Out of One's Depth

[Denzein]

It was a bright day in Lorrd city, but then it always was on this gods forsaken world. The whole thing was covered in either snow or sand, no matter where you went the local star blazed on overhead. Janus hated it with a passion.


He was sober, he was broke and had been forced to evade a customs search twice when he tried to leave Lorrd City’s principal spaceport. He had arrived via an old freighter the captain of which owed Janus a favour, and who also happened to know a service access route that led away into the winding streets of Lorrd City. Ordinarily Janus wouldn’t have cared about drawing attention to himself and going through several unnecessary cavity searches, but today was different.


Today was business.


He was dressed simply, a leather jacket over a dark jumpsuit that was intentionally slimming - the better to conceal a handful of light armour plates. They were nothing too special, not even metal but instead some sort of stab resistant weave intended not to absorb direct blaster fire but rather to deflect blades. The downside to his attire was obvious: He looked like some sort of spacer with trouble on his mind, which was of course was Janus down to a tee. The upside was that it was cheap. Janus liked cheap.


Walking through the boulevards and past the cafes of Lorrd City’s central district he came to the conclusion that this was far from a cheap part of town. He garnered a few looks from passers by but not too many - nobody on this world had a reason to know his face just yet so it was likely his anonymity was still intact - which meant that Janus didn’t care. The rich fancy folk would just have to endure his presence for the next few hours, he didn’t plan on being around for long.


The most affluent part of the city centre was where he finally stopped, in one of the smaller adjoining alleyways across the street from where he had been paid to appear. Some medical clinic apparently, run by some rich woman from Coruscant, or something. Janus hadn’t really read the briefing. He pulled a quarter of napkin from his pocket and flattened it out, examining the clumsy scrawl of his own handwriting and double checking it with the plaque over the front door. Lorrd City Practice, how original. At least it was definitely the place. The name scribbled beneath that he could hardly read, Leffe Guak or something similar - the guy he was after. What he intended to do to the man when he found him was apparently left to his discretion, which usually meant his client knew what Janus was capable of when he really set his mind to it. That was probably a bad thing.


Watching the rich folk of Lorrd City coming and going through the main door and quickly deciding he’d stick out like a rancor if he tried going in that way, Janus began thinking up a plan. The upside was he happened to be sober...


The downside was that this was going to be his plan.

 

[Padmé]

Lorrd City
1700 hours

For several days Dr. Leffe Guak has been avoiding her superior, Dr. Jeyne Merrik. Seeing as Merrik has been on out of office- traveling on account of secret humanitarian work around the galaxy, she chalked up Guak's strange behavior to be nothing more than the usual professional feud. With time, he'll get over it. Merrik surmised in her mind. Little did the surgeon realize that Leffe Guak is the subject of a recent hit man.

Lorrd City Practice was among the top three distinguished medical practice. if Merrik had her way, it will be the premier practice, however given her lack of competitive edge, and frequent travels, she had not the time to give to her practice. Even so, top three, wasn't such a bad deal. While making her usual rounds down at the first floor, Merrik noticed a man hanging out the front entrance of her practice. Giving the man, no thought- seeing as many men of his kind frequented her practice, she dismissed the man and kept on with the duties at hand.

Several minutes later, Dr. Merrik (through CCTV) noticed the man hadn't moved. Slender in appearance adorned in a peculiar leather jacket over a dark jumpsuit. The same frugal adornment her former acquaintance on Corellia preferred. Upon further look at the CCTV, Jeyne decided to step out and meet the man face-to-face. If the man turns out to be whom Merrik thinks it is, she'll have a few bones to pick with him.

"Just stepping out for a moment."
The Mandalorian Doctor yelled out to her staff while making haste to exit the CCTV room. Thankfully, the Doctor had no patients requiring her attention. In lieu of the elevator, Jeyne took the stairs through the employee back entry way. The man known as Janus would be caught off guard, as Merrik would be entering the lower levels of her practice via the back door.

Minutes later Dr. Jeyne Merrik found herself quietly stepping behind the man known as Janus. Upon reaching close enough in proximity to examine the man, he did turn out to be whom Merrik surmised.
Hands folded, and half serious half annoyed look painted on her face, Merrik broke her silence.
"Well, if it isn't the man who conned me..."

 

[Denzein]

Before anything else, he heard her coming. It was a woman from the way her dainty little footsteps made almost no noise, a sound only a paranoid man might hear. He made no attempt to turn or indicate in any way he'd heard her approach, though he did drop the torn up napkin and lower his right hand to his waist - belted to which was a pistol he'd stolen from the trader that gave him passage. As was usual for Janus, he also had a knife jammed down his boot and a few toys on his belt, not the least of which being a frag grenade. He wasn't dressed for a battle, but was more than capable of murder... And mess, lots and lots of mess. He might have been off guard by the sudden appearance, but he was rather good at adapting to pretty much anything on the fly.

His right hand stopped at his belt as he watched rich men and women come and go from the clinic, hooking a thumb through his belt. Whoever it was behind him had some nerve, but the one thing he genuinely prided himself on was his ability to draw fast and shoot true so he didn't feel desperately worried about the situation. Then she opened her mouth, and his mind began to whir.

He knew that voice. He couldn't place it, which meant it had been some time, but he'd heard it before. A bounty hunter? Rival? Former mark he'd let slip through his fingers? It was all possible. Apparently he'd conned her, though that hardly narrowed the field as he'd conned almost everyone he'd ever met.

He turned, leaning against the block of flats that was casting its shadow over both of them. His blaster was still in easy reach, he could snap a shot off in the blink of an eye if he wanted to but upon seeing the woman behind him he figured he wouldn't need to: A doctor, one that was vaguely familiar but he couldn't recall ever seeing in clothing that might be deemed clinical. Who was she? Where had he met her? Did she work at the practice?

Truthfully, Janus had no idea. He decided to go with the flow, it usually worked for him after all.

"You. Tracked me all the way out here just to hunt down a few credits? You're out of luck, I'm broke, now turn around and walk away, I'm working."

 

[Padmé]

Lorrd City Practice always kept close surveillance about the place. What's more, Merrik was always armed, like the proper Mandalorian she was trained to be. Underneath her medical scrubs were hidden blade, a lgihtsaber, and a flame thrower.

It is Janus.
Jeyne realized upon reaching close to the man and sensing his aura.

"You fool. Who do you take me for?"
The Doctor quickly interjected.
Most strangers would assume the Mandalorian surgeon to be nothing more than a dainty earnest humanitarian. However, underneath all of that is a capable, well trained fighter.

"I had a feeling you'd con me out of that shipment of bacta, but you see unlike others I gave you the benefit of doubt."
Said incident occurred three months ago to date. Dr. Merrik was desperate for bacta on a remote planet. Given the nature of the humanitarian work she was leading, she did not want to risk tipping off the Sith. As such, she turned to the mercy of the black market in hopes of acquiring much need medical relief for the small desperate remote residence. Said bacta from Janus, never showed up, but as always Merrik made do with what was available.

"I could smite you down far swifter than your hands can reach down to that blaster of your hidden under your garments."
That's no joke. Jeyne was known around Mandalore not only for her renowned medical expertise, but the ability to fight- if provoked.

"What do you want?
Better yet, who are you looking to con this time around, Janus,?
You still owe me a million credits."
The female Mandalorin concluded while walking in front of the man. Unafraid.

 

[Denzein]

Was it really a million credits?

The first thought that flashed through Janus' mind was that he'd never seen a million credits in his life - at least, not in a physical form that he could enjoy. He'd traded and stolen many times that amount in his time of course, but never had he actually possessed that much. As far as he was concerned, assets were just playing cards to be used as and when needed - there had yet to be any actual fruit to all his labours.

Well, aside from one reward - But that was more tangible than money. And a total secret.

He remembered her now of course, the woman that had paid him for the acquiring and delivery of Bacta, all outside any official jurisdiction. He'd taken the money, sourced the product, and promptly used everything he'd gathered for his own gain. He felt not one shred of guilt or shame at conning the good doctor, as far as he was concerned that bacta had been put to a far better use anyway. She looked like she just worked in this little rich man's doctors surgery, whatever she'd had in mind for the stuff was clearly in aid of lining her own pockets. That his pockets were still empty he felt vindicated his choice... Not that he'd ever let on why.

She apparently thought that if he went for his blaster she'd kill him before he could strike. He doubted that, but whether it was a bluff or not he wasn't about to call it. His mind was whirring overtime beneath his skull, he knew what to do.

"Who am I looking to con? Please, if I were a simple con man do you honestly think I'd be stupid enough to accidentally just show up where one of my former marks works? What happened with your shipment was... Unfortunate... But it's actually why I'm here, to discuss a method of repayment. Why don't we do it inside?"

He gestured towards the surgery and began to turn towards it. He had a way inside.

 

[Padmé]

"Who am I looking to con?"
Janus' rhetorical question was met by an equally rhetorical response.

"Of course you're thinking of me. Double the effort."
The Doctor quickly interjected. Frankly she was not amused by Janus' seemingly forgetful mind.

"Never mind repayment because I know it's just a front. Poor souls suffered and died because of you. That bacta wasn't for the black market, you know?"
Jeyne started to walk, heading back the same way she'd met Janus.

The pair will enter the back door of the practice. Unlike most visitors and patients alike who enter through the front, Jeyne felt the importance of taking extra precautionary measures. Once inside, Janus will go through mandatory security check.

"Just a cautionary measure. If you wish to talk further inside my practice you will have to go through security."
The Mandalorian added in a matter of fact tone. Every word of it was meant. She would be a fool to take Janus on face value.Once was enough.