Through the City in the Clouds

[Lavi]

Marisa resisted the temptation to roll her eyes at the jargon of trees and shade and suns. The cryptic messages were a nuisance, to say the least. She wondered if she'll get more than one straight answer at a time from him.

When the man reacted to the dropped keycard, Marisa reacted in kind: planting a foot between the card and the man's hand and directing the card to herself. She picked up the card held it out before her, keeping a good visual of both the card and the mystery man. The keycard isn't one typically used by the casual crowd: the logos indicated a business security type. Marisa also didn't overlook the lightsabers clipped to the man's belt: those could be recognized anywhere.

" 'Jedi business' ah?" she asked.

Marisa never dealt with Jedi before and hoped never to run into one. Needless to say, she was uncomfortable with the prospect. Although she doesn't know that much about them, Marisa has heard the stories about famous Jedi like Obi-Wan Kenobi. Despite her reservations, Marisa kept the keycard held out in front of her, inviting the other to take it.

 

[DeathToll]

He was frozen to her prying instinct, reflexes quick to seize something that she had no connection to. He disliked this aspect of her, finally reaching the end to his internal compliments. Eresh tried to sigh, but was stunted mid inhale by his still recovering lungs from the landing and held in a cough. He looked around, unwilling to speak freely and fighting the need to answer her insulting statement right away. He'd rather just leave it at that and not say another word for as long as he had to. But she had poked at his old yet still tender wound, rotting as it ate away at itself from within.

He looked around, if only to stall the inevitable answer he'd give spout off. They were in what looked to be once a working shop of sorts, now long abandoned and used as storage space. They were alone, with a halo of shattered material all around them. He looked back to her, down at the card, back at her again.

"I am no Jedi..."

Ereshkirgal curled his feet underneath him and pushed up with one hand, standing fully over her. He'd been laying on a large metal object that was very uncomfortable. That object, sliding on the slick flooring across the cover of his cloak audibly as he rose, protruding from behind his hip as the cloak swayed back in reveal with his shifting weight -an intimidating silver long-sword alternatively wrapped in tight black grip and black sheath with silver lining and protection cap. As well, a small silver dagger was angled at his belt just behind it along the small of his back. He was well armed, though rather archaically without a firearm. Yet he corrected her with such soft distain and drawn out resignation. He truly meant what he said. And though she wouldn't know that he had even served as the Battle Master of the Jedi at one point, he would never confirm such a fact willingly. It was disgraceful to him, burning a mark in the echo of his lost honor. But that life had left him. No. He had been the one to leave that life. Even as he said the term, 'Jedi', it left a leathery stain across his tongue. He had dishonored himself by leaving his brothers to join them, even if he had done it -for- them and in the name of their cause. And once he had tried to make the Jedi worthy of his cause, he had become infested with a disease of open-armed failure and welcoming communication with the enemy. He was absolutely uncomfortable in their midst. He'd even butchered a slew of fully-armed Jedi, ranking from Padawan to Master, with only two small permanent markers as his defense. They were not his kind, nor were they worthy of his fidelity, with their talk of peace and acceptance. Ereshkirgal had served the Empire, the true Empire, before the Sith had returned. He knew how a galaxy needed to be run in order to sustain peace. But none of that mattered now, and here sat this young lady who was only being curious.

"And 'my' business ...is exactly that."

He slowly reached his hand down towards the card. He'd attempt to take it back, not in the manner he would like to by snatching it violently away and hugging it to his chest but instead simply by resting his fingers and thumb upon the card and peeling it softly out of her grasp. Yet even 'softly', for him, was like a metal slab that resisted the storming winds of Tatooine's deserts. He had calmed himself from the internal reaction to her comment, though she would have noticed only a miniscule hint of what truly went on deep within him. Not only were his features still covered, but even without that mask he was nearly immovable to external emotion. He began considering separating from her as soon as she was safe, in the back of his mind. It was these kinds of questions, this kind of interaction, that he wished to avoid. But she was still prodding at his wounds, even when she wasn't saying or doing anything. It was simply how she affected him.

"Should I be asking how many other vengeful lovers yet still await us out there?"

It was as if Basic wasn't his first language, though it was. And, interestingly enough, he didn't learn to speak this way from the damned Jedi. And, something he didn't notice; he had used the word 'us' when he clearly heard himself say 'you' instead. All he wanted to do was get her safe and out from under his conscience, and regain his solitude. Yet, there he was suggesting they stay together; waving his open-faced hand towards the door.

 

[Lavi]

Marisa remained very still as the card was relieved from her grip, watching the self-described non-Jedi carefully. It didn't appear that he was lying: the common signs of such were completely absent. Even so, experienced liers also know how to conceal those signs. She wasn't very concerned about it though: everyone had things to hide.

"Should I be asking how many other vengeful lovers yet still await us out there?"

Marisa grinned at the statement. There was a sense of relief that she will have her guardian angel a little longer, until she had fully recovered from this experience. Fatigue began setting in, at around the time that the woman would expect it to, making the grin look like a weak attempt to hide her stamina.

"It'll take them at least ten minutes to find out what level we went to lor," Marisa said, assuming that the man was talking about Cloud City security and not the bounty hunters that are after her. She brought herself to her feet, turning around to face her rescuer.

"If you're not giving me a name, I might as well give you one myself," she continued. "Unless you change your mind..."

She hoped that he would relent on that front, or else Marisa had no sympathy in giving him a rather silly name to force him to give her a more proper name.

 

[DeathToll]

He turned away with the growl of a grumpy old man, flicking the tail of his cloak across his hips. She was clever, annoyingly so. He was prepared to face her challenge out of, unadmittedly fond, spite. Though, believe that he had caught that initial tail-whip of a quip; simultaneously building respect and bunching his belt in a knot. He was, however, prepared to call her bluff. He simiply wouldn't answer. In fact, he ignored the taunt all together, changing the subjec in hopes of beating her. He cleared his throat and continued.

"Erhem. Then we've little time to spare. Let's keep moving."

She might notice the way his eyes flicked back to her unsteady movements, cornering the still lingering care in his vengeful slant. He might seem, what some would call in terms of black and white, pure of heart; but if the time came when some poor soul witnessed the other side, his true calling, they would fear the day in nightmares to come. For he was a monster in his own reflection.

But Eresh immediately proceeded towards the door, leading the way for her to follow; doing his best not to be liked. He stretched his fingertips to the door, pressing them and spreading them with a gliding caress of weight with his elbows back and shoulderblades flexing against each other as he lean into it to touch his temple against it; momentarily forgetting that he was trying to hide his abilities from notice. Though she probably wouldn't know what he was doing:

...The door became like the vibrations of creation, evolving before his sight -yet behind now closed eyes. There was no door. It had become like thousands of living spirits, showing the way through the mystical world of time and hidden space. The walls were secrets of untold knowledge, giving passage to all that were tied to its existance. He was tied to it, connected to everything around him and everything beyond. Bodies walked through the halls just outside, ignorant to the creature now gazing at them as if among them. Every face, every passing emotion, like a swirl of water carried by the wind. It touched him and he let it trickle down his spine; trailing a magical sensation like inverted tears that drained from the inside of his cheek bones...​

There was no danger that he could sense. And he had remained motionless, still pressed up against the yet unmoved door.

 

[Lavi]

"Erhem. Then we've little time to spare. Let's keep moving."

Marisa was slightly disappointed by the lack of introduction, but wasn't deterred by it. She paused for a moment, thinking of the most embarrassing and/or annoying name that could come to mind, then smiled when the woman figured one out.

"Okay, Izzy," Marisa answered, enunciating the name clearly for the other to learn. She let the name sink in for a moment, then decided to prevent Izzy from turning her ploy against her. "I'm Marisa."

As Izzy went to the door, Marisa took in her surroundings and slowly followed, also coming to the conclusion that they were in an abandoned warehouse. She watched as he did... something at the door. At first, Marisa assumed that he was operating the lock, then realized that he wasn't moving at all; Izzy appeared to only be listening for something.

"Are you opening door or something?" Marisa asked, crossing her arms and giving Izzy a look of impatience. If he cannot open the door, she might as well do it right now so that they can stop wasting more time than necessary before their mess was found.

She walked up to the door and studied the lock on it for a moment. Fishing out a device from her side pouch, Marisa placed it on the lock and pressed several buttons. In moments, the lock drew back with a soft clink and the door, unexpectedly, opened. Before Izzy could respond, Marisa returned the unlocking device to her pouch and walked past.

 

[DeathToll]

It took him a moment, having committed to ignoring her and connecting himself to the Force and sifting through life outside this door. But then it smacked him across the turf of his head, the name that slid between her teeth. He shirked back from the door like a suctioned plunger from a toilet, snapping his head left over his shoulder.

"Izz-"

Before he could question it, he cut himself off as he internally questioned Marisa's movement to the door right by his side.

"What-"

Again he cut himself short after realizing she'd just freely given her name as if they were becoming friends, which was exactly what he didn't want. If he was to be rid of her, keep his distance yet still be rid of this nuisance of a conscience and leave this place and all memory of it behind, then he need not hear her name. But the more he tried not to think of it, the more it drilled its imprint into memory.

"I did not ask ff-"

Yet again, he found himself interrupted and questioning her actions; seeing the device and her quick work of the lock. Then she just walked out as though he were to follow her. What just happened? He walked out behind her and presented the keycard, pinched between two fingers, before the left side of her face; standing just behind her and to her left.

"Excuse me, miss, but I mustn't be late for an engagement, so I must insist that we get you to a safe place. There is a warehouse that will quite possibly be cleared out within the hour, and I insist we make haste."

He would have rolled his eyes at the subtle hint of clearing out a warehouse if he were drugged and unable to restrain himself, since he was secretly referring to his own presence that would result in the clearing out of the warehouse. He had originally intended to sneak in and out, but if he had to subdue a group of 'box-lifters' in order to fix this situation then so be it. What he didn't realize was his continued forthcoming of information that would only give Marisa an idea of what he was up to, of why he was here.

 

[Lavi]

"Engagement...? Girlfriend?" Marisa teased, making light of the choice of words and detracting from the hints that Izzy was dropping to her. He already mentioned a warehouse being cleared out: possibly the same warehouse that Izzy's keycard belonged to.

The hints gave Marisa a very clear picture of what Izzy was planning to do until he got caught up with her in the casino. A warehouse about to be cleared very soon, making the pickup of a package (whether person or object) difficult or impossible if not done so as soon as possible, and Marisa wasn't invited, which would indicate a shady or secretive backdrop. Also, violence was to be avoided, since blasting a door would be much simpler than obtaining a keycard. Fairly simple to discern, given Marisa's line of work.

"Considering the circumstances that put me on a 'date' with you, there isn't a safe place on Cloud City," Marisa explained to her odd companion.

 

[DeathToll]

"Girlfriend.. Date..?"

The quality of his voice quivered, if the only means of variation in tone available to his subconscious when randomly resisting years of subjugation; both willful and otherwise. Though, as Marisa began to know him and his oddities, she woud come to see the comparable, yet considerably smaller or condensed, levels of change due to her influence.

"Those men will have no jurisdiction there. It will take them time to obtain the right to enter. It is privately owned for the very purpose of dealing under the table."

That damned woman. She should be an interrogator, for she had Eresh spilling every detail in his frustration with her. He bent his head up and away upon realizing his mistake, about to pop the strained flesh from his flexing neck. He slowly lowered his hand, carrying the card, to his side; which, in Ereshkirgal terms, was comparrable to a normal sentient dropping their arm flaccid. For someone such as he, who believed that even common dialogue was equivalent to dueling with every threatening subtlety as dangerous as any slash to the wrist, this loosing streak of his was being tallied for all eternity like every scar on his skin. But now that he'd mentioned it, he felt only further explanation was required not to get her hopes up for some abandoned cache just sitting there for the pickin's.

"...Which will make it that much easier for privately funded guards to maintain an unsettled environment for their 'merchandise'."

Ereshkirgal fully pivoted his body away from her. As his body language might suggest, he was hiding something. And depending on what jobs Marisa was used to, she may already understand that private security was almost always more heavily armed than general government security; especially in this case which involved every illegal act one could attempt to list off the top of their head. And he was planning on stealing from them!

He lifted his first stride into motion, attempting to scare her a little with his talk of privately funded guards and whatnot as he began to walk towards their destination. Though he was a bit out of touch with what probably would not worry such a curious and capable woman. Gullible might be the right word for his believed ability with scare tactics, when he was not threatening with death.

 

[Lavi]

Marisa wasn't daunted by the brief description of what Izzy was going up against to get what he wanted. In fact, she shook her head at the tone of voice that was clearly intended to provide a hint of intimidation, completely unconvinced by the possibility of danger.

"Private security isn't anything special. In fact, PrivSec guards probably easier to manipulate: many of them are thrill seekers trying to worm their way into the business," Marisa replied. "More heavily armed or not: it doesn't make a difference if they have nothing to shoot at."

She fell silent as they passed by a duo of Cloud City's level security. One gave them a look and Marisa responded with a disarming smile. The two guards continued on their way, oblivious to the fact that their brethren are still looking for Izzy and Marisa. A good sign: their location remains unknown. However, Marisa knew that they cannot stay for too long, since their faces are likely captured on camera. Once everything boils over, quick access to the blacklist database can erase all of the information obtained about them. Assuming that the server, which is likely on an isolated network, could be broken into without causing alarm.

"I owe you a huge favor, so I'll help you out here to settle a part of that debt," Marisa continued, once the security guards were out of earshot.

It was not concerning that Marisa was going to reveal some tricks of her trade in order to settle her debt. But she also did not plan on going all-out in helping Izzy; Marisa still felt the weight of fatigue as the adrenaline shot completely wore off.

 

[DeathToll]

Ereshkirgal squinted his eyes at her sound words. She spoke true enough, but it still rubbed him wrong that it came from her. That carefree attitude, she held no respect for her enemies; or rather, what Eresh perceived to be her level of enemy. In rethinking his assumption, he realized that he was, in fact, underestimating her; and that was something he could not allow in himself. She had been well prepared well enough, it seemed, for her current situation. Now, more then ever, he was wondering if he should have gotten involved or not. If he were faced with the same set of circumstances again, he figured he'd probably do the same; so he spoke none of these round-about thoughts.

He kept his eyes front as they passed the security duo, probably only adding to their suspect. But Marisa properly neutralized them with a simple glance of the special kind, her kind. It seemed she had a knack for manipulation, as even Eresh had failed to defeat her charm. Regardless, and back on point, they still had time. That was all that mattered, as Eresh was worried that he'd put himself in the spotlight upon sticking his neck out for her.

He lead a turn of the next corner. She might notice his swiveling head as they walked with purpose, as he always did; with a fairly swift pace. And if they weren't already moving to his usual speed, then he'd have begun to accelerate by now. But he was searching for landmarks, checking each corridor sign and every uniform they passed. He'd been given specific instruction, and he would do his utmost to follow that instruction to the letter. But then she just had to go and splash the puddle and offer her services. It snatched him out of his focus, temporarily, and even causing a slight misstep before recovering his pace again.

"You owe me nothing. The fault was mine for succumbing to my feelings to save you. Simply do as you suggest and continue to be 'nothing to shoot at'."

He wouldn't realize how that come off, sounding like he had made peace with making the 'mistake' of saving her. Of course, he didn't view his decision as a mistake, despite the time wasted reconsidering his decision over and over for solitude's sake. Just as his footing would suggest, keeping that purposeful pace towards their objective; and he still thought of it as 'their' objective. He made another turn, right, towards the end of the hall where a different lift than the one they'd ridden once before was. And since he didn't think of his words as how they sounded, he continued to inform her as if nothing changed.

"We're on the wrong level. We're in the right section, but we need to go down."

They reached the lift and Eresh stopped, stabbed his finger forward into the call button, and waited; still looking forward. His longsword had been swinging across the back of his coat tail and he needed to adjust its angle before anyone realized what was under there. So his hand recoiled and pressed into his cloak at the hip where the hilt would be underneath, lowering the tip of the sheath closer to his boot rather than sticking out so obviously.

The light turned on above. The lift had arrived. The doors would soon glide open...

 

[Lavi]

Even if it didn't sound like a mistake to Izzy, it certainly felt like one to Marisa. She looked visibly hurt by the comment, looking away to recollect her feelings. The events leading up to that moment in the casino was a miscalculation: Marisa spent so much time looking over her shoulder that she didn't take into consideration what was laying in wait ahead.

Although Izzy was looking around, Marisa didn't pay it much heed. She just assumed that he didn't want to be surprised if the more aware security guards suddenly come around the next corner. Izzy's pace quickened, surprising the woman into almost scrambling to keep up.

At the lift, Marisa understood what Izzy was looking for. She stood at his shoulder as the soft chime of the elevator arriving sounded. Inside, was a single individual, armored and clearly well armed: another, more obvious bounty hunter. An eyelid twitched at the sight, but she stepped in, nevertheless. Marisa doubted that the bounty hunter was aware that she had a friend to help protect her, hoping to play on that to keep the hunter at bay. This one, Marisa could not recognize immediately. The helmet had a thin visor, but it didn't form the shape of the signature T of the Mandalorians. It was possible this bounty hunter was not here for her, though, so she remained silent as she waited for Izzy to thumb the correct floor.

 

[DeathToll]

Izz- or rather Eresh felt the recoil in her emotions, at the back of his mind it had tugged on him like an innocent child pawing at his coat tail. He had let his hardened edge cut into her unintentionally. His words were not helping him with her. His eyes, unseen by his female companion, even shifted right to the pull at his heart; which distracted him from the sudden appearance of an obvious bounty hunter.

Eresh's eyes shot back forward, taking in the sight of it all; from visor to weaponry. Eresh did not know this hunter, though he felt a familiar ring in memory to his form. Eresh had been around, traveled the galaxy; but there were always more hunters out there. Eresh stepped in inconspicuously to the opposite side of the hunter so that Marisa and he were on either side of the character, turned round, pressed a finger to lower them three levels further, then harmlessly retrieved his hand to his side as he continued giving his back shoulder to the hunter. Eresh's unseen hand, away from the hunter, delicately drew in to a hilt at his belt; cautiously delving into the part of his cloak.

The elevator began moving, and each of them no doubt suspected the other in some way. Eresh focused his connection to the confines of this small space, as if he could touch every particle in the air and pluck it out of place to put on display. But he remained facing forward, their blurred and distorted reflections in the metal doors before them and a strange and awkward tune playing in the corners of this box.

The hunter was just as cautious, angling his wrists inwards as he ready the possibility for engagement. His visor, unbeknownst to the two visitors that were Marisa and Eresh, was working in overtime. Whether he was originally there for Marisa or not, he was there for her now; recognizing her face in an illegal list of credit value by name, posted not into the mainstream database but instead sent by those who could post her picture and instead privately messaged it to a select few hunters. But he was not aware that someone in this very chamber was reading, watching every thought of his like it were a book. Eresh would be ready.

The hunter suddenly made a psychotic choice of attack, ensuring victory in his mind, and reached to flip on his small jet pack for a split second and blast the flaming spurt into the confined space like the shocking boom of a small concussion grenade while he would be kept safe in his boots and armor. Just as he flipped that switch on and of, he'd be reaching for his blaster to cross a pointing barrel at Marisa and turn to then pull another outstretching blaster back at the hooded figure behind him; arms with blasters pointed out in both directions.

 

[Lavi]

The burst of jetpack fuel sprung Marisa into action. Smoke quickly filled the room and Marisa instinctively brought an arm up to reposition the expected blaster pistol. She felt solid arm, picturing the hunter's forearm before her, and threw a punch at where she thought the hunter's side was. Her fist struck armor, to Marisa's disappointment.

Marisa's grabbed the bounty hunter's pistol with both hands, trying to twist the other's wrist to obtain control over the weapon. She grunted as she wrestled with the hunter, positioning him towards the corner of the lift where Izzy would have a clear shot at dropping the assailant.

 

[DeathToll]

Nothing but a sound, whipped through the smoke, of metal cutting the very stale air like butter; and a repulsively wet chop, with a spray of liquid onto the walls.

Stillness and silence.

The smoke may clear, or it may not until the doors of the lift reopened; but what had happened in this elevator would leave a big red arrow to where Marisa and Eresh had been and were going. Security would soon find this lift vacant, but for a grotesquely and nearly beheaded bounty hunter with blood spattered in a line from floor to ceiling. But these two had yet to leave the elevator.

"..."

It was not that he couldn't feel her, see her through the Force and through the smoke; but it was rather a silent realization that Eresh had breathed through the air as if asking for her forgiveness. For the hunter's lungs still desperately gargled and grasped for air in the dark. Eresh's brutal reaction, using his thick longsword, was who he was. It was what he was made for. He retrieved the metal blade with a hideous sound from splintered bone and splitting muscle, still cleaved into the limp hunter's flesh at the neck; the hunter's body still held up by the locked joints of the armor as well as Eresh's blade and Marisa's grip. But the slanted head, almost completely departed from its body, was still feebly clinging to life. Eresh pulled back reluctantly and swung a final powerful hack into the crossing collar bone within the open wound and the hunter's body fell dead - the separated, helmeted head colliding with the floor soon after. Eresh would sheath his smeared sword with shame. Should Marisa see his covered face in that moment, Eresh's yellow eyes were squinted tight with disgust of his failure to end the hunter more swiftly. It was why he continued on his path. It was why he had committed himself to solitude, to banish himself to this one purpose among beasts such as himself; to either put an end to those animals or put an end to himself in the effort.

"..."

The door pinged and Eresh would linger, then snap his head to look out into the next open hall.

 

[Lavi]

The sound of Izzy releasing his blade from the hacked remains of the bounty hunter and the sound of gurgling lungs made Marisa cringe. It made her sick to her stomach just thinking about it, ignoring the fact that the image of it, blanketed by a thin layer of smoke, will probably be imprinted in Marisa's mind for the rest of her life. Her mind wandered away from the thought as the smoke afflicted her lungs, causing her to start coughing.

A curious crowd was already gathering as Marisa stepped out of the lift, an arm wrapped around her mouth and gagging on the smoke. Smoke accompanied her, causing confusion and concern for her. One togruta attempted to approach Marisa, but the woman waved him away. The two had to get away from the scene before the body was found. Luckily, it seemed like no one was eager to investigate the source of the smoke without assured safety.

Marisa walked away, hoping that Izzy would eventually locate her again.

 

[DeathToll]

Marisa left first. And Eresh soon followed, checking shoulders with a random man lingering just outside of the smoke and backing away. It sent a message to the man and those who could see him not to approach. But the man looked down at Eresh's chest before fully backing away, and Eresh soon realized that he had some blood dotted below the side of his neck. He would have to ignore it for now.

It didn't take much searching, finding Marisa ahead of him merely by continuing to walk into the hall. The smoke had left them, trailed behind, and Eresh cleared his throat to breath in deeply.

"Marisa!"

Eresh called out with a whisper, pointin his finger to the double doors ahead on the left. There was the main entrance, exactly where he didn't want to enter. Eresh jogged up behind her to catch up, reaching a hand to her back but not touching her due to the disconnect he felt had been established between them by now.

"We need another way in. There must be a maintenance connection somewhere or something."

"...Yes sir. We will begin searching now, sir."

The words caught Eresh's ears by surprise, a security guard that had just passed them spoke the confirmation into his comm; heading towards the smoke behind them. Ereshkirgal was still hiding his connection to the Force, for if he was captured he would have an edge to get out; and for other reasons he would not care to discuss. But this situation was no good. Was the loading dock open from the outside? The air vents? No, he is too big. They had to get out of sight. He looked back to Marisa, almost fully covering her from the public.

"You think you could... with your...?"

He angled his head to the lock-mech, suggesting she hack it like the last time. Inside was a grid of mercs and baby-faced new-hires, walking the pathways with no idea what was within. There would be idle chatter and rumors spreading to pass the time, some even trying to guess what went on here since seeing some overnight business deals. But at the inside doors, there would be two guards facing in; not facing the doors they guarded. Eresh could feel their presence, but was currently trading this situation out in the open for that situation inside the warehouse. The isles were wide, the shelves were tall, and the crates and packages varied from hand sized to twice the size of Ereshkirgal. An eerie, dusty place with little activity at this hour; but for a few scheduled drop-offs at the dock. Plenty of hiding space, corners, piles of stock, and plenty of room to loose an item needing finding.

 

[Lavi]

At the gesture to the double-doors, Marisa turned about and raised an eyebrow. The destination was much closer than she anticipated; she hoped that the two would be able to avoid performing the job in plain sight of the smoked elevator.

"You think you could... with your...?"

Marisa understood what Izzy meant. She glanced at the lock, which used the same type of mechanism as the one from earlier, and nodded. Of course Marisa could hack the interface, but was it really a good idea to enter through the front door: the most closely monitored entrance?

"You sure you want to go this way, Izzy?" Marisa asked. She was incredibly skeptical that the two would be able to pick up whatever package they were getting by alerting the warehouse security.

Despite questioning Izzy's plans, Marisa drew the box-like hacking device but made no move towards the doors. She looked at Izzy carefully, making sure that she was not misinterpreting what the other meant to do.

 

[DeathToll]

Eresh gave one last head check to the doors as if to say 'go on', making sure she'd committed to the deed. He would then adjust his stance to cross behind her and hover off her left shoulder, leaving the feeling that she'd recognize as him covering her from the security that had just passed towards the smoke; there, in plain sight down the hall. But from Marisa's perspective, she would loose sight of Ereshkirgal. ...There was a reason for her gut instinct, a reason it felt wrong. She should have trusted her instinct, but Eresh meant her no harm. Whether she believed that fact in the next minute or so would be up to her.

"That's her! She's breaking into that warehouse!!"

Those words seemingly came from nowhere, yet from all around; similar to Ereshkirgal's sound, yet different. The security, that had just passed, definitely heard that unrecognizable voice. That was made for certain. And he quickly turned about and saw Marisa. She fit the description and was caught in the act. And if Marisa turned around to see who had spoken those words, or to see how 'Izzy' was reacting, she would find herself alone; Ereshkirgal nowhere in sight. And a sudden single pound would shock the double doors she was hacking into, loud enough for her and the guards inside to notice if they were in a coma. The two guards just inside the double doors would quickly open the doors with their security clearance, just as the other guard from the hall was coming back towards Marisa - basically surrounding her before she could unplug and get the hell out of there. The guard from outside would have a stun gun already trained on her, as the two guards from within would confusingly have there rifles aimed at the intruder AND the guard outside; all questioning what was going on and ready to fire at each other as a Corellian stand-off would hold them steady for an adrenalin-pumping moment or two.

But before anyone could react, the guard from outside seemed to trip forward and stumble to catch onto Marisa as he lost his aim (if she were still there), and the two mercs' helmets from within the warehouse would abruptly be smashed together with an instant splash of shattering visors against cracking armorplasti -colored within by strokes of red.

Ereshkirgal would be standing inside, just behind the two mercs as they fell down to his feet. He would be facing Marisa, if she were still standing there, with his hands held out, up, to either side of his shoulders -having just been the Force-crushing device that caused these two mercs' sudden end, or (more likely) only temporary bloodied concussions.

He had used her as a distraction, bait. Ereshkirgal would attempt to play it off, putting forth an excuse only if she asked for one, but he felt that this was a necessary risk for the sake of saving time. He wanted to get this item, whatever it may be, and get his ship so that he could get off of this planet. If Marisa knew him better, she'd be surprised that he'd made it this far without resorting to an all out one man war to get things done. Though, by himself, he would have had little trouble sneaking in and out as he just displayed his ability in concealment. But if Marisa need come with him in order to expedite his priorities, then so be it. It would only be a temporary inconvenience, as he saw it. And he was clearly rushing this part. Though, they'd have to do some sneaking after this, if Marisa would still help him, and there would be plenty of time to question his brash behavior. Yet, there he'd stand, hands held as if at the mercy of gunpoint; a dead look in his eyes, saying, 'what's done is done'.

 

[Lavi]

Izzy gave the nod, so Marisa pulled out her hacking interface in order to access the lock. However, she instantly went cold as the guard in the hall noticed her. She stood still as guards surrounded her with stun guns, perfectly aware that any suspicious movement would mean a trigger pull and an uncontrollable outcome. It didn't occur to Marisa that Izzy wasn't "there," until one of the guards behind her pulled her down. She dropped to the floor, still clutching her hacking device, unsure what was going on.

At the sound of cracking visors, she looked up to see Izzy standing there. As though no one noticed that he was present. Anger started to boil as Marisa realized that Izzy used her without telling her, even though there was no time to explain everything. She got to her feet, putting away her device, and closed the double doors behind her. Once the doors were closed, she collected herself, turned around, and whipped a punch at Izzy's shoulder. It didn't matter if Izzy avoided or deflected the blow: Marisa needed to vent her frustration.

"I've been toyed with enough for a lifetime, Izzy," she told him sourly.

Marisa kept her fist clenched, contemplating tossing a second blow, but thought against it. She flexed her fingers, trying to calm herself down before returning to business. There was something that Izzy needed to pick up.

"Now what?" Marisa asked.

 

[DeathToll]

He didn't try to evade, simply taking the shoulder punch as needed. He deserved it; and yet, showed no guilt. Well, he showed no expression of any kind. Instead, just watched her close the doors and step around the two bodies at their feet to execute the, he thought, reserved punch, on her part. His efforts to instinctually push her away weren't quite working, which only made things harder for him. But now, he was beginning to believe she deserved more.

"My apologies..."

Eresh cautiously pumped his open palms, whispering his request for forgiveness more as a way to quiet her down without actually telling her to do anything. He knew she wouldn't take well to orders at any point, left alone now. There were, however, still other guards of assorted quality in the maze of a warehouse yet undiscovered; from high along the scaffolding to low on their level. The walkway lights were on overhead, creating shadows and concentrated bright spots. But, all in all, the place was dimly lit.

"Cova-Co LabourLife... I must find a 'large, round-cornered, square company label' that reads 'Cova-Co LabourLife'. I do not know the size of the container, nor its contents; simply that I must relocate the object to a loading dock where my ship will be awaiting pickup. ...A trade."

Ereshkirgal turned around, looking up to the lights and around to remain unseen. His mind was already thinking on how he could quicken this process. He turned back to Marisa, pulling out a small square black-light. It would be small enough to fit into her palm.

"To be certain, there will be a hidden code beneath the forged bar-code that will be revealed with this."

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from around the corner; slowly approaching on their level. There was an electrical panel nearby, at their disposal, and only one light to share between them; and a lot of warehouse to go through. Little did they know the difficulty that awaited them ahead.