The Kestrel unit hauls the Hooded Patron backward through the shattered doorway, its restraints humming cold blue. The Woman in Dark Coat holds her ground in the threshold light, silver case recovered, coat torn, gaze locked on Patrick.
Woman in Dark Coat
You still do not understand. The beacon was never the prize. It was a map. Your survival leaves a trail, Patrick O'Malley.
Scott O'Malley
Then say who is hunting my brother, and why it had to come through my pub.
Woman in Dark Coat
Because Kestrel does not chase places, it chases signatures. Tonight was containment, not mercy. If he stays here, more come.
Darcy O'Donnell
Enough. You drop the act, or you leave. We are not handing him over for your cleanup.
The woman’s jaw tightens. Behind her, the Kestrel unit adjusts its grip on the Hooded Patron, waiting for a choice that is not its own. Scott plants himself by Patrick’s side. Darcy squares her shoulders, ready for whatever comes next.
“Is the woman here to take me?”
NO, AND WORSE (Likely, rolled 98)
The woman in the dark coat shakes her head, her expression shifting from cold warning to a hollow, pitying smile. She does not reach for Patrick, but instead gestures toward the horizon beyond the pub, where the distant, rhythmic hum of heavy engines begins to vibrate through the floorboards.
Woman in Dark Coat
I am not here to take you, Patrick. I am here to watch the fallout. Kestrel is not the hunter, they are the cleanup crew for what is actually coming for you.
Patrick O'Malley
The signature they are tracking is not just the patron, it is me.
“I ask the woman what is coming for me”
SUCCESS (Good Social, rolled -1)
Patrick O'Malley
What is coming for me?
Woman in Dark Coat
Something that does not care about your pub, your friends, or that pretty little lightning trick. It follows signatures, and yours is bright enough to drag a storm behind it.
Woman in Dark Coat
Kestrel only tags. The real hunters arrive after the tag is made, and they do not leave witnesses.
Her hand tightens on the silver case, then she slides it back under her coat as if the answer has cost her something to say.
Woman in Dark Coat
That is all I can give you. Now it knows you know.
The floorboards shiver with another hard kick from the cellar, and Scott and Darcy both go still, listening to the sound settle through the room.
Darcy O'Donnell
Patrick... talk to me. Are we dealing with one nightmare, or two?
Darcy O'Donnell
Say it plain, Patrick. No more hiding.
Patrick O'Malley
They are not after the pub. They are after me.
Scott O'Malley
Then they go through us first.
Outside, the transport craft hung over the street like a dark judgment, while the cellar door shuddered against the weight below.
The Hooded Patron
Keep your heads down. Trouble has found the wrong door.
The woman in the dark coat turned away as Kestrel tightened its grip on the hooded captive, and the pub held fast around Patrick, Scott, and Darcy.
That night, Patrick O'Malley was not alone, and the price of his light had been named at last. The pub stood battered but unbroken, with family at his side and the hunt made real in the sky above. Whatever came for his signature would have to find him standing his ground.