Ask Under the Willow Tree

[Duke Winters]

Duke arrived on the scene a few moments after the forensic teams and city police did, the perimeter already set as the holographic police tape continued flashing 'WARNING: POLICE BUSINESS'. It wasn't really needed, there weren't any civilians around them that were googly-eyed. Thankfully whatever happened did in a remote location, making the Police and Ranger's job much easier without the nuisance of people taking pictures and asking questions. The scene was in the middle of a park, early in the morning so that the only people passed were joggers getting their exercise in. Of course, it wasn't completely isolated, a metal cacophony of buildings each direction you went as you could never escape them but the park was more of one of the isolated areas of Nar Shadda. In fact, it was one of Duke's favorite spots.

When he went up a small dirt mound, that's when he was able to see what he was called in for. There was a single body hanging from a tree, even from Duke's position he was able to see that it had been there for a while, the skin nearly purple and the victim's eyes nearly bulging out of his sockets. Light stands were placed around the scene, illuminating the body in all its grotesqueness. The first time Duke had seen something like this, the usual was a blaster bolt in somebody's spine but this was a change of pace.

When he drew near to the scene, one of the forensic people, turned to spot him and waved him over. As he got close enough to see who it was, Duke gave them a nod, "What do we get today Ivy?" The woman, who was more of Asian descent then anything else, gave him a grin, "It appears maybe like a suicide, that's what it all points to but we don't know for sure though." Since Duke was the ranger for Nar Shadda, he and Ivy have crossed paths multiple times and he was thankful that she remained on the force. Ivy had a soft spot for Duke and vice versa, her family perishing the same way as he did and drawing them closer together. She would help him sometimes even if it meant breaking the rules but it takes some convincing of that to happen or a reason she can't ignore. She was good at her heart and that's why he liked her, her view never dampened on life despite seeing how much it was taken away from others.

Duke glanced at the hanging body. "How long has this been here?" When he breathed in the air after the question, he nearly gagged as bile rose up his throat and almost out of him until he managed to swallow it. "Kriff, that smell." Ivy chuckled then nodded, clearly used to it, "Yup, that's why it got called in and from the deterioration of the skin, I'd say it's been a week ." He gave a look of shock, "A week?" How was it just now discovered? He inspected the body before asking another question that he always did, "Have you guys messed with the scene yet?"

Ivy shook her head, "No, we were waiting for you and the other to show up before we'd start with that. I know you like to review the scene completely before we get started on it. Let me know if you have any questions." She departed the other way as she went to the forensics team to share notes. That left Duke and the body alone together as they stared at each other.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys wasn’t often out in the Outer Rim, but there had been yet another incident that looked like the flower killer. Unfortunately, the rest of the m.o didn’t match up and it ended up being a one time thing. However, that left her stuck on Nar Shaddaa without any new leads on anything. She was hitting a wall with the serial killer, and it began to frustrate her to no ends.

She hated being away from Coruscant, and now she was a galaxy away from her son. Thankfully, one of his friends’ moms had offered to take care of him. Nevertheless, she still found herself checking in frequently enough to become annoying.

That was when she had received the call to about an incident nearby. Trys almost didn’t take it, but she had a hard time passing on jobs. And so, she grabbed a cup of caf and made her way quickly towards the scene.

She spotted another Ranger on there and had to quirk an eyebrow - two rangers? This may be something big. Trys sipped from her coffee, walking over to smile at the other ranger.

“Trys Aran,” She said, extending her hand to shake his, “Pleasure to meet you,” Trys hated formalities and small talk, so she said nothing more on the topic. She glanced over to stop the body at once, guessing it was a suicide. However, Ivy quickly filled her in as well, and Trys remained silent for a moment.

“Why don’t you know for sure it’s suicide? Seems pretty clear cut to me,” She shrugged, “Especially because no one reported it. A week is a century for a crime,” The poor fool probably had no one that would miss him and decided to off himself.

Trys walked towards the body, covering her mouth and nose to keep the stench away. She turned to Winters for a brief moment, “I didn’t think you had anything but gun shots and stabbings out in this part of the galaxy.”

 

[Duke Winters]

The body swung back and forth, only a few inches each way as the wind carried it softly. Its veins were turning purple as they no longer received oxygen as it was clear the man shit and pissed himself. It was a disgusting sight and one that shouldn't have happened to anybody.

Duke pulled out his flashlight and highlighted the victim, examining his clothes and other small features. The sun wasn't still completely up and left them in a shady overcast. He definitely appeared upper class, not wealthy but at having some money judging by his clothes. There was no other jewelry and he was slightly overweight, causing his noose, the rop - no a belt straining to support the weight. The victim's hands and boots were clean as well, not bearing a mark.

It perplexed Duke for a moment and as he took a step back to reexamine the scene from a different angle before one of the officials approached him and handed him a file of information about the victim. The body's name was Jeremy irons and he lived quite a few sectors away.

When Duke finished the rest of it, he heard footsteps nearby and turned his head to find the other Ranger called in to join on this case. When she approached, he closed the file and tucked it underneath his arm as he offered a grin and extended his other hand, "Duke Winters. Glad you could come to join in on the fun." This wasn't his first time working with a fellow Ranger and he appreciated the support as it was usual he was the only one actually stationed on Nar Shaddaa.

Trys approached the body and conducted her own little examination as Duke remained a couple of feet away to let her do it. She went right into business and he didn’t mind at all. “Exactly, we do mostly get shootings and stabbings. Occasionally someone will off themselves but this is a little out there isn’t it?” When was the last time someone hung themselves in a park of Nar Shadda? They could have easily gone into a bathroom or some private room and did the deed there.

“How’d he get up there as well? His hands are clean, no scrapes from climbing the tree and he doesn’t exactly seem like the type who can lift himself up to do that. Nothing here for him to stand on.” Duke sighed softly as he stared at Jeremy, more talking to himself when he spoke, “Something’s not right… It’s out of order.” The body continued to look down upon them as if it was basking in their confusion about it.

 

[Trys Aran]

He had a good point. As she looked closer, he was right that there were no signs that he hoisted himself up. Trys walked around the body and could see that the clothing was more tattered on his back. She could vaguely make out an outline on his back, and she looked closer to make out some sort of insignia.

“Is this a tattoo?” Trys asked, Ivy coming around to look. She took one glance at it and her eyebrows rose, “Syndicate,” She said, looking over at Winters, “There’s no way the Rangers are going to wanna pursue this any further. They’ve shut down every case because we can’t afford to get mixed up in that.”

Trys looked at the woman, eyes wide, “What? You just throw out cases?”

Ivy shrugged, “It’s how we do things around here. The Syndicate runs things - we’re small and underfunded and anyone trying to play hero just turns up in a bodybag,” She looked over at Winters again, a knowing look on her face.

Trys simply looked between the two, shaking her head, “That’s….that’s absurd. This was a living person and his life is worth nothing because of a tattoo?”

“Oh, that’s not a tattoo,” Ivy said with distate, “That’s a branding. The insignia belongs to the rival gang,” Seeing the look of shock on Trys’ face, she went on, “Oh yeah, they keep no secret of taking ownership of when they off someone.”

Ivy walked by Winters and patted him on the shoulder, “Sorry for dragging you out here, we’ll toss this one out.”

 

[Duke Winters]

Trys got a rough introduction into how Nar Shaddaa transpired. It was just the reality of what the situation was and Duke despised it. While Ivy informed her about it, she personally hated too but accepted it for what it was. But she glanced over at him when mentioning that "heroes turned up in body bags," There have been a few times where he bent the rules and went off on his own, causing some tension between the syndicate and their station. Duke was trying to rip out the hooks the Syndicate had within the station.

"Yeah, thanks, Ives. Let me know if anything comes up." She returned back to her group and Duke checked behind him to make sure she wasn't close before walking over to Trys and sarcastically said, "It's lovely here, really." He handed her the file on the victim as he went into business, "Thing is, he wasn't flagged in the system as a gang member, technically he's an innocent law-abiding citizen." Duke gave a quick tilt of his head, "I think we should check out his place, only a few sectors away. You know, make sure all his things get logged into inventory correctly." He shrugged his shoulders, "Nothing out of the ordinary." Really, he wanted to find out what was going on and the best place to start was the victim's home.

Without warning, he walked off and towards his speeder that was nearby, "You wanna come along?" Before he could hear her answer, he opened the door to his speeder before getting in. The engine rumbled as it turned on and sat there for a moment, waiting for Trys to slide in if she did. She had only picked up just picked up the job and wouldn't blame her with the syndicate involved.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys was far too proud to admit she was uncomfortable. Back in the deep core, everything was simple. The flower killer was the most complex thing she was working, and that was an outlier. Everything else was small time crime. Out here, it was completely unchained and unruly. The Syndicate had more power, and no one batted an eye if a Ranger turned up dead.

As Winters motioned for her to come with, she paused for a moment. Was it worth it to chase this? Had Ivy been right? Trys looked over at the body again, uneasy about venturing deeper into a lion’s den. However, she also remembered why she chose this as a career path - to speak for those who couldn’t. She watched the man still hanging from tree as some workers began to ease him down. Was she going to let him be another forgotten nobody just because he didn’t fit the profile of crimes she solved?

“Yeah I’m coming,” She said as she followed Winters, getting into the speeder next to him. Trys knew this would mean a few more days away from her son, but she would have to make it up to him when she was back.

“So do you have a habit of trying to play hero?” She asked, glancing over at him. She hadn’t missed the knowing look Ivy gave him earlier, “It seems very dangerous. I’ve heard almost no one wants to take a Ranger job out here,” Trys grimaced, “Occupational hazards entirely too high considering the pay.”

 

[Duke Winters]

As Duke waited in the speeder, it was obvious that this wasn't Trys scene. She didn't seem scared but concerned about the way things were run on Nar Shaddaa. He didn't blame her, it took him a few years to finally come to grips around it and realize the police were almost just as an enemy as the Syndicate. It was a major roadblock for most cases but there were always ways around it. Trys eventually agreed to come along and followed behind him, getting into the passenger side of the vehicle.

Duke pulled out from his spot slowly before shooting off and onto the street towards Jeremy's place. He glanced over to Trys before shrugging slightly, "I wouldn't say, hero, I just find loopholes to say the least." He hated those cases that slid by and whenever he could he would try and establish at least some personal justice. When she mentioned that no one took a job here because of the dangers. It reminded him of his dad who died because of the gangs that practically ran the city. It was his father's badge that he used as his own for a reminder. "They aren't wrong. This planet is just my home. Guess you could say I just find it hard to leave this place." Duke glanced over to her this time, "What about you? I haven't seen you around here before. What brings you?" There usually had to be a good reason for a Ranger to want and come to visit Nar Shaddaa.

After a while, they finally arrived at the victim's place of residence, an apartment a few stories up. Duke parked right outside the front and checked the file again to confirm the address. There were in the nicer end of Nar Shaddaa, police actually driving by and patrolling. "This is it." Duke placed the folder in the backseat before glancing at the window toward the building, "From this to hanging from a tree with his belt. Certainly, a way to go."

They entered the building, the lobby nice but not too far out there. Duke wanted to avoid the front desk staff and instead cut across the room quickly and to the nearest elevator. He held open the door for Trys before pressing the button to close it and sending them to the floor of where the victim lived. "The Syndicate is usually good enough to hide evidence but let's see if we can find any connections between the two. His file is too clean for the Syndicate to have gone after him for no reason."

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys couldn’t imagine being from and living on this planet. It was disgusting and had dangers lurking in every corner. She thought of her son and how it would be surreal to ever raise him in a place like this. When he asked what brought her here, Trys sighed, “Honestly, I keep hitting walls with this case I’ve been working on forever,” She explained, “It’s a serial killer, and I chase down wherever I see patterns of their work. Each case leads me to another dead end, but the killer keeps going. The latest brought me all the way out here, but it turned out to be unrelated.”

She was happy to solve something out here, but it still left her feeling empty from not addressing the high profile killer. Sector Rangers were beginning to look pathetic for not being able to take down a killer that casually killed women here and there with no signs of stopping. His movements were entirely unpredictable, and that made him all the more compelling as a criminal. He was turning out to be her magnus opus.

As they arrived at the building, Trys was surprised to find such a nice establishment. The man hanging from the tree looked poor for wear and didn’t look as if he could afford to live out here. Trys kept her opinions to herself, letting Winters lead the way as they entered the building. A soft, gentle concerto playing in the lobby as they made their way to the elevator.

When they arrived at the floor, she looked around, “Don’t we need to have some paperwork before we just go in?” Trys felt dumb for even asking. Of course things operated differently around here. They came to a stop in front of the door, but already looked slightly open.

She pushed and the door creaked fully open, allowing them to step in. The inside didn’t look entirely out of the ordinary, though the Holo was on. There was a bowl of half eaten snacks on the table in front of it, suggesting that they had been abandoned in a hurry.

“We have no information on who this guy was?” Trys assumed that his DNA had been run against registered criminals already.

 

[Duke Winters]

Trys mentioned a serial killer and there was only one he knew that was making headlines at least in this galaxy. The flower killer or whatever name the press will eventually come up with to draw more buzz around it and how the killer is evading law enforcement easily. It's been a while since there has been a prolific serial killer and he was thankful that the killer hasn't come to Nar Shaddaa, at least not yet. The planet had its ways of drawing the worst type of people to it. "I've heard about your guy. Well, if I hear anything or require something on Nar Shadda, you can get in touch with me." There were very few of them left and when they ran across each other, Rangers had to help each other out.

When the elevator dinged to indicate they were on their designated floor, Duke stepped out first with his eyes scanning each room number until they would come to the right one. Trys asked if they needed paperwork and he gave her a look that would be a sufficient enough answer for that question. Asking for a warrant on Nar Shadda was one of the most inefficient ways to get anything done, at least in the current landscape. Hopefully one day he'll get a say about that. Surprisingly, the door was already opened and Trys was the first one to step through, Duke stepping in after and closing the door behind them softly. The Holo was on and some food was out, almost giving the indication that the man didn't even die a week ago.

"No, his name is Jeremy Irons. He's in charge of some trucking and distributing company. He's just way too clean to be a target for the Syndicate. I mean he doesn't even have a speeding ticket and he's hung in the park from a tree." Past the table in the room where the Holo was, there was a set of stairs that led to a completely separate floor above. The lights were off and left the rest of the apartment pretty dark, the lights from the city illuminating it enough for them to see. Duke pointed to the stairs, "I'm gonna check up there. Holler if you find anything to reveal more about our VIC."

As he approached the stairs, he was able to see there were plenty of rooms to search even on the first level. He ascended the stairs and stopped when he reached the topped, a long hallway in front of him with doors on either side. Duke stepped forward and opened the first door on his left, some of a guest room others just storage. When he reached the end he opened the last door and found the master bedroom. It was quite disturbed, shelves pulled out, clothes from the closest ripped out onto the floor.

As Duke studied the scene, he didn't realize behind him a leg slowly dropping from the ceiling. It was joined by another shortly after before a figure dropped to the ground with the weight of a feather. The figure stood up in a sort of snake-like movement, staring into Duke's back as it slowly stepped toward him. He called out, "You find anything?"

The figure stopped before it reached him, turning its head slightly when hearing that there was another inside the apartment. It slowly stepped backward and into the shadows before disappearing. Duke glanced behind him to find nothing before he began to search the room, hoping to find some sort of evidence of the man's past and why he would be a target.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys was quietly looking through the place, not entirely convinced of the man’s identity and background. In her years of crime, she hadn’t ever seen gangs go through such an effort on someone without motive. She kept to the main level, not following Winters.

She noticed a closed door and tried to open it, realizing it was locked. Suspicious, Trys reached into her pocket and grabbed a lockpick, using it to open it. As Winters called out, she shook her head to herself, “Not yet!”

As she opened the door, she realized it was a home office set up. Trys stepped in and noticed some files and a desk. She began to look through documents, glancing up to see something catching her eye. To her surprise, it was a board with diagrams on it, and they all appeared to map to names. There were words like ‘base of operations’, ‘supply warehouse’ and others that caught her attention at once.

“Hey...Winters!” She called out, “I think you might wanna come see-”

Trys couldn’t get another word out before a hand abruptly pressed over her mouth. A man had approached her from behind and was trying to choke her. She elbowed him and tried to turn around, but he was larger than her and restrained her. He tackled her to the ground and kicked the door behind them shut.

 

[Duke Winters]

The room was proving less than fruitless as drawers were continued to be pulled out and items flipped around inside for nothing. When hope was about to be lost, Trys called out for him to see whatever she found but she didn't finish her sentence. That made Duke pause for a moment before glancing down the hallway and wonder what caused that. His blaster pistol was slowly drawn out from the holster as he started to make his way down the hallway to find out what happened.

When the door was shut, the figure kept Trys restrained but stood up halfway above her. With his considerable size and strength, he pushed her arms away before launching two savage punches, one to her face to daze her and the other one to her stomach to knock the wind out of her and prevent her from yelling out again if it landed. Either way, he picked up Trys before throwing her towards the desk in the office that she had just discovered. The figured stepped in afterward and closed the door and locked it from the inside. There was soundproofing built in the walls around the office and negated any noise that would come from

The assassin was dressed in all black, a mask over their head with goggles covering their eyes. Whoever he was, there were no visible markings on them at least to who he was employed by. When the door was locked, he drew out a vibroknife afterward, twirling it in his hand for a second before lashing out at Trys with it.

When Duke reached the main level, he glanced around and wondered which part of the apartment she was in but he thought he heard a scuffle and rushed toward the room. The door was shut and he twisted the handle before barging in, his blaster drawn but his partner nowhere to be seen. "Trys?! Where are you?" He approached the locked door and twisted the handle before roughly pulling on it as another attempt to open it. The door was secure and Duke shouted again to try and find where his partner was.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys managed to bring her arm up to block the punch to the face, but she wasn’t quick enough to avoid the hit to the stomach. She coughed and sputtered as the wind was knocked from her, and she found herself physically raised and thrown. Trys had been caught entirely by surprise, and it took her a moment to adapt.

He was much larger than her, but she wasn’t exactly new to combat. As he reached out with the knife, Trys ducked to the side, pivoting around to knee him in the core. To her surprise, he simply stepped back slightly and wasn’t downed.

“WINTERS! IN HERE YOU IDIOT!” She screamed loudly in that split second, quickly grabbing a nearby datapad and hurling it at the man’s head. It collided with him, and he growled in response, blindingly trying to swing at her with the blade.

Trys took that moment to quickly draw out her blaster, aiming and firing a shot. He was already moving by then, though it grazed his arm and rendered it useless. He barreled his body into her, and she was thrown on the desk behind her, knocking over all the files and papers.

He had her pinned and was lowering the knife. She held his hand up, but she couldn’t hold him for long.

 

[Duke Winters]

Duke was about to step away from the door, unable to hear the scuffle that was happening behind it until what sounded like muffled yell that also sounded like his name. He gripped the door handle again and roughly shook it but to no avail. Taking a few steps back, he launched a kick towards it but the door only rattled in a mocking response. With the kick not working either, it left Duke with his final option and he aimed his blaster at the lock before squeezing the trigger once and letting off a shot.

The blaster bolt melted through the metal and Duke put another kick into the door, it finally busting open and revealing the assassin on top of Trys and close to plunging his knife into her. "Trys!" He shouted before rushing in, not even attempting a shot and putting her at risk of being hit. The man turned around slightly to spot Duke rushing in and instantly backed away from her, his hand grabbing her collar instead and hurling her towards him in order to his block the path to him.

Without waiting a moment longer, the man dashed for the nearest window, using his blade to shatter it safely and jump through to his escape. There was a balcony underneath that was connected to the apartment and used it as his landing pad. Duke moved Trys over gently before sprinting over to the window and looking out of it, finding the man gone with the only evidence being the glass shards from the broken window he jumped out of. "Shit." Duke cursed to himself before turning around to look at Trys.

He made his way over to her before grabbing a chair and sliding near them so she could sit if she wanted to, "You alright? I'm sorry I couldn't get to you quicker." He was about to radio in about this but he realized this was completely off the books and just between them. "You hurt anywhere badly?" While he checked on her, his senses were up, still looking around in case the man came back or if there was another lurking around.

 

[Trys Aran]

Trys was happy for the distraction as Winters entered. It loosened the man’s grip slightly, and she managed to slam her fist against his jaw. He wildly moved back and hurled her towards Winters. Trys couldn’t help but collide with him, though she quickly recovered and tried to move out of the way. She followed Winters to the window, cursing as she also saw no signs of him.

She waved him off as he apologized, though her hand did go to her stomach. She was very sure she had a large bruise there, if not a cracked rib. It hurt her to breathe, and she wouldn’t feel better anytime soon. Trys stared out the window for a moment longer, shaking her head.

“I’ll live,” She said finally, “What the hell was that guy? He looked like some sort of ninja weirdo from a Holomovie…” Trys was more and more irked by what she found out in the outer rim, “I’m actually starting to miss my boring serial killer at this rate.”

Trys turned back and pointed at the wall above the desk, “I don’t think our man is who we think he is. This looks like the work of a professional law enforcement agent of some sort. He was leading a double life, or at the very least someone that dabbled into things he shouldn’t have.”

She walked over and began to go through the files, “He must have come across something the gangs didn’t want found. If it’s big enough to where someone was hanging around here, I’m willing to bet that any family he has will also be in danger.”

Trys looked up, “This may be beyond us. And we can’t call on the Rangers for support because they washed their hands of it…”

 

[Duke Winters]

Duke could tell that she wasn't in her best form but she refused to take the chair and he wouldn't press her about it if she could continue working. "I'm guessing some hitman type or something that resembles that." Hearing that she missed her boring serial killer, he couldn't help but smirk, "Welcome to Nar Shaddaa." The wall finally caught his attention as Trys started to explain it, Duke walking over and examing the diagrams. "He's definitely leading a double life at least." When he continued to inspect the map and saw the marking of a 'base of operations' and 'supply warehouse' he thought out loud towards Trys, "What if Jeremy here was actually competition? His company only has a couple of locations registered to it." This map didn't make sense compared to least Jeremy's assets unless these were locations marked independent only for him.

When she mentioned that family might be a potential target for the gangs, Duke glanced at her before looking around the office and then the door where he came from. He walked out of the office and into the living room area, finding some shelves nearby and pushing items aside until he found a couple of frames. None of them had pictures of family or suggested anything otherwise; when he was finished with the trying to find any indications of family, he returned to the room, "Not family, no pictures of kids or even a wife. But you're right, he was waiting here for someone, possibly Jeremy's partner? Or at least someone who knew him better than us." The hitman was waiting for someone at least and that meant there was a person out there who could shed light on the situation for them.

When Trys mentioned that this may have been beyond them, she was right. They didn't have any official police support because a good percentage of them were in someone's pocket and were too scared to do anything about it. "You're right, this is beyond us but I can't ignore it. I'm stationed here and we stumbled onto something here or at least the implications of it." Duke scratched his forehead as he stared at the wall and the files, "I'm gonna keep working on this. I have to. If there's any chance to make this city safer I gotta attempt it." His father wouldn't have hesitated on tugging this thread to see where it went. But that's what also got killed at the same time and left Duke on his own. Even if it was the cause of his father's death, it didn't make him hesitate and instead only fueled him in taking this operation down.

When he glanced over at her, there was a shrug before a slight smirk on his face, "I understand if you say no to staying here and helping, Nar Shaddaa isn't the calmest of places, but I would appreciate the help if you offered it." There was a serial killer out there that seems to be intertwined with her but he could use any sort of help that he could get in this. It wasn't often another one with a badge comes out to the outer rim of the galaxy. This was definitely above his paygrade but he was a Ranger but what else was he supposed to do.