R U Mine?

[Arage Bao]

Drip, Drip, Drip, Thunk?

It was cold, wet, every once in a while the ventilator tried its best to come back to life in an attempt to shower the remnants with a breeze. It didn’t work out as neatly as it hoped. In the distance the could hear the echoes of hard voices, laughter - the ugly kind - sparingly scattered between the breaks and pauses, footsteps coming closer and moving away again suggesting patrols of some kind.

They were back-to-back, bound together and currently huddled on the ground. The icy underfloor wasn’t giving them any favors and already the fabric of their clothing was being soaked in the questionable liquid, all things considered this wasn’t an entirely excellent situation to be caught in.

A cough suddenly permeated through the room, it was soon followed by a little sniff, as if the owner of the sound wished to really taste the atmosphere of the establishment he had currently found himself in. Finally then, the owner attempted to stretch his back and noticed that someone was leaning - or perhaps he was the one leaning - against his back.

Female, not too badly shaped, if his senses weren’t losing their touch.

‘Well, aren’t we probably fekked, eh?’ Khaleel remarked, not to anyone in particular.

[member="Octavia Dominia"]

 

[Alexis Altunen]

The first thing Octavia noticed when she awoke was that her head felt like an iron balloon. Not only was there throbbing pain running from her temple to her nape, but her head was heavy with a strange mental fog that could only mean one thing: her drink had been drugged. As an information broker, it was usually she who slipped things into drinks, not the other way around. The irony of the situation elicited a half smile, but it quickly became a frown when she realized she was bound to someone.

A live body was pressed against against her back. From his size and shape, he seemed to be male. Whoever he was, she was grateful for his warmth because it was fething cold. She pried her eyes open and gazed around at what looked and smelled like a sewer. And cherries. Why did she smell cherries? Oh yes, her lips. She had glossed them before she left her high rise in the Corellian sector. The cherry scent mixed nicely with her expensive perfume, imported from the Bright Jewel system. Her designer heels were ruined with sludge water though.

The state of her lips and shoes seemed like trivial things to note, but unfortunately the little things were all Octavia could remember. The big things eluded her. Like where she was and what she was doing during the last four or five hours of her life. The last thing she remembered was getting ready to go out to meet a man, dressing herself in a thin wisp of strapless satin and then….nothing. None of this mattered though as she was probably about to die. That would be if she were lucky. If not, she would be assaulted, tortured, and her face mangled beyond recognition. So much for leaving a beautiful corpse.

Suddenly a cough rang out, causing her back to straighten against his. Shortly thereafter, a man's voice spoke up from the gloom.

‘Well, aren’t we probably fekked, eh?’

In a moment, she answered, her voice low and gravelly. “Sure seems that way,” she said with a doleful chuckle. “Unless this is one of the new nightclubs on the Promenade, where they tie you up and do weird things to you.” She paused and let out a deep sigh.

“Who are you anyway?”

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Octavia Dominia"]

The guy pondered on that question for a while, who was he really? ‘Cause it was a good question, perhaps not the right question at the right time, but a good one regardless of- anyway. He was a bartender, most of the time. Good shot with a gun too, and every once in awhile… when he had to put on the ring, he was more. An idea. An apparition moving in and out of existence. The Underlord. But that wasn’t what she was asking, no?

She was asking who he was, and that was a relatively simple question to answer.

‘Name’s Khal.’ the guy chewed on it for a little while, pondering the complications of feeling her curves. She certainly wasn’t Lazy-wit Jim, which meant… crap. Meant she was the other gal, Promenade Princess. Meant that this just got that more complicated.

Again he sniffed and then shrugged, only meant that things would get that much more fun in the long run.

‘So, I am gonna do something stupid now.’ Khal yawned slightly. ‘It would be best if ya made yourself as inconspicuous as possible for the duration.’

Drip.

Drip.

The bartender started screaming.

 

[Alexis Altunen]

Khal. Octavia not only knew that name, but also the roguishly handsome face associated with it. If she didn’t, that meant she wasn’t very good at what she did. But she was one of the best. Information, names, faces, places, plans. This was her bread and butter. If she didn’t con them out of it, she would trade something for it. Coveted information, secret locations, her private time. Everything but her dignity. Octavia didn’t see seduction as a denigration. Her body was a weapon, another tool in her kit. She would be an idiot not to press it against a man, a thin sheath of fabric separating their torsos, and lean in to let her soft lips graze his ear. A whisper of a command. Just give me a name.

She pondered on her fellow captive's revelation and while she did, he spoke up and announced that he was about to do something stupid. Well, he lived up to his reputation as a wild card, no doubt about that.

She was about to send a few tendrils of Force energy into the ether to pick up their captors’ intents, when she heard a long ragged scream.

Her voice was a soft purr echoing behind him.

“I think you might have made them mad, Mr. Malvern.”

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

'Ain't that the truth.' he didn't seem particularly worried about it though, no the tone of the spoken word suggested Khaleel was immensely pleased - with himself or with the general situation, that wasn't entirely clear.

So the question remained, did mister Wildcard have a plan or was he in a suicidal mood? Either could be the truth really, and yet when he spoke next the sheer audacious confidence radiating from his voice suggested that there was a running plan involved.

'They will be coming in soon, all bluster and with guns waving.' the Underlord started to explain. 'The only thing I need you to do... is nothing. Don't attract any attention and we will be home before ya know it.'

In the distance they would hear the distinct clatter of boots on granite. The boots seemed especially angry this time around, you could hear it from the punctuating mark the heel made every time it settled down.

The boots were approaching.

'Fair enough?'

 

[Alexis Altunen]

“Aye aye, El Captitano,” Octavia said with a smirk that he couldn’t see. He sounded overly confident. His cockiness could mean that he had an card up his sleeve. It could also mean that he an incredibly dumb cowboy-type. But a man like Khaleel didn’t get to where he was by being a dim piece of eye candy, so she trusted him. For now.

It was fortuitous that Khaleel Malvern himself was here with her, as he was a man she had been looking for around the sector. However unfortunate the circumstances, they had finally met. That was step one. Step two was, well...Octavia took care to use the Force to mask her thoughts, lest the he detect her intentions with his own Force powers. The Chiss had warned her not to be fooled by his attractive looks. He was a very dangerous man, and the word in the sector was that he could not be killed, a revelation which lead to all kinds of logistical questions in her mind. Like, what if someone cut off his head? Or burned him alive? Or, well, the list went on.

Those were questions for another time, for soon Octavia heard angry footfalls like blaster shots on the pavement. He had stirred the hornet’s nest alright, and the swarm was coming with stingers ready. She really hoped he knew what he was doing.

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Octavia Dominia"]

The girl shouldn't have worried, even if she had been screaming her intentions inside her mind, Khaleel wouldn't have picked up on them. His skills went to other places, over specialization into one specific skill that earned him a certain reputation.

Finally the door slammed open and they were bathed in the eery light of the LED bar hanging on the wall. There were three guys who carefully filed themselves into the room and stared cautiously at the source of the disturbance.

One of em, perhaps the leader, but definitely the one getting a promotion at the end of the night - if he lived that is, which is why the others were slightly less interested in running their mouth. Anyway.

"Shut your mouth." ten points for originality and audacious use of the verbal word. Khaleel tilted his head slightly, just slightly.

"Or?"

"Or I shoot you in the face, tough guy."

"ok."

Now that set them back for a moment, which isn't all that surprising really. Thugs like these were all essentially scared of a single thing, meeting a bully that was stronger than them and what was stronger bully material than death itself?

They didn't have any orders about the bartender, no keeping him alive, healthy or anything else. The girl behind him was a different story and suddenly the leader saw an opportunity. To send a message and make it clear to Octavia who the real boss was.

He pulled out his revolver, coincidentally it was also Khaleel's revolver; the one he had had with him before being taken away by these jokers. The lead thug stared his opponent down, or attempted to and then finally shrugged, pulling the trigger.

Which was about the moment the guy missed his promotion and things got complicated. The moment thr trigger was pulled Khal's lazy eyes crunched open and the 'Force' swept away from him. In that single instant the bartender turned into the bullet and the bullet decided to change its trajectory.

Half a second later three distinct thunks were made audible, a yawn permeated through the damp room and Khal moved his hands from behind his back. He stood up and stretched legs a bit, before turning to look at his fellow captive.

'Now wasn't that fun?'

 

[Alexis Altunen]

From her vantage point, Octavia could only see half of the action. She saw the pissing contest the unknown thugs began to have with Khaleel, and then the flash of metal as one of the goons’ weapons was soon pointed at the gang lord. So long, handsome cowboy. It was nice almost knowing you. The infochant squeezed her eyes shut and heard the sharp bang of gunfire. When she opened her eyes, she saw three men dead, and felt one very alive Khaleel Malvern moving behind her.

Suddenly he rose to his feet, extracated from his bonds. Nice trick, that one. Octavia could move things with the Force, sometimes, but her powers were too erratic and untrained to be reliable. Now that they were free, she carefully stood up, her head still pained, and whirled around to face him. Yep, he was a looker alright. Shaggy blonde hair, bedroom eyes, muscles for days. She made no move to hide her gaze from him.

Octavia’s wisp of a dress had been soaked straight through with cold water, and it clung to her body, unforgivingly revealing every curve of her undergarments or lack thereof. She was less ruffled about being exposed than she was about being disheveled, her smoky eye makeup slightly smeared against her porcelain skin. A half smile on her face, she turned her dark eyes towards Khaleel.

“Sure was. I hope you can promise me an evening like this again, Mr. Malvern. Although if you wanted a date all you had to do was ask.”

“What’s up next for entertainment? Are we going to tangle with some rabid Akk dogs?”

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Octavia Dominia"]

Khal wandered over to the top dog’s corpse, crouched and reclaimed his stuff. One lighter, one pack of cigarettes, a ring on a necklace and that was all there was to it, the necklace disappeared in the folds of his duster, one of the cigarettes was firmly stuck between his lips and the lighter did its lighting magic. Then the bartender turned around and was hit - hit with a house of a bricks.

His eyes wandered, no shame, restraint or apology was made apparent. That was the difference between Khaleel-before-Hell and Khaleel-after-Hell, beautiful girls didn’t scare him anymore. One might have tried to cut his tool off a long time ago, but face off six demons with only a rifle as help? Well, shet becomes relative for ya.

Not that his attire was in better shape, the duster was ripped at the seams, undershirt more of a mockery than functional. She would get as much of a good look as he did, which was fine. Khaleel liked equal exchanges.

‘Could come up with some entertainment for both of us.’ the scoundrel mumbled between smoke puffs, would have said more if he wasn’t suddenly very aware of where they were which put a damper in his late-night plans.

The lighter and the pack disappeared, but the revolver was revealed again. ‘Sadly, we ain’t done here yet.’

‘I got some house cleaning to do, ya can either stick close to me, or try to get out while I am making some noise. Choice is yours.’

One more appreciative look and he turned around to go.

 

[Alexis Altunen]

The two former captives exchanged a look, and there it was. Mutual attraction that momentarily warmed up the cold air that chilled the corridor. Sure Octavia had worked with attractive marks before, but this one came on like a live wire, giving her a jolt of electricity that worked its way up through her body. An alarm bell rang in her head, snapping her back to practicality. Her survival depended on making sure that wire was carefully coiled and contained. She pointedly straightened the seams of her backless sheath with soft, exquisitely-manicured hands.

Octavia had been disarmed of her vibroknife and the small pistol she wore concealed around her thigh. Even if she didn’t have an ulterior motive for staying with Khaleel, shadowing him seemed like her best option for survival. She walked over to one of the other goons, took a blaster out of his holster and cocked it. Her arched brow said, “Why yes, I do have experience with this thing.” The goon’s pockets contained nothing else of use, so Octavia stood and closed the distance between them.

“I’ll stick close to you Mr. Malvern." Here, she paused and gave him a knowing look. "The closer the better,” she added, cherry-scented lips spreading into a large smile.

Heels splashed through dank puddles as she shot down the corridor after him. “You have any idea who these fellas are, er, were?” she asked. “Your friends or mine? My head’s a little fuzzy right now.”

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Octavia Dominia"]

‘Ours, probably.’ the bartender replied with practiced practicality, he was in full operation mode right now. Mission entered his mind, adrenaline coursed through his veins and he was ready for the coming thing, because that was just it. This wasn’t done yet, not even close to it, that were three goons, but there would be more. Far more if his intel had been right on these operations.

This had been Cutters’ territory before the rapture, before billions of people just stood up and disappeared into the thin ether. New guys didn’t have any respect for the old authorities, comparable to the Ravens - but at least the Ravens had had the common sense to come and talk to him, besides… these guys didn’t have Sith Lords and Zealots as allies.

Which made ya think, were they stupid, did they seriously miscalculate or was there something else behind all of this? Khaleel filed that one away for later ponderings, now was the time for action; musings would come with the coffee.

‘New crew, they specialize in abduction, extortion and assassinations. Pretty wide interests, but what do I know.’ a lot, but that wasn’t the point here. ‘Something tells me they are trying to cash into the chaos after the rapture. Heh, just didn’t consider there would be a guy there with a shotgun to shoot ‘em down.’

A shrug.

‘They never do.’

 

[Alexis Altunen]

“Couldn’t be the Ganks could it? Or the Red Ravens?” she offered, dangling the red birds' names out there, throwing off the scent. She was playing dumb in a sense. Octavia knew the Ravens’ names were on everyone’s lips since they seized control of Nar Shaddaa, but this type of capture didn’t fit the Ravens modus operandi. Extortion and assasination, yes. Random abductions hadn’t really been their style. Unless? No, Bane couldn’t be that crafty, could he?

Whoever the thugs were they probably knew she was Nar Shaddaa’s Promenade Princess. That blasted namesake that stuck to her like flypaper. Frankly, Octavia had pissed off enough people in the last couple of years to warrant her kidnapping. Senators were snitched on. Surreptitious Holopics were taken. Lovers were made jealous. However, the coordination of killing two birds with one stone stumped her.

When Khaleel mentioned the many opportunistic sorts that had swarmed the planet after the rapture, she nodded, her black hair framing her face like a curtain.

“And the streets used to be so safe” she said sardonically. “Well, Nar Shaddaa is the biggest host in the galaxy for parasites such as these, Mr. Malvern. I suppose we should get ready to sleep with both eyes open instead of just one, eh?”

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Octavia Dominia"]

Khal grunted noncommittally, it was either acceptance of her statement, an expression of doubt on the metaphorical success of the new maggots rising up or a mixture of both statements in one sound. ‘I doubt new management is gonna ignore it.’ and that was speaking from experience, because Khaleel wasn’t talking about the Ravens, he was talking about himself and the role he had agreed to with Bane.

It was the whole reason he was here really, not that Octavia would know that note. But the fact was that his crew had been scouting out this place for some time now, oh sure he could have simply ordered an assault, but these guys had digged themselves in, it would have costed lives, his lives and he wouldn’t ask that from his crew.

Even if they wanted to do it, instead the bartender looked for a second option.

...and here he was, it would be easier to shut ‘em down from the inside in his opinion and getting kidnapped was the only way to accomplish that. There had been risks involved, but Khal had taken ‘em without complain. That’s what you do as a crime boss, you look out for your own guys, over your own skin.

‘Least that was how he operated.

 

[Alexis Altunen]

“Indeed,” agreed the Promenade Princess, pausing in an attempt to try and fix a heel which hadn’t weathered the water damage very well.

“Not to be presumptuous, Mr. Malvern, but perhaps you could use some help with managing up," she offered. "You can’t be everywhere at once, naturally. My services are always available. I have more than a few sources who are intimately close to the Red Ravens. I could keep an eye on the blue bastard and his cronies for you.”

Her glossy lips spread into a wide smile as Octavia gave Khaleel a playful shove in the shoulder.

“In fact, I’m frankly disappointed that you haven’t called me sooner, much less put me on your payroll.”

However light her tone was, a touch of banter while they passed the time, her proposition was dead serious. Her reputation for digging out the most buried secrets preceded her. If he knew anything about her, he'd likely take her up on her offer.

Octavia paused, her eyes moving around the darkened corridor. Were those more footsteps she heard?

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

'Mhmmhm.' Khaleel again grunted, this time in agreement that it was a disappointment that he hadn't called on her sooner. Since she was one of the best, she even had contacts close to the Ravens and seemed to be aware of Banr and the problem he posed to the bartender. So conventient, almost a bit too conventient, one could say.

When he had been younger Khaleel had been trusting, as trusting as a street rat could get on the streets of Nar Shaddaa. These days... after the Nether this was less of a problem, cautious when needed, a wild card when possible.

Khaleel knew a few things, one; Octavia made him think very bad thoughts. Two; that cautioned him even more. He wasn't being objective here, oh he would hire her alright. Perhaps he could turn her towards his own goals, worse came to worse he would just eliminate her and send her head to Bane.

Mister Nail Gun would probably appreciate that particular gesture. He waved her down when the sound came around, slowly he crept to the wall across the corridor towards the source of the disturbance.

One guy, patrol. Back was faced to him, Khal kept creeping and then swiftly shoved one hand on the thug's mouth and wrenched his neck in the wrong direction.

A crack, neck broken the guard slumped to the ground. Two hundred more to go.

 

[Alexis Altunen]

Octavia let out a small gasp when Khaleel broke the guard’s neck. It was an act of, course. It was possible Khaleel thought that she was a helpless infobunny, a very skilled one, but an infobunny nonetheless. Nar Shaddaa was lousy with beautiful Mati Haris looking for the next grift. That ruse would serve the Promenade Princess quite well. In her work, Octavia generally avoided getting her hands dirty, but sometimes it was impossible to avoid employing more lethal methods of defending herself. The infochant hoped it wouldn’t come down to that between she and Malvern. It would be a shame to kill such an attractive man.

Rifling through the dead man’s pockets, she took a credit stick. Then, with a smile shrugged at Khaleel. “He can’t take it with him.” she reasoned aloud.

Octavia moved closer to the gang leader. Close enough for a thin layer of satin to be the only thing separating her skin from his. “I know you don’t trust me as far as you can throw me, Mr. Malvern.” she said with a grin “I wouldn’t if I were in your position either. But believe me, Bane and his birds are going to put me out of business when they swoop in here with all of their new blood. You have an ally in me.”

Octavia leaned forward and with a hand laying gently on his shoulder, titled her head in to his earlobe to whisper. “Hire me,”

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Octavia Dominia"]

Seemingly the girl had issues with a man’s neck broken and yet she would pickpocket the corpse only a few moments later, explaining herself with a very reasonable explanation afterwards. Nah, she ain’t no little poppy with good connections, she might not be a killer either, but she had no qualms with getting her hands dirty every once in a while. Which only made her more attractive to him anyway.

Then she decided to come in close and personal, Khaleel reacted the only way he knew how when a beautiful girl decided to come out and play. He softly breathed in her scent, his lips barely touching the skin of her neck and then he whispered his own whisper to her. Husky voice and all.

‘What is your rate.’

 

[Alexis Altunen]

She closed her eyes as she felt the slow tickle of his breath on her skin. Octavia was a red-blooded woman and wasn’t immune to his charm. At all. “We can negotiate that later, Mr. Malvern.” she said, his bedroom voice causing a slight disruption in her steady pulse, her chest rising and falling faster.

“My rate is highly dependent on the particular jobs you’ll be having me do.” A slight downward tilt of her eyes, a brief suggestion or a blatant innuendo. It didn’t really matter which.

“Once we get out of here, we’ll have to have an intimate discussion about it.”

She let her fingers trace lightly along his arm then lifted them. Octavia turned to face a fork in the corridor.

“Which way do you think is out?”

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Octavia Dominia"]

The moment passed and Khal broke their contact, at least for now. He waved to the left corridor. 'That is the exit, lass.' Didn't mention how he knew that though, wasn't really all that important right here and now. What was important was to deal with this pest before it spread, that was the entire thing about playing a leading role in the Underworld, you led by example and they followed the strongest. If he allowed these shuttas their little place in heaven, if he didn't do something about the operation? It would only invite more of the same, had they been giving him a cut it would have been different, but not all things could be simple.

Some people liked to overcomplicate things. The bartender was no different in that regard, so while he pointed left he himself started for the right corridor. Before heading through he looked back for a while.

'Gotta house clean, ma'am. Better bounce, there will be a lot of noise and I can't watch both our backs.'

 

[Alexis Altunen]

It was interesting that Khaleel knew the way out. It meant that he had been to this place before, a little detail that Octavia filed away for later study. The fact that he was familiar with the layout could mean a number of things: either he’d tangled with this crew before on their turf, he’d used this place for similar shenanigans with his own gang, or maybe this was his crew and he was being patsied. Very interesting, indeed.

The plot thickened when Khaleel started off in the direction of whatever was NOT the exit. A part of her inexplicably wanted to follow him. Partially because if he died, well, there went her paycheck from Bane. Partially because another more basic instinct tugged at her when she was near him.

He was right though. The infochant had no armor and could barely walk with one broken heel. Her Force powers weren’t reliable by any stretch. She would get them both killed.

“Meet me at the Slippery Slopes Cantina near the golden statue of Karagga on the Promenade. Tomorrow at midnight. I’ll be waiting.” Then, Octavia did something a bit uncharacteristic, even for her.

She closed the distance between them and kissed him gently on the cheek. Then removing her shoes, she turned on one bare heel and half walked-half ran towards the exit.

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]