In Dayton’s cluttered study, Elena’s soft concern returns like a line read twice. She stays close to Dallas, fingers on his arm, eyes searching his face for signs of drink or strain.
Dallas notices the same practiced gentleness, but now it sits on top of a cold inspection.
Elena Vane
You have been under a lot of pressure, Dallas. I need to know you are steady.
Murderbone bristles at her side, watching Elena’s hands instead of her mouth. Dayton keeps his head bent over the papers, pretending not to hear.
Elena Vane
If he is slipping, he becomes a risk. If he is clear, he stays useful.
A clean collar appears in the study doorway, rain on his coat, phone already in hand. The same man from the alley, calm as a warrant and twice as sharp.
Adrian Pike
He looks fine. You can stand down, Elena.
The twist lands hard. Her touch was never comfort, it was a test. Dallas is not being checked by a friend, he is being weighed by a side he never trusted.
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose the handler behind Elena
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn why the clean-collar man is here
“Step away from Elena and demand to know who she is working for.”
SUCCESS (Great Willpower, rolled +1)
Dallas eases out from Elena’s reach and lets the silence hold for one beat. The room seems to tighten around him, ash, dossiers, and Dayton’s careful stillness all waiting on the answer he is about to force into daylight.
Dallas Fontaine
You are not checking on me. Tell me who you work for.
Elena Vane
I work for the truth, Dallas. Right now, that means checking whether you are still clean enough to trust.
Adrian Pike
That is not the full answer, and you know it. I came because someone is moving pieces around you, and I wanted to see if she was right about you.
Elena’s hand falls away from Dallas’s sleeve. The mask does not crack, but her eyes go colder, professional now, as if he has finally named the interview correctly.
Professor Dayton
Please, if this is turning into an inquest, keep it low. I have enough trouble with the furniture already.
The clean-collar man keeps his phone lowered, watching Dallas instead of the papers. Elena stands her ground across from him, the question of allegiance hanging between them like smoke.
Quest Complete
Learn why the clean-collar man is here