A Partner In Crime

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

[fancybox2]

Nar Shaddaa
22:00 Hours
@EmilyHuene ; @Taz [/fancybox2]

The night was young and the bars were hopping. Kae'leigh Tameris, a young and high-spirited Twi'lek, was out looking for her next mark. She'd come to the busy nightlife district only recently and was looking to score in some new friends. But the kind of people she was looking for were not your average joes. Kae'Leigh had her eyes set on the more deviant personalities.

At a young age Kae'Leigh discovered she had a knack for computers. She could hack into just about anything she could get her hands on and break down the security with ease. She'd never tried anything Imperial, but she imagined she could get the job done with enough time. She was itching to find out though. Too bad the risk was too great to explore that venture. And for now, there was no pay in it either. So it would stay just a pipe dream.

The best place to find someone who might have a need for that sort of employment were best found in busy establishments where one could blend in and disappear. This is what led Kae'Leigh to the Bantha Barback. The names of these places just got weirder and weirder. She had come in some hours ago and sipped at some non-alcoholic drinks while giving off the impression she was getting tipsy. She wanted people to open up around her; this was how she thought to do it.

"One of these days I'm going to throw away these bongos, spread my wings, and soar with the eagles"

Kae'Leigh snorted and practically spit out her drink. She then burst out laughing as she leaned into the man she was talking to telling some story she'd already forgotten how it started. The boy was cute, and she'd already spent way too much time in this corner of the room. She had come here with a mission. But cute boys were distracting.

"Wow! That's hilarious! Did you really say that?"

"Sure did. Sure as my mamma ain't dead."

Kae'Leigh snorted again and sat herself up, "Hey, I'm gonna go get another drink. I'll be back"

But she had no intention of doing so. She sashayed her way over to the bartop and leaned onto the counter for the reception droid to see her and order another liquor-less drink.

 

[Jett Nova (old)]

The heart of Imperial Hutta and as far as Jett could tell, it hadn't changed any from the time it was under cartel control. Although admittedly what he knew of that time was from the libraries of the Empire. Holovids and books on datapad that were written and then rewritten by military historians. It made no difference, Nar Shaddaa was still a melting bot of the criminal and corrupt. All but forgotten by the Empire. Come to think of it, that was true of him as well.

The former soldier was making his way to yet another cantina in an area still rumored to be run by slugs. He was on the trail of another small time local job. Some street urchins trying to be thieves had managed to steal some a large amount of credits and information disks from a local businessman. Rather then go to imperial authorities he decided to post a bounty. Jett decided to start in the area where the thugs frequented.

He was in his normal utility clothing with his ankle length brown duster. Hidden under his coat was his utility belt and holsters with his twin R5 pistols, knife, and other few items to track his mark. Though he was taller, Jett knew how to blend in and people watch. He bellied up to the bar on the far end of the cantina and waited for one of the server droids to address him. Ordering a cheap starfire skee and sitting back to take in the place. Sooner or later something would reveal itself to him.

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

As the droid brought her another fake drink, the Twi'lek kept her eyes open to the people around her. It didn't take her long at all to see a man in a brown coat across the way from her. He had a look of business in his eyes. The man was clearly after something. Unlike other patrons who just came for a drink, or a reason to forget. This man was looking for something very specific. The danger lie in what that was. Her first bet was a bounty. Was he after someone? Someone specific? She hoped it wasn't her. Which she doubted. She wasn't exactly mainstream enough to have people hunting for her. But this didn't rule out the man was a slaver either. Best approach this situation with caution.

Moving from her spot she walked around the length of the bar once. She glanced twice toward the brown-coat and sized him up. He was definitely packing. She just couldn't see the specific guns. Either way, it spelled trouble. Perhaps it was best to move on....just to be safe.

Kae'Leigh headed to the door and gave one last look back at the bounty hunter at the bar. He hadn't made any notion to follow her. Good. It was then she ran right into two larger men coming into the bar. She fell right onto her butt. It was like walking into a wall.

"Look what we got here!" one of them said to his buddies.

The other one replied with a smirk, "A pretty little thing. Hey I think she wants to dance with you, Mik. Why don't we take her outside?"

Kae'Leigh started to stand up and defend herself, "No thank you. I was just leaving."

"Aw come on! It'll be fun!"

Both men grabbed her and started to pull her toward the door. Their hands were like iron claws gripping at her tiny feeble arms. "Hey! Knock it off! Let me go!"

 

[Jett Nova (old)]

The glass of cheap skee slid over to Jett and the former soldier glanced upward from it and caught the Twi'lek eyeing him. She played it off like she was reading the room but the former spec ops soldier could read her. She was reading the room, for a new mark. Taking a drink of his glass he let he kept the blue skinned female in his peripheral view as she moved a little closer. Her eyes darted to his coat.

Jett cocked a smile from behind his glass holding hand. The girl appeared to realize that he was a little more work then she wanted to put in and she continued to walk by. "Ma", he said with a scoff. Then finished his drink and was about to call for another when the two brutes walked into the door.

The girl protested but the thugs seemed to have better ideas. Jett watched from over his shoulder as the pair dragged off the girl like she was a sack of jogan fruit.

Turning back to the server droid, "I'll have another of the same, and a bag of ice." Jett then turned around and started to walk out of the cantina to see the blue skinned Twi'lek kicking and screaming as she was being drug behind the place. He sighed and followed after, slinking back to seem careless. It wasn't so much an act, he didn't really care what they did. But she could prove useful, perhaps even know where to find the local gang he was looking for.

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

"I said let me go!" the girl shouted as the men started to get more aggressive with her.

From the outside they quickly pulled her off the street and into an alleyway heading out of sight. Not that anyone would have cared anyway. Not in this city. They could have killed her right in front of the establishment and no one would have batted an eye. One of them clapped a hand over her mouth to stop her from making a scene. Kae'Leigh took this chance to fight back.

If she could just...reach...her gun.....Ah ha! Her hand just barely gripped the handle but it was enough to fire a blast through her holster and into the man's foot. He fell quickly and released her. She immediately pulled the gun the rest of the way out and then shot at the other man who was holding her. He didn't even realize what was happening when the blaster bolt shot him right in the chest. He fell too, just as hard. Kae'Leigh backed up and gripped the gun tightly; her hands were shaking from the adrenaline and fear. She pointed it at the first man who was groaning about his leg.

"What are you doing!" the man said freaking out. "Wait! No!"

Then she shot him again. And again. Just to be sure. He wouldn't move again. Turning around she feared someone else was by her and she pointed the gun right at Jett. She didn't know the man. She didn't trust him. She was not about to be sold off to some Hutt gangster.

"Back up! I mean it!!"

 

[Jett Nova (old)]

Jett stopped in his tracks when the first blaster shot went off to the surprise of, well everyone. His left hand carefully slide down his jacket and to his holster, resting his palm atop of the grip of his blaster and rapping his fingers over it. The girl managed to drop one thug, in the foot ? The girl then pulled the piece and finished off the thug and made short work of the other. He would be impress if her shots didn't seem more like wild luck.

His hand moved from the handle of his weapon and pulled closed his coat. Thinking that the issue was over. Quickly realizing that the blue skinned girl was lost in fear. As she whirled on him and pointed the blast at his head before he could once again put his hand on is weapon. For a moment he thought about, he was faster, more skilled. But she might get luck, and it would be all over. Surviving the glassing of a planet only to be put down in the back of a bar.

"Wait, JUST....wait."

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

"Wait, JUST....wait."

Her finger ran across the trigger, ready to fire it if the man made any quick movements. The cold curve of the metal fit so perfectly to her finger. Just a slight amount of pressure and he'd be dead. It would be too easy.

"Who are you!?" she demanded. "Why are you people after me?"

She knew the answer. There were usually two reason someone kidnapped a girl. Or more specifically a Twi'lek one. They wanted to see her like every other Twi'lek of her kind with a collar around her neck. Kae'Leigh was no slave. She would make sure that never happened. If he didn't give her a good reason...he'd be toast like his buddies.

 

[Jett Nova (old)]

Jett scoffed, a nasally sounding grunt of a sound. Then he even managed a laugh. He was genuinely amused that this girl would compare him to the likes of a couple of common and poorly executed street thugs. She was obviously confused or perhaps just in distraught over nearly getting, well what ever the two "men" had planned.

Finally he answered her. "First, I am not with them. Just want to make that very clear. Second, I don't even know who you are and could care less about you or what you're doing over all. But I have a proposition for you, a peace offering so to speak. Put that gun away, we'll go back in for a couple rounds and discuss it?" Leading with the laugh was not the best plan but Jett have never been know for tact. In fact he enjoyed being an ass and pushing buttons.

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

Oh great. He was laughing at her. That's never a good sign. He was cocky. Did he think he could take her? She had a gun trained on him. One she wasn't used to using. Could he really pull his own gun that fast? Before she could pull the trigger? That was a risk she didn't want to take.

"First, I am not with them. Just want to make that very clear. Second, I don't even know who you are and could care less about you or what you're doing over all. But I have a proposition for you, a peace offering so to speak. Put that gun away, we'll go back in for a couple rounds and discuss it?"

It was good to hear that this gruff looking man wasn't part of those scumbag losers. Not that she would take his word for it. Thinking logically about it, she'd realize that he'd come in long before them. And only happened to run into the things by accident. Wrong time wrong place and all that. Kae'Leigh wasn't exactly thinking logically though.

"A proposition?" Kae'Leigh knew what that word meant. "How about this for a proposition. You turn around and walk away before I shoot you in the crotch? How's that for a proposition?" She stared him down and neither of them moved. Was he testing her bluff? Because it was working. Kae'Leigh lowered her weapon slightly. He hadn't made any move to attack or stop her, so that was something. "Fine. You want to talk. Then talk."

 

[Jett Nova (old)]

"That would be what I said." He replied, slightly irritated. "Or you can cut the tough act and earn a little money." Jett glared at her, now both board and irritated with the girl. She was tougher then she looked but she was far from the kind of person who would rob him of his manhood with a blaster bolt and leave him suffering in the alleyway. Truth be told Jett wasn't even sure he was that kind of a person. Shoot a man dead sure, wound him in a leg or arm without a doubt but blow off the boys? That was a to cruel even for the former imperial.

When she finally blinked and lowered her guard, Jett let his hands back to his sides and turned to go back toward the cantina. Safe in the knowledge that she wouldn't shoot unless her life was truly in danger of turning into some slug's playmate. "If we're gonna talk business, I'm going to need a drink. Don't worry I had the server droid poor you one as well. Relax, I think you'll really like my offer."

When they finally returned to the bar Jett waited for Kaylee to sit with him. He slid down the glass of skee, which was about as low shelf as it got. After sliding the Twi'lek her glass the merc slammed his own, and then nodded to the droid for another. "Before you were so rudely interrupted I was looking for someone who can point me in the direction of a local crew of bone headed thugs who go by skull something."

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

"That would be what I said. Or you can cut the tough act and earn a little money."

Money? That seemed to be the magic word round these parts. Kae'Leigh watched him for a moment and she thought some things threw in her head. If she killed him, she'd never find out what he had to offer. If she listened to what he had to say, then she might have just found her next job.

"If we're gonna talk business, I'm going to need a drink. Don't worry I had the server droid poor you one as well. Relax, I think you'll really like my offer."

He would turn away from her and head back to the bar. Well she didn't shoot him yet. But now she needed to commit either way. What was the worst he could do? Back inside the bar she'd be safe around people. He couldn't just shoot her for no reason. Well.......he could. It happened a lot. Why was she doing this again?

She returned to the busy and loud crowd and took a seat next to the merc. He passed her the promised drink which she eyed for several moments before taking a swig of it. She didn't get any suspicious feelings from it, and her gut was usually spot on. Why would he poison a drink and leave it here all in hopes she'd come back to drink it? Too far fetched a plan.

"Before you were so rudely interrupted I was looking for someone who can point me in the direction of a local crew of bone headed thugs who go by skull something."

"Skull something? That's not vague at all. Skull bloods? Skull Taking Bone Heads? Those guys seriously need a new name. Skull kids? You got anything else to go on?"

 

[Jett Nova (old)]

The droid pored Jett another glass of the low shelf booze and he smiled as the green skinned fox played right into his hand. He didn't know for sure before that she was one of the members of this little gang but he had a feeling there was something up with her. At first he even guessed the thugs were part of the gig and she plugged them. Perhaps they were rivals? In any case her answer and trying to slide in the real name ass some off beat guess was the trap closing in around her.

"I gotta hand it to you, you're cute. Completely full of poodoo but cute all the same. You'll one of those Skull Kids, a lookout, a runner. Don't care. You're low on the food chain, or high enough that those thugs were looking to make a name for themselves. Which is it ?"

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

"I gotta hand it to you, you're cute. Completely full of poodoo but cute all the same. You'll one of those Skull Kids, a lookout, a runner. Don't care. You're low on the food chain, or high enough that those thugs were looking to make a name for themselves. Which is it ?"

Kae'Leigh was slightly offended by his assumption, but his compliment coupled with his playful insult put her in a good mood. She poked his large arm with her finger as she spoke.

"For your information...I haven't worked with them for the better part of a year. So...I don't care whatever they've done. You got a job or not?"

 

[Jett Nova (old)]

He narrowed his eyes a moment and cocked his jaw to the side. It was an odd tick he had when he sized up someone. A card player he was not, or at least not a good one. Finally his face returned to normal and he returned to his drink to take another long sip before he spoke.

"Help me out and you get twenty percent, right off the top. Sound good? I need the location of the safe house they keep the scores at before selling it off. I'm sure they've spent the credits already but I need the rest of the stuff they stole. We get in, get out and we both get paid." He said matter of fact(ly) and then finished his second drink.

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

He seemed to be questioning what she said, or how she said it. She just stared back at him and raised her eyebrows (if Twi'leks even have those?) to see why he was taking so long.

"Help me out and you get twenty percent, right off the top. Sound good? I need the location of the safe house they keep the scores at before selling it off. I'm sure they've spent the credits already but I need the rest of the stuff they stole. We get in, get out and we both get paid."

"Ha!" she exclaimed loud enough for those around them to look over. With a laughter to her voice she'd explain, "If those fools have anything it's not worth stealing from. And there's no way they would have stolen something of worth without my hacking skills. Uh-uh! No way!"

She'd accidentally given away her profession, and hadn't even realized it. The thought of her old time street gang doing anything of worth was just so laughable. That's why she'd left them behind. They were just kids...literally.

But! There might have been a chance they stole something that they didn't even realize. Something so valuable that it caused Jett to come sniffing along.

 

[Jett Nova (old)]

Jett raised his right eyebrow at her sudden laugh and then complete fumble of the tongue. It didn't really concern him that she was but it did explain the more awkward and slightly silly things about her. Then Jett got a grin as the idea formed in his head. She knew the crew and she had a skill they needed if these kids really did have the goods he was looking for. Low level street trash as she was she had no idea that he was about to use her at a bargain price for a slicer.

"A slicer huh, good. Get us in and you can find out for yourself if they have the goods. And hope that they do if you want to get paid. Client won't pay if he gets nothing back."

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

"A slicer huh, good. Get us in and you can find out for yourself if they have the goods. And hope that they do if you want to get paid. Client won't pay if he gets nothing back."

This was all a joke. A really good laugh. Well, if he wanted to see what was going on then sure, she'd take him to their hideout. More than likely she could walk right in without anyone batting an eye. Making up her mind she held out her hand to him. She was making a gamble. If they wasted their time, no worries. If there was something.....she'd get paid. A good bargain.

"You got a deal. When do we leave?"

~END THREAD~ ​