The clinic’s sealed rear door holds behind them, its reserve power stable beneath Selene’s forged authorization. Euran keeps the drone hovering over the lock but does not enter.
The watcher remains unconscious and secured beside the surveillance van, left for safe pickup. Only Euran has accompanied Selene back through the rain grid.
Euran Cross
We bought the clinic a little time. The node is still waiting beneath the exchange. What can you safely tell me now?
His grey eyes stay on Selene instead of the door. The drone’s projector paints red command traces across his oil-stained jacket while his prosthetic fingers worry at its casing.
Euran Cross
Not the part that puts either of us in danger. Not anything you already told me you can’t say. Just give me the edges.
Behind the door, stable monitors answer with a muted electronic rhythm. The collectors remain cut off from the rear entrance, and the command route waits in the drone’s memory.
Euran Cross
I’m listening, Selene. Take your time.
✓ Quest Accepted
Give Euran a bounded truth he can safely hear
“Listen.. if I tell you there’s going back to way things were. Things will be different between us.. and I can’t bare the thought of you.. *I choke on the last part.* So just.. if you have to know I’ll tell you. Just be prepared.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -3)
Selene Nyx
If I tell you, there’s no going back to how things were. Things will be different between us, and I can’t bear the thought of losing you. So if you need to know, I’ll tell you. Just be prepared.
The last words catch in Selene’s throat. The drone’s red traces crawl across Euran’s jacket while the clinic’s steady monitors murmur behind the sealed door.
Euran Cross
Then I’ll prepare. I’m not asking you to say it before you’re ready, but I need you to understand that hearing it may change what I can ignore.
Euran lowers the drone, accepting the warning instead of pressing past it. His trust remains, but it now carries a condition: when the truth comes, he will judge what it means for both of you.
Euran Cross
You have my word. When you tell me, I’ll listen all the way through. But don’t ask me to pretend afterward that nothing changed.
He turns the projector toward the freight exchange. The command route brightens beneath the rain grid, and the next move is clear without forcing the secret into the open.
“I’m not a fixer. I never was. It was easy for me to pretend to be one.. you needed one when we first met.. and.. I decided to keep it as cover. But what I have always been.. is a secret agent for the government. A weapons technology and secret development.. I’ve been laying low here to get the best off me.. and I just.. I felt something for you.. and I.. just.. I always.. *I struggle to continue speaking.*”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Selene Nyx
I’m not a fixer. I never was. It was easy to pretend because you needed one when we met, and I chose to keep it as cover. I’m a government agent, working in weapons technology and secret development. I’ve been laying low here to stay off their radar. And I felt something for you. I always have. I love you, Euran. I just...
The confession leaves the rain and clinic monitors exposed in the silence. Selene struggles for the final words, while the drone’s red route continues crawling across Euran’s jacket.
Euran Cross
You’re a government agent. Weapons development. You built the fixer act because I needed someone, and you stayed because you felt something for me.
Euran absorbs each revelation without stepping back. His prosthetic fingers go still around the drone, and his guarded expression gives way to stunned recognition.
Euran Cross
That is a lot to hear under a clinic door. But you told me. You trusted me with the truth, even knowing it could change everything.
Euran Cross
I don’t know what happens next, Selene. I need time to understand the agent, the cover, all of it. But I’m not walking away from you tonight.
He turns the drone toward the freight exchange, but his attention returns to Selene before the route finishes resolving. The command node still waits, while the truth now stands between them, undeniable.
Quest Complete
Give Euran a bounded truth he can safely hear
Skill Upgrade: Interrogation Great→Superb