Private Unexpected Interference

[Sylvia Virtos]

ERROR
Amea Virou

---

​

Sylvia's heel rapidly tapped against the stone-tiled floor as she waited for the receptionist on the other side of the desk. Quiet impatience had her wishing the man stopped taking his sweet time, but she was ultimately at his mercy for now. Hopefully none of the target's goons walked in while she waited- the less they knew about her appearance, the less risk she would run in the long term. At least, that was what she believed. It certainly did not hurt, regardless, but until Sylvia had her hands on the keycard he had waiting on his side of the counter, she was not going anywhere.

With that train of thought came the realization that maybe not having dyed magenta hair would have been a better idea. With that hair dye Kal had made, it took barely any effort either.

"Everything is in order," he finally confirmed after finishing up what Sylvia presumed to be inputting her personal info. Or, rather, the manufactured personal info. "Your room is on the eleventh floor. I hope you have a pleasant stay, miss Otara."

The spacer put up her best smile as the keycard was slid her way, which she swiftly snapped up and shoved into one of the pockets of her jeans. "Thank you, sir," she replied in a much more polite tone than one would have expected if they had seen her impatience. A nod marked the end of the interaction, and without any further delay Sylvia grabbed the handle of her suitcase and dragged it along with her towards the elevator. Behind her, she could hear the receptionist greet the next guest.

"Welcome to the White Stripe Hotel..."

She did not bother looking back. Instead, she kept her eyes on the number above elevator doors. It steadily went down from 63, but would still take a moment for the elevator to get to the ground floor. Luckily, the elevator ride up was not going to be as long. Sylvia was not going to get the particular room on the eleventh floor at first, but some trickery invisible to those without the Force had made it so. On that floor there was some equipment Sylvia needed, provided to her by those who paid her to be here. In this same hotel, a white-collar criminal currently occupied the penthouse. Inside there was the data necessary to prove his guilt, and the spacer had a monetary reward waiting for her the moment it was brought to the proper authorities. Tax fraud and insider trading, nothing out of the ordinary when it came to the likes of the one she was going to help get behind bars.

The work got a bad guy off the streets and her another paycheck, the latter giving her plenty of time to focus on much better things. Maybe she was soft for it, but doing the right thing really did feel more satisfying.

But first, there was more time spent waiting.

Sylvia let out an annoyed sigh.

 

[Amea Virou]

She’d have to keep this particular getup for later. Shirt, skirt, heels to accentuate the shape of her legs. She had her hair done into a professional updo and applied a deep red lipstick to make her appearance pop. Did she enjoy this look? Yes and no, it would work for what she was about to do but it was far too elaborate for anything she was truly used to by this point. In the end it was all about the facade. Business acumen was easy to fake, corporate thieves were about as likely to fall for big words as they were a pretty face. Give them both and you were practically set.

She pressed the button to bring the elevator up to her level and then up. The motors beyond the door worked its magic and Amea merely stood and waited. For Sylvia people would come and they would go. As the elevator climbed to the forty-second floor it came to a stop. In stepped a crowd of suits that began to surround her for a moment. As the ding of the fiftieth floor chimed in they all stepped out. The herd stepped out in unison, but as the metaphorical dust settled and the coast was clear, and into view came the shape of one Amea Virou.

She didn’t even seem to notice Sylvia. Her eyes set on the button that set them both towards the penthouse level. Ah, so this was the potential competition she had been warned of then. Amea gave the magenta-haired woman a glance and a smirk.

“If you stare any harder you might pop a vessel.” She said, didn’t even bother to turn and face her. “And I’ve found red eyes is a look that only a precious few can pull off.”

The stare seemed to linger, or some sort of tension that Amea did not recognize.

“Do I know you?”

Sylvia Virtos

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

ERROR
Amea Virou

---

​

Once the elevator had finally arrived and took her up to the eleventh floor, Sylvia finally felt like things were going somewhere. The room prepared for her was swiftly found and inside a briefcase just like she was told beforehand waited, containing a much more fitting outfit for the occasion and a small device to store any incriminating data on. Her hair color was still going to stand out, but she would deal with it. She was doubtful she was going to be able to simply sneak in and out without running into anyone, but as long as she was able to create the illusion that she belonged around the penthouse things would probably turn out alright.

With everything in order, Sylvia found herself back in the elevator. On her way up, people would come and go, but when the largest group that travelled up with her for some time stepped out she was left with a woman she had not noticed until now. Still being as impatient as before, though, she was more concerned with the floor number that steadily went up. That changed when the woman spoke with an all-too-familiar voice. Reflexively, a hand balled into a fist.

Bad memories.

"I doubt it," Sylvia replied as calmly as she could, fighting off the rising frustration the voice caused. She did not bother hiding her accent, it made no difference to the spacer. Either she figured it out and Sylvia would simply continue to deny it, or the conversation ended here. Considering what she knew of the brunette, they were more than likely here for very similar reasons. That put an interesting thought in her head.

Oh, how easy it was for one to rat out the other.

"Looking for juicy deets, are you?"

 

[Amea Virou]

Sylvia Virtos

Juicy deets? The words seemingly echoed within Amea’s mind, bounced from side to side as she tried to place that voice. It took a second but felt like a moment longer. They housed feelings of resentment towards Amea. Not that they were alone in that, but few ever did it quite so openly. There was no attack yet, so it must have been something that she Amea thought to be quite minor, but meant a lot to this person, Snowball Effect and all that.

At least, she thought it was the Snowball Effect. Regardless, her brow rose at the remark as she took in the spacer’s appearance. Pink hair, didn’t seem to belong here, yet not quite the stranger either. Wore the face but not the walk. This woman was here for something in the same vein as Amea, no doubt something to do with what went on at the penthouse of this very building.

“Uh,” Amea put on an uneasy smile and shook her head. “Sure.”

The elevator turned silent again.

At least for a moment.

“I’m here to talk to a prospecting business partner, actually.” Amea said and looked over at Sylvia. “Ever heard of Project Nautilus?”

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Somehow, Sylvia had managed to almost throw the woman off. The feeling was oddly satisfying, despite the fact that the conversation ended up shifting elsewhere afterwards. If that made her petty, then she would wear that badge with pride. The credits were not even the real issue anymore- the spacer had enough ways to stay afloat and then some by now- merely the foul taste that had been left in her mouth last time. In her eyes, a little pettiness did not compare in the slightest.

Now, Sylvia was faced with a choice. She could play along, or make the elevator ride that much more tense. The latter did not seem to be all too useful, though. Surely enough had been said already to make sure both knew well enough there was a good chance neither came without ulterior motives.

"Name doesn't ring a bell, if I'm honest," the woman responded. "Different field, probably. I'm merely here to sell this." Sylvia briefly lifted up the suitcase she carried with her to draw attention to it before letting her arm fall back to her side, shooting a quick glance towards the brunette before placing her eyes back on the elevator door. The role she played was one of a mere merchant, carrying valuable goods.

"There are a lot of meetings planned then, I'm guessing. Regardless; do enlighten me. You made me curious."

Amea Virou ​

 

[Amea Virou]

Sylvia Virtos

It would have been amazing if the kid had heard of it. Project Nautilus did not exist, and the question was little more than a basic question to gauge for a reaction. The slight tension in the woman’s fist, the gentle tug at the corner of her lips. Amea focused on the body language, this woman hid her emotions. Just as much as shown emotions told a story, so did those that someone did not want to show.

“Ah, but you will most likely be there.” Amea teased and raised her brow at Sylvia. “Seems we both have something to sell.”

The doors opened, into the penthouse and along with it came the harmonic piano music of a well-trained servant. Amea held her arm up to beckon Sylvia inside. In part to appear more polite than she actually was, but also in equal part to prod into the pink-haired woman’s devices and assess just exactly who the hell she was.

“After you,” She said. “I insist.”

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

No information was given so freely here, and so the answer should not have come to much of a surprise. Ultimately, Project Nautilus was far removed from Sylvia's actual worries. Amea simply needed to stay out of her way until she got the data she needed, after which she was free to do whatever it was she needed to do here. Getting in her way was pointless and risky at that; the spacer had no desire to ruin everything just for a petty sense of revenge. Any risk-free ways to mess with Amea was still on the table, though.

"It would seem so."

Right.

The elevator doors slid open at last, leaving Sylvia two steps away from her job kicking off in earnest. She would have preferred Amea walking in first to keep at least some of the immediate attention away from herself, but that went out the window the moment it was insisted she walk through first. With a glance towards the brunette Sylvia simply nodded before wordlessly stepping through, though keeping the eyes in the back of her head on her. Knowing Amea's line of work, there was very little reason to trust her.

"Good afternoon," a servant called out to the pair. He approached them, datapad in hand. "Names, please?"

He was to the point, which Sylvia did not mind. "Otara." A name that would vanish from existence the moment she was done here.

Amea Virou ​

 

[Amea Virou]

Sylvia Virtos

How did she walk? What was it that her stride said about her? The slight sway to her, the way things seemed to be just a little bit more controlled than one would expect. Feigned confidence to cover up something? It was too wild of a guess to truly know if she was grasping at straws or more accurate than she thought. Amea followed behind this ‘Otara’ and reached out to grasp at the greeter’s hand and shake it.

“Croft.” She said and gave a firm shake. “Jill Croft, here about Project Nautilus.”

And that voice. Otara’s voice was familiar but she couldn’t place it. As the greeter checked their names on his calendar he seemed confused. Double booked? That didn’t happen a lot. Amea continued to look at Sylvia as if it would put all the pieces into place by some fortunate form of mistake.

At the back of her head she replayed that voice, trying to place it as it seemingly clicked: the Sith girl.

“It’s you.” Amea whispered for Sylvia to hear. “I haven’t seen you since that hotel room.”

A lopsided, deeply amused grin set on Amea’s lips. An equally amused exhale from her nose gave it further away. “That explains the anger.”

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

A smile, perhaps a sign of amusement, perhaps a facade, drew itself across Sylvia's lips at the brunette's epiphany. An eye was kept on the greeter, but not long after her 'friend' had connected the dots he drew their attention again, if only for just a moment. The smile was hidden away for the time being, a mask placed over another one.

"Odd. I will have to run this by mister Sydal, it would seem there has been a scheduling mistake. My apologies, I shall be back shortly."

The man turned around and walked out of the entrance area, at which point the grin returned. That cheeky look was shot the brunette's way. Things were finally looking to get interesting here.

"Took you long enough," Sylvia whispered back, making no attempt to deceive her when it came to her identity. She was doubtful it would have worked whatsoever. Thankfully, the sounds coming from the piano masked their conversation well enough.

"Listen, I just want to handle business and get out. I won't be long, then I'll be out of your hair and the place'll be all yours," the woman explained. The less time spent in her vicinity, the better.

Amea Virou ​

 

[Amea Virou]

Sylvia Virtos

“Well, the good news is that you are here and likely more than capable enough to take care of yourself.” Amea said and stepped forward to get an eye on the receptionist. “The bad news is that this man has had a ludicrously meaty hit put on him by his partner roughly an hour ago.”

Yeah, let that one sink in. It would seem that Amea was just a bearer of bad news whenever she was around. Her head shook for a moment as she returned to where she stood. The man had slowly begun to make his way back over.

“If I play this right, I can make sure that it doesn’t happen.” Amea whispered through the corner of her lips to Sylvia. “You strike me as someone who wants to do the right thing. Despite your religious belief.”

“... In less than ten minutes, give or take, I fear something bad will happen. We can stop that.”

 

[Sylvia Virtos]

Amea Virou

---

​

The news complicated things. Especially if what the woman said was true. Sylvia, at first, wanted to believe not a single word that came out of her mouth, but it simply was not a risk she could take. The man deserved to face justice, something that could not be accomplished if he was dead. Getting implicated in a high-profile hit in any way drew way too much attention from all kinds of parties as well, but it felt a little wrong to think that way. Despite whatever the brunette thought of her, Sylvia did not like death.

"What beliefs?" she whispered back, equal parts confused and unamused. To her, the Force was a strange thing, but she never considered it to be much more than something that bound the galaxy together. As far as she was concerned, it had no will of its own, nor did it see right or wrong. It simply was, and the actions of those who were able to wield it directly shaped it. Death, or murder for that matter, did not enter that equation.

Not that Sylvia considered herself wise enough to be all too certain. Life was complicated enough already, pondering the nature of the Force seemed like a waste of time. It certainly did not matter here, either.

The magenta-haired girl shook her head, then scoffed.

"I can't believe I'm trusting you again," she quietly complained. Sylvia stepped up herself, allowing her to whisper a little quieter now that the receptionist approached them once again. "Let's stop a murder, then. Your plan?"