Ask Plot Coruscant A Different Kind of Jungle

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied watched as Poffo came looking for a fight despite looking like he was in worse shape than the hunter was. This guy is completely insane... The Onderonian thought to himself, and only felt validated in that assessment as he watched Sauvage beat the Trandoshan to a bloody pulp. All said and done the club was a complete mess, and Klied could see the flashing lights of the police outside.

With a grunt the hunter climbed to his feet, pressing two hands against his aching back and grunting uncomfortably. "We're good." He answered Sauvage, and walked forward to retrieve his knife from Turssk's body. He wiped off each side of the blade on his pantleg before stowing it in its sheath once more and looking up at Poffo. "The name's Klied, by the way." He glanced past the brawler towards the front doors. "And I suggest we make ourselves scarce before we get dragged into another firefight. Like I said before, you've got some information I need and I'd rather the police not fill you with holes before I've got it."

He turned around and went to retrieve his cycler rifle, which fortunately had been thrown over the balcony by Turssk as well and rested amongst the mess on the floor. Once he slung the weapon over his shoulder he gestured for Poffo to follow and made his way to the back door. This one actually worked, and before they knew it they were in another dingy, poorly lit alley. Looking over his shoulder Klied spotted a few officers forming a perimeter around the building, but none seemed too bothered to actually look for them. They were in the clear for now.

@Isen

 

[Poffo Sauvage]

"We're good," the stranger said. Well, that was a damn relief. Poffo loved a good fight. Goodness, he relished in it. There was a piece of him, a weird primal part of his brain and gut that loved to show others the pure depth of his pain tolerance and how tough he was fighting through it like he never felt a thing. Tonight had pushed him to his limits, however. The blasters, knives, razor-sharp claws, the falls...he was ready to put this night behind him. He nodded to the stranger and took his name. Klied. Well, the stranger may not know it, but Poffo had respect for this...Klied. Trust? Not quite yet, but he had the balls and killer instinct of a riled up rancor, and that's a rare breed kind of cat.

The stranger mentioned that he wanted some information. Poffo wasn't sure what information that would be, and one of the rules on the street was the whole "snitches get stitches" thing. Sauvage prided himself on not being a snitch, especially on those who haven't ratted him out for anything, so he wasn't sure what information he might be able to provide. That said, the law was starting to close in, and it was time to make an exit.

Poffo limped after Klied, practically dragging the leg with the sprained ankle as he did so. As they exited out into another alley, Poffo took note of where he was. He knew this place. "I know this place, yeah. I know the just the place to go. If you don't want nobody bothering you, yeah, I know just right the locale." He nodded off to the right and limped that way about a block. On the opposite side of the alley was the back entrance to another building. It had a traditional door with a sliding window. Poffo was about to knock, but he paused before doing so and turned back to Klied. "Some rough characters in here, man. Real tough. Killers," Poffo said. "They don't play games in here, and they don't ask questions. I don't know who you are, but if you're a copper or a bounty hunter, brother, I wouldn't let that known. Know what I mean? I'd keep that that bit of tids under the cap, if you dig what I'm getting at." He was about to rap on the door, but stopped short again and looked at Klied. "Just...don't avoid eye contact, but don't look too long. If you don't act interested in them, they won't act interested in you."

Poffo went ahead and knocked on the door. The window slid open and a human peeked through the window. "Oh, Sauvage. You look like slork crap. So does your friend? Who is he?" Poffo looked back and Klied and answered without giving a name. "Bitheen, a long time, no see, man. Here's the situation. I whipped a Trandoshan named Turssk over at Grizzie's place, yeah. Snapped into him real good, yeah. The lizard didn't take too kindly to that, no, and about five of his buddies jumped me. This guy here bailed me out of a tight jam, he did. Took out a few police droids and helped me skip out on the coppers, yeah."

"Someone whipped up on you, Sauvage? Color me impressed. When do I mean this Lizzy-boy Turssk"

"Don't hold you breath, brother. He's in the process of feeding the worms thanks to my friend here."

Bitheen eyed the two closely. "Cops follow you here, Poffo?"

"No way, man. No chance. Alley is empty, brother."

The window closed and a few seconds later the door opened and Poffo walked in and thanked Bitheen. He looked over his shoulder to Klied and made the point again, "Don't stare and don't act interested in nobody."

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied followed Sauvage through the back alleys, giving the brawler a quizzical look as he spoke. This is without a doubt the strangest man I've ever met... He thought to himself. He respected the brawler's talent, but still regarded him as exceptionally peculiar. He nodded along to Poffo's warning, and remained silent as they were both let into the safehouse.

Inside it looked just like another dive, populated with more unsavory looking types, all sorts of sentients from across the galaxy. Klied did as Poffo bade him and kept his eyes forward. He wasn't really interested in any of the people here anyway. With that nasty business with the Trandoshans behind them Klied just wanted to get what he was looking for and get off this sorry level.

The two men found a place to sit somewhat isolated from the rest of the crowd and the hunter relaxed with a heavy sigh. He still felt half dead from their previous encounter. He would likely need a few days to recover before continuing his hunt for T'lol anyway. But the mention of the Klatooinian brought him back to his original business. Finally he was able to get down to brass tacks.

"You're wondering who I am..." Klied started after he had been given a cup of hot caf and took a long sip. He thought back to what the brawler had said about bounty hunters earlier. "I'm a... Pursuer of dangerous individuals. The one I'm currently searching for is a smalltime gangster named Jalir T'lol. I'm told you have a history with him?" Klied already understood their history quite well, but wanted to get Poffo's reaction. He was hoping that the brawler might actually be willing to aid him in his hunt, he could certainly use him.

@Isen

 

[Poffo Sauvage]

Poffo nodded and grunted to show he was listening to Klied as he talked. The "pursuer of dangerous individuals" line got his attention. He may be trying to hide who he was, but he was either a bounty hunter or an assassin. Either way, it put Poffo in a tough spot. If he gave up a lead to a bounty hunter and it got around, Poffo's reputation was ruined and he would have a price on his head. If he helped an assassin from some other criminal outfit, or forbid one of the 5 Syndicates, Poffo could end up dead just because the big boys had a habit of tying up loose ends.

"A history? Oh, yeah, T'lol and I got a history, man." Poffos said. "Not everything he wants to say and do is above the proverbial board if you hear what I'm laying down. Told me to lose a fight on purpose. I'm a lot of things, man, but I ain't fight-throwing PUNK! People that are honest to me, I return the favor. I ain't squeaky clean by any means, but I ain't ever, EVER, been dishonest or crossed a man that didn't cross me first."

He leaned over the table and squared his eyes to Kied's. "So, be square with me, man. Who are you, and who are you working for. All I want is the truth."

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Doing things below 'the proverbial board' was a bit of an understatement in Klied's mind. From what he had learned T'lol was a thug, plain and simple. He dealt in extortion, smuggling, and of course gambling. Klied didn't have much care for society's laws. He'd look the other way on most activities that didn't harm others. That wasn't the subject here though. T'lol was a murderer and a bully. And he didn't particularly care for cheaters either, something he seemed to share with Poffo.

As the brawler leaned forward to ask him for honesty Klied's eyes drifted. He watched as another patron walked past, holding his tongue. Once he was gone the hunter turned his gaze back to Poffo and spoke softly. "I don't work for anyone." He stated firmly. "I'm a free agent. T'lol has a price on his head and I'm looking to collect. Simple as that." A grin creeped across the hunter's face, a predatory gleam flashing in his eyes. "And you're just the kind of bait I need. We both benefit from T'lol being taken out of the picture. The man wants you dead, so you've got nothing to gain from refusing to work with me." He leaned forward in his chair, a plan formulating in his mind.

"Here's my suggestion. That scuffle in the club will be publicized. T'lol will send a hitman after you. Together we set a trap for him, interrogate him, and find out where his boss is hiding. We go after him together, I take him in, you get a cut of the bounty, and one less enemy to worry about. That's a good deal." Offering to make someone the bait in your plan wasn't a great way to convince them to join you Klied realized, but he felt it was a safer gamble here. Poffo didn't strike him as someone easily intimidated by the prospect of danger to his life, and Klied hoped his own display of skill in the previous fight would be enough to convince the brawler that he could be trusted to back him up if things went sideways.

@Isen

 

[Poffo Sauvage]

Poffo leaned back and stroked his beard with his massive paw. Sauvage mumbled to himself just audible enough for Klied to hear. "So, you're a bounty hunter." He eyed the man closely and sat there for a while considering his deal. "You got some of the score correct, yeah. T'lol may send someone to deal with me if he hears where I am. In fact, it's almost certain." He leaned over and made a small circle with his finger to motion to look around the room. "But take a look in here. The reach in this room is longer than a comet's orbit. Not just to Coruscant, brother, no, no. Not just the in the core. We got boys that have the ears of all 5 of the big boys we've all heard about and hundreds more we ain't, all over the galaxy, yeah."

Poffo waved a server over and got a drink before continuing. "That's where you hung up the wrong number on the scoreboard, yeah. If I snitch to a bounty hunter, I get the target. Then ol' Poffo has a bounty puck with his name on it." He downed the drink in one long swig and looked back to Klied, eye to eye. "So here's a deal that might not get me killed, yeah. We'll set the trap for the mouse, and I'll be the cheese, yeah. We find T'lol's location from the goon he sends. I get a cut and T'lol is no longer a problem, yeah. I like that. I like that an awful lot. But here's the change to the agreement. I'm going to burn my entire livelihood in the underground. Poof, in smoke all my contacts go. Just like that. Where I'm friendly in here now, I'm a dead man tomorrow. I'm going to need greener pastures, you know what I mean? A new career." He crossed his arms and shrugged. "I help you bring in your prize, you help me start my career as a bounty hunter. If I'm going to be cutting my own rope, I have to tie it back together to make the ends meet, know what I mean?"

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied glanced around the room at Poffo's gesture. He certainly took the brawler's meaning, there were all sorts of criminals and lowlifes in this place from all over the galaxy. There was a good chance some of them even had ties to T'lol. He turned his gaze back to Poffo as the brawler explained his own problems and his intended solution. Klied wasn't sure how to respond. This was his first official outing as a bounty hunter himself, and despite having a general understanding of how the guild worked he couldn't say for sure capturing T'lol would even allow him in. Of course, Poffo didn't need to know that right now. Klied just had to focus on accomplishing his own mission for now and he could cross that bridge when he came to it.

"Fair enough." He responded to the brawler's counteroffer with a nod. "Help me bring in T'lol, you get a thirty percent cut of the bounty. And in addition I'll cover the expenses to get us off the planet quietly and help you get in contact with the guild. You're a talented guy, I'm sure you'll fit right in." He offered a hand to shake. "Deal?" T'lol would be Klied's ticket into the Bounty Hunter's Guild. Once he was a member he was certain he'd have an easier time leveraging Sauvage's initiation as well. He had no intention of double crossing the brawler, he just wasn't fully prepared to hold up his end of the bargain. Yet. That wasn't too scummy of a thing to pull right?

@Isen

 

[Poffo Sauvage]

Poffo looked at the extended hand for a few awkward moments before snatching it up. He took the hand and gave it a firm shake. "Deal." Still holding the hand, he squeezed it, leaned in, and narrowed his eyes while staring into Klied's. "Do right by me, and I'll do right by you. I can be the best friend you can wish for in a fight. But, if you stab me in the back, oh yeah, I'll take my sweet time making myself feel better about it."

Sauvage released the hand and sat back in the chair. He had no way of knowing if this Klied bounty hunter would follow through on his end of the bargain, but if this arrangement panned out, old Poffo may have just lucked into a career opportunity.

@Reyn

 

[Kliedden Raxx]

Klied grunted as Poffo practically crushed his hand in their shake. As the brawler leaned in close he was reminded what a massive man Sauvage was. That got his point across pretty clear. Even so the hunter maintained a neutral expression, not showing any hint of fear. Poffo struck him as a fairly straightforward man, not the type to pull a double cross. That meant it was on him to hold up his own end of the deal, and he intended to.

As Poffo released his hand and leaned back Klied grinned deviously. The pain from the tussle in the club was wearing off, leaving him with a certain giddy feeling. That had been a good fight, and he had come out on top. Aska had been right, he was made for this sort of thing. Kliedden Raxx, Bounty Hunter. He was liking the name more and more. This would be one hell of a hunt.

/End Thread
@Isen