Acting

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Aela Talith"] [member="Adder"]

Jacen managed a four hour sleep cycle. It was more than enough to keep him running the next day at reasonable performance, especially if he could grab a twenty minute nap at some point. His body was well used to it. It was those time when one went over a week with only short sleep cycles that it really started to hit home.

It was a noise at the door that brought him out of his sleep. He found himself perched on the edge of the sofa, handcannon trained on the door before he even knew he was awake. As he came to full consciousness he felt the familiar flow of the Force wash over him. There was no danger.

The blaster was kept in hand as he checked the door. There was a newspaper just outside the door. Really, he thought to himself, who still delivered a newspaper in this day and age? Jacen left it there and headed back inside. He pulled his jeans from the previous day back on. There was a second refresher in the suit, but he decided to have some breakfast first.

When the other two came down from the bedrooms on the upper floor of the suite they’d find him already eating at the table, a repulsor trolley full of breakfast beside him.

 

[Adder]

Adder? Shisa.

She hadn't slept much, or maybe she had, and the rest of it were just really bad dreams. Her return to her old hunting grounds had brought with it all those things she'd been avoiding ever since she'd left Coruscant nearly a decade ago. People, or at least what remained of them; painful memories came screaming back to haunt her sleep as if someone had opened the floodgates. Weeks and months spent selling her life and soul to make one goddamned bust, all amounting to a whole lot of karking nothing as a good lawyer and some credit chits in the right pockets had the bastards strolling away scot free.

It was nothing she cared to remember, and she certainly hadn't asked for it, but life had a way of throwing you lemons every single time, didn't it?

When she rolled out of bed, she did so with a sour taste in her mouth, and the crease between her eyebrows seemed even more pronounced as she glared back at the nearly permanent scowl fixed on her face.

Maybe the mirror will shatter, she thought with a malicious satisfaction as she reined in her unruly red hair and slid the cool leather of her jacket back onto her shoulders. At least she'd look doubly convincing today; 'Eagle Eyes' was certainly the frowning type.

Stalking down the stairs Shisa found Fassil already buried in a plate of surprisingly appetizing food, and the woman realized with a hint of shock that she was, well… starving.

"Anything unusal?" she asked as she plopped down, her voice still slightly gravelly with vestiges of sleep. Nobody ever said that criminal bodyguards enjoyed exhilarating small talk.

[member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

While the two guards got ready and ate breakfast downstairs Aela found herself in her own form of preparation. The meeting that would take place tonight was an important one, it was where she was to meet the Underbosses of the Shadow Syndicate and where she was to be inducted as one of those underbosses. To avoid suspicion of local authorities the meeting was to be held in an informal place, as Jarnon had explained last night. That informal place was a Hotel owned by Jarnon himself. The hotel was nice for this world, very nice in fact, it was the very one that they were now staying it. The hotel had conference rooms, dining halls, even a ball room, but the meeting wouldn't be taking place there.

Nope.

Instead, the meeting would be at the Hotels Spa and pool area, specifically the sauna.

It was of course, meant to deter any would be party from carrying any sort of listening device, tracker, or anything of the sort. If everyone was in bathing suits...well then no one would be able to conceal any wires, unless they were a tad more crafty than everyone else, that along with the constant steam and moisture in the air would make it difficult for cameras and things of that nature to actually work properly. It was an ancient trick, likely as ancient as Criminal organizations themselves, but it worked.

That was why Aela was still upstairs, and that was why she was in a bikini.

Oddly enough, she carried herself more confidently in the Bikini than she had the other outfit. Perhaps it was because the bikini was her own, tight and form fitting, but also secure enough that she knew nothing would fall or peek out. That was important to her, and as she walked passed the mirror Aela couldn't help but smile at herself. She strutted for half a second, remembering back to a novel she had once read before blushing slightly and quickly making her way down stairs.

There was things to be done.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Adder"] [member="Aela Talith"]

Fassil swallowed the mouthful bacon he’d been chewing on, before turning to face Shisa. Half of his hair was fluffed up and sticking out from where he’d been lying on one of the sofa cushions. The pillow Aela had brought down had been far too soft for his tastes and had been attempting to eat his whole face before it was discarded.

“Nothing unusual,” he said. He reached down to the newspaper on the table. He slid it across the Shisa, revealing the handcannon that had been lying beneath it. He was sitting with the main door in front of him, but side on to the windows. “Though I think our friends have been busy,” he said. A rodian had been found at midnight in a back alley, skin lacerated to shreds and a bolt through the brain.

“Caf?” he asked. Indicating the pot next to his plate. Brown eyes turned upwards at a creak on the stairs. “Good morning Ms….” He started before doing a double take. Oh, was the meeting so soon, he thought as he checked his chrono. No, there was still some time. “Ms. Castille,” he finished, eyes back on his breakfast.

 

[Adder]

"Su— re?"

At Jacen's stupefied expression, Adder turned in her chair and followed his wide-eyed gaze, only to mirror his shock with a second of delay.

"Ms. Castille." She swallowed, grinned, and twirled her finger in the general direction of the blonde's chest. "Rough morning?"

It happened to everyone, of course. Get up on the wrong foot, bleary and tired, forget to put on your clothes. Adder herself had fallen victim to the phenomenon in her younger years, with one particular occurrence being most memorable; she'd stumbled pantless into the precinct, much to the amusement of her coworkers.

Luckily, the episode didn't end on a terrible note, as the woman made a habit of keeping a spare set of clothes in her locker, but the walk of shame through the corridors had nonetheless been burned into her mind for all eternity. She could still remember the hot flush in her cheeks that colored the pale skin to a red that nearly matched her fiery hair.

Her eyes lingered a moment longer on the toned curves of the Jedi's body before Adder realized she was staring, and turned back around, digging into her plate with newfound gusto. She poured the proffered caf – black and steaming – into her mug, fished around her jacket for a moment, and pulled out a smooth metal flask. A splash of the amber contents, a small pause, then another, and Shisa's breakfast was ready.

[member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Aela lifted an eyebrow. "Jealousy is unbecoming of you, Shisa."

The Jedi said with a flat tone, though there was a hint of a smile on her face.

She knew that the meeting wasn't for a few hours of course, Aela wasn't an idiot. Yet she had a plan on what to do with that time, and no it did not involved the seduction of Fanty or anyone else. She would be spending her day lounging and relaxing, as a proper Crime Lord should on the eve of her ascendance. She had thought of this the day before, and it of course fit Miss Castille to a T. She knew that the other two likely would object, but the more she dove into the roll the better.

"I will be spending the day in the hotels spa." Aela said with a sweet smile. "Miss Castille will be pampering herself in preparation for the meeting while you two go and gather what we talked about last night."

The spa was secure enough that she wouldn't have any trouble, and it would clear the other two for movement around the hotel and planet.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

“They have robes you know,” Jacen said, looking at the Jedi Marshal incredulously. He looked back to his breakfast with a smirk, before draining the last of his caf. Truth be told, he wasn't entirely sure where he was going to go or what he was going to do.

After a moment he decided exactly what he would do. It was what he did best in these situations: stay quiet and keep his ears and mind open.

“Right, I'll hang around the bar for a bit see what's going on in the hotel. If there isn't much happening I'll see what I can dig up on Fanty. I'm going to hit the shower. Shout if you really need me Elizabeth.”

The implication was hopefully clear. Whilst he may not have had a Force Bond with Aela like he had with his Padawan and a few others, there was no need for clear telepathic communication. Just a general outcry through the Force if it hit the fan.




This was kark. That was his reflection in the whole situation. He swept back his hair and placed his face under the running water as he tried to fathom the situation. The hot water soothed some of the aches in his joints. He was getting too old by far to be taken this far outside of his comfort zone. Stuck in the middle of a gang meeting with a seemingly less and less naive zealous Jedi Warrior and a jaded ex cop. Out in stormy waters without a boat, let alone a paddle.

Keep your ears open, press on and don't get killed. He told himself. When a job was there to be done, there was nothing to do but get on with it.

Fassil once more, he towelled himself down and slipped on a fresh pair of jeans in the refresher before he headed back out into the suite. He carried on drying his hair as he went to grab the last of the pot of caf - if there was any left.

 

[Adder]

"I'm not jealous!" The indignation was only half-truthful, pushed into her tone only so that the underlying relief would be less obvious. If she was ever glad that [member="Aela Talith"] was oblivious to certain things, it was now.

She was also glad that she wasn't drinking her caf when Ms.Castille continued, or she would've surely snorted the beverage all over the table.

Slowly, Adder set down her cup, measured Ae– ugh. To obscure the gesture, Shisa ran a hand through her hair, leaned back, and picked up her mug again. 'Eagle Eyes' wouldn't comment on her employer's choices, and so she didn't. In fact, the slight purse to her lips was the only thing indicating that the haughty statement displeased her, and even that disappeared behind the rim of her mug quickly enough.

"Alright, Fas," she spoke as she rose from her chair, keen eyes flickering from Elizabeth to her fellow guard. "You fish around the counter, and I'll go get some of the other security heads cry on my shoulder. Should be easy enough."

Enough.


About two hours had passed since she'd wandered into the pool area under the pretense of checking out the place for any security breaches, when in fact her purpose was nothing other than to mingle with the rest of the men posted there. Since this was to be the site of the meeting, Shisa was sure they were only the most trusted of sentries, and therefore considerably high up in the pecking order.

High enough, perhaps, that they knew some sensitive things. It was another matter entirely to extract them, but the former cop was surprisngly skilled in handling people.

Wordlessly, the woman inched closer to the other guy leaning on the wall beside her, shrugged her jacket aside and pulled out the packet of cigarettes. One for herself – stuck in the corner of her mouth for the proper look – and one for the taller man.

He eyed her for a moment, then accepted, and the two criminals quietly exhaled the blue smoke into the steam of the sauna.

Bonding. The first step.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Adder"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

While Shisa and the other ugly mug took up to speaking with the help Miss Castille had made her way exactly to where she had said, the spa.

Most would have expected her to do scouting or perhaps to try and place listening devices, but Aela had no such intention. No, she would instead be pampered. Why? Because she was almost entirely sure that she was being watched. The feeling first struck her when she had left the room, it was subtle, a pinprick on the back of her neck. She would not have even noticed it if it hadn't been for her natural inclination towards farsight. There was something...something simply wrong. She didn't know exactly what, who, or even where, but she did know that there was something. A part of her had wanted to warn the others, but she knew doing so might tip off whatever, or whoever was watching her.

Best to simply go alone.

Best to keep up the act.

So that was what she did. Aela moved into the spa, an area that was clear and filled with so much security that it made her balk. Apparently it had been well known that Miss Castille would visit this area, and Jarnon, in his odd affections had decided that she would need her alone time. There was a kindness to that, but she suspected there was also far more to the story. Very likely it was Jarnon who had hitched his wagon to the rising star of Elizabeth Castille, and she did not want to fall along with her if something were to happen.

Aela could understand that, and she could also detest it. Slowly she wandered into the reception area, ignoring the employees and security guards that stood there and immediately moving towards one of the larger rooms that appeared to be vacant. It was a steam room, exactly something she needed. Adjusting her glasses the Young Marshall moved into the sauna, stepping into the heat and moving towards one of the comfortable wooden benches.

She splayed herself across it, stretching out and closing her eyes as she tried to gain some focus.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Aela Talith"]
[member="Adder"]

Keeping his mind open to the Force; keeping his eyes on the periphery; listening carefully; being suspicious. These were all things Jacen could achieve quite easily. He had his jacket on when he headed for the bar, but this time he had a discrete hold-out secreted, rather than the fairly obvious handcannon. There were private booths around the edge of the bar, with several criminals and their entourages already starting their own private discussions. There would be a lot of that he imagined, as last minute negotiations and power brokerages were made before the large meeting.

A few hours in the sauna would have been nice, but then it seemed that was on the cards for this evening anyway. Hard to relax when the critical part of the mission was going on, he imagined. Fassil made a beeline for the bar and took up a stool seating himself close, but not overly so, to some of the others who seemed like Fassil's type at the bar. A beer was barely in front of him before a Gran enforcer had shifted a seat over, bringing his drink with him.

"Don't recognise you," he stated gruffly, before taking a swing.

"One of Castille's."

"Ah. Bad business that," the Gran replied. Clearly referring to the 'breach' of the last detail.

"Name's Fassil," he said with a friendly nod.

"Lark," came the reply. "How's it working with the drama queen?" he added in a much lower tone.

Fassil allowed himself half a smile. "She makes me put on her shoes."

 

[Adder]

She dropped the first butt carelessly to the floor, quashing its burning remains under the heel of her boot.

"Karking had to do the rounds twenty times around here," she muttered under her breath as she cleaned the ash off her sole with the tip of the other shoe.

"Huh?" the other man quirked an eyebrow and turned his head towards her.

"Oh, you know. The usual. When are they not pissy about these things?"

He snorted. "Yeah, tell me about it. Valdrik won't move until we've checked every inch of the perimeter." The bothan shook his head and puffed out another plume of smoke.

"Oh, damn. Valdrik? Here I thought I had the worst one." Anan Valdrik being the head of one of the biggest smuggling rings in these parts. He trafficked everything from drugs to live goods, and was infamous for his short temper and a particular taste in food.

"You're Castille's new detail, right? Thought I saw you yesterday going up into the lounge."

She nodded slightly reaching for the second cigarette. It was an inconspicuous way to afford herself some more time between responses, and Force knew she needed it. One misstep, and she was going to take an involuntary bath.

"She's… a piece of work, that one. But who am I whining to, eh? You've got Valdrik on your back, man. Is he really as bad as they say?"

"Worse. The guy is never happ— hey, Morvyn, come here!" The guard waved over a tall, lanky figure, and as it emerged from the strips of steam lazily crawling across the chamber, Shisa felt her heart skip up into her throat. Chit.

Morvyn was a droid.

She kept her relaxed expression glued onto her features as she nodded to the newcomer, hastily trying to figure out a new strategy.

"Morvyn, this is Castille's new doormat, — "

"Shisa."

"Right, Shisa. And I'm Calossi. I was just telling her how wonderful it is to work for Valdrik."

[The pleasure is comparable to having Sparkbee honey slowly dripped onto my central module.] the droid deadpanned, his photoreceptors never blinking. [Service to Anan Valdrik is all one could ever want in life, indeed.]

It was Eagle Eyes' turn to snort, and the trio descended into smoke-filled silence for a few seconds.

"Is it true that he has a fetish for rodians, though?"

[I can neither confirm nor deny that rumour.]

"But we do see a lot of them in our cargo shipments. I'm sure it's a coincidence, of course."

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Aela Talith"]​

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Adder"] [member="Aela Talith"]

"Yeah, no, literally. I have to bend down and hold them out and slip them on. I say slip them on, but have you seen how tall she is? Big hands and feet too, yet insists on buying heels that are three sizes too small. Sorry, I'm rambling now," Jacen said. He turned back to the bar with pursed lips, trying to look abashed.

"Ah don't worry about it," Lark replied. He grunted as he shifted his position on his stool to face the bar as well. "None that care are listening here." One of his eyes stalked turned to regard a congregation of suited businessmen in one corner of the establishment. Two guards, clearly armed, stood at the edge of the booth.

"Are you with Jarnon's lot?"

"Nah, Kreachers' He's an alright sort. Keeps things civil, professional."

After a few more minutes of conversation Jacen became acutely aware of two things. Firstly Lark was quite talkative. Inquisitive, almost. Secondly one of his companions was keeping a close eye. He quickly came to the conclusion that it was Fassil that was being probed for information here and not the other way around. Yet he sensed no danger, no sign that their game was up. No, it was more likely that they had simply been talked with gathering a bit more information on Castille's new crew.

 

[Adder]

Banter flowed easily enough beyond that point, and the steam and sweat only helped melt the impressive barriers of ice that Calossi and Morvyn sported. Which wasn't surprising at all, given their profession and employer, but Shisa found that falling into old patters was… disturbingly easy. Easier than she'd been expecting.

For how long she'd been evading exactly this kind of situation for… reasons, she was doing pretty damn well so far. Knowing her luck, of course, that would change within the second of her confidence spiking, but the woman wouldn't allow it to get to her this time.

Not this time.

"Well, boys," she stated easily enough, interrupting yet another presumably amusing tale of a back alley execution gone wrong. There was only so much of their impassive attitude that she could swallow, and it wouldn't look so good if she suddenly sprouted a conscience on the spot. And/or looked ill.

"I'm afraid duty's calling, and she likes to take it out of my paycheck if I don't show up exactly on time…"

"Say no more," the bothan shook his head in sympathy, chancing a glance down at his datapad. "We should be heading out too, anyway. See you around, Eagle Eyes."

A round of grudingly respectful nods was exchanged, and then the trio parted ways. As the redhead picked her way back to the meeting spot, she quickly went over the bits and pieces of info she'd managed to drag out of the pair. It wasn't a bad yield, all in all, and pretty one-sided too.

"Ms. Castille," she greeted the blonde tersely, leveling the spa droid with a withering glare that didn't move it one bit. "Unfortunately you're going to have to cut your pedicure short. We're due at the pool in fifteen minutes."

[member="Aela Talith"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]​