Bight Me

[Ugoto Chivaro]

NAR SHADDAA
REFUGEE DISTRICT

Nobody wanted Tytos to show up here in person, but it was better for everyone involved if he did. That way, there could be no ambiguity as to how important he considered this operation. Derrenger opened up the passenger door to the armored speeder truck he had been riding in and Tytos stepped out. The building was, of course, already had Enforcers loitering outside. The other doors of the truck opened, allowing three Shock Troopers to exit and accompany him.

Tytos took a moment to gaze at the apartment building. This was the place? It was a total dump. Was she really all that qualified if she chose to live in this kind of squalor? No, no, she was good. He had the receipts. Too good to not have on file, too good not to utilize. And he knew for a fact she was holed up here. [member="Simone"] would have been hard to find under normal circumstances, but when you control all holonet access for Nar Shaddaa and beyond… Things got easier.

Substantially easier.

And she hadn’t left either. The Enforcers had been loitering for the better part of the last thirty minutes, watching all sides while they waited for him to get there. Traveling took longer when under escort. Ever since that incident with the Sullustan ambassadors, it paid to be careful.

“Let’s get this over with.”

Tytos and escort entered the apartment with no resistance. It was a hovel. They couldn’t afford security. He heard doors slamming as they made their way up the stairs. Smart people. Getting in the way wasn’t very helpful. Eventually they arrived at the third floor, only to find Grigori already waiting at the end of the hallway. “Ah. Hello to you.”

The Umbaran eyed Grigori. “What are you holding behind your back?”

Tytos marched forward, knocking on Simone’s door without looking away from Grigori.

“Well,” Grigori said, “I have been the thinking, and because of the nature of the mission to which you will be asking...”

Grigori produced a bouquet.

“For you to give.”

For a moment, Tytos did not appear to react. Derrenger did. The Trandoshan snorted contemptuously, then shot a glare at the snickering shock troopers behind him. Tytos eventually appeared to process the gesture. His eye twitched, and the Umbaran opened his mouth to shout verbal abuse - only to be stopped when the door opened.

 

[Simone]

There might not have been security for the building, but Simone certainly had some of her own. Nothing much in the grand scheme of things, a few cameras in and around the apartment building. Enough to give her fair warning of trouble and bug out. She'd noticed the loitering enforcers when they first arrived, they looked out of place in this end of the city. Wasn't exactly anything to worry about.

That was until the speeder truck rolled into view and a certain man stepped out. Simone wasn't ignorant. She knew Helix Syndicate, she knew the people who were allegedly tied to it with nothing concrete in terms of evidence. They were an organisation she tended to avoid getting on the wrong side of. So what the hell was he doing here?

Finger tapped lightly on her lips in thought as she watched him ascend the stairs, greeted by the sakiyan that had been loitering on her floor for some time. She flicked off the handful of screens in front of her with a reserved expression and rose as the knock echoed through her apartment.

She tugged the door open, eyes roving over the group, lingering for a moment on the flowers before coming to rest finally on [member="Tytos Ardik"]. "Five meat-heads is a little excessive." she remarked "The flowers is a nice touch though. Pity you couldn't pick them yourself." her lips twitched. "You can bring one of them in. The rest can meet you downstairs."

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

Excessive? Excessive was what won battles, it was what got the Syndicate total control of the Network Access district. And in a pinch, it would be what kept him alive. "Fine. They'll be outside," Tytos agreed. Not downstairs, though. "Come along, Grigori."

Grigori was an idiot, but he was at least perceptive and handy in tight-quarters. Tytos didn't anticipate a trap or struggle. But if there was one, Grigori would be the better equipped to deal with it than Derrenger. Grigori led the way inside while Derrenger and the rest of the Troopers backing away. They failed to actually march back down the stairs, but lingered close enough to them to feign some level of compliance. The apartment's interior was not dissimilar from the rest of the building. Squalid and filthy.

Tytos never understood why slicers so commonly lived in their own filth like this. Some obscure symptom of genius, no doubt. [member="Simone"] could have lived anywhere she pleased, but she kept floating around cesspits like this. The young Zeltron's mind was truly something of an enigma.

"I must say, I was surprised to find you were living here," Tytos used a finger to wipe a thin film of dust off a hall table as they made their way to the living room. He made a disgusted face and continued. "Surely you of all people can afford to live more... Comfortably."

 

[Simone]

Simone rolled her eyes, shutting the door behind the pair. Simone didn't live here, truth be told she didn't live anywhere, she hopped form one place to the next she'd simply accumulated places to stay when and where she needed. Unfortunately, she'd lent keys to someone with a poor idea of 'leave it as you find it'. She had a lot of data to process, so cleaning had not been high on her priority.

"Why don't you climb down off that high horse you rode in on, Mr Ardik, otherwise the door will be hitting that over entitled backside of yours on the way out. I've no issue with Helix, I don't owe you money and I make sure my friends don't either. So, you're either here for information or you've a job for me."

As she spoke, she moved to a drinks counter, placing a hand over a bio-scanner it opened with soft click and a sigh. She pulled a crystal decanter and two glasses from it, pouring herself a small measure and leaning against the counter to face him. She'd pour him a drink when she knew where they stood.

"So which is it?"

[member="Tytos Ardik"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

For once, Tytos was actually quite surprised that someone snapped at him for being condescending. Mostly because he hadn't actually been trying to be condescending yet - but good for [member="Simone"] for the preemptive strike. He blinked, bewildered. "Feeling discourteous this evening, I see." Must have been the meatheads. Ah well. Maybe, one day, when Simone became someone important and she had bodyguard details of her own, she would understand their necessity. But with this kind of attitude Tytos projected those days were far, far off.

Pity. This industry needed more empowered women. Aside from Natalia and Aver, of course. Empowered women who weren't sociopaths, he should have clarified.

"I have a job for you, yes. The kind that pays well," Tytos folded his arms, eyeing the drinks she had yet to pour. Tytos was not a drinking man. Besides, she could have poisoned it. "Have you ever been to Canto Bight?"

 

[Simone]

"Not discourteous," she smiled "just impatient. Time is money, and I don't have nearly enough to make me so placid that I'll endure your judgements on the way I chose to live."

She raised her glass to him and drained it before pouring herself another, and one for him. She made a point of ignoring the meathead and she held the glass out to Tytos. "Once or twice." Canto was a playground for the wealthy, she'd done a couple of contracts to locate husbands who had spent to much or were simply hiding from their wives. She didn't take such jobs very often, but when they did come up there was normally more opportunity than meets the eye. She'd a whole stack of images and videos downloaded from her recording device on the activities of people with their fingers in too many pies.

"What's it to you?"

[member="Tytos Ardik"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

"It's home to the most famous casino in the whole Corporate Sector," Tytos explained, "And it will be going on sale very soon."

There had been a little snafu at Canto Bight some weeks ago. The reports were still sketchy at best, seeing as Syndicate informants were not very well-placed throughout the Corporate Sector. Something to do with a bounty hunter and a Gen'Dai gambler trashing the place. There had been enough of a spectacle that the current owner was no longer willing to deal with it. "The owner, Esko Selim, will be hosting an auction at the end of the month. A number of prominent business moguls will be in attendance. The price tag is expected to breach several billion by the end of the auction."

That was far more than the total price of the structure, not to mention at least several months worth of operating cost. But people really wanted to own this casino, Tytos included. It would prove a valuable asset and excellent staging grounds for further Syndicate operations in that region, not to mention give him the room to turn the casino into a stronghold for the Cabal. All that said, Tytos had no intentions of playing the auction. Esko Selim had skeletons in the closet. Everyone did. And anyone with that kind of baggage did not get to demand full price from the Syndicate.

"I don't want to pay several billion, nor do I want an auction. Such things are tedious. You'll be helping me convince Mr. Selim to agree to a private sale directly to the Syndicate. No auction. No spectacle."

[member="Simone"]

 

[Simone]

Simone swirled the amber liquid as she listened, watching it stick to the sides of the glass, hearing unsaid things. This was a blackmail gig, straight up. When crime lords wanted things cleared out quietly and with as little mess as possible, blackmail was there go to. Assassinations worked to, but they were far to obvious for a takeover like this.

Esko Selim...

She didn't know the name, but she would know that and more by the time the night was up. Not only that but she'd have more than her fair share on the head honcho of the Helix Syndicate too. That in itself was enough payment, at least it would be if she didn't have overheads and a better sense of pride. It would have worked out cheaper for Tytos if he'd simply asked her for the information.

"I didn't realise you were in the business of hiring escorts, Mr Ardik. I might have tried a little harder to prepare for your arrival if i had known this was your proposal. Are you going to buy me a new dress as well as bring me flowers?"

[member="Tytos Ardik"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

Tytos scoffed, "Escorting Mr. Selim is rarely worth the money if you happen to value your life."

There were rumors about how Esko conducted himself privately with women. Nothing ever concrete and nothing that would hold up in court. It was the sort of thing you would expect from someone who required two digit numbers to count their ex-wives. Or perhaps got a little rougher than what was, strictly speaking, allowable when with prostitutes. You would never know it from just talking to him, of course. Pachyderms like Esko buried any trace of the blacker parts of their life with money and the projection of good manners.

Esko was about to learn the hard way that nothing could be buried so deeply the Helix Syndicate would fail to dig it up. Besides, if Tytos was going to have someone put the charm on Esko, he would have found someone more expendable. Slicers were far from the most charming subcategory of people. Especially Simone, he was quickly learning.

"A party will be taking place the night before the auction. You will be given an invitation. I will furnish a distraction, then you will use the opportunity to enter Esko's office and access his personal computer. You make an exact copy of its contents. And then we leave." Tytos held out a hand behind him and snapped his fingers. Grigori, who had been snooping around the living room started, then placed the flowers into Tytos' waiting hand. The Umbaran presented them to Simone. "There, sound reasonable?"

[member="Simone"]

 

[Simone]

Escorting Selim? That was most definitely not what she meant, She was leaning more towards the fact that he was asking her to escort him."I meant..nevermind" Sometimes it just wasn't worth it. "Sounds reasonable enough, am I attending the party alone?" Maybe he'd catch what she meant then, maybe he wouldn't. "And do I need to dress up?"

Minor details, perhaps but such details made a difference to her pricing.

[member="Tytos Ardik"]