Kieran couldn't help but flinch--just a little bit--as Aura snapped back in defense at his question. Perhaps he shouldn't have been too surprised--it was, in fact, a pretty direct and rude question.

Still, he composed himself and adjusted to match her in kind. [i]Fine,[/i] he thought to himself. [i]Let's do it this way.[/i]

He watched as her ale toss went awry, offering no pity on his face as she crumbled. 

"Okay," he said, setting his ale down on the table between them. "No bullshit."

He recited, in austere detail, the top-level of what he knew. "Apex Enforcement knows of a terrorist apparatus rather simply as The Cause, gestating some time and becoming more and more violent to petty officers and under suspicion of conspiracy against the government. Known associates of The Cause are mononymic in nature. I have a few names. Gregor. Mae. Miranda. This Del you seem quite fond of. Locations too. But I'm going to tell you now no matter what agreement we come to everyone I listed will be investigated and very likely worse if we don't come to an agreement about who is involved, and how."

"So," he continued, straightening his back somewhat, "If Del isn't involved, I need to know why and how he became associated with The Cause so I can clear his name. And if you have any arrangements with The Cause--any information concerning their next moves--I need that too. We can build trust with AA by telling them in advance. If need be, they'll let The Cause continue with their plans while learning more about them. They're not looking to thwart one operation. They want the whole thing decimated, and they're willing to wait to ensure that happens."