I agree. [ good. good, at least there's that. it's nothing set in stone, which is better, but a combined force, hopefully as low key as possible. ] I'm willing to cooperate in any way possible.

[ before he does, though, he seems to reflect on the concept of restraint. ] If this goes well, the hope is that restraint won't be necessary. I'm going beyond avoiding. On my end, I'll cut this off at the pass.

[ that steel resilience said, xie lian exhales, and leans back in his chair to recount his information. ] As far as I've been made aware, the people committing the kidnappings are doing so in an attempt to regain the financial glory they had before the mayor passed away. I've thought that the two instances are related, to be honest, but finding proof of it has been difficult. Both instances tie back to a dislike of my family, though the latter, more specifically, has tied to me.

[ his finger taps against the desk, thoughtful. ] The kidnapping drop-offs were occurring in the warehouse district in Xian Le...which, as you're aware, is a trail that's been cleaned up. Initial chatter about this resentment came through that coffeeshop in Middleton, too.