The Unpleasant Side

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Farah"]

The machine began to whir silently as it began to produce the concoction Farah craved so.

"Partially." It was clear that Nikolas was not at all bothered about sharing facts about himself or his family. Whether that was foolishness or supreme confidence was hard to say, though given their previous interaction it was bound to be closer to the latter. Nikolas wasn't scared of revealing things about himself, after all, that knowledge was just a flick of the wrist away from being lost. "Some comes from him, some from my siblings."

Matt and some of the others. "Some just from flash training."

The Cartel had been rather attentive in making sure that he get only the best of the best. He had quite literally been engineered for his role within the Thawne family, aged and implanted with small cybernetics in order to ensure he could do whatever his family needed.

There was a small click behind him, and the cup had filled itself to the top.

 

[Farah]

“Flash training, huh.” She murmured against the rim of the cup of caf. “Guess I’m not the only one.”

Who knew what sort of strange upbringing Nikolas had had. Vaguely she wondered if it topped her own. With the surge in caffeine, that idle though fled as quickly as it had come.

It was nice to indulge in a slow morning and some chit chat. But now things had to get moving, especially as she laid eyes on the chrono affixed to the wall.

“I’m going to get going.” Farah slipped off the counter and turned towards Nik, caf in hand.

“Thanks for the dinner and the company and the sex.” She raised the cup as she headed for the door.

“And the caf.”

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Farah"]

”So soon?” Nikolas asked as he watched her, his hands folding behind the small of his back as he leaned against the counter behind him.

His eyes wandered towards the cup in her hand, watching the steam rise from the caf inside for a brief moment before he flicked his gaze towards the foyer behind her. A slight frown touched his lips for just a moment, but it was gone as soon as it had come. The Thawne replaced the smirk on his lips.

”Shame.” He mused out loud. ”Here I thought you would be a bit more fun.”

A sigh escaped his lips. ”Disappointing.”

He wasn’t taunting her, not exactly, but after the small snippets of life she had revealed of herself he had expected...more. That and her lack of distress at the corpse, Nikolas had expected that she would do something else. Perhaps attempt to kill him before she left, after all, he’d more than once threatened her life.

Nikolas would have liked that.

 

[Farah]

“Yes.” She responded briskly.

The Zeltron sipped at her cup as she placed her hand on the handle of the door. Shame, this was a nice place. Her own was smaller, more cramped but she barely spent time there anyhow.

“Sorry to disappoint.” She snorted. “No second date then.”

Turning the handle, she made her way into the hall and over to the lift, fishing her PDA from her pocket in order to check the time.

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Farah"]

Nikolas shook his head as Farah stepped out the door, glancing over towards the corpse that lay on the floor.

His face changed to one of contemplation as he thought about the corpse briefly, eyes wandering towards the pool of blood that had formed underneath it. He would have to clean that, more than likely have it replaced. In hindsight he could have made the mans death less bloody, but perhaps he had been showing off just a tad. The executioner let out a sigh, then slowly rounded the kitchen counter-top and wandered over to the corpse.

Squatting down beside it he inspected the man. "Perhaps your friends will prove more interesting."

Nikolas mused quietly.

Of course, what the young man didn't know was that those very friends were coming up the lift that Farah was about to enter. Two humans, another Rodian, and a Falleen. They were all heavily armed, all wearing armor, and all of them out for his blood.

 

[Farah]

As the lift door opened, the four heavily armed gangsters would come face to face with a tired Zeltron.

Eyes lidded, Farah slowly sipped her caf while analyzing the situation in front of her. A delayed jolt of adrenaline ran through her system but didn’t quite reach her outer features just yet.

Instead there was a pause before she shuffled to the side, waving them though.

“Do you mind? I’m going to be late for work.”

Whatever this was, it was Nik’s problem not her own.

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Farah"]

"No."​

It was the only word that Farah would hear before a green fist shot towards her face.

 

[Farah]

That wasn’t the answer Farah had expected. Really, she wasn’t sure what she expected. For them to just move along past her like she wasn’t there? Regardless, she was too sleepy to react with the reflexes one would expect from a force user. That was her excuse, of course.

Her cup shattered as a fist smashed into it, shards slicing into her face as she was knocked out cold with one hit.

The Zeltron’s body dropped to the floor, right eye already beginning to swell from the impact.

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Farah"]

Nikolas head turned up as soon as he heard the ceramic shatter against the ground. His lips thinned almost instantly, his eyes wandered towards the door.

Had she suddenly decided to become the angry one night stand? Had she thrown her cup against the ground because she was angry he didn't chase her? The possibility wasn't entirely outside of the scope of reality, though Farah didn't really strike him as the type that would do such a thing. He frowned for a moment, glancing at the corpse on the floor one more time before he slowly pulled himself away from it and began to wander towards the door of his apartment.

"A little impetuous aren't we?" He called out as he opened the door. "There's no need to smash my thi-"

Nikolas cut himself off as he spotted the four gangsters.

One of them was kneel behind Farah, grabbing her wrists and attempting to bind them together. The others were standing in front blasters already in hand. The Falleen was at the center of them, a wide smile on his face as he stared towards Nikolas.

"Hello Thawne."​

The name was given emphasis, as if it were a stabbing insult. For a few seconds Nikolas assessed the situation, his eyes wandering between the different gangsters. His mind wandered towards the blaster that he kept in the foyer, and briefly he wondered if he could get the weapon before they managed to shoot him. He gave no concern for Farah, she was either already dead or...well not all that important right now. He frowned as the Falleen stepped forward.

"We have your little schutta, surrender and come with us or she dies."​

Nikolas frowned for a moment, considering the offer. He didn't particularly care if she died, but where would they want to take him? Why not just kill him now? "Well..."

Taking him to a second location didn't make much sense, not if they were just going to kill him. No, someone in Black Sun must have wanted him alive for some reason and that...that presented him with an opportunity. Slowly the Executioner raised his hands.

"Just don't hurt her." He began passionately. "She's the love of my life."

 

[Farah]

Farah was out for a minute or so before she slowly began to regain consciousness. When she awoke, one of the gangsters was binding her wrists together.

“The hell? Get off, perv.” She grumbled, ungracefully attempting to jerk her hands away from him.

A familiar voice drew her attention. It was Nik, telling them that…wait, what? In her groggy state she couldn’t exactly tell what was going on.

“Uhhh what the hell are you talking about.” Her face screwed up in displeasure and confusion. "You're an nerf herder."

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Farah"]

"Shhh, quiet my love." Was she an idiot? "You're confused, don't know what you're saying."

The gangsters looked down at Farah for a moment, but Nikolas was already drawing most of their attention by walking towards them. It was clear that even unarmed they considered him a threat, their blasters were pointed directly at him and even the one that was busy tying up Farah had one eye on him. It would have been flattering in any other situation, but right now he was focused on just getting his nightly companion to shut the hell up and not ruin this for him.

"That blow must have harmed her, you'll pay for that." His words had an odd sort of intensity to them, something that someone who'd never met him might mistake for actual anger. Farah would know better of course, but Nikolas hoped she wouldn't ruin this for him.

It could prove to be interesting.

​

"Shuttup! Both of you!"​

There was a loud thwap as the Faleen struck Nikolas across the face with his blaster, the Thawne dramatically falling to the floor as he pretended to be far more injured than he actually was. He wanted to know where the gangsters would take them, more importantly, he wanted to know who they were taking them to.

 

[Farah]

Farah continued to stare, squinting unsure of what exactly Nik was getting at. Did their night together really mean more than a romp in the sheets? Even in her groggy state, she highly doubted that.

“Uhhh.”

She did wince as Nik willingly allowed himself to be struck across the face with the butt of the thug’s blaster. From the way she’d seen him move when taking down the Rodian, he could have easily dodged that and lodged the gun into the thug’s thoracic cavity.

“I’m scared, baby.” She managed to…sort of awkwardly whimper. Whatever plan he had, she already hated it.

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Farah"]

Nikolas felt a pair of force cuffs slap around his wrist, the energized beam springing into life and pinning his arms behind his back. A grunt escaped his throat and he felt himself being turned over, the Falleen standing over him with an expression that could only be read as rage.

"You'll pay for what you did. The boss will make sure of it."​

Boss? Now that was interesting. As far as Nikolas knew he had killed the Black Sun's leader on Coruscant just a few days ago. That was what his sister had told him, and Mara was very rarely wrong about these sorts of things. Still, he didn't let any of his surprise show. Instead he glanced over at Farah who was now, very weakly, attempting to continue his ruse.

If she survive this he would have to buy her some acting classes. "Don't worry lovemuffin. We'll make it through this."

For his words Nikolas received another hard punch to the face.

The executioner grunted slightly, his head thwapping against the ground as he recoiled. A few seconds passed, and then he felt one of the other gangsters dragging him to his feet. He saw another man do the same with Farah, the men quickly pushing and prodding them towards the turbo-lift.

 

[Farah]

Farah grimaced as Nik earned a punch to the face. Not for the violence, but for his words. Lovemuffin? She almost gagged at the sound of it. This whole him pretending that they were anything beyond a one night stand thing made her sick in general.

One of the men lifted her to her feet by her bound arms before roughly pushing her forward in the direction of the lift.

“Hey!” She protested, wobbling before catching her balance. Her head was still swimming from the impact of the strike earlier. Her eyes was swelling more now and likely looked as pretty as it felt. Blood dribbled from one of her nostrils.

“Do you have any bacta? Healing stims? Something?” She tried, pointing to the damage on her face.

She was going to be at least an hour late to work.

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Farah"]

The continued questions earned Farah a slap to the face.

"Shuttup."​

​

It was more than clear that the Falleen wasn't in any particular mood for either of them to speak, for just as Farah was struck Nikolas opened his mouth to protest. The attempt was met with a hard strike to his sternum, a blow that was hard enough to knock the wind out of him. A cough wracked his lungs, then another strike quickly followed up the first.

Nik wretched, half coughing, half puking before he managed to pull in a ragged breath. "Oh you're going to be the first one I ki-"

The words died in his throat as a green fist impacted into his face.

Eyes fluttered open, lungs filled with air, hands struggled against restraints. Nikolas let out a groan, his fingers slick with blood that dripped from where the restraints had been tried too tightly around his wrists. Lips thinned slightly, tongue went slicking across teeth as he tasted crimson. A frown slowly crossed his features and his gaze fell around the room.

He found himself within a nearly empty duracrete chamber. There were no windows, just dozens upon dozens of wooden crates. The 'cell' that he was in could only be called makeshift, three concrete walls and a single laserwall to stop any thought of escape. On the floor he spotted Farah, her hands tied behind her back. He frowned slightly when he saw her, unsure of whether or not she was dead, unconscious, or just pissed off about the current situation that she had landed in.

His frowned deepened as he searched for guards, finding no one.

"Hey." His foot tried to edge away from the chair he had been tied to just a bit, hoping he'd be able to nudge Farah. "Still alive?"

 

[Farah]

After being properly bound, Farah had been unceremoniously tossed onto the floor of the holding cell. While she hadn’t been handled with a delicate touch, the thugs hadn’t been unnecessarily rough with her. Which wasn’t saying much, given the black eye and the pain at her shoulder joints from being lugged around by her tied hands.

Nikolas had been less lucky in that regard. Not that she particularly cared what had happened to him out of spite and irritation. Still, his survival was connected to her own.

The tip of his shoe managed to nudge her back.

“Yes.” She answered briskly, making an effort to scoot out of his range.

“What’s your plan, jackass?”

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Farah"]

"No need to be rude." He commented, watching her scoot just out of range of his foot.

Nikolas frowned a bit, wondering if this would rule out a second date. The thought quickly fled his mind however, mostly due to the echo of footsteps that sounded out just to their left. His gaze flicked towards the laser wall, watching as a figure stalked by the makeshift cell without even stopping for a brief glance at the two prisoners. The action was telling, mostly because it meant the guard had already looked once or twice and wasn't interested in doing so again.

It also meant they were being guarded, loosely anyway.

"Can you get your hands free?" Nik asked, glancing around the room for a few seconds. "I'm gonna need them."

Without her he would have to wait to meet the big boss, but with Farah here there was a chance he could set that meeting on his own terms. The latter option was much preferred, it would likely allow him to keep all of his appendages.

He was rather fond of those.

 

[Farah]

There was every need to be rude. At least in Farah’s eyes.

“If I could free them,” She growled. “They’d already be free.”

With a groan of exertion from her sore muscles, the Zeltron managed to sit up. Maybe she could free them? Farah’s ability in the Force was mostly adapted to tracking signs of life and pinpointing issues within the body. She’d never been in a situation where she’d had to free her hands.

Which was unfortunate, but still.

“Again, what’s your plan?” She folded her legs underneath her bottom. “I don’t have the greatest range of motion but my hands can move more than yours right now.”

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]

 

[Coratanni Cartel]

[member="Farah"]

He frowned, it was unfortunate, but hopefully she would be able to get her hands in front of her at least. He looked around the room for a brief moment, frowning as he spotted a small piece of metal laying in one of the corners. Likely it had been chipped from some container or something of the sort, but it would have to do.

"I need you to cut into my leg." Nikolas said, jerking his head slightly towards the piece of metal. "My outer left thigh."

The options they had were...limited at best, but this was the only way Nikolas could think of to get them out before meeting the big boss. "There's a device implanted beneath my skin sort of like...a very fancy knife."

That was the only way that he could think to describe the SIK. Most of the Thawne children had one somewhere within their body, even Felix his pretty boy brother had one implanted. The weapon was an important one in exactly this type of situation. It was why Mother and Father had insisted on it's creation.

"You take it out, cut us free, and then..." He trailed off.

 

[Farah]

None of this seemed odd to Farah. Maybe it did on some level, but considering all that had happened? Having a special leg implant or whatever seemed to be in line for Nikolas.

Her eyes followed his gaze to the piece of metal, jagged but probably sharp enough to rip through human flesh. It wouldn’t be a clean cut and it certainly wouldn’t feel good, but it would do the job. Considering that her hands were currently tied behind her back, she had to position herself awkwardly, facing away from him with her head resting on his knee in order to be able to see what she was doing.

One restrained hand ran along the outer muscle of his left thigh, waiting for him to indicate the correct spot. Even a surgeon’s precision couldn’t keep the cut from being rough, but she knew just how deep to go and how much pressure to apply. Two fingers wiggled their way into the wound, widening it so that she could grasp the small implanted device.

It didn’t take long from there for both of their restraints to be sliced away.

“You want me to cauterize that now or later?”

[member="Coratanni Cartel"]