Damn Dirty Thieves!

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

"I'm good." He said holding his arm, scowling slightly at the blood slowly dripping.

Ein frowned.

"Is this him?" The Financial officer asked with another pained grimace. It was clear that the wound would likely need at least a few stitches, but he'd have to go and get a tetanus shot later on just to make sure things didn't get infected. "The guy that robbed the warehouse?"

Ein didn't recognize him, so he figured it was likely just another hired thug. He had no idea whether or not someone from within Vanir had hired him, though he wouldn't think it was out of the realm of possibilities. A lot of executives wanted to see him fail, particularly because he was related to the founder of the company himself.

They wanted the Kuhn's out so they could have more power for themselves.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

"Here," leaning over, she took Ein's own palm in her hand, spread his fingers and would press it tightly over his own wound. Her rough, calloused hand spreading over the top of his palm, applying pressure if her let her get this far. "Keep pressure on it. Here."

Knees dug down on the catwalk grating as she fished her comm out of her well-used back pocket as it chimed. "And looks like it. Plates match what was in the security feed. They checked one of the addresses I found in the speeder and good news."

She smiled up at him.

"They found your missing shipment. Won't be too hard to track the accomplices from here."

Honey-brown orbs traveled to his wound and she quickly released her palm that had been over his.

"The medics and some back up should be here shortly." Riz was strong but carrying a dead weight wookie byherself? Kriff no.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

It was good news.

With the equipment back they would be able to continue work on the project, hopefully even complete it, though that didn't quite answer all of the questions.

For one this Wookiee should never have known about the warehouse, second...he had no idea who he was. The practice of criminals stealing from Vanir wasn't exactly knew, plenty of their shipments were captured or diverted, but they were just that, shipments. Data was logged at starports and available with a bribe, information on where Vanir kept it's warehouses here on Coruscant? That was private.

Only held within the company.

"Thank you." He stated simply with a smile.

Momentarily Ein forgot about the wound on his arm, far more concerned with the idea that someone inside of Vanir was out to get him.

"Do we have any leads on the accomplices?" He asked. "Anything where you found the equipment?"

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

"Nothing yet," the detective rocked back on her heels, wiping her slightly bloodstained hand on the thigh of her pants. "I'll visit the site after the medics come and take you to the hospital and get him into custody." Toe nudged the wookie's side.

Standing, she looked down to his arm. "That probably needs stitches." Great. This injury? Looked like she'd be doing paperwork galore tonight. Ugh. All day. Everyday.

"I'll comm you any leads I get. Might be a few days."

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

He frowned. Days? That could be enough time for another leak to happen. All he needed was another disruption in all of this.

Ein looked down at the Wookiee, then glanced at the wound on his hand. Briefly he wondered if he could somehow skip the medic and just head back to Vanir. The stolen equipment would be returned soon and he might be able to move things off world.

"How long will it take to get the equipment back?" He asked.

A thousand different variables were running in his mind.

"Will you be going to where it was found?" He continued on. "Can I go?"

Perhaps he'd see something he'd recognize.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

"I dunno how long. Don't have enough info yet." Distracted-gaze went to some flashing lights coming down the street. Good. Back-up and medics. She glanced down at the CFO, a funny look crossing her face. "Yeah, it's my job. But it's not yours." Walking to the end of the walkway, she began trotting down the steps to the ground, whistling the cops and medics their way.

"You're already hurt. Don't want that to get infected. You're definitely in no shape to come. Not to mention I can't afford you getting hurt again. I'll already be up half the night completing the paperwork for this," hand motioned back and up to the CFO.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Ein let out a sigh. "Nevermind the paperwork."

He himself was used to doing quite a bit of paperwork, though half the time he could push it onto someone else. That was sort of the benefit of being an executive, but he was no stranger to staying up all night just to make sure everything got done properly.

Nature of the work.

"I can have someone do it for you." He could pretty easily. "And this can be healed in no time, just some staples and bacta."

Vanir had excellent medical facilities, mostly staffed by Arkuhn.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

"Wha-at?" She squinted up at him, a low dark-laugh escaping her throat. "While that might be common practice for someone in your position, I'd get fired for that. It's against protocol. And no. No way, Mister Al'Kuhn."

Some civy filling out official police paperwork? HA!

The medics rounded the corner and she pointed up the stairs.

"He's up there. Thanks. Nope. I'm fine."

Then the back-up.

"Perp's up there." She repeated.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

"It'd be fine." Ein began to try to convince her. Of course she would likely say no, but that didn't really matter to someone like him. Vanir had a way of...influencing things. Nothing illegal of course, the company was above that, but they did know when to pressure and where in order to get the result that they wanted.

It wasn't unlike politics back on Empress Teta, though that was far more violent. Ein didn't want anyone hurt of course, he simply wanted to get to the bottom of all of this as quickly as possible. That was the game here, not to get Riz or anyone else in trouble.

"I'll talk to your captain." He offered. "I'm sure he'd understand."

With a nice donation of new gear to Riz's department.

Vanir would happily get the PR and the few thousand credits they spent on new equipment would be nothing compared to the millions from Ein's project.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

Dark-brows rose on her tanned face. She nearly choked. "What? Oh, so you'll just talk to my captain. Simple as that, huh? Sounds a bit like a bribe."

Hit a little too close to home with all those dirty cops on 'Shadda. "There is something called honor and ethics in a job, Ein." The detective figured someone like Ein didn't mean any harm. But he didn't know her and it still rubbed her the wrong way. Shoving her hands in her pockets, she leaned lazily against the railing, glancing up at the CFO as he was tended to.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

"No no no." He waved his hands in front of himself.

That hadn't been at all what he suggested, or wanted to. No one was going to get any money and no one was going to skirt any rules, not any important ones anyway. Ein wasn't really the type to throw around money to unethical types, he knew better than that. Doing so would just cause more trouble to blow back on him eventually.

"I didn't mean it like that." He explained. "Not at all."

His head shook. "It's more like a favor, an innocent one. The paperwork would still get done, nothing is off the books or anything."

He frowned. Was he making the situation worse?

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

Honey-brown orbs narrowed up at the CFO. She also didn't want to be known as the detective that got special favors. It was a delicate balance at the station. And considering she just transferred.....

She imagined all this would be lost on Ein. Someone in his class just wouldn't understand. "I know you aren't dirty, Ein. Well, I hope not. We're gonna put a pin in this conversation. Got your shipment to get to. You coming or what?"

With that, she pushed free from the wall and began waking back to her speeder, with or without him.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

He did go with, obviously.

A little bit of blood wasn't going to stand in his way. The shipment was important and he needed to verify that everything was actually there before they could even proceed with anything else. If it turned out that the robbers had taken anything from the crates, well it would mean deep shit for Ein, not something he really wanted to deal with considering everything else he had.

"So." Ein began as they stepped into the speeder.

The CFO wasn't planning on spending this entire ride sitting in silence.

"How long have you been an officer?" The question was innocent enough. "Must be rough on Coruscant."

Considering the people.

 

[Riz Carter]

Riz was mildly impressed the CFO hadn't run back to his office with his credits between his legs after that injury and staring down a charging wookie. She'd fully expected him to bail and let her close things up. Her speeder smelled like caf and she cracked the slightly tinted windows.

A low chuckle escaped her throat.

"Coruscant is a cake walk compared to 'Shadda. Even the lower levels have nothing on her." A quick, grim smile wove its way on her thick lips as they passed a few of the homeless on the streets outside.

She gave Ein a quick glance as they got nearer to the warehouse. It was a seafood distribution center. "And as for how long. Went into the academy at sixteen and been doing it ever since."

Ein could work out the math.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

He couldn't actually because he had no idea how old Riz actually was, but he could guess well enough. "Not a lot of law on Nar Shaddaa."

The CFO commented without hesitation. Vanir Technologies specifically avoided that sector of space for a very good reason. The area was rife with crime of all sorts. Smugglers, Pirates, Con artists, all of it could be found on Nar Shaddaa. Vanir made it a point not to set up anything there, not even a trading out post.

It was a good decision.

"Must've been hard." He said with a smile. "Probably pays poodoo too."

He couldn't help it.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

Of course she knew he couldn't do the exact math. He didn't seem the type to ask age and she certainly wasn't going to openly share it in an indirect way. He could guestimate. Tan-face pulled into a smirk.

"It paid enough. Could've paid more. A lot more. But when you're doing something you love...pay doesn't matter as much, ya know? Well, maybe it's something you wouldn't know Mister Al'Kuhn." The smirk was still on her face to let him know she was just teasing him a bit. Having a little fun.

"There are good people on 'Shadda. They just need someone to stand up for them. Someone that couldn't be bought by the drug, hutts, OR crime lords or drop at the sight of a hooker. My dad showed me it was possible. Hard as feth but possible. Never looked back."

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

He shrugged.

Ein couldn't really say anything about the topic of Nar Shaddaa. All he knew were rumors and stories. He'd never been that far out of the core before except for a few visits to the Corporate sector just in the galactic north. It wasn't his place to comment, and he didn't want to belittle the work that Riz had done on what he assumed to be her homeworld.

"Empress Teta is quieter." He commented. "More than Coruscant too."

The planet was hardly perfect, but it was more...polished.

"Even the lower levels don't have much crime, but...Security forces have been a bit harsh." That was always how it had been though. You didn't really want to mess with the cops on Empress Teta. They came down hard, fast, and not always measured.

It was one of the reasons you tended not to get in trouble there.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

"Teta?" The speeder pulled to a gentle stop. "You born and raised there?" And the detective knew all about the law on Teta. Well, she'd heard stories. Eye for an eye sort of thing. Still, if someone was starving they'd do just about anything. To clean up a planet one had to make sure enough food was available for everyone. That was step one and ground zero. Empress Teta probably just extradited the people too poor to pay their rent.

No longer their problem.

Doors unlocked as they stopped. A warehouse in the seafood district. Cops from the station were already onsite, guarding the shipment that they'd just recovered.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

"I was." He stated plainly.

Though he generally didn't agree with Empress Teta's policing methods, it did keep the world relatively safe. Crime was rare even in the lowest districts, and people were comfortable enough to even keep their doors unlocked in some places. That wasn't everywhere of course, but it still happened plenty all around the planet.

"It's nice enough." He told her in truth. "Little bit less chaotic."

As they stepped into the warehouse Ein frowned. "But more harsh."

Criminals on Empress Teta were smart, mostly because they had to be. Instead of street thugs you had organized mobsters. Instead of muggers you had bank robbers. Everything was more planned, more coordinated, and thus more dangerous in a different sort of way.