Adam arrives home to the familiar quiet: no voices, no movement, no lights beyond what he left on. His keys settle beside the door as the apartment waits.
The gaming device and unopened book remain where he abandoned them. Before he can return to either routine, the door buzzer cuts through the room.
Mara Voss
Adam Thorne? Please answer. This is urgent.
The buzzer sounds again, longer this time. Through the closed door, the caller's voice is muffled but controlled, with traffic whispering somewhere behind it.
Mara Voss
I know you're inside. Nobody else needs to hear this, but you have to open the door now.
His phone vibrates on the counter at the same instant. The screen shows the same unknown number, offering a second route into the apartment's silence.
Mara Voss
If you don't trust the door, take the call. Just do not ignore me.
✓ Quest Accepted
Answer the urgent caller
“i pick up the phone, and ask, "who is this?"”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled -1)
Adam picks up the phone. The apartment stays quiet around him while the call connects, the buzzer's last vibration fading from the room.
Adam Thorne
Who is this?
Mara Voss
My name is Mara Voss. I work with a private security firm downtown.
Her voice is clearer through the phone, a young adult woman's voice kept deliberately low. Traffic murmurs behind her, and something metallic clicks nearby.
Mara Voss
I found your name attached to a system you repaired three months ago. Someone is using that system tonight, and they are trying to make it look like you.
Mara Voss
I can explain at the door, but not over an unsecured line. Please unlock it, Adam.
Open the door for Mara Voss
Quest Complete
Answer the urgent caller