At the south slip, the blue door hangs half open. Inside, a single bulb swings over stacked crates and wet concrete. Dallas catches the smell of fish slime, diesel, and fresh sweat.
Murderbone freezes, then snarls at the dark gap beside the warehouse wall. A man steps out with his hands up, Eli Mercer, pale, shaking, eyes fixed on Dallas like he has been expecting a verdict.
Eli Mercer
Don’t come any closer. Sloane said if I talked, I’d disappear into the harbor.
A boot scrape answers him from deeper in the shadow. Owen Sloane emerges from behind a stack of net crates, coat dark with rain, jaw tight, one hand inside his jacket where metal glints.
Owen Sloane
Temple couldn’t keep his mouth shut. You should have stayed in your lane, detective.
Dallas Fontaine
Dallas holds his ground and asks Sloane what he did with his daughter’s name.
Sloane’s smile is thin and mean. Eli flinches hard at the question, then looks from Dallas to the door, as if the answer is inside that warehouse with the crate trail.
Owen Sloane
Ask Mercer. He moved the load. He saw what was in it. He knows why she was there.
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what happened to Dallas Fontaine’s daughter
“Keep my eyes on Sloane while I order Mercer to speak the truth.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Interrogation, rolled -2)
Dallas keeps Sloane in view and turns Mercer with a hard, even stare. The dock goes quiet except for the bulb’s slow sway and the wash of water below.
Dallas Fontaine
Mercer, talk. Start with the truth.
Eli Mercer
He looks past Dallas once, toward Sloane, then swallows. I never wanted this job. I only drove what they handed me.
Eli Mercer
It was a crate exchange. Wrong tags, no paper trail. Sloane said it was hardware. I opened the log and saw enough to know it was trouble.
Owen Sloane
He saw a child’s name on the transfer notes and panicked. That is all you need.
Eli Mercer
No. Your daughter was at the dock because she followed the handoff. She took a picture when they loaded the box.
Mercer’s hands tremble in the light. Sloane’s face tightens, but he does not step forward. Dallas keeps his attention pinned on him long enough to make the silence feel like a trap.
Eli Mercer
If you want the rest, ask me now. I am tired of lying for him.
Quest Complete
Find Eli Mercer at Pier Nine
New Gift: Pierwise Intuition
Quest Complete
Learn what happened to Dallas Fontaine’s daughter