The safe house is a narrow Seattle backroom behind a shuttered print shop. Rain ticks against the alley window. Sally, Devlan, and the Hooded Woman step in hard and breathless, carrying smoke, dust, and the stolen packets.
Amilia Jacobs waits under a hanging bulb, platinum skin catching the dim light. She does not rise right away. A leather folder sits open beside a lamp, and a second set of eyes seems to be on the room from the hallway.
Amilia Jacobs
You took your time. Put the papers on the table, Sally. I can tell you what matters before the Department finds this place.
Sally
Her file is already open.
Devlan shifts in front of Sally, hand near his pistol. The Hooded Woman stays by the door, rigid and watchful, while Amilia taps the top sheet with one platinum finger.
Devlan Mitchel
How did you know where we’d land?
Amilia Jacobs
Because somebody warned me. Now decide, are we decoding this, or are we waiting for the men who followed you here?
A floorboard creaks in the hall outside. Amilia’s calm breaks into a sharp, legal kind of anger as she snaps the folder shut and looks straight at Sally.
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish whether Amilia can be trusted
“I walk over and give Amilia a big hug. "Amilia! My favorite Superhero Lawyer! I've missed you so much!”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled +0)
Sally crosses the cramped room and folds Amilia into a sudden hug, papers and all. The lawyer stiffens for a beat, then lets out a breath and returns it with one arm, careful not to crush the evidence packet.
Sally
Amilia, my favorite superhero lawyer. I missed you.
Amilia Jacobs
That is the first thing tonight that sounds sane. Also, you are getting dust on my blouse.
Devlan’s posture eases a fraction, though his eyes stay on the hall. The Hooded Woman does not move from the door, but her grip on the frame loosens as she watches the room settle.
Amilia Jacobs
You came back with the packets intact. Good. That means we still have leverage, and maybe a chance to make this work.
Amilia Jacobs
There is a clipped, tired warmth in her expression, but her attention keeps darting to the sealed scans and the folder like she is measuring every missing piece.
Amilia Jacobs
Sit down with me, Sally. If we are doing this together, I want the full story, and I want it straight.
“I sit with Amilia and tell her everything”
SUCCESS (Great Persuasion, rolled -1)
Sally lowers herself into the chair beside Amilia, the evidence packets set carefully between them like fragile contraband. The room goes quiet except for rain ticking at the window and the faint rustle of paper.
Sally
I sit with you. I will tell you everything.
Amilia draws the folder closer, then stops herself and folds her hands instead. She listens without interrupting as Sally starts at the lab, the collars, the relay lines, and the way every answer leads to another lock.
Amilia Jacobs
There is more pain in this file than the file can hold.
Amilia Jacobs
You are not describing a normal cover-up. You are describing a pipeline, built around a person.
Devlan stays by the doorway, but his shoulders ease when Sally gets through the part about the drive and the harvest team. Across the room, the Hooded Woman remains planted at the door, gaze fixed on the evidence cabinet and then back to the hall.
Amilia Jacobs
If this is all true, then you were never meant to be hidden. You were meant to be used, and I hate that I have paperwork for both crimes.
By the time Sally reaches Seattle, Polpovich, and the safe house meeting, Amilia is already marking names in the margin and matching dates with a lawyer’s precision. She closes the folder halfway, then looks up, steady and intent.
Amilia Jacobs
I believe you. Now tell me where the next lie starts.
Quest Complete
Establish whether Amilia can be trusted
Skill Upgrade: Persuasion Great→Superb