Private Protection Duty

[Christine Dellard]

Chrstine stood at the edge of the huge crater that had replaced Jedha City, or the Holy City, many centuries ago. History had once unfolded here, and the remains were next to gone and nature had taken over. With a heavy heart, she tried to imagine the insane amount of terrible death and destruction that had been carried out here. All in the name of the Galactic Empire and its tyrannic ways to try and rule the galaxy and put people in submission. So many years ago it was hard to understand the impact it had on the system, and being a trigger to the rebellion that had finally overthrown Emperor Palpatine.

Politics sometimes had that despicable side effect called war, and Chris liked to think that she didn't play that much of a role in it being a law enforcer. Kriff, on stage she brought people together no matter political standpoints! A gust of wind whirled up some sand around her and the BARC Speeder, parked by her side, and pulled her out of the thoughts about the past. It was enough of history excursions, though. It was time to work and focus on what she did best, next to rocking the roof off bars and cantinas across the galaxy - bring bad guys to justice, all in the name of the Galactic Alliance.

She took a deep breath though the face mask belonging to her armor, straddled the BARC and were soon on her way to a nearby town to protect some local Alliance big-shot. Whoever it was, he had strong enough connections to be under the protection of the Galactic Alliance Security, which put him under Chris' protection for tonight.

Chris parked the speeded in the alley, checked her personal blaster Curtain's Down, and the shotgun that she carried on her back. If someone instisted on a firefight, they would definitely have to prove their worth against the Galactic Alliance Judge. She wandered through the alleys of the town, her receptors scanning the immediate area of anomalies and sift through the people that didn't pose a threat. Her client had agreed to a meet-up with the guy that was about to be apprehended. Chris needed to and had been told to be careful. More now than before, and that reason and the owner of the words spelled Finley . She had met with the guy a few days earlier, and it had turned out to be the time they decided to get together. Finn was everything she had hoped for. He was sweet, funny and darn gorgeous, but what he wasn't was here right now so that she could focus on the job at hand.

Orson Thorm​

 

[Orson Thorm]

He wondered if this one was going to threaten, bribe, or beg him. Orson had his money on bribe, but it’d been a while since someone tried all three that’d be fun. Watching a powerful person crumble from empty threats, to paltry bribes, to sobbing please for mercy was one of life’s great joys, especially when one knew how badly his targets had tried to lowball the bribe.

Even with everything at stake, the scum were still cheap. It was what made the job fun.

Hatch had taken a seat across the street, while Orson pushed into the diner alone, wearing a long sleeved black shirt, olive drab utility pants, and black combat boots. It wasn’t necessarily covert, but neither was the blaster on his hip. He wasn’t there to blend in, he was there to hear a grown man beg.

Orson slid into an open booth and waited.

Christine Dellard

 

[Christine Dellard]

Chris kept it slow and casual while scanning up the street and the passers-by. The meeting were not to take place yet, and being last on the ball with little to no time for preparation and acclimatization was just the worst, no matter if you were the good guy or the bad guy. Blending in was fairly easy, as she didn't wore an Alliance-issued uniform, and Jedha were similar to Tatooine, Burke's Trailing keeping the planet frequently visited by smugglers, a pirate here and there, and outlanders to last for a lifetime. She spotted the diner up ahead, the agreed place to meet, but slipped into a hole in the wall and bought a soda, which she popped open and took a few sips of by lifting her facemask.

She resumed her walk toward the diner and ventured inside. Tight spaces were always going to make things tricky, with civilians around and the risk of coming up close and personal with the villain. However, it was also a part of the job. Some music were playing in the speakers, and folks were taking the first beers and drinks of the night. A pretty laid-back place, she had to admit, as she strolled over to the bar.

Orson Thorm​

 

[Orson Thorm]

The target wasn’t here. Orson waited, and waited, and waited some more, quietly eyeing the patrons of the diner as they came in, waving off the waitress at least twice. His expression remained indifferent, entirely devoid of concern. He wondered what the slimy bastard was trying to pull. Was he attempting some sort of corporate negotiation tactic by arriving late? If he was, it was only going to end up costing him more. Or maybe, just maybe, something exciting would happen.

He kicked back in the booth, waving away the increasingly frustrated waitress once again, his gray eyes rolling in response to hers, a mocking sneer spreading across his face. He'd give the target a few more minutes, then he'd signal Hatch, and they'd go find the guy's wife. She was a sweet thing, Twi'lek, pale blue skin, nice curves, pretty smile, it was a shame that hurting her likely wouldn't do much for them in the end anyway. She was bride number six after all. The target was more likely to go for seven than die for her.

But who knew? Maybe she was as special to him as she thought she was, but Orson doubted it. Minutes passed, and finally, the mercenary sighed and rose from his booth, shaking his head and tutting quietly. The poor thing should've married better, he supposed.

Christine Dellard

 

[Christine Dellard]

Spoiler

Across the establishment, Chris noticed a man having a whole booth all to himself. Her keen eyes, looking through the optical sensors of the mask, also noticed how he dismissed the waitress several times. This despite the fact that he didn't have anything to eat or drink in front of him. He was waiting for something, or someone. She brought up a datapad from one of the pouches in the utility belt and checked the information and the description of the suspect. The soldier type. Dark hair. Physically fit. Average height and weight. Nothing particularly unique, it seemed. A grunt. A grunt turned criminal. According to the intelligence and her employer, it wasn't the guys first gig either. Extortion. Assassination. Aggravated assault. Not making any difference between men or women. Chit that made guys who actually could pass as handsome, a bit less so. A rotten inside could be cleansed and turned though, in rare occasions even without doing time in prison, like Finley . If not, at least justice had been served.

She saw the guy stand from the booth and make for the exit. He wasn't dressed for a fight, no armor and no visible weapons, which was odd. It made Chris come to the conclusion that he probably wasn't alone. She put away the datapad and started to follow the guy at a safe distance not to be noticed. The streets had got more crowded as the sun was setting and darkness were beginning to fall over the town. Chris zig-zagged through the crowds of people, just like them, having started their night. She gave it a few minutes to let any of his possible companions join him. When no one did, she made her move, picked up the speed and came up behind the guy, letting him feel the barrel of her pistol pointing at his back.

''Galactic Alliance Security. Keep moving, and keep the hands by your sides. See that alley on the right?'' Chris stated, her vocabulator not having that distortion some Ubese bounty hunters had, and thus revealing her female voice. ''We're going to enter it, and have a little chat. Don't worry. I won't shoot you unless you give me a reason to.'' she explained calm and plainly, adding a bit of more force to the gun poking in his back.

Orson Thorm​

 

[Orson Thorm]

For a moment Orson thought about trying his luck and going for the pistol on his thigh, or the last resort he kept more obscured, but she her blaster pinned dead in the center of his back. There was no chance Orson got away without his spine severed. So he sighed, cast a glance across the street to where Hatch sat, eyes hidden by a pair of shades, but doubtlessly watching, and complied.

“Only if I give you a reason? You sure you’re Alliance Security?” Orson whispered back, gradually strolling towards the alleyway and turning into it without incident. “Is going for coffee illegal now officer? Or do you just like picking on people from the losing side?”

Christine Dellard

 

[Christine Dellard]

Chris noticed that the mans face were drawn to the blaster on his thigh. It would be a foolish decision to try and draw that, considering that she had her pistol prodding at the mans back and her finger on the trigger. ''Uh uh, don't even think about it...'' she commented coolly, as the man obediently entered the alley which she requested. ''You got a permit for this, dude?'' Chris added as she reached for the blaster with her free hand, taking it out of its holster and briefly examining it when they came to a stop. She might not have passed as the regular stern and dull officer, calling the man dude and all, but instead carried her open and casual rock star personality over to her side gig.

''Well, I'd very much like to avoid shooting you... It's not something I enjoy, unlike criminals like you...'' Chris stated sardonically and tucked away the mans blaster in the back of her belt. She then took a step back and motioned with her pistol to a nearby dumpster.

''If going for a caf would be illegal, I'd have to arrest myself five or six times a day...'' Chris chuckled instintively in response to the mans tries to sound innocent. He was funny, for being a criminal, she'd give him that. ''Let's see some ID, then it's my turn to ask questions.''

''You were waiting for someone - who?'' Chris followed up with a question straight away.

Orson Thorm​

 

[Orson Thorm]

"Yeah, got my permit for it when I enlisted. Whole Empire fell apart though, so you might have a tough time checking that."

"Criminals like me? You don't even know who I am, otherwise you wouldn't be asking for ID." Orson sneered, indignant and smarmy as ever. "Which of course, I don't have on me. Didn't think I'd need it to get a cup of caf and see if my life is about to get complicated." Orson didn't have many skills aside from violence, one of the few exceptions was his gift for lying.

"I was waitin' on a damned girl, she sent me a few messages, said she was late, said she needed to see me, you get the picture? Look I'd invite you back to my pad to get you that ID, show you the messages, but that's how I got in this mess in the first place." He hoped that she pushed it, the boys could bury a cop and get offworld in an afternoon, their target would succeed in delaying his fate, but not stopping it. If anything, he'd only made things worse for himself now.

Christine Dellard

 

[Christine Dellard]

"Criminals like me? You don't even know who I am, otherwise you wouldn't be asking for ID." Orson sneered, indignant and smarmy as ever. "Which of course, I don't have on me. Didn't think I'd need it to get a cup of caf and see if my life is about to get complicated."

''Hey! Manners, dude! Come on? No need to sneer like that!'' Chris uttered, acting all surprised with the guy not being entirely fond of being confronted by the law. Of course, he wasn't all that content by being checked, and ultimately cut off in his work. Since Chris wasn't born into the profession of a Judge, she didn't change her demeanors that much when putting on the armor, but rather liked to keep the talk light and casual.

''I know who you are, I got the right face but I don't know your name... yet. Standard procedures, y'know?'' she added, sitting back on a crate and waved the pistol around some, but keeping it aimed from the waist at the crook.

"I was waitin' on a damned girl, she sent me a few messages, said she was late, said she needed to see me, you get the picture? Look I'd invite you back to my pad to get you that ID, show you the messages, but that's how I got in this mess in the first place."

''Oh, a girl?'' Chris repeated with obvious sarcasm. ''I'm so sorry to interrupt your date, but maybe she did her research and decided it was best to call it off?'' she added, biting onto the mans little game. After all, she were an entertainer and an artist when not in armor. She could enjoy keeping this antics up the whole night, if she had not a job to do.

''This girl, you say... We're not talking about a Twi'lek wife to a certain Alliance official, are we?'' Chris continued, adding a tad more seriousness to her voice.

Orson Thorm​

 

[Orson Thorm]

“If you know who I am then you should be letting me go since I’m a guy who isn’t doing anything. You looking for a bribe or something because I’m not exactly rolling in it right now. Pulling me because I look like whatever lowlife you’re after is profiling officer, not very Alliance of you” Hatch needed to hurry up and cross the street so they could be done with the exchange already.

“Date? Did you hear anything I just said I’m trying to find out if I’m gonna be a father. Aren’t you Alliance Security types supposed to be smarter?” Orson countered, his body language passive and relaxed as ever, even when the agent laid her cards on the table. He’d expected her to be on the target’s payroll, thus was ready to roll with that particular punch.

“What-, a Twi’lek? No, she’s a Falleen, I don’t think Twi’s come in that shade of green.” Orson shrugged, genuinely racking his brain for any recollections of such a Twi’lek. Perhaps he’d go find one when this was done.

Christine Dellard

 

[Christine Dellard]

“If you know who I am then you should be letting me go since I’m a guy who isn’t doing anything. You looking for a bribe or something because I’m not exactly rolling in it right now. Pulling me because I look like whatever lowlife you’re after is profiling officer, not very Alliance of you”

''Ughh.'' Chris sighed and if she didn't have the mask on, the man would see her eyes rolling at his accusatory statements. She had definitely not expected this one to be so talkative and kind of getting onto her nerves, especially when he accused her for not hearing him and calling her stupid. ''You didn't get to do anything, moof milker! Why, is this your first time getting arrested?'' she snapped, leaving the crate she had rested herself against and approached the man.

''And also, I ain't telling you how to do your work. So, please stop doing that...'' she said, turning her frustration with the man into one of simple hopelessness. This was going to be an annoying one.

''Well, I'm sorry... well, congratulations if you are to become a father, but...'' Chris excused herself, feeling it only be natural and a sign of empathy if the guy actually telled her the truth, which she highly doubted. After all, she wasn't a stormtrooper. ''... I have to take you in for questioning. Then you'll have your rights read to you, and you'll be out in no time if what you're telling me is true.'' she stated and unhooked a pair of binders from behind her belt, while holding the pistol in the other hand. ''Turn around, and put these on. It's just a precaution.'' she explained and tossed the cuffs over to the man.

Orson Thorm​