So you would be a partner in name only. I'm looking for more than moral support here. Why would I kill an active, promising coworker over a surly neutral who will not turn against me "as long as I am the horse to bet on"?

The network is the townkiller.
Not unless there's a truly immense volume of information being disseminated. And at that point, the strength of town will be too great.

Risks, Pizza.