[ sam sighs and shakes his head, as if he might have been vaguely hoping, but also isn't that surprised. no one really wants to be good at politics, do they? the people who are generally tend to find themselves there, rather than really diving in. ]

My advice is to try and stay out of it, then, if you can. Marlo's been nice enough, but she has her own skeletons and secrets we're not even totally sure of yet. But any city with a big enough military presence is kind of like walking on land mines. Just- watch your back. Don't trust anything they tell you. I know it seems a little obvious, but just in case it wasn't.