Down The Road

[Subject 37]

Nar Shaddaa
[member="Delila Castillon"]

Jerick let out a deep breath, half turning down the alleyway and coming to a slow stop to catch his breath.

This little trip wasn't going at all how he had expected, or wanted for that matter. From the moment he had landed on this cursed moon things had seemingly started to fall apart. First his meeting with the Hutt's had ended in catastrophe, then his ship had been impounded, and now someone was following him.

He wasn't entirely sure who, or why, but he knew for a fact that someone was after him. His first guess had been one of the Hutt's, but that had quickly been ruled out after he realized they would never cross his family. His second guess was some sort of Jedi, mostly because he knew that his brother Nikolas had recently killed one of their kind on the Smugglers moon. In truth though there was no real way of telling, at least not yet.

The best he could do was draw them in, catch them, and then ask a few questions of his own.

For a second Jerick glanced back, eyeing the alleyway behind him before he turned and continued on in the street.

Up ahead the bright neon signs of Nar Shaddaa lit his way, half a dozen cantinas and strip clubs attempting to gain as much patronage as they could. Jerick glanced around, eventually choosing one of the more brightly lit clubs at the end of the alley. The place seemed good enough, dark, seedy, and filled with plenty of people that were far too...occupied to pay any real attention to him.

He frowned for a moment, glancing behind him once more before finally stepping into the cantina,

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Slevin Thawne"] | Nar Shadda​

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Delila had been tracking her target since the end of his meeting with the Hutts. It appeared he hadn't noticed at first - which was good for her. Redheads typically stood out and she took care to hide her features under dark hoods and caps, trying to minimize what could stand out. Either way at some point he was going to notice her. Delila wasn't sure when that point was but it had to be soon.


Her target went down an alley, glancing back every so often. Dells couldn't follow it would be far too obvious. Quick thinking had her head down an adjacent alleyway. City design made it a parallel, her alley would deposit her half a block or so up from her targets current location. Heading down the second alley further down, the redhead was aware her target could escape in any numerous clubs along the strip. She was unconcerned. If he wasn't available at first glance then she would circle back to where the man had parked his vessel and wait.


A few minutes later she emerged and headed back down the block in the last known direction of her target. Dells was in no real hurry at this point, wanting the man to relax a little. Perhaps let him start drinking, let the idea that he was paranoid for thinking someone was following him of all people.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

He'd never particularly liked Cantina's like this, the ones that seemed to be more strip club than bar.

The music was never to his taste, the Twi'lek Dancers always had half their faces contorted in fear and...well every other patron was beyond skeezy. He preferred something more relaxed, calm, with a fighting ring in the basement. Of course pining for his club back on Coruscant wouldn't do him much good, especially right now. His lips thinned as he stepped into the Cantina, eyes darting from place to place until he found what he thought was the bar.

A wave of his hand sent a droid quickly rolling over to him. "Tatooine Sunset, with a twist."

The drink was a hard one, but it was what he felt like he needed.

The droid let out a chirp and Jerick moved towards the back of the cantina. A few turned their heads as he passed, one or two of the dancers and even some of the patrons who managed to pry their eyes away from their rather scantily clad entertainment. Eventually he found himself a booth, sitting down and planting his eyes firmly on the doorway that he had entered the cantina through.

He wasn't taking any chances, not when mother and father were breathing down his neck.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]


Delila waited for about a dozen or so minutes for her target to reappear into the street. So far nothing resembling her target had come back out of the establishments that lined the alleyway. There were three : a strip club and two competing cantinas across from one another. There were certainly people going in and out but none that resembled the young man she had been tailing. Didn't mean the kid didn't head out the back or dart out some other type of door she didn't previously see.


There was a bit of a sigh and Delila started across the street and into the alley. Her first stop was the strip club ; men tended to think ladies were too delicate to follow inside. The skin bar was typical for the area - underage looking girls and slaves held against their will - a shady backroom. After observing the plethora of upstanding patrons, Delila knew her target wasn't inside. Off to the next.


The redhead pushed open the door to the next cantina. Eyes glanced around and immediately fell on her target. He was waiting for her. Interesting. Delila didn't head straight to the bar, pretending instead to take interest in the half-naked girls on stage first. It was all for show, if he was turned to the door her target knew by now he was being followed.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Jerick didn't notice Delila as the one following him when she first walked through the door, she was just one of another dozen or so that had made their way into the cantina a few moments ago.

Yet his gaze was caught on her anyway.

His eyes latched onto her not in suspicion or any other emotion that he might have felt towards a person that meant him harm, but instead, appreciation. They were the emotions of a man looking at something he liked, thought of course he wouldn't be stating that audibly any time soon. As far as he knew there was still someone following him, and as long as that was true he wouldn't be able to indulge in anything he wanted, and that included the local fare of women.

Uneasily Jerick chewed his lip.

There was something off about all of this. He had been entirely careful on the leg of this journey, always covering his tracks, always making sure, but still someone had found him out. There had to be a leak on the other end, someone informing on the Cartel.

He would have to find out who, deliver them to Mother and Father before it became an issue. The thought excited him, not only because it would mean a chase, perhaps an interrogation, but also because he would beat his brother. As childish as it was, that was what mattered most to him, the fact that he would beat Nikolas to the punch.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]



Delila made her slow meandering through the club before settling on the bar. Her target was down towards the one end and she made no attempt to get closer. From her position she could keep an eye on the man without being overly suspicious. The cantina was growing crowded, working both to her advantage and disadvantage. Bartender was working towards her, noticing her as a new face.


"Corellian whiskey." Delila held up three fingers to indicate her desired amount. Perhaps a little excessive when she was supposed to be following a target but nothing she couldn't nurse if needed.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Jerick slowly began to flip the small datadisc in his fingers.

He didn't like what was happening, not one bit. There was too little information for him to do anything, and it was very possible that if he went back out he'd find himself getting followed again...or worse. His frown deepened, his eyes wandering across the room to peer a the entrance of the bar once more.

Half a dozen figures had walked in and out of the place since he'd sat down, none of them had given him as much as a second glance. Part of him wondered if he'd been wrong, if no one had been following him after all, but...it didn't feel right. Something had been up, he just needed to figure out what. The Coratanni Lieutenant took another small sip of his drink, eyes wandering over towards the woman that had stepped inside only a few moments ago.

After a second he slowly stood, leaving his drink in place.

Without much hesitation he wandered through the Cantina, heading towards a small hallway in the back that lead towards the bathrooms and the kitchen.

A good exit if he wanted to make a run for it.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]


Whiskey appeared in front of her. Eyes took it in, looking a bit watered down if you asked her. Glass came to her lips and conformed what her eyes thought - watered down. There was a bit of a sigh, they were probably charging her full price too. Delila mentally kicked herself for ordering the 'good stuff' in such a place. It had been awhile since she did such a thing. Wasn't like she was a crazed nineteen year old anymore, running around from bar to bar with a group of friends.


Old ladies tended not to do such a thing.


Delila watched her target move. He was going towards the back, towards the bathrooms and preparation areas. Foot tapped lightly against her bar stool. Debate raged to follow the man - too obvious, especially since she figured he knew or at least suspected what she was doing.


The redhead stayed put. She hadn't lost her target yet.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

When no one followed him Jerick couldn't help but feel a tiny bit more relaxed. He hadn't been sure if anyone was watching him in the main bar, and at least in the bathroom he could get some privacy. Slipping inside the young man locked the door behind him, quickly ducking down to search for any feet under the stalls before establishing that he was alone.

A small sigh escaped him, though he immediately regretted the breath that followed.

As one might expect the bathroom of the club was not at all up to the standards of the establishments run by his family, and he was almost entirely sure that the floor of the place was covered in feces. He frowned, shaking his head and pulling his communicator out of his coat pocket. A few seconds passed and he dialed in a comm-code, a man answering on the other end after a few seconds. "Marco, Jerick. I need you to gather up some of the Exeuctioners."

His lips thinned.

"I'm being followed." He didn't like doing this, but he didn't have much of a choice.

Tonight would get messy.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]


Dells downed the last of her watered down drink. Her target hadn't reemerged yet. Must have ate something that didn't agree with his stomach.


"Barkeep, another."


The redhead placed another creditchip on the counter as the watered down Corellian whiskey was poured again. She had debated on ordering something different but watered down good whiskey was still better than full strength horrible alcohol. Glass full again the bartender turned away. Her eyes were on the corridor leading to the back. Part of her was confident her target was still in the little girls room, waiting to see if she was going to leave. The other part hoped he was wise enough to slip out the back.


She had time to wait though. Comm came out from her pocket, scrolling through various innocuous messages. Delila didn't try to look at her real messages, her real work. It was too risky. Especially being so close to her target, easy for him to get leverage against her.


Head looked up from her comm from time to time, keeping an eye on the space.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

That was that.

There would be blood, there would be violence, but at this point it could hardly be avoided. Whoever was following him was good, better than him in fact, and if Jerick couldn't shake them then he would just have to make sure he killed them.

It wasn't his first choice, but his father had always told him the ends justified the means. If everyone in this Cantina had to die in order to ensure he got away clean? Then they had to die. The Executionners would take a little while to arrive, Coratanni didn't have a vast presence on Nar Shadda. Unlike on Coruscant or Rishi they had no clubs or banks here, and that meant the Executioners would have to come from the only hide-out they had here.

With a nonchalant glance Jerick checked the chrono on the wall.

Fifteen minutes.

That's how long it would take them to arrive. After that...everyone in the bar would be dead within minutes. As long as nothing else happened anyway.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]



Downing the second whiskey Dells was beginning to think her target had left. Unfortunate. There was a sigh as fingers came to type the last bit of a message on her comm. A few more credchips found their way onto the bartop, settling her debt and tipping the bartender at the same time. Muscles stretched as she stood off the barstool slowly. There was a stifled yawn. She was getting too old for this. Too rusty.


There was one thing before she left though.


Booted feet made their way through the crowd and towards the back corridor. She wouldn't make herself too obvious. Just a trip to the little girls room to check for windows or escape routes. Loiter by the back kitchen/backroom door for a few minutes just to see what she could see.


After that it was back to watch her targets' ship and wait for his return.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

A few more minutes passed, and then Jerick new that it was time. He stepped out of the bathroom, his hands still somewhat damp from when he had washed his hands.

If anyone was really paying attention they would of course note that he'd spent an odd amount of time within the bathroom, though anyone asking him questions about that likely had an extreme lack of social boundaries. He doubted anyone would care anyway, not in a place like this.

A frown pulled at his lips, his eyes focused on the bar ahead of him but not necessarily on the woman coming towards him. He didn't even notice Delila as she approached him, his shoulder bumping into her before he even realized that she was there. In an instant he half turned, a flash of anger pulling across his features before he quickly realized that he had been the party that hadn't paid attention. "Sorry about that."

Jerick said before turning back towards the Cantina.

She was about to die along with everyone else, but there was no need to be rude.

His mother had taught him manners after all.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Slevin Thawne"]


"No problem."


The target ran into her, shooting a glare that could kill. Did he know who she was? Delila had suspected the target knew she was the one following him. Why not confront her? Would have been easy to shove her into the ladies room and handle business there. Red brows furrowed in confusion as she entered the room.


Hands washed and she gave herself a moment before going back out. Dells walked back out and scanned the room. Target was still there. Odd.


This time she moved to a booth against the wall, putting her back towards the wall. It gave a great vantage point, allowing her to see most of the patrons in the bar. Was her target waiting on someone? Or taunting her?

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

Jerick moved back to the seat that he had taken earlier, his gaze sweeping towards the chrono on the wall.

Five minutes.

That was how long everyone within the Cantina had left to live. It was an odd sort of thing, knowing when so many beings were going to die. An ordinary person might have felt bad, an ordinary person might have tried to save some of them, but Jerick was Thawne. His parents had taught him better than to feel pity, they had taught him better than to give mercy. These men, these women, Jerick didn't care if they deserved death. He didn't care if they were guilty or innocent.

They were in his way.

"Too bad." Jerick said as he sipped his drink. "This place was sort of nice."

Just as he finished speaking the lights went out, and then the carnage began.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]



Once she had sat back down to observe her quarry enjoy a drink, the cantina was buzzing with activity. As the night drug on it seemed the place had gotten more popular. Loud and annoying, Delila was surprised when the club came to a grinding halt. Even the neon pulsing lights had gone silent. This was more than tripping a switch.


It didn't take long for blaster fire to erupt in the club. Delila dived underneath her table, using it as a makeshift shield. It was chaotic. No doubt she would get trampled moving to the exit. Blaster came out from underneath her jacket, gripping it tight.


She would have to bide her time and wait to escape but not too long. Stragglers got killed easily.

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

The blaster fire sparked lights in the air, the screams sundered any remaining music that band may have played. It began quickly, and the executioners set to their work with a ruthless sort of efficiency. Jerick didn't move from his place, he didn't seek to help the others nor get in their way.

This was the task he had set before them.

The Executioners were a group of soldiers, generally four men or women who worked together to do whatever task the Thawne's needed. They were extremely skilled operatives, ruthless and as bloodthirsty as one could be. As soon as they entered the bar people began to die, some falling to blaster fire, others with cut throat. Of the dozens of patrons half were already dead by the time Jerick took another sip of his drink. He knew that they would see him, their masks identifying him for what he was.

He saw nothing inside the bar as the Executioners set to their work, least of all the woman he had bumped into drawing her blaster.

Jerick knew that somewhere within the bar sat the person following him, but as far as he was concerned they were already dead.

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]



Timing had to be right. Delila could already feel the blood starting to pool around her table, the warm fluid growing near her. A gurgle and a thud, someone dropped right next to her. A scream near the door. If she had to guess the crowds had been thinned somewhat. The cantina had been a packed house before. Gathering her legs from underneath her, Dells remained crouched down.


Darkness swallowed the room but she remembered the rough layout. Her position at the table meant it was a jaunt down to the back hallway she met the target in. Despite the tables and booths she kept close to the wall. Make it down to one of the bathrooms and she could shimmy out a window.


Best she could do. Couldn't take on an entire army with one blaster and just herself.

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Delila Castillon"]

There was a spark of light from a blaster going off, a half moment of illumination that ran throughout the entire bar.

In that brief second Jerick managed to spot her.

Pressed against the wall and quickly shimmying towards the bathrooms Jerick might not have spotted her in his rather listless state if it had not been for sheer dumb luck. His lips thinned in an instant, his gaze fell upon her and then the darkness once again swallowed the room. His lips thinned, and then he called out. "Light!"

The order was barked in an instant.

"Give me a light." There was a slight delay, and then he heard the clatter of a flare against the ground. Within half a moment the small red flame erupted, and the inside of the cantina was illuminated. Dozens of bodies lay scattered around on the ground, pools of blood seeped onto the ground, and standing amid the carnage were Four Executioners. Jerick paid them no mind however, instead he stood and jumped from the table, immediately dashing towards Delila

 

[Delila Castillon]

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]



Son of a queen.


Did she expect to get spotted? Not so quickly, especially in the dark. The target she was after called for light and there was an expectation that the main overhead lights were going to flick on at any second. Skipping the entire crouch and creep maneuver, the redhead stood up and started to make a real run for it.


Out of the corner of her eye, Dells could see the man starting to move. Blaster came up and she fired at him. Typically it tended to slow down assailants and give her enough time to escape. Dells was still moving to the bathroom, noticing there were small windows earlier.


If things went south at least she would have him contained.