Ask A Night Off

[Z'Kair]

Kai put the glass case back as it was, stashing the gem away. For some reason, this worked out well. Too well. Why was no one coming upstairs? And why was there so much noise downstairs? He nervously made his way over to the balcony, spotting the absolute clusterfuck happening below. He was almost impressed at Cubic Zirconia’s ability to turn a situation into a complete disaster. If he ever needed an entire place to collapse in on itself, he knew who to call. For now, he shook his head and bolted down the stairs, wondering if she died in a stampede or something. He despised that he needed her alive to ensure his own survival.

The Fiani slinked out through the exit pretending to panic like everyone else, flailing around like a scandalized patron. Once he was out, his broody face returned and he waited outside a corridor. After a moment, Ruby practically crawled and limped out. Kai narrowed his eye, but he said nothing.

“Come on,” He hissed urgently, shuffling away before they could be seen. He grabbed her and yanked her into a side alley outside of the casino. He brought out the gem, “Antidote,” He demanded with his other palm open, “I did my part.”

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

Maeve was truly somewhat relieved once she breathed in the fresh air of the outside - the night air cleared her thoughts a little, before she even clearly saw Kodi, he grabbed her and yanked her away. "Ouch, damn it, let go", she complained, the pain actually bleeding into her voice.

She took a few deep breaths and swallowed, smoothing her hair back down with the unharmed arm. "I just...got shot. My rib is crushed, not that I expect empathy from you, but give me a sec". She caught her breath yet grimaced under the pain, knowing not only a bacta pad but painkillers were needed asap.

"Well done. You've got a few hours, but yes, you'll get it". She tried to suppress the urge to flinch at every breath, but didn't really manage. "Come. It's not on me. I'll retrieve it", she grumbled, actually pissed about how she had probably stolen from just the one wrong person in the room.

She began walking, but it was more of a limping. She led him out of the dimly lit alleyway and pack into a regular streets where his sensitive ears would pick up the wailing sirens. "It'll take me two more minutes to mix the right antidote", she explained as they walked, obviously making shit up.

The problem was that she was hurt now and she had to ensure she received the credits for real before she could 'heal' him, but she had an idea. She led him into the direction of the hotel and entered, trusting he'd keep the jewels concealed as they made their way back up. She received curious, yet mostly worried, even subtly shocked looks from the staff and she knew this wasn't good. It was obvious. They had to move quickly.

Despite the pain, what formed in the back of her mind was how soon enough they'd realize the jewels were gone, too, and so they had to get out of here quickly. Thus, when they were back in her room, she reached into her bag and searched for strong pain killers which she immediately swallowed. "The other substance is in my ship...so let's go". It wasn't parked far away, but every meter was excruciatingly painful.

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

He didn’t like this. Not one bit. He wanted to give her the gem and get this over with, and she was dragging it on. What was her play? He bristled with rage, not bothering to help. He stood there with his arms crossed as she whined about her ribs, “I asked you for a 2nd grade school play performance, you went full Throne of Games,” He hissed. This was her own doing, so he wasn’t inclined to feel much sympathy, especially since she was holding him up.

Nevertheless, he needed to get her where she needed so he could bail asap. Kai stopped by a cheap, parked speeder and took a moment to pry open a panel and tweak a few things. Within a moment, he had it up and running, hopping on and practically shoving her on as well. With her directions, they would arrive at her ship.

He didn’t go into her ship, waiting at the bottom of the ramp for her to mix the antidote. He wouldn’t deal with her until he had the damn thing in his hand. Kai kept looking over his shoulder, also panicking about time ticking about the poison in his system. In fact, he started to feel sick already, though he had no clue that it was all placebo effect. He hoped she would take the stupid gem and fly away to get her money elsewhere, leaving him free to go about his own way.

@LadyRen

 

[Maeve]

Walking would have taken a while and she could already see him sweat. What has he so worried about? He still had time. She just wanted to ensure this went the right way. She was still thankful for the speeder he cracked and leaned back, finally catching an actual break.

They soon arrived at her ship and she boarded, fumbling around meaninglessly, mixing some more water with a sip of blue milk and a hint of bitter flavor drops before she filled it in a little vial. She did slap a bacta pad on her blaster wound and even if the pain was still high, the adrenaline kept it bearable for now and her mind in the right place.

As she walked down the ramp, she showed him the vial, her other hand resting near her blaster though. "I've prepared more for you, in case that ever...happens again. You have to outbalance the substances in your blood, so I'll text you how many drops you'll have to drip directly onto your tongue in a minute, if you give me your number. Overdosing could be fatal and I don't want you dead", she gave him a little, however provocative wink as she offered the bottle, opening the other palm for the gem. She'd check it before boarding, knowing this cunning ass fox was not to be trusted at all. She just wanted to get some rest, but at least they were getting closer. "We're even now".

@Sreeya

 

[Z'Kair]

For all intents and purposes, he stayed true to his word. He handed over the gem and took the antidote. Kai scoffed, “What a complicated way of asking me for my number,” He said icily as he gave her the information for a burner comlink. Once the deal was done, and she checked the gem, he gave her a polite middle finger as a goodbye wave. He turned and walked off as her ship took off and she was finally out of his hair.

Everything was perfectly fine. And he would follow whatever guidance she gave to him with the disgusting antidote. Hours passed, and perhaps even a day.

Eventually she would start to notice something - the fact that she was constantly tailed. Authorities were always on her ass no matter where she went. You see, there was a reason Kai knew where the gem was and hadn’t robbed it yet. There was a reason the third floor had lax security, something he vocalized but she hadn’t paused to question. Because while the gem was real, one of the gem facets was a cleverly planted tracker. One that was impossible to identify unless under a very expensive microscope.

So while Kai happily waved goodbye to Ruby, he wasn’t too fussed about it because he knew he had set the dogs on her. Wherever she went, she would be tracked, detained and immediately thrown in prison.

For Kai’s part, he lit up a cigarra back on another Outer Rim planet. He finally had the puzzle pieces to hunt the Siphoning Dagger itself. He thought of that poor, unfortunate girl with the Alderaan gem and he gave his infamous smirk.

/End