Private Two Bullets

[Vask]

Takodana - Andui Administrative District
Akari Yui

Patience.

His father had always preached it as the greatest of the virtues. By the old man's words; It took patience to find love, it took patience to win a war, it took patience to grow the perfect garden. A thousand other tasks in this galaxy were made better by simply remaining composed, calm, and resolute.

Among them, was waiting for a man you were trying to kill.

It had been three days now, three days perched atop an abandoned building in the Andui Administrative district. Hidden beneath an old piece of sheet metal, his rifle set at the edge of the building as he watched through the macro-lense. Besides him lay a small collection of protein bar wrappers, a half-full bottle of water, and a datapad flashing a quick range display as well as the location of his tracker. Vask tilted his head towards the screen for a brief moment, then returned to leaning his chin against the rifle.

The dot hadn't moved in three days, but then, that had been inspected. Former Major Del Torrev was a high value target if ever there was one. A former servant of the Sith responsible for all sorts of atrocities. Horrific massacres, terrible persecutions, and most importantly; the death of Vask's father. He'd been hunting the slime for months, and today was the day he would die.

He just needed the bastard to move.

The compound Torrev had squirreled himself away in was about as secure as could be. Guarded by both the local police forces and private security Ortech Tower was practically a military base. Turbolasers, auto-turrets, dozens of armed men and women all armed with the state of the art weapons. There was a reason Vask had settled himself here, nearly a mile away in a building that no one cared for. He just needed Torrev to step outside.

Then he could move onto the next one.

 

[Akari Yui]

Vask

Every target had their weakness.

Family. Booze. Drugs. Loyalties.

In Torrev's case?

Women. Of the companion variety. Akari was lucky she'd never crossed paths with him, personally. Or, this wouldn't work. He'd recognize her. It had taken over a fortnight of planning. Setting up believable contacts. Tipping him off of the company.

Setting up the things she needed inside to make this successful.

There were a thousand things to go wrong. A chance to get this right. She needed information from him. Needed to find some important files. Then she could kill him. And then she'd need to extract herself.

One step at a time.

The sleek, black speedercar pulled up to the tower of residence. The crimson-silk dress covered her figure tightly. Bone straight raven hair was down. She waited for the aide to open the door before she swung her legs out, heels clicking into place on the duracreet as she stood. Taking the offered hand for assistance. Lips painted in the same shade as her dress. Fingers wanting to twitch toward a weapon she didn't have.

She forced a little smile on her face.

"Selene? Company Sunset does not disappoint. Major Del Torrev is expecting you. Right this way."

Akari dipped her head and followed. Hips swaying. Trying to forget her military background as she forced herself to look straight ahead and not let her head swivel for threats.

 

[Vask]

A company speeder pulled up to the front gates, and Vask slowly adjusted the tilt on his scope to look at who exited. Lips turned to a frown as he watched a woman step out. "Another one?"

It was like the man needed women more than he needed to breath.

Somehow his estimations of Torrev had only gone down since first arriving on Takodana. Something that he'd rather thought impossible. The last few days had been a revolving door of all sorts of companionship for the old rat. There was no doubt in Vask's mind that this woman was just more of the same.

Frustration flickered in his chest, and not for the first time he bucked against the advice of his father.

What good did patience do him if the man never stepped outside again?

He watched through his scope as the woman, fine as she was, slowly began to ascend the steps of the compound. Trailing away from the outer gates and leaving her speeder behind. His teeth clicked, and briefly he pulled back from his rifle to glance at the pile of wrappers sitting besides him. Teeth gnashing together, he cursed.

"Fuck it." With a quick jerk, Vask pulled himself up from his prone position. "Not everything has to be clean."

The soldier said, rejecting the mantra of his training as he headed for the stairs.

 

[Akari Yui]

The base of the tower was simplistic and military in nature. ‘Selene’ was escorted to a private lift. Silently, she kept track of the guards. The cameras. The automated defense systems built into the black obsidian walls. Most matched the inside reports.

That was a good thing.

Stepping into the left as the doors closed, she briefly felt the sensation of rising. The aide prattled on and on about nothing and everything. Like a true, trained companion, Selene politely listened. A tilt of her head here or there. A slight nod.

The lift opens directly into a spacious living chamber with floor-to-ceiling windows, offering a panoramic view of the city far below. Except, the windows were closed up with a layer of shielding. The furnishings were sparse: black leather, dark polished stone, aged wood, and a few pieces of Sith antiquity displayed almost like museum artifacts. Nothing was ostentatious, but everything carried the quiet weight of someone who spent a lifetime around power.

Akari turned her head, noting one wall contained deactivated weapons, medals, fragments of armor, campaign banners, and perhaps a Sith holocron locked behind transparisteel. Military relics.

Sleek, black furniture appointed the middle area. A bar off to the side. A desk to the other. And another doorway, she assumed lead to another wing or the primary bedroom.

“You must be Selene,” the retired major was dressed in slacks and a black tunic. He was old but something dangerous lingered in his dark eyes. “Come in. Come in. Make yourself at home.” He did not hide where his eyes lingered.

Akari wanted to punch his nose in. She settled for moving toward the bar. “I am here to make you feel at home, Mister Torrev. What can I get you? Company Sunset guarantees the highest satisfaction.” Her voice purred as she began selecting some spirits and glasses.

“I’ll leave you two,” the aide departed back to the lift. The major waved his hand, never taking his eyes off the woman with the red dress. He stalked toward her.

Vask

 

[Vask]

Vask broke out into a sprint as he cut towards the stairs, moving as fast as he could in the heavy armor hanging off his shoulders. Fingers already moving to draw the strap of his rifle tight. The weapon shifting, and then flicking onto his back to sit in the middle of his jetpack. Muscles tensing as he drew closer and closer to the railingless edge.

He felt his feet kick off first, launching him off the side of the building.

For a brief moment he floated, sailing through the air in motionless inertia before the jetpack kicked in and he was sent rocketing forward. A plume of smoke followed him for a brief moment, shutting off only as he twisted his wrist and cut the engine. Landing atop the next building with a muted thump as he rolled to a stand.

Quickly he broke into the same sprint, rushing across this rooftop before reaching it's end and repeating the process again and again.

Within the span of a minute he crossed a mile, then again, until finally he came skidding to a stop.

His boots ground into the heavy duracrete atop the latest flat top, momentum carrying him forward until he reached the beveled edge. Directly ahead of him now lay the secure facility where the Major was hiding. It's heavy fortifications clear for anyone to see. "Okay...okay."

Vask said to himself.

"You didn't think this through." The Soldier said to himself, cursing as he pulled out his datapad and quickly brought up the building schematics. "Maybe you should have paid the girl to bring him out. Idiot."

The old toad did seem to love his women, it would have been an easy in. Quickly flicking through the images on the screen, Vask found the level the Major was supposed to be on. "Okay...easy."

Vask said to himself as he turned his head up, glancing towards the seventy eighth floor of the building. "Might not have any fuel left after though..."

But that was a problem for later.

 

[Akari Yui]

"Company Sunset does not disappoint," he pressed in behind her. His rasping voice chuffing down the back and side of her neck. One arm looked around her middle. The other hand, his leathery fingers, slid down the outside of her arm. It took every ounce of training not to break that hold he had on here right away. Not to smash the palm of her hand into his nose.

Not to twitch and pull away.

"My employers will be pleased," voice was low. Barely in control as she tried to keep that little smile on her face even though he wouldn't see.

"Tell me," her hand lifted and skated down that arm of his that pinner her to him. "A man like you must have many stories. Stories of valor. Victories." Twisting her hips, she spun to face him. Fingers going to grab a fistful of his shirt as her muscles tensed. She forced him back in inch.

For a moment, he looked surprised.

Then pleased.

Her other hand lifted to caress the side of his face as she drew near, letting her lips linger at the corner of his mouth as her almond-eyes flitted up to his own. It's a good thing she had a poker face. His breath smelled absolutely rancid. Her mouth traveled along his cheekbone upward to the sensitive lobe of his ear as she whispered.

"Tell me the stories. What. Was. Your. Greatest victory?" Her other hand slowly began to trail lower. Toward a spot beneath the bartop counter. Where her contact had installed the jammer switch. The one that would make the forcefield disappear along the outer windows.

Vask

 

[Vask]

Vask took a few breaths, glancing up at the Tower and gauging just now far up he'd actually have to go. His eyes narrowed, the optics in his visor flickering for a brief moment as they too began to run through several calculations. Checking over his belt, holster, and everything else that might come loose, the soldier then slowly began to walk backwards.

A running start would probably help.

”Okay. Worst that could happen is you get shot out of the sky by a turbolaser.” Vask told himself, trying to summon all the confidence he could muster. Mouth going dry as he briefly glanced towards the massive turrets sitting at the base of the walls. A filtered long breath drawing into his lungs as he considered just going back to the roof-top and setting up his rifle again. ”Ahh fuck it.”

He repeated again, deciding that the old man was probably too scared to ever step outside of the building again.

Decision made, Vask broke into a sprint.

The heavy boot falls of his armor clattered against the roof top as he ran as quick as he could. A few warning lights quickly flickered over his vision as the suit’s internal computer finally realized what he was about to do, but by then it was too late. Vask reached the end of the roof top and his jetpack once again sprang into life. It's engines rocketing him upward in a direct vertical line towards the building ahead of him. Within seconds he flew high up in the air, his approach the opposite of subtlety, but too fast for anyone on the ground to really do anything about it.

As he flew higher and higher, more warning lights flickered, this time however not for the fuel level on his jetpack, but rather for a sensor reading ahead of him. ”Shit!”

Vask swore as the energy readouts told him the windows that were his target were covered in a ray shield. A new installation that apparently he'd been unaware of. One which was about to see him squished like a bug as the inertia carried him through the air. Nevertheless his arms folded out in front of him, hoping to at least blunt the blow somewhat.

For a moment, everything seemed to go quiet, and then unbeknownst to Vask; Akari found the switch she'd need looking for.

The ray shields dropped, and with an almost comical timing the heavily armored Rebel came crashing through the window. Shards of glass exploded into the room, alarm klaxons almost immediately began to blare, and Vask slammed onto the plush carpeted floor. Rolling with his momentum and standing up in one smooth motion. The instinct carrying him through even as he felt a sense of absol
ute befuddlement.

 

[Akari Yui]

Men like the Major? They liked to brag. They had no small amount of hubris. She had no doubt he'd show her exactly what she was after. Even as his hands stroked up the side of her dress and -

CRASH!

Her first instinct was to go for a weapon she wasn't wearing. Major Torrev's first instinct was to use her body as a shield. Wrinkly hand latched around her arm like iron. He spun her around. Kress, for an old guy he was stronger than she thought. He tugged her backward as he began inching toward the doors. Still keeping the bar between them and this armored-skull masked marauder.

Akari snapped her teeth. Trying her best to look scared. Simmering inside. For kress sake. This was supposed to be an easy job and now things had gone to total bantha shit. Her mind whirled. She had to take control of this quickly before these idiots messed everything up. And now the alarms were going, time was running out.

Twisting suddenly, she rammed her elbow back into the Major's face. He stumbled back. Surprised as blood spewed. Whirling, she grabbed his arm before he could go for a blaster he'd been clearing edging toward. The high slit in her dress enabling her to make these kind of moves. Twisting his wrist back, she got him on his knees before her.

"What the hells?!" He growled, eyes flitting between her and and the masked guy.

"Both of you are going to listen to me," she hissed with her own authority. Someone who'd served a long time with a military background. "I don't know who you are," dark eyes narrowed on the interloper. "And I don't care. I need information from him," her other hand went into what little hair was left on the Major's head and she yanked his head upward. "And YOU are not going to get in the way. Understood?"

Vask

 

[Vask]

For a brief moment, the world was spinning. Everything was upside down and he felt his foot half-unsteady beneath him. The glass had been a bit thicker than he'd anticipated, and some of the gel beneath the plates had already been broken. This all needed to end quickly, before any real fight could break out.

Then, almost as soon as remembered he was now standing, Vask pulled the blaster on his hip.

With his head still ringing he watched as the Major's companion suddenly flipped her entire personality. His eyes widening slightly as she pulled the Major down and pressed him to his knees. Vask watched as fear and surprise flickered over Torrev's face. The woman's voice booming out with her own set of commands even as the Klaxons continued to loudly blare.

For just a brief moment, Vask hesitated.

Who the fuck was she? Why did she care about Torrev? Too many questions. Too little time.

"You have two minutes." He said, the Bolt-blaster still pointing at the two of them, his gaze briefly flickering towards the alarm Klaxon blaring red in the corner of the room. "Then I won't be your biggest problem."

He knew the alert times of this building like the back of his hand.

 

[Akari Yui]

She didn’t hesitate. There was no time for hesitation. She dragged that major upward and held him in front of the desk and holoscreens. He actually whimpered. Pathetic.

“Tell me about Project Gemini.”

Grabbing a datachit from a questionable place in her dress, she hooked it to the drive. “I-I- you’re not going to get anything from me, bit-.” Grabbing the back of his head, she slammed his forehead down onto the desk. Then yanked his head back up as blood ran down.

“Tell me about Gemini and I’ll only break a few fingers instead of every single one.”

“Okayokay! The-the files. They’re there.” He pointed. Akari quickly added them to download. Grabbing a few other things, too.

“You know why I can tell you,” he hissed. Blood staining his teeth. “Because neither of you are going to get out of here alive.”

Vask

 

[Vask]

Project Gemini?

Apparently the old man was still involved in something, but just what that could be Vask had absolutely no idea. His lips pressed to a thin line as he watched the woman manhandle Torrev, dragging him to a nearby terminal. His eyebrow perking as he watched her reach where only she really could without a scandal to pull out a datachit. "Fifty three seconds."

Vask chimed in as Torrev offered his suggestions, glancing towards the broken glass.

"You have a way out?" The Soldier asked the stranger, still wondering about her part in all of this.

He'd known the Major was a bastard, known he had his enemies, but he'd been protected. The fact that someone else might be after him had never really occurred to the young Tetan. Whatever this Project Gemini was had to be important. Something the Sith were working on now? The Imperials? He wasn't sure.

But he was going to find out.

"You think you're getting out? HA!" The Major spat. "You have no fucking idea who-"

His words died as a loud blaster shot rang out, the bright green bolt from Vask's weapon lancing out to strike the man in the knee. His objections breaking out into a horrid scream of pain. "No one asked your opinion."

Vask said coldly.