The Run

[Aela Talith]

[member="Alexia Santiago"]

He shook his head.

"No." That wouldn't help. Separating would just put them in more danger. In theory they could do it, part ways and just hope that they could eventually return, but Rasho would hunt both of them no matter what. He would go after Alexia for...doing whatever she did, and he would go after Wes both because he'd known Alexia and actively helped her. Not to mention he now knew what Rasho had done to the Countess and could thus testify him in court.

Criminals didn't like the idea of that.

"We need to go to Nar Shaddaa first." He told her quietly. That was his homeworld, where he had the most connections and where he could disappear off the map permanently. He had some money there also, and since he couldn't go back to Coruscant to grab the rest of his stash...it was really his only option.

"I have money there." That should be enough to convince her. "I could also maybe still sell the painting."

That would let them live comfortably while they hid.

 

[Alexia Santiago]

[member="Wes Spalding"]

Thumbnail found its way between her front and bottom teeth. Going to Nar Shadda now would almost be as dangerous as going back to Coruscant. Rasho probably had half the underworld in his pocket and those that weren't would be too scared to actively go against him.

Pretty much he owned all the criminals.

But they needed money. She had some reserves with her but she didn't know how long it would stretch. They had to pay for this hotel, too. But only because they were going to keep their current aliases.

Chit.

"Okay," nails came away from her mouth as she pulled out her comm. "I have some credits with me too. And some other money in my -FETH. Fethfethfeth. My accounts are frozen. Rasho must've gotten to them." They were probably already liquidated.

Nononono.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Alexia Santiago"]

Bank accounts.

Amateur.

Vrak kept most of his reserves in cold reserves, usually credit chits from half a dozen different nations along with some valuables. He even had some Aurodium Beads stashed away underneath the floorboards back at the shop. He couldn't get to those of course, the most he could do was hope that Rasho didn't find them.

"It's alright." He wouldn't leave her behind, couldn't really. "I can get us there no problem."

He had about two hundred and thirty thousand on Nar Shaddaa, enough to live comfortably for both of them.

"We'll see about the painting when we get there." If they could sell it, even for half of what it was technically worse, they could more than make themselves comfortable pretty much anywhere they wanted to.

They just had to be careful.

 

[Alexia Santiago]

[member="Wes Spalding"]

A shaky hand ran through her hair. "I have things I can pick up on Nar Shadda too." She didn't provide more details on what those things were. "I can't believe he got to them," she breathed one last time, wild-eyes looking around the room. "What if-what if he finds my Da?"

Worried gaze track to Wes for a moment before looking away.

Fingers tightened around her comm, fist shaking. Hands drop the case with the painting. Wandering over to the sofa in their room, she sinks down. Her Da was the whole reason she was in this mess. The debt had been his. But still, didn't mean she wanted Rasho to get a hold of him.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Alexia Santiago"]

"Well." Wes said slowly. "Then he's..."

He stopped himself.

The forger realized that he was about to say something incredibly crass and tactless, something that would likely already break her fragile state of mind. The two of them were about to be on the run together however, and Wes knew that he needed her to be at least...well steady, if not rock solid.

"On his own." He finished with a lie.

The truth was of course that if Rasho knew where her father was, he was a dead man.

 

[Alexia Santiago]

[member="Wes Spalding"]

Comm dropped to the carpeted floor and her fingers dug into her hair and scalp. Head snapped up at Wes' comment, cerulean gaze narrowing slightly. He was lying again. Still, she knew why. Kind of.

"He probably won't find him. I don't even know where he is." Now she was lying to herself. Well, then again. Her Da was pretty resourceful and she really didn't know exactly where he was.

He was such a rake per all underworld men.

"Okay. We can do this," as if convincing herself. Gaze flickered to the door again as if she was trying not to run. She stood, slowly. "Lay low tonight and leave in the morning?" She headed to the refresher, needing very badly to wash off after that run. She felt like she had blood and grime all over her, even though it really wasn't.

It was mostly mascara face.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Alexia Santiago"]

Her assessment was correct.

They would do nothing.

That was the best option that they currently had. If they just stayed for the rest of their 'vacation' they could go to the starport and redirect their tickets to Nar Shaddaa. It'd be easy, and cheap. They were low on resources now so they had to be careful.

His lips thinned as he glanced up at Alexia.

Wes wasn't sure what to do with himself. Anything...everything seemed wrong. So he just sat there, waiting, trying to think of the next 'normal' step.

 

[Alexia Santiago]

[member="Wes Spalding"]

She gave Wes one last look over her shoulder before disappearing in the refresher. Door whooshed closed. Clothes were peeled off slowly. She got the water running but couldn't quite get in as she gripped the sink basin, staring at her blotched up, puffy, and tear-streaked face. Fingers tightened. She was angry. Angry at her Da, at herself but mostly, at Rasho.

Sniffling, she managed to get into the sonic. Lowering herself down, arms circled around her legs as they drew up to her chest. Chin rested on the tops of her knees as a fresh batch of tears poured through her eyes, immediately washed away by the warm pounding of the water. She remained there, thoughts of moving far from her mind.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Alexia Santiago"]

Eventually Wes managed to actually move.

He didn't join Alexia like he might have yesterday, instead he scooped up the briefcase and opened it up. He slowly maneuvered the false top, shifting it aside so that he could remove the small painting from beneath it. He frowned for a second as he looked at it, placing it on the bed.

It seemed unlikely that such a thing, and honestly insignificant thing would be held to so much worth. When sold on the open market it would probably go for hundreds of millions of credits, enough money to make someone like him balk. Yet here he was, standing in the same room as such an expensive thing. He frowned for a few more moments, simply staring at the painting.

He couldn't help but wonder if it was even worth it.

A large part of him said no.

 

[Alexia Santiago]

[member="Wes Spalding"]

The con artist finally found the will to move again. She had to stand up and take control. Get her life back. Well, start a new one. Standing, she finished showering and quickly toweled off. It was all sorts of steamy in there.

Snatching one of the expensive hotel robes, she slipped it on and finally opened the door. Fingers ran through wet hair as she walked past Wes and sat down on her side of the bed. Eyes finally tracked to the painting at the foot of the bed. Then up to Wes.

She didn't say anything, staring for a moment before looking away.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Alexia Santiago"]

"This thing is stupid." He said simply.

Wes was an odd sort of forger. Most people who did his type of work loved art, they appreciated the paintings and intricate little details that lay within them. Wes really didn't. He had always enjoyed sculptures more, the subtle lines, the odd indentations, he was much better at them and liked that their creation was more...scientific.

Paintings just seemed artificial.

"It's not even that pretty." He said looking away. "I could do something better in a heartbeat."

That of course ignored that he had no original works what so ever.

 

[Alexia Santiago]

[member="Wes Spalding"]

Fingers stopped brushing through her hair and glanced over again. He really could. She'd seen his work. There was no denying his talent.

"You probably could," she agreed. She said it because it was true. She wasn't trying to puff up his ego or make him like her. She was just stating the facts. "It's funny how society makes certain things valuable where they'd otherwise be just another set of paints on a canvas in some guy's basement."

Standing, she wandered over to her suitcase taking out a pair of coral shorts and a black t-shirt. They were the most casual clothes she had. "Why don't you?" She spun around and faced him. "I bet we could convince people we found more originals to the original artist." That artist was long dead.

"We could sell those too, if we needed the money. Or," shoulders shrugged. "You'll definitely have time to do your originals. Maybe make your own name one of the big ones."

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Alexia Santiago"]

He shrugged. "Don't want to."

That wasn't the whole truth of it, there was more nuance. Art needed to be more than a pretty picture, it needed to hold some truth to it, some sense of...well more than just a picture. Wes wasn't very good at creating that, mostly because he didn't really feel anything at all when he painted.

"Besides." He told her simply. "Once we get to Nar Shaddaa money wont be a problem."

Two hundred and fifty thousand credits went a long way.

"And we have enough to get there." Unless something happened anyway.

Without another word on it Wes began to put the painting away.

 

[Alexia Santiago]

[member="Wes Spalding"]

Cerulean pair narrowed slightly. Was he lying to himself? Interesting.

"We'll have enough to get there," she confirmed. She'd picked up a few extra thousand credits when she went out last night. Easy money. Folks were easy to give to a charity. Just so happened she and Wes were the charity.

Turning around, she shrugged off the robe and began pulling up the shorts. T-shirt would come next. "I'm going down to the bar to get a drink."

Maybe some spice. She needed a release right now.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Alexia Santiago"]

He lingered for a second.

"I'll come with." They were still supposed to be playing the couple, at the very least they could manage to do that. Together they were at least something else than the lone forger and the pretty con-artist. Even if they were the life of the party people were less likely to give them away if they thought they were friends.

Better to play the part.

"I don't want to sit here." He told her as he placed the case back into the safe. "Maybe get some food."

He felt like he hadn't eaten all day, but maybe that was because he'd thrown up his earlier meal.

 

[Alexia Santiago]

[member="Wes Spalding"]

Shirt tugged down and she turned to face him. Eyes flickered to the ring on her finger and then on his. It was probably a good idea. The only reason Rasho hadn't found them yet was because of their cover.

"Alright," grabbing some credits, she stuffed them into her short's pocket, slipping on a pair of sandals. Alexia was going casual tonight. She should eat too but well...she couldn't. It was the one thing she could control in her life right now and she was choosing not too. Besides, she really couldn't right now.

Stomach wasn't ready for food. It probably wasn't ready for alcohol or drugs. But she was allowed one night to lose her mind after everything that happened. The usual calm, calculative, and controlled Alexia wouldn't be around tonight.

She reached for the door and looked back at the painter. "Ready?"

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Alexia Santiago"]

He just gave her a nod. A part of him still felt that this was all rather surreal. Sure he was a criminal, and he dealt with other criminals, but he'd always made sure to stay away from a certain type of criminal. Rasho the Hutt was exactly that type of criminal.

He was murderous, violent, and crazy. Wes didn't want anything to do with those sorts of people, and now he was neck deep in it. Oddly enough the Forger didn't really blame Alexia, more himself than anything else. He should have researched more, but...well greed had gotten the better of him. He frowned slightly as he pulled on his suit jacket, heading out the door right after Alexia as he slipped 'his' wallet into the inner pocket. Briefly he smiled at the couple in the Elevator.

"Are you guys here for your honeymoon?" He slipped an arm around Alexia and nudged her a bit closer towards the other man. "We are."

The man half turned to him, his back now towards the wall and away from Wes but closer to Alexia, making his pocket easier to pick. "Lovely hotel."

 

[Alexia Santiago]

[member="Wes Spalding"]

For the first time, she struggled putting a mask on. A weak smile was offered to the other couple which turned a little warmer a second later. Wes' hip bumped against her as if he was trying to herd her. What was he...

Annoyance flashed across her face as her cerulean-gaze looked around. Wasn't hard to miss the other man's wallet. Ohhh.

OH.

She leaned forward a little and angled her body slightly so there'd be nothing on any camera feeds. Just as quickly, Wes would feel her hand slide along his back and dip lower into his closest back pocket. He'd have a slightly bulkier pocket.

"It is, isn't it?" She smiled as the doors binged open. The couple laughed and exited ahead of them.

"Thanks for the drinks," she whispered as she and Wes stepped out, her hand patting against the pocket over his right butt cheek once.

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Alexia Santiago"]

He smiled. "Easy."

Wes had never really had a talent for con-artistry. Lying to people he could do, smirking and telling stories, that was simple. It was when it came to the finer points, like pick-pocketing and such things that he messed up on. Sure he could talk someone into doing something, but he couldn't steal anything, he couldn't be that subtle.

With Alexia it was easier, mostly because she could do it.

"Let's get a drink." He said, his arms still looped around him. "I'm buying."

He pulled out the wallet she had stolen and wagged it at her.

 

[Alexia Santiago]

[member="Wes Spalding"]

"Why," hand flew up to her chest as she batted her eyes dramatically. "Such a gentleman." She smirked and looked around. There were two seats next to a wookie couple. She slid onto one of the bar stools, leaning the other for Wes.

Bartender came up to them right away, his eyes on Alexia. And here she was not even all dolled out. "Get me a dirty corellian. No ice with an extra shot of your top tier liquor with a lime."

"Whoa, lady knows what she wants," he grinned and turned to Wes. "You?"