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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Qik" data-source="post: 5784759" data-attributes="member: 6673727">From the look on his face, Milo doesn't seem to share Fury's confidence.  Nevertheless, he nods his ascent and leads the way into the room.The room chosen for the meeting is small, perhaps presumably so given its out of the way location within the building.  At one end of the room, seated behind a long table, are three men, who rise to exchange handshakes and introductions.  Fury immediately recognizes the large form and red face of Commander Beppe Handso, seated to the far right, and from his wide eyes and terse nod, the commander mirrors his recognition; be it the presence of a superior or the formality of a summons to the White Cloaks headquarters, however, Commander Handso restrains himself uncharacteristically, although Fury can sense the man's discomfort in being in a situation so out of his control.  Seated to the far left, clean cut and with chiseled features, is Commander Galen Parsons; Parsons seems a bit uncertain of what to think of Fury's presence, but his handshake is nonetheless strong and his gaze unwavering, though not unfriendly.  Seated in the middle is a slightly older man - in his late fifties, perhaps - stern-faced and with an air of command, who introduces himself as Coordinator Abel Moretti.  Over the course of the meeting, Fury comes to learn that his duties are primarily concerned with - surprise, surprise - coordinating White Cloaks forces and resources across Venza as a whole, and, as such, Moretti is the ranking officer within this meeting.  In other words, he's the man who needs to be convinced.Coordinator Moretti wastes no time getting down to business: he's clearly interested in keeping this meeting as short as possible.  The Coordinator asks Milo to begin.After thanking Commander Parsons for his part in setting up the meeting - a gesture which Commander Handso seems to take as a slight, given his authority in the Planks - Milo stands and  delivers a short but inclusive assessment on the current state of the Planks (the prevalence of crime, prostitution, illicit trade, etc), the White Cloaks' current presence in the district (which seems to consist of a single, undermanned guard station; precautionary patrols are more or less absent), and what he thinks can be done to improve upon this situation (increasing the amount of troops in the district so as to allow for daily patrols of the area seems to be a particular sticking point for Milo).  He finishes with an impassioned speech about the ordinary citizens of the Planks, how they are in the majority, and how it is the White Cloaks' duty to afford them the opportunity to live a normal life that is basically a rehash of his earlier discussion with Fury.  Fury gets the sense the Milo has delivered this speech on numerous prior occasions.  Having finished, Milo sits and waits for the Coordinator's reaction.The reaction is mixed.  Coordinator Moretti makes no bones about acknowledging the current state of the Planks.  However, he doesn't seem to share Milo's belief that the majority of the Planks' residents wish to lead a lawful life: he points to past efforts to improve life in the district, seemingly all of which have failed, and the availability of low-rent housing in other districts.  His attitude, in a nutshell, seems to be that residing in the Planks is a choice, and that that choice is generally made for illegitimate reasons.  He acknowledges the exception of Milo's example, but attributes his continued residence in the district"to, forgive my bluntness, your own misguided perception of what Ranocchio could be." It seems that the Coordinator's bottom line is concerned primarily with an efficient use of resources, and "at this time, I don't feel as though even a minor increase of our presence in the district would have any impact on its conditions.  Unless, of course, you have evidence otherwise."Milo seems to struggle not to lose his temper.  "With all due respect, Coordinator, how could I obtain such evidence without being given the opportunity in the form of an increased presence by the White Cloaks?" The coordinator is adamant, however, that this has been tried in the past, and to no avail.  Fury senses that Milo's window of opportunity is closing rapidly.[sblock=OOC]This is Fury's opportunity to "step in," as it were (unintentional reference there), should he wish to do so.  Just FYI, it's wholly possible to proceed without him saying anything.[/sblock]</blockquote>

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