As Thick As Pletik Soup [Asher]

[Abaigeal E'ron]

​

Coruscant
Level 1313

Bent over leaning on the counter with her elbows propping up her chin, the girl munched on a root vegetable while vaguely listening to the man at the window talking. He was only half way through his bowl of pletik soup, and the conversation which made Geal’s eyes glaze over. Behind her the cook barked orders to the kitchen staff, the hissing and clanging of the pots and woks startled the small creatures hanging around the kitchen floor and walls hoping for a morsel to fall their way and the sweat stank almost as badly as the soup.

She took another bite of the root vegetable, “Why don’t you dump her”, it was the simple solution to his problem but as soon as she said it, she regretted it. The small man looked up at her with eyes filled with tears which only started a new direction in this dull conversation. He started off by recounting the years they had spent together, all their dreams and expectations which amounted to nothing and so on and so on. Geal looked at him blankly, pretending to listen as she cast her eye to the chronometer which had not been keeping correct time for years. It kept time, just not correct time which down in the lower levels of Coruscant did not really matter. You could never tell night from day anyway. What it did tell her was she only had one more hour to go before she would head out into the streets and grime of the underworld.

Tonight had been very slow, not only few customers but little by way of information. The Soup Kitchen, although not a very original name, was a great place to get information on the goings on in the levels, from petty crime to movements of the larger fish in the pond, the crime lords that ran the place. People would come and sit and relax while they ate, and if steered in the right direction would give up news or information they would not normally do, thinking it safe and well, who here would care. After all the girl behind the counter was just a no one, right?

His girl wanted children, that was the last thing she heard him say before her mind shut down to the rest of the story. Maybe he is shooting blanks, maybe she is the problem, why do I even care, began her internal monologue which was far more entertaining. Geal let out a long sigh and checked the clock once more, it had only moved five minutes. It was going to be a long hour.

I wish something would happen. Anything to break this monotony.

[member="Asher"] ​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

The backdoor opened to the sound of rapid footfalls coming towards it. In came one man, a single man clutching his hand to his chest as he leaned against the door with the entirety of his being as if to block something that was chasing him from coming through. With a few heaving breaths he began to catch his breath. A careful glance fired off into the kitchen of the soup kitchen until he caught the attention of the cook who looked quite surprised still.

“Abbie in?” He whispered under his breath trying to stay hidden from, well, her. The cook nodded his head. “Crap.”

He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair, still padding the content of his pocket as he took a few more steps into the establishment. Just had to play it cool, just needed to assure her that everything was fine, nothing was going to happen and that he would fix this. Of course, he most likely wouldn’t be able to fix this, and if anything it probably wasn’t fine at all. The wrong people were upset, and sure enough he was at most fifty-fifty the reason why. Okay, maybe seventy-thirty but he would not give them anything more than that.

Look, had he known the Tears were involved he might just have said no.

Still, the pay would have been good. Had he gotten it.

“Heyyyy,” He really drew it out. “Abbie.” He grinned and pulled her aside and gave the man she was talking to an insincere, apologetic grimace. “She’ll be… Right back.”

Asher led her into the kitchen before he cleared his throat.

“Promise me that you will not get mad.”

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

Well, she wished for a break in the monotony and every time Asher entered the scene, she got her wish. This time she had to wonder what form that would take. “You took your time”.

She noticed his face was flushed as if he had been running or doing something that required physical energy, as he greeted her with his usual devil may care attitude. This meant trouble, and she hated he called her Abbie.

Geal looked at him, as he shuffled her away from the window, it was an inquiring look which only caused her more concern with his words. “What happened?”, her simply question would most likely produce a long answer, but it would be better than the conversation and the window. “And you are not sending me back there”, she nodded toward the counter and the sad sack of a man.

The cook bellowed that a takeaway order was ready, Geal dodged around Asher to take it the waiting customer, just as another approached the counter. She quickly took his order and passed the docket to the cook who vanished into the steaming kitchen and the cacophony of pots and woks started again.

She turned her attention back to Asher, her eyes ran over him, checking to see if he was alright, it appeared so. “You are still in one piece”, which as good, she needed him down here and he was her partner in ‘crime’. Geal stood in front of him while she reached behind her back to undo the apron strings and threw it into the laundry basket which never got emptied. It was probably best that their conversation was done in a more secure location.

The meat locker.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

A curious glance shot back at the ‘sad sack’ before it set on Geal again.

“Alright.” Asher said and followed his friend into the meat locker. Not necessarily a place he liked for more reasons than just the one. It was cold, it was full of half-consumed meat pieces and other items that didn’t have anywhere else they could be stored. Before speaking he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket to pull out a small leatherbound case containing five distinct vials with the markings of bacta on them.

“First off, I got you the package.” He said and glanced over at the door to make sure nobody could see them. “Second off, retrieval didn’t go as planned.”

His shoulders tensed up and Asher began to huddle for warmth.

“The Tears of the lower districts were involved and seemed to have a stake in this shipment.” He exhaled a long, steamed exhale of frustration. “... Demanded extra payment when I picked it up.”

His hand moved up to rub at his neck.

“Remember when we said to talk first and avoid complications?”

“... I didn’t talk first.”

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

One thing about Asher is he never failed to deliver and she knows better than anyone that the most well laid out plans don’t always go according to plan. Geal took the small package from him and quickly pocketed them gently in her dress. "Thank you. Next time you don't go alone, it is getting to dangerous". And she meant it, sincerely concerned for him.

“Best to get you off the streets for a while”, she said with a smile. The workers at the local medical centre, if you could call it that, will be happy for the bacta. “Come on”. She did not relish the meat locker either, the smell was horrid and the meat and goods in there, questionable.

She led Asher to the back door, the same through which he came, and checked the back ally before stepping out first. It was all clear for now and the two went with pace a little way up the ally from the kitchen back entrance. A non-descript door opened with a key card and revealed a long steep set of stairs which she began to climb. They were safe now to talk. “I take it you were not in a talking mood”, she looked back at him climbing up the stairs behind her, she gave him a look to tell him he must be more cautious.

“The Tears are getting bolder and have their fingers in a lot of pies. This is not the first time I have heard this”. The Tears were starting to grow in numbers and strength, and they had their eyes on taking down other smaller crime gangs in the lower levels. They had drawn the attention of the bigger fish, and if they continue to grow and become a threat, it will not be long before a gang war would find its way to the streets and that is when things are dangerous for everyone.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Geal entered the room. It was nothing grand, but it was comfortable with rooms that stretched along the upper levels of the builds until reaching above the The Soup Kitchen. It was headquarters, it was a safe house and it was a storage place for all manner of weapons and devices needed to run their operation. Anything and everything that Asher could get his hands on.

Geal walked straight to the window, “Do you think you where followed?”. She looked down into the street, looking for anyone that might be watching the Kitchen. It was not just people you had to worry about, but drones and probes from Coruscant Security Force, the Imps and the crime gangs.

​

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

“The lower levels are always dangerous.” Asher shrugged at the remark. Sure enough he was ready to get off the street for a bit. “At least now we have one less thug trying to make it even worse.”

They left the locker and proceeded to head for the back door. Abaigeal would find the back alley safe enough. The usual squatters and people were there, Fred and Dex were having a talk over a nearby burning barrel, Kreedan slept under a fresh blanket under a small house made of used food boxes. As it turned out, unbeknownst to the thugs, if you treat people with care and respect they were far more likely to stick their necks out for you and do some favors. All in all, being a sentry on the lookout for danger was a pretty small favor to trade for the favors Asher and Geal, and others, had bestowed upon them.

“I don’t know if I would say I wasn’t in a talking mood,” Asher said and caught Abaigeal’s cautious glance. “Might be more accurate to say I was cornered and chose the third option. Really, you don’t have to worry. I have been doing this since before I could walk.”

As they stepped through the door to the safehouse he let his shoulders sink and his arms fall limp by his side, letting go of more tension than he had expected to have been carrying. He took a moment to take off his jacket and threw it on a nearby couch. He’d never openly admit to having smuggled a couch of all things through the underbelly of the Universe’s Center but he most certainly had. And as to what extent he had legally acquired this couch, well, that was a matter of opinion as well.

“No. I believe I lost them a few blocks down the road.” He said as he made himself a drink. “Just had some adrenaline to burn.”

Carefully approaching the window, making sure not to stand out in the open he threw a quick glance at the people down below, eyeing the line to the soup kitchen and the club on the other side of the road.

“You know they initially opened that club just to spite you, right?” He said with his brow reaching for his hairline. “Funny how things work out in the end.”

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

Regardless that he had been ‘doing this since before he could walk’, Geal still worried about his safety and everyone else’s that were involved in this group and she always would because yes, the lower levels had always been dangerous, but the danger increases when you start to influence or try and influence, the game down here. But she didn’t say anything simply because it would have been hypocritical of her, her own outings filled with no less danger and she operates with more aggression.

Asher’s comment about what happened caused Geal to chuckle, but under it was the concern that he had been cornered and that could have gone pear shaped.

Standing by the side of the window her eyes flicked to the club across the street, which windows blacked out and muscle at the door, but its neon sign flashed its true intent behind the doors. “I am flattered”, she said in response, giving him a smirk as she moved away to pour her own drink. She took a sip and left the glass resting on her chin contemplating his words, that was not what he had meant, and she knew it.

What Asher did not see was the look on her face, which ranged from frustration to doubt and back to determination. “You think I am foolish in this attempt to find a way in which to help others, those that are trapped in this constant cycle of life down here?”, She probably was, and she asked with on hint of being defensive or hurt, and a good part of her could see it that he was right. This life, here the lower levels is in a constant cycle of fighting for survival is something the whole galaxy participates in everyday, but none more so then the people that live down here and years and years of being forgotten by whoever rules on the surface. Someone had to at least try for them.

“I know, despite doing our best to shut down these operations, another will take it’s place. Just like the thug you removed tonight, another will take his place”, she moved over to the sofa and sat down next to him, half her drink gone by now which she noticed and placed what remained on the small table.

“I am going to change, the bacta won’t deliver itself”, she stood up and made for the rooms at the back in which one was her sleeping quarters.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

That one constant that permeated throughout the entirety of the lower levels had always been the lawlessness and communities that formed under it. It was the double-edged sword of the world. On one hand it meant a freedom that few outside of the hardship would ever understand, but it also meant that there was never really someone else out there who looked out for you without expecting something in return. Asher had come to understand this as he’d grown up. Most of the people he had known as a child moved drugs, moved weapons, or had just outright gotten themselves killed.

Nothing ever changed, death was a constant, and generally everything was soaked in whiz and vinegar. At least if you let it. For all the things the world threw at him Asher managed to keep surprisingly lighthearted. Then again, given the darkness in the heart of others he felt like he pretty much had to.

“Not sure I would say foolish, it’s just been attempted before and always ended up the same way.” He said and put his glass aside. “Not sure whether or not that makes me the greater fool for going along with it in the first place.”

As Abbie went to get changed, Asher took a seat on the couch.

“It’s not all that wrong to compare it to something like drowning, I hear.” He said with an unseen shrug. “Struggle to keep your head afloat. Sink or swim. The usual… Water-death things.”

He wouldn’t exactly know. Coruscant didn’t give you a lot of exposure to wide bodies of water unless you had the money for it and lived on the appropriate levels. Swimming and drowning was more of a second hand experience for him.

“I’ll come with you.” Asher said defiantly to Abaigeal’s intentions. “This front for the business would die even faster if we both were taken out at the same time after all.”

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

She kept mulling over his words as she changed into a charcoal coloured shirt, nothing to bright to stand out on the streets. There had been many attempts to clean up the levels, even some people in the political world who had a sense of moral had tried and failed. And no doubt after Asher and Geal had gone, if it was death that claimed them or something else to stop them, the situation would not change. Not in a complete whole, and she knew this, that was almost an impossible task and would be foolish to attempt. But, if they could, influence a change in some small way, that would be a victory, and it was this they both strive for. They were fools together and that made her smile.

Geal didn’t quite catch what he said next, as she moved around her quarters, only a few words met her ears. Which made her mind puzzle as he said something about drowning and floating, as she stepped into her trousers. “Are you planning to go swimming?”, she yelled out from her room. “Good luck with that”, she spoke lower to her room while buttoning up.

After pulling on her boots, she made for the door and grabbed her jacket off the hook, she heard the next part clearly enough, and threw back her head in exasperation, even though she was waiting for it. “Fine”, she said as she re-joined him. “That may be so, not sure you coming with me is going to fix that though”. And quite frankly Asher had done enough for today, and earned some time to relax, but there was no point in pointing that out, he would come anyway.

On the side bench was her holster and blaster, which she slung over her shoulder before threading her arms through her jacket. Every time she goes out into the street her mind thinks of her lightsabre tucked away safe in her room. It is unnerving to leave without it, but down in the levels the use of a lightsabre draws unwanted attention from all forms of ‘authority’ as it is not a common weapon down here. Especially if it is used to kill someone.

It was time to go, the medical centre was two levels up and right in the heart of Tears territory, and the streets on level 1315 are thick with enemy eyes and ears and no one can be trusted.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

Relaxation wasn’t really something to be earned. Not every day was packed with excitement and for all he knew tomorrow would be a slow day. Besides, he created this mess and he would rather see that Abaigeal didn’t catch any unwanted attention because of his actions. He had just shot one of the Tears dead after all. Didn’t get much worse than that. Though if they were lucky the other thugs hadn’t told the others yet.

Of course, that was unlikely, but Asher could dream.

“If we take the back alleys towards the elevators we should avoid the greater groups of them.” He said and corrected the holster hidden under his jacket. “Pretty sure they’re running shakedowns at the scene as we speak. They usually do.”

Approaching the door he stepped out and began to descend the stairs.

“Thirteen-fifteen is likely to be even more on alert. I am thinking we run a decoy here. They will be looking for me and they will be-” He passed by one of the homeless in the alley. “Hey there, Dex.”

The homeless man grunted back with a smile.

“They will be looking for me.” Asher said and looked back at Abaigeal. “Figure we can use that to our own advantage.”

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

The back alleys where probably more well known to both Asher and Geal, as they spent a fair amount of time traversing them and with great result, as the locals that either live in the alleys or on them, where familiar with the pair. The only thing they truly knew about Asher and Geal was that knowing them was a benefit, a trading partnership that fitted both parties. They would receive goods that they needed, and in return all they had to do was pass on some information or let them know of things happening on the streets. Dex was one of them, to which Geal smiled as they passed but it was Asher that had the nuance of developing such relationships.

The Alleys are the course to take, on this she could agree, “Good idea. And, I suspect the medical centre will be watched”, most places probably will be, but they weren’t going to most places.

“Look Ash, I am not sure that is such a good idea”, but she couldn’t agree on his next suggestion, they came to a corner and crossed the street to duck into the other alley. A quick sideways glance in both direction Geal could see more activity on the streets, much more for this time day or night. “I am not sure how you think we have the advantage if you are spotted, or worse, caught. I don’t like the idea of splitting up if that is what you had in mind”.

The elevators to travel to the levels where across the street as busy as always, she hated using them, Geal felt that horrible feeling of the enclosure closing in on you and it felt worse tonight, she supposed it was a metaphor because of the lock down. “What did you have in mind?”, he must have a plan or else he would not have suggested it.

There was actually a long line up for the elevator, people were anxious to get home because of the atmosphere in the levels, it was thick and electric as if something big was about to happen. They knew this well enough and well-practiced at it. Heads lowered, walking at a set pace and keeping business to themselves was part of their psyque, Geal stood at the back of the line, it would move fast however, as the elevators where like cattle trucks.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

Here she went again getting all worried. Asher shook his head and looked at her as she urged him not to get split up and killed. Cute in one way, but you didn’t grow up on these levels without learning a trick or two. More specifically you didn’t get off-world every now and then without the proper tricks. Few things inspired anger like the sight of the opulence of the upper levels. It was one thing to see it from behind a screen, but to see it with your own eyes just made it all the more worse.

But Asher’s disdain for the people on the surface was not why they were here.

“Well, I am a hazard for this run either way.” Asher shrugged. “Look-”

“There he is!” A voice boomed across the crowds. “Asher, you pfassk!”

On instinct Asher turned to look only to find himself looking at a gran on the other side of the queue accompanied by two gamorrean thugs. There was no time to waste. Asher pushed against the crowd in order to reach the elevator with Geal. There was resistance, people who were peeved by the sudden interruption to their journey home. From behind the thugs were throwing people into walls as they made for a steady beeline towards the duo.

As they reached the elevator Asher would force the people entering out of the carriage, his hand moving to pull Geal into the vehicle with him. As the people hit the ground outside the elevator he slammed the button to close it. No more than a second passed before the thuds on the other end hammered against the doors to the elevator. Asher bowed down to let out an exhale and a sharp laugh.

“They’re not even trying at this point.” He said and sighed with relief. “That went about as well as could have been expected.”

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

Every time he opened his mouth, it seemed he was being prophetic unintentionally so. Geal’s head snapped around at the sound of Asher’s name being called. But there was no time to see who did the calling. They both pushed against the crowd gathered at the entrance of the elevators, “Asher I don’t… think… this is a .. good idea”, her grunted protestations due to an elbow in the ribs, landed on deaf ears. It was too late the doors had shut on them all, trapping them.

The other people in the elevator eyes them both and quite frankly it was obvious they did not want the pair of them as company. And they did not hide the fact as they pushed back away from them as far as they could go in this confined space, that rattled and shook its way to the upper levels of the lower levels.

They’re not even trying at this point….

Was met with an emotionless stare. Not exactly emotionless, behind the eyes was a touch of anger and ‘I told you you should have stayed behind, but no’. “And now they know you and I are in this death trap”, not exactly the words to help relieve the concerns of the others in the elevator. “When those doors open, you think they might try a bit harder then?”. Her hands crossed across her chest, as her head tilted to the side awaiting his response. The man infuriated her sometimes, with his cavalier style and let the chips fall where they may attitude all delivered with a winning smile. “This shake down seems over the top for some lower level thug in the Tears, who exactly did you kill?”. She had moved close to Asher and kept her voice down, not that it really helped much.

Geal noticed she was not helping, the people pinned to the walls of the elevator and crouched to the floor, just in case they would be met with blaster fire once the doors open. It was time to think of a quick plan, as her eyes roamed around the carriage of the elevator, and she wished she had her lightsabre with her. Nothing was immediate, the only source of light was a flickering lamp on the back wall, no hatch to the top of the carriage to climb up into, there was literally nowhere to go but out the doors.

She reached into her jacket to retrieve her gun, primed it ready and she pressed her back to the cold metal of the elevator just by the side of the doors. There was no need to tell everyone to get down, they were already down as best they could be. Only thirty seconds until the carriage stopped rattling and the inevitable ting.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

The Tears were predictable if anything. Asher shirked the bitter stare coming from Abaigeal with another shrug and a shake of his head. And sure, they did know that Geal and Asher were stuck in an elevator, but so were a dozen other people too. They could open fire on the carriage the second those doors opened if they wanted to, but that kind of collateral brought down an unwanted attention from the authorities. While they held no real power down here, they were still a nuisance to whoever got stuck in its crosshairs.

“Nah.” He said, they wouldn’t try harder. They already were, he assumed. She leaned in to ask who it was. “Raesc.”

The notorious leader of the Tears’ operations on level 1313. Raesc was one of the higher-ups who held power over others and was known to be a ruthless son-of-a-Gonk. For anyone who had been growing up in or around 1313 it was hard to forget the brutal slaughter in the streets a few years ago when the Tears began to move in. Those who didn’t get in line had to be made an example of, and that was where Raesc came in to play his part.

As the doors opened Asher motioned for the others to leave. It took a few moments before they started to get up off the floor again and he took a step to the side by the door, utilizing the frame as cover and motioned for Abaigeal to do the same. They didn’t like it, but they complied given the conversation that the two had held. As they left the carriage, the sight of a dozen heavily armed men rushing towards the elevator could be seen from around the corner. Asher withdrew his gun, pointed it at the people who tried to get in and ushered them back onto the level before he clicked the button to close the doors again and pressed for the panel to get them up by an additional two levels.

“We’re taking a detour.” Asher said rather matter-of-factly and looked over at Abbie as he holstered his gun again. “They would have dragged you off the street regardless of my being here. Raesc was never known to ask first and torture later. I don’t expect anything different from his henchmen either.”

“So, I have a plan, but you are definitely not going to like it. Given the success rate of my plans, if you have one of your own, now is probably the time to share it.”

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

“Well, that explains it”, she finally said as the doors closed on them both once more, but she could not help feeling a sense of justice with the death of Raesc and she knew that a lot of people on 1313 would feel the same way. “It will be interesting to see the politicking over his replacement”, well that was an inaccurate statement, it was more worrying than interesting.

“And I might add, you assume too much”, they might have tried to drag her off the streets, but they would have been met with some resistance that might not have gone according to their plans. Her adrenaline level dropped somewhat as the carriage started it’s rattling again up to level 1317 and at this rate the pair would be stepping out of the elevator and into the open cityscape.

1317 held one of the Soup Kitchens safe rooms, a place to be able to get off the streets if one was in need of it, although it had not been used in a while. Her first thought went to it, maybe they could take a breath and regroup, but Geal knew that was not in his plan. “Okay, lets hear it”, she stopped pacing and holstered her gun. “But we can’t go back to the Soup Kitchen for a few days, it is too hot down there now”.

At level 1316, the carriage shuddered and slowed, and the light flickered. No doubt there were people wanting to use it or more Tears thugs were waiting, and as the doors started to open about a foot apart, Geal punched the ‘close doors’ button. Black gloved hands grasped at the doors trying to force them open, a face poked in ugly with vengeance which was met with a hard force fuelled punch to the face.

Frankly, whatever his plan was it better involve getting off this death trap before someone from Tears gets the bright idea to bride the elevator operator to shut it down. The doors closed again on the muffled sound of crude insults.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

There was something special about 1317. The Tears couldn’t hold too many levels before it became an administrative nightmare. They were big, but they weren’t 5-levels-and-more-big. The further up you got, the closer to civilization you got. The closer to civilization you got the easier it was for the rich men and women to act on their own version of justice. The doors opened and sure enough there were no henchmen waiting for them. The Tears and the Claws had been fighting for this turf for years now without really having any decisive victory one way or the other. To that end the irony of it all had been a stalemate in which the people of 1317 had managed to grow.

“We create a power vacuum.” Asher said once more as if he had given more thought to what it meant than he actually had. “We take out the leader of the Tears.”

The people around Asher gasped, having eaves-dropped for just the most opportune second. Noticing this he quickly turned around with another grin to the person who gasped, their face wrenching in horror as he put his attention on them.

“I am joking. We’re literally two people, we can’t do a thing.” He said and chuckled before turning back to Abaigeal to drag her off the street and into an alley. The smile on his face vanishing in an instant. “I am not joking.”

“We can’t do it today, but over time it would be for the best.”

“Ke’runn is a big problem. We are good at fixing problems.”

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

Never was she so happy to get out of that elevator and even though this level was relatively safe, in relative terms, as most likely there were people on the take from both sides of the gangs, it was like a breath of fresh air, and she relaxed. That did not last long however, no sooner had they stepped out onto the street busy with people toing and froing, Asher dropped his plan.

It was not the plan Geal was expecting, she had readied her mind to counter his insistence of trying to run the bacta to the medical centre using him as a decoy to lure the thugs after him and most likely getting killed in the process. But this, stunned her momentarily and she fully understood the gasps from the people close by.

As Asher tried to cool the subject, Geal chuckled along with him in the ruse, “He’s drunk”, she shrugged, “Gets a little la la, you know what I’m saying”. She wasn’t so sure they were convinced, Geal imagined they thought him nuts. And for the moment, so did she.

It was not until they got into the alley did she realise he truly was nuts. But… her mind began to prod at the idea, as she paced the tight alleyway toing and froing. She looked back into the street and the people passing by in relative ease, he was right, the atmosphere was very different up here, it still hung on a knifes edge, but it had been that way for quite some time. Asher was onto something, something that might just work if they planned it right.

She tapped her chin. “If we go after Ke’runn and take him out, he will only be replaced by his right hand. But, I have heard whispers that his right hand has his own ambitions. Ke’runn knows this though and has him on a tight leash. If we could destabilise the hierarchy …”, cause them to implode, she looked at Asher as she was spit balling and she smiled.

“I thought you said I wouldn’t like your plan”. If they could do it, create this power vacuum it would be a small step toward something that might just help.

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

There was a visible surprise on Asher as he looked at Abaigeal. Usually when he suggested these drastic measures she would have disagreed, but perhaps something about this particular drastic measure spoke to her. He felt his mouth left open as he struggled to find the words to really handle this.

“I thought you wouldn’t.” He said and scracthed the side of his head. “But uh…”

Asher leaned back against the metal wall of the alley, crossed his arms and looked at his friend, and now quite literal partner-in-crime. So this had just happened, and they were doing this then. Alright, he could deal with that. He had already shot the one notorious outlaw after all.

“Okay,” He exhaled. “Okay okay, I think- I think I got an idea.”

“We kill his right hand man too.” It seemed rather obvious. “These gangs, they look to power and money. Would follow whoever can keep them in line.” It was fair to assume Asher had experience of this. “If we cut off the head we’ll be faced with another in a week. If we cut off the head and keep the wounds open by killing the head that would replace it, we might throw the Tears into disarray long enough for other gangs to do the rest of the work for us.”

“... It would mean panic and chaos in the streets, though.” He said. “The soup kitchen would need to be upgraded and expanded before we could really do this. A lot of people will get caught in the crosshairs by accident.”

 

[Abaigeal E'ron]

She could not help but grin at him as he stood there surprised, there was a certain twinkle in her eye at her own mischief. But as he voiced more of the idea, and she knew they were just running thoughts out there, Geal did pull back from the idea when he suggested it would bring chaos to the streets of the levels they hoped to help free up from the gangs. This needed more though and the alley off the street was not the place to do it.

“Come on let’s get to the safe room. We can still be marked up here”, she said, “And we can talk more freely there”. The alley they were in led to a lesser street which could take them the long way to the safe room. Geal’s mind worked the problem and she had come up with something that just might work, without the upheaval and dangers to the people.

“I agree with you, the Soup Kitchen is in need of new ‘appliances’”, she threw him a look as they walked. Asher’s idea was a good one, and if they played their cards right, and with patience it might just work. However, “I do have a suggestion, but .. I don’t think you will like it”. Mirroring his words. They had finally reached the street of the safe room, and it was not much more than the name suggests. One room with a couple of fabric seats, a small table, a bathroom with basic amenities, and a small area for cooking.

Geal unlocked the door and stepped into a musty room. A film of dust no doubt toxic from all the corrupted air of the levels and the smell of rotten food still left in the rubbish compartment. First order of business was to get the ventilation unit started, if it would, there were no windows, not really needed in the levels, since there was no fresh air to be had. With a sharp thump on the wall, the unit cranked up with a clatter and bang before clicking into gear.

The events of the evening had worn her a little, and now that she can finally relax somewhat, she took off her jacket and gun holster and slumped into one of the seats which sent up a cloud of dust. She waved her hand as if it would help rid the place of it. Geal would give Asher time to settle too before offering up her proposal.

She watched him as she tried to find the right words to explain it.

​

[member="Asher"]​

 

[Asher]

[member="Abaigeal E'ron"]

“If ‘better ingredients’ count as appliances, sure.” Asher said with a grin as they passed into the safehouse. “Now, you see… When you say that I won’t like it is when I get worried.”

Asher walked into the room and took a glass, filled it with water and then held it up by his face. It was murky, it was filled with a nearly slime-like substance in it. It seemed as if this level hadn’t paid its dues to the Claws yet. Water was a valuable commodity and for all intents and purposes they had a tight iron-handed grip around this sector of 1317. Perhaps the deepest irony was the fact that the Tears themselves had to pay tribute for the water. Asher too, and without a doubt Geal who ran a business.

He poured the water back into the sink and went over to try and find himself another drink instead. The fridge opened to the stench of poor refrigeration that made the meat locker seem almost preferable. Protein- and carbohydrate packs. Cheap solutions meant to keep the consumer at the very least alive. They didn’t go stale and was a staple food amongst the levels despite their lack of flavor.

Asher closed the fridge and threw his arms in the air in resignation.

“Of course we forgot to restock on the better stuff.” He said and shook his head before he finally looked over at Geal again. “Lay it on me, Abbie. What is this bad idea we’re hatching?”