Private Hammer to Fall

[Serren Leonis]

| H A M M E R | T O | F A L L | ​

Serren wasn't going to go easy on Holden Tark . He'd been stupid enough to piss off Jolene Bastra and that made him as good as dead. She squeezed the trigger, sending a red bolt towards the pile of crates he was using as cover. Then, another. And another.

"You're the one that wanted to do this the hard way," Serren called, her tone had an edge cut that could cut glass.

While she gave him this tiny respite, the woman clad in black holstered her blaster and took a rifle off her shoulder. Staring him down with a sharp eye, she let the laser sight pin a red dot to his chest. Okay, so she might have been toying with Holden a bit. But it was mighty fun to shoot at him. She wasn't actually going to kill him right now. He'd live long enough to give back what he owed -- Serren would actually make sure of that.

Otherwise, she'd be the one getting an earful from Jo.

It had been a simple job -- any smuggler would have had it done and left Jo's with coin in hand. Why had this guy missed his deadline? Serren wasn't actually interested in why... only when he'd be giving up what he owed.

"Come out," she said, keeping her sight fixed on him. "And give me the idol."

 

[Holden Tark]

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Tag: Serren Leonis​

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"Why would I come out when you've spent the better part of our time together SHOOTING AT ME!?!"​

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It was a valid question, one which Holden did not expect to get any kind of favorable answer to. He had pissed someone off that was sure, but considering he did not know this woman, and the fact she was a professional, he figured it was not some woman who woke up to a cold bed and note about why he had to leave early. Though if they could resolve their differences...​

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Okay so Holden was as much of a scoundrel as they came, but he did have a reputation to uphold. Whether he was the ladies man everyone thought he was or not, it certainly helped get him some credit when he needed it.​

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"...besides, I don't have the idol. Jo was not the only one interested in it."​

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No where in his line of thinking did Holden think Jo screwed him over by double booking the job. It was not her way, and she had always been fair when it came to work. Credits were always good, and top pay was always given. This was not the kind of job Holden would bail on, and Jo was not the kind of woman to trifle with. She was as ruthless as she was benevolent, as the blaster bolt holes in the cargo container could attest to.​

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"Someone got the drop and stole it. If you promise to stop shooting at me I'll tell you what I know, and maybe we can get Jo what she's after. If you prove helpful, I'll split the payout... MAYBE."​

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It was up to her.​

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[Serren Leonis]

Tag: Holden Tark

Well, maybe he did have a point -- she had to give him that.

But others would have already given up by now. This guy, though, seemed to like to run his mouth. Maybe he could talk his way out of situations, but he wasn't going to get very far with Serren. Then, he finally mentioned the idol. He didn't have it.

Chit.

Serren could already feel the beginning of a headache brewing behind her eyes. Face impassive, she listened as he gave her a proposition. His mention of pay actually made her laugh -- a cold, mirthless laugh. Split the payout? Like Jo wasn't going to give her much more than that when she delivered the idol. Holden had had his chance. It wasn't her fault he made a mess of things.

"Come out," she said, or rather ordered him. And as a gesture of good will, she slung the rifle of her shoulder again and showed the palms of her gloved hands. "I need to verify your story, so empty your pockets." If indeed he did what she asked, then she'd give his jacket a rough tug and pat him down. No, she wasn't trying to flirt; she was looking for any secret pockets or things sewn into the linings of clothes.

Smugglers, you could never be too careful with them.

 

[Holden Tark]

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Tag: Serren Leonis​

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“Feth that,” he shouted from within the cargo container. “If I come out now you’re just going to take advantage of the open shot. No, you’re coming in here, and my blaster is going to pointed square at your chest… meaning if you do anything stupid, I’m gonna have to do some damage to its perfect shape. I would really regret having to do that.”​

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So there it was. Holden laid out his terms. She was either going to get along with his way of doing things, or the smuggler was going to use the time he had to slip out the back. Granted, he should have done that in the first place, but Holden really needed Jo to call off the hit. If she did not, there would be others coming after him, and he did not need that.​

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This was one of those situations where he had to meet the assassin half way. To stay alive he had to control the situation, however, which meant if she did not want to get in trouble with Jo, she had to comply.​

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Holden was betting on the fact she did not want to lose face with her generous employer.​

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“If you can’t agree to that, then we are at an impasse, and I guess we keep shooting until one of us is dead.”​

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[Serren Leonis]

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Tag: Holden Tark

So… he wasn't planning to come out.

And he even gave her his view of how things were going to turn out. The guy would apparently regret having to put any holes in her 'perfect' body. Maybe lesser assassins might have been flattered. She, on the other hand, would regret nothing about putting holes in him. Nevertheless, Serren let out an audible groan.

This was only making her job more difficult and annoying.

"Fine," Seren said, holstering her weapons. However, she did express her frustration by kicking at the nearest crate. "I won't shoot."

She felt the anger welling up in her chest; Serren hated to compromise. But at the moment, it seemed her options were few, especially now that she knew they wanted the same thing. Getting the idol meant appeasing Jo. And to do that, it looked like this smuggler was the key.

"If you don't have it, who does?"

 

[Holden Tark]

Tag: Serren Leonis

Okay so she had agreed to not shoot, but Holden was still a little weary, at least until he heard the sound of her kicking something. Alright so as usual, Holden had talked his way out of getting shot. That was something he really needed to remedy, but not today. They did not have time.

“Right who… not sure… buuuuut… I did manage to get the idol into one of my cases before it got swiped… which means we can track it.”

Holden opened the door of the cargo unit and stuck his hands out first showing that he was also not going to shoot.

“I’m going to come out now.”

Part of him wanted to be funny and close his eyes before just busting out with what they needed to track the package, but the Corellian was beginning to get the distinct feeling the assassin was not in the mood for humor.

Fun sucker.

He came out slow and made his way to the redhead. Yup, she was hot, and Holden would normally have made about thirteen passes at her by now. Getting shot at several more times than that definitely was getting in the way of how he usually like to handle pretty girl situations.

“Gonna pull out my data pad,” he said as he approached reaching into the inside pocket of the vest he was wearing.

Holden tossed it to his would be killer.

“Right, just so you know I didn’t sell you a pile of bantha poodoo huh?”

He let her check it out and see that the package was still moving, which meant it was in range.

“No idea when it’s going to go off world, but if it does that thing will stop beeping. The fact we’re getting anything at all means they’re still here, and we are running out of time. We better move.”
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[Serren Leonis]

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Tag: Holden Tark

Serren's displeasure at the current situation was apparent by the annoyed expression on her face. However, he had a way to track down the case with the idol… so that was a start. Her trigger finger was itchy as the smuggler showed his hands and informed her of his intent to come out from his hiding place. She merely gave him a nod in response.

Her blue eyes narrowed slightly when he reached for the datapad, but she didn't make a move until he tossed the device her way. She reached out and caught it. Yeah, his story – and most smuggler's stories – had a certain… odor, but he wasn't actually peddling bantha poodoo. The case was marked and appeared on the screen, little blips to indicate that it was moving.

It was only a matter of time before the idol changed hands again – likely without the case – or was taken off-world. Holden was right, they had to move. And she definitely wasn't about to waste another second.

Serren's eyes darted about for a moment, then settled on a speeder parked across the street.

"C'mon," she said and took off in a sprint for it. Once she'd reached it, she motioned for Holden to get on. "Get ready to start it up and drive, alright?" She made sure to keep the datapad; she wasn't going to let him ride off without her.

As she fiddled with wires, the speeder started up.

Serren jumped on and hooked one arm around the man's torso and kept a firm grip on the datapad so she could monitor the location. "Head down the street, hang a left at the alleyway."

 

[Holden Tark]

Tag: Serren Leonis

And of course she was hot wiring a vehicle, one which Holden was going to have to drive. He was not going to argue. Considering the situation they were in, he would have done the same. The more important issue at hand was for the moment it seemed this woman that had been sent to kill him was trusting him. It was the reason he was still alive, and hopefully well on his way to get back in the good graces of his favorite fixer.

Holden had an uncanny ability to adapt and think on his feet. He loved a good plan, but most of them fell apart and required a certain flexibility that separated the good from the best. One reason Jo loved Holden so much was because he was among the best she could find. It was also why he could not blame her for sending an assassin after him if she felt like he had just screwed her over. It was justified.

“On it,” he said once he could feel the woman’s arm secured around his torso.

They took off in a hurry. He turned when he told her to turn, and stopped when she told him to stop. There may have been a few pedestrians nearly run over, and market stalls completely trashed, but the pair had made it to their destination in enough time to see a potential exchange about to take place.

Holden was smart enough to shut the engine down and duck for cover before they could be noticed.

“I can’t hear what they’re saying, but that ship looks ready to take off at a moment’s notice.”

If the woman was giving him any of her opinion Holden was not thinking. Eyes darted around the ship bay to ensure he was not missing anything. They landed on a turret. A wicked grin pulled at his lips as he pointed it out to the assassin. This was certainly going to be her kind of leverage.

“Alright so… if you can get to that turret… I might just have a way to get us this idol back.”

Was he about to tell her the plan? Not really. She was going to have to go with the flow, or prove she could.
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[Serren Leonis]

Tag: Holden Tark

The wind whipped through Serren's scarlet hair. It was a feeling that she normally enjoyed, but tonight her mind was too busy for fun. This needed to go well. She hadn't asked just how the case had been stolen right out from Holden's cargo… but they couldn't let it slip off world.

"You had one job to do." Serren could already hear the nagging tone of Jo in her head.

No, she didn't want to hear those words. Not again – not ever again. Their target was slowing down, the little beacon on the screen was close to its destination. And so were they. Serren was off the bike and couching as soon as the engine shut off.

"Looks like it," she affirmed.

Looked like a rush job. They had to know that Holden or someone else would be coming for the idol. Fresh credits had already been dropped to ensure its safe journey back to Dorado Station. Jo was pissed alright, but she didn't want to piss off her client. In their line of work, that spelled trouble. Well, more trouble than usual, that is.

"Wait – what," Serren said, her eyes turning to the turret Holden mentioned.

Her movements were calculated; she liked a good plan. This was the opposite of that. Serren cursed under her breath and gave the smuggler a serious look that said 'fine, lets get this over with.'

With stealth on her side, the assassin kept to the shadows.

And with a bit of luck, she made it over to the turret unnoticed. So far, so good. But things rarely went well when there wasn't a plan. Was she supposed to wait for a signal? He hadn't said.

Great.

 

[Holden Tark]

Tag: Serren Leonis

It was a good plan, Serren would see. Holden just had little time to explain it. Well, he had no time to explain it. The truth was, he was making it all up as he went, but that was not something he was about to admit to an assassin that clearly had control issues. Oh, it was obvious that she liked to have every dot and dash on every letter that required them before even moving forward. It made her good, and allowed her to exploit what little predictability Tark had.

That was the thing about Holden though, he was rarely predictable.

“My hands are up, and I don’t have a weapon in them,” he shouted once it was clear the turret was manned.

He shot his hands up for all of them to see as he walked out.

“I would not take that case if I were you. First off, bozo the clown here did not even think to check if there was a tracking device on the case when he stole, and number two, if you do my very trigger happy friend is going to blow all of us to smithereens.”

Holden pointed to the turret which was promptly aimed at the ship.

“So here is the deal, we could have killed all of you by now, and taken the case back, easy peasy. However, I figured that everyone here would prefer to work this out and walk away breathing, no harm no foul.”

They would be so lucky if that happened. What they did not know was Holden’s datapad was busy cloning the ship’s transponder while he was stalling. Oh, they were going to take his offer. They may be able to kill Holden, but they would not be dumb enough to test whether or not his “partner” had the guts to pull the trigger and make good on his threat.

It was not a threat, and Holden was not bluffing. Besides they were about to need a change of britches when he told them who they were stealing from.

“This really the best offer you’re going to get. Now, if you go along with this, I can forget this ever happened when I explain to Jolene Bastra why I was delayed.”

Their eyes went wide at the name. The case was promptly tossed to Holden. He checked to ensure the idol was there, and intact. It was. The Corellian nodded to both parties.

“I am so glad we could all see eye to eye on this one.”

Without much more words exchanged, they all started to go their separate ways. By the time Serren reached the bottom of the stairs from where the turret had been, Holden was waiting for her, leaning against the wall.

“Told you I would get the idol back…”​

 

[Serren Leonis]

Tag: Holden Tark

From her spot, she watched the scene unfold – Holden was as soon as he made his presence known. And he didn't let the enemies get a word in. Her eyes narrowed slightly. The smuggler had a way about him, like a used ship salesman. His casual tone probably conned people before they ever suspected it. A bit sleazy, yeah…

But there was charm, too.

Even Serren had to admit that.

She'd admit it because she wouldn't fall for it.

The assassin watched closely as the idol changed hands – back to Holden. "Psssh." Serren blew out a breath as she made her way back down. There he was, waiting with the ease of man that knew he was going to have a pay day… and not get killed by an assassin.

"So you did," Serren said. "Now, if you don't mind… Jo's waiting."

Her gloved hand was hovering by her hip, where there was a blaster pistol – just to make it clear to him that there'd be a shot in his back if he tried to run off.

"We'll take your ship."

 

[Holden Tark]

Tag: Serren Leonis

“You’re just made because you didn’t actually get to shoot anyone.”

Was he calling her out? Sure he was. Serren was an assassin after all, and they did like killing people. If she did not enjoy what she did for a living there was no way she would be doing it. Well, maybe there would be circumstances where she might be forced into it, but Holden could not think of any that made sense to him. She did seem to enjoy shooting at him earlier after all.

“My ship? Please tell me the big bad assassin did not use public transportation to track me here. Cuz one… how embarrassing… and number two, how insulting that you could suggest I was that easy to track.”

In truth, Holden knew he was that easy to track. He never made his whereabouts a secret unless he had to or needed to. Most of the time he avoided situations like the one he just dealt with because his contract with Jo was pretty well known. Most left him alone, not because they were afraid of him, but because they did not want to piss off Jolene. They should have been afraid of Holden, but it was good that part of him remained a mystery.

“Right, so here is the deal. Before we do anything we are calling Jo,” Holden said as he pulled out his commlink. His hand went up to keep Serren from protesting. “Nice bit with the assassin there, but I got your package. A couple of idiots who did not know who you were or that I worked for you… mhm.. Yeah… no we are on our way soon, but I’m gonna need a drink first. Getting shot at kinda fries your nerves.”

It was a short conversation, but he turned back to the redhead.

“So pretty sure you heard that… the second thing is we are getting a drink. Follow me… I know a good spot.”​