My Kind of Town

[Leona Hart]

Terminus​

The Pawn Shop "Temperance"​

​

​

It wasn't the biggest pawn shop on Terminus. It wasn't the most visited, or the most well known. It sat on a corner, occupying the street level floor of a building that stretched up above and down below. Situated just on the edge between the wrong side of town and the wronger side of town, "Temperance" was known however as a neutral zone on the nexus of several different territories, making it somewhere people could come to buy and sell without concern for stepping on the wrong toes....

Or ending up with a knife in their back.

The shop's owner occupied the same level of local notoriety as her shop, and that was fine with her. She got her business by a combination of luck, word of mouth, and being circumspect when a situation called for it.

Officially, "Temperance" only dealt in legal goods, bought and paid for over the table. Nothing shady, nothing illegal, just goods traded for cashy money by the legal owners, please and thank you.

Fortunately, there wasn't much 'official' about anything happening on Terminus.

In truth, Leona Hart had a knack and knowledge for getting things from folks who wanted to sell to folks who wanted to buy, and she wasn't particularly fussed about where goods were coming from or where they were going.

On the day in question, business had been slow. Leona was settled behind the counter, feet kicked up onto it and leaning back, balanced on the two back legs of a chair. She hummed absently to herself, a curl of smoke from the stick of tabacc between her teeth winding its way around her head. The shop smelled of dust, old fabric, gun oil, and that smoke, and she liked it that way. Though windows lined two walls of the store front, they were covered over with translucent brown paper, letting in enough light to see by but impossible to see inside from the outside. Various items, from tools and musical instruments to electronics and small arms hung on the inside of the paper, backlit by small strings of lights that created silhouettes passerbys could easily see. The sign above the door proclaimed the shop's name- Temperance- in elaborate, curling letters, with the words Pawn Shop beneath it in smaller, neat typeset. A sign on the door indicated they were Open, while a smaller one beneath it stated clearly:

In Wapoe We Trust: All Others Pay Cash

[member="Lhao Kai"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[member="Leona Hart"]

It was hard to leave your home behind.

Everything you know. Love. Care about. From the people to the food to the streets. Experience forged over years, three decades and counting, stories multiplying over all that time. But Jedha was gone for me now. Not by choice, mind. If there was one thing I had learned across all those years? It's that you only get one chance. One chance to stay alive for instance.

They had taken half my pinky, a quarter of my index finger, but it wouldn't have ended there.

Something in the eyes of the Chairman that underlined that for me. So. I made myself scarce. Picked up my chit and ran, melting into the night. Tried to get as far away possible from them as I could.

Terminus.

Large sprawling cities, beating with the pulse of a heart, thousands of ships coming and going every day. It was perfect to disappear in. Sadly I didn't have a lot of cash on hand though. No time to snatch anything up while running. First day I could actually take a breath. Asking around and they all said one thing- if you need to sell something? Temperance is the way to go.

This was the Hong Lo district. Immigrants from Atrisia all clustered together, much like back home, yet it didn't feel quite like home. The people here... different. Atrisian, sure, but different all the same.

"Hello?" Immediately after stepping through and scanning the room. No other customers now, which surprised me. By the word of it I expected it to be packed. "Are you open for business?"

 

[Leona Hart]

A small bell chimed when he entered. She didn't even look up from the datapad she had balanced on her knees, sliding a finger across the screen as she said around her deathstick:

"Nah, we're closed. The Open sign is up cause I'm a tease."

Right at the edge of the Hong Lo district, Leona was used to both the soft rolling accent of Atrisian Basic, as well as the harsher, harder accent of Terminus. Most people held something in between, an amalgam of whatever their home was and the bite of Terminus. The harder the bite, the longer they'd been here. His voice? Nothing but the soft edged burr of Atrisia, untouched as yet by the local colour. Her own held more of Terminus than Atrisia these days, enough that someone unfamiliar with Atrisia could miss it entirely.

Kicking her heels off of the counter, she stood up, setting the data pad face down and offering the new comer a wide smile. Tipping back her hat, she settled her palms on the counter and leaned in slightly.

"Welcome to Temperance, and Terminus for that matter. What can I do for you?"

Behind the counter, just beneath her right hand, was the heavy blaster pistol she kept ready. There were several other things, secreted around the store in case of an emergency.

None of them were set to stun.

[member="Lhao Kai"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[member="Leona Hart"]

Eyebrows rose up.

In truth he needed to get used to this. Not being anyone anymore. Back at home he was- had been a local enforcer. Not high on the hierarchy, but high enough that most folks were cautious. There was no fear anymore. Nobody gave a chit about him. Part of him didn't know what to do with that. The smart (ever so small) part knew this was exactly why he had come to Terminus.

The last thing that Kai wanted right now was to be noticed.

"Hope you do put out the goods during opening hours then." The dry response came without dropping a beat. He stepped deeper into the shop, looking around slowly and taking it all in.

Shelved packed with stories.

Because that was the difference between a pawn shop and your average grocery store. These objects had belonged to people. They had used them, until they day came they didn't have a use anymore. Or maybe they needed money. The ring in his pocket was burning a hole through it. It felt like that anyway. Kai bowed his head, before looking back up to her.

"Thank you. What gave it away, that I am new to Terminus?" The fact that it was his accent didn't even register to him. "Unless you are also a soothsayer, alongside a pawn shop owner."

 

[Leona Hart]

Her grin widened.

"Streets are too dangerous to put the goods out, gotta stay safe inside," she said with a wink.

Her fingers splayed out, hands sliding across the top of the glasteel cases. Locked from the back, they displayed a variety of high value items, from hand guns to jewelry to electronics. Not a one of them new.

Oh, she had some new items around, but she was more careful with those. Some came in legally sure, things people had never used, unwanted gifts given and sold for some quick cash. But some of it might have fallen off of the back of a freighter, so to speak, so that stuff came through in dribs and drabs, never enough to draw notice, or ended up disappearing into someone's back room in a more direct fashion.

"Info's as good as cash around here," she said with a laugh. "But everyone gets one freebie from Leona Hart, so here's yours."

She leaned in a bit farther, almost conspiratorial.

"Your shoes, hon. Could tell from your shoes."

This was entirely hogwash. But there was no trace of it in her words or on her face.

[member="Lhao Kai"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[member="Leona Hart"]

"Something tells me you protect your goods well." Riposte with a flair of bemused smirk.

Lhao couldn't help himself.

He leaned in just a little bit in spite of himself. There were those that could soothe out knowledge. Through the Force, through other means. Not that Lhao had sensed her probing his mind, but... that didn't mean much. He knew a thing or two- how to hold his breath for a longer time, how to punch harder, nothing fancy or mystical. Nothing that would defend against a mind intrusion sadly.

Her answer?

Was so surprising he couldn't hold back a laugh.

Then stopped, because Hart looked completely serious. "...my shoes, huh?" She had an impressive pokerface that was for sure. "I am scared to find out what else you might find out just by looking at my clothes."

Lhao bowed again.

"My name is Lhao Kai. Pleasure to meet you..." A pause there as he looked up. "...Leona Hart." Only then did Lhao pull out the ring from his pocket. Rolling it between his fingers nervously. It was clear he didn't want to part with it. He put it on the table, that touch holding for a second more than was necessary, before leaving the ring in the middle there.

"I'd like to pawn this ring."

 

[Leona Hart]

"Mhm, don't let go of things easily," replied in kind. And then, "Oh, sweetie, you have NO idea."

But business was business, and her eyes sharpened with interest as he set the ring down on the counter. Most sales fell on one of two sides. Either someone was in a hurry to get rid of whatever it was- perhaps relieved, perhaps indifferent, perhaps nervous, but HURRY.... or else they were reluctant to part with something, but there was a need too great to ignore. The need of course varied in details, but it always came down to credits, or else they wouldn't be in her shop. Gambling debt. Need to get away fast. Bribes. Lost job. Something. Usually a sob story with that reluctance, which meant they would usually overvalue whatever it was they were trying to pawn.

In this case though, that perceived value might be true. The ring was ooooooold. Not something he stole, wouldn't hesitate like that. Family heirloom? Seemed likely. Something having sentimental value didn't actually up the price, but it always made haggling over it more obnoxious. Give her a thief any day, ready to cut and run.

She moved slowly, fingers plucking a pair of tongs out of a cup on the counter and picking up the ring with them. Rumaging under the counter she pulled out a jeweler's loupe. Inspecting visually and then giving it a slight tap on the strip of metal on the edge of the counter. A dull sound, but she looked satisfied.

"Solid aurodium," she said, turning it around and taking a look at the stylized K. For Kai. Family heirloom indeed. Desperate times she guessed. But then, they always were.

"Kinda niche with the engraving, but the metal's good. You sure you're not looking to sell? I usually offer about ten percent more at least," glancing up at him then. Of course he wanted to pawn it. He was hoping, if his luck turned, to buy it back before time ran out.

[member="Lhao Kai"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[member="Leona Hart"]

He disliked all of this.

On the trip to Terminus Lhao had been going back and forth on it. Pawning it (for now) and gathering up some cash, so he could establish himself quickly. Or... starve and live on the streets until he could find a job for himself. Easier said than done, that. This was the best route. Lhao knew that. It didn't mean he had to like it though. Just the act of leaving it on the table, rather than holding it hurt.

Her suggestion made his shoulder tense.

Fists clenching, before releasing again in a sigh. "Very sure. What little honor that remains to me needs to be guarded just as well as your goods." Trying to insert at least a bit of levity there. Didn't feel it though.

"I will return for it... I just need some time."

And if Lhao couldn't find a job in time? He'd just break in and take it back, but that was only a last resort. That part of his life was over. It had to be.

A moment later he offered the price he wanted for it. It was a bit above what it was worth. About ten percent, in fact. "I am sure you wish to haggle, miss Hart, but I know its value. I won't drop it too low." Set of the jaw. She'd already be making a tidy profit from just the interest alone.

 

[Leona Hart]

His displeasure was obvious. The tightness around his eyes, his shoulders.

Honor.

She managed not to snort. Atrisian values didn't last long on Terminus. Not without holding onto them with bloodied hands.

Instead she shrugged. "Your call."

It all worked out one way or the other for her. Either she made the money back in interest, or else she made it back in the higher profit from a resale. She wouldn't have an issue selling this if he couldn't come back for it, though not for THAT price he quoted.

That got a laugh out of her.

"Sweet pea, I couldn't sell it for that much. I sure as Maw ain't buying it for that much." Hand up to forestall a protest. "I know, I know, you plan on coming back for it, but I've got to look after my own interests as well," gaze level.

The haggling started there. In the end, neither side was happy, but at least satisfied that the deal was worth their time, risk, and most importantly (to Leona), money.

"Done," once they agreed, sweeping the ring off and behind the counter, vanishing in a blink. "Local or core currency?" She asked with a smile.

[member="Lhao Kai"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[member="Leona Hart"]

Money was exchanged and she offered a proposition that Lhao Kai declined. Politely, but firm.

That part of his life was over.

That's what Lhao thought anyway. A naive thought, perhaps. Since his path took him to Terminus. A place of scum and villainy. Where danger was around every corner, the nexus to the Unknown Regions, where the strange and the wicked merged together. Kai was a stubborn one though.

He'd try.

One week later...​

And he'd fail.

It was a week of searching for jobs. Nothing. At least, nothing that was worth his time. Back breaking work where they gave out chit and expected the world out of you. Well, Kai had still some of his pride left. The money was slowly dwindling... the ring seemed to become less and less of a possibility as time went on. But. There was one thing that he could still do. Right? It wasn't like he was using them. That was the logic kept on repeat as the case seemed as heavy as a mountain. It made the journey to her shop harder.

A constant reminder what he was about to sell off.

The smol bell rang as he pushed the door open.

"Miss Hart. Ready to unload your goods again?" A moment of levity. Trying to squash the dread and bile at the back of his throat.

 

[Leona Hart]

Leona always knew someone. Or knew someone who knew someone. But if he wasn't interested THAT kind of work, well.

People got hungry quick on Terminus.

She expected to see him within a week. Her personal bet with herself came in right under the deadline. Too much pride, that one, to take the jobs she knew he'd find. Too much work for not enough pay. Enough to survive on sure, but just barely. Plenty of work to do for someone willing to sell their bodies- one way or another, and she didn't see him going either route if she were being honest.

Shame.

"Cupcake, my goods are always ready for the right buyer, but I suspect you're not here buying, huh?"

She was perched on the counter, sorting through a box of miscellaneous items. Uncrossing and recrossing her legs in the other direction, she swiveled to face him, but didn't hop down.

"Enjoying Terminus?"

[member="Lhao Kai"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[member="Leona Hart"]

"No, I suppose I am not." He says softly, while studying her.

It was difficult getting a beat on her.

Not that Lhao had ever been great with people. Only how to take them apart. The rest was a wash. Messy, full of paradoxes, you couldn't trust them to know what they wanted themselves. Much less what they wanted from others. Nothing to do about it though. Temperance was the only fence in town that had an... okay reputation. For a fence. She didn't cheat, kept her word to the letter, and for the most part didn't sell people out. That was as best as he could hope for right now.

"It's not bad." It wasn't good either, but Lhao was careful with her. Had to be. He walked up to her, then settled the case next to her.

"I have come to sell."

Sell this time, not pawn off.

Once her attention was on the case, he'd flip it open. Revealing a pair of hatchets. Old ones, by the looks of it. Well used and worn. No blood on them though. Properly oiled and taken care of. "I paid a blood price to keep these, miss Hart." Central Isopter. They were Atrisian boogeymen, but their skill in shaping weapons of death were unparalleled. "I expect a good price for them."

 

[Leona Hart]

A laugh, head tipping back.

"It's not good either."

Read his mind? No. Just an easy connection and familiar sentiment.

She tilted her head slightly, staying perched there on the counter as he set the case down next to her. Shifting her attention to it with genuine curiosity.

"Darling, once again you mistake your history with what I can sell them for," her voice warm and chuckling. "An emotional attachment does not translate into hard credits."

Quite the history though. Between the ring, his reaction to her offer of 'I know a guy who knows a guy', and the hatchets, there was a background written in blood settled right behind this man's eyes. Not a book to simply crack open and read casually, but there, if one were willing to risk the razor edges of the paper it had been printed on.

Leona wasn't interested enough to pry however.

The back cover said quite enough.

Again, they fell to the haggling, which Leona brought with more relish compared to Lhao's disgruntled necessity. One of them, after all, had more to lose, and it wasn't her.

[member="Lhao Kai"]

 

[Thaddeus Wyse]

[member="Leona Hart"]

Lhao didn't like to complain.

It was the mark of a weak man. Always whining, never solving their issues, just complaining about them. So, when she echoed his thoughts he didn't do much besides issuing a grunt. She spoke truth. It wasn't a truth necessary to unload though. Nothing to be gained by it. It wouldn't magically make Terminus more accommodating to newcomers. It wouldn't create new opportunities.

No sense in wasting breath on it.

"Emotional attachment does not. Value does." Lhao countered almost immediately. She'd notice the difference there. While he seemed reluctant to part with them, it didn't have the same intensity as the ring.

It was less pain and more.... something else. Lighter, not regret so much as maybe a light shade of surprise?

They continued to haggle- by now Lhao was less put off by it all, he had to haggle out there on the streets as well - until the bell of the store interrupted them. Lhao glanced over his shoulder. It was trouble. He knew that from the glance of an eye. Something about their stance. Three of them, all fidgety and nervous like. Brows furrowed deeper and his hand already went to push the case to the side and behind him.

Out of sight for now.

No words were forthcoming from him.

Not his shop... not his problem.