I looked down at Samuel, dozing on the jail cell cot and snoring.

With the side of my balled fist, I rapped against the metal bars and called out, “Hey there, Sleeping Beauty! It’s time to wake up and start singing.”

The grizzled man roused, then quickly propped himself up on one elbow, and let loose an increasingly loud and hostile string of obscenities – mostly challenging my faculties as a man and competency as a representative of the law.

I decided to change tack and try de-escalating the situation.

Compel
Heart 2 + Marshal 1 + Action 4 = 7
Challenge 7 & 7 = Double Miss

“Now Samuel, there’s no need to get ugly. Let’s just have a straightforward conversa–hey, HEY!”

Pay the Price
98 = A friend, companion, or ally is put in harm’s way

I barely got the last word out before the wily criminal reached into his boot and pulled a small revolver, turning on the Sheriff.

“You let me go, you yellow-bellied bastard, or your boss man here gets it!”

That was enough for me to drop the placating tone, draw my own weapon, and respond to his threat in kind.

Clash & End the Fight
Edge 3 + Action 1 = 4
Challenge 2 & 4 = Weak Hit
Burn Momentum of 5 to turn the outcome into a Strong Hit
Inflict 1 Harm & Take +1 Momentum

I popped off a slug straight into Samuel’s gun hand, forcing him to drop his firearm and crumple to the ground in a wailing heap of tears and blood.

The Sheriff, unfazed by the life-threatening situation he’d just faced, calmly unlocked the cell door and snatched up the tiny firearm.

Upon pocketing it, he turned to face me and cock an eyebrow.

“Is that how they teach you federal boys to interrogate a suspect?”