Private Cards on the Table

[Rafe Laroque]

When she declined, he nodded and returned the cork to the bottle, though he left it and the other glass on the table in case she changed her mind. It really was something special and he would be remiss not to give her the chance. His own glass he swirled lightly and then took a sip of it before sitting down at the table. He let the liquid roll around on his tongue, just a small amount from the glass, and then swallowed it slowly. It was an experience for certain. He never got tired of that sense of enjoyment.

Couldn't say the same for the way she cut right to the chase.

"Twice in one day I meet people with no love for foreplay, in Sabaac and Jedi investigation."

He sighed, but honestly, even though what she saw out in the city was really who he was, sometimes it was good to ease up a bit. He set his glass down and reached to his wrist, undoing the device there before setting it on the table. Pushing it across towards her, he'd let her investigate to her hearts content. There certainly were metal playing cards in the dispenser he wore on his wrist, but there was a key difference between them and the one that had been found on Gondor: his didn't have sharpened edges.

"You're not looking for a card player, though. Not a real one. Probably plays sometimes for high stakes just for camaraderie sake, but not someone with a love for the game." He pointed to the metal cards. "Notice anything?"

ATTIRE: Brown Pants and Duster w/ a Purple Shirt | WEAPONS: Purple Lightsaber, Metal Playing Cards

TAGS: Katarine Ryiah​

 

[54361]

TBD

 

[Rafe Laroque]

He might not be a mind reader, but he could still pick up on feelings fairly well when someone wasn't closed off. It was what made him good at doing what he did. Something was causing her distress, and he was pretty sure it wasn't him, at least not directly. He hadn't done anything to her, after all, but when she stood she seemed rather unsteady on her feet, like she was the one drinking and not him. He looked at his glass, then back at her and tilted his head as he tried to analyze what it was that he was watching play out in front of him.

She apologized, and he was about to say something, but she spun quickly intending to leave as though something were suddenly wrong. He had to look over his shoulder just to make sure there wasn't some Boogeyman there. There wasn't, of course, but it didn't make her reaction any less bizarre. Save that when he looked back she was on her way to the ground.

"Well damn, darlin'," he said, setting his glass down and standing up to walk over and crouch beside her. "You alright?"

No blood that he could see, which was good, but he offered her his hand so he could help her to her feet.

"That happened faster than a credchip changin' hands on Nar Shaddaa. You didn't even let me tell you that you were in the right place despite being wrong about me."

ATTIRE: Brown Pants and Duster w/ a Purple Shirt | WEAPONS: Purple Lightsaber, Metal Playing Cards

TAGS: Katarine Ryiah​

 

[54361]

TBD

 

[Rafe Laroque]

Somehow he doubted that considering she hadn't shown signs of being drunk before. Not to mention the fact she'd turned him down when he offered her a drink. Drunk people rarely turned down the opportunity to get more drunk. Something was amiss, but he didn't know what it was and she clearly didn't want to tell him about it. He'd find a way to get it out of her at some point.

In the meantime, he seemed to have touched a nerve in her investigative mind.

"I do, in a way."

Now that she was back on her feet, he went back and sat down where he had been before, taking up his glass and sipping from it as he watched her. Part of him was trying to discover if it was warranted, him telling her. Some Jedi got to be just as corrupt as the politicians around them. He knew this because he was a Jedi himself, at least in name. He didn't follow the code exactly, but he did largely agree with it. What he didn't like were the restrictions that came along with the order, not to mention their self-righteous attitudes and tendency to be politically influenced.

"I know the person behind them both, but I don't know the exact name of the murderer. They're a hitman."

ATTIRE: Brown Pants and Duster w/ a Purple Shirt | WEAPONS: Purple Lightsaber, Metal Playing Cards

TAGS: Katarine Ryiah​

 

[54361]

tbd

 

[Rafe Laroque]

"Mhm," he said before taking another sip of wine. "Not sure who they are, but it was clearly done to frame me, so they must at least know OF me."

Oh, he knew well enough that it was intentional, the framing. He poked around too much and it upset the apple cart. Now people were being killed, and he knew the whole list of targets. Some of them were mildly involved in the whole thing, not really knowing what they were funding, but knowing just enough that they were a threat. Some of them were just people who sniffed trouble and now were being taken out because of it. Galactic politics was like that. Not even the Alliance, with all its failings and current problems with being attacked, was without its corrupt side.

When she smiled at him it was almost unnerving for a moment. Had something happened to her? It was like she'd gone from this person who only cared about investigating, and who clearly disliked him, to suddenly being interested. He decided it wasn't worth caring about and smiled back at her.

"You've stumbled into a whole hornets nest of trouble, darlin'. What's your relationship with the New Jedi Order and the Senate?"

Had to be sure before he told her more.

ATTIRE: Brown Pants and Duster w/ a Purple Shirt | WEAPONS: Purple Lightsaber, Metal Playing Cards

TAGS: Katarine Ryiah​

 

[54361]

--

 

[Rafe Laroque]

"You think they would be affiliated with someone like me, darlin'? Better chance of winning a jackpot on Nar Shaddaa than of that happening."

He couldn't help but chuckle. To be fair, he once had been affiliated with them. A while ago, though.

"Used to train with them when I was a kid. Don't think they liked my roguish ways, and my view that the code is more of a means to a method than rules, per se. Kind of left on my own because they were too rigid and too much was happening right under their noses that they refused to see and do something about."

No names to be mentioned in regards to that. Wasn't any reason to. He understood that the majority of them had been too busy to handle much of the local affairs. They were all focused on fighting Sith or Imperials and let the small people slip through the cracks. Lot of nastiness happened within their own borders that just didn't get seen. He cared more about them than he did about fighting Sith or Imperials or whatever other government was out there. It was more about filling a hole than it was personal glory.

Though he did enjoy the glory.

"I grew up in Canto Bight. Playing sabaac is kind of my way of life like Corellians enjoy their dice. I'm good at it, even when I don't cheat. Makes a good way to get things done, too. Win things from people instead of fightin' 'em." He waved a hand. "I digress, though. Sorry, darlin'. You've stumbled your way into something big, though. Senators doin' things they shouldn't big."

ATTIRE: Brown Pants and Duster w/ a Purple Shirt | WEAPONS: Purple Lightsaber, Metal Playing Cards

TAGS: Katarine Ryiah​

 

[54361]

--

 

[Rafe Laroque]

He leaned forward a little, stared her in the eyes, squinting like he was trying to get a read on her. It was interesting that she had taken up the call from some police shmucks to investigate a murder. At the same time, it wasn't exactly low profile. They were talking about dead senators after all. There was a lot more to this than just him handing her a name, too. So much more. He had to be sure she could be trusted, and there was one thing about that he just couldn't abide.

"I can't fully trust someone who won't take a drink with me."

Even though he was still smiling, he almost always was, it would be easy to see the seriousness in his eyes. His hand reached over and nudged the bottle of wine in her direction before grabbing the glass and moving it within her reach.

"Doesn't have to be a big drink, just a drink."

Trust was something earned among people like him. It was never freely given. Taking a drink together would show him that she trusted him not to kill her, and that he could trust her to at least trust him. If that was the case, then she would be alright with what he needed to tell and show her, things that most people would get very upset about.

ATTIRE: Brown Pants and Duster w/ a Purple Shirt | WEAPONS: Purple Lightsaber, Metal Playing Cards

TAGS: Katarine Ryiah​

 

[54361]

--

 

[Rafe Laroque]

He lofted a brow at what she said, and then laughed.

"Darlin', getting drunk off of wine is an insult to the wine. It's meant to be enjoyed, like a good game of sabaac, not wasted on excess indulgence. Especially wine like this."

She might have gotten goosebumps, but that wasn't likely to be all she ever got. Though he didn't make too much attempt to touch her or anything. Handsy though he might be when the atmosphere warranted, he wasn't going to go an unwanted route. He'd just have to continue flirting and see if she came around. If not, well, such was life, no?

"Slow down, jeez. Savor it. This isn't a gin and tonic at your local cantina."

He shook his head and grabbed the wine back from her. He babied the bottle as he returned the cork, almost like it was a child.

"But anyway, I reckon I can trust you, that you're interested in the truth and punishin' those what need it. That being the case, Senator Tirra Vonn of Corulag is the one that hired the hitman that killed the senator on Fondor. She had no involvement whatsoever with the senator here on Ord Mantell. That was all me."

ATTIRE: Brown Pants and Duster w/ a Purple Shirt | WEAPONS: Purple Lightsaber, Metal Playing Cards

TAGS: Katarine Ryiah​

 

[54361]

---

 

[Rafe Laroque]

"Of course she was. I've been poking around in her business and she saw the need to get rid of some people and me at the same time. Classic response to the situation."

It was obvious that he was being set up for the Fondor murder. That explained the murder weapon. Only problem was, his cards weren't sharp and he didn't use them to kill. In fact, he rarely ever killed if he could get away with it. It was far better to take the bad guys down and see them suffer in prison than give them the easy way out that death offered.

He finished the last of his wine and stood, carrying the empty glass over to place it in the cleaner. The wine he carefully returned to its place in the cabinet. Then he turned around and motioned for her to follow him.

"Got somethin' you may want to see. Or, rather, someone."

ATTIRE: Brown Pants and Duster w/ a Purple Shirt | WEAPONS: Purple Lightsaber, Metal Playing Cards

TAGS: Katarine Ryiah​

 

[54361]

---

 

[Rafe Laroque]

“Ord Mantell’s senator was an accomplice to what Vonn was doin’, same for the dead one on Fondor, though she didn’t know all the cards in Vonn’s hand. She’d been duped into believin’ that they were helpin’ t’ relocate people from recent battle zones. In reality, they’re sellin’ ‘em.”

They went from the main lounge area, clearly the nicest part of the ship because Rafe was, in fact, vain, and back towards the cargo hold. This was filled with crates, all legitimate and all with papers, that had been loaded in for him to transport elsewhere. He did legitimate business as well as illegitimate. Making an honest buck made it harder for people to track down what his other business affairs were, and subsequently made it harder for him to get into real trouble with the authorities. Easier to pay a bribe with honest money than it was dirty money.

“Found out when I secured some of their victims and gave ‘em back their freedom.”

He stopped at a seemingly innocuous spot in the room, between a couple of stacks of creates that were strapped down. Bending down, he placed his hand against the floor in the middle of a panel, and after a moment, there was a click. As the panel started to slide away, he stood and motioned with his thumb towards the woman that was currently asleep in the smugglers hold.

“I give you Senator Varis Deyra, alive and well, minus a few scrapes and cuts needed to make the scene look real. You thought she was dead, right? Well, she ain’t. I’m keeping her hidden and intended on doing the same with the next on Vonn’s list provided I beat her killer there. The locals here are on the take with Vonn so I had to make it look like Deyra was dead.”

ATTIRE: Brown Pants and Duster w/ a Purple Shirt | WEAPONS: Purple Lightsaber, Metal Playing Cards

TAGS: Katarine Ryiah​

 

[54361]

---

 

[Rafe Laroque]

"Eh, everyone wants me for one reason or other. Some to lock me up, some to kill me. Few for... other reasons."

He winked at her and then quietly closed the hatch that was keeping the sleeping senator safe. She wasn't a bad one, this senator. Her world might be messy and full of rusty, crusty scoundrels, but her heart was in the right place. The one Vonn had killed? Well, that one had known far more. Probably why they were dead first. Kill the strongest threat before tying up the weak loose ends.

But, if she wanted to help, he wasn't going to say no to it. Wouldn't be bad to have someone like her around to work with. Certainly make mornings a lot easier, knowing he'd wake up to go and see a beauty like her.

"Wouldn't mind some help. Need to figure out who her hitman is and stop 'em. Then we can get these other senators to spill to the right authorities."

He held out his hand to her.

"Partners?"

ATTIRE: Brown Pants and Duster w/ a Purple Shirt | WEAPONS: Purple Lightsaber, Metal Playing Cards

TAGS: Katarine Ryiah​

 

[54361]

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