Coruscant: A Deadly Game

[Amz]

She’d started early. Like most days, it wasn’t about schedule, it was about necessity, and Teyla wanted to make sure she hadn’t missed a mouse droid in her evidence pile. Besides, sleep had proven to be mostly fruitless, still stewing over an earlier incident with @[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]. Thank the Force he’d at least cooperated to help with the ongoing investigation, but getting to that point hadn’t been smooth sailing - for either of them. More important than her comfort though, was getting the killer off the streets and in a cell. Personal feelings would need to be set aside to do that, and the two of them weren’t exactly … friends. It should have come easy, part of her training had been emotional control. But after yesterday? Well, Teyla was pitying her own lack of it.

“The guy has connections to everything. Did you know that when threatening him? And let me just say, social skills? Amazing.” Veon sarcastically poked, handing off Teyla’s caf as per their usual routine, and then swung around to stand at the left of her.

Teyla raised a brow, half smiling. “If you like him so much Veon, then why don't you take him on?”

“Ha! Are you kidding? Someone you have no authority over? Nah, that’s gonna be more fun to watch than Rancor week.”

Teyla rolled her eyes, growling “Glad I can be so entertaining for you.” she took a sip of her caff and set it aside. “What was I supposed to do? Just wait and let someone else die?”

“Woaaah! Don't start getting grumpy because they didn't sign your court order. Half the donors on that list are government officials. You knew how it was going to go down.”

“Yeah, well. That’s why we have plan b.”

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

CSF HQ​

Coruscant Legal District​

Baros walked into the Coruscant Security Force's head office like he did everywhere, like he owned the joint. This was his trademark and style. It was what he sold himself on. If anyone here had a camera or cash, he had to keep the brand image up and running. Brand was everything to Sal-Soren, and his was on the up. So 'up' in fact that he was that very day preparing his new summer line to debut at Coruscant's most prestigious invitation only fashion show, The Walk.

"Baros Sal-Soren to see Teyla Ee'everwest," he said with a playful grin directed at the receptionist. He was sure she blushed, but she was not human. Always so hard to tell with their type.

"Officer Ee'everwest will be out to meet you in a moment," came the modestly toned reply.

"Thank you, very efficient," Baros said while pushing off from the desk. While he waited he had every intention of scoping out the minuscule decor of the rigidly formal setting.

"Dontair could do wonders for this place," he mused out loud, "must talk with the Deputy Commissioner."

@Teyla Ee'everwest

 

[Amz]

@[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]

"Baros Sal-Soren's here, Ee'everwest."

Teyla turned to look at Veon, nodding. "I'll go grab our golden boy, pull up the information we need."

"On it."

Walking to the front where Baros was waiting, Teyla smiled to the receptionist and directly turned to look at Baros, smile fading. "Mr. Sal-Soren, I'm glad to see you've made it. This way please." turning briskly on her heels, Teyla started back down the hall, expecting Baros to follow and handing off a holocam to him. "Our victim is Kandria Thorne, Corellian entrepreneur. Widowed last year, has a daughter about the same age as yourself, named Abessa Thorne. Sound familiar?" She paused, turned a corner and directed him into another room, evidence board full.

"Baros Sal-Soren, I'd like you to meet Officer Rikard Veon. Officer Veon, Baros Sal-Soren." Veon offered a handshake, then handed off a datapad to Teyla, who began to busy herself. "A hundred and seventy-five thousand credits worth of jewelry was stolen from Thorne's residence. Her daughter holoed to tell her Mom goodnight, but she didn't pick up. Next morning when housekeeping droids came around, they found her body in a wall safe. Ring finger missing, along with the rest of her jewelry."

"Likely she didn't want to give up her wedding ring, so they punished her for it."

"We've been tracking our home invaders for a few months. They've been targeting the wealthy, and each crime took place in a different sector - but they didn't murder anyone until this last week. They are getting bolder, and escalating their violence."

"Seems like they knew quite a bit about our victims as well. Each wall safe has high end jewelry, and they knew exactly what they were going to find."

"The only connection that all of our victims have in common, is that they all went to the same yearly charity event here on Coruscant from last year. Which is where you come in." Teyla felt relatively at ease in work-mode, focused. So far, so good. "We believe the next victim, - or even possibly the killer - will be at this next event, but only those who are on the up and up, are welcome. I need you to get me in."

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

"Officer Ee'everwest," Baros said with a polite bow of the head and a cheeky glint in his eye.

Baros took the datapad and flicked his finger over the screen to see more of the pictures. He knew her, or at least as well as one knew the wealthy. They were a secretive and protective group. For someone to get close to her would have taken a great deal of time and charm. "Abessa Thorne," he said softly. Yes, he knew the name, but he was not about to give that information out for free.

Shaking Veon's hand, Baros calmly stood to the side as the full and gory details were laid out. It made his stomach churn a bit. This was part of the ugly underside that he flirted with but never got to know well at all. He would woo people that delved into drugs and prostitution but he would never become their friend nor give them anything to hold over him. He only wooed for personal gain. Finally the plan was laid before him and he saw how much he could help.

"You are both going to owe me big for this one," he said calmly flipping about his own datapad to show a picture of an attractive blond, "because if you are talking about the Children of the Lower Levels Appeal...she is my plus one for that event."

@Teyla Ee'everwest

 

[Amz]

@[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]
Veon whistled low, eyes practically bulging out at the picture. "Is that Brittany Dystray? Bro..." He shook his head "You are never gonna live that down if you cancel."

"Hey, Rik! Focus, okay? We still have a murderer running around out there." Teyla gave the Coruscanti a look of bewilderment, brows furrowed disapprovingly.

Veon immediately raised both hands in defense, shoulders shrugging nonchalantly and turning to whisper at Baros once Teyla was distracted again. "She gets a little tetchy sometimes - "

"Zip it. We don't have time for this."

Teyla rolled her eyes, and looked back at Baros - owing a Sal-Soren? Great. That sounded wonderful, but she really didn't want to ask what all that might entail. Some things were better left unknown. "In the long run, Mr Sal-Soren, it would be more safe if Miss Dystray remained home. I doubt we'll run into trouble at the actual event, but there's never any guarantees when we go out. If you're still wanting to go through with this... that is." Pressing a few buttons, Teyla brought up a map of Monument Plaza and made eye contact with Baros and Veon. "As you both know, the event will be held here. Here, and here, are where we will have uniforms stationed, patrolling the area." more buttons being pressed, "This, is a roughly sketched description of our guy. Does he seem familiar to you, Sal-Soren?"

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

Baros grinned at the reaction from his fellow male. It was good to know that he would be able to impress and impression Veon with stories and images of his lifestyle. He glanced at Teyla and then back to Veon. "My chances of getting lucky that night have certainly diminished drastically," he looked back to Teyla, "but never count me out completely..."

He let that moment linger for a moment to give time for Teyla to almost respond.

"...Brittany really pursued me...so we can probably still hit the after party. That's where things really get crazy." Again, he glanced back at Veon to get his reaction to the revelation.

Giving complete attention to the proceedings, Baros allowed his eyes to dance over the material. He stopped on the picture for barely a moment. Did he know the person? You could not tell from his reaction. "That looks like pretty much every gaunt male model...and some female models," again he smiled and glanced at Veon with a wink, "also...many rich folk look about that skinny on principle...do I know him in particular? It's hard to tell. I do not really socialize with the models...emotional crowd."

@Teyla Ee'everwest

 

[Amz]

@[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]

Veon wanted to say something, was going to ask - in fact - if he could join Baros at that after party he was talking about, but Teyla interrupted before he could open his mouth. Spoil sport.

"So it's settled then." Teyla said, and turned to point at Veon. "You'll stand outside the front doors and look for our killer, see if you spot anyone who matches the description that's coming in." then a preparation sigh, looking back at Baros. "You and I will need to go in together... so I can work the party." Teyla swallowed a little, waiting for Baros to be....well, Baros. "The three of us will be connected via comlink, but Mr Sal-Soren, if you see anything, then alert me." Last thing she wanted was for anyone's death to be on hers, or any other officers, shoulders. "Everyone know what their job is? Good. The event is at eight tonight."

- Later That Evening -

She couldn't believe it. Teyla sat across from Baros, probably glowering at him the entire ride to Monument Plaza. It had taken her approximately fifteen minutes to muster up the courage to put the dress on, and another twenty before she could walk out wearing it without flushed cheeks - don't even ask where her blaster had been stowed away. True, she had needed a dress...especially for this kind of gathering. And honestly...Teyla's wardrobe wasn't exactly versatile, so Baros had provided. But this? This was just cruel.

The hoverlimo came to a complete stop, and Teyla glanced out the fogged windows at the lines of people waiting. Veon was waiting at the front, per instruction and Teyla felt confident that this mission would go smoothly. Her real test was going to come in 3, 2, 1 ...

Door opened, cameras flashing, Teyla slipped her fingers into the offered hand, stepping out of the limo with surprising poise, smiling for the mass, inwardly having a heart attack.

The moment had gone so fast, that she hardly remembered going to the front, but a grinning Veon had brought her back.

"Nice dress...or lack there of."

"I'd let you borrow it Veon, but you stretched out the last one."

She kept walking, head high, smile fading and resuming the scowl most were probably used to seeing, walking through the opened door.

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

@Teyla Ee'everwest

---At the event---​

Baros was not at all impressed with missing The Walk. That show was a massive deal. As he exited his speeder, cameras flashed about him. "Mr. Sal-Soren...are you snubbing The Walk tonight?" "Baros...why are are you not at the biggest fashion show of the year?" "Do you think that showing up here improves the image of Glitterstim?" "Is this a response to the recent controversy surrounding a model you hired and allegations of drug addiction?" Questions like these and more spouted out like a fountain of gnats each wanting to suck some blood. Baros stopped and raised his hands to silence the crowd.

"First of all, good evening...you are all looking very fine in your sensible business attire...may I suggest a trip to Glitterstim to make you look sensational?" He teased with a cheeky grin, "secondly...The Walk is important to me. Damn important. In fact I would say it is the single most important event on my calendar. My assistants are there...I have done all the preparation...the staff there know I am not going to be attending...because I also want to give back. Coruscant has been good to me, and I want to return the favour. So while my designs are wowing the fashion aficionado's at The Walk...I will be here for the kids, because really...isn't that what it is all about anyway? The kids."

"Baros...do you want to have children?" "Are you expecting a child!?" "Have you fallen in love with someone?" "Who are you here with?" "Do you want kids of your own?" "Is this to make up for the recent controversy?" "Do you want kids?" "Is this a sign that you are trying to change your image?"

Baros picked up on one question immediately. "Who would ever want an image that was not about helping those that need help?" He said looking at the crowd not knowing who had asked the question. A few reporters smiled and cast a glance at one of their compatriots.

With a wave, Baros walked off towards Teyla. He kept his eyes firmly focused on hers so as not to give the impression that he noticed how well she wore his design. He smiled and offered her his arm. "Welcome to my world, Miss Ee'everwest." Baros turned to wave at the photographers as he walked the carpet to the ballroom, "smile a lot...your face will hurt at the end of the night."

"Baros...what is your dates name?" "Is she one of Glitterstim's models?" "Is this real or just a passing fling?" "What's your name sweetheart!?" "Miss...can you tell me what you think of Baros?" "You two look great together...how long have you been going out?" "Are you sleeping together?" "Give us a smile!" "Are you pregnant!?" "Were you one of Coruscant's underprivileged?!" "Kiss for us!"

The night was off to a fantastic start.

@Teyla Ee'everwest

 

[Amz]

@[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]

Teyla felt dizzy. The second Baros walked over, an entire swarm surrounded the both of them and for once she was thankful for Baros and the proffered arm he offered her, taking it almost hastily to get a balance on her feet again. One question after another was thrown in her face, much before there was time to give the last a proper answer. Teyla had dealt with press, but on either a political basis, or holoreporters looking for the first dish on an investigation. This was a nightmare, and nothing like she'd ever dealt with before. Looking stone faced and ignoring the camera, wasn't exactly going to work in the current circumstance, but Teyla also had no idea on how to answer the impersonal - and somewhat rude - questions.

Slightly disoriented, Teyla reverted to work mode again.

"I cannot answer for any of these questions, neither do I confirm or deny anything by this point." Wait. What did she just say? "I mean, no. I mean." This was horrible. "Teyla. My name is Teyla Ee'everwest." Why did she just give her full name? The grip on Baros forearm tightened, she held her breath, desperately hoping to get out of the swarm, a permanent smile plastered on.

"I won't be able to see the guy if we're stuck back here..." whispered Teyla. Not long after the two emerged 'slightly' out from the thick of battle. Teyla wasn't going to hold her breath, there'd be more cameras and questions as the night went on.

The real surprise had been Baros. He held his cool through every question... it was impressive, but she wasn't going to inflate his ego.

"BAROS! Ahha! Why didn't you tell me you were going to be here?" Came the booming voice of Coruscants Chief of Justice, Montant Bragon, promptly approaching Sal-Soren with a open-palm handshake before turning to address Teyla, also shoving a hand in her direction. "And you are?" he asked, beaming smiles. Did everyone here smile like that? Teyla took the hand, "Ah, I'm of- Teyla. Teyla Ee'everwest. It's an honor to meet you, sir." Montant stepped back, broad grins, looking between the two of them. "She's a pretty one, Baros. Excuse me a moment."

"You know Montant Bagon?" Asked Teyla, but there was no time to answer before yet another approached the pair.

"Baros Sal-Soren? Hello!" a beautiful woman, redhair, offering Baros another handshake. There was going to be a lot of that tonight, too. "I'm Rachel Grene, inside of development. I holoed you, so glad to see you decided to show up to our event. Oh! And this is my boyfriend, Alfred Izer."

Alfred smiled a little sheepishly, offering a most unconfident handshake to them both. "Hey, nice to meet you both."

"Rich and handsome." Rachel noticed, looking at Baros and turning over to Teyla. "Settle in sweetie, I hear he's a fighter."

Teyla felt the urge to open her mouth, but opted against it, smiling nondescriptly instead.

"So! We're going to be unveiling a new rehearsal plan for all of our donors, if you're free we'd love for you and your parents to come. And don't worry about whether or not they would enjoy themselves. We make a point to know our potential clients and their families, so we can match their interests to our different programs."

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

If Baros had not had such poise he would have broken out in laughter. Teyla was so nervous and out of her depth. It was amazing to see her like this. She had been so confident as a guard at one of his events, but now as a guest at a similar event she found herself floundering. It got so bad that she actually said her name. There went the plan for the evening. Did she not realize that the media could instantly search her name and come up with at least her profession. That would be enough to scare an criminal away that saw this.

"Bragon! How are you? It's been too long. How are the children? Tash still beating you at everything?" He teased, with the Chief of Justice replying with a knowing smirk and a tap of his nose, "ah yes...Teyla is quite the catch."


"Bragon wants his daughter to marry me. He doesn't know that she is more interested in her female dance tutor," he whispered back when she marveled over him knowing Bragon, "its the female part that would surprise him most."

Smiling and accepting the platitudes of the over eager Rachel Grene, Baros simply smiled and nodded throughout her invitation. "I think I will focus on tonight first before I go planning my families future," he said with a laugh, "besides...I think my parents are far to independent to allow me to dictate their schedule just yet...senility is still a number of years away." It was a joke but also a way to brush her off as quickly as possible.

"We are going to head inside," Baros said dismissing them from the conversation with a kiss on Rachel's cheek.

Entering into the convention center, Baros allowed the setting to skin in. It was a large oval shaped room, probably closer to a slighty askew egg shape. This same shape followed up the walls creating massive arches as the roof. Just below the apex of the ceiling hovered a platform where the band played music with speakers on the bottom of the moving stage. Inset into the walls of the arching walls were alcoves that lead to massive walkways each of which ended with a cul de sac and a fountain with a unique statue. Each of these walkways jutted out at peculiar intervals and in illogical directions. It made the building look alive with tentacles protruding from the structure, but it had been snap frozen in time.

"Shall we dance? Or is it all work no pleasure?" Baros said as his hand slid down to take a hold of Teyla's hand, "I'm guessing its all work no play that makes up Teyla's day...hmmm?"

@Teyla Ee'everwest

 

[Amz]

@[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]

"Alright! We'll take that as a maybe then!?" Rachel persisted after them, but didn't follow. She obviously had other fish to fry besides Baros and his date.

"Is everyone here so superficial?" Teyla asked, not rudely, but just an observation as they exited Rachel and Alfreds presence. Inside of development obviously just wanted the Sal-Soren's money, while the Chief of Justice wanted Baros to marry his daughter. That didn't make them bad or evil people, it just seemed from an outside perspective that those here were out for themselves and what they could glean from each other to use toward their benefit. Teyla didn't care for that type of thinking much.

Walking into the convention center, Teyla nearly gasped, clearly enamoured - a very briefly given self pleasure of the eyes - but only a moment before she started to realize that this was going to be a lot more difficult than she imagined. "This is like finding a needle in a haystack..." she whispered, biting down on her bottom lip.

"Dance?" She repeated, feeling Baros slide his hand down into her own, fighting her natural reaction to yank her hand away. They were here as a couple for the event. Act natural.

Teyla clicked a small button to activate her com, to check and see if her partner had spotted anything yet.

"Veon, see anything out there?"

"No. Either he's wearing a really good disguise, or someone else is working for him."

Teyla shut her com back off, and gave Baros her attention.

"I don't know." she said, clearly feeling uneasy. Not so much because it was Baros, but more about the possibility of having two left feet. "Mr Sal-Soren... I am here on duty." but that didn't mean the entire night had to be ruined, could she observe from the floor? Teyla felt guilty. "...but who says our guy isn't trying to woo his next victim on the dance floor?" Teyla smiled, just a little. Just one dance wouldn't hurt anything...

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

"You are my plus one...if we don't dance it will look odd," he said with a smile as he walked, pulling Teyla along, out onto the middle of the grand room, "I always start with a bit of dancing."

No one particularly was watching them, sure eyes from the bystanders would occasionally linger, but they would rarely pause longer than a passing curiosity on each dancer. The music playing as a slow, and somewhat sensuous melody. It was not the grinding beat of the music he would have playing at his affairs, but it was pleasant to the ears.

When Baros reached the dance floor, he turned and pulled a little more firmly on Teyla's hand and put her into a spin before catching her. The ended up looking the same direction with Baros' arm wrapped around her holding her close. His free hand rested confidently on her hip and guided her gently into a rhythmic motion. "Just let me lead," he whispered, "wouldn't want you to get to much attention for your dance moves."

Pressing his cheek against the side of Ee'everwest's head, he stepped forward, nudging her leg to move with his. Hips swaying, feet slowly roaming the floor, this dance was purposely slow for Teyla's sake, but as a result unfortunately more evocative than he thought she would appreciate. To be honest, the fact that she was probably feeling extremely embarrassed egged him on just a little. He enjoyed seeing her flustered.

As they made their way around the floor, after a couple of minutes of slow dancing, Baros pushed Teyla gently out from him and allowed her body to unravel from his grasp before he pulled her back to come face to face with his dance/crime-fighting partner. "It is safe to say we have danced enough now, we can start to mingle...perhaps you would like to freshen up in the restroom...eyes in more locations and all that?"

@[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

@[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]
"What are you - " but there was no time to finish the protest and keep her legs from losing balance.

Out on the open ballroom dance floor, Teyla looked around at those who already occupied the stage. The music was slow, hypnotic, and it's surrounding residents had been long tranced by it's persuasion, barely giving the newest addition a glance over when they joined. Teyla could feel some heat rise to her face after realization dawned, and she firmly set her lips into a pout frown, brows creased. "No." she objected outright. Slow dancing was nice when there were mutual feelings involved, but to slow dance with Baros? Maybe they shared mutual feeling, but it wasn't anything affectionate.

Almost making a dash, Baros gave her hand another tug and spun her around. Coordination was completely lost, but Baros managed to make up the slack effortlessly and caught her. Teyla's own fingers had found one of his shoulders, digging in for support until Teyla realized that Baros was propping her up and she could release the vice grip. Teyla's train of thought had officially derailed.

Since the first time they met, until now, Teyla had worked to make sure that she wasn't the woman who became utterly boneless every time he looked her way. That level of cool became harder to keep up with their bodies pressed so closely. A thought Teyla never let herself entertain for even a moments pause was now creeping along the fringes of her mind. He had been successful to sweep her out of reality without so much as even receiving one of her quippy comments.

Minutes passed and the illusion shattered with a gentle tug, detangling from her dance partner, who she was supposed to be here undercover with. A second didn't pass and she was flustered all over again, stuttering and slipping over her words like she was trying to cover something. "Uh- Of course. That's a good idea...I'm...um....I'm just going to com Veon and see if he's had any luck."

And she couldn't have been more eager to escape.

"Veon, any luck with staff or support? Negative on anyone I've seen matching the description of our sketch."

"No luck out here either. So, what's it like in there? Buffet or horderves?"

"Both." she said with a smile, feeling her blood pressure lower after coming back down to reality. She shut off her com, exiting down one of the side walkways to get a look for anything that might seem suspicious.

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

Sal-Soren watched Teyla as she walked away. Yes, he was impressed with how good she looked in the dress. He was not above dwelling on her, in fact he had decided mid dance that should the evening go well, he might actually make a move. Was it love? Hardly. He didn't believe in love. Well, not entirely true. He loved women in general, and the ones that seemed hard to get were more desirable to him. Perhaps it was that that caused a momentary determination to swell within him? Nope, her posterior was just that amazing.

Turning, Baros put her out of his mind and went about socializing his way around the room. He stopped only for a moment at each individual. The one thing that he did notice was that Rachel Grene seemed to be by herself. He hated to approach her and get into another darned conversation, but it seemed odd considering how much her husband had seemed to have been on a leash before. "Excuse me...Miss Grene...is your husband about? I have a question to ask him."

"Oh...Mr Sal-Soren...how lovely of you to...oh, Alfred? What in the world would you have to say to Alfred...he knows very little about the matters we would talk about," she said with a laugh.

"Your husband? Mrs Grene..."

"Oh, forgive me...he has gone to the restroom," she said looking embarrassed and pointing in the direction where Teyla had headed.

Baros simply dipped his head in a slight bow and wandered off in the direction where both Alfred and Teyla had apparently ended up. As he approached the corner of the room, he saw Alfred leaning on a pillar opposite the entrance the woman's bathroom. He seemed to be putting some sort of device into his pocket. Grene glanced up and noticed Baros noticing him. Without any hesitation he pushed off the pillar and casually walked towards the stairs. Baros followed, waving and smiling at people to give the impression he was mingling. Alfred just kept moving up the stairs. Once Grene was a third of the way up the stairs, Baros started up as well. There was something not right about this and the entrepreneur was excited to find out what it could be.

Baros' heat pounded as he reached the top of the stairs. He was hard pressed to think of a time when he had been this engaged in any activity. His senses were on overdrive and his pulse raced. He caught a glimpse of Grene walking out onto one of the sweeping tendril like walkways that ended with a hovering disk like balcony at the end. Without any hesitation, Baros decided to continue his clam pursuit.

He finally tapped his comms. "I'm following someone. Third floor...left of entry...fourth walkway down..."

No amount of protestation that might come through the comms were going to deter him. He was loving the thrill of the chase.

@[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

@[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]

Teyla was checking her com, looking over a few hidden cams, and took out her blaster for some...relief, when Baros came through. "You're following someone?" she asked, full of relief to hear of a break through and frantically starting her prep. Judging by what Baros had said, he wasn't far from where Teyla was, and catching up would take short time. Veon and the others were outside the establishment, and there wasn't a need to call for backup just yet. They would know when to break position when the call came. It was Baros who was her main concern right now.

"Mr. Sal-Soren, listen to me." Teyla started, checking her blaster, "Stop pursuit, and do not, I repeat, do not engage! Are you listening to me!? BAROS. Whatever you do, do not engage the suspect and do not turn off your com! Sta - ...DAMNIT!" This wasn't supposed to happen, did he even realize the kind of potential danger he could be putting himself in? Teyla took a deep breath, closed her eyes momentarily, and let that same breath out, disregarding what emotions she could to find focus and remain centered for the task at hand. Staying calm was important, not only to keep a level head about this, but also to ensure that guests were not alerted.

Her pace was quick, but nothing that would cause worry. As far as Teyla knew, no one had yet been hurt. Teyla just needed to find both of them before there was any opportunity for that to happen.

Adrenaline pumped through her, fueling Teyla in her approach, closing in on Baros location. Through the crowd, she could see him...but who was he following? She began weaving through the congested hallway, trying to keep eyes on Baros until her line of vision connected with Baros' target. Teyla flicked on her com, stopping and turning around, hoping that he would at least listen to her this once. "Mr. Sal-Soren, attempt to force Mr. Grene down the next open hall, I can come around to cut him off. Keep your eyes on him, stay focused, and try to keep some distance."

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

Teyla's persistent jabbering as enough to cause Baros to remove his earpiece. He did not know protocol, or really even common sense in this sort of thing. All he knew was that the chase made him feel alive. For a moment he stopped and looked out over the city. Alfred had done the same, and Baros kept a careful watch on him from the corner of his eye. Waiting for him to move felt like an hour passed. Should he have told Teyla that Alfred was taking pictures of the ladies restroom, wait was this guy just some weird fetishist? No, the way he was acting, it seemed more like he was taking pictures of someone in particular. Perhaps a next victim.

Grene began to move again and Baros followed suit. It was about this moment that he was finally in Teyla's view; however, Baros walked around an archway and disappeared from view.

For Baros, it was not a good move. For all of a sudden, he felt a sharp thud against the base of his skull. His vision narrowed, with crystalline like colours shading the edge of his view. Someone had hit him, hard, but Grene was so far away. Surely it was...not...

Sal-Soren hit the ground, hard. There was no consciousness left before he connected with the unforgiving ground and thus he had no ability to minimize the pain of impact. He was a dead weight. His assailant disappeared, and Grene made his move to disappear into the night.

@[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

@[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]

Baros crumpled body on the ground as Teyla rounded the corner caused panic to swell inside of her, but upon feeling that the entrepreneur still had a pulse, Teyla contemplated killing him herself. She sighed, feeling disgruntled and frustrated. Using her thumb, Teyla flipped on her commlink, letting the others know that the mission had been a failure, the target no where to be found, and further instructions on taking Mrs. Grene into custody. By judgment, it seemed as if Mrs Grene was unaware of Alfreds other MO. Or so Teyla hoped to assume.

As for Baros?

"Come on...easy does it..." she whispered, not even sure that he could hear her or not while throwing one of his limp arms over her shoulders and doing what she could to lift his dead weight off the ground and drag him to the waiting medic crew. Teyla was confident that he would be alright, perhaps suffer from a concussion, but a dip in bacta would set him right again. The press were going to have a field day with this one!

---- Later On ----

By the end of getting out of the party, explaining to her boss what had gone wrong, and having to call the Sal-Soren's to let them know that their son was being checked out by a medical examiner - just in the event that he had more than just a concusion - and Teyla was both physically and mentally exhausted. Still dressed in the evenings fine wear, she ascended the steps to her humble home in the city. At least Teyla had removed the heels from her feet, barefoot and loving the freedom of it. Honestly, her feet were aching, along with her head. Teyla just wanted to go to bed so she could wake up early enough to begin making a new plan. Inwardly she felt like screaming and kicking her feet like a two year old, but she managed to show some restraint until reaching her apartment.

The room lit up on her entering, lips still slightly twitching with anger. Shoes were immediately flung to the side of the couch, and Teyla walked around to the kitchen to pour herself a drink, removing a glass for herself and a bottle of ale to take the edge off her nerves. It went down smooth, the spittle on her lips wiped away with the back of her hand and an empty glass placed into the sink. Grasping the counter, she leaned back against it's edge and placed one hand over her eyes.

Bringing in a civilian had been a ridiculous idea, had caused Teyla to lose the best target so far. Never again would she bring an amateur onto a case like this, especially since there could have been a lot more damage done than just a bump on the head. Teyla's chest tightened, but it released with a steady breath. That had been when she heard it. Perhaps a small slip... a mistaken creek in the floorboards...

Someone was in her house.

Instantly Teyla's vision sharpened, and her heart began to hammer inside her chest, stomach knotting. Without knowing exactly where the person was hiding, Teyla knew she was just a sitting captive. She'd removed her blaster as well, the insurance of safety for a situation like this. Now, she had nothing, just her wits and obscure perception thanks to a rush of over stimulation on her senses.

"I know you're there Mr. Grene...Alfred." Teyla said challengingly, hoping he would reveal himself so she could find a weakness of some kind. "Are you here to get revenge? To stop me from putting an end to your rampage? You needed an outlet for all that pent up frustration, didn't you?" continued Teyla, trying to goad him.

"C'mon..." she whispered, gritting her teeth and reaching for the ale bottle on her counter, lowering it down to her side in preparation to break in the most likely event that she'd need a weapon.

The person who came out though... wasn't at all who she had expected.

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

From around the corner came a silver protocol droid walking in its normal stilted manner. Around it's neck was a collar that had a cord attached to it. The cord dipped a little behind it and then rose to be around someone else's neck. The protocol droid came out far enough for the second individual to enter the room, Baros Sal-Soren.

Sal-Soren stood there, arms tied behind his back, and with what seemed to be a small thermal detonator wedged into his mouth. His eyes were wide with concern, begging Teyla to do something about the predicament. It seemed that the detonation trigger was on the 'inside the mouth' side of the explosive. The droid finally spoke.

"Greetings Miss Ee'everwest. You should really not say your real name if you are going undercover."

The droid paused to let her slip up sink in.

"Did you really think you could catch me so easily? And now look at what you have gone and done...you have gotten poor Baros involved."

It was clear that the protocol droid was programmed to say this. Well, surely a protocol droid was not the long sort after murderer. It was clear though that the collars they both wore had a transponder attached to an anti tamper device, probably to detonate the explosive in Baros' mouth should he try to escape from Teyla's quarters. It was also clear from the way the explosive was positioned in Baros' mouth that the only way that he could prevent it from exploding was by pushing up on the detonator trigger with his tongue. Not the most comfortable of ways to stay alive, no doubt.

"You may be wondering how I acquired your friend here...just know this Miss Ee'everwest, you have begun a dance with a master...and this master has friends everywhere."

@[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"]

 

[Amz]

Veridian eyes widened, and Teyla felt her heart sink at the reveal of her mistake. Baros hadn't been to blame, it was her fault, and now she was being toyed with.

With both of their lives on the line, Teyla couldn't chance anything, but it was all happening so fast that immediate action would need to be taken. Whoever it was, was trying to push her into a corner and use scare tactics. Teyla though, was not about to let Baros explode with a deafening blam. "Everything is going to be alright," Teyla attempted to affirm, not quite sure if she was saying it to convince herself, or Sal-Soren. "I'm not going to let you die." And that was a promise.

"I know you're listening right now, waiting for what I'm going to do next," snarled Teyla, "But you have no idea who you're up against. And I'm not just prowling. I'm on the hunt, and I'll find you when this is all over."

One thing she now knew...was the person had some sort of military training. Not just anyone knew how to use an anti tamper device and he was trying to cover his tracks by sending a message and destroying the evidence. Lucky for Teyla...she had been practically raised for such situations, something that the killer probably wasn't expecting.

The droid could be a problem, if he was programed to set off the detonator...but instead it seemed like the droid powered down. Which oddly made sense.

At all the other scenes, the criminal had toyed with his victims first, played with them, and tortured them. Maybe he wanted to give Teyla a chance to try and save Baros, only for her to fail and carry around Baros death as a haunting shadow.

Trembling fingers, Teyla removed a bobby pin from her hair and bent it backward until it was straight, setting to work on the device and detonator. The only chance Baros had, was if she could create a temp fuse to counter the spring trigger. Teyla had never had to do this before, and she only had one shot - otherwise, they would all die.

Her breath fell raggedly, sweat starting to bead along her brow...then she heard the 'click' and her heart jumped up into her throat. Running to one of her drawers in a frenzy, Teyla returned to cut the cord on Baros and the droid. She then shoved a finger into Baros mouth until she could feel the trigger on the detonator that he'd been holding down with his tongue, pressing her index finger hard against it and yanking it out.

"Baros, RUN!"

Baros was given a solid shove through the doorway that slid open and closed again, her own attention now turned to the detonator in her possession. Teyla took a deep breath, trying to think of where to put it. Throwing it outside could mean possibly harming a civilian, but she had to try and give herself a chance to live, too.

The bathroom.

The device was thrown inside the room, rolling onto the tiled floor with a thud. The door closed, and she turned her body to make a dash, but the explosion went off not even two seconds later, flinging Teyla's body across the room like a ragdoll, along with debris and other items of her home, her apartment destroyed.

For a few brief seconds, she faded in and out of consciousness, fighting to stay awake. But the more she fought, the heavier her eyes became... until finally, everything went black.

@[member="Baros Sal-Soren"]

 

[Baros Sal-Soren]

He wanted to thrash. He wanted to yell, curse and berate the universe, but he knew that his only chance of survival was to let Teyla do what she needed too. His eyes grew wider when fingers entered his mouth. That was unexpected to say the least, but he was grateful when she pulled the device from his mouth. He did not need any further reminder to get out of the way either, he was gone. Taking shelter behind the kitchen counter, Baros covered his ears and closed his eyes. He had no time for pondering or thoughtfulness. He had to remain safe. It was only after the device detonated, that Baros stood in the debris with one thought on his mind...Teyla.

Carefully walking through the dust cloud and debris he called out to her. "Teyla!" He coughed a little, "Teyla...are you alright!?"

"She is not dead Mr. Sal-Soren. Neither are you. But somewhere in this city there is a woman lying in a pool of her blood. I did this. She is your sacrificial being. You were allowed to live only because she died."

Baros paused upon hearing the droid speaking to him. He looked down to see it lying in pieces on the ground, its head nearly severed from its torso. "Allowed to live! You karking tried to kill me you shebs! She saved my life!"

"Mr. Sal-Soren, please calm down. I have a remote detonator...the switch you so skillfully depressed with your tongue was disconnected from the main trigger."

In frustration, Baros gave the head a swift kick, finally ending its mechanical life and sending it flying out the smashed window and into the depths of Coruscant below. He turned his attention to the portion of the house that had been ripped apart by the explosive. "Teyla...Teyla...oh the gods..."

***​

​

Outside the room of @[member="Teyla Ee'everwest"] stood two CSF officers on formal guard duty. Baros Sal-Soren was no where to be seen, having been taken into custody for questioning in regards to his part in the events at the charity event and at Ee'everwest's residence. They were also particularly interested in what he would have to say about a dead young woman found a few miles from the scene of the explosion. She had been found wearing a Glitterstim original, one recently given out at an investor meeting that Baros had run. It seemed that no one as above suspicion right now.