for one won't give up that easily. So what if nobody helps us? We'll manage. We're the police, that's our job."

She stopped and looked at the floor, scratching her neck and blushing. This was her problem, too much damn pride in her job. That and not knowing when to shut up. This was going to mean more paperwork, she could tell.

She nodded as Hadrian spoke. "He's got a point there, sir." She added. "Although I'm not too keen on the Circle idea. I don't know about anybody else, but I've not seen hide nor hair of any of them since this started..." Not that I know what any of them look like, she thought, but I'm pretty sure the Captain does, so...

[Nicholas Wright]

Wright fumbled at Hadrian's practicality. He was kind of still on a (possibly pain killer induced) high of ordering his team out onto the streets to save the day. He didn't really have a plan for how.

"No Circle! Austin Darkora's up there right now with his big cheesy smile saving the day while the civilians get mashed. And I'm not letting that happen! We're not heroes. We're cops."

"We're better

And now Eleri was questioning his logic too. Dammit. This wasn't the time for logic questioning! This was the time for action...that worked...somehow.

"I'm sorry, Eleri. We're gone. The station's gone. Without the station, we aren't cops. We're just... vigilantes. When the city council decide not to reopen us, it means they're taking away our badges. Our rights to be cops. After that, nothing seperates us from thugs."

"So, we're gonna make our last night count!" He was back on the big ideas. Screw the 'how'. This was just the 'what'. "We don't engage the demons. We're no match and, well, I can hardly stand anyway. We get the civilians to safety."

"Protect and serve." He grinned, as if the words were like an old friend he hadn't seen in years. Which, in many ways they were.

"Protect and serve." He added again, in a whisper to himself.

[Anake Kavanagh]

Anake, who had been listening quietly from the doorway of the exam room, suddenly exploded.

"Captain Wright, you're in no state to be patrolling the streets, especially not with demons on the loose! You need to stay put until we can get that leg properly set!" She scowled. "I will not have people saying that I sent you back out in such a bad way!"

She turned her frosty glare on Eleri and Hadrian.

"And you two! You should have more sense than to encourage him! I'm putting my foot down - no patient of mine is leaving this hospital so badly injured! Not on my watch!"

She panted, glaring furiously. She was used to patients trying to leave, but this was ridiculous! Rescue missions with a broken leg! What next?

[Eleri Mortymer]

Eleri nodded somberly, although she'd already made up her mind that there would be an Edgehaven PD after tonight, even they had to use her living room as a station. She kept quiet though, she could sense that now wasn't the time for arguing.

"Protect and serve..." she repeated almost silently.

She turned to Anake and gave her as much of a Look as she dared - it was rather like facing down her grandmother, albeit a younger version of her.

"I'm sorry, miss Kavanagh," she said quietly, "but the captain is right - we're needed." She stood up to her full height and stepped forward to look Anake directly in the face. "We're the police. This is our job, just as tending the hurt is yours. Only if you can't do your job, there's a whole hospital full of people who could do it for you. There's nobody else to do ours. We're it - we're the law and if we don't uphold it, if we don't protect this town, who will?"

She looked around to Wright - the nurse had a point, he was in no state to fight, but then... neither was Eleri. She was still half-drunk, bloody, tired and had just taken an emotional battering, but dammit, she was a sergeant and this was her job. Their job. The three of them - bloody, dishevalled and in some cases injured, were the police and that was that. And Eleri was oddly proud of it.

She looked at Anake expectantly. "Well?" she asked softly.

[Anake Kavanagh]

Anake deflated almost visibly. She couldn't argue with that. She stung from the suggestion that she was replaceable, but deep down she knew it was true. The hospital ran smoothly enough when she wasn't here, but the town needed somebody to look after it.

"Very well." she said curtly, although in a somewhat smaller voice than she was used to. "But I insist on splinting that leg properly at the very least."

[Nicholas Wright]

"Don't worry, I'll-" Wright paused. Something was happening out on the street. He could hear a roaring wind, the howling of demons...

Something big.

"Oh, bloody hell. There they go, the Circle, saving the world..." He sighed, realising what was happening. "C'mon! No time to lose!" He bolted (as much as he could in his injured state) towards the exit. "Those things are gonna do even more damage being pulled back through, and we've got civilians to tend to!"

He turned to Anake.

"Sorry, but I'm leaving. Now." He suddenly grinned. "Hey, if you don't like it, you could always call the cops..."

And with that, he was gone.

[Hadrian Beaumont]

Hadrian snorted in amusement, "Don't worry. I'll drag him back by his hair later." He assured the Nurse before following after him, adrenaline and determination already flowing thick through his body. He was such a sucker for the whole heroic-speech thing, judging by Eleri's reaction, she was as well.


((Sorry about not replying sooner. I started my new Job two weeks back and.... well let's just say things have been hectic not to mention I've been looking for a flat as well. I'll be more active from now on I promise.))

[Eleri Mortymer]

Eleri gave Anake an apologetic look as she followed Wright and Hadrian. As she ran past the waiting room, she was hit by an onslaught of fear and pain, but blocked it out as best she could. There was no time for fear, especially other peoples.

She caught up quickly with Wright and Hadrian and ran up to the Captain.

"So what's the plan?" She asked him.

[Nicholas Wright]

Whereas Wright was about to respond 'I was supposed to have a plan?' and give a pathetic shrug, some small and long forgotten part of his brain reminded him that he was the captain, and that he'd kinda ruin the moment to admit he'd been making up this whole thing as he went.

"Right, find the most damaged buildings and get all the civilians out before they collapse. Tend to any wounded and get them to the hospital. Oh, except me." He quickly ordered, still making it up as he went, but hoping he sounded like he didn't.

[Hadrian Beaumont]

Hadrian nodded, "We'd be better checking the houses closest to the centre of the City, they're the most damaged by the Demon."

[Nicholas Wright]

Wright nodded in agreement.
"Right. City's big, so let's split up." He commanded, heading off already with as much purpose as a limping battered man could manage. "Do as much good as you can and meet back at...what's left of the station, in two hours. Got it?"

It wasn't exactly the best plan ever, but it was all Wright could currently think of...

((Okay, I figured we could all have our characters go off, help out some people, then remeet, so we can handle it all in one post each rather than struggle dragging this out. But if you guys don't wanna do that, that's fine)).