Private Calling Upon A Snowbird

[Evelyn Shaw]

For several moments, Evelyn was expecting Amea to say nothing in response. And she wouldn’t have pushed it, wouldn’t have blamed her for wanting to keep tightlipped. It was something deeply personal to her, that had haunted her for ages and still did to this day.

So the Echani remained quiet, just watching and listening to Amea. Evelyn wondered how many times she had talked about this. If she had to guess? More than twice, but not enough for it to make it any easier. And frankly, Evelyn could understand why. The very idea of having your mind just wiped clean of...everything, was goddamn terrifying.

Part of her wanted to pull Amea into a hug, the second she saw the woman start to shrink into herself. The haunting memories creeping back to the surface, the slight shake in her attempt to lift her cup. But Evelyn was reminded of a lesson her grandma once taught her.

Sometimes you have to face the harsh reality, rather than falling back onto comforts.

And it was clear as day that Amea wasn’t done talking about what happened. Nor did she have to get much further before Evelyn nodded slightly, knowing exactly where it was going.

“So I took the first step.”

Was that when it started for her? Evelyn wondered, was that when killing became the primary problem solver?

“Holy crap, that’s…” Evelyn spoke up for the first time in what felt like ages. She looked away from Amea, staring at the wall before them. But a few seconds later her gaze returned. “Understandable? I’d probably have done the same, and I’m not exactly...keen on killing. I can’t even begin to imagine what that was like...” The mention of the images not leaving stuck in Evelyn’s mind though, and felt like she understood that somewhat. “I don’t think those images will ever go away, just lessen over time, after you’ve taken another step.” Evelyn could feel her mouth going dry, so she took a sip of her drink. “You already took the first one, I think. I can imagine the time before you hunted all those people down, the memory of that day haunted your dreams. Then after the killing, that started to ease off. But you’ve yet to take that second step in moving on.”

Evelyn knew that particular well, after all. Her first step had been leaving her home unannounced one day.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

It got easier after the first life, by the fifth it was like shrugging off a weight the same as any other pest that had crossed your path. In the end the fear had been replaced with acceptance. The part that Amea feared was not that she had done it but just exactly how easy it had become. What was one more end when you already had enough to populate a small freighter? Very little.

“I’d like to think it’s more like the fiftieth step.” Amea muttered, her voice returning to the same old subtle drawl once more. “And here we are now, in a situation where the solution is that I either continue this spiral or let it all come to an end.”

She sighed and watched the way the liquids in her cup continued to shake. “And I suppose part of me already knows that’s how it all ends. Even if I bring it to a stop.”

“Too many enemies. Too much enjoyment out of the kicks.”

Eyes wandered over to Evelyn once more before she chuckled, scoffed almost, and shook her head. “I shouldn’t have brought you into this, I’m sorry.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Evelyn had pondered how long it had been since this had all happened, and Amea had answered it. Whether it had truly been a long time, or the woman was just being a tad dramatic. But she could tell it hadn’t exactly been months since then, maybe a year or two.

“I mean, there’s nothing wrong with the latter. Bringing this situation, or even this lifestyle in general to an end.” She looked over at Amea. “I don’t mean completely, but you know...without life and death looming over you twenty-four seven.” Which was easier said than done, given it became a lot easier to wind up in these situations when you’ve been caught up in them several times before. “But what if that part of you is wrong? You’ve surrounded yourself with violence and death, that you just automatically think that’s what the outcome will end up being.”

The Echani turned in her seat, facing the other woman fully.

“You are you, Amea. Slipped down this self-destructive pit, sure. But you have the power to get back up and climb out. It’s not going to be easy, of course not. That’s why you need people around you to help, but to also allow yourself that.”

Evelyn brought a hand up, brushing some fingers through her white hair.

“Tie up these loose ends, or at least the ones that are weighing you down. Then go somewhere, other side of the galaxy, to a resort planet or something. Do...something that’s the complete opposite to what’s dominated your life for so long. Hell, when was the last time you just sat down at home, watched a few holo-movies with friends, and not feeling some pressure looming over you?”

After the long speech and spewing of words, Evelyn took an almost chug of her caf, which had cooled enough. She glanced over at Amea and shook her head.

“You've nothing to apologize for. Like I said, you need someone here with you, and I’m more than happy to be that.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

It was starting to sound a lot like a therapy session. Part of Amea began to hide based on that alone. The thought that everything she had just said could be used against her pushed itself onto the forefront of her mind again, muted only by some form of desire for Evelyn to hear all of this in case things went sideways. A desire to be remembered, maybe, or to at the very least have made an impression or told a precautionary tale. Despite the fact that Amea was quite clearly placing herself in a vulnerable spot there was some part of her that appreciated it.

“Here as in now, or…” She glanced at her coffee cup, it was the only logical answer. “No. I am a danger to you.”

Even if Kelsie had tried to tell Amea otherwise it was hard to drop the feeling. People in her branch died violently, and those around her were more often than not used as pawns. Evelyn was capable, there was no doubt about that, but there were only so many times that the repercussions of someone else’s actions could be thrown at you before you hit your limit, or so Amea would like to think, it made it easier to push people away and keep a distance.

“They’ll come for you.” Amea said, her eyes setting on Evie’s arm before she glanced back at her nearly untouched caf again. “Maybe not these people but the ones after them, and if not those people, then the people that are…”

“And your little friend with the- force connection thing. I’d be a constant stream of bad influences on him too.”

“I—” The worry began to rise yet again. “I really should have been clear first.”

“Fierfek.” Amea exhaled. “I sucked you in, didn’t I?”

“I—” That worry rose even further. “Is he safe? Can he protect himself? Have you checked your ship, have they made note of you?” Amea pushed out of her seat. “We should check, we need to make sure.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

The Echani had tried to speak up, refuse the notion that Amea was a danger to her. No, that was just their way of life. With Amea’s being more consistently dangerous, sure. But it wasn’t the person that was the dangerous element here, not when they could stop it.

“It doesn’t have to end up that way, that’s my point. We can find a more peaceful resolution for your situation. One that doesn’t include you fearing you’ll be followed for the rest of your life. This can be the starting point where it stops.”

And then she brought up Hoshi, and Evelyn was surprised that he hadn’t come up sooner. His whole situation had come about because he had been forced into a dangerous situation. Starting with the fact Evelyn couldn’t help but rescue him from his captors.

In that moment she wondered if Amea was reminded of the fact she had almost directly got Hoshi injured during the attack on the Jedi Enclave.

As Amea pushed away from her seat, Evelyn stood up and immediately moved to intercept the woman’s path, crossing her arms beneath her chest.

“To answer in order: Yes, probably yes. No I haven’t, and no I don’t think they’ve made note of me. You were pretty quick on taking my hand and whisking me away when we met up.” Evelyn sighed as she walked over to the chair she had occupied for hours prior. “If it’ll ease your mind, we’ll go and see him.” She grabbed her coat, sliding it on before claiming her hat.

“And trust me, Hoshi is bad enough as is without any influences. Small he may be, but he’s got the appetite of a goddamn rancor.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

Amea really didn’t see it. The only solution that got this squared away was to make sure there was no-one around to bring it back around to her. Criminals were like a hydra, cut the one head off and two more regrew. You had to be fast about it, you had to get them all in one sweep before you went for the heart. The only issue Amea had was that she had no idea where this heart even was. The man she had killed hadn’t been from around here.

“Not sure it will ease my mind, just…” Amea grasped at the side of her hair. “It’s something.”

Maybe it was a small bout of stir craziness. This place wasn’t exactly a place one would call homely. Meant more for a short stay than the prolonged one Amea had gone through. She grabbed her jacket, flipped the hood of her sweater over her head and promptly stepped around Evelyn to head out the door.

“And worst case we can just run away.” Amea tried desperately to make it sound like a joke. “I can do without just the one sector, right?”

She turned back around and went up the staircase. “People have been banned from more than just the one sector before.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Evelyn sighed quietly, pondering if Amea was the one running into a wall here, or if she was trying to help her. But Evelyn was stubborn, and she’d be damned if she couldn’t be at least a bit of help in pulling Amea out of this situation. Maybe hopefully avoiding similar stuff in the future.

Sounded easy to say, and to think about. But the Echani knew the reality wasn’t going to even be close to as simple.

“That’s the thing though, isn’t it? You’re not that worried about being banned, it’s fearing you’ll be hunted down.” She followed Amea up the staircase, taking a moment to brush her white hair aside and place her hat atop it. “That you’ll be across the galaxy and still looking over your shoulder.”

She let Amea take the lead, knowing she’d both prefer it and knew how to get back to the spaceport without taking any particularly public routes. “I’ve already got an idea or two towards finding a resolution, we can discuss it when we’re at the ship.”

The trek back there was uneventful, aside from the occasional stops as Amea checked things were all clear. At least this time, she wasn’t as erratic and sleep deprived in her motions. Evelyn’s new ship was a fairly decent freighter, a tad a bit bigger than the original Firebird that had met its end months ago.

“I should warn you, Hoshi will glomp your head.” Evelyn raised the ramp back up, and began walking deeper into the ship. “Hoshi, where are you?” Not a few seconds later, the grey-furred Shinri came into view, a partially eaten fruit in hand. “Hey buddy, look who's here.” Evelyn stepped aside to reveal Amea, whom Hoshi immediately recognized if his widening eyes were anything to go by.

He immediately bit into his fruit, holding it in his mouth. And then ran towards them, taking a single impressive jump to leap up onto Amea’s shoulders. His relatively short arms weren’t quite enough to wrap around the woman’s head.

Evelyn let out a short laugh, having been the recipient of Hoshi’s hugs many times before.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

For a second, Amea had stopped partway up the staircase to look down at Evelyn as she spoke the truth. The frustration was visible in her every feature, and yet when the moment came to speak she had nothing with which she could deny it. An indignant scoff burst through her nose as she shook her head. What was it with this Echani and trying to bring this out of Amea? Others had tried, and others had failed.

At least the tension in her shoulders eased off for each corner they rounded. By the time they reached the ship it was practically gone, and as the ramp came down to let them in it just didn’t exist. By the time Hoshi had made a pounce for her, Amea had let her guard down enough to almost fall over as the little guy wrapped around her shoulders.

“He-hey, you.” She said and slowly began to shift around and hold him in her arms. “You’ve grown… Brighter, I think.”

A warm smile spread on her lips as she lowered him onto the deck, her hand reaching out to pet him on his head for a moment longer.

“Sorry about that time I almost got you killed, yeah?” She chuckled. “I knew you’d make it the whole time. You’re too smart to die to something like a fire, right?”

She raised a defiant brow at the creature. “Yes you are, you’re a big and strong… Whatever you are. You’d’ve been fine either way.”

Evelyn Shaw

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

It was impossible to not smile whenever you interacted with Hoshi. Evelyn suspected it had something to do with his kind, but she had no concrete evidence of it. He was just generally that damn cute.

The Echani smiled as she watched Amea interact with him. Hoshi’s ears twitched around as he was shifted about in the woman’s arms. He pried the fruit from his mouth, and began chipping away at it.

“Yeah, he was a more dull grey before. Seems the healthier he got, the more it turned white. You should see his party trick, can literally become a lightbulb.” Evelyn had experienced that one early morning, when Hoshi tried waking her up, failed and basically shone like a beacon right in front of her face.

The Shinri looked up at Amea as she carefully lowered him onto the ship’s deck. He smiled at her, long tail swinging around excitedly. Hoshi quirked his head to the side slightly, listening to Amea as she apologized for what had happened.

His response was a small nod, and a thumb’s up. Or whatever a Shinri’s version of one was. A moment later he had finished his little fruit and was immediately bounding off towards the kitchen.

“I swear, I’m gonna have to add a lock to where his food is stored.” Evelyn sighed, sounding not the slightest bit convinced at what she had said. “That’s if he doesn’t just end up picking the lock before long.”

She turned around to face Amea. “See, he’s doing fine. But he has reminded me to ask something. When did you eat last?”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

It was funny how such a small creature could have such a huge effect on someone’s mood. To see this ‘Hoshi’ run around, and to see him so full of life was contagious. As she patted her hand against his soft fur and wiggled it across the top of his head it was as if the worries of the past hour simply faded, even if just for this short while. The little creature rushed off into the kitchen and Amea remained kneeling to watch him go.

“Uh,” She said in response to Evelyn’s question, her hand placed on her stomach out of instinct. “I’d say…” The slight shake in her hand told her it had been more than long enough. At least long enough for the pain to go away and for the body to merely fall in and prey on itself. “A day, maybe.”

A grunt parted Amea’s lips as she pushed back onto her feet. In truth she hadn’t thought about it, food was ever so rarely a worry when you were already acting on the baseline minimum to survive or risk exposure to unwanted attention.

Still, Evie would have asked for a reason, right?

“Why, do you… Have any ideas?” Amea rubbed at the back of her neck. “I am really bad with food.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Evelyn’s eyes lit up at Amea’s question. “Oh, I’ve a few ideas.” She turned on her heel and led the way into the kitchen. It was decently sized, enough room to host a small crew at once. There was the work area itself, a dining table and between both was an island that contained enough seating space for three stools.

Hoshi was presently sitting on one, happily eating away at another fruit. The Echani rolled her eyes at the sight, taking a moment to remove her hat and coat, hooking them up just by the door.

“Hmm, you’re not allergic to anything, are you?” She turned to look at Amea for a moment, posing the question to her. “Take a seat at the island if you want, I’ll whip something up quick.” With a deft motion, she walked around it, and grabbed an apron in a single sweep.

She threw it on, securing it around her lower back. It was plain to see this wasn’t the first time the Echani had cooked. She began to look through the refrigerator, trying to discern what would be ‘something quick’.

A couple minutes later, she looked over at Amea.

“How do some eggs sound? Any particular preference? Amount?”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

“None that I am aware of.” Amea shrugged as she took a seat and placed her elbow against the kitchen island to prop her hand against her cheek. “Eggs are fine.”

In the end Amea wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be surprised that Evelyn was a cook as well. Not that she appeared soft, but when put into comparison with Amea’s own image of herself there was certainly somewhat less rough around the edges. Maybe it was the adherence to a form of quasi-pacifism, maybe it was the way she used to look. Either way, Amea remained seated and felt content to simply watch the Echani at work.

“That workover is really making out for you.” Amea spoke with a content smile before she realized the screw-up. Her eyes darted over to the smug Hoshi next to her, her eyes squinting at him as she quickly cleared her throat and looked back at Evelyn yet again. “Makeover.” She exhaled, awkwardly. “The makeover is working out, you look…” Her eyes slowly slid back over towards Hoshi again to see how smug he was now. “... Good.”

Oh. He somehow managed to look even more smug, as if he dared Amea to continue this string of snares she was making for herself. Amea glanced back at Evie.

“Why did you change, Snowbird?”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

“Egg omelette it is then!” The Echani immediately began getting to work, grabbing a thing of eggs from the refrigerator. Following that, she began to move back and forth, opening cabinets as she acquired different tools and instruments she needed. Grabbing a total of three eggs, Evelyn deftly cracked them open into a bowl. Amea began to speak up again as the Echani began whisking the eggs.

She said nothing initially, realizing at that point just what the other woman was looking at in their current positions. A slight red blush grew across Evelyn’s cheeks, but she kept her focus on the cooking. She didn’t dare to look back at Amea right now.

Hoshi had somehow managed to convey smugness, as if the small Shinri knew exactly what was going on. Munching on his fruit while watching things unfold.

“It’s like I said, Amea. You helped me more than you even realize.” Once the eggs were mixed, Evelyn stepped to the side, placing a pan over the stove and setting a low heat. “Sometime after we parted ways, I winded up in an encounter where I had a realization. That I came across as being overly naive, and innocent.” Evelyn poured a little cooking oil and a bit of butter to the pan, immediately mixing them together and getting an even spread. “Don’t get me wrong, looking like that has its benefits. But its negatives were a bit too weighty in comparison.”

She poured the mixed eggs into the pan, giving it a little stir with the butter and oil. Satisfied, the Echani stepped away from the stove for a few moments. Evelyn grabbed a plate, a knife and fork, placing them down in front of Amea. “You had given me quite the impression, in that giving off a sense of intimidation went a long way.” Evelyn returned to her stove, idling testing the omelette with a spatula, adding a few dashes of salt and pepper. Knowing it was going to take a couple minutes, Evelyn returned to the refrigerator and grabbed some cheese. A little bit of grating and she began to sprinkle some of it down the middle of the soon-to-be omelette.

“I knew I had to change my appearance up, so I had a...workover, as you call it.” She turned around slightly, enough to look back at Amea and smirk a little. A second later she was focused, scooping her spatula beneath the omelette, flipping it over once, then again to fully enclose the shredded cheese. Letting it simmer for a little bit longer, Evelyn picked the pan up and carefully transferred the omelette onto the plate.

“Enjoy!”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

Wait, Amea had done this? Her brow rose for a second but promptly fell once Evelyn explained in what way. In some way she supposed it made sense. Amea had effectively only used two very different approaches when they’d been stuck between a rock and a hard place together. On one hand she outright denied someone help just to provoke a reaction from an innocent that could very well have been the one responsible for her situation, and then when it became time to act she threw in a hefty dose of pragmatic ultraviolence. Somewhere down the middle there could have been a more peaceful solution, but these were the ones she knew would deliver a far more immediate conclusion.

And it was fair to say, the look that Evelyn carried herself with now was one that was very far from naivety and innocence. Not that it was a bad thing, Amea clearly liked it even if perhaps a bit too much. In a physical way, of course. Feelings? Nah, never. That wasn’t how Amea rolled, she was a lone wolf for life. Obviously.

As the food was placed before her Amea glanced up at Evelyn and carefully grasped at the utensils by the plate’s side. Her eyebrow rose to question her before finally she spoke,

“Aren’t you eating as well?” Amea asked and cut the omelette in half. “You can have half, I don’t need the whole thing.”

Evelyn shook her head and Amea felt the guilt rise in her throat. Her brows furrowed, her mouth twisting into a small uncomfortable frown as she shifted in her chair and began to eat.

“So this is because of… Me? I did this to you?” She asked and proceeded to chew on the food, the salt and pepper tickling against her tongue with a savorfull coating of grease. Her lips trembled, the pain in her stomach making itself felt in an instant she swallowed it and her entire body seemed to twist in an effort to devour the energy before it even reached her stomach.

She shoveled in another piece and quickly swallowed it as well, a very content smile spreading on her lips as she looked down at her plate again. It felt surreal to eat cooked food again and not some dried up, reheated ration from the store. An actual cooked and somewhat nutritious meal, simple as it was, seemed to be something that her entire system welcomed with wide open arms.

“Are you sure?” Amea asked, her eyes darting towards Hoshi and then Evelyn. “Really, it’s a masterpiece, this is amazing- the best omelette I’ve ever had.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

The Echani shook her head in response to Amea’s question. “I already ate before arriving here, but I’ll probably grab something when we head back out.” She had anticipated a long day ahead of her, and not that she’d be keeping vigil over a sleep deprived Amea for a number of hours.

A look of concern returned as she watched the woman eat, making it plainly apparent just how long her body had needed some food. Quietly to herself, Evelyn vowed she’d make sure Amea had plenty to eat for the duration of their time together.

“I wouldn’t say you ‘did this to me’ per se, it’s more like you inspired the decision.” Evelyn leaned back against the worksurface, crossing her arms. “Sure, I’m not about to start aiming to kill, but I understood the merit of making people think I will.” A small smile began to form as the Echani noticed the content look forming across Amea’s face.

“I’ll admit I might’ve gone a bit overboard, but once one change was made, I found myself making more. Ultimately leading to a point where I started using contacts to change my eye colour.” Evelyn had found her natural brown didn’t stand out quite as much with the new attire she wore.

The compliment took Evelyn by surprise, and she quickly ducked her head to try and hide the quickly forming blush. “I’m sure,” she confirmed, albeit quietly. Why was she feeling embarrassed all of a sudden? This wasn’t the first time she had cooked for someone, so why did Amea’s comment affect her so much?

“It’s not that good…”

It was probably just because Amea hadn’t eaten anything in roughly a day, yeah...that was it.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

“Oh.” Was all Amea would say with another quiet ‘oh’ being mouthed as she noticed the slight red tint to the Echani woman’s cheek. A grin and a smirk spread upon Amea’s lips and she seized the moment to strike yet again.

“Shame, your brown eyes were even more beautiful without the contacts.” She spoke with a surprising sense of ease given who and what she was even saying. To Amea however, it was all too much like being a predator toying with its prey. “Don’t kid yourself, a spacer that can even cook to begin with is a rare sight and you know it, but to stumble upon an masterchef of this calibre...”

“You’re one in a million, Snowbird.” The attack finally ended as Amea found herself unable to contain the laughter anymore. Her shoulders jumped up and down with laughter as she calmed herself down. “Now,” She exhaled and stifled the rest of the laughter. “Why don’t you tell me what you had in mind for fixing this?”

“Before I make you cook up another one of these.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Evelyn quietly cursed to herself, she could practically hear the smirk that way Amea’s voice changed. The shoe was on the other foot, and now the Echani was in the receiving end of teasing. Her cheeks grew even more red at the comment about her eyes. Eventually though, she did look up at Amea, the blush began to decrease only to seemingly resume when she looked Amea in the eyes.

“My grandpa is the masterchef, I’ll have you know. He’s the one who taught me how to cook.”

The Echani just fixed Amea with a playful glare, shaking her head but smiling all the same. It felt...good to see and hear Amea laughing, feeling happy. Part of Evelyn wanted to grab a hold of it and not let go, knowing what laid before them was going to diminish it greatly.

“As you’ve mentioned, the likely best scenario is you’re just banned from the sector. But it needs to be so that you won’t get hunted down as well.” The laughter died down and Evelyn grew serious as she began to talk. “Mob families aren’t like crime syndicates, or street gangs. They have a code, a sense of morals. Sure, it can vary depending on the family, and some do have ties to certain syndicates around the galaxy. But that’s in order to do things they don’t want to dirty their hands with.”

Clearly, it wasn’t going to be as simple as saying that.

“But killing a mob boss’ son is no small offence, because if there’s one thing that is held above the rest with them, it’s family.” Evelyn paused, looking at Amea to gauge her mood. “However, there is one other thing that is equally as important, their empire. The heads honchos are often split between family and maintaining the empire they’ve spent years, maybe even generations building.” It became clear the Echani was leading towards something, and perhaps Amea had already caught on.

“As such, my idea is that we blackmail them.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

“Well, thank you, Grandpa.” Amea added and quickly shoved another piece of the egg-based meal into her mouth. She listened and she contemplated as Evie laid her plan out, and sure enough there were a few points about it that made Amea tense up. For one, the way Evelyn spoke of them would almost make them out to be something prettier than they truly were. Not directly so, but that hint of familiarity with the concepts behind a mob family seemed palpable, as if she didn’t quite speak from experience yet clearly not pulling something out of thin air either.

There was an elephant in the room, but Amea chose not to address it, at least not directly. They all had their past, and a question asked opened Amea to a question received. For the moment, as much as she enjoyed the company, there were other things that the troubled sneak-thief would have liked to keep to herself.

And as such,

“Someone has clearly done their homework.” Amea said and nodded along somewhat knowingly. “I mainly deal with pirates, but there is logic behind what you say.”

Her eyes set on the plate before her as she continued to cut up a small piece of the food to ponder the idea. Blackmail was effective, but in reality Amea had nothing. Something would have had to be fabricated. Forgery was the reverse of thievery. Different, and yet pretty much the same in concept.

“We set this story up as something the son initiated, something that would put the family to shame if it got out.” Amea said and nodded along. “I mean, I doubt assault gets you very far, but if we muddy the water…”

“The key to selling a lie is plausibility.” Amea said and grabbed herself a drink to clear her throat. “People are always willing to assume the worst in others. What we need is someone else in the family that could stand to gain from this. Someone high enough to take the risk, but not too low to be cast aside for it.”

“... Some kinda cousin, maybe?”

Evelyn Shaw

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

The Echani looked particularly sheepish when Amea commented on her knowledge. It was oddly specific, and a bit too detailed for someone to just random pull out of the arse. Evelyn was just thankful Amea didn’t further pursue that line of questioning.

In that she had a very direct source for first hand experience with mob families.

“What can I say, I watched a lot of gangster movies on the holonet.” A moment after speaking Evelyn realized that was a pretty poor explanation. “And well...lots of diving down rabbit holes late at night.”

That...wasn’t exactly better, but it seemed to quell Amea’s curiosity for now.

“We might not even need to lie, there ain’t a mob family in this galaxy that doesn’t have some dirty laundry they want to keep hidden.” It was just a matter of finding someone who would both know it, and be willing to squeal on their own. Not a simple prospect, unless they could find someone who was regrudged with the family.

“Or an uncle to the son would be better,” she chimed in. “Typically the eldest child will run the family, often drawing ire from their younger siblings. A cousin could work too, but the extended/lower family don’t have as much knowledge.”

But there was still a looming question over them.

“It’s a matter of finding out who the other family members are.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

The eyebrow that rose, an all too common move on Amea’s behalf, was one that made sure that Evelyn understood that Amea knew she was full of it right now. It wasn’t judging, at least not to any greater extent, but the ‘movies and deep dives’ excuse clearly fell on deaf ears. Nobody just gained that kind of insight from having read about them. The way that ‘Snowbird’ spoke of the mob gave off that air of familiarity, the very same kind that she was making it increasingly hard not to question.

“Right, truth.” Amea chuckled. “Not something I really deal with these days.”

She drew the map in her head, planned out what they’d need to do. From the way that her eyes darted up and down and seemed to follow her head from side to side it was clear that she was considering it. Her eyes squinted and they eased up. Teeth gnashed and they ceased.

“Okay, so,” Amea said and put her fork down to rest against her plate alongside her knife, she was done. “The easiest way to root them out is to set up a trap, right? Like a less physical form of a honey-trap.”

“We track down a name, we dig into their dirty laundry, and we threaten to air it to the whole galaxy unless they clear my name.”

“... Or something like that, like I said, I usually just… Shoot people.”