Buster leaves the white van behind and crosses into the west lot. Broken pallets, bent pipe, and a dying streetlamp frame the industrial debris like a stage set.
Mara stands alone near a stack of rusted sheets, hands visible, coat still, watching him come. The helpful ally look is there, but it does not reach her eyes.
Buster Jones
Tell me the truth, Mara. Are you with me, or are you using me?
Mara
I am trying to keep you alive. Sometimes that means you do not get the whole picture.
A gust skitters trash across the asphalt. Buster stops a few steps short, the distance between them suddenly feeling like a line neither can afford to cross lightly.
Mara
If I wanted you in a cage, Buster, you would already be in one. But I need you to trust me long enough to finish this.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn whether Mara is trying to help or manipulate Buster
“I step closer to Mara and watch her eyes for any sign of a lie.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled -3)
Buster closes the gap and studies Mara's face, catching the flicker in her eyes before she schools it away. It is not a clean read, but it is enough to tell him she is choosing her words carefully.
Mara's mouth tightens for a beat. The strain costs her composure, and a faint crease of worry shows at the edge of her left eye.
Mara
You see it, then. I am not lying to you about wanting you alive.
She glances toward the white van, where the monitor still glows in the open partition, then back to Buster as if weighing how much more the night can hold.
Mara
But I am not free of this either. I put the note there, and I pointed you here because it was the only move I had left.
Buster gets what he came for, her eyes giving away the truth before her words do. The cost lands at the same time, a sharp sting in his palm where a jagged scrap of metal bites his hand as he stops himself short.
Mara
If you want the rest, I can give it to you. But I need you to decide whether you are listening to me as an ally, or as a prisoner.
“I believe there's good in you and i want us to be allies”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Buster Jones
I see the good in you. If you are willing, we can be allies.
Mara goes very still. The hard line in her shoulders eases, and for the first time tonight she lets herself breathe before answering.
Mara
Good... yes. There is good in me. I have just spent a long time burying it under orders and fear.
She angles one hand toward the van, where the monitor throws pale light across the lot, then lowers it again as if the screen no longer matters as much as his face.
Mara
I am not trying to own you. I am trying to stop people like me from putting you in a box again.
The confession lands cleanly. Whatever she was hiding, this much is plain, Mara is choosing to stand in front of him, not behind a lie.
Mara
If you want the rest, I will give it to you. Not as your handler. As Mara.
Quest Complete
Find Mara later and hear the rest
New Gift: Emotional Connection
Quest Complete
Learn whether Mara is trying to help or manipulate Buster
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Good→Great