Ask Whatever Pays Well

[Matias Vale]

At the revelation that Rashaed had a bounty on his head, Matias' eyes shut as he let out a frustrated sigh. Of course, the man had a bounty on him. He thought this was family against family, not official business. Anger bubbled within him for a moment as he realized Milly most likely withheld the information. Then again, he couldn't blame her; if the situation had gone worse, he would have been liable to just shoot Rashaed in the spine to claim the reward himself.

At the mention that he had failed his job, Matias just threw an open hand at him as if deflecting the words away from him, letting out a grunt at the same time to just move past it. He wasn't in the mood to hear about his failure, especially when it clearly seemed the odds had been so stacked against him from the start.

But when the treasure trove was brought up, that earned his attention immediately. As Edin spoke, Matias reached into his jacket in order to pull out his comm pad. When he had accepted the job, coordinates had been sent to him by the arms dealer before the club in case he got too hammered. While the thought of robbing his previous client, well dead client, was still one he was rolling around in his head. There were no feelings between the two of them but Matias did maintain the idea that one's word was important. Even with that being the case, however, his need for money was stacked taller than the ideals he wanted to hold on to.

After the hand was taken back and a nod was given in replacement, Matias eventually just gave a nod back before saying, "I don't know what you know. But," The comm pad was tossed over to Edin, "This was where I was supposed to take him. Look familiar?"

 

[Edin Frost]

Edin didn’t miss the slight hesitation in the other guy. He had to bite back the urge to smirk - clearly he was completely thrown off by his client being a bounty. The Firrerreo crossed his arms over his chest, “You’re not some kind of good guy type, right? The ‘live by honor’ and whatnot? Because that would jeopardize this,” He stated flatly. He had little patience for people that operated on codes. If they were going to do this, they needed to be all in and get rid of any liabilities.

He looked at the datapad, “Yep,” Edin nodded, “I have the codes to get in, but you will need to get us there,” Edin made it clear he had no intention of giving the other man the codes, “Unless you want to do all the work, I suggest you give me a gun to work with,” The Firrerreo eyed him. He half expected the man to reject the offer, but that just meant he would have to do all of the heavy lifting by himself. Ultimately either option worked for Edin, "If we move now, we might be able to hit it before news about Rashad's death reaches the base."

 

[Matias Vale]

Matias was quick to reply with an annoyed tone as it was quite truthful, "No, I just realized I could have shot him in the head myself and saved a few ribs." There was no need to inspect his torso, with each intake of breath, he could feel a sharp sting. By his guess, the left side of his torso must have been an ugly and dark purple.

At the revelation that Matias would need to get them there and he wasn't being offered the codes, a light scoff escaped from him as he realized what precarious situation that put him in. Either way, there wasn't much choice for him if he wanted to make a profit on the night. Plus, after how his ribs felt, there was no way he was leaving empty-handed.

When Edin eyed him, the action was returned by the merc as he thought to himself for a few brief moments. There were a ton of ways that this could go wrong for him and already did but he guessed that gave him all the more reason to say fuck it. Finally coming to a decision, Matias simply gave the dumpster an upward nod as he started to walk away, "Your gun is stashed there." It was his form of accepting this new business proposition between them.

A quick check down the alleyway told him the security guards were gone and Matias would finally step out of the alley because of it. A glance was offered to Edin before his gaze then fixated on the direction they were about to take, "Bike's this way." Without adding much else, he began to walk. The pace he set would only last for a handful of minutes until they finally arrived at a nondescript building, a clean and silent bike parked at the side of it that the merc angled for.

 

[Edin Frost]

He hadn’t planned this well. Edin was left shirtless, in ridiculous pants and with a blaster he had to peel out of a dumpster. He looked at the guy for a moment, “Give me your jacket,” He declared, “We’ll attract far too much attention with me showing up like this,” He gestured to his tight pants, magnificent ass, and mainly the lack of a shirt. It would get tons of questions and likely mess up the entire op.

Granted that he complied, Edin walked with the failed bodyguard towards his speederbike. Now that he wasn’t posing as a prostitute, Matias would notice a decisive change in in his demeanor. The Firrerreo came across far more icy to an almost unsettling degree. There was a calm about him that could only be explained as the bearing of a remorseless killer.

“What’s your name?” He asked curtly as he hopped on the speeder, “I thought I knew most people in the crime circles,” It was something Edin prided himself in, “Haven’t seen you before.”

 

[Matias Vale]

Upon hearing the order to relinquish his jacket, Matias would slowly turn his head halfway in order to peer at Edin out of the corner of his eye. The answer could be seen and felt to the point it didn't need to be said but was so anyway, "No." Not only was it his favorite one but he voiced his other reason, "You sure about that? We should fit in more around here. Besides, you seem quite comfortable in your outfit." It was easy to tell from his tone that it wasn't complimenting his shirtless nature and magnificent ass.

Mounting his bike, he turned on the engine and it gave its familiar deep roar to shake off any sleep still plaguing it. After Edin got on, Matias couldn't help but notice the people that gave them looks as they passed by. They certainly fit in but he realized what it looked like with the half-naked cowboy on the back of his bike. Out of Edin's view, his eyes slowly closed momentarily with a quick shake of his head before he finally twisted the throttle and set them off. It was ironic that they had no idea what was actually on the speeder, two vicious killers that had just recently tried to kill each other. But, appearances were deceiving.

As he drove, he twisted his head slightly before refocusing on the road and answering, "Four." Milly had bestowed it upon him and at this point, he was rather comfortable with it. "You can say I'm new on the block." In actuality, he had only done a handful of jobs since being dropped off by the Mandalorian but he didn't need to go into detail. Matias still had no idea whether to trust this assassin or not but the opportunity of credits was one he couldn't turn down. "You're obviously connected. What about you?"

The pair would eventually arrive at an isolated neighborhood, the apartments and duplexes given the blessing of being distanced from the true slums and factories. As Matias was about to turn in, he instead pulled onto the corner of a sidewalk, parking there temporarily as he asked Edin, "Which one?"

 

[Edin Frost]

Edin thought for a moment. Clearly Four was a bullshit answer. Two could play at that game. He decide he would have fun with him, “Oh I’m Basilisk,” He said casually, giving his actual alias. Basilisk was such a famous name at this point that even this man would recognize it. However, he’d never in a million years believe Edin was him.

As they arrived in the neighborhood, Edin took a look around. He jutted his chin towards a particular apartment building that looked entirely unremarkable, “That whole complex is gutted and repurposed. It looks like it’s full of residents but it’s just got guards on patrol.”

The Firrerreo glanced at Four, “You thought up a cover story of why you’re bringing me in with you instead of Rashad?”

 

[Matias Vale]

Upon hearing his new "friend's" alias, Matias had to prevent himself from rolling his eyes, instead closing them momentarily so the man wouldn't be given the satisfaction. If it wasn't for the fact he had busted ribs, failed his job, and Edin already proved he had skill, the bike would just stop the bike and kick the man off without a second thought. The answer almost made him believe that this was a waste of time but they were too far committed at this point. The credits were needed and he would get them one way or another, even taking a chance on a random hitman.

His passenger pointed out an entire apartment building as their target. Matias had just been given the location, not the details about it. Even though it appeared pedestrian, Basilisk revealed it was quite the contrary on the inside. How many guards would be the main question of the night and before he could try and make an educated guess, Basilisk asked him if he had thought of a cover story.

There would be about a second-long pause until Matias finally glanced back at him, his tone revealing nothing, "Yeah. Follow me." Pulling his bike into one of the nearby alleys, he shut off before dismounting. When they both seemed ready, Matias finally stepped out from the alley and led the way to the apartment building, their path directly lined up with the front door. Before they could enter, he murmured out, "Play along."

With a lack of guards outside, it allowed them to walk through the entrance easily and reveal an empty pseudo lobby. On the opposite side of it was a short and straight hallway, an elevator at the end with a man sitting behind a desk in front of it. Hearing the door swing open, the guard looked up from whatever he was reading on his datapad, suspicion immediately being plastered across his face, "Who the fuck are you two?"

 

[Edin Frost]

Edin rolled his eyes as he was asked to play along. He had been at this game longer than this other rookie, so he was curious to see how this would play out. They arrived and he was impressed by the setup. It was almost like an actual office complete with a lobby and check in desk. Edin had to keep from grinning.

The guard looked up and asked his question. Edin bristled at once. His dumbass partner didn’t even have the foresight to let them know some bullshit in advance? The Firrerreo's eyes flicked over to Matias, quickly realized he was caught flatfooted.

“We’re entertainment,” Edin cut in with a smile, “Part of Rashad’s birthday bash week,” The Firrerreo flashed a wink. He only knew about the man’s birthday because it was on his bounty profile that listed his age, sex and other details, “He’s on his way from Lucky Lucy’s and wanted an afterparty.”

The guard stared for a moment, especially at Edin. It tracked with the boss’s preferences, so he wasn’t entirely surprised. He shrugged and called a droid over.

“Take them to the top floor,” The guard said, “They’ll pat you down for weapons up there but it’s the boss’s quarters.”

He waved them off. Edin started walking behind the droid, glancing over at Matias. He gestured with a finger downwards, implying that the goods were on the lower levels. They just had to get around this droid and find a way down.

 

[Matias Vale]

After the guard's question, Matias had to prevent his eyes from momentarily closing in reaction from surprise and annoyance. The idea to notify the guards had completely slipped his mind with the help of the chase and multiple falls he had. He was about to open his mouth to respond but Edin picked up the slack, quickly sliding them into the role of prostitutes or something along that family tree.

The guard bought it enough, just giving a shrug before motioning for a droid. Unable to help himself though, a violent spurt of rage exploded within Matias, mostly for how much control he lost through the night. A couple of his ribs were most likely broken and now he was helping the assassin that took out his mark and was really the cause of his injuries. The assassin was also taking point on this one and the cherry on top was that they would have to act like "entertainment" as their cover. It was probably only for a few minutes at worst but he was having none of it.

Matias just wanted to get the fuck out as quickly as possible and that meant there was one route to take for them. Compared to Edin, he couldn't even fake a warmth to let the others see, instead just turning to follow. But, when he neared the desk, he rapidly turned on his heel to face the guard before launching a kick right into the desk. Almost with unnatural force, the piece slid back right into the hips of the guard and knocked him face-first onto the desk. Before he could get up, Matias would instantly place a hand on the back of his head, gripping onto a clump of hair to keep him pinned to the table. The man let out a painful scream as the droid spun around, freezing for a moment in replacement of displaying shock.

The guard attempted to go for his blaster pistol but Matias was faster. His free hand reached forward and slipped the blaster out of the guard's hip holster quicker; first smashing the man's cheek with the butt of the pistol before turning and aiming at the droid, firing three shots into its torso. A mechanical wail was let out of the droid before it just fell over with sparks spewing out of it.

The guard let out painful grunts as Matias twisted his hair before pulling him, face first, across the desk, and onto the floor before then being picked up onto his feet. Laying a finger over the trigger, he slammed the barrel of the blaster into the ribs of the guard before pushing him forward. Matias glanced back at Edin and stated, "Found our way to the bottom. Our friend here would like to help." A painful grunt could only be let out by their prisoner, a few of his teeth missing from when he was hit by the gun.