Private One Deal Is What We Made

[Arcturus Dinn]

"No, no, I really must insist against it, Mister."​

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Even as the stout creature continued to chide him, words barely gracing his ears, Arcturus finished pulling the stopper off a bottle of some drink or another and brought it to his lips. It was a decidedly large bottle by Tynnan standards, enough to serve the entire cantina on its busiest days and then some. No doubt it would usually make them a pretty penny; just a smattering of random chits were tossed to the bar top as he turned to leave.​

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"No, no, this will not do!" The creature had taken to squeaking more than speaking as Arcturus' much longer legs outpaced him to the exit. "You put that back, right this instance!" Feeling a tug at the back of his jacket, he swatted a hand back as though dealing with the buzzing of a fly. A series of unintelligible sounds dropped from its mouth, incredulousness dripping from every fiber of its being. Behind him it paused, mouth agape, and then proceeded to stomp its little feet in exasperation. Left, right, left, right, letting out all of the pent up frustration which had clouded its typically pragmatic mind. Its flat tail bobbed up and down with the motions.​

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Stepping out into the cold of Tynna's early hours he found himself met with what felt to be a solid wall of frigidity. He pulled his jacket tight around his body, and then took another swig from the bottle. It sent warmth coursing through his veins, and mixing with the chilly air his cheeks were soon flushed red.​

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That colour soon drained at the sight of a descending ship, skin clammy in spite of his surroundings. Even in his drunken, spiced up state, he knew that vessel.​

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He turned, and hurried back the way he had come; went so far as to thrust the bottle back into the expectant hands of the Tynnan as he crossed the threshold back into the large, circular stone hut which constituted as a bar. Kark; surely it wasn't time to pay the piper already?​

 

[Zavvo the Hutt]

Three, slow, heavy knocks fell on the door of the bar. The small rodent barman froze, then reached careful for the door panel with one hand as he placed the large bottle on the floor with his other. The door slid open and the Tynan had to step clear back to avoid a trampling.

A lean and surly Rattataki ducked into the establishment flanked by two armed guards of unknown species, their faces completely masked in black helmets. Their boots carried in a fluff of snow from the ground outside, melting quickly in the warmth of the cantina.

"He here?" the Rattataki snapped at the Tynans. The bartender nodded frantically, shaking, then scurried back behind the bar to hide. The only man the thugs could be looking for had to be the strange humanoid hell-bent on drinking them dry.

"Mr. Thesh, my boss would like to have a word with you. One of these weapons is set to stun, the other is set to kill. How we proceed is up to you." curiously, the enforcer leaned down and examined the bottle on the floor beside him. He took a swig, his face indicating a surprise liking. He closed the bottle and slipped it into a pocket within his jacket.

Royce cracked a smile as he watched remotely through his enforcer's bodycam. He took a long drag of his cigar, chewed the mouthful of thick, fruity smoke, then exhaled. He hoped the kid would be... amenable... to sitting down with him and solving their predicament like civilized men. Either way, examples had to be made and no exceptions could be allowed...

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

The pounding on the door put to rest any noise within the bar, and all eyes turned toward the sound of it.​

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While the Tynnan dealt with answering it, Arcturus tried to find a corner wherein he might be able to hide. A circular room does not have corners, however, so he ducked down behind the bar, earning him more squeaks of dissatisfaction from the patrons, and tried to make himself as small as humanly possible.​

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He had to resist the urge to peek up over the edge and glance at who was in the doorway. He knew who it was, of course, or what entity they were beholden to... Maybe it would have made him feel better to peek. He didn't though, Arcturus stayed down beside the glasses and tried to keep from even breathing.​

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And then he was no longer alone in his hiding place. The bartender had scurried back there too, and its wide eyes fixed Arcturus with a look of pure horror. "I, what, ahh... He's here, he's here!" Its rodent head popped up from behind the bar like an all too real game of whack-a-mole. Poor thing was stuck between a rock and a hard place, or more a Rattataki and its quarry.​

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Cover blown, Arcturus slowly rose to a stand. He raised his hands aloft, and stared the pale man right in his face.​

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"Look, mate, I could'a sworn I still had another week..." Time was fleeting for one so lost within the throws of such addictive substances. "I'll get him his UCks... I swear!" At first he'd tried to press back further, but he only butted up with the back wall of the bar where he almost sent merchandize clattering to the ground.​

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The sight of those blasters really put the fear of Chaos in him. Maybe if he hadn't been so hopped up on whatever near-lethal concoction was rushing through his veins he might have had the sense of mind to draw upon the lessons of one Arthos Vynea to ensure the blaster didn't harm even a single hair on his pretty little head... But he didn't have the sense. Didn't have very much sense at all.​

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With a huff, he started to make his way from behind the bar. Slow, like, steady... Hands still raised.​

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"Call off the hounds, Roycey," he spoke to nobody in particular, just hoping the big man would somehow hear him, "I'mma comin'."​

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Royce ​

 

[Zavvo the Hutt]

"Smart kid." he grinned.

The thugs promptly brought Arcturus aboard and shoved him onto a burgundy leather couch across from the crime lord's proverbial throne of an armchair. The three thugs waited behind the couch with iron glares, looking down on him to ensure he could not escape. At least Royce hoped he couldn't. This one was hard to pin down.

A table between Royce and a roaring fireplace held a glass of whiskey on the rocks. his meaty fingers somehow deftly fiddled with a small pouch from which he took a small spoon from. A single spoon of the pouches contents, a bright orange powder, was dissolved into the glass with a finesse that betrayed the huge man's appearance.

"Hello again." he sipped the glass. Sansanna spice was hard to get when the Pykes hated you, but he needed some for the encounter. He had to keep level-headed.

"Care for a drink? Either way we'll be getting right into business."

Royce placed the glass down on the table again and leaned forward, focused fully on Thesh now.

"I don't know who you really are, but you are very hard to find. Whatever you're running from, I hope you passed my money on the way."

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Welp, his furry friend certainly got the last laugh didn't it? The barkeep watched as Arcturus was manhandled out of the establishment, delighted that such a rude human would never darken the doorway of his hovel again; inside, life returned to normal.​

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Outside, though?​

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Outside, in the cold, Arcturus' gaze hardened slightly. If he'd been out of it earlier, the chill did wonders to sober him up. So too did the looming ship he was being led toward. Then into. He stiffened in their grasp, so much so that they had to press down hard on his shoulders to make him sit. But he did sit in the end. He sat and he stared and he said very little as Royce spiced up his drink and said his greetings.​

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An offer for a drink was made. Most sane men would say no, at the least feign disinterest even if they wanted one. Arcturus instead nodded, no doubt causing one of the lackeys to tend to such. If they did or if they didn't he didn't really pay them much heed, instead he gave Royce the entirety of his attention.​

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"Was I running?" he inquired, trying to lighten the mood in order to cover up the fact that he really had no fethin' clue how much time had passed. "Felt more like a leisurely stroll down the 'Run to me." Floating from one place to the next, yeah no wonder he couldn't remember much. "Roycey, Roycey, remind me again where it was you an I crossed paths?"​

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Somewhere along the Corellian Run, there was nowhere else it could have been. Truth be told he was mostly just trying to stall for time. Did he have the man's UCks? How much did he even owe him? All that he could remember was his ship, and his name.​

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But from the sounds of it, he'd come into quite a debt...​

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Royce​

 

[Zavvo the Hutt]

"You have no recollection of your time on Nubia?" Royce questioned the boy.

"It was Loronar, boss." the Rattataki spoke up from behind the couch.

Damn it, Royce thought. The enforcer was right. It seems the boy's wasn't the only memory affected by drug consumption. Royce placed a hand on his temple and stared down into the dark glass of whiskey, the ice shrinking quickly between the heat of his hand and the heat of the fireplace.

"Burdoq here is right," he sighed, "Loronar it is. You approached my associates and I in need of a loan? Do you recall this at all? I'm going to wager you spent all that money on spice. What's your poison, young man? Sansanna, Ryll... Glitterstim even?" he chuckled at the last one. He was interested to see where his money went.

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Option D, all of the above?"​

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Arcturus didn't say it with much conviction though, because truth be told he had no fethin' idea how much he borrowed or even where it went. Not a good idea that... Never forget what you owe. One hand rose from his side, to run down the length of his face. Remember, Arc, fethin' remember...​

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But he couldn't.​

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"How much I owe?" he finally asked, preparing himself for the worst. Arc didn't even know how much he had on him. Likely wasn't going to be enough though, was it?​

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Some sort of drink had been set down for him. He knocked it back in one fell swoop; at least the burning in his throat helped to wake him up a little. Exhilarating really.​

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Royce​