You Never Take Me Anywhere Nice

[Joza Perl]

She stared at him for a few seconds more before exhaling a ragged breath and leaning back against the cool durasteel. Igor’s was important to her, after all.

“You asking me to lie?” There was an overt teasing note in her voice, enough so that she wouldn’t feel the need to let him know she was kidding.

But she took a moment to observe the way his chest rose and fell before fumbling with the armor to retrieve the smokes and she frowned. Her hand rested idly at his knee, trying to feed what she could into him to help dull the pain. Everything was already a bit hazy, anyhow.

“Can I have one of those?” There was a tired edge to her voice. “I’ve got the light.”

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

"Lie? I like to describe it as making the truth more attractive personally."

The man responded in a ragged smoothness he didn't actually feel at the moment. Finally, the cigarettes fumbled out and rested in the palm of his hand. He eyed them for a moment, trying to tease them out by sheer will of force - but sadly Locke wasn't a forcer, couldn't just force them out with force of will. Instead, with some difficulty he managed to get out his other arm and with a frown take out two cigarettes, seemed obvious she would get one too.

"Sure, here." Gentle handle and he placed the cigarette between her lips personally. The blood on her lips and nose weren't lost to him, probably a broken nose.

Seemed about right.

Pain started to recede, if only slightly. It turned from an aching annoyance to a dull fade.

"How you holding up?"

 

[Joza Perl]

A sharp exhale of air rushed through her nose, and she hesitated given that it hurt more than expected. “Still lying.”

Though momentarily surprised at the gesture, it passed quickly and she was suddenly keenly aware of the blood smattered across her face. “Thanks,” Her voice sounded a little more strained this time as she attempted to wipe the blood from under her nose with her sleeve. Her energy reserves were draining and she wouldn’t be able to keep the crucitorn up for much longer—a lot of it was spent on making sure she seared Locke’s wound shut correctly. “M’fine” She touched the tip of her finger to the edge of the cigarette for a few moments, before doing the same for him.

Inhale, and inhale deeply. Too deeply, and she coughed a few times which sent the pain blazing along her side again. “Kark,” Hissing, her free hand clenched along with her jaw for a few moments before the pain smoothed out to a constant ache rather than fire and broken glass. “At least you saved breaking my ribs until the fourth date. Or fifth.” Who knew anymore, given how much they’d run into each other.

A set of footfalls stopped near the door, which slid open to reveal the form of Ivan Volek, a very exhausted and very confused man. He looked startled, eyes moving from Joza then to Elliot, but his expression quickly evened out to that of a tired parent.

“Always picking up strays,” He muttered, opening one of the side panels to retrieve a medkit.

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Locke took it cautiously in strides.

With a light breath he inhaled the smoke and let it rest there for a brief moment, before exhaling again. It burned him, but it was the good kind of burn, made his hands steady again and his vision sharper. It probably should have worried him how much the cigarette helped him, but everyone needed a vice. After all the things he had been going through - why not enjoy just a few little things, right?

That was all it was.

"Fifth, aye." Probably shouldn't surprise her that Elly had been keeping count. It wasn't because of any feelings, it was the simple impassive calculation of a senior agent keeping tally of his contacts.

Not that that was all there was, of course.

A man stepped into the bay and it took all the smoke in the world to keep Elliot from tensing up again. That face... Ivan, Locke knew him, of course.

Just as he knew most of Joza's close associates. Just prudence, after all.

"Her first - needs it more than I do." The low voice scratched and hummed across the air as it spoke.

 

[Joza Perl]

Neither of them seemed to be clinging to life—roughed up, but in need of medical attention. Either way, Volek would have tended to the person who signed his paycheck first. Unless she insisted otherwise, which she did not.

“Not much to be done about broken ribs.” Muttering between the cigarette, she pinched it with clenched teeth for a few moments as Ivan knelt by her. His hand brushed her hair back, gentler than even he assumed he’d be. Perhaps it was the way her face creased in pain. As much as he found her irritating, they’d been involved in this way for years.

“Broken ribs?” He was wiping her face with an antibacterial wipe, if only to get the blood off and assess the situation. Broken nose, for sure. Split lip in several places and…was that a tooth on the floor? “The hell happened out there?” He seemed more irritated at the fact that he’d have to deal with an injured Joza who liked to complain.

Her hand shot out, gripping his shoulder as she crumpled over, coughing violently for a few seconds until she hacked a healthy amount of blood onto his lap. Ivan grimaced as placed a hand on her back, helping her slouch against the wall once more. “Misunderstanding,” She wheezed. “We good now.”

Grumbling at the new blood stains, the pilot worked a wad of coagulin coated cotton into the nostril that was bleeding the most. “Stim should probably go into your thigh.” He muttered. “Will reach the trunk easier.” Trunk meaning the medical term for chest and ribs, which he’d recently learned. Working at the armor to her left thigh, he glanced over at Elliot. “Little help here? You’ve seen as much of her before.”

He didn’t know explicitly, but Volek was able to put two and two together.

"Trying to undress me already?" A lucid grin stained with blood lifted the corners of her lips. "Naughty Ivan."

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Locke snorted heavily, before taking another drag from his cigarette while watching him trying to unravel her.

A brief moment, before the man finally managed to get himself pushed towards her. His knee was still completely shot and probably would need several days to weeks with a bacta patch... if he was lucky. There was little control and Elly accidentally lost balance, leaning into Perl more than he was supposed to.

"Sorry." He apologized slightly, before groaning at the pain in his own shoulder.

Whatever Joza tried to show for herself, she was a nasty combatant and that deserved respect. In truth, Elly almost never had this much trouble in a battle.

All things considered she should have been dead.

But that was something to muse about as he was helping Ivan take the armored plates off of her.

"Don't think you capable of a threesome now, Perl, keep it in your pants for now." Locke mumbled with humor, after he managed to pry away the armor from her leg. Immediately the thought went like I can keep it in my pants, but I ain't gonna keep you out of mine, which made him chuckle to himself.

That would have been a Joza line for sure.

 

[Joza Perl]

“Threesome?” Another cough caused the cigarette to drop from her lips, but she caught it as it landed on her armored leg. “Would be, if I could get this one in bed.” She lazily gestured to Ivan who paused only to glare at her. “And I know he’s not gay, cos I’ve seen him take women to bed be—“

“Alright, enough.” Ivan interjected, considering just leaving her here as is. “At least wait until I’m not around to complain about my sex life.”

Joza only grinned in response, blood dribbling from the cuts on her lip and staining her teeth a dingy red. The plating on her leg was removed, and Ivan jabbed the needle of the stim through the bodyglove. The Zeltron stiffened, then sighed as she nearly folded over as the drugs coursed through her system. Most of the cuts on Joza were from impact, but Elliot had sustained actual knife wounds. When Ivan moved onto him as Joza hung out in her lucid state, he noticed the fresh burn wound on his neck. It was too precise, and there was too much burnt blood for it to have been a battle injury.

“This is why I don’t sleep with you, Joza.” He grumbled. “Your idea of foreplay is crazy.” He turned his focus back to Locke as Joza snickered in the background, scanning the man for obvious wounds and found the blood pooling at his knee. “Move it to the side a little if you can.” The wound was not grievous, so they wouldn’t need Joza’s amateur welding skills. Instead he opted for a coagulant spray and began wrapping gauze around his knee.

“How are the girls, Ivan?” The Zeltron’s tone was more ragged than before, but she was staring at him intently. The pair stared at eachother for a moment as the pilot paused before going back to his work. “They’re shaken up but otherwise not too bad. We’ve had worse.” He grunted, making sure the bandages were wrapped tightly. “Calming down now though, thanks to your Zeltron friends. The kids seem sort of messed up, though.” It was always somehow worse with children. “You’ve got your work cut out for you.”

Joza frowned, looking away and staring into the space of the cargo hold. It never got easier.

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

He shimmied a bit for Ivan while surpressing a grunt.

The pain was calming down, but it was still the feeling of being run over by a gorram freighter and then some, not as bad as some of his worse moments... but still pretty bad. Ivan seemed to know what he was doing though, so Elliot just let him do the work while taking soft pulls from his cigarette every once in a while. It didn't mean he wasn't paying attention though.

Kids, women, it was always the same story with slavery. At some point Locke had managed to dull his feelings about.

The edge didn't cut anymore, it just pressed up against him in a constant reminder. That was the best he could do with a mind like his. Was there anything he could do to help? Locke thought about it for a moment, maybe he could, but there was always a risk.

"Can I help?" Changing a working system could have consequences. But Jozie knew him, it was his hand that allowed her troopers to get the help they needed from Alliance shrinks and medics.

If he could help here as well? Might be worth the risk.

 

[Joza Perl]

The question caught her off guard, the mild surprise reflected on her face as she turned back to look at Elliot with no small amount of effort.

With the man bandaged up, Ivan rose with a grunt. “We’ll come grab you when we get there. I’m leaving the medkit here in case you two decide to slap each other around some more.” With a nod, he disappeared through the door leaving the pair to hang in an uneasy silence.

“I don’t know,” She said softly. Could he help? He’d helped her soldiers with their PTSD, but this was different. This was slavery, and this right here was a very specific problem. “Do you know any child psychologists?”

It hurt every time, but hurt in a good way because she was at least doing something. Joza feared stagnation. “Usually we just deal with it ourselves. Some of the clinical staff are former slaves, so it’s…easier for us to work with them, I guess. Relate to them, help them realize that they’re not alone, you know?” Her heart beat a little faster as she spoke. “But with children…it’s different. It affects them in ways I’ve never seen.”

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Did he know any child psychologists?

He wanted to answer no. He really wanted that to be the truth, wanted there to be no reason for him to stay in touch with those specialists. But Elliot went into bad places on a daily basis, he didn't run a dedicated operation like Joza, but that didn’t mean he didn't try to help where he could. Part of that was trying to give people, kids, women, men, at least somewhat of their life back.

Locke grunted, took another drag from the stick and then dropped it, letting his palm crush the butt and burn into his skin.

Pain made him feel more alive at these moments.

"Yeah, I know people who can help with that." Words came out eventually, before he closed his eyes and let himself lean back against the cold steel of the wall. "Couple on 'Shaddaa, found them after I busted a ring five years back."

"We stay in touch."

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza nodded slowly, rubbing one hand slowly along the exposed knee of her bodyglove.

“I’d like that. Thank you, Elliot.” A pause. “Not for kicking my ass, but for your help. Now, and with the boys from Kaeshana.” War was hard enough to get through, nearly impossible to come out without some kind of mental scars.

“Would make things easier, having some extra help. I’d like to get them in school at some point, too.” Probably not a conventional one, but an education assistance program. “Some of them were probably born into this or picked up when they were very little. Gotta…figure out where they’re at and what we could do about it.”

It was now that she started calculating what needed to be done. Room in the safe house, expenses. The extra meals, the counseling. Her intel had told her there were only 7 or 8 girls, but she’d counted nearly a dozen.

Her hand came to rub at her eye. “You can stay with us til you’re better. Or we can get you back to GA space, somehow. I’m sure your friends might be looking for you.”

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Could probably help with that as well.

But one thing at a time. If there was one thing that Locke had learned in his time, it was better to whole-ass one thing, instead of half-assing half a dozen things. Better to do one thing perfectly, instead of stretching yourself thin and ensuring you couldn’t help anyone. Maybe once the kids were situated with the help they needed, he could ponder about the rest.

"Nah, I told them it was fine." He was most senior of the task force that had hit the compound, if Locke said all was well, they weren't gonna go against that.

"Get me as far as 'Shaddaa and I will be fine."

The number of duckholes and safe houses he owned there were mind-boggling. But that came with the job, at some point it just accumulated, until it became a right mess.

He yelped as he tried to shift and a torn muscle pulled at him.

"Well, I might stay one night, if that is okay."

 

[Joza Perl]

“Easy,” She murmured, instinctively placing a hand on his thigh as he moved. “You can stay with me in my room.” It would be a given that they wouldn’t get it going tonight thanks to their injuries. Would probably be a few weeks before they were well enough to throw themselves at each other, should they get that opportunity.

“I can get you as much crappy food from Igor’s as you want.” There was a tingle of amusement in her voice now, small and tired as it was.

“Is this…something that you do a lot, Elliot?”

Maybe she was a little loopy from the drugs, but she hadn’t realized that she called him by his first name. It felt a little off, but she didn’t question it.

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

A smirk followed soon, laced in bits and pieces of pain.

"Can't rock your world like I usually do, but we can figure something out." Mostly bravado. Elly doubted there would be any thought in his mind about karking, once they got a warm and comfortable bed underneath them. Though he wouldn't rule it out either. Not with Jozie laying right next to him - who knew what could happen when that was the case? Anything, was the answer usually.

Then she grew softer, his hand on hers, squeezing just slightly.

Was this something that he did a lot?

Comparatively not, of course. Most of his job was reserved for killing, busting drug rings, infiltration and demolition - destruction, not rescue. But once you get in a job like this, you find the little boundaries and lines where you could push. Just so you can save a few, even if you couldn't save them all.

It was a difficult thing.

"Not enough, but I do my part." An honest reply, while he held her hand and tried to find some measure of energy to keep himself going.

 

[Joza Perl]

His hand on her own helped ease the adrenaline comedown a bit. Joza didn’t advertise the fact that she crept through the Hutt worlds like a sleazy information broker, tailing leads and busting into slaver rings. Locke had seen a part of her that she was generally too wary to show, not until she knew that the other person felt the same way. That being said, she was glad that he was one of them, even if she had to find out in a less than pleasant manner.

But they’d saved the girls, so they could revel in that for a moment before regretting not being able to do more.

--

The ship had landed in an underground hangar, and the group was transported via speeders through the winding tunnels that lead to the safe house. It wasn’t anything luxurious—very bland and basic, but it was warm and dry and relatively safe. Practicality had factored into Joza’s vision of the former warehouse beneath the chitty restaurant, not style. While the girls went off for their initial medical exam, Joza and Elliot were treated for their injuries by the nursing staff. After showering and eating whatever they could keep down, the pair retreated to the Zeltron’s room. Plain bed, a desk and a lamp. Simple accommodations similar to those given to those who stayed here.

Laying on her back on the bed, Joza swiped through the newly integrated profiles of the rescued girls on her datapad. Keeping records of medical encounters was important, it helped track vaccinations, progression, and was generally a good idea when keeping logs of who passed through. Most of them were underweight, about half had fresh evidence of abuse and mental distress. Rubbing her face with one hand, she sighed and pulled up a spreadsheet concerning food supplies. Concentration made the stress lines on her face more apparent, the type that were usually covered beneath a layer of skillfully applied concealer. A sigh, and the datapad slipped out of her hand and smacked onto her face.

A pained groan signaled her defeat.

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Sleep came and went.

But once they were planetside there wasn't much room for it. Not with all the travel through tunnels and safe zones, until they finally reached their destination: the underground of Igor's. It was all very professional, if ulitarian to a degree. Unexpected to find something this sophisticated on 'Shaddaa without it being part of the SIS or another larger underground movement.

His respect for Joza grew a fraction.

Everything still hurt and the prodding of the nurses did little to change that. A few were cute though and some of them even found him charming... for some reason. Maybe they were just looking for someone to save on a daily and more permanent basis.

Locke didn’t know.

But the bed in Joza's room was better than he was used to and that was all he needed. While she analyzed her data, he did his on another datapad.

Difficult to keep focused with all the pain and exhaustion, but this was importa- a thunk and a groan broke Locke's attention as he looked to the side. One Zeltron who was eating a datapad by the looks of it, his brow rose and gently he tugged it from her face.

"You alright, tiger?"

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza let out another groan, this one smaller and softer as her hero removed the offending electronic device from her face.

“I will survive.” She winced, the pain in her nose flaring to life again, though the edges were fuzzy thanks to the cocktail of drugs. “I think.” She exhaled sharply, blowing some of the hair out of her face. The highlight of her days was washing the blood and grime from it, and she always felt better with a clean head.

Silence fell between them, stretching over a few moments before she carefully turned her head to the side to look at Locke. They were both battered, and normally Joza would be more anxious about being around a hookup without at least some mascara and her hair looking nice. But it wasn’t as if Elliot hadn’t seen her like this before re: Kaeshana, and right now she was past the point of caring. Her gaze took on an earnest turn, and briefly she her fingers drifted over the bandage that spanned the bridge of her nose to make sure it was still in place.

“It’s not often that I meet someone willing to throw themselves into that much danger for a couple of slaves., you know? Her lips were a hair’s breadth apart as she hesitated. “It means a lot to me, and I’m sure that it means a lot to those little girls as well.” Joza reached out, the back of her fingertips brushing gently against his shoulder. “You’re a good person, Locke.”

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

Most of the text on his screen was raw data.

Gang movements, pressure they were exerting and where, the report from their own operation... the interrogation report from the prisoners. Dirty business that, Locke knew firsthand how far they could go to break these people. Whatever it took to get the information they needed.... sometimes it went farther, even after they had the information.

Revenge and justice were on a thin line together and sometimes it was difficult to figure out which way you were aimed at.

At least in the moment.

He was listening to her, even if his eyes moved from one side to the datapad to the other. Until she touched him and spoke the last few words. That was when Elly grimaced and shook his head, putting the datapad down again.

"Just trying to do my part, Joza." First time he used her first name. But there was a first thing for everything. "But a good man? Hands are too bloody to be a good anything."

He shrugged, looked at her, before looking away.

Locke didn’t want her to see what was inside his eyes.

"Ain't no place for no heroes." The man quoted softly, before looking back at the datapad. For some reason he had lost his interest in it now though. But soldiering on was the only thing to do in the moment, anything else was too real.

 

[Joza Perl]

Hearing him use her first name took her back, but it was surprisingly nice to hear. He’d deflected the compliment though, almost predictably. She didn’t inquire about the blood on his hands though—she knew what he meant, or at least got the gist of it. Sometimes she had to do unsavory things, but wasn’t yet aware of the extent Elliot had to go through to get the job done.

“All I know is, if…” Her lower lip shook slightly, searching for the words. “…if that were me, I’d be happy that someone cared enough to rescue me. Would make me think that after all the bad, there’s still some good in the galaxy, yeah?” It was sort of lame, but there was something in her eyes that reflected the sincerity of her statement. Not that Locke would be able to see that, given that he’d turned away.

“Hey,” Soft voice, calling out to him as her fingers curled slowly into the fabric at his shoulder before giving a soft tug. “You can’t fool me. Bet all those numbers on the screen are blending together.” She paused, before speaking again. “You helped break the cycle of abuse for those little girls. Hero or not, you did something good today. And I want you to believe it, Elliot.”

[member="Elliot Locke"]

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Joza Perl"]

A frown marred his brows.

At the end of the day Locke was an agent. A spy, infiltrator, assassin, call it whatever you want, but at the end of the day his job were people. Figuring them out, what moved them, what drove them, how to push and pull, until they did exactly what he wanted them to. It was that analytical mind which had subtly picked up on the little hints scarcely dusted around by her.

His conscious picked it up a few moments into her talk and it softened out the brow, being replaced by simple understanding.

What to do? What was there to do?

Clearly she had been rescued or had rescued herself, otherwise she wouldn't have been here. Maybe not mention it at all? But no, Joza wanted him to know, otherwise she wouldn't have been subtly guiding it towards those directions.

Finally, Elliot looked back at her, sighing softly, before nodding. His hand left the datapad next to him and - carefully- he inched closer to her, turning on his side. It hurt, but the drugs had taken the edge off.

"Thanks." In the middle of it Elly almost decided to keep it there, but then he continued. "I am happy you got out, one way or another."