Thorns whip the air where the federal agent stood a second ago. The Rose drives him backward, and his shoulder slams hard into the side of his car.
Devlan moves to cut off the street. Mara squares up near the apartment stairs, watching the agent’s hands. Elias keeps his body between Sally and the open alley.
The agent glances at the ring of faces, then at Sally. His voice goes sharp. "Front Street. Now. That is where your file ends and the answers begin."
Sally
Front Street is the lead.
Sirens echo somewhere distant. The agent shoves off the car and snaps his coat straight, trying to regain control as The Rose’s thorns creep closer.
The alley behind Sally gapes wet and dark, a maze of brick, fire escapes, and steam vents. The federal man is distracted, the path is open for a heartbeat.
Every clue so far points to the Department, and to something buried at Front Street. Sally has to choose fast, before the agent or the Warriors close the gap.
Sally leaves Basement apartment, Portland, Oregon behind and arrives at Front Street.
“I use my super speed and slip into the alley toward Front Street”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled -2)
Front Street hits Sally like a cold slap, glassy rain on pavement, hard neon in the windows, and the low grind of traffic pressing past the curb. She slips out of the alley’s shadow and onto the sidewalk in a blur, reaching the address the agent named before anyone can grab her.
The federal raincoat man is there ahead of her, no longer by the apartment stairs, but under a buzzing streetlamp beside a sealed office door. He turns at her arrival, startled into stillness by how fast she closes the distance.
Arthur
You made the right choice. Come inside, before your friends turn this into a scene.
Behind the glass, a monitored indicator blinks red beside a dark lobby desk. The security door is unlocked, waiting, and the nameplate on the wall reads Department of Superhuman Affairs.
The Rose
Sally, wait. Let me see the door first.
The Rose reaches the street edge a second too late, thorns flaring around her hand as she stops short of the threshold. Devlan and Mara are still outside the frame, but their urgency hangs in the air with the sirens.
The seal key shape flashes in Sally’s mind, along with the black wax on the envelope and that red blinking light inside.
Quest Complete
Get to Front Street