The Rusty Anchor breathes salt, smoke, and old beer. Neon from the bar sign leaks through rain-streaked glass and strips the loading bay in sickly color. Dallas Fontaine and Murderbone step in from the alley, boots ticking on wet concrete.
A lone dockhand stands by a heavy crate, thumb worrying his watch. He keeps glancing at the entrance like he expects trouble, or someone who brought it with them.
The Dockhand
You took your time. I was told to wait for a man in a gray coat and a dog.
Murderbone lowers his head and bares just enough teeth to make the dockhand swallow hard. Dallas closes the distance, reading the fear before the words can dress it up.
The Dockhand
Look, I do not know the whole play. Voss wants muscle, muscle wants a meet, and I am just the handoff. The crate is not cargo, it is a marker.
Dallas Fontaine
Who is coming to collect it?
The Dockhand
A man with a clean collar. Harlan Tate's people use him. He said if anybody asked, I was never here.
From deeper inside the tavern, a chair scrapes once, slow and deliberate. The dockhand goes pale. Murderbone turns toward the sound, every muscle tightening.
✓ Quest Accepted
Find out who is collecting the marker crate
✓ Quest Accepted
Investigate the man with the clean collar
“Does the man in the tavern match the description of the man with the clean collar?”
YES (Likely, rolled 19)
A man steps into the sliver of light cast by the doorway. He wears a crisp, starched white collar that stands out against his dark, tailored suit, matching the description of the courier perfectly.
Dallas Fontaine
The clean collar. He is exactly who the dockhand described.
“Is the clean-collar man Voss’s collector?”
YES (VeryLikely, rolled 42)
The Man with the Clean Collar
You are a long way from the annex, Detective. I assume you are here for the crate, not the conversation.
Dallas Fontaine
He knows my name and my business. He is definitely the one collecting for Voss.
“I ask who sent him for the crate”
SUCCESS (Good Psychology, rolled +1)
Dallas lets the silence stretch just long enough to make the man answer himself.
Dallas Fontaine
Who sent you for the crate?
The Man with the Clean Collar
Councilman Voss does the hiring. I do the collecting.
The Dockhand
Voss. Of course. He never said it out loud before.
The Man with the Clean Collar
If you want a fuller name, ask the office that issued my pickup code. They prefer paper trails over rumors.
He tilts his chin toward Dallas's coat, not afraid, just measuring how much Dallas already knows.
The Man with the Clean Collar
You are not the only one chasing the truth, Detective. You're just closer than most.
Quest Complete
Investigate the man with the clean collar
Quest Complete
Find out who is collecting the marker crate