The garage door rattles down behind Sally with a metallic slam, cutting off the alley. Oil, rubber, and hot engine grease hang in the air. Devlan freezes over the open hood of his muscle car, one hand still on a wrench. The Hooded Ex-Villain hunches near the back exit, clutching his side and breathing hard.
The Hooded Ex-Villain
Too late for quiet. They know something got out, Sally.
Devlan’s eyes narrow. He straightens, scanning Sally, the stranger, then the rolled-down door.
Devlan Mitchel
You bring trouble into my garage, you better bring answers with it.
A woman in coveralls rises from beneath a workbench, wiping her hands on a rag. She looks from the battered man to Sally, calm but alert, a clipboard tucked against her chest.
Marta Ruiz
If this is about stolen files, say so now. I patched the office lock this morning, and I’d like to know why someone’s chasing you in my building.
The Hooded Ex-Villain recoils at that, then thrusts the folder toward Sally with shaking fingers. Devlan steps closer to the car, already reaching for the papers.
Sally
One page is still missing.
✓ Quest Accepted
Retrieve the incriminating page
✓ Quest Accepted
Keep the Hooded Ex-Villain safe
“I go to retrieve the incriminating page”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled -1)
Sally slides to the office doorway and back into the garage with the page pinched between two fingers, keeping her body between it and the others. The paper is crumpled, but the bidder names are intact.
She turns it toward the light for one quick look, then folds it flat against her palm before anyone else can snatch it.
Devlan Mitchel
Good. That’s the piece we needed.
Marta Ruiz
If there’s a traitor in the Commission, I want that name before this night gets worse.
The Hooded Ex-Villain
He stares at the page with hollow relief, then flinches at the garage door, listening for footsteps outside.
Devlan holds out one grease-stained hand, not quite taking the page yet, waiting for Sally to decide who sees it first.
The garage feels smaller now, all four of them boxed in by the shut door and the single sheet of paper.
Quest Complete
Retrieve the incriminating page
+ New Item Acquired
Incriminating page