FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES:
Coming to an Understanding
They just had to get to the senator.
The senator's affair routine was incredibly precise. He was easy to track. He got picked up by speeder taxi on cheat nights at roughly 10:30. He would leave the same hotel by air taxi every morning around 5:30 every morning after. Russo sat in one of those air taxi's sitting on idle in the backseat, just letting the meter run. He told the droid driver that he was picking up a friend for a surprise breakfast. The droid didn't care a bit.
Right on cue, the Senator stepped out onto one of taxi turnout balconies, and Russo directed the droid to go pick him up. The air taxi stopped, the Senator got on and sat next to Sal in the back seat. The senator told the droid he wanted to go to the Civat Apartment building, and the air taxi took off to its destination. Sal got out his datapad and holo projector and set it on his leg closest to the senator.
"Senator Maroo...Is that you?" Sal asked, feigning surprise. "What are you doing out here with the common people? I mean, this motel? I would say even the thugs and the tricks."
Instantly uncomfortable, Maroo tried pretending it was a mistaken identity. "Huh? What? Uh, no. No, I'm not a senator," Maroo said giving a nervous laugh.
"Really? Because you fit the exact description given to us by Ms. Ronoor."
There was a long awkward pause. "Who?"
"Ms. Ronoor. Tammy Ronoor? Your mistress? Sorry," Sal said. "Your former mistress. You just left your current mistress."
Maroo turned hard to face Sal, feigning strength. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"Me? I just want to talk. Now, don't freak out, alright? I want you to be prepared. You're not going to like what you're what going to see. And uh..." He nodded to the droids. "They can hear, you know?"
Sal popped up a picture on the holo. There was a picture of his mistress in his apartment barely dressed and posed seductively. Sal shut the picture down. "Listen, she just wants to talk. She doesn't want these pictures to get out and ruin a promising political career. Someone with your charisma and charm...you should be a rising star in the Senate, not being a disgraced once-was who can't get reelected and has to go through a nasty, public divorce because of...you know, all this."
"She wants to talk? Talk about what?" Maroo asked.
"I think she just wants answers. That's all. She doesn't understand why you dumped her for someone new."
Maroo shook his head. "No, I don't want to talk."
Sal shrugged and said, "Ok, I'll just forward these on to the news outlets she requested...oh, and your wife. And your mom. Man, you're mom is going to be so disappointed. She thinks she raised such a good, moral boy." Sal started punching buttons, but Maroo shouted.
"Wait! Ok! Ok! I'll talk to her."
Sal nodded and turned off his holoprojector and datapad, pocketing them away. He tapped on the droid's shoulder and gave them the new location. It was an empty warehouse down in the lower levels of Coruscant. It had a back entry for speeders and was tucked away from all civilized society. The only ones that would be in this neighborhood were...well, hoods. The air taxi dropped them off, Sal paid the fare, and he pointed the senator through a door to the warehouse. Insde, he would find two more of the Syndicates associates. Sal followed him in.
@Rhogar @Tic