"What do you mean you JUST sold it?"
Tracking down the stuff that had been hocked by her ex or sold off after it was confiscated by the Alliance upon her arrest was time consuming, expensive, and frankly a pain in the arse. It would have been quicker and easier for Sabetha Tag to simply purchase (or more likely, steal) new stuff, and not by a small margin. So why was she out here, mucking around Arkech hunting down one little dagger rather than just getting herself a new one?
Because it was hers, gorram it.
Sabetha hadn't had a lot that she called her own in her life. The few things she had? Well. There was something visceral about getting them back. Not something similar, but them.
It was the principal of the thing.
Sabetha rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance.
"I CALLED you. Yesterday. You said you had it and would hold it for me. And now, you are seriously telling me, that you sold it TWO HOURS AGO?"
The shopkeep nodding, nonplussed.
"Ma'am, it was sell it or lose fingers, savvy? It was just a knife, I've got a half dozen more just like-"
The words cut short as he sudden found his face slammed into the counter.
"You do, that's true." She said slowly, her hand curled in his hair and grinding his nose against the wood. "But now what I want to know is who you sold it do and where they were going, you dig?"
"Hey hey I wish I could!" Voice muffled. "But I protect my customers! Can't do this kind of work if we're just giving out names left and right!"
Keeping his head pinned, Sabetha leaned over the counter. Making sure he could see, she selected one of the 'other' blades he'd been so keep to sell her instead.
"Oh I know. What was it you said was the price of my knife? You sell it or.... your fingers?" She looked down at him, eyes hard. "Such a small thing, really. This? This is bigger yes. Selling out your buyer," she leaned, putting more pressure on his head. "So I won't threaten your fingers. But I got somethin' similar in mind."
The dawning realization on his face when he realized what she was threatening brought her no particular joy.
"So. A name? Or your continued ability to please a woman? Man? Goat? Look I don't know what you like, and frankly I don't want to know. Not the information I'm looking for. Bigger threat for a bigger trade. Well, metaphorically bigger, again, I don't wanna know. Sounds fair to me. How about you?"
*****
He'd caved. They usually did when it was that on the line. Of course it didn't do her much good. She was pretty sure the name was fake. But the ship? That was real. She bee-lined over to the space port- just in time to watch the ship she wanted lift off.
Kark.
"Hey," she said, jogging up to one of the port officials. "The Emulous, the ship that just took off. Can you tell me who's ship that is and where it's heading?"
The man sniffed, looking down his nose at the redhead.
"I absolutely will not, that is protected information."
Sabetha grinned. Not often she got the use the same threat twice in one day.
*****
Armed with a name and destination, Sabetha was off again. She had a new knife and a pocket full of credits too. Over all, Arkech hadn't been a total loss she figured.
[member="Kyrinov"]