Private Of all the Gin Joints in all the Worlds, in all the Galaxy, She Walks into Mine

[Katarine Ryiah]

You give love a bad name​

​

Location: Alley Down Street From Club Nexus
Objective: Get Handsy With Konrad
Tags: Konrad Heron

“I'm still thinking about it, boss. You're better dressed for the occasion than I am. I'm sure to stick out like a sore thumb in there, dressed like this.”

Katarine eyed him up and down pensively. He was right. He did look like a cop, she thought as her eyes lingered a little longer than strictly necessary. She blinked and folded her arms, biting her lower lip in thought.

"I'll leave this up for you to decide."

At those words an impish smile crossed her lips.

“You’re going to regret that Shooter.”

She unfolded her arms and walked the few steps between them, slipping her arm softly inside his trench coat, over his chest and into the inside pocket where she had seen him stash his flask. She pulled it out of his coat and opened it, then took a step back and started to dab the liquid on her like perfume.

“You look like a cop so be a cop. Give me a small head start then come find me at the bar. My husband hired you to catch me spending his considerable money on the competitions drugs. I am willing to bet if an unknown dealers moved into the area Kep will want to know more.”

She took down her hair from its half updo and shook her head, then ran her fingers through her hair to give it volume. She took a swig of what was left of his alcohol and then handed the flask back with a guilty expression on her face.

“Remind me I owe you a drink.” She knew he wouldn’t be happy about parting with his booze but they had a job to do. She turned on her heel and left the small alley they had been talking in, walking down the street towards the club. She purposely walked like she was drunk and stopped to giggle with a few other girls as she got in line for the club. When she got to the bouncer at the door she was overly flirty and got too close. The bouncers nostrils flared. Her breath, her clothes, they all smelled like alcohol. She was clearly already drunk and ready to make some guys night. These were good qualities to have in women at a place like this. The bouncer let her through and the pulsing music overtook her.

She made her hazardous way to the bar and jumped up and down excitedly as someone was getting a drink mixed in their mouth. When the bartender asked what she wanted she ordered a drink and slide sideways into the patron on the next barstool. He didn’t seem to mind and Katarine decided to act fascinated in whatever he was saying and play with her hair like a drunken sorority girl fresh from a Corellian University. She stroked his ego with her eyes and smile and brought shame to the entire Jedi Order.

 

[Konrad Heron]

He stood speechless, having been easily disarmed by her reaching inside his coat, in an almost intimate manner. Left awestruck as she went on, without pause or second thought, describing and actively enacting her plan. The contents of his flask consisted of a really potent spirit. Meaning that, even the way she dabbed it all over her was enough to make her stink as if she had just come out the other end of a three-day bender. The fact that the lilac scent still managed to penetrate through it, surprised him.

Remind you, you owe me a drink? All he could do was think at that point. Wait! Did she use up all of it? Overdoing it doesn't even begin to describe it!

Konrad remained like a dugar dugar in the headlights, even after she had turned around and stumbled - hopefully acting the part - inside the club, and doing so effortlessly. "Does she think I'm an alcoholic?" he finally said out loud to himself, breaking the spell that had been cast on him. Am I? Her opinion of him was not even the worst of it, Or was that about buying me a drink an invitation in disguise? Fact was, there were several gaps in her plan that he now had to figure out how to bridge. As it turned out, having a fox for a partner can have its downsides.

First of all, while pretending to be a detective or cop looking for an estranged paramour could explain his presence inside the club, in case anyone asked, it still would not get him past the bouncer to begin with. Secondly, just being there would not necessarily mean they would be able to capture Kep's attention. Most likely, if they ever tried to make contact, they would be both thrown out the door, face first - not that she would ever let that happen, unless that drunken stride was not all acting. Lastly, she had no drugs on her, or so he thought. So how would they be able to convince anyone that she had bought some from a competitor encroaching on Kep's turf? Would she just go around the floor, screaming at the top of her lungs that she had bought some great stuff from around the corner, from a rival spice lord? That was not how any of that worked. Users bought from pushers, and knew very little of the supply chain. As far as anyone buying from the streets would be concerned, they were buying from Kep's rats. To announce otherwise, would imply having some insider knowledge. She was about to fuck things up royally, if she decided to do something before he got to her. If, he even managed to get to her. that was.

The Corellian was considering turning tail and making a run back to his speeder, rather than daring an endeavor that seemed more and more a forlorn hope. Forgetting all about that night and cutting his losses might have just been the smart choice. If only that was not a choice that went against every single principle he held. Not to mention that Heron hated flying or driving anything since he, to put it plainly, sucked at it. Even when it came to his own antigravs, and did so even worse that Katarine - which was why he tried to steer her into taking the wheel, so to speak, as it was too soon to start revealing his shortcomings to her.

With what seemed like a never ending sigh, Heron approached the double doors of The Nexus' entrance and, by extension, the as-wide-as-he-was-tall bouncer standing in front of them. Almost as tall as Heron himself. He was not even five meters near the man, when he noticed the crooked self-satisfied smirk stamped on his potato-shaped head as it shook from side to side. The PI lifted both arms as in surrender and grinned, making the point of unassumingly revealing his holster in the act of raising the hands above his head and thus parting his trench coat by doing so. "Look, mate. I know what you're thinking. But I'm here on the job. I'm looking for someone," he knew that he had to keep it short and to the point with these types.

"Looking for someone? Aren't we all?" He let out a boisterous laugh. "Not gonna happen, mate. Now, go away before I make'ya go away."

"It's not for me, see? It's the better half of this Coruscant big shot who's here on business." You had to feed it to them piece by piece. Make them think they're the ones interested in hearing your bullshit. "His lady has been around town, if you know what I mean..."

"I'm not gonna tell you again! Scram!"

"There might be some credits in it for you, if you help." Hook.

"What do you mean?"

"C'mon, my guy! He's one of those rich bastards with a trophy wife. You have to ask youself, how much does your silence costs? Name your price, he'll pay!" Line.

"This is a night club, you pay for music not silence. And sometimes other stuff."

"Errr..." Cream of the crop, this one. He managed the nigh-impossible task of being well-below average for his station. "I mean, his wife fools around with other men, you get me? This rich cuck will pay any bouncer an exorbitant amount... a big, a much bunch of credits to make sure you don't tell anyone that you saw her tonight. You feel me now?" Sinker.

"Much bunch of credits, you say?" he fondled his chin stubble. "And all I have to do is say that I didn't see her?" His eyes widened. "But I don't know if I've seen her! I don't know what she looks like!"

Force all mighty! "That's where I come in! You let me inside, I'll look for her, you'll see how she looks on the way out, and then... Profit?"

The bouncer narrowed his eyes for a while, deep in whatever passed for thought in his mind. Other people standing in line were starting to voice progressively louder complaints about the hold-up. Heron was already considering the prospect of sneaking inside through a back door or open window, when he finally got an answer. "Sounds good to me! Go on in," but he suddenly grabbed his arm with the strong grip of an oversized hand, "but the weapon stays."

"Of course! I'll pick it up on the way out with the broad!" A small price to pay. Had he not so overtly revealed the blaster he was strapping, he would have certainly be frisked on his way in. This way, he was at least able to walk inside while carrying Law and Order. His stun batons.

"Now," he said, looking at the throng of people within, the loud music and poor visibility from the strobbing lights, and considering the existence of yet another gap requiring a bridge, "how am I supposed to find that pocket-sized troublemaker in here?"

---

Katarine Ryiah

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

I play my part and you play your game​

Location: Club Nexus
Objective: Try not to Get Partner Killed
Tags: Konrad Heron


While Konrad was being held up at the entrance Katarine had made her way around the bar, over to the dance floor, and back. She now had glitter and glow in the dark paint thrown over her jacket to look like she'd been dancing for a while. She ordered another drink and sat on the edge of the bar this time, turning her back towards the bar so she could see the entire nightclub. She let her deep green eyes travel upwards to the larger rooms overlooking the dance floor. There were tinted windows up there but she could see the outlines of the figures above, no doubt the executives and other slime that kept this place running. She was willing to bet Kep was up there.

Katarine made her way back to the bar and took a seat. She wondered if Konrad would trust her and go along with this plan, despite the holes in it. He wasn't the only one testing his partner. It was a lot easier for her to get past the bouncer than it was for him and she wanted to see if he could do it. She also wanted to see how much he trusted her and how committed he was to solving this case. When things got rough would he just duck out? It was better she know now before other kids got invovled. Unfortunately she figured there would be more children in this case.

When she felt him enter the club she smiled to herself. He was prooving crafty and reliable. She eyed him for a second, knowing he'd see her if he kept moving forward. Before she had a chance to see how close he was howwever someone blaocked her view and glared down at her. She let her deep green eyes glance up at the mans face, just as his partner grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up from the seat.

"I heard you assaulted some of our men today?"

"Good news travels fast I guess." Katarine smirked and winced as the partner tightened his hold around her arm.

"Kep wants to talk to you."

Well that was easier than she thought it would be.

 

[Konrad Heron]

Since the plan was for them to meet up inside, the most obvious place for her to be at would be one of the bars. Except from when causing him to slam his forehead against the top frame of every single door, Konrad's height actually had a few perks. From his vantage point, he could clearly see the larger bar near the main dance floor and two smaller ones towards the back, one of which was next to some booths and the other beside a raised platform with several dancing poles. Regarding those, Heron ignored the curvaceous Twi'leks, Theelins, Rodians, and even that one plump Askajian who were all expertly making an inanimate dance partner out of them, and scanned the people at the counter for the dainty white-streaked firestarter.

Not being able to find her, his gaze shifted towards the platforms on the upper floor, where more tables were set up near the balconies, in case there were other bars in there that he could see. It was usual for an enclosed VIP area to be on an upper floor, so maybe Kat had thought best to get closer to where Kep might have been. But instead of finding those, his eyes met the green-eyed Jedi being led by some hired muscle up the stairs.

"The sly fox!" he smirked. Making a mental reminder never to say that to her face, he headed towards the main bar on his own. Apparently, Katarine had managed to build an entire suspension bridge long enough to cover all the gaps. One which he did not plan on burning just yet. She got this far. Let her play this out by herself. He had no way of knowing whether they had managed to link her to his presence there or not, nor how much they knew of who she actually was and was capable of. With that in mind, he thought it best for him to fly solo as well, lay low and do some digging on the side. They could cover more ground that way. Plus, the woman was more than capable of taking on the entire night club on her own, so it was not like she needed him to have her back up there. Still, the man picked a spot at the counter with a clear view of the VIP zone, where she was being escorted to.

"Vodka, neat," he told the Kedorzhan bartender as they leaned forward to hear his request. Konrad much preferred those joints with some smooth aubade or even upbeat glitz playing in the background. More than a personal taste, it at least made it possible to actually have a conversation. The blaring clinkers of bass drops and dissonant synths, punctuated by industrial percussion, reminded him of a bunch of construction tools going off at once, while rolling down the side of a hill that was paved in alusteel. It was so loud, it made it even harder for him to hear his own thoughts.

Reaching inside his coat pocket for some credit chips, he dropped them on the counter to pay for his drink as it was being brought over. Then, placing his hand on top of the mammal's furry wrist as they reached for them, he added, "You can keep the change, if you tell me where I can get my hands on some o'the good stuff." Konrad had to also lean and approach the bartender's face, in order to be understood. Their breath was rancid.

The nearsighted rodent-like sentient, groped the chips on the counter to figure out how much was in there, then effortlessly pulled back his arm and simply shrugged. But they never did turn around.

Konrad sighed - something he found himself doing a lot more as of late - and let a couple more chips fall on the table. The Kedorzhan sniffed the air a few times before motioning with his muzzle towards a platinum blonde with purple neon highlights, sitting on the opposite side of that crescent-shaped counter. Thanking them with a nod, that the PI doubted they were even able to see, he took his drink and got up with a snarl. Approaching the pusher meant turning his back to Katarine.

"Hey there gorgeous."

"Not interested," she put it bluntly.

"That's how you treat all your costumers?"

"Also not a hooker. Crik off!"

"Not the action I'm looking for, darling. Also, you're not my type. I prefer them smoking hot, say... like spice." He was pretty sure that was how the kids talked these days. "Been told you're friends with some and can make introductions?"

The woman laughed, "That's wizard, gramps!"

What the actual?... I'm only in my thirties? Prime of my life! Let this be a lesson kids, drugs can really mess up your critical thinking.

"I got some for your cravings. Show me yours and I'll show you mine?"

Konrad flashed all the remaining credits he had on him, thinking on how he later would have to bring up the matter of his per diem with Katarine. With an affected smile, the woman got up, glanced over her shoulder while taking hold of his hand, and instructed him to follow with a jerk of her head.

The detective downed his vodka with one gulp and slammed the empty cup on the counter. He might need both his hands free for what was about to go down, and he was not going to let perfectly good vodka go to waste. Konrad let himself be led by the neon lady while wondering how things were faring on Katarine's end.

---

Katarine Ryiah

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

You give love a bad name​

Location: VIP Area
Objective: F*CK Around & Find Out
Tags: Konrad Heron


Katarine walked up the stairs with her two escorts, mentally begrudging the fact that she was now going to have a bruise on her bicep to match the huge one forming on her back. She glanced sideways at the man with a vice grip on her arm. He was human, though looked like he might have some Gungan in him by how gangling he was walking. She smirked at the thought, which earned her a dirty look and a scowl from the Jar Jar man. All work and no play she guessed, but let the thought go as they entered another room. The lights were dimmer here and the music wasn't quite so pounding loud. There was a large table with spice in clumps around it, and a circular purple velvet couch wrapping around an elevated stage for private dancing. In the middle of the crushed velvet seating was a bulky man with a scar over his left eye. He had salt and pepper hair and was wearing a suit, a blaster on his hip, and a jacket that matched his seating color. He had so much ice dripping from his fingers and his neck he looked bedazzled and Katarine wondered how anybody could stand to wear that much jewelry. The two half naked Twi'Lek females next to him were serving him drinks suggestively. If this was Kep he was extremely cliche, but she supposed there was a reason stereotypes existed.

He waved lazily at her two escorts and they released her and left. Katarine raised an eyebrow as they did so. Kep didn't feel he needed protection from her. She imagined a sniper watching her through a scope right now and frowned, but still risked slipping her hands inside her jacket pocket and leaning her hip out to stare at the man. He seemed to be waiting for her to speak but when Katarine didn't he grunted and waved the half naked women away.

"Thank you for joining me."

"It was a difficult invitaiton to turn down Kep."

He chuckled. "You've heard of me?"

"Just now."

"You must not be from around here then. My men told me you were with a CorSec police officer... they thought you were his partner."

"Nope. Just using him for sex."

He choked on his drink but smiled at her. "You are a mouthy little thing, but I like that. I like that. But if you aren't with CorSec then what interest do you have in my operation? Looking to get something?" He motioned towards the spice laying on his table.

"My tastes are a little more... particular.... as is the man I'm looking for..."

She saw his eyes widden slightly in fright and she frowned. He knew exactly who she was talking about, and Kat knew the Doctors methods. The last time the Doctor worked with a drug lord it had been blackmail that kept the operation working. The way Kep was shuffling in his seat suddenly made Katarine think he was worried to be seen talking with Kat, which could only mean one thing.

They were being watched.

 

[Konrad Heron]

---

Law and Order​

---

The pair walked up to the narrow corridor that lead to the restrooms. Heron studied the faces there. A few club goers of various builds and clothing but none that arouse suspicion, other than that tall - even for him - Wookiee, who seemed to pay them as much attention as he was paying him. The neon blonde, still pulling Konrad along by the hand like one would lead a puppy by the leash, went inside and pushed open a stall. Shutting the door behind them, she produced a small round bag from her purse, containing an orange glistering powder inside.

"The rules are, pay upfront and hit it here."

"Can't I just pay and take it with me?" feigning ignorance, Konrad went fishing. He knew why she wanted him to do the drugs in front of her. He was a fresh face and she had to be sure he was no narc. There was a strong possibility that she was either packing heat, or that the furry Goliath outside was her muscle. Maybe both, but he had to know which for certain, before proceeding with his plan. "I have friends outside. We pitched in these credits together and this was supposed to be shared between us."

"That's not how we do things," she seemed nervous. It was a big sale and Konrad was putting out his best puppy eyes. "Okay, tell you what... Do a bump now, and I'll let you leave with the rest."

"Why? I mean, I have the money," he took out the credits from his pocket, "can't I just leave with the whole thing?"

The woman was losing patience fast, clearly getting anxious as well. When the PI reached into his pocket, her nerves got the better of her and she pulled out a pistol from the same purse. "Druk! Who are you, really? You a farking snitch, right?" He raised his hands, letting the chips fall. The sound of them hitting the ground could have attracted attention, which only made the blonde pusher even more jumpy. "Tell me, you a narc? You're never getting out of here in one piece, my partner outside will rip you limb from limb!"

That was all he needed to know. He would rather prefer she was without backup, but knowing was still half the battle. Pretending to be concerned, Heron looked at the spread out credits on the floor. One thing with being nervous was that you tend to pay extra attention to the person on the other end of the barrel, and follow their every move. Even when it is only the eyes. Another thing that Konrad was banking on was her inexperience with such situations. There was a reason why blasters were categorized as being ranged weapons, yet people felt so empowered by just holding a deadly instrument between themselves and the other person that they often ignored that very simply fact - that they were suppose to be used at range. He would have never followed her all the way there if he was not expecting that deal - like most other shady deals - to be conducted at a secluded place which, in a crowded night club, could only meant a tight space as well.

At close quarters, he had no trouble reaching for the Law with his right hand, while her eyes shifted from him to the scattered chips, and striking her hand with the beryl flaring stun baton. She began to let out a yelp as the blue arcs of electricity ran down her forearm, immediately causing her to let go of the blaster. A left hand unsheathing Order in a swift motion, hit her right square in the jaw, silencing her as she fell down unconscious against his chest. Her body still twitching in rhythm with the pulsating flaming red jolts. Propping her up on the toilet, body slouching and head tilting to the side, Konrad began picking up his fallen credits with haste before moving on to her blaster. Quickly examining it, he figured that at least a few shots at maximum power, should be enough to put even a Wookiee to sleep.

Exiting the stall and looking to make sure that he was alone in there, he placed himself as far away from the restroom's door as it would allow. Most stories would have the daring detective stand beside the door to shot at the interloper's back as they rushed inside. But then again, most people tend to disregard the significance of the word ranged on the expression ranged weapon. The good thing about Wookiees, is that for all their fur it was pretty obvious whenever they were strapped. As a thug for hire, that one seemed to rely mostly on his brute strength, since he was not wearing a single sheath or holster. So Konrad had maybe a couple of seconds to fire as many shots as he could at the beast, once they came busting through the door.

As soon as the PI saw the automatic door opening and the large hairy beast rushing inside with a roar, he started shooting. One to the chest, two to the chest, three to the shoulder, fourth and fifth on each leg, and the thing was still coming at him like a high-powered railspeeder. He did stumble though, which Heron took advantage of to slide between the assailant's legs, while shooting non stop. Belly, belly, groin.

Finally the beast let out a growl of pain, rather than rage. Knowing his weak spot, the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth shots were also aimed at the Wookiee's groin from a kneeling shooting position. With him howling in pain with every hit, as he turned around and was now rushing to the other end of the room where Konrad was. And, doing so significantly slower now and with agonizing effort behind every stride. Squeezing the trigger a thirteenth time, to no effect due to a depleted battery, the Corellian tossed the weapon aside and once more unsheathed Law and Order. Just as the beast was on top of him and ready to stomp him into a boneless bag of meat, Heron struck him on the heels as hard as he could, and the creature finally fell down.

On top of him...

---

Katarine Ryiah

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Yeah, you give love a bad name​

​

Location: VIP Room
Objective: Get Some Answers
Tags: Konrad Heron

“He said someone might come looking for him… and if they did I should shoot them myself.”

Kep pulled out a blaster and pointed it at Kat, still sitting on his crushed velvet seats. She turned her head sideways for a second, studying the man.

Doctor Roderick Wells would never have told Kep to shoot if someone came snooping. Kat knew her profile and she knew that the Doctor would want to know who was looking for him and more importantly how they had found him. Wells thought Kat was dead after his last attack on her but he was a smart man and might be worried she’d told the Jedi about him. He would want answers before he killed whoever came to call. Most people would call this speculation but Kat knew it was solid criminal profiling, and it was worth taking a chance on.

With a wave of her hand the blaster flew out of the drug lords hand and into her open one. She crossed over the table between them and straddled Keps lap, letting the blaster aim between her legs and up against his crotch. It was a smart plan because even if a sniper was watching it merely looked like Kat had been talked into whatever Kep wanted at gun point. He must have this standard way with the ladies, considering she hadn’t been shot yet.

She leaned in close to him, her deep green eyes holding his own hazy ones.

“See I’ve got a really strange trigger finger Kep.. and lying, well that makes it jumpy.”

She pushed the blaster further into his crotch and he winced. “You crazy queen!”

“That’s right. Now how about you try the truth? Unless you like your martini without olives?” She twisted the blaster in her hand and he squirmed and started to plead in hurried whispers.

“You don’t understand!”

“Then help me understand!”

“He has my sister! He said he would kill her! Please!”

“Where?”

“I don’t know!”

“How do you contact him?”

“I don’t!”

She pushed the blaster further into his leather pants and he swore as his eyes started to water.

“He contacts me! He sends someone here! They will be here tomorrow night! I swear!”

She eased the pressure on the gun. Despite the man being a low life piece of scum she did feel bad that his sister was in trouble.

“Listen to me. Do not tell anybody I was here. You have my word I will bring her back to you.”

“I don’t even karking know who the frak you are!”

“I’m your sisters best shot at making it out of this alive.”

She stood up, and let the blaster fall in the man’s lap. She looked at him panting and glaring at her, but he did not reach for the weapon on his lap. Clearly he was worried about his sister and considering his options.

She turned and left the room, right as the scantily clad Twi’leks were coming back in. The music was blaring once again as she headed down the stairs to find Konrad. Kep might decide to send his men after her at any second so she figured she better move quickly.

 

[Konrad Heron]

Now let's see what you've been up to... He muttered to himself while ransacking the dealer's purse. She was still out cold but Konrad expected that to be the case going in. Unlike before, time was against him now and he did not had enough of it to ever hope being able to question her. In fact, of the two, he suspected the Wookiee might have been the first one to regain consciousness and do so fast. Also, there was the possibility of someone walking in and raising an alarm, even if not one of Kep's people and doing so inadvertently. Inside her purse, other than the usual miscellanea and personal grooming products, of which he did not know most, there was an access card that caught his attention. On the black key card was golden stylized Aurebesh that read "Gilded Moth".

Konrad knew the place. It was some fancy joint downtown, far removed from the squalor of the industrial zones on the opposite edge of the Coronet Bay. Downtown area was properly policed, and out of the reach for a lowlife such as Kep. The blonde did not work the streets there, neither could she afford an all-access pass to one of the most upscale private clubs in the city. This perp that they were after saw himself as an enjoyer of the finer things in life, Konrad remembered reading at least that much on the case files. Also, a body that were to be dumped from that margin could wash up on the industrial sector side. All the math checked out. And whatever this guy had on Kep, it was enough to force him to forfeit his scrumrats and possibly a piece of the action as well. Lucky for that blonde, she was too old for this Wells guy when she went to deliver his cut.

So the fact that the victim's body was found on Moira's turf, the exact same place where some of her thugs were double-dipping with Kep, setting them both on the hot trail, was but a coincidence. If not for the fact that, as the PI well knew of Coronet, there were no coincidences there. The city was a Cat's Cradle. You tug at one string, and three others get farkled. The demented Doctor, for all of his presumed smartness, surely lacked awareness of that fact if he thought he could inoculate himself by just dealing with one of those streets' thugs.

Pocketing the pass, Konrad quickly exited the restroom and almost bumped into some club goers as he did. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you, mates! The spice on that Sketto I had earlier didn't agree with me. They'll need a hazmat team to scrape it off the walls!"

Now, to meet up with Katarine and swap notes. It was good to know that the whole club had not been turned upside down while he was away. Although hopefully things would not come to that, there was still time for it to happen...

---

Katarine Ryiah

 

[Katarine Ryiah]

Paint your smile on your lips​

​

Location: Club Nexus
Objective: Find Partner
Tags: Konrad Heron

The club music was pulsating in her ears as she wove through the dancing crowd. She sidestepped someone who was asking her to dance and ignored his insult about her being stuck up as she maneuvered through the sweaty bodies. She wasn’t sure if Kep would rethink his life and send thugs after her or not, after all she had stuck a blaster in his crotch and that had to tick a man off. She smirked and kept walking, her deep green eyes searching for Konrad.

His Force signature was fairly recognizable at this point, which gave her pause. She really shouldn’t have been paying that close attention to the man, no matter how attractive he was. She could lie to herself and say it was just business but she knew better. Katarine was never more alive than she was on the job and finding someone to share that with sent sparks coursing through her.

Careful girl, remember what happened the last time you fell for a lopsided smile and a cute face.

Her internal monologue was cut short by some drunken girl falling into her arms. Katarine caught the girl right before the poor thing hit the dance floor.

“Kiss me!” The drunk red head lunged at Kat but Kat gently pushed her into the arms of a male Zeltron.

“Kiss him.”

“Okay!”

She smirked and left the now making out couple alone, spotting Konrad exiting the bathroom area. She made her way to him and motioned with a nod of her head for him to follow her. They wove back through the dancers, where the Zeltron male spotted them. He was still making out with the red head.

“Thank you!!”

Katarine just saluted him and kept walking. She eyed Konrad sideways and grinned.

“Don’t ask.”

She glanced over his shoulder but so far it didn’t seem like anybody was coming for them.

“Let’s go somewhere quiet. I still owe you that drink.”

 

[Konrad Heron]

The man raised a finger in her direction, aimed at her back. A mannerism of one about to inquire something out of curiosity, that was made pointless by the synesthetic and ever-shifting sensory overload, all around.

"Don't ask," she said. He lowered the hand. But now he really needed to.

"I know the perfect place," he threw back at her, offering to buy him a drink. "Though it will cost you." Konrad flashed the Gilded Moth VIP access card at her, with a mischievous smirk across his face. Just then, a deep roar followed by the noise of a durasteel door being thrown against an opposite wall, pierced through the dance floor music. "We should go," Heron glanced over the incoming Wookiee, and shook the card on his hand, "this didn't come free!"

---

Katarine Ryiah