Having Watched and Waited (Ask)

[Ols]

"Anywhere is better than here"

She smiled and laughed before standing and waiting for him.

"Going out the back would be safer"

Forte could not help but to agree with her and, after downing the dregs of his drink, he stood up, grabbing her hand as he did so and dragging her out with him, keeping close as if to stop her getting hurt by the firefight. As is he was bulletproof, and as if he did not know that she was more than capable of taking care of herself. Pushing through the people hurrying both toward and away from the commotion, they burst through the door and into the cool Coronet night air. Letting go of her hand, he began to walk away from the bar to a more main road, looking across at the city as they wandered.

"Bar brawls aside, Coronet's a nice city on the whole," he said, with a smile. They continued walking, a leisurely stroll, "The night's young, and there are plenty of bars across the city, or we could go somewhere more relaxed if you'd prefer?"

 

[Emma Lou]

"Yeah, this is where I was born so it's special to me"

She pulled her cloak around her to protect her from the cold chill that ran through the alley. She listened to his suggestions and shrugged. While bars were some of her favorite places, she did not want to tangle with drunks again tonight.

"It's up to you. There is a park a few blocks away"

She was going to suggest her ship, but she was not sure if that would make it awkward.

 

[Ols]

"A park sounds good," he said. Peaceful at least, and it was close by, which meant it wasn't too far from his ship's berth. He noticed her apprehension when he mentioned bars, perhaps she really wasn't a lover of violence as the rumours had suggested, or perhaps she was just susceptible to mood swings. Either way it didn't bother Forte, just another detail to remember. As they walked, in no hurry, he broke the silence, "So are you here visiting family then?"

 

[Emma Lou]

"No, just visiting...I don't get to see my family very much"

That was very true. Both her parents had their lives and her brother had his. She was used to it though, the life of an assassin was a lonely one.

"How bout you?"

She liked talking to this man even though she knew something was not quite right about him. She still had the inkling that he was a Jedi, but wouldn't he have showed it by now and arrested her or something? She hadn't done anything wrong yet, maybe that's what he was waiting for. She just wanted answers.

 

[Ols]

"Work," he replied simply, "It takes me all over the place, but it's good for meeting lots of new, interesting people, like yourself."

He paused a moment as they walked on, nearing the park, "So do you not see your family much because of you, or them?" He was trying to sound more like a friend than a nosey bastard but he must have sounded a little prying. He was trying at least to mean well.

 

[Emma Lou]

Yael looked at him for a second before answering. He sure had a lot of questions for her, but she didn't think they were too harmful so she answered.

"I guess its a little of both"

It was time to change the subject.

"What do you do?"

 

[Ols]

"Ah, and I bet work doesn't help either of you," he said, regarding her parents. There was a breeze, that was cooling from what had been a hot and stuffy Coronet day, but as he noticed her pulling her cloak tighter she must have been getting colder. He addressed her next question simply, "Even if I could explain it simply, I doubt you'd care," he said, "it's not very exciting, actually the fact I get to travel so much is the exciting bit. I suppose you do something very fun and illegal, if your downtime is relaxing in Coronet's edgier district?" He asked, careful not to specifically ask what she did.

 

[Emma Lou]

Yael looked over at him and smiled.

"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you"

She giggled after the sentence was done and winked at him.

"My job is pretty boring too so I know how you feel"

She felt so at ease with him that she wanted to tell him everything, but that, she knew, would be a very dumb idea. As they entered the park she found a bench and took a seat.

"And I would be interested in what you do cause I like learning about people"

 

[Ols]

He returned her smile at her job, as if he was just laughing at the joke, and not the irony that her apparent joke was essentially the truth. He looked at her, "Okay, I'll tell you about my boring job if you tell me about yours, deal?" he said it as if she was going to answer, but barely gave her the chance, "Strictly speaking it's not the most legitimate of businesses, but I work as a kind of freelance overseer for a legitimate businessman, who has branches all across the galaxy. I have to make sure everything is running smoothly, and to smooth things over when they get a little rough. As boring as it sounds, it's very worthwhile, and very lucrative. What about you?"

 

[Emma Lou]

"I simply take orders and fill them. It requires a lot of travel, because the orders can sometimes be hard to find."

It was the truth and the most he was going to get outta her. She looked up at the sky which was full of traffic and lights even at this late hour and sighed.

"I'm not huge on the job, but it's money and I get to see some awesome places"

 

[Ols]

"I suppose that's what counts," he replied leaning back and taking in the Coronet skyline, up against a backdrop of a million stars, that beheld a million times as many people. He took a deep breath, "There's so much out there to see after all. So many peoples, cities, secrets...everything," he paused and shivered slightly, the breeze was picking up, "I'm quite cold," he said, "I think I'm going to retire to my ship. Your welcome to join me if you'd like a drink, or just some company?"

 

[Emma Lou]

Yael knew it probably wasn't the best idea, but she did not have anything else to do and she was genuinely curious about this man. She stood and smiled at him.

"Sounds like the best idea I've heard in a long time"

 

[Ols]

He stood up and led her from the park to the nearby docking stations and hangars, in which was his sleek black ship, quite large for a personal ship, but not at the expense of its speed or nimbleness. He spoke into the voice recognition port and tapped the code into the fingerprint sensitive keypad for the ship to lower its boarding ramp and admit them. He motioned for her to enter first and then followed himself, indicating the main area of the ship, which had a couch along one of the walls upon which he indicated for her to sit.

"I'll just get some drinks, you sticking to the firewhisky or you want something stronger?" he asked, jovially.

 

[Emma Lou]

"Whichever...I'm up for anything"

She sat on the couch and looked around the main area of the ship. It was a nice ship, a lot nicer than her hand me down from her mom.

 

[Ols]

"Fire whisky it is, Corellian brewed of course," he said, as he took a decanter and two glasses from where they were stowed in a cupboard near the sofa. he handed one, filled, to her and took one for himself before removing his cloak to reveal his attire that was more a spacer's than a Jedi's, below and he sat down next to her.

"So tell me," he said, with a friendly smile and a playful tone, between sips, "why a courier is so interested in underage bar patrons who mix with rough company and get themselves into bar fights with pistols?" and as if pre-empting the followup question he added, "Like I said, I've worked with some shady people, and I know when somebody is keeping an eye on somebody else."

 

[Emma Lou]

"I was sent to watch him, but he got boring so I stopped"

She said simply, smelling her drink before taking a sip. She knew this was going to come up. Maybe this was part of his plan: get her drunk and get the truth outta her. She took another sip and looked him up and down. He didn't look like a Jedi, but they were known to disguise themselves as all kinds of different things.

 

[Ols]

"Call me old fashioned, but that sounds like spying to me," Forte said with a slight laugh, "but I suppose when you said that you take orders, rather than shipments as I presumed, you meant just general orders...sounds like it could be almost as illegal as my line of work," he smiled, genuine and friendly. He noticed her looking him up or down, "don't worry," he added, "I'm not with CorSec, or the Jedi, or the Republic Special Services or anything like that...you really think I could afford this kind of ship if I was?"

 

[Emma Lou]

Yael knew he was right, but there was still something about him that struck her the wrong way. She took another sip of her fire whiskey.

"I wouldn't really say it's illegal...I am simply watching people for someone else to make sure they don't do anything stupid"

Like try to run, she added in her mind. Just then a shocking thought hit her, what if he was a Republic bounty hunter and she was the bounty. She looked up at him and bit her lip. That would make sense.

 

[Ols]

"Perhaps it's you that I should be worried about then, all this talk of illegality," he joked with a smile. He then noticed that she'd bitten her lip, as though nervous, "Hungry?" he asked, with a further smile, "I have food that probably is less painful to eat than your lip, if you are," he played off whatever doubts she may have had as a joke. He certainly did not want to alienate the poor girl, despite her reputation, she seemed amicable, and he would have to admit, hand on heart, that she gave a good first impression.

 

[Emma Lou]

Yael looked up at him and smiled at his joke although she did not find it very funny.

"Yes, food would be nice"

She needed something to chew on before she dug herself any deeper into a hole. She wanted to know more about him and stop him from asking her questions.

"I wouldn't worry about me...if anything I should worry about you since you are the one that found me in that bar"

She smiled and raised an eyebrow at him.