Swamped

"I think we tail them, find out what we can about this whole mess. If nothing else, Ash is sure to be alerted if anything happens to Sergeant Burgundy."

"Private," Erin mutters.

"Whatever. Point is, if his flunkies find her, we'll know about it. Right now, we wouldn't have much to offer at a meeting, especially one where we aren't really expected."

Erin doesn't look so sure.

"El, you haven't dealt with Ash. I have. He's dangerous when things don't go his way. I wouldn't want you to be caught in his mess. Let me go on my own. I probably can't convince him I'm still loyal, but at least I know what I'm up against."

"We're in this together, aren't we?"

Erin pauses for a while before nodding her head.

"I guess we are. All right, but don't try to play hero, okay? If it looks like we might get caught, you run and I'll stall them."

"You can't be serious!"

"We aren't going to have time to argue about this if it happens. So we're going to settle it now. If there's big trouble, you run, I stall. If I can run too, I will, but let's not risk everything over it."

"I'd be abandoning you."

"No, I'd be helping you get away. If only one of us escapes, I'd rather it be the one who isn't knee-deep in this mess to begin with."

You sigh. There really isn't time to press the point.

"Fine. Now, let's get moving."

You follow Ash and Roxley for a while, keeping your distance and watching for patrollers. They seem to be finished their conversation, for now, but after a while Ash stops someone on patrol.

"Fetch your squad and stand guard outside the abandoned storeroom," he says.

Wait. The one with the boarded-up door? How would you even get in there, except from the outside? You suppose it's remote enough, but it would be strange to be asked to guard it.

The knight Ash is speaking to, however, asks no such questions. She simply salutes and runs off. Either she already knows something about what they're doing, or she's just that loyal to Ash.

You turn to Erin.

"Do you know anything about this?"

She shakes her head.

"Never heard of him going there. Makes sense, though, if he's got some way of getting in. Nobody goes there normally, and there's a gaping hole in the wall, so whoever he's meeting with could come in from the outside."

Well. Now you know where he's headed. So what are you going to do about it?