The board member remains beneath the open doorway, hands raised. Behind Lindsey and Margery, the silent lab displays one final authorization screen, its cursor blinking beside a verbal-confirmation prompt.
Margery MacDonald
I found the recovered network files. They’re indexed under his credentials, but the important records are encrypted until he confirms them aloud.
Derek Vale
My name is Derek Vale. You are asking me to authenticate records while aiming a weapon at me.
The authorization screen refreshes as the name reaches its microphones. Three locked files appear: BOARD APPROVAL, TEST PARAMETERS, and EVIDENCE TRANSFER.
Margery MacDonald
Then authenticate them, Derek. What did this board test, who approved it, and where did you send the evidence?
Derek Vale
The board tested a containment agent on unwilling targets. The approval came through a private committee, not the full board. The evidence was sent to an off-site archive.
The first file unlocks, but the other two remain sealed. Margery’s expression tightens as the screen requests a second confirmation, while Vale keeps his raised hands perfectly still.
✓ Quest Accepted
Unlock the remaining experiment records
✓ Quest Accepted
Recover the experiment evidence
“Can i hack to computer to unlock more records?”
NO, BUT (Unlikely, rolled 47)
Lindsey Lamont
Can I hack the system and unlock the other records?
Lindsey routes the Flair Phone through the console’s exposed network layer. The encrypted files resist every diagnostic handshake, their locks refusing to yield without the required verbal confirmation.
Derek Vale
You cannot bypass that authorization from here. The committee designed those locks specifically to prevent remote access, even for administrators.
The hack fails, but Lindsey’s diagnostic sweep catches a buried transfer header before the system closes it. The evidence archive has a physical intake node at Pier Nine, with a valid retrieval token attached.
Margery MacDonald
Okay, that is still huge. We cannot open the records here, but now we know exactly where the evidence went and what we need to retrieve it.
Derek Vale
The token will identify the archive shipment. If you reach Pier Nine before the transfer cycle, you may recover the evidence without my committee’s cooperation.
The console preserves the Pier Nine coordinates and retrieval token in a bright temporary window. The two sealed files remain locked, but a concrete route to the off-site evidence now waits on Lindsey’s phone.
Director's note
I scan through the unlocked files
Lindsey opens the unlocked BOARD APPROVAL file. Scanned signatures and payment records spread across the display, linking the private committee to a chain of shell companies.
The approval ledger names three committee members, including Derek Vale, and lists the containment agent as an unregistered experimental compound. Margery leans closer, her face tightening.
Margery MacDonald
Oh my gosh. They paid through fake contractors so the full board would never see the testing budget. This is not just one bad decision.
Lindsey switches to TEST PARAMETERS. The file reveals exposure logs, containment thresholds, and repeated entries marked subject outcome: withheld. No identities are included.
Derek Vale
Those records were never supposed to leave the archive. The committee called the targets volunteers, but I never saw consent forms.
The final visible pages show transfers to Pier Nine, each tagged with a date and retrieval token. Margery copies the evidence to Lindsey’s phone while Vale watches in guarded silence.
Quest Complete
Expose the board's experiments
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Great→Superb
Quest Complete
Recover the experiment evidence
“"So Derek my man, how about you unlock more of the records?"”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +2)
Lindsey Lamont
So, Derek, my man, how about you unlock more of the records?
Derek Vale
All right. I will authenticate the remaining files. Read them carefully, because they implicate people with more power than I have.
Derek steps to the console with his hands still visible and speaks each confirmation into the microphone. The two sealed records unlock in sequence.
Lindsey Lamont
The authorization is accepted.
TEST PARAMETERS expands into complete exposure logs and consent discrepancies. EVIDENCE TRANSFER reveals the archive chain, recipient codes, and a scheduled handoff at Pier Nine.
Margery MacDonald
Oh my gosh, Lindsey, we have everything now. The targets, the committee trail, and the exact transfer records are all here.
Margery copies both files and the newly exposed metadata to Lindsey’s phone. Derek watches the transfer complete, his guarded expression fixed beneath the laboratory lights.
Quest Complete
Unlock the remaining experiment records
“"So Derek... You've been awfully cooperative. Guilty conscience?"”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -2)
Lindsey Lamont
So, Derek... you've been awfully cooperative. Guilty conscience?
Lindsey scans the unlocked files while the question hangs between them. Her voice stays light, but the effort of holding that casual edge leaves a noticeable pause before she looks up.
Derek Vale
Yes. Partly. I told myself I was preserving access and limiting the damage. That was a lie I found convenient.
Margery MacDonald
Partly? Derek, people were exposed to that compound. You signed the approvals.
Derek Vale
I signed one authorization. Then I saw the outcome reports being withheld and understood what the committee was doing. I should have gone public then.
The files reveal his signature beside a second approval, followed by a private message ordering the records buried. Lindsey’s scan catches both entries and the attached sender code.
Derek Vale
The archive recipient is not just storage. It is where the committee decides whether evidence disappears. That is why Pier Nine matters.
✓ Quest Accepted
Leave the lab with Margery
“"Then that's our next clue. But first, we need to get you somewhere safe Margie."”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +1)
Lindsey Lamont
Then that's our next clue. But first, we need to get you somewhere safe, Margie.
Lindsey copies the Pier Nine data to a second secure folder, then takes Margery by the arm and guides her away from the exposed lab entrance. Derek remains where he is, hands lowered but posture wary.
Derek Vale
There is a staffed security office near the administrative stairwell. The facility's internal doors are still under my access credentials.
Derek opens the route from the console without approaching them. Lindsey leads Margery through the administrative passage, keeping herself between her friend and the silent laboratory behind them.
Margery MacDonald
Okay, I am staying with you, but this is definitely safer than standing beside all those incriminating machines.
The security office accepts Derek's credentials and seals behind Margery with a solid electronic lock. Its cameras show the empty corridor, the loading bay, and Lindsey's route back to the evidence.
Derek Vale
She is secure there. If you are going to Pier Nine, take the archive token and do not trust anyone who claims the transfer was routine.
Quest Complete
Leave the lab with Margery