Crosshair surveyed the apartment room. It was small, nothing beyond extravagant, and was bound to be uncomfortable. Four beds with their legs bolted to the floor sat solemnly in two crisply covered pairs, facing each other on opposite sides of the room. A wide window on the back wall overlooked the same structure-infested view that every high-rise window in Coruscant saw.
Crosshair started forward as the others crowded behind him. He claimed the far bed on the left wall before Tech could steal it by chucking his pack over the mechanic's head to land on the mattress. Tech frowned over his shoulder and altered his course with a slight skid to the bed facing Crosshair's.
The carpet might have been comfortable once, but now it was hard and dingy, its fibers flattened down by a million feet over a million years. Crosshair knew Tech would squawk about the blatant inaccuracy of that mental observation, so he kept his mouth shut and folded his arms.
Hunter took the bed alongside Crosshair's, and Wrecker plopped himself down on the one facing the sergeant the instant he reached it. The bed gave an alarmed squeak, and Hunter sighed.
"Wrecker, try not to break the furniture. This is someone else's property."
"Yeah, but it's ours for now!" Wrecker grinned.
Tech removed his boots and stored his datapad under his pillow. "Technically, it is not. We are merely using this location as temporary living quarters."
Crosshair stuffed himself into the far left corner of the room and gazed darkly out of the window. Hundreds of transports whizzed by, shooting past beneath them, above them, over them and below them. The best places to hide were always in the crowd, and the Bad Batch was stuck, encased in a metal tower that could neither move nor be moved.
"I'd rather live in the Marauder," Crosshair growled.
"I know," said Hunter. "But we can't stay on a docked ship for two months."
"Yeah, this'll be fun!" said Wrecker. He moved to the small caf machine installed in the wall by his bed, and cheerfully made himself a cup of it. The scent was mildly calming, though nothing else about this situation was.
Tech hopped onto his bed, crossed his legs and leaned forward. "I do not know how much 'fun' will play into this, Wrecker."
"It's different," suggested Hunter amiably.
Sergeant Peacemaker strikes again.
Tech held up a hesitant finger. "True. It should provide some interesting -"
"It stinks." Crosshair pushed himself away from the wall and started to pace between the beds. "We're stuck here until Commander Cody decides - "
"Technically, only two months," said Tech.
Crosshair glared.
"Until Commander Cody decides," he continued precisely. "Our current assignment is ridiculous at best, and we have nothing to work with!"
"Not nothin'..."
Crosshair jerked his gaze to Wrecker. "What then?"
Wrecker shrugged and scratched his head. "Commander Fox said the contact was here, but didn't live here."
"What are you getting at?" Hunter asked.
"Well," said Wrecker, so hesitantly it irked Crosshair to where he wanted to snap, 'Just spit it out!'
He clamped a toothpick between his teeth instead, but couldn't contain snorting in irritation nd folded his arms. He felt Wrecker's gaze following him as he stalked back across the room to hide against the wall.
"That contact came here," said Wrecker. He took a long swig of the steaming caf, and his eyes bugged out, making Crosshair momentarily forget his ill humor. Wrecker coughed and flapped his hand in front of his open mouth for a few moments before continuing. "Like us. He'll be staying somewhere." He grimaced and gingerly touched his tongue before shrugging and draining the cup.
Tech bounced off the mattress and snatched up his datapad so fast it nearly frisbeed. His fingers tangled about for a moment as he scrabbled to reclaim his grasp on the device, then he sat back and began typing as if nothing had occurred. "I think I understand what you are getting at, Wrecker. I will attempt to gain access the security feeds from all the docking ports. It shouldn't take long."
Hunter gave him a disbelieving look, and Wrecker nodded.
Crosshair mentally snarled. He could see no connection at all. Fox had already told them the CG had narrowed down the contact's possible locations to one area of Coruscant. However helpful that was… It might as well have been nothing at all.
He tossed the conversation with Fox from one side of his brain to the other while Wrecker mimicked the motions of those thoughts with the empty caf cup. The brawler flipped the cup around, considered it from one angle, then turned it over to look at it from the reverse. He looked up when Hunter pushed himself off the bed he'd claimed. Hunter began to pace.
Crosshair, apparently tired of cramming himself into a corner too small for him, flopped dispiritedly down to lounge on his bed, and Tech spoke up, straightening on his perch.
"I will need more to work with before this goes anywhere…" he said. "So where do we begin, Hunter?"
Hunter spun on his heel, the strain of thought with no data making him agitated. He snatched the cup to halt Wrecker's fidgeting, but paused a few steps away. He considered the cup.
"It's empty," he muttered.
Wrecker nodded too sadly to be sincere. "Yup. I drank it, Sarge."
Hunter handed him the cup. "Then I don't want it."
He sank back down to the mattress and stuffed his face into his hands. No one spoke for a long moment, and after a full minute of silence, Hunter raised his head and glanced about at his teammates. "Any ideas?" he asked. "I could use some suggestions, you know."
Crosshair slipped a second toothpick into his mouth alongside the first. "No, really? We couldn't tell."
"C'mon, be helpful, Cross," said Wrecker. "I'm tryin', Hunter. But we don't even know what this guy looks like!"
Tech smiled. "Oh, but someone does."
"What do you mean?" said Hunter.
Tech scooted forward until he was almost sliding off the edge of the mattress and rested clasped hands across his knees. "You said it yourself, Wrecker. This Dren'Mal is not a citizen of Coruscant."
"One would assume," said Crosshair. "What's your point? We've been repeating the same handful of facts that we do know for over ten minutes now!" He slumped.
Hunter flapped a hand. "Quiet. Let him finish."
Tech watched the exchange without so much as blinking, then primly adjusted his goggles. "What I mean is, someone has seen him. He wouldn't have brought a personal shuttle."
"That's what I wanted to say!" Wrecker cheered.
Hunter snapped his fingers. "Transports."
Tech nodded. "Exactly. Even if we don't know where he is on Coruscant physically, there is one place we can find him."
Crosshair stuck in a third toothpick. "Where, exactly?"
Tech smirked. "The network."
Hunter started pacing faster. "Aaand...the person he contacted directly before cutting all his sources!"
Wrecker frowned and smashed the disposable cup. "Who?"
Hunter steepled his fingers. "Senator Amidala."
Crosshair slid off his bed and stalked up to the group. "Sounds like you have a few ideas, Hunter. What's the plan?"
Hunter waved Tech over and folded his arms. "Tech, get into the camera feeds and transportation logs. Find out where Dren'Mal docked and see if you can follow his tracks from there."
"Copy that," said Tech, already tapping away at his datapad. "It could take some time, considering that I have no visual data to work with, so I suggest you get comfortable."
"Great!" Wrecker laughed.
"Not us," said Hunter.
Wrecker slouched. Crosshair smirked and got smacked on the arm for it. The sniper staggered sideways, tripped over the edge of one bed and tumbled to the floor with a crash. Hunter ignored them both and continued.
"We've got our own jobs to complete. While Tech gets into the system, I'll see if I can speak to the Senator – get us more information than Fox was able to give us."
Crosshair untangled his limbs and swayed to his feet. "How are you going to get in? An appointment?"
Hunter smirked. "Infiltration. Wrecker? Crosshair? Your job is to go collect info."
"What info?" Wrecker asked.
"Anything," said Hunter. He looked from Crosshair to Wrecker, meeting each of their gazes. "People generally know more than they're supposed to in one area or another. Anyone new attracts attention. Anyone arriving has to contact someone to get anywhere. And if there were any agents working on this end, they're darn lousy. Why haven't they communicated the information to their contacts by now? I think this guy is working alone."
Wrecker nodded, then frowned again. "How do we get info?"
"Listen," said Hunter. "Just listen. Get into conversations with the locals. Not too deep in, but deep enough that they start spilling. People with secrets can't wait to tell 'em. Think you can handle that?"
Crosshair sauntered to the door. "No problem, Sarge. We're pros at hearing things we're not supposed to."
Hunter nodded. At least there was something for his sniper to do now. Crosshair never did well with being stumped. "Good. Ah - wait a minute. Better change into civvy garb. Remember what Fox said."
Crosshair's frown topped Wrecker's by twenty points, and he declared that he hated losing his armor in exchange for 'flimsy scraps of ill-matching material' and Wrecker's only complaint was that there was nowhere to store his "special" explosives.
Tech's nose was glued to his screen, but he flapped a hand frantically as Hunter moved to leave. "Remember, no military interference. We should not remain in these outfits if we are to be seen in public."
Hunter heaved a patient breath. "Yes, Tech. I already reminded them of that."
Tech looked up and blinked. "Oh," he said, and returned to his work.
Crosshair sniffed. "I refuse to go shopping."
Hunter reversed his turn and looked at Wrecker. Wrecker stood, the bed squeaking loudly once more as he got up.
"I'll do it!" said Wrecker. "Good place to start listening in on stuff, huh?" He gave Crosshair a solid thump on the back, making him stagger.
Crosshair chewed his toothpick harder as Hunter turned back.
"Wanna go with him?"
The wood split. "No."
Hunter smirked and shrugged. "Just so as you'll be fine with whatever he brings back..."
Crosshair shoved away from the wall and joined Wrecker in two strides. "If I have to go shopping, my stuff is coming on my terms." He frowned at Hunter. "Satisfied?"
"For now," said Hunter.
