*Telephone*

It had been a relatively peaceful day - aside from the scattered storms that always soaked down the valley at this time of year and made the heat so thick that it seemed to stick to one, the sky was blue and the sun bright, and the town had been relatively peaceful. Aside from the more underhanded dealings that often occurred in dark corners of the city, the general hubbub had quieted a great deal from the chaotic spring - likely because it was just too hot to consider moving without a very good reason, much less fighting. It was a little past the morning breakfast rush - just a little past 10:30 - and the lunch rush wouldn't start up for another hour or so... the place was relatively deserted, as far as patronage went. The staff were busy cleaning up between the busy shifts - and into the clink and clank of dishes being washed and the general murmur of the employees skittering back and forth, the phone rang sharply enough to make the young man standing next to it jump a bit. Recovering and scolding himself a little for the show of fright, he took up the receiver and spoke into it for a moment or two - and then turned his eyes out to the few occupied tables in the building. "Is there a Mr. Zelkovii here? He's wanted on the phone."

Laurence Zelkovii

In his usual hangout, when he wasn't socializing with the others or on some errand or another, Lanny was sitting at one of the booths with a newspaper spread in front of him. "Another week of this? Great..." Lanny's annoyance at seeing just how hot the weather would continue to be for at least another week brought on this muttering of dismay. The young man folded the paper up and turned to the sports section, where he was just glancing over the headlines when his name was called. 'What's this about?' Immediately ruling out Cass, James, or anyone else in the gang who had his cell number, Lanny scooted out of the booth and stalked towards the other man, "That's me." And without so much as waiting for a reply, and knowing he didn't need to observe any common courtesy when he didn't want to, Lanny merely reached for the phone and took it into his possession and spoke into the reciever, "Who's this?" Pointed blue eyes shot towards the man, a silent warning that he ought to back away and leave Lanny to a private conversation, if he hadn't done so already.

Johann

The young man was wise enough to step back before Lanny darted him that glare - it was pretty well known that this particular fellow was not one whose conversations one attempted to overhear, if they knew what was good for them. And it was a good thing that he did back away - because the moment Lanny picked up the line, a familiar voice burst over it. "Lanny - good God! I've called every place in town looking for you!" The tones, carefully quiet but sounding beyond urgent, belonged to Johann, and though it would raise questions about why he hadn't called the young man's cell, the older man quickly explained, "Lightning struck the towers last night - cell phones are completely down all across the valley. Look - I need you here, now." He didn't define here, and that in and of itself would almost define the problem before even he spoke it - if Johann was disturbed enough that his words weren't crystal clear and easy-to-understand, there could only be one reason. "She started having these awful stomach pains this morning, so I brought her in for Doctor Marachek to have a look - she's bleeding internally. They're prepping her for an emergency c-section now. You gotta get over here... and fast." He still didn't define 'here', but with only one hospital in town, it was pretty clear just what emergency room the co-lead of the gang needed to go to.

Laurence Zelkovii

Cutting himself off from everyone else in the diner, Lanny turned his back against the room and faced the wall with a look of definite alarm etched into his features. He was staring past the muted pastels of the wallpaper, and listening as best as he could to Johann, who's manner of speaking frightened him almost as much as what the old man had to say. Johann never lost his cool like this. "Woah, woah, woah, slow down. She... what?" A wave of dread swept over him, but he kept his cool - sorta of. "I'll be there in a minute." Before he knew it, his hands were quavering a little, and he was placing the phone back on the hook with perhaps a bit much force - a few café patrons had looked up in surprise at the sound of it. He didn't wait for the meal he'd just ordered either; Lanny was sprinting out of the door and in his car before anyone could stop him.