Match leads Niko across the warehouse roofs to a covered plant room. Rain becomes a muted hiss against corrugated panels while Quinn guides the missing courier inside behind them.
Darian
The case is still sealed. No signal, no tamper alert. Whatever is inside, it has not noticed the weather or us.
Niko
Three approaches: the east roof, the service bridge, and the stairwell behind us. Nothing moving yet, but the station will not stay quiet forever.
Niko takes the western opening, keeping the tunnel approaches in view. The courier settles beside a dead coolant unit, both hands wrapped around the hard black case.
Quinn
Match, a private word. Rocket expected the cache to be difficult, but not this exposed. He will want the object delivered intact, and the courier accounted for.
Quinn steps beneath the shelter's far panel, close enough for privacy but leaving the exit clear. Her voice stays low, and her eyes remain on the sealed case rather than the rain.
Quinn
The payment stands, but carrying this onward changes the risk. Rocket may revise the terms if the cache is more valuable than his briefing claimed. Decide how much trust you are willing to spend.
Match leaves Covered Plant Room behind and arrives at Rocket’s bar.
“"Rocket's bar is a few blocks away. I'll feel a lot better if we can get the cache and our friend here to Rocket personally."”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled -1)
Rocket’s bar occupies a low concrete storefront beneath a dead holo-sign, warm amber light spilling across the rain. Rocket, a broad-shouldered middle-aged man with close-cropped gray hair, a trimmed beard, and a black suit threaded with discreet silver circuitry, waits behind the counter.
The bar’s door seals behind Match, Niko, Quinn, and the missing courier. Low music masks the rain, while two ceiling cameras pivot toward the hard black case before their lenses settle on Rocket.
Rocket
You brought the cache, the courier, and Quinn. That is a better delivery than the briefing promised.
Rocket unlocks a private booth with a thumbprint and gestures them inside. A wall panel wakes, displaying a clean local perimeter and no active corporate alerts.
Quinn
The case has not been opened or scanned. Match got us here without using a tracked van or leaving the courier exposed.
Rocket
Then the original payment stands. Once I verify the chain of custody, we discuss the bonus and what the client failed to mention.
The missing courier exhales and sets the case on the booth table. Its lock remains dark, but a second encrypted status light appears beneath the casing, visible only from Rocket’s side.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine whether Quinn concealed a material risk in Rocket’s offer
“I study the case's second status light without opening it.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled +2)
Match studies the second status light without touching the case. Its pulse is not a warning: it cycles through a short encrypted sequence, then repeats in perfect intervals.
The pattern resolves under his scrutiny. The case is reporting a dormant chain-of-custody check, keyed to an authorized recipient rather than broadcasting its contents or location.
Rocket
You saw it. Good. That light tells me the cache recognizes a legitimate handoff, but it will not identify the client until I authenticate the courier’s statement.
Rocket angles the case toward himself, confirming the light’s sequence against the wall panel. The local display accepts the pattern and opens a silent custody record.
Darian
It did that once before the pickup. The subcontractor said the second light meant the buyer was still waiting, not that the cache had been compromised.
Quinn
Then the briefing omitted a useful detail. Rocket, if the case is already waiting for a recognized recipient, the bonus should reflect the extra custody risk.
“"Thank you, Quinn. I was thinking the same thing."”
FAILURE (Good Persuasion, rolled -4)
“"Thank you, Quinn. I was thinking the same thing."”
SUCCESS (Good Persuasion, rolled -1)
Match
Thank you, Quinn. I was thinking the same thing.
Rocket watches the exchange, then taps the case’s dark housing. The gesture is small, but his attention shifts from the courier’s statement to the leverage forming between Match and Quinn.
Rocket
Fair enough. The bonus is now part of the deal, provided the client confirms the chain without disputing your handling of it.
Quinn
That is a meaningful concession. I will record it before the client gets a chance to redefine the terms.
Quinn opens a secured note on her wrist console and enters the revised payment condition. Rocket allows it, though his expression tightens when the record links the concession to her recommendation.
Rocket
You have earned the bonus, Match. You have also made Quinn part of the negotiation, so future terms will assume she has a voice in them.
Darian
Does that mean the client is ready to hear my statement now?
“I ask Quinn to brief me privately”
SUCCESS (Good Persuasion, rolled +1)
Match
Quinn, brief me privately before we let the client hear anything.
Quinn
Of course. Darian can give his statement after we settle what Rocket’s client is buying, and what they are not being told.
Quinn rises and guides Match to the booth’s far side, beyond the case and beneath the muted music. She leaves the others in sight but lowers her voice to a confidential murmur.
Quinn
Rocket’s client is a corporate subcontractor operating through proxies. They want the cache intact, the courier alive, and no record that their recovery team lost control of either.
Quinn
The missing detail is leverage: the cache contains proof of an internal theft, not merely stolen files. The client will pay to bury that proof, but may also try to erase the person who carried it.
Quinn
My advice is simple. Keep Darian beside us, insist the bonus is written before the handoff, and make Rocket’s client speak first. Their reaction will tell us who is truly afraid.
Quinn returns her attention to the booth. Rocket waits beside the case, while Darian watches her face for permission to speak and Niko keeps the room’s exits in view.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the bonus terms before the handoff
− Scene Quest Removed
Determine whether Quinn concealed a material risk in Rocket’s offer
“I slide closer to Quinn, asking if this means we'll be working more closely together”
SUCCESS (Superb Flirting, rolled +1)
Match
Does this mean you and I will be working more closely together?
Match slides closer to Quinn, keeping his voice low. She turns toward him instead of retreating, while Rocket, Darian, and Niko remain visible across the booth.
Quinn
Yes. If you want that, I will handle the client-facing terms and stay beside you through the handoff.
Her shoulder nearly touches his. Quinn’s expression remains composed, but the faint lift at one corner of her mouth makes the answer more personal than a contract clause.
Quinn
That also means you will hear my concerns before you make a risky move, and I will expect the same honesty from you.
Rocket
If the private conference is finished, my client is ready to speak. They want the cache and courier terms settled now.
Quinn holds Match’s gaze for one final second, then faces the booth. She keeps close enough that their agreement remains unmistakable as Rocket activates the client channel.
“I wink at Quinn before returning to Rocket's booth”
Match gives Quinn a quick wink before turning back toward the booth. Her restrained smile answers him, and she follows half a step behind as Rocket waits beside the case.
The private channel glows above the table, painting Rocket’s face in cold blue. Darian keeps one hand on the case, while Niko watches the booth entrance and Quinn takes her place beside Match.
Rocket
Client, you are live. The cache is intact, the courier is present, and the delivery team has revised its terms.
Celeste Armitage
Then let us begin with the revision. I will not authorize payment against an open-ended demand.
Quinn’s fingers rest lightly on her wrist console, ready to record every term. Rocket gestures toward Match and Quinn, giving their side the floor without softening the client’s position.
Quinn
You will hear the condition before you name a price. The bonus is written, the courier remains protected, and no recovery team approaches this room.
undefined / undefined
The client’s channel stutters. A second voice cuts across it, followed by a red perimeter notice blooming on Rocket’s wall panel: UNAUTHORIZED RECOVERY SIGNAL.
Celeste Armitage
Terminate the room feed. That signal is not mine, and whoever launched it knows precisely where the cache is.
Darian pulls the case against his chest. Niko shifts toward the booth entrance as the cameras snap away from Rocket and begin tracking the ceiling and door seals.
Quinn
That is a recovery team handshake, not a broadcast. They are asking the building to confirm which room contains the courier.
Rocket
Client, name your authorization. Now. If you cannot, I treat this as an attempt to seize my property.
For one breath, only the muted music answers. Then the channel restores itself, this time carrying a clean biometric prompt and a corporate seal that makes Quinn’s console flash amber.
Celeste Armitage
My name is Celeste Armitage. Accept my authorization, keep Darian alive, and I will explain why the recovery team is more dangerous than the cache.
“I keep Darian and the case beside Quinn”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +2)
Match moves with deliberate speed, keeping Darian and the black case beside Quinn as the booth tightens around the live channel. Darian stays close, gripping the case while Quinn’s console records the arrangement.
Quinn
Good. Keep him here. If Celeste’s authorization is genuine, Darian is protected by the same terms as the cache.
Darian
I can stay beside Quinn. Just do not let them separate me from the case.
Celeste Armitage
That placement is acceptable. The recovery team wants the courier isolated before they breach the building.
Quinn shifts half a step, placing herself between Darian and the booth entrance without touching him. The case remains at her side, clearly within her protection and the client’s view.
Rocket
Then the room’s terms are clear. Darian stays with Quinn, the case stays with Darian, and anyone crossing that arrangement becomes my problem.
“I use Celeste’s authorization to secure an exit”
SUCCESS (Good Hacking, rolled +3)
Match reaches through the live channel’s authorization prompt, borrowing Celeste’s active corporate seal without taking possession of it. He redirects the building’s access controls toward a quiet service exit.
The lock accepts the credential. A side door beyond the booth releases with a muted click, and the building map marks a clear route into the rain-sheltered loading passage.
Quinn
There. That route is live, and the cameras have been instructed to treat us as an authorized transfer.
Quinn pulls the booth’s privacy panel across the case while Rocket checks the new access record. Darian keeps both hands on the black housing, visibly steadier now that the exit exists.
Celeste Armitage
Good. Use that passage immediately. My authorization will hold the door open, but the recovery team will recognize the route once they lose the room.
Rocket
You bought us an exit, Match. Quinn takes Darian and the cache. I will keep the client channel alive and make the pursuers hesitate.
The side door opens onto a narrow rain-dark passage beneath the storefront. Quinn moves with Darian and the case, while Match leads Niko across the warehouse roofs toward the route’s far end.
Quest Complete
Secure the bonus terms before the handoff
Skill Upgrade: Hacking Good→Great