Author's Note: You're welcome, TheReapa. And thank you for your review! I appreciate the feedback.
Her yellow eyes glimmered dimly in the light. She pulled up another blueprint on her data pad. She observed the layout, looking at all three stories of the building.The image shimmered away as the turned off the data pad. Azura smoothed away invisible wrinkles on her sparkling pale turquoise dress. She brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear before walking out of the storage closet and into the night club. The music was loud. It made her ears throb with each beat. She was always surprised to see the ever changing Coruscant fashions. The colors were blindingly bright, clashing in unusual patterns. The dresses themselves were tight and revealed too much cleavage.
Azura had decided to wear her hair in a bun. She had cut it a while ago. It was much more practical short. Her silver flats were comfortable and ideal for running. Her dress was long enough to be modest, but short enough to make quick get-aways. Finally, she wore a choker collar with a glass stone. Long necklaces could get ensnared. She searched the crowd for Eva. Blast it. Eva had beaten her to him. A lean Rodian casually leaned against the bar, a drink in one hand. Eva was chatting amiably with him. Her emerald green dress had strips of cloth, which crossed over her shoulders. She had her hair up in a playful side bun. She began to approach the pair, when she nearly tripped over a man. The man staggered past her, smelling heavily of alcohol. Azura wrinkled her nose and walked past him.
"And then I said 'Gimme back my drink!'" He began to laugh, so Eva followed in laughter.
She had the situation pretty well handled as it was, so Azura hung around in the background, in case she needed back-up. Azura began to rub her temples, trying to ward off the inevitable headache. She couldn't even make out what instruments were being used in this song. Azura watched as some beings jumped, others twirled, and some were swaying, literally tipsy. Azura still listened to their conversation.
"And you'll never guess who it was."
"Who?!" asked Eva, gushing with enthusiasm.
"The imperial moff himself. And I was all like 'I didn't do nothing!' Then he told me that I was in the clear, but they needed an exceptional smuggler to do some dirty work for them. So I-"
"Hey." A man staggered up to me. "Need something to drink. If you want-"
Vexed that he distracted her, Azura cut him off, "I'm fine thanks."
He ambled away to some other female. Azura tuned back into their conversation.
"No way! And where was it?" Asked Eva.
"Mmm... Talus. It's kind of nice there. I was thinking of building a mansion once I become a celebrity, but I guess I should wait 'til the area's purged of rebels."
"And they wanted you to pinpoint the bases location?! Wow, sounds like a big job."
"It was. I-"
Suddenly, a hush fell over the room. The wild music slowly came to a pause and everyone stood there. Azura turned around in bewilderment. The infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett ambled into the club. One man, too drunk to care, was prancing on a table. With a 'thud', he fell off of the table in his drunken stupor. Fett stared at him. He was unreadable past his helmet. Stupid Mandalorian helmets. The man whimpered and backed away. The crowd parted easily. Oh, no… He couldn't have found us. No, he's looking for someone else. Fett walked towards her. She froze. He doesn't know who I am. He can't! He was so near her, she could've touched him. Then he turned towards the Rodian. He grabbed his arm.
"Please, I didn't do nothin'."
He proceeded to drag him out the night club. Everyone stared until they had left. Then the party resumed like nothing had happened. Azura stared at Eva, both shared the same thought. This is going to make our job a lot harder. They ran out together. The smoggy, cluttered streets were void of life. He was gone.
"Blast it!" Azura seethed.
Eva bit her lip.
"Now what?" Azura asked.
Eva was the veteran in rebel spying.
"He couldn't have gone far. He doesn't know we're after him. He wouldn't have used his jetpack; fuel's expensive. I go right, you go left. Don't engage. Keep your comlink on. She sprinted down an alley and Azura sprinted down the opposite one. It looked like a dead end, until a turn appeared around the corner. She veered sharply to the left and ran into the bustling streets of Coruscant. Bridges filled gaps in between walkways and speeder flew in between. A colossal mass of beings squirmed around each other. Street lights glared at her from overhead. A siren wailed in the distance. Her eyes skimmed the crowds. Nothing. Blast. She knew wandering further wasn't worth the risk of getting separated from Eva. She turned back, her feet thudding against the filthy pavement. She followed the alley Eva had disappeared down. At the end of the alley was a ladder. Azura scaled the rusty ladder. No one else was there.
"Eva, come in."
Static.
"Eva?!" She cried frantically.
The reply was static again, as if it was mocking her. She was tempted to smash the comlink underneath her shoe, but thought better of it. Azura ran around the roof top. She jumped onto another building. Then another. Each jump brought her deeper into the complex alleys and enigma of buildings, which made up Coruscant. She began wringing her hands as she jumped onto another random building. Finally, she sat down. Where is she?! She tucked her head in between her knees and rocked back and forth. No, no, no, no. One of my first missions and I FAIL her. What is she's gone? What could've happened to her?
"It's all my fault," she squeaked.
"Looking for someone?"
Her head whipped up. There was Boba Fett. In full armor. It seemed almost too plain for a legend such as him. He was holding a gun… to Eva's head. Her body was totally limp.
"What did you do to her?" Azura cried. She was on her feet in a second.
She was about to leap towards her, when she noticed him slowly squeezing the trigger.
"NO!" She screamed.
"Then I suggest you do as you told and shut your mouth."
She clamped it shut.
"Who are you working for?"
"You just said to keep my mouth shut."
"While it's open, you might as well answer my question." His voice was icy. He started applying more pressure to the trigger before adding, "I'm not in the mood for games."
"We work for a private company."
"What company?"
Azura swallowed. "Baylor."
He paused. "I've never heard of it."
"Exactly."
He considered this for a moment. "And why were you following me?"
"We were hired to bring him to our client."
"Why?"
"Private information. He didn't specify."
He paused again. "So, you were trying to steal my bounty."
"Actually, he's our bounty."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you're making this up." He looked at her directly. "And, I don't know better."
"No, wait. She's very valuable." Azura clamped her hand on her mouth.
"Valuable?"
"To me, I mean. There's no bounty on her head," she lied.
Azura heard him make a noise. After a moment, she realized her was chuckling.
"You're quick on your feet," he commented. "Don't get in my way again." He ordered sternly.
Azura nodded numbly as he threw Eva towards her. Azura tripped and fell underneath Eva's weight.
"Sorry," she muttered.
Azura quickly checked her pulse. It was steady and strong. With a sigh of relief, she looked up. He was gone. Azura wondered how mad Eva would be once she woke up. This mission was important.
"HE WHAT?!"
"Threw you at me and said not to get in his way… and that I was quick," she added.
Eva had her hands in her heads, rubbing her temples. She seemed slightly frustrated.
"I can't believe this happened," she seethed.
"Well, surely everyone fails missions from time to time."
"Not me! I've had a clean slate for this whole time and then I mess it up." Eva threw her pillow across the room and buried herself within her blankets.
Azura sighed and left to give her some much needed space.
Azura wandered around the piece of scrap metal they used as a ship. She yawned and groggily shuffled to the kitchen. To her surprise, there was Eva. She stared into space, a warm mug of fragrant tea cradled in her hands. She was still in shorts and a t-shirt, her make-shift pajamas. Just as Azura worked up the courage to say something, Eva spoke.
"He's gone."
"Who?"
"The bounty hunter."
