Love and Vengeance by BynWho
Chapter 10 – Person of Interest
Two months ago. Hutta Town, Nar Shaddaa.
Abby entered the dark cantina. The haze of smoke and the smell of alcohol made her head spin. The music was loud, but it reminded her of the Jizz music her mother used to listen to when she was a small child. Her mother would sing along to the HoloNet broadcasts while going about her daily chores, sometimes picking little Abby up in her arms and swaying to the music. Abby smiled at the memory.
Once her vision cleared, she decided on the best vantage point. From the other side of the bar, she would be able to keep an eye on any new patrons entering while watching the tables and booths and looking for her quarry. She couldn't think of a reason for him to associate with thieves and murderers. He was too kind, too honorable, wasn't he? What business would he have here? Surely he hadn't changed that much in a year. Then again, she was here, but she was a murderer. At least, she was long ago. Did it count when you killed for a good cause? All of the lives she took, in the name of the Resistance, their faces haunted her nightly. Abby wanted to believe that the greater good absolved her sins, but the guilt in her heart was sometimes too much to bear. She shook the dark thoughts from her head and turned back to the task at hand. Find Poe Dameron.
Abby sat on a stool at the back side of the bar and ordered a Corellian brandy from the barkeep. The deep golden liquid stung on its way down. The warmth it created in her belly quickly spread to her tired, overworked muscles. Relaxing slightly, she looked around the cantina, taking note of its occupants. She saw Humans, Twi'leks, Sullustans, Rodians, and Force help her, a Trandoshan and a Besalisk having, what looked to her like a heated discussion. Suddenly, the hair on the back of her neck stood straight and she swallowed hard. She could feel eyes on her, watching her every move. She tried to subtly look around to find who was watching her. She never saw the eyes of the man sitting in the dark corner following her.
Already unnerved, Abby jumped when a game of sabacc went sour. Cards and credits flew as a table was overturned. As accusations of cheating were being thrown between the players, a Weequay man walked into the cantina. Dressed like a smuggler and heavily armed, he smiled as he sauntered up to the bar. Abby got a better look at the kit he was wearing. It looked like there were binders, detonators of some sort, and several different sizes of blasters and blades. Definitely a bounty hunter, Abby thought to herself. Tensions in the cantina were high as all eyes were on the man. He simply sat at the bar and ordered a Tatooine Sunrise. After taking a long sip of his drink, the bounty hunter handed a slip of paper to the barkeep, topped with a few credits. "Seen this man?" he asked.
Eyeing, what Abby assumed was a wanted poster, the barkeep grunted negatively and went back to wiping a glass with his dirty rag. Most of the cantina's patrons went back to their business, except for one of the disgruntled sabacc players and the man in the dark corner, who was now dividing his attention between the sabacc player and the bounty hunter.
"How dare you show your face in here, pirate, after you swindled me!" the sabacc player yelled in a deep, scratchy voice. He moved closer to the bar, his eyes boring into the back of the bounty hunter's head. His hand twitched beside his holstered blaster.
"Don't blame me for your inadequacies, scum. You play sabacc like a schutta," the bounty hunter replied without even looking at his challenger. Several of the onlookers laughed under their breath as he continued to sip his drink. The sabacc player, incensed, unbuckled the strap holding his blaster.
"Say that again, friend," the player threatened through clenched teeth.
"I said," the bounty hunter swallowed his drink and set the glass down on the bar, "you are as adept at playing sabacc as a Pervickian dung camel. Now move on, moof milker."
In a flash, the sabacc player moved forward and the bounty hunter was on his feet, bar stool crashing to the ground. Both men pulled blasters at the same time. With a loud howl of anger, the player pulled the trigger, missing his target. The bounty hunter returned fire as he leapt over the bar and found cover. It was foolish on the player's part, considering how many weapons the bounty hunter had on his person. If he was an experienced bounty hunter, the player stood little chance of surviving the duel. Just as Abby was contemplating this very thought, a blaster bolt whizzed past her head and she was pulled to the ground by strong hands.
"Karabast!" Abby yelped as she rubbed her pained backside.
Tables were overturned and glasses crashed to the floor. All manner of people were taking cover or firing their weapons. It was utter chaos. Blaster fire lit the dark cantina and Abby was able to get a good look at her savior. He had appeared from the dark corner next to her to pull her away from the brawl. He had dark, curly hair that hung over one side of his face and a scruffy, dark beard. His heavily-lidded eyes and signature smirk were unmistakable, though.
"P-Poe?"
"Hey, Abs. Uh, we gotta get out of here. Fast," he informed her. Poe grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. Dodging blaster fire, they ran toward the back of the cantina. The bounty hunter screamed, "DAMERON!" and took after the pair, aiming his blaster at their heads. Poe had the good sense to look distressed and reached for the blaster at his side, but never got the chance to pull it.
"MOVE!" Abby yelled at Poe while swiftly pulling her blaster from its holster. He ducked and she shot three times behind them. When they saw the bounty hunter was no longer shooting at them, they slipped through a door to the back alley.
Abby's heart soared. She had found Poe! Now she just had to figure a way to get him to come back with her willingly. Her ship was at least a half an hour away by foot. She was ready to put this town and Nar Shaddaa far behind her. "I think I got him in the leg," she stated. "Poe, why was that bounty hunter after you?"
Poe grinned at her and shrugged. "I've made a few enemies lately," he stated cheekily. A loud crash from inside the cantina quickly sobered him and he reached for her hand to pull her along the alley. "We gotta go!" They needed to get to his speeder to make their escape.
"Wait, you have a bounty on you? What the hell, Poe?" she accused.
"Look, you can yell at me for it later. Let's just get out of here. I've got a place just past the edge of town. We'll be safe there." Abby reluctantly agreed. As they were approaching the hiding spot for Poe's speeder, they saw two Stormtroopers walking in their direction.
"Blast!" Poe exclaimed.
"What are Troopers doing here?" Abby all but screamed. "What did you do, Poe?"
"Like I said, a few enemies. Here, hide!" Poe told her as he pulled her further into the darkened alley. There were no boxes or bins large enough to hide behind. The Stormtroopers hadn't seen them yet, but they were getting closer. In a moment of panic, Poe pushed Abby against the alley wall and kissed her. Her eyes grew wide in surprise, but she quickly closed them, all of her previous thoughts fleeing. His lips were soft and warm on hers. Poe turned his head slightly to check on the Troopers' progress. They were almost there.
Abby ran her hands up around Poe's neck and her fingers grasping through his hair. With his arms around her waist, he pulled her closer and ran his hands up her back. Abby melted into the kiss and a small moan tried to escape her throat. She ran her tongue across his bottom lip and sucked it into her mouth, hoping to deepen the kiss. Instead he stiffened. Confused, she cracked an eye open and saw the Troopers pass without a second look.
At once she realized that their passionate embrace was nothing but a ruse. Hide in plain sight and make it uncomfortable for others to watch them. Oldest trick in the book. Once the Troopers had left the alley, they broke the kiss. Poe leaned in and rested his forehead on hers. He breathed a heavy sigh. "Abby," he whispered, a beat later he stood straight with an aggravated grunt and began to walk away. She reluctantly followed, angry that her body had betrayed her. He had kissed her to hide them, but she had kissed him back thinking it was real. They reached the speeder with no more diversions and sped away to Poe's home outside of town.
After a half an hour, they reached the small dwelling Poe called home. Inside, the pair was confronted by an agitated orange and white ball.
"Hey, buddy! Yeah, yeah, I know. I said I'd only be gone an hour. I'm sorry, but look who I brought home!" Poe apologized. BB-8 stopped his angry beeps and squealed in delight when he saw Abby. He began to roll around her in circles beeping away and occasionally bumping her legs.
"BB-8!" Abby happily exclaimed as she bent down to affectionately rub the droid's sides. When BB-8 calmed, Abby stood up to confront Poe. "What happened to you, Poe? Why do you have a bounty on your head? Why are you here of all places?" The light in the room gave her a better look at him. He had more lines around his eyes and grey was scattered through his hair and thick beard. Despite looking tired, she thought he was even more attractive than before. She shook her head; that line of thinking was dangerous. She was at risk of losing her heart to him again. She had a mission that she needed to complete, bring Poe Dameron home. As he approached her, she realized the affect he still had on her. Her pulse and breath quickened. He stepped into her personal space and she could feel the heat radiating off of him as he was less than a foot away from her. He still smelled like machine oil and leather.
"The question is, Abby, why are you here?" Poe poked his finger into her chest, pushing her back a fraction of a step.
Undaunted, she rose to her full height, chin jutting out, "I came to find you. It took several months of tracking to get here. I lost three ships, two droids, and countless hours of sleep, you know, so the least you can do is answer me. What happened?"
"I needed to get away and have some time to myself. I guess I just pissed off the wrong people along the way," he shrugged. It was a vague answer, he knew, but he didn't feel like he needed to give her more information than that. She had made her feelings known the last time they spoke. Her loyalty was to her cause. She had no plans to fall in love. Poe, on the other hand, had already fallen hard and wanted to settle down. Every longing look, every shared laugh or tear shed brought them closer. With each battle, and subsequently each loss, he wanted to leave the war, to go far away with Abby and just exist. Even when the Resistance won, they still lost. It was a never-ending fight and Poe was worn out. So he left, knowing she would never stop fighting the battle, long after the war was over. He left the New Republic, or whatever they were calling it now, and he had left Abby. It was the hardest thing he had ever done. Until now.
"I don't buy it, Poe. No matter how weary you were, you were always ready to fight, to give it your all. You're as loyal to General Organa as I am. Why did you really leave?" Abby questioned, folding her arms across her chest. She always knew when he was lying, he was a terrible liar. She wasn't going to back down. She needed to know that she hadn't lost him completely when she had decided to stay behind.
Poe stepped back and ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. "For kriff's sake, Abby. You get into my head. I can't eat. I can't sleep. I can't even fly without thinking about you. It drives me crazy because I know I can't ever have you. That's why I came here, halfway across the damn galaxy. I needed to get away. To forget. And here you are."
She dropped her arms in defeat. "I didn't know. I'm sorry. The General-"
"Ah, forget it," he interrupted her. "Just... when morning comes, you need to leave. You can tell the General that you found me. Or not. I don't care. But you have to go. It's not safe for you here."
"It's not safe for you either, Poe. Come with me. We can go anywhere you want. We don't have to go back to the base. We can even go to your family's ranch on Yavin 4," Abby pleaded with him. Bringing up his family's home stung. He had tried to get her to go there with him before and she refused. "I don't care where we go, as long as we're together," she told him. It was a half truth. She still had to complete her mission, but the General could wait.
"I have responsibilities here. I can't just go," he lied.
"You had responsibilities before and you just left," she countered. "You left us. You left me! You never asked me what I wanted. You just decided for the both of us." Tears welled up in her eyes. Her heart, broken, would never be whole again. It felt like she was losing him all over again. How could she make him understand? "I died when you left! I never thought I'd see you again. I... I need you, Poe."
He stared at her for a moment, his hard features softened. She needed him. But for what? Her heart? Oh how he wished that were true. Or she needed him for her cause, her vengeance? Yes, that's it. It would always be about vengeance, never about them. His mind savagely replayed her words to him the last time they had spoken. Nothing is more important than this. 'My Cause' as you called it, she had said. What can be more important than love? He had asked her that very question and she had turned away from him. She had stayed. The moment was broken as his anger grew. She was manipulating him, again, as a means to an end. To get exactly what the General wanted. She would do anything for General Organa, even at the cost of her own heart. And his.
"I can't do this, Abs," his voice broke. "I can't- I just can't."
And with that he turned and left the room.
888
"Abs, wake up," Abby heard Poe say. She was comfortable and didn't want to move. "C'mon, Abby, open your eyes," he tried gently shaking her, but she turned her head and snuggled deep into the sofa. "Abby!" Poe was getting agitated. "Dammit, Abby, wake up!" Poe yelled. Abby stretched with languid movements, purred like a loth-cat, and rolled in the other direction. Just five more minutes. "TABITHA!"
Her eyes shot open at the force of his voice. "Okay, okay! I'm awake!" Poe was standing over her and he looked furious. Abby quickly remembered the conversation from the night before. Apparently a night of rest did nothing to extinguish his frustration at her.
"We gotta go. That bounty hunter tracked us last night," he bit out. He stood up and began putting a few things into the sack hanging from his shoulder. Abby sat up and quickly ran her fingers through her hair. The only thing she brought with her was the blaster lying on the side table. She grabbed it and place it in the holster tied around her leg. "I've got BB-8 ready to go," Poe continued, "You have a ship? Please tell me you have a ship."
Abby huffed, "Of course I have a ship. Unfortunately, it's on the other side of Hutta Town." She stood and looked around for anything else they might need. One of the perimeter alarms Poe had set up went off. Panicked, they spoke at the same time.
"Do you have something faster than that speeder?"
"My speeder bike's out back."
Abby grinned at Poe, grateful that they were still on the same wavelength after all this time. They scrambled through the back door. Poe's speeder bike was waiting, just like he'd said, and BB-8 was already strapped to the side. Poe hopped on while Abby took a seat behind him. He started the engine and they took off just as the bounty hunter pulled up to the dwelling.
Spotting the two making their escape, the bounty hunter quickly followed. Blaster pulled, he aimed at the woman sitting behind Dameron and fired. Though the ride was bumpy, he had no intention of allowing his quarry evade him in this time.
The first blaster bolt narrowly missed Poe's head. The second shot hit the side of the bike. Having nearly been blasted, BB-8 squealed his disapproval. "I got it!" Abby yelled as she pulled her blaster and twisted her body to take aim. One hand grasped at Poe's waist while the other held her blaster as steady as possible behind them. She fired several times, only once missing her mark. The bounty hunter had been hit in the shoulder and dropped his blaster. Before Abby could face forward, she saw him pull a longer blaster rifle from the seat next to him. He stood and raised the rifle to take aim while his knees held the wheel steady.
"Blast, Poe!" Abby called. Poe looked behind them and hit the brakes on the speeder bike. They decelerated rapidly and the bounty hunter zoomed past them. Once they were behind, Poe released the brake and accelerated toward their adversary. Abby extended her arm over Poe's shoulder, blaster in hand, and fired on the bounty hunter's speeder. She hit the back engine dead on and the speeder died on the spot. Quickly jumping out, the bounty hunter managed to escape as his speeder swung around and crashed. Abby and Poe heard a frustrated scream as they sped past him and looking back, they saw the smoke of the wreckage. Poe gave a loud whoop, "You've still got it, Abs!" He turned around to give her a smile before speeding on to the coordinates Abby had given him.
It was almost midday when they reached the field where she had parked her ship. "Is that a VCX-100? Like the one General Syndulla flew at Endor?" Poe was in awe. He'd never seen a working model.
Abby climbed off the back of the speeder and made her way to open the entrance ramp. Poe released BB-8 from his harness and set him on the ground. "It is," Abby finally answered. She spun toward him and gestured toward the ship. "Poe, meet the Endeavor."