We Built This City

[Matthew Rei]

Turn left in half a mile

Matthew's Force Sense swept the area and his hearing sifted through all of the stimuli. The wrist-worn GPS coupled with his regular walking cane were also good tools for finding his blind way around the city. Speaking of the city, things were looking grim. Look at the schools, the court house, the mayor's office and the tenements. You could write a depressing book just by sitting on one of the decrepit playgrounds that was littered with dirty hypodermic needles and used condoms.

Not even Symbalta could help this neighborhood. It had a bad kind of hurt that wasn't going away for anything short of a miracle. He would know. Matt had been trying long enough since he'd gotten here.

He turned left and kept walking for a mile more. He was getting close to his destination. A man wanted to meet him. Something about a cooperative solution for saving this city. If Matthew had been a normal lawyer, he would have been nervous going out of his way to meet a potentially shady person outside of the "safety" of his office.

James Justice had a reputation about him, but reputation was all Matthew knew about him. Reputation wasn't something alone to scare off Matthew. He stood outside his destination: a warehouse. He looked up the wall, gauging the area around him. Nothing seemed to be off about the place, so he pulled on the door, which was left unlocked (presumably for him), stepped inside and shut the large door behind himself. It was...quite the Wolf's Den....


[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

Dal'Bor. James was its King, its savior, its hero. It was his city, not in that he was born here, but in that he had adopted it, as one adopts a child. He had come quite a ways; may of the old crime lords had been exponged from the streets, the rest subjugated. The slave trade was all but gone. A police force, composed of little more than his own soldiers were in work. The poverty was being staved off with honest jobs building ships, droids, and working in James' industries. The Crime would never go away, but he could and would control it. Most of it.

James was waiting for someone that could help him finish what he had started. He was a lawyer but the Crimelord had a feeling there was more to this blind man than met the eye. Several of the spacer's more elite soldiers stood around him, with droids as well made by Inquisition Industries. He was here, he was not one to fool around when it came to business. And this, even if it became messy, was business.

The spacer strode forward, clothed in his usual garb and offered a winning smile with a hand, "Captain James Justice, mate. Glad ye could find the place."

[member="Matthew Mar'Tin"]

 

[Matthew Rei]

Matthew, for all intents and purposes, was blind. He could see, through the Force, James' hand, but not the winning smile. However, there was no point in tipping that cow just yet. He didn't immediately respond to the hand shake. Instead, he began to speak in response.

"It's a good time to be alive," he said as he raised his left wrist to show the GPS unit. "...Well, mostly. The name's Matthew Mar'Tin." He then extended his hand to shake, albeit a little lower than would be expected from a normal handshake. The man was just a bit taller than Matthew. After shaking hands, he remained aloof, but professional in his composure. Blind men were usually allowed such...at least, more so than normal men. It was time to establish their "relationship".

"So, as I've come to understand it, you're a like-minded individual with plans for restoration. That's, at least, what your message was. Seems like a good enough reason to meet...but, why all the secrecy?"


[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

James gave Mar'tin a firm handshake before fishing a cigarette from his jacket pocket and lighting up. He saw no reason to avoid both business and pleasure. Those who did--well he didn't understand them. The spacer began puffing a steady stream of smoke as he spoke.

"Sometimes it pays to have a secret," James said with a chuckle. "Many times. I am sure ye know what I am talking about; if ye ever played cards, ye know its never a good idea to show ye hand, and to have a backup strategy."

James brought his tone down to a more serious note, loosing the humorous, winsome note he had used, "I ain't a good man, I never claimed to be. But I ain't a bad one neither. I am just a man trying to make the galaxy a better place, one person at a time. I reach into the mud of the galaxy and pull people out, set 'em on their feet and give them a second chance," the spacer blew a plume of smoke from his lips, "I am sure ye could want to help with that."

[member="Matthew Mar'Tin"]

 

[Matthew Rei]

Matthew waved a hand in front of the shades over his eyes.

"No, Cap. I'm afraid I've never had the chance to play cards," A regular class clown, this one. "But, regardless, I can imagine that you probably have a good reason or five."

The cigarette was strong to Matt's nose. He had grown accustomed to such an odor, but that didn't prevent him of trying to keep synchronizing his exhales with [member="James Justice"]'s exhales. Keeping it down wind, as they would say.

Matthew was always leery of a man who claimed the middle ground of morality. Those people tended to be wild cards driven by nothing but their own agenda and compass. Matthew, despite growing up in a neighborhood that made West Philadelphia look like a family sitcom, was driven by good. Through his own convictions, he punished those who were bad. Any form of partnership or cooperation with this largely unknown factor of a man was "high risk, high reward". However, it seemed that, past the veil of grey, there lay good intentions...Was good intentions alone a reason to cement an alliance with someone?

"You're starting to remind me of a scorpion I read about in a fable, once. You've done plenty of good for people, it seems, but...at what cost? Who or what's funding your "Good Samaritan" campaign?"

[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

Ah, the ever-present question. The one that drew the line in the sand. The one that made people choose a side, to love James--or hate him. The spacer shook his head. The man might as well find out sometime; it was not as if he couldn't read a local paper to find out. Well, ok, perhaps not him but have someone read it for him. The galaxy didn't exactly keep it a secret what the spacer did for a living.

"Ye familiar with the term 'fight fire with fire?'" James asked. He was sure the man was, it wasn't the most exotic of sayings.

Another term could appropriately tell the tale, "Local legend holds of a mysterious man. The man who's name were lost to history, all he be known as now is the Pirate Lord. This Lord made Dal'Bor his home, founded it practically. He turned the guns outward, blasting other pirates, smugglers, and their lot to the hells. He saved a lot of lives and made money by selling his ill-gotten goods, stolen from lesser rabble."

The spacer let a plume of smoke from his lips, a strong, thick billow, "Sometimes, the only way to make the galaxy safe for children from their nightmares, is to become the nightmare of the things they fear. That be how I make money, mate."

[member="Matthew Mar'Tin"]

 

[Matthew Rei]

"Ye familiar with the term 'fight fire with fire?'

"I know that it's the quickest way to get burned," replied Matt with a straight face.

[member="James Justice"]'s words hit a certain truth. Was Matthew not a nightmare to many when he took to the streets at night in his fighting gear? He was savior to many, as well. However, he was technically just a nightmare to those who needed one in their life. That being crooks and criminals of all makes and models. Was James a crook? It appeared as though he was only a criminal to other criminals. He was toeing the line much closer than Matthew ever had and that usually lead to a great fall. However, history had proven that it was a possible feat to pull off without falling from your perch.

He remained quiet with his own thoughts for a few seconds, pondering his next words carefully. Finally,

"Let's say that we...work together. What's our first move going to be?"

[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

James knew he was playing a dangerous game. He knew that if there was such a thing as the afterlife, he would be one of the first condemned to hell. But he knew why he was doing what he did. He knew the need to protect the weak, and that if he did not do it, no one else would. He would gladly sell his soul to that cause and earn whatever was coming his way.

"Being a crimelord afford many a benefit," James said with a slight chuckle. "People listen when I speak, they pick up the comm when I ring, and they sit up strait when I walk in the room. But there be many that me message have a deaf ear on. There be many places I can't go. I got blood on me hands. They won't listen, despite the fact that it be true. That be where ye come in; be my legal rep to help further me cause, go where I cain't; to the hob-nobbers, the the do-wells, and the havers. Make 'em understand what we be doing. What we be trying to do."

[member="Matthew Mar'Tin"]

 

[Matthew Rei]

This man, this crime lord seemed to have a sacrificial heart. His lot was on the Renegade side of the coin, much like this James fellow. However, he wasn't sold on the concept that you had to destroy your soul in exchange for another's well being. He started to remember his internal dispute on whether to use a lethal or a non-lethal weapon. He had garnered enough success just by knocking some heads around and dispensing justice; on the streets and in the court room.

However, it was far too early to try to get philosophical. In his career, the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth was king. So, what did the facts say.

• Two was better than one.
• James had the means, Matthew had the skill.
• They both had good intentions.

As such, an alliance (at least, for now) was a prime choice. His hand tightened on his walking stick. Despite the facts, this wasn't a completely easy choice for his conscience...Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"Alright, Captain," said Matthew as a good lawyer offered his hand to a crime lord. "Let's try things your way. By the way, what exactly do I call you. Is there a specific title you prefer between us?"


[member="James Justice"]

 

[James Justice]

James shook the offered hand with a firm grip, "I like where we can go with this, mate."

A title? He generally didn't think of that sort of stuff. It was just Captain Justice. Captain James. Commander Justice. Commander James. Occasionally Crimelord Justice. Now there was an irony. Crimelord Justice. And recently now, President Justice. Ugh, so many titles he didn't care for them all. Part of him wished he was back in the day where he was just a fleeter on his way across the galaxy, looking to find the next meal.

He was expendable then.

He was willing to die for causes now.

Those were the days.

"Captain will do finely," he said at last, "I will be in touch with ye very soon, I assure ye."

[member="Matthew Mar'Tin"]