Max Mason unlocks his apartment door and steps into the stale heat of a one-room New York shoebox.
At his desk sits a stranger in a rumpled coat, lit by the blue wash of a laptop screen.
The screen plays a grainy viral clip, a blur of students, flashing phone lights, and a body dropping out of frame.
The stranger turns slowly, jaw tight, eyes sharp with a tired kind of warning.
The Private Investigator
Close the door, Max. We need to talk before this gets uglier.
He slides a manila folder across the scarred desk with two fingers, like it weighs more than paper should.
The Private Investigator
Your name is already in the fallout. If you say nothing, they choose the story for you.
Max Mason
He knows my name.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get the private investigator's lead
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn who is framing Max Mason
“I step inside and kick the door shut behind me.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled -1)
Max Mason steps fully inside and drives the door shut with his heel. The latch catches hard, and the apartment falls one shade quieter.
The kick rattles the frame. A framed photo on the wall tilts, and the investigator’s eyes flick to it, then back to Max.
The Private Investigator
Good. Now listen carefully. This is bigger than your name.
The Private Investigator
Someone is moving the video through a burner account tied to an account at Hudson Trust. The transfer trail points to a dead office on Delancey.
He taps the folder once, not offering it yet, just pinning it to the desk like evidence in a warning.
The Private Investigator
If you go there, you may find who set you up. If they see you first, they bury the rest of the file.
Max Mason
Delancey. Hudson Trust. That is a real trail.
The laptop audio keeps flickering under the room’s hum, and the investigator waits for Max to choose between the folder and the door.
Quest Complete
Get the private investigator's lead