Cora had secured her shop after finishing work for the day. She proceeded to walk through the bustling streets of Xandar, knowing exactly where she wanted to
go and what she was going to do. She was heading to the bar; although there were a variety of bars she could have chosen, Cora was headed one in particular and the reason was not for a drink. She didn't want to drink at that moment in time. She strode towards the bar door after a fair amount of weaving through crowds and was about to push the door open when a Xandarian exiting the premises beat her to it, so she stepped to the side to allow him to stumble past.
Immediately stepping into the bar, various different alcohol smells wafted into her nose to make one rather foul scent. She braced herself for the scent to linger and entered. She had heard that Xandar bars were not the worst in the galaxy to her surprise and in comparison, were much nicer and sophisticated. She wondered whether she wanted to find out just how bad bars in other parts of the galaxy could possibly be, knowing she would dread to find out what sort of things occurred but on the other hand, her curiosity was piqued.
She shook her head after observing the bar's atmosphere, scolding herself mentally for letting her thoughts distract her from her task. She made her way straight to the counter to see who she expected to be there and released a sigh of relief.
"That's two for you, Sir." A tall, Terran teenage boy said over the hum of conversation as he handed two multi-coloured drinks over to a Krylorian couple sat together by the counter.
He walked over towards Cora's side of the bar, running a hand through his short, light blonde hair as he almost past her, then walked backwards slightly after recognising her.
"Cora! Here for a drink?"
"Not today, Jasper." She shook her head. "When is your break?"
"Not for another half hour." Jasper replied as he picked up a glass and dried it with a cloth. "Why?"
"I need to speak with you." Cora said in a low voice.
"About what?"
She pursed her lips and stared at him intently, hoping he would pick up on the fact that she did not wish to speak with him out in the open. Jasper stopped cleaning the glass and placed it on a shelf behind him before turning to face Cora again.
"I'll ask the boss if I can take my break now." He stated as he slipped into the back room momentarily.
She drummed her fingers on the wooden, sticky table and tried blocking out all the commotion around her. She pondered on how Jasper was going to react to her warning; whether he would believe her. What was he going to do? She didn't think there was much she could do for him and began to debate if it was worth telling him, but quickly reassured herself that she had to do it. He had done her many favours and thought it would only be fair to help him out.
"Come with me." Jasper spoke as he unlocked the short wooden gate to get through to the other side of the bar.
Cora obeyed and followed him through the store room that had a security camera on the ceiling and crates of stock piled high, making it slightly difficult to pass through. He opened another door revealing a quiet, narrow street. Jasper leaned back against the building and folded his arms.
"This better be important."
"Of course, it's important." She frowned. "Jasper, there's something you should know."
"Is this what I think it is Cora?" He said with a smirk and raised eyebrow.
"Shut up." She shot back trying not to smile. "Stop messing around."
"Okay okay, what did you want to tell me?" He questioned, his face growing solemn.
"Jasper… do you know of anyone who would be looking for you?"
"No, why?" He asked, raising his eyebrows in shock.
"Are you sure?"
"The only people I know in Xandar are you and a few regulars at the bar that are normal Xandarian and Krylorian citizens."
"So, you wouldn't be able to tell me why two bounty hunters are after you?"
Jasper tightened his jaw and his eyes widened slightly. He simply shook his head in response, baffled by the news.
"How do you know about this?"
"They walked into the shop today and asked about you." Cora explained. "I think they were questioning a lot of people."
"How much is the bounty?"
"They didn't say – only that it seemed like it was a big bounty to them."
"Am I wanted dead or alive?" He asked gravely.
"I don't know."
"Do you know who set up the bounty?"
"I don't know." Cora repeated.
Jasper sighed and began pacing around the dimly-lit street that was deserted, apart from the likes of himself and Cora. He rubbed the back of his neck as he became occupied with his thoughts.
"Well, I don't know what else to say other than: shit." He said with a nervous laugh.
"Yup, you've got that right." She replied slowly.
"What do you think I should do?"
"I honestly have no idea."
"I need to get out of Xandar…" Jasper spoke thoughtfully.
"No!" Cora suddenly cried in an outburst. "That's the worst possible thing you can do right now. You need to act like you never knew about this. If you attempt to hide or run away it will only attract attention to you."
"But what do I do when I am found?"
"Then that's when you run and hide – I'll come with you, but where could we hide out of all the places in the galaxy?"
"I think you know exactly where to hide." Jasper said with a small, triumphant grin.
"Do I?" Cora replied, beginning to frown with confusion.
"Isn't it obvious, Cora? Earth! We can go back to Earth and hide there. There's no way they would be willing to go there."
"That's not such a bad idea." She said smiling after her realisation. "I do need to restock on supplies for the shop."
"Then it's settled. Was that why you came here to speak to me?"
"Of course it is, dumbass." Cora laughed.
"What I meant was; did you have anything else you wanted to tell me?"
"No, that was it. Now, get back to making drinks."
"I still have time to kill until I have to come back."
"Then in that case, you can make me a drink." Cora winked.
"Terran or Xandarian?" Jasper asked as he beckoned her inside back to the store room.
"Let's go for Terran."
She followed him across the store room as he led her to a locker and put his thumb on the scanner, causing it to click and open, revealing a half empty bottle of vodka, a full bottle of whiskey and liqueur with two empty glasses.
"You choose this time." Jasper offered.
"Open up the liqueur."
He took the glasses and the bottle out of the locker and knocked it shut. He perched them on a crate storing Xandarian alcohol and began to pour out a drop of the drink into each glass before screwing the cap back on and handing a glass to Cora and picking the other one up. He gestured with the glass for a cheers and she obliged, their glasses clinking before they gulped down their portions of the drink.
"That was a good choice." Jasper spoke after licking his lips.
"I was beginning to miss the taste of alcohol back home." She said, beginning to reminisce.
"We should open that Scottish whiskey soon though. No one does whiskey quite like us." He said proudly.
"When we head back to Earth we should grab some gin – London gin obviously."
"I must admit, you Brits make the finest gin." He agreed, smiling at her before getting onto his feet and putting away the glasses and the bottle. "Looks like I need to head back now."
"Alright then." Cora replied, getting up with him. "Be careful out there."
"The only trouble I usually get myself in are bar fights and I want to keep it that way." Jasper smiled.
The both proceeded to enter the bar and Jasper swiftly unlocked the gate to allow Cora to exit the bar. She turned to him and bid him goodbye briefly before setting out back into the nightlife of Xandar.