Daemon in the System

[Cryax Bane]

Smirking at Jalek's little speech, Cryax let the man's fingers drop and then his expression changed to a scowl. Most of jalek's words were just trash-talk, but there were a few choice parts in there that stuck with the Chiss. Like the parts where the other slicer admitted that he found him attractive and talented.

Cryax narrowed his eyes and looked the other slicer over. Slowly. Letting his eyes drift to Jalek's broad shoulders and the tattoo on his neck, admiring how it curved with the shape of his nape and snuck under his shirt around his collarbone. The Chiss then spoke in a low whisper. "The funny thing about trust is, it takes years to earn, but just seconds to break. I don't give it that freely, Red." The last word he said in a mocking tone. "And you wouldn't be working with me, you'd be working for me. Big difference." Sure the Chiss was being an ass, but he had a feeling the other slicer liked a man with a challenging tongue. "I don't need you to worship me. I just need you to respect me."

"Do you even want a job with the Red Ravens, Jalek? Because right now it seems like you're only using this whole thing as an excuse to get in my pants." Here Cryax smiled almost teasingly at the handsome red-haired slicer.

[member="Jalek Sathora"]

 

[Jalek Sathora]

The feeling of the other man's eyes wandering his body wasn't an unwelcome one, and Jalek allowed himself to briefly enjoy it before he turned his attention to the words that had been spoken, mulling over the sarcasm along with the more serious side of things. It was true that he was rarely serious himself, or truthful for that matter, but a part of him took the statements seriously, to a degree. Even if he wouldn't respond to them in kind, there was still a part of him that took his business seriously, even if it wasn't that large of a portion of his personality. He had his own income to consider, so in that regard a job with the Ravens appealed to him. That didn't mean Cryax had to know that.

"Well, you wouldn't be entirely wrong about that, but no, that isn't the only reason. However hard it might be to believe, I actually would like to have a steady income, and this seems to be the best offer I've gotten in a long time. Besides, it beats working for the Suns." The last comment was meant completely in humor, as that seemed to be the only thing the Chiss was concerned about, at least for the better part of the first half of their conversation. "But if you don't hire me, I'm not going to complain. I'll just go back to slicing into your systems and causing general mayhem, not always in your favor. So you either get to keep me as a rival, or a rival and a business partner. Take your pick."

The word respect earned another grin and a chuckle from him. "Sure, sure, I'll respect you. Whatever helps you sleep at night. And I'll be working for you, yeah. But last I checked, I'm one of few slicers you have employed, so you need all the help you can get, from what I gather. Even if I'm not exactly what you had in mind, you don't seem to mind my company so far. And I can't say I mind yours either."

[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Cryax rolled his eyes again. He supposed if he was going to spend more time around Jalek, which, if he were totally honest with himself was what he wanted, he'd have to get used to the stream of snark that poured from Jalek's mouth because it was seemingly endless.

The Chiss crime boss rubbed his temples, as if Jalek had finally worn him down, which in a way he had. "Ok, Red, you're hired. With my new position, I don't have the time to do as much slicing in our operations so you've got your work cut out for you. Frankly, from what I've seen, you're the only person who might be able to fill my shoes. Well, an organic anyway. You seem to have that personal touch that the slicing droids don't have." Here Cryax smiled more warmly than before. "And frankly, I was impressed at your work at the betting club. Among other things." At his last statement, the Chiss's expression became more coy and he reached out his hand and toyed with Jalek's fingers again.

"I don't mind your company, Jalek. On the contrary," said the Chiss, moving closer to Jalek, titling his head and letting his lips graze the other man's ear. Unconsciously slipping into a language he was more comfortable with, Cryax softly and slowly whispered in his Csillan native tongue. "Rah vah cart ch'tra ch'at ver ch'ah ch'acacah vah k'ir, Ch'ah viz ch'acacah ch'at veb tta bah hah."

[member="Jalek Sathora"]

 

[Jalek Sathora]

A quiet laugh escaped his lips, and he cracked a smile at the whisper in his ear. The language might have been foreign to him, but by the tone the man used he was able to leave things up to imagination fairly easily. And he liked what he could come up with, as far as that side of things went. But as long as they were still rivals, at least in the traditional sense, he wouldn't play things too close to the line just yet. Instead he would drag them out to the best of his ability, always being sure to seem just nonchalant enough to leave something to be desired. Though Cryax seemed to be doing the exact same, giving the same effect. But his last comment might have just given the Morellian all the clue he needed.

Instead of following his compliments with more sarcastic comments or insults, the Chiss seemed to be getting more relaxed around him, a fact Jalek could both appreciate and exploit in his own way, that might involve more witty repartee of his own sort. "You keep using that language. I don't think you quite realize that no one else can understand you. But once more I'm going to assume you weren't insulting me too badly, and move on with things. I don't mind your company either, but a bit of your coding leaves something to be desired." The comment was meant to simply get under his skin, and it wasn't so much true as just an irritance.

"Fill your shoes now, is it? That might involve something else along the line that you might or might not agree with. Like, you know, my becoming a better slicer than maybe even you can match." At that he grinned again, not having any intent of stopping with his insults and flirting both. Sure, Cryax might have been accepting and even welcoming his advances, and perhaps there was a chance that they would end up together somewhere along the line, but he wanted to make the other man work for it. "You say I'm a good slicer as if I wasn't aware. But it's nice to see that you've finally managed to look at things my way." He reached out as if to pat him on the shoulder, instead pulling him closer. "Even if your vision is a bit skewed." Now he kissed him, letting it linger for as long as the Chiss would allow.

[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

From the other man's tone, he could tell that Jalek enjoyed hearing his Cheuhn tongue, but Cryax knew that soon, he'd either have to teach the man some of the words or actually man up and speak Basic to Jalek. However incredible the man's touch felt, the Chiss wasn't as comfortable as he would have liked to be with their situation. Although perhaps being brought out of his comfort zone was part of the alchemy that attracted to another man. But he suspected it was mostly that Jalek himself was too appealing to ignore. He had to admit he was also jealous of the man's never wavering self-confidence and cockiness, but he'd never say that aloud.

As Jalek kept insulting him, Cryax tried to keep his defensiveness at bay. Given the fact that the crime boss had risen up through the ranks of the Ravens to his final position, the unlikely leader wasn't used to people having the stones to be disrespectful to him anymore. Those that did usually got security droids in their faces faster than the Chiss could snap his fingers. It wasn't such a bad thing to have someone close who challenged him. At Jalek's dig about his coding, he simply smirked and looking the other man squarely in his green eyes said, "If you're having second thoughts about working for someone so inferior, the door's right over there."

As the other slicer pulled him in closer for another kiss, Cryax returned it with more softness and less raw anger than before. As their lips met, he moved one hand up to cup Jalek's jaw, the other one playing lightly with a few strands of his red hair. Once they broke the kiss, Cryax took off his shirt and tossed it onto his desk. Then he stood before the other man, his hands at his sides, exhaling sharply. Finally a wide grin broke out on his face. "That's what I thought. I don't see you going anywhere." His last comment was cocky, sure, but something about Jalek made him want to get the last word.

[member="Jalek Sathora"]

 

[Jalek Sathora]

If he'd been with any other man, Jalek would have already had his shirt off and the door locked, but this was a special case. And at Cryax's forwardness, that fact was only made more apparent. The cocksure comment from the now shirtless Chiss in front of him only caused his grin to widen, and he let his eyes slowly wander his shirtless figure before making their way back to the general vicinity of his face. If he was completely honest, the last thing he'd expected was for the other man to be so seemingly eager about things, but all in all, he didn't have much cause to complain. Doubly so now that things were moving in this direction. Somehow, when he was first brought in, he hadn't imagined things ending up quite like this. Stuck in a cell or cuffed throughout an interrogation, sure, that was usual. But this was a bit out of the ordinary, even for him.

Still he didn't speak, instead moving closer and reaching up to intertwine his fingers in a few strands of raven hair, the same grin still on his face. "Like I've been saying, all you have to do is ask. But keep on beating around the bush. Now I know why you're a slicer, and not a bit more involved in things. Luckily, I'm happy to show you the ropes." With that he kissed him again, his other hand cupping the back of the man's neck. It was true that he was only doing it frequently because he could get away with it, but he had a feeling no one in the immediate vicinity would complain, least of all Cryax.

Once he pulled away he moved as if to pull off his own shirt, stopping just before he did with a slow, teasing grin. "Not quite, I don't think." He shrugged almost carelessly, stepping closer to the other slicer again. "It isn't that I don't want to, but I think it can wait. No good slicer reveals all of their tricks at once, and I consider myself to be among that group. Even if this isn't quite slicing we're getting into." Again he raised an eyebrow, curious as to just how the man in front of him would react.

[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

Just when Cryax was starting to drop his guard around the other slicer and enjoy himself without feeling uncomfortable, Jalek had to go and pull his little stunt. And Cryax felt...what? Rejected? Stupid? He wasn't quite sure, but narrowing his eyes with a deepening frown, the Chiss crossed to his desk and picked up his shirt, quickly donning it.

Cryax straighted out his wrinkled shirt and appraised the other man carefully with his glowing red eyes. "I don't have time for mind games, Jalek." the Chiss said huffily. "I've got a criminal syndicate to run." Copping the attitude he had before, Cryax moved to his desk and sat down. Adjusting his glasses, the crime boss tried to look busy, firing up his Datapad and making a show of organizing the paperwork on his desk. Then while Jalek stood there, he made a brief Holo call to a business partner about some glitterstim sales. Finally, he raised his head to Jalek and said sarcastically. "Oh, you're still here?"

Cryax sighed and crossed to the door of his office, opening it with a hiss and standing next to it. "I'll have someone get you hooked up with all your security clearances and CryptNet credentials. Once you've gotten started, we can start talking assignments." He nodded with his head towards the casino. "If you'll excuse me, I got work to do."

[member="Jalek Sathora"]

 

[Jalek Sathora]

The reaction he received from Cryax wasn't exactly expected, but Jalek took it all in stride as he had everything else, waiting as patiently as he was able for the man to finish in his business, knowing inherently that it was all just as much an act as his own reluctance had been. But he understood the show that had to be put on. As the apparent new leader of the Red Ravens, appearances had to be kept, and this was a part of it. If he had his way, however, this tough guy act wouldn't last for too long. There was just the matter of how and when.

But still he grinned, taking his time in making his way to the door, looking the Chiss up and down once more with a raised eyebrow and a teasing expression. Without a word he reached out to grab Cryax by his shirt collar to pull him closer, searching his eyes for a long moment before kissing him, some of the same roughness from earlier returning. Only when it was absolutely necessary did he pull away, slowly releasing his shirt and stepping back. He didn't leave just yet, studying the office behind him for a moment before looking back to Cryax with a thoughtful look.

Finally he broke the silence, "Try not to wait up. You know where to find me." Again he kissed him, only for a split second this time, before taking his leave, not once looking back.

[member="Cryax Bane"]