The bus carries Alex through sleeping South Boston toward the public library branch. His father remains at the apartment with the unmarked drive, while Mara, Rachel, and the hidden group stay elsewhere.
At the library entrance, Nina Patel, a young adult woman with a compact build, warm brown skin, dark braided hair, and a navy coat, waits beside the locked after-hours meeting-room corridor.
Nina Patel
Alex Mishyma? I am Nina Patel. I received a cautious referral from someone who did not want their name recorded.
She keeps both hands visible and does not approach until Alex reaches the entrance. A library security light reflects off her plain identification badge.
Nina Patel
This is a limited consultation. I can discuss safe representation, household protection, and preserving your options without asking for the trio’s identifying details.
Nina Patel
You do not need to tell me who the child is, where anyone is staying, or what names appear in your records. We can begin with immediate risks.
Alex Mishyma
The meeting room is public, monitored, and separate from home.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish Nina as a viable protected contact
“You remain guarded, your voice neutral, but the fact this woman knows your name, and exactly where you would be puts you on edge internally. "I am assuming said contact has the eyes of God to know I'd be here at said place and time?" You flick your smoke, your hood remaining on as you take another drag. "They write about situations like this in old spy novels.... something about a ten-foot pole?" Your street smarts tell you either something is very off, or you suddenly have a guardian angel. And before you say another word, you gage her reaction to your response.”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +3)
Alex Mishyma
I am assuming your contact has the eyes of God to know I would be here at this place and time. They write about situations like this in old spy novels, something about a ten-foot pole.
Alex flicks ash into the cold air and takes another drag, hood still raised. He watches Nina’s face before offering anything further.
Nina Patel
No eyes of God. Mara gave the referral, and your father’s check-in route supplied the timing. Neither gave me your home address or the group’s location.
Nina does not flinch or reach for her badge. She angles her body toward the library cameras, leaving the meeting-room corridor and both exits visible.
Nina Patel
You were expected after the pharmacy stop, not tracked here. I asked Mara to keep the meeting public because your caution is justified.
Her answer gives Alex a clean chain of information and confirms an unexpected safeguard: the library cameras can document the consultation without recording private case details.
Nina Patel
If that is too close to a guardian angel for your comfort, use the ten-foot pole. I will explain my role from across the room.
“Mara. Now your trust is truly on the fence. After only one job, and she's keeping tabs on you that sharply. Still, it's your safest option at present. You take one last drag, tossing the smoke to the street, and nod. "Lead on." Your guard never rests, though your voice demeanor softens a tick.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +1)
Alex Mishyma
Lead on.
Alex takes one final drag, flicks the cigarette into the street, and lowers his hood. His posture stays guarded, but his voice loses some of its edge.
Nina Patel
Understood. The room is this way, and you can keep the ten-foot pole between us if that helps.
Nina turns toward the monitored library entrance and walks at an unhurried pace. She keeps both exits visible, never asking Alex to surrender his distance or his backpack.
Alex Mishyma
The cameras document where I am, not what I disclose.
Nina Patel
Once we are inside, I will explain what safe representation can cover, what it cannot, and which immediate steps protect your household without naming anyone.
Alex follows Nina through the public entrance and into the after-hours meeting-room corridor. The door closes behind them, leaving the street, the cameras, and the consultation’s boundaries clearly defined.
“You set down your pack, wrapping your leg through one of the shoulder straps carefully to keep it at your side. "I suppose I should ask, what do you know of the situation, and what is your interest in all of it? Details matter in a situation like this."”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled +0)
Alex Mishyma
I suppose I should ask, what do you know of the situation, and what is your interest in all of it? Details matter in a situation like this.
Alex sets down his pack and carefully loops one shoulder strap around his leg, keeping it at his side. Nina takes the chair across from him, leaving the table clear.
Nina Patel
I know there is a protected child, a compromised placement trail, suspicious financial records, and someone willing to follow you. I do not know the child’s identity or location.
Nina Patel
My interest is professional and practical. I advise people facing coercion, exposure, or legal jeopardy, helping preserve evidence and lawful options before panic creates new damage.
Nina folds her hands beside her badge. The meeting room’s camera remains visible through the glass, recording their presence while the conversation stays away from names and destinations.
Nina Patel
Mara asked whether I could help you without demanding control. Your father’s situation matters because household risk changes what advice is safe. I am here to map boundaries, not cross them.
Nina Patel
You can ask what I can protect, what I must report, and how to preserve your options. I will answer directly, including when the answer is no.
Quest Complete
Establish Nina as a viable protected contact
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Good→Great
“Now the edge comes out. "How could you possibly know my father's situation without a serious inside track of information to what has occurred in the last hour?" More and more, this is beginning to feel like a trap.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
Alex Mishyma
How could you possibly know my father’s situation without a serious inside track on what happened in the last hour? More and more, this feels like a trap.
Alex’s question cuts across the quiet room. His pack remains looped to his leg, and his eyes stay on Nina instead of the visible camera.
Nina Patel
Because your father used the check-in route Mara described. He sent one escalation message: household compromised, Alex moving, no names. I received it twelve minutes before you arrived.
Nina Patel
That is my inside track. Not your address, not the child, and not a live feed from your home. Your father chose to signal risk, and Mara relayed the referral.
Nina turns her phone face up, displaying a redacted relay timestamp and sender label rather than the message itself. She keeps her finger away from the screen.
Nina Patel
If you believe this is a trap, we stop now. But the answer is direct: your father alerted the network, and I acted on the boundary he gave me.
✓ Quest Accepted
Begin a limited consultation with Nina
“Studying the phone screen without moving, you relax slightly. Being a hacker yourself, you know how easy this info can be to obtain. "Very well. What's the offer on the table? I don't really have the luxury of time, as I am sure you could have guessed."”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled -2)
Alex Mishyma
Very well. What is the offer on the table? I do not have the luxury of time, as I am sure you guessed.
Alex studies the redacted screen without touching it. His shoulders ease slightly; the timestamp is plausible, though his phone battery drops to eight percent.
Nina Patel
A thirty-minute emergency consultation, a protected intake channel, and a lawful evidence-preservation plan for you and your father. I can also arrange counsel tonight.
Nina Patel
The immediate fee is five hundred dollars. If you retain me through counsel, that becomes part of the retainer. I will not ask for the child’s identity or location.
Nina slides a single-page engagement summary across the table. It lists confidentiality limits, mandatory reporting boundaries, and the precise information she needs to protect the household.
Nina Patel
The cost is your time and a documented consultation. That record can protect you later, but it also means this meeting exists. I will not pretend otherwise.
Nina Patel
If you accept, we start with the apartment breach, your father’s escalation message, and the evidence chain. We leave everyone else unnamed.
“You read the document carefully, analyzing the legal jargon. You've talked with enough lawyers in your youth, due to your chosen 'hobby', it's all straightforward and legit. "Very well. I accept the terms and can pay the consultation and retainer fee when you wish. But let's keep it as close to under 30 mins as possible. I have other, pressing matters."”
SUCCESS (Great Reasoning, rolled -1)
Alex reads the engagement summary line by line, parsing confidentiality limits, mandatory reporting language, and the evidence-preservation terms. Nothing hides an unlawful demand or a trap.
Alex Mishyma
Very well. I accept the terms and can pay the consultation and retainer fee when you wish. But let us keep this as close to under thirty minutes as possible. I have other pressing matters.
He signs the acceptance line and authorizes the five-hundred-dollar charge, which Nina records as the consultation fee and initial retainer deposit. His available funds take the immediate hit.
Nina Patel
Accepted. The five hundred is processed now and credited toward counsel. I will keep this consultation to twenty-five minutes, unless you ask to continue.
Nina timestamps the signed page, gives Alex a receipt, and starts a protected intake record. His phone drops to six percent while the payment confirmation loads.
Nina Patel
We will prioritize the apartment breach, your father’s escalation message, and the chain of custody. I need facts, not names belonging to the protected group.
Nina Patel
Begin with the breach. What happened, what was preserved, and what immediate risk remains?
Quest Complete
Begin a limited consultation with Nina
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Great→Superb
+ New Item Acquired
Consultation receipt