Busted!
Arterik was amazed. "You built your own ship?"
"Well, not exactly. There's a really big scrap pile on Ord Mantell, and one day me and some buddy found an old ship there. It didn't fly anymore, but it was still in one piece."
"So you got her flying again," concluded Cipher 9, not without admiration in his voice.
Rose leaned back proudly. "Yep, we got the kitty back in the air ... where it belongs."
Impressive. Knowing that, it's a cinch for him to disguise a transporter.
"It's a nice story. I would have loved to have been there."
"Well, unfortunately, you weren't," the Cathar grinned.
"No, I had to play in a band, unfortunately."
Rose laughed. "I like you, Art. Too bad you're leaving again. But before you leave, I wanna show you one more thing as a thanks for your performance today."
"One of your engineering marvels?"
"My number two, right after my ship."
I'll bet I know what's coming next.
"That's the lady. Two tons of concentrated elegance and performance."
Rose literally burst with pride as he presented his transport glider to Arterik.
"You can transport more with her than she weighs herself."
Yes, drugs, for example. And solarite.
"She's beautiful."
"Isn't she? I bought her from a dealer for a song and fixed her up. She's solar-powered and fully air-conditioned. I could drive her around Tatooine without even breaking a sweat."
"Can I take a look inside?"
"Sure. But be careful with the interior!"
"Don't worry."
Well then, let's see who you really are, Art ...
"The lady is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. You did a great job."
"I'll say. I hope she'll serve me well for many years to come."
Just like my data scanner ... well look at that! Now just to get the boys back ...
"It's late," Arterik finally decided. "I ... will be going, then."
"I'm sure you'd like to ... you Imperial agent!"
As if petrified, Cipher 9 reacted to the last two words, and moments later looked down the barrel of a blaster.
How could he ... ?
"I must say, you almost got me with your strong act. But how can I say - it seemed a bit too strong to me. First, my drummer quits, and then, here of all places, in godforsaken Anchorhead, a guy shows up to save my evening."
"It meant a lot to me," Arterik tried to defuse the situation, and he had the impression that Rose was losing some of his tension.
"I even believe that. I could tell you were having fun with this. But that doesn't explain why a damn Imp agent is obviously after me."
"It's nothing personal."
"Oh no?"
Rose almost shouted at the agent, struggling for control, but finally he held his blaster in front of Arterik's face. Cipher 9 raised his hands appeasingly.
"What do you know about me? Tell me!"
"I...I know...d...that you supply solarite to the Exchange."
"Well, everybody's gotta make a living around here. I owed them, so I had to get it done, or I would have been done, you know?"
The agent nodded hastily.
"Y...yeah, I u...understand. Is like I said ... not directed at you."
"Don't bullshit me! Whaddya think they're gonna do to me if I don't deliver no more? Or were ya gonna blow the place up?"
Arterik's fright gradually swung to anger, which restored his confidence and reminded him why he was carrying out this mission.
"Yes, that ... was my intention. This Sun Spice business has got to stop, Rose."
"I don't care about any stupid Spice! I need money, you know?"
"Sure, everybody needs money. But you don't want to be chased around by shady characters like that, do you?"
Rose lowered his gun, but kept a close eye on the agent.
"Who would want to? But business is business. Try getting out of it. You know how strong they are?"
"I know their areas of operation, yes."
Rose let out a peevish laugh.
"You don't know anything!"
The Cathar stepped closer.
"Not until you come face to face with one of their bosses - then you know who the Exchange are."
"How much do you owe them?"
The door opened and to Arterik's amazement, Vin and Step entered the room.
"The question to be answered here and now is how much do you owe me?"
"Listen, Rose. We can work this out. I'll figure something out."
"First, I'll figure something out."
"What's up, chief? Something happen?"
"You bet something happened, you bubbleheads. Our Wonder Drummer is a lousy imp agent."
"That's real bad, man."
"So Rub didn't have a stomachache?"
"Yeah, he did. Because somebody made sure of it. Now, gentlemen, let's make sure that somebody gets a stomachache. Hold him tight, Step. My fist wants to teach him a few lessons."
"Yeah! Give him a good whack, boss."
The big and burly Step stepped behind Arterik and took him in a brace grip and also stepped on his feet. After a short tug and shove, Arterik had to realize that they had a firm grip on him. He desperately searched for options. Kaliyo had long since left, no further outside help was to be thought of and he himself had hardly any possibilities to defend himself. Rose brought him out of his thoughts.
"Hey, Vin! Hope you brought your camera. I'd love to watch that show again."
"Sure thing, boss."
"Well, hold on to it. I can't play the drums, but I know my beats pretty well."
"Hey, not so fast," came another helpless protest. "Let's talk about it, shall we?"
On cue, the Cathar rammed his fist into the agent's stomach, knocking the breath out of him for a moment.
"Well, how does that taste to you? I'll gladly let you negotiate with my fist. Because it' s in the mood for talking right now."
Arterik tried to calm the smuggler down, but couldn't come up with anything useful besides groans and coughs.
Yes, he's actually not bad at beating.
"I think my fist says it wants to give you ten good whacks before it lets the negotiations start. So let's see how well your Imps have trained you."
The next blow came, but this time Arterik was able to tighten his abs in time. A muffled 'Fump!" slowed the force of the impact, which hit a little less hard than the first. But his heart pounded violently in anticipation of what was to follow.
"Not bad at all. You've got a little meat on your ribs, Art. Well then, let's see if you can hold out for the next nine."
This was followed by a veritable barrage of two combinations of three punches in close succession, giving his body no chance to recover from the ordeal. He mobilized all his strength, but he clearly felt his body losing the necessary resistance. And he knew that the last three blows would also be the worst.
"Hey Step," Rose called out with a diabolical grin. "Why don't you see if our agent's softened up yet?"
Arterik cringed as the Zabrak's strong hands slid under his shirt and over his battered belly.
"Like a tender piece of cutlet, boss."
"Very nice. Because I like my cutlet well ... done."
As if to the beat of the last two words, two hard blows hammered like battering rams into Arterik's abdomen, leaving the beaten man gasping and gritting his teeth, his face contorted in pain. He knew he couldn't keep this up much longer. At the same time, his mind was frantically searching for a solution to the drug dilemma, not helped much by his screeching guts.
"Unless I've lost count - and I never do - I'm gonna have to hit you exactly one more time. If you're not knocked out after that, you're welcome to negotiate with me again."
Arterik didn't even manage to lift his head to see the fist coming, crashing into the pit of his stomach like a wrecking ball.
He felt the last bit of strength leave his body and when Rub finally let go of him, he slumped to the ground like a wet sack, with both arms around his battered body, crying out in agony inside like a Krayt dragon that had its wings ripped out. He couldn't see Rose standing there with his arms crossed, grinning as if he had just brought not just one agent, but the whole empire to its knees.
" Got it all on tape, Vin?"
"Yep."
" Awesome, buddy," he praised the Twi'lek, turning back to his victim in the next moment. "So, Art ... that was for betraying my trust. Now let's hear what other suggestions you have, and maybe I'll let you go."
After Arterik got his breathing halfway under control again, he struggled to squeeze out useful sentences.
"Take ... a tracking device and ... put it in their ... lab. Then drive ... to the address ... I'm ... about to give you."
"And then? You blow up the store, and then they hunt me down."
"Your car ... you sell ... to old Eli. A friend ... of mine."
"You want me to what? Forget it!"
"You're not going to get it out of here anyway."
"Maybe not. But you know how much time I've put into this thing?"
"How much ... do you want for it?"
"How much, how much! You silly Imps think you can buy anything, don't you?"
"Be ... reasonable. You'll ... sooner or later ... sell it anyway. And I know ... that you ... want to get out of here."
Rose considered, pacing back and forth frantically.
"Sure I wanna get away from here. But I want my girl to be in good hands if I have to give her away."
"She will be. I promise you."
"How sweet of you, Art. But I hope you understand when I prefer to check promises from an Imp before I trust them."
The agent nodded.
"I want ten grand. Half in advance, the other half when the deal is done. And no screwing around, got it?"
"Got it."
"Deal. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to your friend's house together. But before that ... we'll settle your payment for your dirty tour."
Arterik looked at him in confusion, with a hint of fear. Hadn't he been punished enough already? "What are you going to do, Rose?"
"Don't worry, the hard part is over. Or ... maybe not."
The Cathar lifted the agent's chin and grasped his pants buckle.
"Here comes the pleasant part."
Arterik startled as Rose stripped off his pants and stroked the blond's briefs, tracing the outlines of what lay beneath.
"Don't worry, I won't bite ... maybe."
The agent was stared at by two eyes like those of a hungry predator.
"And now let's see if the rumors are true. Whaddya think, Step? Cut or not?"
"Hmm," the Zabrak pondered with a lascivious undertone. "I say he' s still intact."
"What?" cried Arterik uncertainly, whereupon Rose put a finger to his mouth.
"I'm saying cut. I' m telling you he's a real mushroom-headed imp."
Distracted by the strong hand repeatedly stroking his battered belly, he almost didn't notice the greedy hand in front of him grabbing and patting down his member.
"Well, I guess the first round goes to you, Step. Nice trunk, Artie-boy."
While his shocked mind was still trying to realize what just happened, the Cathar's furry hand tugged at his foreskin and pulled it back a moment later. An overwhelming sensation like a jolt of electricity snapped him out of his perplexed lethargy as three fingers touched his most intimate spot.
"Gotcha!" Rose almost cheered. " Guess ya ain't got nothin' to hide now, huh?"
Arterik tried again to protest in vain, but except for moans and gasps he couldn't get anything out. His feeling swung between lust and disgust, overwhelming in any case. Anyway, Rose wasn't thinking of stopping anytime soon.
"Ready for the next bet, Step?"
"Sure thing, boss."
"So - red or purple?"
The Zabrak was confused for a moment, but then grinned mischievously and it was also clear to Arterik what it was all about, while his jewel continued to be rubbed and kneaded mercilessly by the Cathar.
"Clearly pink I'd say."
"I don't know," Rose reflected. "Feels more like red."
As if on cue, he pulled the agent's member out of his underpants and gave a thriumphal "Ha!".
"Told ya - bright red and hot as the rising sun of Tatooine."
And just as red as Arterik's face, which was getting so hot inside he thought he was going to burn. Fortunately, Rose's greedy fingers eased off his throbbing glans, at least for a moment.
"Hmm, looks like we're gonna have a deciding bet on this one, huh?"
"Guess so. What's it about now?"
"Let's see ... guess what? Can our Artie boy keep this up for more than a minute?"
"Well, if you ask me ... he's already overheated like a dewback in midday sun. He won't last another minute."
"Well, let's see how well he can control himself."
And the ordeal started all over again. As an agent, of course, he basically had to expect that one day he would fall into the hands of enemies who would subject him to torture. But this kind of torture would probably never have occurred to him in his wildest dreams.
The interplay of rubbing and letting go dragged on and seemed like an eternity to him. He felt his inner volcano filling with magma and about to erupt. But again Rose played his game and withdrew his fingers.
You rotten ... timesucker!
He felt his heart pounding harder and harder in his chest. No one had ever touched him like that before, let alone down there; not even Alecad.
Aaaah!
The fleeting thought of his best friend finally caused the volcano to explode. White lava spurted out of it and ran down Rose's hand like a pyroclastic flow. Breathing heavily and stunned by the overwhelming feeling that ran through him, he barely noticed Rose claiming the narrow victory. The world seemed to stand still for a moment. Arterik was brought back to harsh reality as the Zabrak dropped him to the ground, grumbling and protesting as he pressed the credits due into the Cathar's hand.
"Take it easy, Stepey. We've all had our fun, haven't we? Right, Art?"
The agent looked at him with glazed, exhausted eyes. He hoped inwardly that the whole thing had been just a dream from which he only had to wake up. But his slowly returning mind told him that the opposite was true.
"Well, that's the end of the day! And remember, ten grand tomorrow morning. Good night!"
With the last word, the Cathar kicked him in the pit of the stomach. Arterik gritted his teeth and reflexively held his abdomen. His body gave one last agonized cry. He fell onto his side. Then everything went dark.