Automatic doors breathe warm terminal air over Urbie as arrivals spill into the international concourse. Jessie appears beyond the barriers, an adult woman with shoulder-length brown hair, a navy travel coat, and a bright red suitcase.
Near a pillar, a lean adult man in a black windbreaker, with close-cropped dark hair and a narrow, angular face watches the arrivals instead of the baggage screens. A dark cartel tattoo curls above his right wrist when his sleeve shifts.
Jessie
Urbie! You made it.
Jessie lifts one hand, smiling as she clears the checkpoint, then slows when she notices Urbie's attention fixed past her shoulder. The stranger turns slightly, keeping the tattooed wrist close to his side.
Jessie
What is it? Do you know that man?
The terminal continues its ordinary rhythm around them: rolling luggage, boarding announcements, families reuniting. The tattooed stranger checks the entrance, then starts walking toward the public curb.
Mateo Rivas
You Urbie?
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what the tattooed stranger wants
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine whether the tattooed stranger is connected to Carlos Santiaga’s cartel
“Who is asking?”
SUCCESS (Great Streetwise, rolled +0)
Urbie
Who is asking?
Mateo Rivas
Mateo Rivas. I work for Carlos Santiaga.
The name lands cleanly through the terminal noise. Urbie recognizes Mateo as a cartel courier, not a street dealer, and the tattoo marks him as connected to Carlos's organization.
Jessie
Carlos Santiaga? Urbie, what is going on?
Mateo Rivas
I was told to find you alone. I am not here to start trouble.
Mateo stops several paces away and raises both hands, keeping his palms visible. His eyes flick toward Jessie, then return to Urbie with guarded urgency.
Quest Complete
Determine whether the tattooed stranger is connected to Carlos Santiaga’s cartel
“Then speak quickly, Carlos' name being mentioned makes my trigger finger itch.”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +2)
Urbie
Then speak quickly. Carlos's name makes my trigger finger itch.
Urbie's hand settles near his jacket, his voice low and controlled. Jessie catches the warning in his posture and edges closer without touching him.
Mateo Rivas
Carlos knows your name. He knows about the dealers who disappeared. He wants you at the Sapphire Hotel tonight.
Jessie
No. Absolutely not. If this is a trap, you are not walking into it alone.
Mateo Rivas
It is a trap, just not the kind you think. Carlos is moving something tonight, and the hotel is only where he expects you to look.
Mateo lowers his hands by inches, urgency replacing some of his caution. Beyond him, the curbside doors open and close on taxis, horns, and passing strangers.
Mateo Rivas
The shipment leaves the Golden Wing in forty minutes. Stop it there, and Carlos loses more than his product.
Quest Complete
Learn what the tattooed stranger wants
Skill Upgrade: Streetwise Great→Superb