Lost And Found (Holden Tark / PM For Invite)

[Eryn]

Through the wincing and the conversation Holden was keenly aware that something seemed not right. He stood up suddenly and peeked out around into the waiting room. How!? The men chasing him were waiting. Of course they weren't coming in guns blazing. Holden grabbed his coat and looked at then Doc.

"You got another way out of here? They're outside."

Well, MOST of them were outside.
One was guarding the back door. Sort of.

Eryn wasn't a patient gal on a good day, so you can bet your ass the starving, wired, sleep deprived version currently pacing the alley at the back of the clinic was not in a good mood. Her idea to storm the building, shoot everyone in their path and drag their wounded target out by his feet had been outvoted, the 'leader' of her 'team' opting instead to take the 'minimize casualties and keep things quiet like we were ordered to' route. Dumbasses. Like they were actually gonna walk away from this with that star map, anyway.

Like she'd let them. That was HER map. Hers. And after all the crap she had to scrape to get herself here, in this position, fifty feet away from it? No way in hell she was gonna leave empty handed now.

After all, the thing was quite possibly her only way around the massive price on her head. And the fugitive wasn't above filling whoever was in her way with blaster holes to get what she wanted.

She'd already shot Thief Flashy-Jacket in the shoulder, whoever he was. Was rather surprised she'd landed a hit, to be honest, the guy was certainly adept at dodging and they'd been a good distance behind him at the time. Eryn fingered the blaster at her hip, fidgeting, throwing deadly glances at the closed door, her dark, unruly hair shifting around her shoulders as she moved. The hell were they doing in there? It'd been like an hour already, for sure. …Why was she even waiting? She could dart in, put them all down, grab the map and get out before anyone else showed up. Simple. Easy. Quick. And she wouldn't get another chance once they took the target down. Element of surprise was crucial for her, otherwise facing down five very large, armed men would…well, it wouldn't be fun.

Eryn paused in front of the back door. Literally no one would be expecting her. The men she was working with still didn't take her seriously, even after nailing the target with her blaster, and no one in a clinic would find her particularly intimidating on first look.

Yep. Time to cash in. "…I work better alone, anyway," she muttered, throwing open the door.

Four minutes later and to the violent soundtrack of thugs versus security guards, the leader of Eryn's ex band of 'mission companions' stumbled backwards through the open doorway as Tark was grabbing his jacket, followed quickly by the smoking muzzle of the would-be thief's blaster pistol as she charged through the door after him.
The fugitive trained her weapon immediately on the man in the jacket with full intent to kill. In fact, her finger was already squeezing the trigger.

She'd been absolutely ready to empty the rest of her clip into Thief Flashy-Jacket and whoever else was in the room. These people didn't matter to her. Just bodies in her way, and with something as important as that star map, she had zero qualms about doing whatever was necessary.

So when she realized at the last possible moment who was IN the jacket, she was actually glad she'd been hasty with the aim, and managed to twist her wrist just enough to avoid a direct hit. The bolt just missed his good shoulder (and the lovely Doctor entirely), splattering against the wall behind him.

She lowered her blaster, teal eyes wide. "Tark?!…you have GOTTA be kidding me…"

| [member=Holden Tark] |

 

[Holden Tark]

There was a back door, but they had anticipated it. The body falling in front of Tark wasn't the thing that surprised him. What had Holden standing there jaw dropped and in a state of shock was the woman holding the blaster, and the shot that leveled past him just missing his good shoulder.

Everything suddenly connected.

"YOU shot ME..."

There was no "Hi Eryn, how have you been," or "Wow, you look great... what have you been up to." Holden knew better. Eryn hopped from ship to ship and crew to crew in hopes she wouldn't get caught. The bounty on her head meant being around her was trouble. Still Holden didn't care. She'd helped him on a job after he saved her life. The last time they had met the girl had left a mess of blood on his ship and nearly bled out hiding in a cargo crate. She really was lucky that Holden had found her when he had. Eryn would not be alive if he hadn't.

Holden pushed past her, and kept walking out the alleyway.

"You can come with me, but I'm not giving you the map. I stole it fair and square. Your friends back there aren't good at what they do anyway. Help me out, and I'll consider splitting the take with you. Well... after you buy me a new jacket."

This was the second time he had gotten hurt because of her. He should have been asking how she got away from the bounty hunter that had taken him out. Holden didn't lose all that often, so when he did, he remembered the face. Eryn had been running from that guy, had been caught by that guy, and he didn't seem the type to simply lose his bounty.

"Oh... and this better not end the same way things did the last time... I shouldn't even be giving you this offer, but I like you, and I've seen you in your panties. If you stick it out to the end... the take is much larger than just the fee to get the map. It is what the map leads to that I am interested in whether my client is or not. Maybe it's enough to get your head clean, and you can stick around after."

That was close as Holden was going to get to admitting he liked having her around despite the trouble, and the fact he missed. His feet kept moving toward the space port where his ship was. Eryn would either keep following him or not. One thing he knew though... she wasn't about to shoot him. She still owed him.

[member="Eryn"]

 

[Eryn]

"Oh, I know what it leads to." She didn't, not really, not in the sense that she knew the content of the map. More like she knew the value of it in general.

The young woman had to jog a little to keep up with him as he made a beeline down the hallway and out the back door, barely a glance behind him. Eryn glanced for him. A lot. Although the sounds of battle coming from the waiting room seemed to be contained, it was never smart to completely turn your back on a situation like that. Not for someone like Eryn, at least. "You think your employer is the only one who wants this thing? Trust me, you do not wanna tangle with The Collector, the sooner the map is out of your hands th—woah woah, hey, stop!"

She yanked on his arm as he left the alley and strode into the more crowded public causeways, but her attempt to pull him back in the shadows failed horribly. The man was like a juggernaut when he set his mind to something. So Eryn got in his path and pushed hands at his chest, whipping her head around as she tried to watch the area and convince Tark at the same time. "In the open? Are you nuts?! My group wasn't the only one looking for you, by now they'll have called it in that you're back on the loose, you can't just stroll down Main Street without a plan! ...Tark! Listen to me."

Ah… there it was.

It hadn't been an act, there were men all over this area watching for him and the alarm in her posture was real, but in trying to halt him, her hands had done a little investigating. Tark had his ruined jacket draped over his forearm and tucked securely against his arm. A quick brush of the fabric had revealed a harder substance in one section of the folds.
The star map.

Eryn left it alone, although knocking him out and taking the jacket package had briefly crossed her mind. It wasn't only the fact that she'd probably never make it off-planet solo with the map that stopped that train of thought. The idea of assaulting her only sort-of friend in the galaxy didn't sit well with her anymore. Besides, she did owe the man for saving her life. Of course, that didn't mean she wouldn't find a way around that detail. Having Tark in the picture complicated things, for sure, but she still needed that map, and friend or not, he was still an obstacle. But at least she knew who it was with, now. Eryn would find a way. She always did. She'd have time to get at it later. Y'know, when they weren't ducking security and hunters.

"Look, I'll…help you, okay?" she offered begrudgingly, ignoring the 'panties' comment. For now. "Never one to turn down a 'free' ride, anyway. I know where some of them are looking, and I know a way to the spaceport that doesn't leave our rears hanging out in the open." The fugitive looked up at him, trying to look more pleasant and friendly. It wasn't an easy expression for the usually harsh-faced woman, although it seemed to come more naturally around Holden Tark. "Let's just get off this planet and we'll figure everything out, yeah?"

| [member="Holden Tark"] |

 

[Holden Tark]

"If you know where this map leads then tell me?"

Holden called her bluff. Eryn liked to bluff, and he was pretty sure she didn't know anyway. Despite being a hulking beast, Holden leaned toward the nerdy side when it came to the kind of thing he had hidden away in his jacket. Of course, Holden wasn't going to stop for the life of him, and nothing Eryn could do would stop him. He chuckled as she tried. Every pull only made him drag her on with him. If she was trying to keep him from moving she wasn't going to do it by out muscling him.

"I really don't care about this Collector guy. I care about finding what this map leads to. You should know that I'm not going to stop, so you can either help me or take a hike..."

And there it was, she gave in, but not before feeling the jacket to make sure Holden actually had the map. He gave her a quirk of his brow and a look which told her he knew better. Holden was an ex cop after all, and a thief like Eryn was not going to pull a fast one him that easily. Holden sighed and nodded as he motioned for her to lead on.

"Just stay in front of me where I can keep an eye on you."

It wasn't that Holden didn't trust her, he just didn't trust her. They had a fun dynamic, but it hadn't quite gotten to the place where Holden was going to let his guard down when she was around. If other gangs were after the map, then that meant there were bounty hunters after it as well. Bounty hunters meant having Eryn around was dangerous, but if she was working for this Collector guy then it was possible she was the safest option to hang around in this whole ordeal. Holden just had to make sure they didn't get double crossed.

They wove through the alleyways to the spaceport where Holden had his modified yt-1300 ready. He punched in the code, changed since Eryn was with him last, and waited for the ramp to lower. Once they were on the ramp closed, and Holden took his jacket to the safe and tossed it in. The combination was something Eryn was never going to guess, nor was she going to crack that safe without explosives, something he hoped she was sane enough to not try in space.

Once they were off the planet, Holden turned in his chair and looked at Eryn. Unstrapping himself from the pilot seat he moved for the lounge.

"Okay spill... how did you get free, and how did you get messed up in this whole ordeal? I mean... it's good to see you again... I was worried about you, thought I'd never get to see you with your pants off again and all. You gonna let me help you this time?"

[member="Eryn"]

 

[Eryn]

You gonna let me help you this time?"



"No." But there was a solid 'maybe' in her tone. "And when are you gonna let that underwear thing go? It's never happening again." Eryn followed him closely, her concept of personal space disappearing in the familiar environment. Despite what had occurred on-board last time she'd walked these hallways, there was a foreign sense of, dare she think it, 'safety' for her between these bulkheads, the kind of easy comfort that comes with your favorite pair of shoes or the bar you visit every weekend. Like you could…relax a little, hear yourself think, do stuff without worrying about a knife in your back.

Was that..home? Is that what it felt like? It'd been so very, very long, she'd actually forgotten.

In the back of her mind, the fugitive knew the YT-1300 wasn't home, knew it couldn't be, she'd only spent a week on-board previously. Not long enough to be home. Besides, it was already someone else's. You can't share homes, you have to have your own, right? She wanted her own. Just hers. That's how it worked, she was sure of it. But it was the longest 'peaceful' time she'd spent anywhere in almost twelve years. That left an impression on someone in her position, and she could feel a few of her older, happier habits slowly stirring. Like how she used to be, back when she'd had Fel and her parents and Wrench and Scrappy, and Liya and Logan. When she'd had a real home. Before The Collector. Before she was left alone in this 'verse.

Whatever, she was still gonna sleep in the lockers and sit in the corners.

The lounge came into view as she was debating whether or not to actually answer Holden's questions. She supposed he'd earned a little truth, given that she'd shot him (almost twice, first was an honest mistake, c'mon!) and he wasn't trying to throttle her. 'course, the day was still young. "Varik…let me go," she started, making immediately for the galley next to the circular booth. "Tried to collect my bounty, got double crossed by The Collector… turns out the bastard wanted HIM, too, so… we ran." Cabinets flew open, and the pile of food in front of her started to grow. "Actually not a bad guy when he's not trying to nab you. We looked for you, y'know. Well..I looked for you. A lot. Wanted to make sure you… y'know. Weren't..dead. Thought maybe, if I found you again, I could..maybe just-.." She paused, fumbling her words. "...Yeah, just stuff, anyway," she finished, clearing her throat and waving the whole thing off as she grabbed a few packs of instant noodles. "Parted ways a few weeks ago. Wasn't a bad deal once he let me out of the prison pod; he kept the hunters off me and used his bounty credentials to help cover my tracks, and I… did absolutely nothing for him, so I'm surprised he kept me around as long as he did."

She examined her food pile. It was enough to start with. Gathering everything in her arms, she hefted it halfway to the corner on the other side of the room, her usual spot, before suddenly changing her mind and dumping it all on the table at the booth. "But the star map? This 'whole ordeal'? Stepped in that pile of shiet on purpose." Eryn hopped up on the table and sat right in the middle of her nest of food, cross-legged, like it was the most natural thing to do. "Took some doin', but, managed to land a spot on the 'security' team. Varik and I found out The Collector was interested in it, and if HE wants that map, then I want it more." She tore into one of the instant noodles packages, slathered it with some kind of spicy red sauce she'd found in the coldbox, dumped half a packet of dried flame chilies on it and took a huge bite. She flicked her gaze at Tark. "You know what's on it? Who you workin' for, anyway? Cash prize, or…?"

| [member="Holden Tark"] |

 

[Holden Tark]

Food, insta noodles. Tark had plenty of those dry packets in the cupboards. It wasn't much, but they were tastier than ration bars, and if he didn't have the hot water they tasted good dry too. Though he didn't go for that option very often. Of course she wasn't going to let him help her either. The woman was so damn independent, never wanting or needing help, and the fight she put up when someone tried was what made her so irresistable. As much as Holden joked about the panties thing, he really did like her and was attracted to her. She was the wrong kind of gal for certain, and that only made her that much more appealing to him.

"I'll drop the panties bit when you actually let me help, willingly," in other words that was never going to happen. "You and I both know you're only annoyed because it hadn't been your idea, and that you were helplessly bleeding all over my ship and about to die."

Tark sat in the booth and listened to the story as Erin put her noodles together. He found it interesting that Varik had been double crossed, but not surprised. This Collector guy seemed like the type Tark would have been after when he was working for CorSec. It was intriguing, and Tark perked up when Erin told him he had been looking for her. Holden leaned forward with his elbows on the table, suddenly more interested in what she was trying to say. Of course she chouldn't spit it out.

"Stick around, apologize, work with me... other things?" Tark was fishing for an answer, but he knew he wasn't going to get one. Eryn was the type that didn't like to rely on people. Holden was aware that it was about as close to admiting that she cared Eryn likely would get.

Holden grabbed one of the noodle packets from Eryn's nest of food. He shot her a quick look that reminded her it was his anyway in case she was about to protest.

"Well, I'm glad you were concerned for my well being. Varik did leave me pretty busted up on the deck of my own ship. Stupid bastard broke my ribs. Lost some good jobs because of that." Holden didn't really care how nice Varik was when he wasn't trying to kill people. If Tark saw him again, the man was getting a blaster bolt right between his eyes. He didn't have to like the bounty hunter simply because Eryn said he was nice. "When I got better, I started looking for you, but I guess when Varik doesn't want to be found, he won't be. I was pretty pissed with myself that I let anyone get the jump on me like that. When I couldn't find you I ran around with a Kiffar for a while doing some salvage jobs. Stopped doing that when this antiquities dealer called."

Tark took a big bite out of the noodles and decided if Eryn could sit on top of his table he didn't have to eat with decent manners.

"The map leads to a pretty big take. I am more than certain this guy who is after you doesn't want what is on the map. He wants what it can lead to. My benefactor isn't after the map... he wants what it leads to. My job isn't done until I find that."

Holden looked up at Eryn and smiled. She knew what he was going to say before he even said it.

"You're stuck with me..."

[member="Eryn"]

 

[Eryn]

Holden looked up at Eryn and smiled. She knew what he was going to say before he even said it.

"You're stuck with me..."

"Oh, great. My dreams have come true." No smile (not really the smiling type) and the sarcasm dripped thickly, but there was an amused glint in her eyes she knew he'd pick up on. "Hope my locker is still there. Had to sleep in an actual bed the last few days, it was horrible. No, seriously," she insisted, watching his smile grow a little. "I dunno how you people do it, all your soft pillows and shiet. It's miserable." Eryn was on noodle pack three by the time he'd finished his first, and she was eying the little tubes of yogurt she'd captured from the fridge with interest.

"Sleeping habits aside, this map thing…" She paused, licking the rest of the chili paste off her fingers before dusting off her hands and fixing Tark with a look that made most people visibly flinch away. It wasn't so much threatening or dangerous as it was intense and extremely uncomfortable, inducing feelings of vulnerability and powerlessness. Tawaza had called it 'The Drill', a fitting name. Of course, Tark wasn't most people and he'd shown remarkable resistance to her efforts in the past, although her intimidation game was strong even sitting cross-legged on a table covered in ramen crumbs.

It was obvious the moment he'd locked that safe that there was no getting around him. And honestly, that was alright with her. The prospect of working with him again tasted better the longer she sat on that table, and being back on the ship had shifted her perspectives a little. She was a little concerned about the details though, because eventually, she needed to walk away with that star map in her hands and it didn't sound like that was possible. But first things first.

"We both need it, and it sounds like neither of us is gonna budge on that, so. I'll work with you and promise not to sabotage your plans… if I can have it once you're done with it. Yeah? Hell, I'll settle for just knowing more about it right now. So let's open this fethin' thing and see where it leads us." She rolled off the table rather suddenly, taking the yogurt tubes with her. "C'mon, open your safe, can't just sit here eating all day. We've got work to do."

| [member="Holden Tark"] |​

 

[Holden Tark]

Holden stuck his tongue out at the girl in response to her sarcastic and melodramatic reply. A smirk tried to pull at the right corner of his mouth when he caught the playful glint in her eye. Despite the harrasment he gave her about the fact they litterally met with her pants off, and all the rebuffing she managed, the two were playing a dangerous game and dancing around the obvious. Whether either of them wanted to admit it, they liked each other to a degree, and certainly made a good team. They had chemistry.

"Could say the same thing with you and that locker," he replied as finshed off the noodles and started on one of the yogurts. "It is there though if you'd rather use it. Plenty of beds on this ship though." The man could try and get her used to sleeping in a bed. It was normal. Eryn was anything but because of the circumstances she found herself in, but Holden liked that about her. It made her memorable, as did the fact that she shot him. Yeah, he winced trying to open the yogurt tube.

He shook his head with a bit of frustration.

"You know this is the second time I've gotten hurt because of you... I should make you kiss it all better," Tark said as he followed her over to the safe. She wanted to see where it led now? He shook his head again. Why was she in such a hurry and so antsy? What did this "Collector" have on her?

Holden sighed as he began to open the safe.

"Okay we will look at, you will help get what it leads to. As far as you know this guy you are woking for wants the map. There is no reason for me, or you, to feel guilty about finding what it's hiding first. When it is all done, and I can deliver to my employer, you can have the map. I won't have any need of it anymore."

The only downside to what Tark said was that meant she'd be leaving when this was over. It was his world though. Tark and Eryn both used who they could to get the job done. Relationships came secondary, and Tark certainly had become good at leaving those behind. Why it mattered to him so much that Eryn didn't become one of those was beyong him. A lot of his thoughts were centered on concern. The girl was in trouble and she rarely allowed anyone to help her. Eryn only allowed it now because Tark had what she wanted. There was no other way around it.

He set the map on the table...

"Well... here it goes..."

Tark turned it on...

and...

NOTHING...

[member="Eryn"]