Chapter 8

(Vesha)

The sky above had turned the color of bruised plasteel, the last hints of gold fading beneath the skyline. Streetlamps blinked to life with mechanical defiance, but darkness crept in at the edges like a predator. Hovercars sped by and distant music wove its way through the chaos of doors clanging and someone shouting in the distance. The low thrum of people talking buzzed like a Nevoota bee. In the dim corridor of the narrow alley Vesha stood, holding her sister's hand. The streets were busy with people hurrying home in the fading light. The occasional taxi sped by and in the distance the siren of a police cruiser sang out. The stench of sweat, urine and stale alcohol hung in the air. The girls waited for traffic to slow then hurried down the street. When they came to the old abandoned factory they quickly slipped through the gate and disappeared into the darkness.

In the small room on the second floor of the factory Vesha stood at the window straining her eyes to see any movement in the yard below. Finally satisfied, she turned to look at her sister. She could barely make out her sister in the gloom. She heard her sniffling and went to sit beside her. She put one arm around her shoulders and said, "Don't cry, Z. It's gonna be alright." They were twins, but Vesha always felt like the older of the two. Her ma had always said it was Vesha's job to keep Z safe. She felt a lump in her throat at the thought and swallowed it down, refusing to allow the tears to spill over.

Zesha wiped the tears from her cheeks and looked up at her sister. "How can you say that? Ma's dead and we have no place to go."

"Don't worry, I have a plan." She squeezed her sister's shoulders and said, "Trust me." What she didn't say was that she had no idea what they were going to do. She was really only sure of one thing: she had to keep her sister safe. But she was just a kid, same as Zesha, but every scar, every late-night job, every tough call—those had aged her. She wasn't sure she could carry them both anymore."

Vesha reached across the small table and tapped the lamp a few times. It flickered then came back to life. She pulled her attention away from the past and returned it to her present task; replacing the power pack in her blaster pistol.

"We're almost out of those," Krain said. He leaned against the edge of the window, scanning the yard below. Krain was the leader of their small gang. That first night the sisters had stayed in the factory they had been ambushed by a group of six other kids from about seven years old to fifteen. Krain was the oldest and therefore the leader.

The ambush didn't go well for the ragtag bunch of kids. Vesha had come awake swinging and was only subdued after taking all of them out except Krain. He asked her to join their gang on the spot and eventually made her his second in command. Three years later they had matured into quite the band of pickpockets, thieves, and con artists.

"Z should be back soon. She'll have some with her." Vesha replied, her attention still on the blaster. She snapped the power pack into place and clipped it to her belt then turned to look at Krain. "We're low on creds and food as well. You have a job in mind?"

In the corner Z'rellia perked up from her spot on the ragged sofa, her full attention on Vesha and Krain. She was only eleven years old, but already a genius when it came to slicing.

"I have something in mind," he smiled slightly. "I'm just waiting to hear back from Reed and V'ron." Vesha nodded. The brothers were quite the team. They could get anyone to talk about pretty much anything; where their lock boxes were, what rotations the guards took, what type of security was installed, and all without raising suspicion. Vesha had no clue how they did it, but suspected it had something to do with their angelic faces and freckles.

"When are they due back?" Z'rellia piped up in her small voice. She had a distinct Imperial accent, evidence of her early childhood spent on Dromund Kass.

Krain shrugged, "Tonight."

"And Frey and Tymir?" Vesha added, asking about their resident pickpockets.

"I told them not to come back empty handed." He turned his attention back to the window and what lay beyond.

Vesha scowled, but didn't say anything. Krain could be ruthless at times, but it was safer to be part of his gang than to try and survive the streets of Thani alone. She stood and limped to the window. Zesha was more than an hour late. Normally they went out together, but Vesha twisted her ankle on the last job, and an injury like that could compromise the mission. She hadn't wanted her sister to go out alone, but they needed those power packs.

The sound of boots scuffing the floor drew everyone's attention. Vesha pulled her blaster and stepped towards the door just as it opened and her sister stumbled through. The front of her shirt was covered in blood. Zesha doubled over and collapsed to the floor. Vesha ran to her side, quickly assessing the situation.

"Krain, make sure she wasn't followed." She barked out the order. Krain frowned, but went to check anyway. "Lil' Z, get the medpac, quick." Z'rellia scrambled out of the room and was back in seconds. Vesha gently turned her sister onto her back and cut away the front of her shirt. A large deep gash ran from Zesha's right shoulder to her left hip. "Blast it, Z, what did you get yourself into?" she muttered as she wadded up rags and tried to stem the flow of blood. Zesha whimpered at the pressure and tried to pull away.

"Hush now," Vesha said. "Try and hold still. Everything is gonna be okay."

Z'rellia fumbled at the medpac and Vesha growled at her to hurry up. Zesha was losing too much blood. Finally Z'rellia tore it open and pulled out the small kolto pack. "Here," she broke open the pack and pushed the rags aside. She poured it onto the wound, careful not to waste even a single drop. Slowly the bleeding slowed, then stopped. The wound began to knit itself closed as the girls held the jagged gash closed with their hands. It would leave a horrible scar, but at least she would live. Vesha sighed in relief and began checking for other injuries. All she found were a bunch of scratches and bruises. Her sister had been badly beaten.

"Will she live?" Krain said from the doorway. Vesha nodded absently. "Good, a corpse is damned hard to get rid of." Vesha froze, her fists clenched and shoulders tensed, one bloody hand on her blaster. It took all the self-control she could muster not to kill him.

"How can you say that?" she said through clenched teeth.

He shrugged. "Get a hold of yourself, Vesh." He glanced back through the open doorway. "At least no one followed her." He looked at Zesha, closer this time. He frowned, shook his head and turned to leave. "Make sure you clean up all the blood. I'll be back in a few hours."

Vesha and Z'rellia removed the rest of the bloody clothes and cleaned Zesha up as best as they could. Somehow they managed to get her to the couch. Vesha covered her with a blanket and turned back to survey the room. Blood was smeared all over the floor and the pile of blood soaked rags was heaped near the door. When she looked down and saw all the blood on her hands she began to shake.

Z'rellia brought her a towel and said, "C'mon, clean your hands. That's right, deep breaths. You just sit there and wait for Z to wake up. I'll clean up this mess." Vesha gratefully wiped the blood from her hands and sat near Zesha's feet.

"How can you be so calm?" Vesha scrubbed at the blood stains on her hands and clung desperately to her anger, trying not to fall apart. Z'rellia was so calm, too calm. It was like nothing ever rattled her. Vesha took a deep breath and tried to pull herself together.

Z'rellia shrugged. "I guess once you've seen people you care about killed in front of you not much else will faze you."

Vesha hesitated then asked, "Your parents?"

Z'rellia's face clouded briefly then she shrugged again. Vesha watched absently as Z'rellia threw away the rags and mopped up the floor; her mind going through the endless possibilities of what might have happened to her sister. Did she get caught stealing the power packs? Did a rival gang attack her? All she could do was wait and hope her sister would wake soon and be able to answer her questions.

Zesha sat on the couch, wrapped in blankets. Her chest hurt. Every time she moved the new skin pulled at the ugly scar, a constant reminder of her maimed body. She was torn inside as well. Part of her wanted to scream and cry, horrified at what she had done. Another part was smugly satisfied. The warring emotions threatened to drown her and all she wanted to do was escape, slide back into the dark nothing of unconsciousness.

Vesha was speaking to her. She tried to listen, but her mind couldn't comprehend her sister's words. Over and over, like a broken holovid, she kept seeing him lying there on the floor, three gaping wounds in his chest, her arm outstretched, still pointing the blaster at him. That's when the pain hit; her whole body was on fire. There was blood everywhere, so much blood.

"Son of a Hutt!" Z'rellia reread the words on the display then cursed again. "Vesha, you need to see this."

Vesha watched her sister as she slowly rocked back and forth, a vacant look in her eyes. There was nothing she could do for her at the moment. She turned away and walked over to Z'rellia. "Whatcha got, Lil' Z?"

"Look at this..."

It was a news report

Senator's Son Murdered

Early this morning Senator Natol's son was found shot to death…

Vesha froze when she saw the picture of the Senator's son. His chiseled face, perfect blonde hair, that smile. She shuddered and tried not to remember her last encounter with the senator's son. His haughty face looming over them, the gagging stench of his cologne, the lecherous look in his eyes. She turned away from the small display and looked back at her sister and she knew… she knew what Z had done.

Z'rellia gave her a sidelong look, her eyes narrowing just a fraction. "What happened? What did Z do?"

She ignored Z'rellia's questions and walked back to her sister. She sat next to her and pulled her into her arms and whispered, "It's alright, baby. It's going to be alright. He won't hurt anyone ever again." Zesha's muscles relaxed and then she began to cry. Vesha held her tighter, whispering promises she wasn't sure she could keep.