Damn Dirty Thieves!

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

Why did the pretty boys always cause so much trouble? With a pump of the accelerator, she peeled out. It was a short drive to Joe's. Back uptown and the second turn on the right. Waves of people still walked down the streets but most of the tourists were tucked into their hotel beds.

Riz nodded to the restaurant owner as she walked in, choosing a table with an open view of the door, back to the wall. Ordering a black caf with no bells and whistles, she brought up her case files. Hunkering down for the night. She just needed that caf coming and it was like any other night.

Add a bowl of steaming noodles.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Ein did exactly as intended.

The Financial Officer didn't take a meal or even bother trying to get something small to eat, rather he headed straight to the archive access room. The process didn't take very long, particularly since he had the highest access anyone could have within the company.

"Let's see." He said quietly to himself, ducking his head to the side and quickly accessing the terminal.

For a brief moment he wondered if Riz hadn't been right, if he should stay away from the investigation and just turn everything over to her...but he remembered that he wasn't exactly a civilian. Vanir Technologies was a massive company, so large that it made more money than certain Planetary Governments. Involving a local officer in something this deep, well it could lead to trouble. Trouble that he didn't want or need. He frowned for a moment.

Better to get the exact files then turn them over.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

She worked all night, alternating between caf sipping and noodle slurping and file looking. Still, no matter how much caf she drank, she found her chin drooping on her upturned hand, elbow firmly planted within the mildly stick table's surface. There was the soft light of the dawn coming through the shop's windows. The wait staff had already changed shifts and for the moment Riz was the only one inside.

Head drooped and she couldn't stop her eyes from closing.

Maybe just a five minute nap. That'd be okay. Hand rested on the blaster at her hip beneath the table. Habits died hard.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Two hours in, Ein found what he was looking for.

The logs were innocuous enough, really nothing but a long list of names. It was what he found inside of those names that Ein found particularly interesting. A small smile slowly spread across his lips and he stood from the archive, his gaze falling over the data-terminal as he plugged in his communicator. Quickly he downloaded the list, a smile touching his face.

"Got you." He mused to himself, unplugging the device a moment later and immediately turning.

He ran off as fast as he could, heading down the hall.

Ein knew that using the communicator inside of the building was a bad idea, but he had a land line in his office that he could use to call Riz.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

Riz was happily unaware of anything at the moment. She was dreaming about a nice, long vacation. Maybe something on an island somewhere. Maybe....

Bzzt. Bzzzzzt.

Head jerked from her hand, sleepy eyes flying open. Gaze sharpened on her comm and she plucked it from her belt. "Carter here." Other hand immediately went to the caf cup on the table.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Standing in his office Ein picked up the communicator and dialed Riz's number.

He faced away from the door as he did so, not really thinking anything of it but instead casting his glance out the large window. THe view was spectacular, the suns having set and giving a bright overcast glow of the city in front of him. Ein's office wasn't the highest in the building, but it was high enough that he could nearly see the curve of the planet itself. There was something beautiful about the whole thing, though in truth it was only because it reminded him of home.

Like Coruscant, Empress Teta was a city planet, entirely covered in Skyscrapers and massive other buildings. "Detective."

Ein said as soon as he heard Riz's voice.

"I have some news for you." He sounded almost chirpy. "I found a name on our access lo-"

There was a sudden loud thunk, and then Ein fell to the floor.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

Palm pressed against her brow. It was definitely near dawn. One could almost imagine the golden glow of a sun coming up above the neon lights. Seemed like Ein pulled an all-nighter too.

"Ein?" She mumbled into the phone, the sharp smell of caf stinging her nose as she brought her cup up - a fresh batch poured in from the owner. Bless Hariot Combs. She sat a bit straighter in her chair as he went on like an excited puppy. "Whoa-whoa just slow down."

His voice then...thunk. Nothing.

Pressing the comm to her ear, she hunched over the caf, finger going up to her opposite ear to cut out any of the shop noise.

"Ein. Ein? You there? Hello?" A frown tugged on her full-lips as she waited to see what she could hear on the other end.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Riz would hear simple noises.

The opening and closing of a few desk drawers, a muffled groan from Ein, and then the slamming of a door.

The situation was of course not at all that complex. Someone had followed Ein back from the records room, hit him on the head with something, and then stolen files from his office. Of course none of this actually occurred to Ein himself, mostly because he was now laying on the ground in half delirious unconsciousness. His entire world seemed to be spinning.

"Asdfasd." Was all he managed to say before suddenly and finally passing out.

Not his finest moment.

 

[Riz Carter]

Frowning, she peered down at the comm. Didn't sit right with her. Something was clearly wrong. Or he butt dialed her. But doubtful with the way he started the conversation.

Leaving a credchit and getting her caf to go, she stood and left the shop. It was still just before early morning. As she got in her speeder, she wondered if the receptionist would even be there. Took her less than five minutes to pull up in front of Vanir. Getting out, her honey-brown orbs swept the front of the building.

Yup, just a droid at the front. She pulled her badge from her belt for the mechanical to scan. "Here to see Ein on official business. Coruscant PD." That was close enough. She served a broader spectrum.

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Ein was still passed out.

Deeply so.

Whatever, or whoever had hit him on the head had done quite a number on him. A small bit of blood dripped from the back of his head, though it was unlikely that there was any brain damage. He laid still within his office, the door closed and the "do not disturb" light shining brightly above the entrance.

His chest rose and fell steadily, signaling he was still alive.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

"...I don't care if I don't have an appointment, this is official police business. Move it droid." Palm pressed flat against the droid's head and she stepped around it, making a beeline upstairs. Taking the lift to Ein's office. A frown tugged on her lips as she saw the sign. She didn't wait to knock, acting on her hunch.

"Ein?" The detective pushed the door open.

She saw his feet first.

"Aw, feth," striding quickly into the room, she quickly knelt by his side, tugging the CFO onto his back and no longer face-first. She tried to be gentle but....nothing Riz did was usually gentle. Still breathing. Good. Hands gripped his shoulders as she hovered over him.

"Ein? Ein, can you here me? Okay good. You're breathing."

She had basic first aid but not much else.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

Conveniently Ein came to only a few seconds after Riz started screaming his name.

A deep breath filled his lungs, a scowl pulled across his lips, and his hands clutched at her for a few moments. "Shit!"

The Financial Officer cursed.

His head was aching, his body felt like it was somewhat numb, and he wasn't entirely sure where he was at. A hand immediately shot up to his head, gently rubbing at the spot that he had been struck at. He frowned for a moment, glancing at his now bloody palm. "Riz?"

He questioned.

"What..." His eyes searched the room. "What happened?"

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

Pffft, screaming? More like saying firmly. She frowned down at him and pulled away once he released his grip on her arms, so she wasn't hovering like a mother nuna.

"Looks like you did exactly what I warned you not to do. And what you promised not to do. Think you can sit up?"

Reaching behind her, she grabbed the CFO's comm system.

"We need a medical droid sent up here eh-sap." She hung up and turned back to her client. "Think you can sit-up? And come here. I should check the back of that hard-head of yours to see if we need to stop the bleeding before the droid comes. Now. Can you go over exactly what happened before you were knocked out?"

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

"Uhh." He thought for a moment.

Everything was still a bit hazy, and he couldn't help but wince slightly as Riz attempted her best to prop him up. A frown pulled at his lips for a few moments, his eyes wandering around the room as he tried to focus on something that might help him remember for one reason or another.

After a few seconds he got a bit of a light-bulb.

"I was searching the records room." He mused quietly. "Looking at Access logs."

Yeah He remembered now. "Seeing who had peeked at the blue-prints for the new project. I knew that no one outside of our team would know about the Crystal, so someone had to access those files in order to actually find out."

He frowned, mostly because he couldn't remember who it actually was.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

The detective knelt behind the seated CFO, tucking her legs beneath her. Kark, she hadn't brought gloves. Fingers gently probed around the back of his scalp. "Alright. Not so bad. Bleeding isn't outta control."

She frowned.

"You got a name? This someone who works for your company but not on the immediate team of the crystal?" There was a sharp knock at the door and the medical droid entered, wheeling over to the CFO. It began running a scan. And of course the droid was the top of the line.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

He considered for a few silent moments. "Uhh."

It really wasn't much of an answer, but to be fair to Ein he had just been clocked over the head with something and was still bleeding. His lips thinned for a few seconds and he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose in consideration. There were really only a few people in the office who could even access the records room, and even though Ein had forgotten the actual name he quickly ran through a short list within his head. After a moment he let out a groan.

"It's..." A noise passed his throat, an odd sort of Cough. "Edward Gate."

Yes, that was it.

"He accessed the files three weeks ago, had no real reason to." Edward worked within another department entirely, Vanir's weapon design. His eyes suddenly popped open as he realized that, a bit of panic setting in.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

Eyes narrowed as she listened, rocking back on her heels. The medical droid came over and started doing its thing with Ein. Riz stood up and checked the power setting on her blaster.

Running a scan of the object with Ein's blood she waited for a moment. "Hmm. Fingerprints match that name. He's getting sloppy. You're lucky you weren't killed."

Honey-brown orbs stared sternly at the CFO for a bit.

"I'm heading toward his office. Third floor, right?"

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

"You can't." Ein didn't mean that figuratively either.

Vanir Technologies was a massive company with hundreds of different departments and thousands of employees all over the galaxy. They had things to protect, probably more so than many planetary governments. No one could just go running around the building doing whatever they wanted, not even Ein.

"Security won't let you through." He let out a muted groan. "Besides I doubt he's in the building."

His hand came up to rub his head.

"He hit me, came after me, that means he knows I know." Not to mention the other implication.

 

[Riz Carter]

[member="Einhardt Al'Kuhn"]

The detective paused mid-step in the doorway and slowly spun around. "Of course not," she grumbled and dug out her comm and spoke into one end to the station. "Yah. I know it's early."

She blinked at the dawn light streaming in the window office. Another all-nighter. Still. She loved it. Working.

"Get an APB out on Edward Gate immediately. Yah. Use all the screens. This is important."

Attention shifted back to the injured CFO that was getting babied by the medical droid. "Ya know. You'll need to be placed in protective custody until we find him. Any other suggestions on where he might've gone?"

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Riz Carter"]

He perked an eyebrow. Protective custody? That wasn't going to be necessary, for multiple reasons. Ein wasn't at all a fighter, he could admit that, but he didn't need CoreSec looking out for him. That was one of the benefits of working for Vanir. "I have guards."

Ein told her.

"I'll be fine." His head shook. "We should be more concerned about what Edward is planning."

Slowly Ein tried to stand up. "He works in weapons development."

The implication was obvious.