GB96 s2 - Stef Part 2

You knew that this was coming. You aren’t an idiot.

It still feels a bit jarring to see two actual firearms like this. You pause in the doorway, then take a deep breath and drag a folding chair over to the table, helping yourself to a beer from the cooler.

Stef looks at you. Her expression is one of exhaustion. She has raccoon eyes. She’s not sleeping. There are things you could probably do to relax her, but your heart will never fully let go of what happened. You’re her friend and you’ll always be her friend, but you won’t be her fleshlight. Never again.

As for the guns on the table, you can’t take them away from her. And you can’t stop her. Doing stupid things is what brought her here, and doing more stupid things feels inevitable. You love Stef, and part of loving someone is accepting who they are. She is a moron. It’s not Mr. Gibson’s fault. He tried.

Nobody knows why Mr. Gibson went off the road. A normal accident? Swerving to avoid something? His heart?

Or, maybe, as Stef is thinking, the bikers had something to do with it.

The bikers definitely had to do with that arrest. That arrest is the reason that Mr. Gibson was on the road in the first place. It’s not airtight reasoning, but there is no universe in which you can stop Stef from holding the Free Bois responsible for the **** of her father. She can’t just live with it. You wouldn’t be able to either.

She will seek a reckoning. Nothing can prevent that.

However, it’s possible that your influence can change how that plays out. The guns on the table make it obvious where Stef’s thoughts are. It’s insane, of course, and yet… you’re in a swamp and the bikers are criminals. People go missing in the swamp. It’s hardly unheard of.

You aren’t wild about the idea of shooting people, but you aren’t… squeamish. You never have been. You also aren’t a psychopath. Could you do it? Probably. Not to hurt the bikers, but to protect Stef. Whatever happens, it will be less of a disaster if you are there. So you’ll be there.

Besides, these bikers are dangerous. Not only that, they have the police. Whatever you do, it has to be for keeps. You can’t give them a chance to keep hitting back because they’re better at it than you are. It has to stop.

Stef cannot be talked out of going after them. However, you can probably influence how she goes about it. The way you see it, there are two paths forward:

Direct. Scorched earth. No mercy. If these guys want to come to Gurlberg and play mobster, they can face the consequences. Permanently. They’re new to this area and they may not realize how easy it is for people to go missing in the swamp.

or

Indirect. Try to outsmart them. Bullets might not be the only way. The bikers aren’t stupid, but they’re arrogant. They aren’t afraid of someone like Stef and with you, but they do not know who they are messing with. That’s a vulnerability. But more complexity means more opportunities to mess up.