"Mind telling me again why we're here skulking about?" Toryn wiped one sweaty hand on his knee, while gripping his blaster rifle in the other. He wrinkled his nose at the dank smell of the corridors. The place had been empty for years; it seemed the walls were like a magnet for dust and grime. Toryn swore he even saw mildew growing in a few cracks along the way.
Wren rolled his eyes and leaned back against the nearest wall, peering around a corner and staring down the dark corridor. "Cuz the boss said to."
"But why won't he take care of this himself? I mean, isn't he supposed to be omnipotent or whatever?" Toryn didn't catch the glare Wren shot in his direction and maybe it was better that way. Toryn wasn't a very bright human male and he got scared very easily. Wren supposed, if he pointed his blaster in Toryn's direction, the other man would no doubt wet his pants.
"It's not our business. He said to wait here and shoot anything that moves. End of discussion."
Toryn shrugged and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his shirt. Why the man was even on their team, Wren couldn't begin to fathom.
"Boys, how's about you two shut up and just concentrate on the situation? Rumor has it the boss is holdin' a Jedi down that way."
Wren smiled crookedly. Beautiful Daisy D – tall, even for a human female, with a body any man would want to claim as his own. She wasn't stupid either and she had one hell of a left hook – he had experience in that section. The best part was watching her work her weapons. Wren smiled slightly. When this was over, he'd have to ask her to have a couple of drinks with him before retiring to his private quarters in the club. He knew she wouldn't regret it – and neither would he.
"What do you mean, a Jedi?" Toryn asked, his voice breaking.
Daisy grinned. "You know, those freaky people who can do things just by using their mind and shavit?" She shrugged. "I heard we had two Jedi in the club tonight, lookin' for the boss himself. He caught 'em and he wants this one dead."
Toryn swallowed audibly, his face a mask of pure terror at the thought of having a Jedi walk towards them. "But they can use this magic stuff, can't they? I mean, they're powerful!"
Wren threw his head back and laughed. "Ain't no power in the universe that could hold off a few rounds of blaster bolts. We'll just have to make sure we punch holes through him good and hard, got it?"
"But what if –"
"Shut it, Toryn!" Daisy snapped, leaving her hand on the butt of her blaster still attached to her hip. "We ain't got time for your whinin'. We get the job done and go home. Understood?"
Toryn nodded once, knowing it wouldn't be wise to backtalk Daisy D.
"Good. Now be a good boy and don't talk no more."
Whatever Toryn needed to say, it wouldn't have done him any good. Daisy and Wren wouldn't listen to him so he swallowed any questions he had and gripped under his shirt, grasping the small silver pendant his sister had given him. Maybe as a gesture for hope, maybe as a gesture for protection – because he had a very, very bad feeling about all of this.
Leaning against the cold wall, Jaina laid her head atop her knees and closed her eyes. Never before in her life had she felt this alone before. The fact that she couldn't tap into the Force – she couldn't put into words how disconcerting it was. Knowing that, whoever held her caged up like this, had the means to strip her of her power this way made her shiver from head to toe. There was a sudden deep respect for these people welling up inside of her and this time – and she was certain about this – she wouldn't get off the hook so easily.
She glanced at the boy, who was pale as snow as he lay by her feet and slept. Jaina felt sorry for him, felt sorry that he wasted his life with drugs. So many options lay in wait for him, so many opportunities to do something decent…
Yet he wasted away, oblivious to the fact that there would be help for him if he sought it. For a moment, Jaina let herself imagine changing the boy's mind, making him see reason and taking him back with her. Maybe there was still a chance for him but the rational part of her dismissed the thought almost instantly. It was obvious he was too far gone to listen to reason. She'd have to knock him out and carry him back, strap him to a table and wait out his withdrawal. Jaina kept that little plan in mind.
The door to her cell opened silently, bathing the interior in a bright white light. Jaina raised her brows but other than that, she didn't move a muscle. She watched as two armed men entered, wearing black fatigues and both of them held on to their blaster rifles as if their lives depended on it. Jaina arched a dark brow and smiled. "Are those for me?" She asked sweetly, batting her eyes. "Why, boys, I'm flattered."
A deep laugh made her look back to the entrance. She could only recognize a tall silhouette of a well built man – he stood with his hands in the pockets of his pants and she imagined he was grinning at her. "Hello there, beautiful." He said, drawing out the words just a little too long. "I hope you've enjoyed your stay so far."
Jaina scoffed. "Of course! Five star prison cell – the best I've ever been in."
"It's about to get better, sweetheart."
Jaina didn't like the menacing tone of his voice. Gleeful, joyful undercurrents letting her know that the worst was yet to come. The man gestured to the black fatigues and both of them grabbed her arms, pulling the boy along with them. Instead of hoisting him to his feet, they simply dragged him.
Appalled, Jaina tried to shrug her arm free but the man holding her tightened his grip until she could barely feel her skin. Her wrist felt like it was being torn into two pieces – as skinny as the boy seemed, dragging him only by her wrist, it felt like he weighed a ton!
"Make sure you carry the cage along as well." She heard the dark voice say. He stepped aside as the fatigues dragged her out into the hall, ignoring her little grunts of discomfort. She supposed they wouldn't have cared if she's split her skull in two.
"Already taken care of."
"Keep it as close to her as possible. Maximum of one hundred meters."
"Yes, Sir."
Outside in the hall, Jaina squinted in the harsh light, tears collecting in her eyes. The man who seemed to be in charge was tall and broad shouldered with short dark hair and a grin on his face. A scar ran down his eye towards the edge of his mouth – he seemed sinister, almost crazy the way he looked at her. As if she was something edible.
"Behave yourself and you'll live." He said in a low voice.
Jaina rolled her eyes, wincing while the fatigues held on to her tightly. "I've lost count how many times I've heard that before."
"Seemed you listened since you're still alive." He stepped aside and nodded down the corridor. The fatigues hurried their steps, pulling at Jaina's arms while she tried to keep up.
"Could you please get him off me?" She yelled, dangling her wrist back and forth. She risked a short glance over her shoulder – the boy lay on his back and still he seemed to be sleeping peacefully.
"Ignore him."
Jaina scowled at the person in charge. She was ignored henceforth. The one attempt she made to fight herself free was met with brutal force by both the fatigues and the man with the dark voice. Her skin stung where their blows had met and her stomach was up in knots from a very well placed kick to her abdomen.
"Where's your Force now, Jedi?"
Jaina collapsed to her knees, gasping for breath. The man tugged her head back by grabbing a portion of her hair and smiled down at her, showing a perfect row of white teeth. Had he not been such a cold-hearted Kriffer, Jaina might have thought him handsome.
"You think you're friend'll be here to rescue you?" He smirked at her, smacking his lips. "Too bad he's already dead."
He let her go, pushing her head forward forcefully. The fatigues got her back to her feet, while her ears and head rung as if she'd been at a live concert for hours on end. She didn't fight back this time – she didn't see sense in doing so.
Had they really gotten to Kyp? She didn't want to believe it. Kyp Durron was too stubborn to die in such a manner.
Still a small voice in the back of her mind kept asking What if?.
Daisy sighed while raking a hand through her hair. Wren watched her, admired her feminine curves in the tight, leather suit she wore. She hid nothing in her attire and the front was zipped open just enough for him to peek at what he wanted to see.
Grinning like a lunatic, he turned back towards the corridor, hoping that the action would soon begin. Waiting around doing nothing wasn't his idea of fun. He wanted to pull the trigger of his blaster and he wanted to smell singed flesh in the air. He'd made his first kill when he was ten years old and to this day he remembered it fondly. It had never made much of a difference to him – either you lived or you didn't and this Jedi was going to know what it felt like to die.
Wren would saver every second of it.
"I heard something." Toryn whispered, narrowing his eyes and nodding down the hall. "Like a scraping sound."
Daisy crouched down between Toryn and Wren, grasping her blaster in both hands. "So did I."
Wren narrowed his eyes and strained to listen. Besides his breathing and Toryn's annoying shuffling, he heard nothing.
"There it was again!" Toryn gasped, pointing his blaster forward down the corridor. "Someone's coming."
Wren frowned at both Toryn and Daisy. "I don't hear anything."
"Shh!"
Then he heard it too – a scraping sound, as if someone were using fingernails to run along the walls. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought.
Wren stiffened suddenly as he heard a laugh. Toryn seemed to have stopped breathing while Daisy simply smiled, looking forward to a good fight.
"You guys came out to play?" A deep voice asked from the semi-darkness. Wren had to squint to see anything at all and what he did see, made him raise a brow. The Jedi seemed so weak the way he stood there, arms hanging at his sides. No weapons – not even a lightsaber his kind was so renowned for! Well, wouldn't this be boring! A total waste of time…
"You don't have to die, you know." Wren called. "You can come with us quietly."
There was a slight pause before the Jedi answered. "Not gonna happen."
Before Wren knew what hit him, his back connected with the wall behind him. A deafening crack echoed in his ears and, before he slid to the floor, he knew something important had broken in his body. He couldn't feel his legs anymore – only coldness crawling up his skin and settling right beneath his heart. Wren's vision blurred and the more he blinked, the less he could see. The darkness turned into a murky blackness and that's when he realized he had trouble breathing.
From the corner of his eye he saw Daisy fly through the air as if she were a ragdoll. Her arms and legs flailed uncontrollably and her screams made him cringe. With a sudden lurch, Daisy fell to the ground and lay completely still. Wren could see from the unnatural angle of her head that she was dead. What a waste – such a beautiful woman.
"Please…" Toryn stammered, letting his blaster fall out of his grip. "We were only following orders."
Wren closed his eyes and cursed Toryn's cowardice. Of all the things…begging…
He felt lightheaded suddenly and the moment he felt his heart stutter, he knew his time was drawing near. He closed his eyes one last time, his final thoughts going out to no one in particular. Wren died, knowing that no one would miss him.
Kyp wrinkled his nose at the mess he'd made. It hadn't been his intention to kill anyone – he'd only wanted to move them out of the way. He looked down at his hands, knowing that with his normal Force ability, this would never have happened. Inwardly shaking at the scene that met his eyes, he swallowed back bile rising in his throat and concentrated on the man stammering and begging.
"I won't kill you." Kyp said slowly, barely recognizing his own raspy voice.
What had he done?
"I want you to lead me to your boss."
The man nodded vigorously, praising Kyp for his goodness – he snorted at the words – and led the way through the maze of corridors.
