The compliance supervisor keeps the waiting-area doors locked while the three gym members remain inside, the burned-out paramedic stays beside you with the charging phone, and the compliance supervisor routes a call through the logged review system.
A secure video tile opens on an irritated middle-aged man with a narrow face, close-cropped gray hair, and a charcoal suit, light skin, an average build, and a pale blue shirt beneath the jacket. He leans toward the camera beneath a Northstar security banner.
Dana Mercer
Grant Sutter, your field contractors disclosed dispatch ticket NS-4421 in a logged confrontation. I am placing that record and my confrontation log before you now.
the Northstar security liaison
They exceeded their instructions. The surveillance was precautionary, not an operation against you or Mara. My team was assessing a possible security exposure.
The compliance supervisor shares the dispatch record and confrontation log. The screen shows the early monitoring order, the CR-17 trigger, the partial capture, and the contractors’ admission that they were already watching.
the Northstar security liaison
The dispatch language does not authorize harassment. It directs identification and contact reporting because Lena Velez’s disappearance created a legitimate Northstar security concern.
Dana Mercer
Then explain why your precaution began before CR-17, why Newark leads were named, and why contractors were sent into this waiting area with a restricted-record image.
“Is Grant concealing a direct order against Mara?”
YES, BUT (Likely, rolled 64)
the Northstar security liaison
The Newark lead was not incidental. I issued a direct instruction to identify Mara, map her contacts, and isolate her from Northstar personnel before she reached Lena’s records.
Grant’s admission settles the concealed order: Mara was the target of a deliberate containment effort, not merely a person adjacent to a security review. The compliance supervisor preserves his statement in the logged call.
Dana Mercer
You ordered surveillance against an authorized subject and sent contractors into this facility. I am adding the admission to CR-17 and preserving the dispatch chain.
the Northstar security liaison
Yes. Mara was considered a direct exposure risk. But the disclosure has triggered an automatic security hold, and Northstar has revoked her read-only access to the remaining movement records.
The cost lands immediately. CR-17 remains visible long enough to preserve Grant’s admission, then Mara’s authorization banner turns red and the unopened transfer attachments seal behind a Northstar security hold.
The Burned-Out Paramedic
Then we have the order, the ticket, and the person who issued it. They can lock the rest, but they cannot make this call disappear.
“*I ask Mara if she took screenshots of any of the files*”
YES (VeryLikely, rolled 43)
Will
Mara, did you take screenshots of any of the files before Northstar revoked your access?
The Burned-Out Paramedic
Yes. I captured the dispatch ticket, the confrontation log, Grant’s admission, and the access banner before the hold sealed the attachments.
Mara unlocks her phone and displays the screenshots without opening the sealed workspace. The images preserve the ticket number, Grant’s direct instruction, and the exact moment her authorization changed to revoked.
Dana Mercer
Those screenshots establish that the admission and dispatch chain existed before the hold. I’ll attach them to CR-17 as preserved user evidence.
the Northstar security liaison
Screenshots do not establish the full context of the records you accessed.
The compliance supervisor preserves each image with its visible timestamp and source screen. Northstar can block the remaining attachments, but the screenshots keep Grant’s order and the retaliatory hold outside the sealed workspace.
✓ Quest Accepted
Get Helen Ward to withdraw the police referral
“Is Grant hiding a specific threat to Mara?”
YES, AND MORE (VeryLikely, rolled 8)
The dispatch record reveals a concealed escalation note: Northstar planned to report Mara as an unauthorized-access suspect if she reached Lena’s remaining records, putting police contact and detention pressure on her.
the Northstar security liaison
That note was a contingency. If Mara continued, I was to send her name, photograph, and location to local authorities as a security threat.
Mara goes still beside the charging phone. The compliance supervisor enlarges the note, exposing a planned police referral rather than a vague warning, while Grant watches the evidence appear beneath his own call.
Dana Mercer
The escalation note is attached to NS-4421 and was approved by Northstar security leadership. I am preserving it with Grant’s admission before anyone can revise the dispatch record.
the Northstar security liaison
I did not expect the note to remain visible after the hold. The approval trail identifies my director, Helen Ward, as the person who authorized the police referral.
Grant’s admission supplies more than the threat: the escalation note names his director and preserves an internal approval path. The compliance supervisor attaches the screenshot and flags Helen Ward as the next accountable contact.
The Burned-Out Paramedic
They were preparing to turn my search for Lena into a police case. Now their own approval trail shows who ordered it.
“*I ask Dana to place a logged call to Helen Ward for an immediate withdrawal.*”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Will
Dana, place a logged call to Helen Ward. Demand an immediate withdrawal of the police referral and the security hold.
Dana starts the call through CR-17. Reads Patients catches the moment Helen recognizes the threat to Northstar’s exposure, while Addiction pulls your attention toward Mara’s private alert before you return to the call.
Dana Mercer
Helen, this is a logged demand. Withdraw the police referral and lift the security hold on Mara’s records immediately, or I preserve this escalation as an active retaliation attempt.
Helen Ward
Withdraw the referral. Lift the hold on Mara’s remaining movement records. Grant, terminate the escalation and send confirmation to CR-17 now.
The police referral changes to withdrawn, and the security hold clears from Mara’s authorization. The remaining movement attachments reopen, while Dana’s logged demand marks her as an adversarial witness to Northstar leadership.
Dana Mercer
The withdrawal and hold release are confirmed. For the record, Helen, Dana’s demand also makes her a direct witness against Northstar’s security leadership.
Quest Complete
Get Helen Ward to withdraw the police referral
Skill Upgrade: Psychology Fair→Good