The manager’s finger shakes over the back of the manifest, stopping on a signature that ties the black sedan to City Official Maurice Delaro. Joey leans in hard beside Don, eyes locked on the name. The office suddenly feels smaller, like the walls are listening.
The Manager
That car is Delaro’s. He paid me to stay quiet about the dock traffic. I never saw his face in the office, just the money and the calls.
Joseph "Joey" Capozzi
You are telling us Delaro has a protector, and you have the paper to prove it.
The manager swallows and slides a second page out from under the manifest, a tally of payments and dates. The pattern is ugly, steady, recent. This is not random corruption, it is a chain, and Delaro is one link in it.
The Manager
If Delaro gets exposed, I get buried with him. He used the sedan to meet someone at the docks, someone with authority. That is all I know.
Joey takes the ledger with one hand while Don gets the clearest answer in the room, Delaro is not just hiding, he is being covered by someone important enough to move police, money, or both. The hunt now has a direction.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the payment ledger
+ New Item Acquired
Ledger
“Grab the ledger from the desk and tuck it into my jacket.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +1)
Don slides the ledger off the desk in one smooth motion and tucks it inside his jacket before the manager can lunge for it. The red-circled note on the manifest stays in view, but the paper trail is now in Don’s hands.
The Manager
God... he took it.
Joseph "Joey" Capozzi
That is what we needed. Now talk before this gets worse for you.
The manager’s face drains even further. His fingers curl uselessly over the empty desk, as if he can feel the missing pages already costing him.
The Manager
The person he meets at the docks, the one with authority, used that black sedan twice. I never got a name, only a drop point and a clean voice on the phone.
Joey goes still at that, then glances toward the open door. The office is quiet, but not safely quiet.
The Manager
If you’re taking the ledger, then either get me out of here now, or someone else gets here first.
Quest Complete
Secure the payment ledger