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</div><div style="text-align: center">《Hale &amp; Ray Jr 》<br/>
Location: Abendblume conference room<br/>
Addressing: Dan, Rebel <a class="username" data-user-id="6997" data-username="Traveler" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/6997/">Traveler</a> Alvaro <a class="username" data-user-id="288" data-username="Flannel King" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/288/">Flannel King</a>​</div><br/>"Of course. It is imperative to know the surroundings and that has directly resulted in the safety we've been able to uphold here," Hale answered, matter of fact. He stood to retrieve a map of the region, which he spread out over the table. He circled what used to be a number of various communities, which over the years had dwindled for reasons he also listed. Illness, fighting, famine, the fire close to the old schoolhouse that had spread. As time went on, fewer communities succumbed to necros, but they had fallen to more unexpected things. Hale went through and struck an X through each failed community, until there were only a few still on the map.<br/><br/>"There's the logging brothers, somewhere up here next to lake wenatchee. Not that they have the numbers to consider them a community." Hale liked that because it meant they weren't a threat. He circled Miles' little spot, and just as they had people looking in on what was going on at Abendblume, Hale had people looking in on the living inhabitants that called this region home. "There's Dryden, a place some of our own decided to align themselves to after renegotiations went south. A shame, all that. Most of the closer settlements have fizzled out. The others are at a distance that we don't impede one another. Not usually, anyway. We have been absorbing the fallout of these disasters to our own detriment."<br/><br/>"Dryden is trying to starve us out?" Ray asked, recalling his father's mention of a community that was and piecing it together.<br/><br/>"Yes, and don't start with your ideas. You've done enough for the time being as well," Hale responded. "I don't disagree with everything Armando was trying to say in his roundabout way. You certainly overreacted last night and you should have given more consideration to your own people."<br/><br/>"Some instances require action and initiative. You taught me that," Ray countered, using his father's words against him. "It's not like it was much better than it looked. You read the report. They were still hostile and uncooperative. All three had withstood acts of violence at some point in the night." He turned to looked over to Dan and Rebel. "Honestly you should have just left them in the streets where they stood, ungrateful shits."