In his office, Jonas sat up a little straighter and answered Noel's Communicator call.
Noel wouldn't call him for no reason. It had to have something to do with what was happening in the Federation.
And it certainly wouldn't be something as trivial as Dorothy purging the Federation.
"Noel? Why aren't you resting at this hour?" Jonas did his best to sound relaxed and gentle.
Mm-hmm, better keep my voice gentle.
Don't remind her of her days in District 25, or she'll start crying.
Sometimes, technology was actually more useful than psionic energy.
After learning that Consciousness was now inside Dorothy, Jonas had slightly concealed the fact that he had once controlled Noel remotely, making her believe she hadn't deliberately handed him an overwhelming advantage but had genuinely lost to him. Then he had simply altered Noel's Thought Seal temporarily and stopped using mind control altogether, lest even a faint trace of psionic energy expose him. There was no need to use it for now anyway.
As for why Noel had his number?
He had called Noel on her Communicator back in District 25. Jonas believed that once she had seen his distinctive number, she wouldn't forget it, especially since it belonged to her enemy.
In other words, Noel was calling now because she genuinely believed something serious had happened in the Federation and had no way to resolve it herself, leaving her no choice but to seek help from him, her former enemy.
He wasn't doing what he had done before... directly forcing Noel to obey his orders.
Sometimes, having her act willingly felt even better than forcing her.
In Noel's own office in the Federation, she sat in her wheelchair, her expression full of inner conflict and hesitation. She and Jonas had once been enemies, standing on opposing