Ask Nar Shaddaa Jedi Walks Into A Strip Club... Again

[Maxims Tionson]

"Jedi walks into a strip club" is the set up to a joke that had been old even when Max was young.

But at least this time it wasn't a joke.

And it wasn't the first time either - he was back in the same strip club for the same reason he was here before. Someone with a predilection for violence had taken a liking to some of the dancers here and had killed one of them already. Unfortunately for the owner of said strip club, he appeared to be part of some kind of sick club of his own and there were more like him to take his place.

This would have been enough to get him involved as a former cop (and still current do-gooder) but as a Jedi? Well it was just something he could not abide and something he knew he didn't have to abide. He might not have any kind of legal authority on Nar Shaddaa but the upside of this moon was that no one, really, had legal authority of any kind.

Punishment to suit this crime would be... unpleasant and Max really wished he could avoid it entirely but he couldn't knowingly leave people in danger when he could stop the danger in it's tracks. Not just because he didn't like the punishment the locals would dish out.

He stopped in front of a bouncer.

"Can you tell the boss I've arrived please?"

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

The last time Max came around, Nashyr had spent a decent amount of time mourning, pummeling the daylights out of a punching bag, and had even tossed a couple glasses back of some of her nicer drinks. It had been a while, but he seemed a decent guy, and she didn't blame him for the obvious uncomfortable role of the bearer of bad news. She knew a few things about him... but that was about it.

When her personal comm buzzed with a familiar name on the line, she couldn't help but feel another shiver of apprehension. She wasn't certain if she could handle any more bad news; after the death of the last girl, she had to pay a premium to the Hutts just to get a decent protective outfit for her business. But they didn't protect her girls, and she couldn't really either. She offered them housing of the living space above the club, but most of them declined.

Not that she blamed them, even she found living close to work a pain in the tail.

"...Let him in," she sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a thumb to hopefully stave off whatever grief would probably follow on the heels of so much struggle.

She sat behind her desk once more, arms crossed and seat tilted back.

She didn't want to wait too much longer for any surprises; she wasn't certain if she could handle so well another death of someone she grew to care for.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

Walking with the bouncer through the club, Max was thankful that he was not assaulted by a regular this time and that it seemed to be a very quiet night all things considered. He hoped that this wasn't a case of word getting out about the killing both because it would hurt the business and because it would make his proposed plan a little bit harder to accomplish.

With his lightsaber still hidden, Max was still just the ex-cop he had introduced himself to Nashyr as and not the Jedi he was currently. Truth be told, Max kept his presence as a Jedi hidden in almost all cases and this moon? Well it had a tendency to turn ugly for Jedi.

If he was forced to ignite his lightsaber or use the Force overtly then this would be his last trip to Nar Shaddaa for some time. Sometimes discretion was the better part of valor as the expression went.

But mainly he didn't want to have to fight some running battle through Nar Shaddaa in an attempt to escape.

He arrived in the office and the bouncer left them alone.

"Hello again Nashyr." he greeted her politely as the door closed behind the bouncer and his expression became grim, "I'm sorry to say that I come with unpleasantness."

Once he was certain that the bouncer had left and that they were alone, he addressed the business owner.

"I have a plan to hunt down the remaining conspirators but you may not like it." he admitted before steeling himself and forcing himself onward, "It involves letting the captive think he has escaped - by letting his escape and following him."

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

She didn't realize her shoulders were tense when he entered; she exhaled slowly when she realized he came in with no bodies; just her bouncer Arvo, who gave her a brief nod before leaving, letting the door hiss behind her companion. He seemed just as reluctant to be here as she was to being social; that prickling feeling at the nape of her neck wouldn't leave.

She stared blankly at him for a few beats while she processed his words over, and felt... numb.

She knew she ought to be upset at the idea; letting the very man who had killed one of her girls went against every instinct she ever held, and it galled to even consider. She gritted her teeth, and then she felt it.

Indignant anger warred with reasonability. Even her restraint had its' limits; though she wasn't one to eagerly go running after revenge, she also didn't want to let this bastard to go so easily. She slowly breathed in, and stood, letting her arms drop casually and idly tap one finger on her desk, staring at him.

"Let him... escape."

She stated this flatly, and clenched her jaw, swallowing hard. It hurt just as hard to say it as she thought it would; he was right, she absolutely hated the idea. But equally true was she wasn't certain if this man was alone in his... delight in harming her girls.

"And if he's part of the Five... just let him get away scot-free?" She barely resisted a growl of frustration in her voice, one hand running through her hair. "Or hunt them all down... some small gang that gets a kick out of hurting girls that aren't humans." A bitter smile twisted her lips, but she still watched him, gauging his reaction to her words. It wasn't any secret that it took all her willpower to not just tear the man that Max brought to her before to pieces; it was still appealing now.

Still.

"So he escapes; what then?" she sighed, arms crossing again and standing close, meeting him squarely with green-gold eyes.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

He didn't expect it to be an easy sell by any means.

She was a powder keg right now, emotionally speaking, and he couldn't exactly blame her. She was going through a lot right now and here he was throwing more onto her plate for her to deal with. The fact that he was offering her a solution to a greater problem was likely the only reason she wasn't already outright showcasing her anger at him. And there was, indeed, some real anger inside of her at the idea of letting the captive go.

Thankfully she seemed to be willing to keep her anger under control and hear him out a little more.

He watched and he listened but Max didn't say anything as she spoke. When it came right down to it, he was fighting against her perception of him as well. She was under the impression that he was a human and that meant he was, in some ways, similar to the monsters they were hunting. Sure she might not think it openly to herself but the idea would be there.

How could she trust a human to deal proper justice on humans targeting those who were not their own kind?

"He escapes because we allow it and we follow him to where he will feel safe; to his allies." he reasoned with a small frown, "We will teach him the error of his ways in thinking that they could protect him from the consequences of his crimes."

He let out a deep breath slowly.

"We catch them all and then we decide what we need to do with them all."

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

It annoyed her that he seemed reluctant to beat the truth out of their little problem... but even she was, and it was a softness that had nearly had her killed a couple times on this backwards piece of kriff planet. It was that softness that had some of her girls killed already. One of whom was still very recent in her mind... and one that still hurt to remember because she was such a sweetheart off the stage.

"And if it's bigger than just a couple kinky humans?" she replied, head tilted slightly. "A former cop like you doesn't seem to sanction calling out a gang for their bloodlust preferences. To them, a stripper is just one of many; a profit expenditure. Hell, even I am, and I own this joint down to the last screw." Her lips turned wryly at the pun, but it was very brief-lived.

"...It's not a bad plan," she sighed, shoulders dropping. Almost as quick as the anger came it vanished, leaving exhaustion and more guilt in its' wake.

"You say we..." she tilted her head at him, humming idly. "I assume you mean the two of us alone." She stared at him directly, her face kept deliberately expressionless.

Why bother helping her, was more her point. But she had a feeling he would spill, sooner or later.

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

If it was bigger... well... Max didn't much care.

If it was bigger then it just meant that they were not yet done with their task. There was one thing that being a cop and being a Jedi had enforced in Max and that was a relentlessness that bordered on suicidal at times. The simple fact was that he was not the type of person who could just sit back and live his life, all the while knowing that someone was doing evil and he could stop them. He wouldn't even need to resort to lethal violence and he could put a stop to an injustice.

And if the piece of string he was pulling on proved to be tied to a larger ball of yarn?

So be it.

"Then I'm not finished when I've dealt with the first group." he replied simply, almost as though the answer was obvious, "The gangs hold power because the people let them. Either because they like the whole set up or because they are afraid and turn to them for protection. If it comes out that they're being hunted for some sick sport and no amount of protection credits have changed that? They'll cut off the cancerous limb of their organisation responsible."

Probably in a manner far, far, bloodier than his own solution. Gang cleaning house was never usually anything even approaching clean after all.

"Just the two of us." he agreed with a small smile, "I didn't think you would want to sit on the sidelines during this whole thing."

But the plan was in motion. He reached into his belt and pulled up something rather innocent; a com link.

"This is my second com link..." he smirked ever so slightly, "And as I purchased it entirely legally, and have a bad habit of losing it... it has a built in tracker function. Have one of your bouncers hide this one the captive and 'accidentally' loosen the bonds."

@Killa Ree

 

[Nashyr Ris]

She stared as he talked, listening to him as he calmly explained it. Truth be told, she dreaded if it involved Aubrey and his handlers connected to the Hutts… but it seemed unlikely. And even Arvo hadn't recognized the man that Max had brought to her doorstep, so to speak, so perhaps it was simply a sport.

But if it was a sport involving beating up women who just lived in a scummy galaxy without much left except their bodies and what few creds they could scrape together, they were poor hunters indeed.

She could feel the urge for the hunt calling her; most did not understand the thirst to balance the books, so to speak, but especially since her first day landing on Nar Shaddaa, she wanted to tip them in these girls' favor. Now one of them was killed under her watch. She was tired of being afraid, of feeling pity and remorse.

Time to fight back.

She snagged the comm link from him, and when she did, she paused. Cocked her head... then smiled slightly.

"Then let's go get these bastards. This is the best news I've heard all week."

@Nefieslab

 

[Maxims Tionson]

When the news that you were going to need to chase down a gang of murdering weirdos was the best news you'd heard all week, Max was of the opinion that you had had an absolutely terrible week. But she had. Her friend, her employee, was dead and there was nothing to be done to bring them back.

All that could be done was justice in her name.

Max just hoped that his version of justice would be enough for Nashyr, would be something she could accept as being worth the time and worth the effort. If she decided otherwise then max wasn't quite sure what he would do.

"Prepare your weapons for stun." he instructed her as he drew his own stun baton from the folds of his clothes, "We want to capture them alive so that they may live to see justice."

He left her to get her bouncer to set the trap before moving up to the rooftop of the building. They would need to keep an eye on the man as he ran away and the best view was a birdseye view.

@Killa Ree