<argylecape> Okay.

"Could you figure out where Montgomery was?"

<argylecape> Not really

<argylecape> He's not where he was before; some kind of office with a computer and bookshelves

<argylecape> But I can't hear much through phones.

Penny continues to relay Denice's words to her father.

"It might be a good idea for you to go back to the place where you saw Montgomery the first time."

<argylecape> I don't think so

<argylecape> I can't get in, the only entrance is through the Sideways

<argylecape> There's a building I could see the room from, but it's all bugged

<argylecape> I guess it might be interesting to see the first things he does when he gets back or something, but him not being there doesn't really help.

"Yes, I meant observe the place from a distance—but maybe it would be better for you to hang about and see if any of these guys go anywhere, follow them?"

<argylecape> Yeah.

<argylecape> I already listened to him for a couple hours while I was waiting for the DoS; I do want to keep an eye on him but I don't think I'm going to get much more that way right now.

What are the suits up to?

They seem to just be variously attentively making sure the Yates don't leave their building unobserved.

She retreats a little further into the tunnels and finds a cozy spot to hang out in, and decides to look up the Department of Safety on her phone while she waits.

The Department of Safety is one of the three branches of government, the other two being the Department of Resources and the Department of Orientation. The D.o.S. deals with everything that threatens the stability of life in the City, from police investigation to cubism threat control through fire departments and research into the City. The First Action Response Team is a joint effort between all three departments, consisting of brave men and women who make sure new buildings are stable and not dangerous and that imports are taken to Orientation where they can acclimate and learn more about the City to make the most of their new opportunities.

Okay. Do they have, like, a website? In particular what do they have to say about the Sideways?

They do! The Sideways are very scary. The average citizen should stay away from them, and report new entrances whenever they find them. They are very dangerous, and being exposed to the Sideways can bring about cubism, so the Department would like to stress that you should really, really stay away from them.

That is about the level of outright lying she expects from a government agency, yes.

Are there any other policies about the Sideways, like the yellow-black/red-black thing?

The yellow-black/red-black is the main one: new entrances are marked yellow-black, and citizens are allowed to go exploring but cautioned against. Not reporting a new entrance is a jailable offense. There is a finders keepers law about resources found in the Sideways (like the repeater phone Denice has): you must report them, but until the Department of Resources annexes them, you can do with them as you please. Dangerous entrances—marked red-black—are off-limits to all citizens, unless one enters it to rescue someone else.

...welp. Okay. They can pretty much put her in jail any time they want, is what that entrance reporting law means, so, yeah, she does not want to interact with these guys at all until this is resolved. That goes better if she can recognize them; are there videos available for that purpose?

Yes! A few! Here's so-and-so, bigshot. Here's another bigshot. Here's the head of the department, the same guy who was talking to Montgomery that time.

<argylecape> Um

<argylecape> So

<argylecape> Dos: definitely the bad guys

<argylecape> I was looking at videos of them and Seth Dougal was the guy who appeared in Dr Montgomery's office

"What?!"

"What is it?"

"D—Rescue says Seth Dougal was the guy talking to Montgomery."

"We have to leave. Right now."

<argylecape> I know the safest, most defensible spot nearby

<argylecape> It's where I was going to stay while I was here

<argylecape> I can go someplace else, you need it more.

"But—"

She reads the messages, hesitates for a second, then relays them.

"We have a place. It's not impossible for them to find, but hard enough. Rescue, do you think you could find us a way to disappear from here unnoticed, or at least lose them?"