Damn Dirty Thieves!

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Ein sat down quietly at one of the tables. "Evenin boys."

A few of the patrons looked at him, gave him a once over, and then let out a growl. He was an outsider, he was foreign to them and worst of all he was dressed well. Ein this of course, he knew how these men looked at him. It was mostly because he'd seen it before.

"Not lookin for any trouble." Slowly he pulled out his Pazaak deck. "Just wanna play some cards."

The men looked at him suspiciously for a moment.

"Lose some money." He winked, and apparently that along with the comment earned him a nod of approval.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

Ein seemed to be doing alright. Sure the boys gave him a beginning cold shoulder. Always treated strangers like that - especially someone wearing his threads. Finishing her hand, she stood, buying a round of drinks for the table she was at. Wandering toward the dillapidated window, she sat, back to the wall again, side to the window.

Cradling her drink, honey-brown orbs glanced through the dirt and grime. Definitely an olive-green speeder out there. Gaze went back to where Ein was sitting. She could still make eye-contact. And for awhile she stared over there until he spotted her, at which point, she'd give a subtle chin nod toward the window and the speeder parked outside.

Just so happened when she did that, a wookie matching the description lumbered through the bar entrance.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Ein didn't notice the Wookiee stepping through the door, mostly because he was far too focused on the game of Pazaak that was currently sitting in front of him. One couldn't really blame the young Executive, he wasn't an officer of the law after all and was hardly trained in looking around a room while doing something else. Still, one would think he'd actually be watching the door, though at the moment there was no such luck.

"Ha." There was however other sorts of luck.

The kind that helped Ein win at Pazaak. He grinned slightly as the four game off the top of his deck, a small wiggle of his fingers pulling forth as he quickly wrapped them around the plus three card in his hand. He gently slapped it onto the table. "Easy."

His opponent growled.
"Best out of three."

Ein grinned. "Sore loser huh?"

The man scowled, but the men and women surrounding Ein let out a few chuckles as the two men quickly began to shuffle their cards once more.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

The dark-furred wookie was going to the bar. He gave Ein's table one glance. Honey-brown orbs narrowed. The primary card player around Ein's table was definitely fingering something beneath the ledge of the table. Most likely a blaster.

Ein was laughing and cracking jokes.

Riz shook her head once. Standing, she made her way over to Ein's table and slipped in next to him. Hip nudged his shoulder, though her gaze remained on the wookie. "How's it going? Enjoy the wins now because luck doesn't last. Eh?"

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

"It's not luck." He stated plainly as though she were just a stranger. "Skill all the way."

That wasn't entirely true.

Pazaak was a pretty heavy mix of luck and skill, though both played into it, the game in the end could be decided by so much as a bad draw. Sometimes it just happened, and when it happened there was nothing one could do about it, unless they cheated of course, but Ein wasn't privy to that.

Cheating just reduced the game. "See?"

He said as he placed down a +4 and ended on a 19, letting his opponent go.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

"Skill? Hmm," a dark-brow lofted as amusement briefly played across her features. Well, she made it look like she was amused when most of her attention was on the patron taking all the losses with the hold-out blaster beneath the table and the wookie suspect at the bar. There was a tough decision. Perhaps the patron wouldn't blow Ein's gut out, even if he lost again. Perhaps he would. She couldn't do anything without bringing attention to herself and Ein.

And the opportunity with looking in the Wookie's speeder would be blown to kark.

Internally, there was a sheb-ton of inappropriate language streaming through her hardened mind. Time to roll the internal dice. And that dice relied on Ein's charisma not to get himself shot. Stepping quietly back, the detective eased away from Ein and slipped outside.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Ein of course noticed Riz slipping away, though exactly where she went off to he had no idea.

The young Financial Officer decided it was best to pay attention to the game ahead of him, mostly because the man across the table seemed to be getting more and more irate. Ein frowned for just a moment, then placed another bet. This one was larger than the others, but smaller than his total winnings. The other man set down an equal bet, a scowl setting on his lips.

"Alright boys." He flipped the top of his deck.

His first card was a ten.

He frowned for a moment, knowing that tensions in the room were already high and the man across the table would likely take it none too kindly if Ein won again. So he drew another card, a three. Then he drew another, a 4. Then he glanced down at his hand, scowled, and locked in a 17. It was a poor hand, and one that was quickly defeated.

"Guess skill only goes so far." He smiled slightly. "Oh well."

 

[Riz Carter]

Once outside, she heard no blaster shots. That was a good sign. Maybe the CFO would make it after all and not flush her career down the crapper. Ducking her head, she made a pass at the parked speeder, then slowly circled around the side that wasn't in plain view of the bar.

No one else around the vehicle.

Edging closer, she took a scan of the license and sent it in to the station. Hands cupped around her eyes as she peered into the darkened glass on the passenger side and in back. There were some datapads and a....she frowned. Looked like a heavy grade rifle.

Definitely not legal.

Comm binged at her side with a text across the screen: license plate confirmed for warehouse security feeds.

"I'm gonna need a warrant asap," she whispered the message back and hit send. [member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Ein of course was completely unaware of Riz's progress outside of the Cantina. Instead he was gambling away and having the time of his life. A small collection of people had now gathered around the table, all of them held drinks, and all of them were laughing uproariously.

"No no Glathruk." Ein said as he slapped a Gamorrean on the shoulder. "You should have been there."

Ein let out a hearty chuckle.

He'd always had a way of befriending people, a natural talent that carried through him better than most. It was easy for him to make people laugh, to ingratiate himself. A social chameleon his mother had called him, something that allowed him to blend in rather way no matter what kind of society he was in. "Then maybe she wouldn't have been so mad."

The entire table burst into laughter.

Things were going well.

 

[Riz Carter]

The detective heard a ruckus of laughter from inside. That was a good sign. She crouched near the door of the green speeder. Comm flashed again. The warrant popped up.

Yup, much better resources than 'Shadda. Thank the maker. Digging in her back pocket. She pulled out some tools to break into the passenger side door of the speeder. Another fancy gadget. With a whirring click, the door opened and she crawled inside, a spare set of gloves already on her hands as she ran a scan and rummaged around.

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Ein kept playing.

By now everyone in the room was relaxed enough that they didn't particularly care who won or lost, which was of course exactly what he had wanted. When he'd told Riz earlier that Pazaak was a game of skill he hadn't just meant playing with the cards.

It had been about the people as well.

One had to manipulate those surrounding the table as best as they could, get them relaxed, calm, and moving exactly in the dicretion that you wanted. There was a certain skill to that, using your charisma to bend folk into doing what you wanted and when you wanted.

That was how you really won.

Both at cards and in the game of Corporations.

 

[Riz Carter]

"Got an address here. Two of 'em. Can you get the squad to check it out?" Voice whispered into the comm as she finished exploring the front. Now she went to the back. Definitely an illegal rifle. Taking it, she slung the strap over her shoulder.

She caught snippets of laughter inside. Good. Maybe the man wasn't just another privileged soul who had a company handed to him. Like most of them did. Those royals.

Suddenly, the laughter sounded louder as the door swung open. Head popped up and she heard a growl. Knowing how fast a Wookiee could close distance, she slipped free from the speeder. Badge and blaster in her hand.

"Interplanetary PD. You're under arrest for the suspected crime of....," with a growl the rookie took off down the street.

Ah feth.

"STOP!" She yelled and took off after him.

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Ein didn't really think over the next few seconds. He only heard a Wookiees roar, turned his head, and then subsequently jumped into action.

”Well its been great boys.” Ein said as he began to scoop up his winnings.

It wasn't really a substantial amount, just a few hundred credits, but if he walked away from the table without it he would have kicked himself in the shins later. Though his family was rather wealthy Ein didn't really enjoy living off of his parents money.

He wanted his own fortune.

”Good luck.” He said standing up. ”And good health.”

With that Ein bolted out the door after Riz and the Wookiee.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

Legs pumped. Locks of dark hair whipped behind her. Arms pumped. Her body was trained for this. She'd run down perps doing this many times before. She ran almost everyday. she was about half a block ahead of Ein. The detective had a feeling someone was following but she was too focused on the wookie.

"I SAID STOP. LAST WARNING!"

Breath heaved as she brought her blaster arm up and shot a stun bolt.

In that moment, the dark-furred wookie jumped and began scaling the side of a building.

"For kriff's sake," the Shaddian swore. Seeing a fire-scape ladder on th side, she jammed her blaster into the lip of her pants and began scaling. The wookie was too far up to risk a shot. It might kill their only suspect. Time to see if pumping iron actually worked.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Ein managed to catch up with Riz fairly quickly.

He wasn't exactly the fastest or the best distance runner, but he had exercised enough that he could move around a bit without too much concern. His breaths were heavy as he reached Riz however, catching up to her just a few moments after she had missed her first stun bolt. "Maybe..."

Ein took in a breath.

"We..." Another breath. "Should use the ladder."

He pointed to the side of the building.

The ladder was tucked away, likely a fire escape incase something started. The wookiee didn't have time to reach it with Riz following after him of course, but he and the officer would be able to scale the building faster and probably at a much less awkward angle than their perp.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

"Already ahead of you!" The detective shouted down to the CFO as she began climbing the rungs of the second floor on the fire escape. A brief, lopsided grin was on her lips. "Try to keep up. But don't get killed. I can't afford the paperwork, Ein!"

Hips waggled as she continued to climb and huff upwards.

The wookie leaped to another floor.

Blast those long limbs!

Hands pulled herself further. With a final growl, the wookie hauled himself over the ledge on the opposite side of the building. Letting out a growl of her own, she shoved herself up the last floor.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Ein was still standing on the street by the time Riz and the Wookiee were on the last floor. He was out of breath, already tired, and almost entirely certain that he'd dropped some of his earnings back there. A scowl pulled at his lips and slowly his eyes drifted towards the other building that the Wookiee had run to. Beyond that was another building, then a catwalk.

A lightbulb went off in his head.

Almost as if possessed by something the Financial Officer booked it down the alleway, ignoring the ladder that Riz had used and ignoring the one on the second building. Instead he booked it towards a fire exit on the catwalk, jumping over the metal grating and jumping onto the staircase. He rushed as fast as he could, something that admittedly wasn't all that fast. Yet with each footstep he carried himself close and closer to the top until he bounded directly onto the catwalk.

There he grinned, the Wookiee running straight at him.

"HA!" He said, though quickly a look of panic crossed his features. "Poodoo."

What did one do when they were being charged by a Wookiee? The CFO let out a curse, pulling free a few credit chits from his pocket and throwing them directly at the Wookiee's face.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

Footsteps were dashing across a roof. Thin air. Then another roof. Breath heaved in her chest and sweat flecked her brow. Blood pumped healthily through her system along with a healthy dose of adrenaline. Call the detective mad but she loved this kind of stuff. Best part of her job. Unless it had been raining. Then it would've sucked. Karked to the nine levels of the underworld.

Footsteps hit the catwalk just as the wookie was charging.

Ein.

"Aww, feth."

Blaster was in her hands and she pumped two stun bolts into the wookie's fury back. Only thing was? The wookie would totally fall ON TOP of the CFO.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

No he wouldn't, Ein wasn't glued to the ground. Silly Riz.

The CFO bounded out of the way, crashing onto the catwalk with a heavy thud and skidding against the metal slightly. He let out a yelp of pain as he felt a piece of durasteel slice his arm, blood immediately dripping down his elbow as he half sat up.

The Wookiee meanwhile came crashing down directly next to him, falling onto the ground with a heavy thud. A low growl erupted from it's throat, it's arms twitching and it's legs clearly intent on still moving about. Ein let out a groan, his eyes locking on the Wookiee as his leg reeled back and his foot impacted with the Wookiee's side. "Just give up damn it."

Ein said as he kicked him again.

The Wookiee let out a growl, looking at Ein and reaching for him...and then finally falling into unconsciousness.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

Footsteps clattered across the catwalk, quickly coming to stop next to Ein and the wookie's motionless form. The detective knelt down between Ein and the wookie, pulling out a pair of stun cuffs from the back of her belt. Blaster was holstered along her thigh. Fingers dragged the wookie's long arms together, quickly slapping them on. He'd be out for a few hours anyway.

Honey-brown orbs panned to the CFO.

"You okay? That was pretty brave. But stupid. I've got some bacta patches back in the car."