[ he has indeed played chess. He's just wondering what they can offer Ivan that she can't turn down - that doesn't involve threatening her within an inch of her life. That method usually works. Judging by the look on his face, Jason might not be as opposed to things like that as Auger thinks. ]

Mm, Royce isn't a bad choice. He seems less stupid than some of the other people around here. [ as for the general... ] If the General's not an idiot, he wouldn't do that. Having someone else out themselves as the General would be the best thing he could hope for. It'd take the pressure off of him.

[ and it would be hard to find someone that would willingly paint a target on their back. ]

On the other hand, if someone announced themselves as the Rainsford and they weren't... The real one might come forward, since the fake one would just get somebody killed. If the real Rainsford's a nice guy, anyway.