Dallas Fontaine steps into Desk Nine. Fluorescent light buzzes over gray file cabinets and a bare desk scarred by rings from old coffee cups. Covington freezes by the back drawer, then smooths his face into something colder.
Dallas Fontaine
The marriage file is here. So is the leverage.
Covington
You should not be in this office, Fontaine.
Covington’s hand stays near the drawer, not quite opening it, not quite backing away. The ledger under Dallas’s coat changes the air in the room. Even the cabinets seem to listen.
Covington
Hand over what you took, and we can still make this orderly.
Dallas does not move. Covington’s eyes flick to the ledger, then to Dallas’s face, measuring the distance between bluff and violence. Somewhere outside the office, the building hums like a warning.
Covington
That file in the drawer decides what happens to your marriage. You want it intact, you listen carefully now.
“I say "obviously you don't give a fuck about living because you wouldn't be telling me what to do. However we can work something out. What do you propose?"”
SUCCESS (Legendary Psychology, rolled +2)
Dallas Fontaine
Obviously you do not care about living, because you would not be telling me what to do. We can work something out. What do you propose?
Covington
You keep the ledger quiet, I keep the marriage file intact. That is the proposal.
Covington finally pulls the drawer open a crack, just enough to show a manila edge and the corner of a stamped folder. His voice stays level, but his knuckles whiten on the handle.
Covington
You are holding the only thing in this room that can ruin me. I am holding the only thing in yours.
Jackson’s silhouette tightens behind the frosted glass, then settles, waiting for Dallas to answer. The fluorescent buzz seems suddenly louder over the scattered folders.
Covington
He came in angry. Good. Angry men listen when they think they are buying control.
Covington
Give me the ledger, and I hand over the file. We both leave with something we came for.
Quest Complete
Confront Covington
New Gift: Covington Confrontation Insight
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the marriage file
✓ Quest Accepted
Expose Covington's side-deals
“Do i have any other leverage i can use against Covington?”
YES (Likely, rolled 49)
Dallas Fontaine
The routing slip in my pocket has a secondary stamp from the Harbor Unit oversight wing, dated three days after the file was supposedly archived here.
Dallas notices a faint, recurring ink smudge on the edge of the cabinet drawer that matches the specific, non-standard stamp used by the Harbor Unit oversight wing. It is a clear sign that Covington has been double-dipping, using the marriage file as collateral for his own private Harbor Unit side-deals.
“Using my knowledge of psychology. ImI try to get in his head. I take a cigar from his desk light it and sit down across from him casually. I say " Well we have the basis of a deal but there are two factors you haven't thought about, I have routing slips and harbor unit stamps revealing your double dealings. And you also you haven't considered my propensity for making my enemies last moments feel like a fucking eternity. Please pick up the phone and call downstairs ask them about your protégé Hart and how he died. You, you're the mother fucking cherry on top of this. Your death will be fucking biblical. One last chance to make me a better deal."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Psychology, rolled +1)
Dallas lets the silence stretch, then settles into the chair with slow, deliberate ease. He takes the cigar from Covington’s desk, lights it, and folds the smoke between them like a curtain. Covington’s hand tightens on the drawer, but he does not look away.
Dallas Fontaine
We have the basis of a deal, but you missed a pair of details. I have routing slips and Harbor Unit stamps that show your double-dealing. And I know how I make enemies remember the last minute of their lives.
Covington
He knows more than he should. Damn it, he’s not bluffing about the paper trail.
Dallas Fontaine
Pick up the phone. Call downstairs. Ask them about Hart, and how he died. You are the cherry on top of this.
Covington
Hart was supposed to stay buried in files, not become a warning. What do you want from me, exactly?
Covington finally loosens one hand from the drawer. His gaze flicks to the phone, then to Dallas’s revolver, then back to the cigar smoke curling upward. The cracked marriage file drawer sits open behind him like an accusation.
Covington
If I make the call, you need to tell me what happens to the ledger. What deal keeps me breathing?
Quest Complete
Expose Covington's side-deals