Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

28th of Febriary 2007 A.D.

Mom takes the news very... quietly, which is never a good sign, from your experience. "All this time... all this time I thought they had just decided to let sleeping dogs lie and it turns out I was agreeing with father of all people."

Dad places a hand over hers on the couch between them, though he doesn't say anything, letting her deal with this at her own pace while you-and-you and Daniel wait a little awkwardly, unsure of how to take things or what to say. The only one with any suggestions is Usum, but they are all curses that start with cursing your grandfather with the inability to recall his work and legacy and work up from there in cruel irony. He has opinions about doing taking people's agency away for their own good, My opinions, you realize with a flash, half of guilt half of gratitude. As his counsel had been changing the way you see the world so too had you changed him to judge morality... even if it does come in the form of a litany of curses.

"I really shouldn't have gotten you children involved in this," Mom says finally.

You and Dancer in Glass Shadows share a look, the same thought coming to mind, you're sure of it even absent telepathy: Not exactly the worst thing that happened this month.

Finally you settle on. "We went looking of our own will and for our own reasons."

"Well..." She looks at Dad, for strength, for confirmation, you're not sure. "It's time for me to do more than look. I'm making that Call." You can practically hear the capital C in that word. It's something she'd thought about before, maybe agonized over.

"I can do it," he offers at once, but she just sighs and shakes her head.

"It's my mess Michael, not yours and not the children's. I'm getting to the bottom of this and then we can just..." Whatever words she had been about to use, maybe 'move on' she can't quite bring herself to say them.

"Maybe so, but burdens as much as joys are meant to be shared. We should do this in person, together."

Uneasy silence falls until finally she gives a firm nod. "Can't hurt and it might help, God willing." With that Mom mimes wiping her hands off an apron she isn't wearing from reflex, setting the whole matter aside like dishes sorted into a cabinet. "Come on, dinner's ready."

Pot roast and mashed potatoes thus become the accompaniment to considering Marcone. At the end of the day why is the man a criminal, you wonder? Criminals as much as honest people have reasons for doing things and while you don't believe there are good reasons to do the sorts of things the 'Baron of Chicago' has done, that doesn't mean you can't use the knowledge, can't change his mind. So once the meal's done you, as the game-show rules go 'phone a friend'.

"Yes?" Lash asks, sounding indecently sleepy for six in the afternoon "What do you need?"

"Marcone, what makes him tick?"

"Planning to make a project out of him?" she asks archly.

You hesitate a moment. "Maybe..." Reading his fire and then pointing your Crown at it had revealed a man on a personal quest to bring the waring crime families of Chicago to heel even as he holds other interlopers at bay, who takes advantage of the corruption of the city to grow his own little fief. Not idly had be spoken of wolves and coyotes, but a wolf, be it ever so wise in the ways of the pack, is still a predator. It's not that he has no conscience, more that he chose years ago when to harden his heart against cruelty done to those who harm his people.

"'Gentleman' Johnny distrusts the US Government and it's personal, maybe back to his time in the army. The way he made sure Amanda couldn't be traced when I healed her you'd think the CIA was after her in particular."

Thinking of Daedalus you had to ask: "And you're sure they aren't actually...?"

"After her, no, even Helen thinks he's being paranoid and she hates him almost as much as she admires him. Paranoid arrogant, callous and vicious when he feels it's called for..." Tiffany's tone is less one of causation and more like a guidance counselor describing a student with good prospects. "But he's loyal to his people and as firm on his own rules as those he imposes on the rest of the organization. According to Helen one of the first mob bosses to take Marcone under his wing as he advanced in the Chicago underworld claimed his people didn't hurt kids, but he turned out to be lying through his teeth so Marcone shot him in them. Or shot him in the face at least. I think on some level he's scared of what he would become if he ever let the rules slip."

How do you approach Marcone?

[] Appeal to his loyalty to his own people, no matter how good he is as long as he's just another criminal they are going to be exposed to danger, with your help he could become so much more and so coould they

[] Appeal to his pride, contrast his own efforts to make Chicago safer from supernatural threats to Daedalus' bungling, point out that he can do far more good for the city when he'd not organizing drug deals on the side

[] Get access to his army file to try and see just what the origin of his distrust in the government is
-[] Officially, one more thing to ask of the Library
-[] Unofficially, steal it

[] Write in

OOC: Given that Tiffany had done her own investigating and spent considerably more time on it there was no reason to do the Awakened Eye of the Dragon trick for now. What she already had is the maximum you coul get through a streetwise roll.