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Network. Here's another show we

1:01

know you'll love. You

1:07

found the heart. She found

1:09

a key to the heart. On

1:11

the quest of a lifetime, three best friends

1:14

take on a harrowing journey. Your

1:16

mind and body will be tested

1:18

in these upcoming weeks, as

1:21

well as your heart. Where

1:23

more is at stake than a gift from the gods.

1:26

Being with Alpina and I is going to

1:29

be...weird. Not bad weird,

1:31

just different. Everything's

1:33

different on the water. When new

1:35

friends meet, you have an office? Where

1:38

do you think I do all

1:40

the pirate business? Pirates have business?

1:43

It's a parchment nightmare. And

1:45

family secrets are revealed. We

1:48

could be twins. Yes, I've noticed.

1:50

This young crew of adventurers will learn

1:52

what it takes to complete the deadly journey

1:54

to the heart. It's not like an island

1:56

could set a trap for us. What?! Lightning's

2:00

log, are you kidding me? But

2:03

it's getting what they want worth losing

2:05

what they have. I was

2:07

happy with you and Charlie. Was?

2:10

Look at us! How could I be?

2:13

Journey to the Heart, now available

2:15

everywhere you listen to podcasts. Tune

2:18

in each week and vote for where you think

2:20

the story should go next. What will

2:22

you wish for? You're

2:34

listening to The Strata,

2:36

a Beyond the Dark production. Season

2:39

10 The Ascent Part

2:43

2 The

3:02

Strata Delio!

3:06

Hey! Has anyone seen Delio?

3:11

Right here, Mr. Alfred. Sorry,

3:13

I was about to come see you. What

3:15

the hell happened? You were gone

3:17

for hours. Yeah, it ended up

3:19

taking a lot longer than I thought. Some

3:22

of the candidates didn't show up at the

3:24

rendezvous and, well, I had to

3:26

go hunting. Didn't show up? Why

3:28

not? Uh... Don't

3:32

they know who they're dealing with? You

3:34

and me. We're Fortunados.

3:37

Do those losers think they can disrespect us like

3:39

that and get away with it? It

3:42

wasn't a big deal. I hope you came

3:44

down hard on them. Well, uh,

3:47

I... Heh

3:49

heh. Delio, come on!

3:51

We've talked about this! You

3:54

have to step up and assert yourself or these guys

3:56

are gonna walk all over you. Yeah,

3:59

I know that. Are you sure? Because

4:01

you don't look convincing right now. Listen,

4:04

Halford, just give me a chance, huh?

4:07

Until a few weeks ago, I was way down

4:09

the ranks. I said, nobody. No.

4:12

Things have changed, and they're going

4:14

to keep changing fast. You

4:17

have to deal with that. I'm

4:19

trying. Yeah,

4:22

I know you are, kid. I'll

4:24

do better. I promise.

4:27

Now, just forget about it. Let's

4:30

concentrate on the situation at hand. We

4:33

have some work to do. Tell me about the

4:35

new guys. OK, so the

4:37

ones I found this afternoon are over

4:39

there in the corner. The

4:41

guy in the jacket and the other two. You

4:44

only got three? That's

4:46

it? That's all I could bring in. Oh,

4:49

and look at them. They're as green

4:51

as sewer weed. Yeah, well, they

4:53

said they could handle themselves in a skirmish. Oh,

4:56

yeah. I'll believe that when I see it. Something

4:59

tells me these three and the rest of

5:01

these clowns we've rounded up aren't going to

5:03

be much help when the action starts. We

5:07

spent the last two weeks scraping

5:10

every bar, back alley, and

5:12

street corner and midtown, sir. This

5:14

is the best we're going to get. It's a

5:17

disgrace to the very name of the Fortune

5:19

Auto crew. That's what it is. But

5:23

we have to start somewhere. So

5:26

do you think we're ready to

5:28

move on to the next phase of the plan? We

5:30

have no choice. The sharks are

5:32

circling. We need to fortify

5:35

our position before it's too late. I

5:37

thought you said we couldn't stay here. This

5:39

place? Of course not. Look at

5:42

it. We couldn't mount a defense

5:44

here against the pack

5:46

of angry hobos. We're

5:48

leaving tonight. So you

5:51

found a new place? Yeah. Look,

5:54

here. It's over at Crosstown.

5:58

Large enough for 50 men. Good

6:00

locations for centuries. We

6:02

can even turn one of these rooms into a vault. Does

6:06

it have all the facilities we need? No.

6:09

But we can work on that.

6:12

First and foremost, we need a solid base to

6:14

build on. Once we're established, I'm

6:16

sure we can fit it out with all

6:19

the fancy shit. But let's not

6:21

get ahead of ourselves. You

6:23

want me to start organizing the men? Should we start

6:25

packing up? Yeah, let's do

6:27

that. But make sure they're traveling light. Take

6:30

the essentials. Nothing more. Uh...

6:34

are you expecting trouble? Who knows?

6:37

I've tried to keep everything under the radar, but

6:40

you never... Uh,

6:45

Halford? What's the matter?

6:48

How long has it been since the centuries checked in?

6:51

Oh...

6:55

I'm not sure. Did you see them when you

6:57

came through? Yeah, they were

6:59

in position. Ah... Team

7:01

One, come in. Team

7:05

One, answer. Mmm...

7:08

maybe check with Team Two? I

7:10

don't need to check with Team Two.

7:13

Something's going down. Oh

7:15

shit. Alright

7:17

everyone, wake up. We

7:19

got a situation happening here. I

7:21

need three teams to investigate the

7:23

century positions right now. You! You!

7:25

And you! Lock and load. Report

7:28

back to me with your findings. Oh

7:31

come on, move it you idiots! Let's go! I

7:35

need eight of you to head up to the

7:37

second level. Take up positions at the windows and

7:39

shoot anything that moves out there on the street.

7:42

The rest of you secure the northern end of the building. Call!

7:46

Double time! I'll

7:49

get over there as well. Make sure they...

7:51

Go fast, Elio. You're with me.

7:53

We have to secure the back. Make

7:56

sure no one comes in from behind. Out

7:58

through the tunnels? I thought you said... Let

8:00

it know and don't argue. Just

8:02

get your shit and let's go. Uh,

8:06

yeah, sure. We're gonna be

8:08

alright kid, just stick with me. I'll

8:11

look after ya. Okay. Get

8:14

in here Tillyo, let's move. There's

8:33

still no one answering at the lab. I

8:36

can't reach Himena or Emily either. No one's

8:38

picking up. What the hell is going on?

8:40

Where is everyone? There has to be

8:42

a logical explanation for all this. We'll get to the bottom

8:44

of it. Yeah, if we can

8:46

ever get through this docket in traffic. Watch it, that's a

8:49

do. A

8:51

red light. Yeah, I never should have taken

8:53

off like that. Joy riding around in the

8:55

deadlands. What was I thinking? Stop

8:58

beating yourself up Russ, that's not helping.

9:00

Hey, move that piece of shit out

9:02

of the way. You're

9:04

yelling at an automated great transport pal, it

9:07

can't hear you. If that

9:09

asshole Hallywalls done something. Then I'll

9:11

personally help you rip his head off. But

9:13

before we get to that, let's think through

9:15

this rationally. Where's the best place to

9:18

start looking for them? Hallywalls lab. That's

9:21

a half hour's drive from here. All

9:23

the way across Midtown and half of Highgate

9:25

City. Shouldn't we start here in

9:27

Docketon? Humanus place. That's a

9:29

commune? It's only a few minutes away,

9:31

right? Yeah, but that's time lost if

9:33

we come up empty. It makes more sense

9:35

this way, trust me. You

9:38

sure? Yeah, let's hit the commune first,

9:40

and then head to the lab if we come up

9:42

empty. Alright, hang

9:44

on to your lunch. Thank

9:56

you. Which

10:00

one's her room? Just up here. This door

10:02

on the left. Emana!

10:07

You in there? Emana! Oh

10:10

my god, Russ! Hannah! Hey,

10:13

I got you. I've got you. Just

10:17

when I thought you might not be coming back

10:19

at all. I'm sorry about that. I

10:21

didn't manage this whole situation very well, did I?

10:24

I'm partly responsible for that.

10:27

I kind of got to rush a

10:30

blood and talk Russ into a trip across the

10:32

Deadlands. The Deadlands? What's

10:35

that all about? We'll tell you

10:37

everything as soon as we get a chance. First, I

10:39

just want to make sure everything is okay here. Yeah,

10:42

yeah. No problem.

10:45

Carlita and Emily. Are they okay? Carlita's

10:48

downstairs, playing with a few of

10:50

her friends. She's fine. And

10:53

Emily? She's... she's

10:56

okay, but it's a long story.

10:59

What about you? Are you

11:01

both all right? Fine. We've

11:03

been trying to reach you, but you haven't been answering. Sorry.

11:08

I've been on the phone for hours trying

11:10

to sort out medical supplies. Anyway,

11:13

come on in. Let's talk inside. You... Huh?

11:17

You're walking again. You

11:20

have legs. Yeah, not bad,

11:22

huh? What

11:24

the hell happened up there in the Deadlands? Let's go inside and

11:27

we'll talk. You

11:30

said something about Emily. Yeah, what

11:32

happened? Is she hurt? Was it Halliwell? Emily's

11:34

fine, apart from a scorch mark or two.

11:39

There was an incident at Halliwell's lab.

11:42

We were right not to trust him. What

11:45

did he do? He built himself

11:47

a weapon. A plasma gun, Emily

11:49

said. That's why

11:51

he was asking for all those weird

11:53

parts. He must have been hiding it

11:55

in some secret storage compartment. Bastard.

11:59

There may be more to it. stuff he was building. We don't

12:02

know what exactly, but somehow

12:04

he managed to knock out the power to the

12:06

clinic and that disabled the

12:08

security system. That allowed him to

12:10

use the plasma gun to cut his way out through

12:12

the plexiglass. We underestimated him.

12:15

We were stupid. So goddamn

12:17

stupid. Howl made a run

12:19

for it. And unsurprisingly,

12:22

Emily tried to get in his way.

12:24

Wait a second. Didn't the bastard have

12:27

a plasma gun? That's why she got

12:29

scorched. She tried her best to

12:31

stop him from leaving, but he

12:33

managed to squirm past her. Piece

12:36

of shit. During the struggle, though, Emily

12:38

managed to get ahold of a briefcase that Halloell was

12:40

trying to take with him. A briefcase?

12:43

What briefcase? It was locked,

12:45

so we couldn't tell

12:47

exactly what was inside, but Emily

12:50

figured that whatever it was might be

12:53

valuable to Halloell. Sure

12:55

enough, the bastard called back wanting to trade. In

12:58

exchange for the briefcase, he

13:00

was willing to hand over a cash,

13:03

a medical supplies, enough

13:05

to really make a difference here in

13:07

Dokkerton. So you went for

13:09

it? He talked her into it. Yeah.

13:13

The promise of those supplies. Well,

13:16

it was worth the risk. So

13:18

Emily went to meet with him at a

13:20

rendezvous point south of Dokkerton on

13:23

the edge of the deadlands. She

13:26

handed the briefcase over to a drone that

13:28

Halloell was operating. And

13:30

after that, she was

13:32

supposed to help me with distributing the medical

13:34

supplies. But,

13:37

um, what happened?

13:40

She went after him instead. Halloell

13:45

followed him out into the deadlands. Emily

13:48

left the strata? Yeah. I mean,

13:52

I tried to change her

13:54

mind, but I guess there was nothing I

13:56

could do. Why would she do that?

13:59

Well, she still... has a thing against Halliwell for what

14:01

he did to Curran. And aside

14:03

from that, she also thought the

14:05

briefcase might contain something bad. Research

14:08

data, to be specific. Let

14:11

me guess, the data Halliwell

14:13

was gathering for his ghost

14:15

project. Right. She

14:18

was worried that he was going to use it to start

14:20

up his resurrection project again. Out

14:22

in the deadlands? That seemed to

14:24

be where he was headed. How long

14:26

ago was this? We should go after her.

14:28

Forget it, Rust. You'll never find her

14:30

out there. We followed a

14:32

target out in the deadlands once before, right, see?

14:35

We're practically experts at this shit. I'm

14:38

not sure about this one, pal. Do

14:41

we have an exact location where we can start?

14:44

No. You'd be wasting your

14:47

time. Besides, this

14:49

is what Emily wanted. She

14:52

told me she didn't want to stay in the Strata any

14:54

longer. Said she didn't belong

14:56

here. She's

14:59

been finding it difficult to reintegrate here. After

15:02

everything that's happened. Yeah, I

15:04

knew she was struggling with things, but I

15:07

didn't think she'd believe. Maybe she'll

15:09

come back again once this mess with Halliwell

15:11

is sorted out. I just wish there was

15:13

some way we could help her. She shouldn't be out there trying

15:15

to do this on her own. Actually,

15:18

there might be something we can do after

15:20

all. Give me a minute here to check a few

15:22

things. You

15:25

may not take a seat. You look exhausted.

15:28

I'm okay. There's

15:32

just been so much

15:34

going on. I've been trying

15:36

to organize shipment and distribution for those

15:39

medical supplies we secured from Halliwell, for

15:41

a start. Shouldn't Millicon be in

15:43

charge of that? Millicon? Don't

15:46

make me laugh. Yeah. What

15:48

was I thinking? Yeah, so...

15:52

There's that. This

15:56

thing with them leads to you pretty hard, huh? Yeah,

15:58

I mean... I was

16:00

just getting used to idea of having her

16:03

around again. And she's

16:05

times. And then you

16:07

and Sienna disappeared and without made everything

16:09

worse. So

16:11

like I was alone again. We're.

16:14

Sorry but. It was

16:16

selfish. No, no, no. the

16:18

national forests and. That

16:21

ship of yours was important and. I.

16:24

Don't blame you at. All.

16:26

For going well. I'm here now.

16:28

I'm not going anywhere. You hear

16:30

me? Yeah, I

16:33

hear you. What's. The story was these

16:35

medical supplies am sure I can help help

16:37

take on to something here. I'll be right

16:39

back seat. Where the hell are you going?

16:43

On the ban would scare

16:45

you are worth.i can find

16:47

her her. It's

16:51

only say to do. Looking.

16:57

To get out of the ads and back to

16:59

the story, Sable in Folly Plus is a new

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17:50

summers, what's

17:53

going on it's it's no sorry

17:55

frankie that this is important we

17:57

need to talk is okay dot

18:00

Don't you ever sleep? Most nights, no.

18:03

Okay, uh... So what

18:05

is it? I need you to double check

18:07

those details you gave me. Something doesn't seem right

18:09

here. Uh...

18:11

which details in particular? The address you gave me

18:13

was 641 Washburn, right? Let

18:16

me just... bring it up here, hang on. Uh,

18:20

yeah, that's it. Ah, this

18:22

can't be right, no way. Okay,

18:24

what's the problem? I've circled this

18:27

place three times now, and I still

18:29

haven't spotted a single sentry. Okay,

18:31

so you're at the place now? Yeah,

18:34

looking right at it. Oh,

18:36

Summers... are you sure that's

18:38

safe? These Fortunato guys, they're hardcore,

18:41

right? If you go stick in your nose and

18:43

do- Don't worry about that, Frankie. I can

18:45

handle myself. As long as

18:47

I have good intel. The intel

18:49

is clean, Summers. I guarantee that.

18:52

In all of my years dealing with the

18:54

Fortunatos, I've never seen a compound or safe

18:56

house left unguarded. Ever. Maybe

18:59

they shot through already. I don't know, maybe they're

19:01

gone. Could be. I guess

19:04

there's only one way to know for sure. Ah...

19:09

shit. You're going in, aren't

19:11

you? Just stay on the line,

19:13

Frankie. I might need you for something. Summers,

19:15

I'm not gonna be much help sitting in my

19:18

living room. Just hang on.

19:20

I'm at the door. What's

19:23

going on? The door's been

19:25

breached. Split wide open. Oh,

19:28

that doesn't sound good. I'm going

19:30

inside. Shit.

19:39

Got a body already. Two...

19:41

no, three. Oh, shit.

19:43

Who is it? No idea. I don't

19:45

recognize any of them. But they're

19:47

dead. Oh, yeah. You

19:50

better believe it. There's enough blood in

19:52

this hallway to fill half the bay. Maybe

19:55

you should, uh, call in the cops? I've

19:57

almost reached the back. One second. Well,

20:05

they're dead. Who?

20:10

All of them. There must be 20 guys in here.

20:13

So what happened? Looks like

20:15

they were in full retreat. Came

20:17

back down the hallway here, then got caught

20:19

in the crossfire. They never stood

20:21

a chance. Are these all Fortunados? Wait,

20:24

wait, wait. That crew's supposed to be tough. Professional.

20:28

How did they end up slaughtered like that? I

20:31

don't know. Like I said,

20:33

something's off about this whole thing. I'm

20:37

going to take some time to look around. Maybe

20:39

you should try- Great you missed the

20:41

party, sir. Shit.

20:45

Detective Cavanaugh. Where did you

20:47

come from? Sorry. Did

20:49

I startle you? Hey, Summers? What's

20:52

going on? I'm going to

20:54

have to call you back, Frankie. Thanks for your

20:56

help. You're

20:58

lucky I didn't blow your head off, Detective.

21:02

Ah, itchy trigger finger, huh? I'm

21:04

knee deep in blood and dead bodies. That

21:06

tends to set me on edge more often

21:08

than not. Don't worry. I've

21:11

given the place a once-over. All

21:13

threats have been eliminated. Uh,

21:16

what are you doing here, Cavanaugh? Was

21:19

this a raid or something? No. This

21:21

isn't my handiwork. I

21:23

missed the party, too. Got here

21:25

maybe half an hour too late. Have

21:28

you pieced together what happened? Yeah,

21:30

just about. Seems our

21:33

friends the Fortunados got steamrolled by

21:35

a rival gang, the Lobos, if

21:38

my intel is accurate. So

21:41

somebody tipped you off? No,

21:43

I was investigating a triple homicide

21:45

from a few days back. A

21:48

guy called Halford was involved, stole

21:50

creds and some weapons from a

21:52

vendor in Jacktown, then jumped

21:54

an auto cab, killed

21:56

a mother and her two kids just so we

21:58

could steal their ride. Bastard.

22:00

Yeah. Nasty

22:03

piece of work. I was

22:05

looking into the case and followed the

22:07

breadcrumbs to this location. Halford.

22:10

So he was here. Yeah.

22:13

He was using this place as a temporary

22:15

safe house as far as I can tell.

22:18

Where's the body? Halford? Eh,

22:20

not here. I'm guessing

22:23

he got away. He made a run

22:25

for it? That's not like

22:27

him. Especially if the Lobos are the ones

22:29

making the moves. The Fortunados have been bullying

22:31

the Lobos for years. Well, seems

22:34

like the shoe is on the other foot now.

22:37

The Lobos are moving in for the kill. What?

22:41

That's ridiculous. There's no way

22:43

the Fortunados would let that happen. Eh,

22:46

maybe not the old Fortunados, but

22:49

things have changed. The old

22:51

Fortunados. What are you talking about,

22:53

Kev? Oh, you haven't heard,

22:55

have you? About all

22:57

the shit that went down. All

23:00

I know is that the Fortunados have been acting strange

23:02

these last few weeks. And I

23:04

can't find any answers on the streets. It's

23:07

like they've disappeared or... Well,

23:11

are you gonna tell me or not? I

23:14

don't know if I should. It's

23:16

classified police intel. Oh, come

23:18

on. Don't give me that shit. Hey,

23:21

it's not like you've done the

23:23

Midtown PD any favors lately. In

23:26

fact, you've had quite a lot to say

23:28

about the department from what I hear. Going

23:31

on about the corruption, the ineptitude

23:33

of your old colleagues. It's

23:36

nothing personal, and none of that stuff was directed

23:38

at people like you. Yeah. Yeah,

23:41

I'll bet. Kev, those things needed

23:43

to be said. The people running the

23:45

department are long overdue in ass-kicking. Too

23:48

bad if a few feathers got ruffled because

23:50

one ex-cop decided to speak her mind. I

23:55

see you ain't changed a bit. No,

23:57

I haven't. Oh, can't

23:59

see. I say I'm surprised. So,

24:02

the two of us? Are we good? You

24:10

know, I rubbed shoulders with you plenty

24:12

of times in that station house over

24:14

the years, Summers. I saw

24:17

you work a shitload of cases. And,

24:19

uh, thinking back on it, I

24:22

can't remember a single time that you didn't

24:24

have the look about you. The

24:27

look? You know, the

24:29

hunger. The same

24:31

restlessness and angst I see every

24:33

time I look in the mirror.

24:36

The thing is, some cops

24:39

don't give a shit. They can't

24:41

wait to get out the door every afternoon

24:43

and put their feet up at home. Zone

24:46

out to the latest gridcast. But

24:48

you would never like one of those day traders.

24:51

You lived this job 24-7. Just

24:55

like I did. Yeah,

24:58

I did. But then,

25:00

you decided to take a big

25:02

steaming dump all over the PD, didn't

25:04

you? I

25:09

can't deny it. That rubbed me the wrong

25:11

way. It was a

25:13

kick in the nuts to every hard-working detective

25:15

out there who's ever shed blood, sweat, and

25:17

tears in the name of the department. It's

25:20

an insult to cops like me. Like

25:23

I said, I didn't- Some

25:25

of those day trader cops wanted to string you

25:27

up. Maybe as much as those

25:30

Fortunato bastards who put the bounty on your

25:32

head. But not me. Why?

25:36

Because I understood why you did it.

25:39

I understood your anger and frustration, and

25:41

I knew that your heart was in

25:43

the right place. So

25:45

you asked me if we're good. I'll

25:48

tell you. Yeah. Yeah,

25:50

we're good. So you'll

25:53

fill me in on the Fortunato situation? Sure,

25:55

but it can't go any further

25:57

than this room. that

26:00

I don't think these guys are gonna tell

26:02

any tales summers I'm serious yeah

26:04

you got it my lips are sealed

26:07

okay let's start at

26:10

the beginning you heard about

26:12

the breakout attempt at black all right inmates

26:14

blasting their way into the underground and

26:16

escaping through the tunnels yeah

26:18

where it is that the fortune autos were behind

26:21

the whole thing organized it so they could wipe

26:23

out old members of the Scariage organization that's

26:25

right but they didn't manage

26:28

to kill everyone the gang lord

26:30

called Carver escaped in the confusion

26:33

yeah I already heard about this and

26:35

you also know the Carver was the one

26:37

who managed to get a hold of the

26:39

ghost technology he's the one

26:41

who turned all those dead people into his

26:44

own personal army at Docketon yeah

26:46

I'm across all of that so as

26:49

you may have guessed Carver really liked to

26:51

hold a grudge it was

26:53

one of his defining characteristics in fact

26:57

he had it in for your

26:59

friend tennik off and that a

27:01

courier rust as well but

27:04

what you might not have realized

27:06

is the Carver hated the fortune

27:08

auto crew maybe even more than

27:10

those two all because of

27:12

what they tried to do to him during that

27:14

breakout the assassination attempts on

27:17

him and the other Scariage loyalist

27:19

and black hole Carver

27:21

had it in for the fortune autos makes

27:24

sense I guess after the

27:26

whole ghost incident ended Millicon

27:28

were doing some cleanup in

27:30

various hotspots across the strata

27:33

a mansion in Highgate City as well

27:35

as a few locations here in Midtown

27:38

and that's how they figured it out Carver

27:40

didn't just go after the people

27:43

of Docketon he also

27:45

singled out the fortune autos for

27:47

special treatment as well he

27:49

sent hordes of his ghost army

27:51

to every known fortune auto stronghold

27:54

in Midtown and Docketon and

27:56

the results were catastrophic their

27:59

ranks were decimated. Are

28:03

you shitting me? Carver

28:05

nuked the Fortunados. He

28:08

didn't kill all of them. A

28:10

handful of lieutenants escaped, including our

28:12

friend Halford. But they

28:14

were weak and couldn't reassemble

28:17

into any kind of cohesive group.

28:20

And they were scattered, floundering.

28:23

Rival gangs moved in and started taking

28:25

over their territory. And

28:27

when the survivors tried to resist, they

28:30

were squashed like bugs. Holy

28:32

shit. The Fortunados

28:34

have practically been wiped out. That's

28:37

what you're telling me. Yeah, you

28:39

got it. They're being

28:41

hunted into extinction. In

28:43

fact, according to the best intel we have,

28:46

Halford is the last lieutenant left. He

28:49

was trying to recruit some thugs, trying

28:51

to strengthen his position, but... That

28:54

didn't seem to work out for him. No.

28:58

No, I mean, look at these guys on

29:00

the floor here. Halford

29:02

was really scraping the bottom of the barrel. Poor

29:05

snatchers and tranqheads. They're

29:08

soft. It's no wonder they

29:10

couldn't stand up to an assault from a hardened

29:12

gang like the Lobos. So that

29:14

leaves the question. Where's Halford?

29:17

No idea. Well, right now,

29:19

I need to get this mess cleaned up.

29:22

I've called in backup to start tagging and

29:24

bagging these lowlifes. After

29:27

that, I'll get to work on tracking

29:29

them down. Where's your partner, Eileen?

29:31

Is she helping you out? Ehh, Eileen's

29:34

got her own problems. In

29:36

fact, she's up to her eyeballs right now. What's

29:39

she doing? She's been reassigned to

29:41

that smoking pile of ash we used

29:43

to call Docketon. The

29:46

department is bringing in all the young

29:48

and physically capable cops to help straighten

29:50

things out down there. Oh,

29:53

right. She's one of the

29:55

young ones now. I heard somewhere she had

29:57

a little rejuvenation done. Just

30:00

a little. It's weird. I still

30:03

think of her as an old veteran

30:05

always complaining about her arthritis. Hahaha.

30:09

Yeah. So do I most of the time.

30:12

But, uh... I'm slowly getting

30:14

used to the new Eileen. Although

30:17

it's been rough at times. It's

30:19

a mess down there in Daukerton, huh? Looting,

30:22

break-ins, a lot

30:24

of scumbags taking advantage of the

30:26

situation. Eileen tells

30:28

me it's hard work, that's for sure. And

30:32

it's not gonna get better in a hurry. Ah,

30:35

ahem. Anyway, someone's...

30:38

Maybe you should clear out before the backup

30:40

gets here. I don't think too many others

30:42

in the apartment will look too kindly on

30:44

your presence here. They're

30:46

not all as forgiving as me. Yeah,

30:48

that's probably good advice. Can

30:51

I assume that you'll be going after Halford yourself? You've

30:54

got that look in your eye. Damn

30:56

right. I'm not gonna stand

30:58

in your way, but... Since

31:00

I'm working the case... Maybe

31:03

keep me in the loop, huh? The two

31:05

of us might even be able to help each other out. Sure.

31:08

But just understand one thing, Kev. I'm

31:11

not bringing this guy in for questioning. I'm

31:14

not interested in setting up plea deals

31:16

or negotiating terms of surrender. I'm

31:19

going out there to put him down. Put

31:21

him down hard. Ah,

31:24

from you Summers, I'd

31:27

expect nothing less. the

32:00

Dark. Your support means I can keep

32:02

bringing you more seasons of The Strider.

32:32

The Stable

32:48

and Falling Network, where fiction

32:50

producers flourish. Sure

32:53

I can't get you a drink? Uh...

32:57

I... um... They'd

32:59

had a moment, hadn't they? That

33:02

afternoon when Garrett had smiled

33:05

just like this, warm-eyed

33:08

and amused in a way that made

33:10

Tony want another cigarette, but also

33:12

want to step forward and- Hey Kate, what are you

33:14

writing? Ah! New

33:17

text post on Thursday, May 21st. Title.

33:23

Why you should be watching Selkirk.

33:28

So, Selkirk fandom. Who wants

33:30

to read my 5000 word essay,

33:32

Garrett's last name? Secret werewolf.

33:37

I'm Kate, by the way. The

33:41

kid? I

33:44

think I lucked out when I found Selkirk.

33:47

Because if I'd loved something else, I

33:50

would've made friends, and I would've been able

33:52

to read a ton of great stories.

33:56

But this way? met

34:00

you.