Rush

[Delilah Keyes]

Delilah lied as easily as she told the truth. It wasn't because the lying itself felt good. But sometimes the truth just wasn't particularly useful. When it was though?

"A percentage," she said promptly, without a hint of shame.


She pushed off of the canisters, shrugging off her jacket. It revealed the blaster at the small of her back.... among other things. She tossed it over her shoulder, hooked with just one finger as she wandered casually about the cargo hold as she spoke. The saunter *away* from him wasn't accidental.

"It's a win win. You sell it for more than you can on the open market, by a factor of four or so, if I'm not mistaken. I take a slice off the top, and you *still* walk off with more than you would have selling it on the sly. *And* my contacts aren't particularly friendly with the hutts, so they'll consider making that purchase an extra 'kark you' to a rival crime syndicate. Doubly so if they never know about it. It'll let them titter behind their perfumed hands and feel superior, which is something that they get off on anyway."

She turned back to him with a smirk, dark eyebrow arched high.

"Twenty five percent if my factor of four estimate is correct. And you'll get access to a whole new market. Though, the drug culture isn't much nicer on the underbelly with my contacts than the hutts are. Just more restrained."

[member="Walker Ducote"]

 

[Delaney Wilder]

That wasn't too bad.

It was still too much for his taste, but Walker had been expecting some kind of ridiculous number like fifty percent or something equally amusing, but unacceptable. Clearly this one worked in realities and was a pragmatist at heart - she realized that Walker was in a tough situation.

But she knew that cornering an animal was only going to prompt an attack or a flee.

Del didn't want him to flee because she needed this deal just as badly as he did. Maybe even more, seeing as her ship was still on the station and probably in the progress of being impounded.

This was a way for her to salvage some part of the score.

"Fifteen." Walker countered with. Still a graceful and profitable percentage, but... more reasonable. "I ain't interested in a long-term connect. I unload this, get the money and then use it to pay other ventures. Drugs are dirty and unreliable."

"I won't even charge you for transportation." A smirk followed next.

While maintaining a steady level gaze on her eyes. Nothing showed that he had just been admiring certain things, once she had turned around and took a walk.

At this rate Del would be the death of him though.

 

[Delilah Keyes]

"Twenty," came the immediate response. "And I'll pay fair value for the trip from Kwann to our destination."

She smiled sweetly, but her words had a certain bite to them.

"After all, no favors owed, eh?"

Even with his eyes on her face, it was impossible to miss that wasn't where they wanted to be. Her grin widened slightly as he nodded.

"Naw, darlin, anything you would give me would be done out of desire, nothing owed. You got a deal."

That brought a real chuckle out of her and she bounced her eyebrows once at him.

"Other than those potential credits, you've got nothing I want, so we'll be square at the end of this, you and I."

It was said with amusement, the hint of flirt, but ultimately, it meant nothing, just as his comment hadn't. Just another part of the game, as far as she was concerned.

"You'll want to make the calculations for a jump to Zeltros," she supplied, now that the agreement was in place. "I'd ask where I could hang my hat for the trip, but," she offered a grin and a shrug.

"You got a name?"

​[member="Walker Ducote"]

 

[Delaney Wilder]

At this point Walker was leaning against the crates.

It was surprise to him that he actually enjoyed this. Especially after discovering that he basically had a black mark on his name and face now, which probably should have put him in an increasingly more hostile mood, but no. This interaction was doing wonders for his disposition and he found out... that part of him didn't mind missing his first connect. It would have meant not meeting this lady and that would have been a shame.

A shame they couldn't have met under other circumstances, but that was fate for ya.

"Oh, we will see about that." Walker didn't consider himself a ladies' man perse, but he knew that if he really wanted a girl? More often than not his words and face were enough to carry him to victory.

"More than one, in fact, but I think I will have to change it around again after this disaster."

Already turned to walk away, he looked back.

"Walker, call me Walker."

Zeltros it was - not exactly the place Walker had been expecting, but there were worse places. It was far away enough from Hutt Space that they wouldn't be able to exert too much influence, but their presence was there. Their presence was everywhere, if you looked deep enough.

Either she would follow, or she would stay, but Ducote decided to wander back to the cockpit.

 

[Delilah Keyes]

"Delilah," was supplied in return.

As it turned out, she didn't follow him, opting instead to set up shop in his cargo hold. Once he'd disappeared up the ladder she looked around, letting out a long, low breath.

It only took a couple minutes to rearrange a couple of the crates in a way that let her stretch out on top of them. Rolling her jacket up into a pillow, she tucked it behind her neck. Legs crossed at the ankles, hands clasped over her abdomen, she ended staring up at the ceiling, a bit of a thoughtful, pensive expression on her face.

All things considered, this could be worse. There were a lot of ways that it could be better of course, a galaxy full of ways it could be better. But, it could be worse. Didn't mean she wasn't annoyed as all get out by the whole thing. They'd both made the same mistake, a series of coincidences and things going *just this side of wrong* leading them to where they currently were.

A smile, genuine, not a curve of it affected, flickered over her lips as she tilted her head back farther.

Sometimes, it was a matter of taking something back from a situation. Didn't mean she was going to win, but at least the loss didn't have to be enough to keep her down.

Walker, huh?

She felt the ship shudder as they made the jump to hyperspace and she closed her eyes, drawing her arms back to cross behind her head.

Yeah, could be worse.

[member="Walker Ducote"]

 

[Delaney Wilder]

Walker wasn't lazy.

Oh, he preferred to let others do the work and sit on his arse in the meantime, but that was simply good sense. After all if people were made happy by their contribution and as a result he didn't have to do anything? That was a bonus in his book. But it was different when it was his ship and that was what the Daystar was. Didn't matter he had stolen it from the Mandalorians, the amount of work he had put into this sweetheart?

Spacer's rules dictated it was his by right now.

Probably.

So, once the ship transitioned into hyperspace, Walker didn't sleep. He set out to tinker on some of the less critical systems - the ones that wouldn't go boom, because he was modifying them in the middle of a hyperspace transition.

Grease on his hands, splattered over his neck and tank-top, but it felt good.

Gave him something other to think about than the colossal kark-up that was his life right now. It might have been a few hours or might have been minutes, but eventually there was a hitch in the ship's track. An experienced foot knew the vibration meant they were about half an hour away from reversion. Which meant they had almost reached Zeltros now.

Instead of waking up Delilah (pretty name) Walker decided to go and fetch a shower.

Sub-sonic scrubbing would hopefully get the grease out for the most part.

 

[Delilah Keyes]

Del hadn't been asleep. She might have dozed once or twice, but actual sleep was elusive on a strange ship, with a strange person, under strange circumstances. She'd known people (her grandfather for one), who could sleep any time, any where, at the drop of a credit. It wasn't a skill she'd managed to pick up, but then, she'd never been a soldier.

Instead she mulled. Picked up this detail or that, trying to find a way around the current set of circumstances. She turned it around in her head, drawing in this contact, no, that one, could smooth things over with Sonny- or how to gain access to the stations security feeds that could clear her- no. All it would do was prove she hadn't snitched while *on* station, not that she hadn't period. Her good reputation? Not enough of it. She didn't have the distance to gain that kind of one time 'yeah, we believe you' trust here.

Eventually, she sighed, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the crate. She'd heard [member="Walker Ducote"] 's various comings and going. The mutter here, the clang of a hydrospanner there.

Right now, literally the only thing going for this situation was him.

Oh, not his charm, cute butt or mechanical skills- and certainly not his dexterity (oh, she'd noticed that face plant). But his ship. The karking drugs, ugh how she hated having to rely on that for anything. And the fact that, as much as she turned it around and around in her head, the two of them were sort of in this together. Not obviously. But because, at least for now, they both knew the other one was karked *just as much* as they were, and neither'd had a chance to try to sell out the other one yet. Not that that was her first go to, but she didn't know him from Adam, and the feeling was mutual on the other side she was sure. There was an angle there of course. Make it so that he *did* know her, and would hesitate to try and gain leverage with Sonny in order to keep himself safe from the Hutt. That could back fire, spectacularly. She set it aside, distant, to try to look at it from all angles.

But she was tired and frustrated and ultimately getting no where now.

Except to Zeltros. With this Walker character.

And as much as she was loathe to admit it, she probably needed him more than he needed her. The question was just, did he realize that yet?

Assume yes. Assume the less helpful answer and move from there.

Whelp. Time to be friendly then.

Stretching with purpose- not the long slow stretch of 'oh so you noticed?'- Del worked the kinks out of her neck and back. Snagging her jacket, she shrugged it on before booted feet went taking across the deck and up the ladder. The ship was laid out in a familiar configuration.... mostly.... and she headed toward the cockpit-

And stopped, only a single blink right as the door to the sonic shower opened and Walker stepped out, wearing nothing but a towel and a thoughtful look.

"Might want to get a better grip on that."

 

[Delaney Wilder]

The shower was heavenly.

It massaged the weary muscles and relaxed him, while scrubbing away the dirt and grime of the day. There was just something about a hyper-sonic shower that couldn't be replicated by regular water; more reach, for sure and it was most definitely more efficient and thorough in its approach.

In the meantime Walker couldn't help but try and figure out what to do next.

Oh, he was distinctly aware he needed her less than she needed him- after all, once the connect was reached, he could load off the goods and just go on his way.

In fact there was probably the chance that the man could do without the connect.

Sure, it was illegal, but there was a huge market for glitterstim, especially on the quality he had been getting it. But Walker didn't see the point in it - why betray someone, if they were helpful? Greed... greed was good, but it shouldn't make you stupid and in terms of monetary value?

He was already ahead through this arrangement by a large factor.

Still pondering Walker stepped out of the bathroom and almost walked into Del. This time - just as the lady sized him up - he did the same in a more frank fashion, before smirking at her comment.

"Be my guest." Oh, Del probably didn't mean it that way, but if she did? He wouldn't be complaining.

 

[Delilah Keyes]

The slow smile that curled over her lips held a certain promise. She stepped up closer to him, dark eyes heavy with something that had nothing to do with the larger circumstances the pair had found themselves in. As she stepped in, she reached out, fingers trailing down from his shoulder and down his ribcage.

Never taking her eyes off his, she tilted her head up, lips just beneath his for a moment. Finger tips brushed the top of the towel.

"Don't mind if I do," she whispered.

Finger tip hooked the towel and suddenly her grin widened and she was stepping around him, not looking back as she took the towel with her and into the sonic shower herself.

The door closed behind her with a swish of smug servos.

[member="Walker Ducote"]

 

[Delaney Wilder]

That's when Walker stood there bare-assed with a bemused expression on his expression.

Not that he seemed to mind his predicament much.

A lazy stretch followed, before he shouted over his shoulder to the closed door. "Tease!" And then promptly sauntered away to his cabin, where all of his things were. Didn't take him long to dry himself and then get some real clothes going. But no, Walker didn't truly mind one way or another.

She liked him.

Oh, there was play in the way of it, but she did like him. Curve of her lips, trail of the fingers and the smoke in her eyes, they added up to an act with just the barest hints of interest pushing it along.

That was enough for him... for now.

"We got about fifteen, before we reverse from hyperspace." Walker mentioned as he passed the bathroom and the sound of the shower running. "I will be in the cockpit."

 

[Delilah Keyes]

Even without fresh clothes to change into, she had to admit, the shower had been a good idea.

And honestly, the look on his face alone had been worth it.

Underappreciated currency, that.

She appeared in the doorway of the cockpit a few minutes after he'd called through the door. She'd actually discarded his used towel for one of the clean ones available, and was currently running that through her hair vigorously as she leaned against the door jam. Jacket hung elsewhere, she was wearing just the tank top and jeans, barefoot. Dark locks were even curlier damp, and the lack of make up actually made her look younger, less certain.

Of course when she dropped bonelessly into the co-pilot's seat, hooking one leg over the arm, her posture could be described as nothing less than indolent, so that impression went out the window in a hurry.

"You'll want to head towards the capital, eastern quarter, when we hit atmo," she commented, all business again. As if that scene in the corridor hadn't happened at all.

"Can't go visit these..... particular contacts dressed like this. Wouldn't let us through the door. So we'll make a swing by somewhere I know and fix that."

[member="Walker Ducote"]

 

[Delaney Wilder]

"Thought this looked pretty fine, but if you say so." All that Walker got back was a roll of the eye and a snort, which probably told him enough of what she thought exactly about his attire choice. If he had been expecting to pick out his own new clothes... he was sorely disappointed once they got to the store. From there it was immediately clear that Del was the one calling the shoots. Thrown a bunch of choices to his head, she practically forced him into one of the dressing rooms.

Twenty minutes later they both exited the store with new things hanging off of them in waves.

"You know I could have picked my own clothing." He brushed against the expensive-looking fabric clinging against him, the suave aura and the nice jacket attached to it. "This does look nice though."

Say one thing about Walker, say he knew when he was outplayed.

Fashion was most definitely not his strong-point and they probably would have been laughed out of the establishment, if he had been allowed to pick his own attire.

"Where to next?"

 

[Delilah Keyes]

"Look, I saw that purple monstrosity you were eyeing. And the last thing you want is these people thinking you sample your own wares. Drug use on Zeltros is like an art, and they do not take kindly to amateurs."

On the plus side, that meant she didn't think he was a glit bitter himself. If she had, well, they wouldn't even be here. Of the myriad vices Delilah enjoyed occasionally indulging in, spice was a hard no. There was no trusting a spicer, she knew all too well, and being unable to trust yourself? Well, that was the worst thing imaginable.

Her own dress was apricot silk, hugging and flowing in turns, depending on the need of the curve. Dark hair fell in long, soft waves, make up subtle and smoky. The expression on her face matched. Serene, friendly but neutral. The woman who had cheerfully kicked a crate in the faces of a pair of security guards seemed entirely absent- let alone the one who had stolen his towel.

"Next? The Red Lily. To meet with a handful of..... rather wealthy and often bored criminal socialites. Be polite, but not overly friendly unless you want to end up waking up in a bathtub full of ice with a lipstick mark and the number for the local hospital on the mirror, okay?"

Nervous? No. But wary. While Delilah worked hand in hand with the criminal element all the time, she didn't trust them. And these in particular?

She knew them too well. Of course she didn't trust them.

****

The meeting went smoothly. Which, after the last twelve hours or so, was kind of a relief. They took their sample to analyze and be sure of the quality. Just an hour to check, they assured so smoothly. Two at most. Would they like to enjoy a drink down stairs while they waited?

"Thank you, but we have other business to attend to," Delilah had interjected smoothly. "We will return in two hours if that is convenient?"

It was.

Del let out a soft whoosh of breath once they stepped out of the Lily. Dusk was falling, and the club was filling up quickly.

No. She didn't want to stay at the Red Lily for a minute longer than necessary.

[member="Walker Ducote"]

 

[Delaney Wilder]

For the most part Walker allowed Delilah to take point in the meeting.

The remark about the bathtube had disturbed him immensely - what kind of people were they dealing with here and why would they use ice, lipstick? It was only during the meeting (once his eye fell upon them) that things clicked together. It had already disturbed him immensely, but now... now he received the full picture and there was nothing pretty about it.

He brushed his gut worryingly, trying to casually determine if all his organs were still here.

Which caught the eye of one of the females in the room.

Tall, stately, necklace with a pulsing novastar and a loose diadem circling and hanging around her temples. Red with crimson lips and full predatory smiles, but this wasn't the first walk Walker did.

Well, he had never met organ thieves before, but still.

About half an hour later both Del and Walker exited the establishment safe and sound. All their limbs still there, organs still inside of them (as far as Walker could tell anyway), but something confused him.

Walker arched an eyebrow "Other business?"

"The business of not being in the Red Karking Lily longer than strictly necessary. Those people give me the creeps."

"Ain't that the truth." He mumbled, before shrugging. "Get a drink in a different bar?"

 

[Delilah Keyes]

"I think we've both earned it," she muttered by way of agreement.

They were in an upscale area of town, and the night was just beginning. Fortunately, there was a small, older bar that didn't cater to the drug and club clientele two blocks to the west. Rino's wasn't a dive by anyone's definition of one, but it was dark, quiet, and the wookiee bouncer at the door gave Del a friendly nod when they arrived with only the barest of eyeballing in Walker's direction. The scent of old wood, whiskey and cloven smoke greeted them, the raucous din from outside muted as the door closed.

"Rino's is a good place to lay low and out of the spot light while the Red Lily folks deliberate over.... well, anything. Part of their schtick is making people wait, and watching how they react to it when pressures of alcohol, spice or attractive aliens are applied. I don't prefer to give them the satisfaction of that particular strat péti. Besides," she commented as she slid onto a stool at the darkwood bar.

"Their drinks are over priced."

"Del. Been a bit."

The rough, clicking voice came out of the shadows on the other side of the bar. A well groomed Harch stepped up, wiping down a glass, wiping the bar and mixing a drink while still having a pair of hands to place lightly on his hips.

"Rench, always a pleasure. How's the wife? Have your young hatched yet?"

He shook his shaggy head, chelicerae rubbing together.

"Any day now, any day. The usual?"

"Unless you've gotten in any of that wine I like?" She asked with a smile, almost sounding hopeful. But another headshake and she shrugged. "Then yes, the usual..... what for you Walk?"

[member="Walker Ducote"]

 

[Delaney Wilder]

This wasn't exactly his kind of bar.

Too classy and up-standing. He could see rich, fat merchants or seedy politicians swarming this place at certain nights, closing deals in the corner shadows and shaking hands. There was a certain sense of dishonesty oozing through the walls. But at the very least the cloud of pheromones hung lazily here, instead of forcing itself up his nostrils at every opportunity. This was why Walker disliked Zeltros - his thoughts and feelings felt like they were from someone else.

It took all his focus, concentration and discipline not to pin her against the wall and take her right there and then.

Even his vision still had that rozy texture at the edges.

"Whiskey neat." Usually it was rum or some paint-thinner disguised as alcohol. But right now he wanted to keep at least some of his wits to himself.

About ten minutes later they were sitting in the corner of the bar.

Table was small, their legs touched and it was... comfortable? At this point Walker wasn't sure where the pheromones began and his own thoughts ended.

"How you get to know em socialites anyway?"

 

[Delilah Keyes]

Delilah spent enough time on Zeltros that she was accustomed to ignoring the pheremones.

That didn't mean she didn't *notice* them. Or feel their effects. Just that, like so much else, she could set them aside and focus on other things. Of course the only things to focus on right now were waiting, the Vasarian brandy in her hand, and [member="Walker Ducote"].

He really did shine up nice.

His knee pressed lightly, warm, against her own, and she propped her elbows up on the table. One hand cupped her chin and she leaned on it, the other swirling her glass in slow circles before she took a thoughtful sip.

"One of them. The dark haired zeltron in the wine red suit? Happened to be in a position to pull his chestnuts out of the fire about.... oh, six months back?"

There was clearly a story there, but just as clearly that was all the explanation on that he was going to get.

Six months ago. Mandalore. The earth quakes. The tidal waves. The terror and chaos. She pushed the thought away.

"He was appropriately appreciative, and when it became clear that he couldn't thank me in his usual fashion, we struck a business deal."

She leaned back against the soft, well worn leather of her chair, letting her hands trail off of the table and drawing her glass with her as she mused for a moment.

"They pay well. And are patient. But ruthless, like all of them," she referred to their own, now previous, other employers.

"More dangerous in their way, but mostly because people underestimate them. They see the lavish lifestyle, the fancy clothes, the sybarite's paradise and assume they are weak willed. Which is usually someone's first, and last, mistake when dealing with the Red Lily crowd."

 

[Delaney Wilder]

The press of her knee against his was difficult to ignore.

But somehow Walker managed it while swirling the low glass with amber, taking a sip and feeling the burn. The burn actually helped, scorching his throat in all the pleasant ways and letting him focus on the here and now. It was an interesting tale, if one that missed a whole lot of helpful details.

It didn't seem likely Del would be disclosing them anytime soon though.

"A powerful weapon, impressions and appearances." Ducote remarked after a moment of thought. "No wonder they can just sit wide in the open like that and afford their own... eccentricities."

On 'Shaddaa they would have had their skulls caved in.

Or an attempt to anyway.

The man shifted his weight. To get more comfortable, but as a result the line of her ankle was pushing against him and not even the burn could make him ignore that.

"I always heard Zeltros was choking with these pheromones, didn't expect them to be this expansive."

Soft chuckle, before taking another sip.

It didn't prevent him from briefly brushing his eyes across the line of her neck, when she stretched.

 

[Delilah Keyes]

Del tilted her head, stretching out her neck to work out a twinge of residual stress that had settled stubbornly at the base of her skull. She opened her eyes again when he said the last part however, and particular smile curved over her lips. She reached up with one hand, finger tips lightly on the center of her chest in a 'be still my heart' motion.

"You've never been to Zeltros before."

She chuckled, teeth capturing her lower lip for a heartbeat as she shook her head.

"For some people it gets easier to deal with, the more they come. More like a pleasant background noise," she murmured, leaning forward again. "Other people get addicted to it. Don't really feel alive without it. Which seems like a shame to me, but what can you do?"

Delilah was a flirt. A casual rake, but a friendly and generous one when she wanted to be.

"There's a tradition of sorts," she dropped her tone to an almost conspiratorial whisper. He'd have to lean in himself to hear her well, even in the relative quiet of Rino's. She shifted, and it could have been innocent if one were very generous, but her ankle trailed halfway up his calf and down again.

"When someone first comes to Zeltros, I mean. Like a right of passage really. Wonder if you can guess what it is?"

[member="Walker Ducote"]

 

[Delaney Wilder]

His shoulders and hands went up in a mock gesture of defeat, but the widening grin only supported it.

But before that could go any further she drew him in. It was a subtle thing, the way her voice hushed down and Walker found himself leaning in forward to catch the last hints of her hushed whisper. The rub of her ankle up his leg made him blink and suppress the urge to gulp.

There was just something about Del.

The twitch of her mouth, the husk of her eyes, it was difficult to pin completely.

"Oh, I..." His foot gently brushed hers in response. "...could come up with several interesting possibilities."

Now her mouth was so close, just a push here to bridge the distance. At this point Walker couldn't help but give them a proper inspection, moving up to her eyes and down again, while considering the bridging.

"But you can educate me... thoroughly on this rite."