Smuggler Archive
Thread: Night Life Smuggler Fiction
Coronet was dark. But then, Coronet is always dark. Wet too, that night. The rain had been coming down for something like three days straight. The streetlamps' light barely made it through the downpour to lend help enough to see by, and it made it seem as if the rain were repressing some golden halo hovering above the pavement. It didn't matter much, though, my stop was just around the corner, and it wasn't as if I could anymore wet than I already was.
My stop was the Industrious Circuit, a hot new nightclub in town. Mostly it was rich people trying to look like they were into something illegal. They shied away from the champagnes and brandies when they were at the Circuit, and choked down cheap imported ales, the kind they thought a spacer might have if they were just stopping in for a drink. Still, there was a little business to be found in the Circuit. That night, for example, seemed like I would turn a nice profit for a change. But I tried not to get my hopes up. Times had been tough.
The Empire's tarrifs were good for business. Their patrols, on the other hand, were anything but. Three runs and I had lost two cargos spent three thousand credits on a bribe to a scrawny little Imperial officer with buckteeth. I was up to my ears in debt, my picture was all over the Imperial Holonet, and I had angry blasters with angry criminals at the other end of them looking for me. Needless to say I had to find some work, and quick. So when this squat little Zabrak approached me with a middle-man deal, I jumped on it. Low risk, decent payout, and most of all, low risk. The chain of events leading up to that had me thinking that maybe I was losing my edge, falling behind on my game, so I took the job and agreed to meet his client at the Circuit.
I walked into the club and leaned back to let the rain slide off my coat and hat. The Industrious Circuit wasn't much as far as clubs go, it just met the minimum requirements for nightclubs which is dark and loud, past that crowded. But it wasn't long before my squat little Zabrak found me. He weaved through the crowd led us up a spiral staircase to a VIP Balcony above the dance floor. The door shut behind and the drone of nightclub ambience come to an almost staggering halt, I adjusted quickly though and sat down on a nicely plush nerfhide couch.
"Can I get you a drink Mister Farrow?" The Zabrak, whose name was Sala, asked as he hobbled towards the wetbar.
"The local brandy will do fine, thanks." Shows what the upper class knows.
"You're in Luck, Mister Farrow, I ordered a crate of last years stock just last week."
"And they delivered it here?"
"Where else would they deliver it, Mister Farrow? Oh, you didn't realize that this was my club?"
"No, I guess it just hadn't crossed my mind."
"Well, it is. How do you like the Industrious Circuit? If I may ask."
"It's very nice." Sala gave me a crossways glance, I'm told I'm not a very good liar. So I tried to cover it up. "Nothing like the hotspots on Thyferra though. The Bacta Cartels really know how to party." Sala chuckled and handed me the brandy.
"Really, now? Tell me about it."
"Later." I took a swallow of the drink, it was actually pretty decent. "Business."
"To the point aren't you?"
"It's an effort, believe me."
"Surely, we can have a drink before we start-"
"Listen, pal," I cut him off, "I might accept a drink and exchange a few pleasantries, but that doesn't mean I'm your new best friend. I'm hired help. That's it. So you're going to tell me a little more about what you want to hire me to do? Then I'll get up, pour myself another brandy, and tell you how I run things. Then I'm going to take your money, leave, do the job, and disappear. Go ahead and start, Sala. There's work to be done." I could tell he was angry. I could give a damn. My point was made.
"Well," he started in a decidedly stiffer manner than before, "I have a load of spice I need sold."
"What kind and how much?" He tossed three small containers from his coat pocket across the table
"I have about two hundred kilos of Nuetron Pixie, straight from Kessel, mind you. Excellent quality. Another two hundred kilos of Ryll, the quality isn't as good as the Pixie, but the Twi'leks are more than reluctant to let it go, so the value goes up in availability. And around one hundred kilos of Muon Gold. Street quality, street prices."
I looked at the Pixie. It was a decent size for the harvest. The color said it had been bonded at the right time. Ryll had the right color too, but not perfect hue. The Muon, well it was street product.
"How much are you looking to sell these for?" I swirled and sipped my brandy again, looking at him over the glass.
"I want at least seventy-five thousand for the Pixie, one hundred for the Ryll, and the Muon for whatever you can get for it."
I nearly choked on my brandy. The Zabrak was either insane or he didn't know what he had. The Pixie alone would fetch two-fifty in Coronet. If you could get it to a more rural planet, you could make a small fortune off of it...
It hit me with the force of a loaded freighter. Saladidn't know what he had. He was just another rich **edit** who wanted to live dangerously, just like all the people in his club down there. He probably had an easy opportunity to steal it, or one of his customers did and he took it to live his measly little life on the edge for a few minutes. I quickly balanced my bank accounts in my head and came up with the solution to all my problems. Well most of them. Drug money probably wouldn't bring a loving woman who didn't mind bouncing around the galaxy with an old smuggler to my doorstep. But hey, it was a start.
"Tell you what I'm gonna do, Sala." I got up to pour myself another brandy as promised. "I'm gonna save you some trouble."
"How so, Mister Farrow?"
"What do you say to my buying the spice off you, straight up? Say, two hundred and fifteen large?"
"I would say two fifty."
"Two twenty-five, Sala, you know that Muon isn't worth that much. This will save you the hassle of having to wait for me to find a buyer. It's worth that much, Sala, and you know it."
He took a long moment to consider, but finally agreed.
"I'll go get the cash, Sala. I'm assuming you're keeping this in a warehouse in the city." He nodded. "Does it have a port?"
"It does. The warehouse is on the other side of town near Treasure Ship Row, I'll upload the address to your datapad."
"I don't carry one, just tell me." He did. "I'll get the cash and meet you there with my ship."
It was still raining when I left the club, I suppose it was too much to hope for the clouds to break and the sun to come out at midnight. I trudged the streets looking for a public Holonet Terminal. I found one on a dark corner and inserted my credit chip.
"Long distance," I told the machine, "Sorus Sector, Sorus IV, Reid Enterprises." Darruk Reid was the owner of the two shipments I'd lost, I owed him a good amount of money. It was a few moments before anyone answered the other line.
"Reid Enter-" He stopped short of finishing his call greeting. He must have recognized me. "Farrow! You got a lotta nerve-"
"Give me one week, Darruk. One week I'll have your money."
"A week! You gotta put in a little more effort than that, boy."
"It's all I got to give, Darruk. Either take it, or leave it for the Bounty Hunters Guild to clean up. Your choice." I punched the "end call" button and headed towards the Coronet branch of Corellian Financial.
Message Edited by Tych on 07-31-2004 01:37 PM
I stepped out of the bank and into the wet streets of Coronet. Huddled close to the buildings for just a bit of shelter from the downpour, I wound my way to the starport in the south part of the city where I had docked my ship, Black Ice. When I got there I noticed something different about my ship. It wasn't busted up or anything, but it had a pair of parasites that weren't there before. Furry little parasites. Two Bothan CorSec officers stepped down the boarding ramp trying to look intimidating. Well, as intimidating as you can be at one and a half meters. But the badge and the gun was enough to keep my mouth shut, for a second anyway.
"You're ship?" One asked, I looked for his name and badge number. Al'Fey it said.
"Yeah," I sighed. "She's my ship. Any specific reason you fine officers are muckin' about on her?"
"Muckin' eh?" The other one, his tag said Tra'Fe. "CorSec doesn't 'muck.' We investigate. And right now, our investigation says your ship shouldn't be here."
"Well, where do you think she should be, officer?"
"Not here..." he muttered and turned back to look at the ship.
"We've established that, I think, officer."
"Listen wiseass, you're tags don't match the model of the ship, you've got a military grade concussion missle battery dangling from the undercarraige, the armor plating is too heavy for a standard freighter, and one other thing."
"What's that, officer?" Tra'Fe took a step towards me and shoved a boney, furry, little finger into my chest.
"I don't like you, wiseass."
"I'm devastated..." The little CorSec balled up his fist and reared back to deliver a hard right to my chest, or my neck, if he jumped high enough.
"Wil?" All three of us spun to see where the voice came from. Maxi. Good old Maxi. "Wil Farrow? No way. Did you get theIce sucked into a random wormhole that tossed you down here? I can't imagine any other-"
"Lieutenant!" Both Bothans shouted and stiffened into a salute. "This man's ship is-"
"What's going on here, Wil?"
"Locals with a hardon for justice again, Maxi. I thought you taught these kids better than that." I backed away from two Bothans to shake Maxi's hand. "Get themselves hurt like this, they will." Maxi just chuckled.
"Hey! You watch your mouth you-" Tra'Fe was at it again.
"It's fine officers, you're dismissed." Maxi waved his hand towards the exit.
"But, sir!"
"Dismissed!" Maxi gave them a hard look.
"Go on, boys. Beat it." I was pushing my luck, and I knew it. But what the hell, I figured.
As the Bothans left, Maxi put his arm over my shoulder and walked towards my ship with me.
"So what brings you back, Wil? Got a deal? And don't even try to lie to me, you were never very good at it. So you got a deal, no other reason you'd be here. And you were thinking of cutting me out?"
"I swear I was just about to call you, Maxi." Maxi was one of the most crooked cops I knew, but also one of most decent men I knew on the planet. "It was a last minute sort of thing, on my honor, Maxi."
"I belive ya, kiddo." We boarded theIce and took our seats on the bridge, it had been a while since Maxi had copiloted for me, but he always told me it was like riding a bike. We weren't going that far, anyway. "So where are we going?" I told him what I was buying and for how much. He nearly busted my control pannel hitting the launch sequence so hard. Maxi was as excited as I was.
"What do you think Maxi? About five thousand for an escort, here?" He looked at me like I'd slapped his mother, but I just laughed and punched his shoulder. "I'm kidding, Maxi. Kidding! Fifteen now AND another 50 when I get it sold. What do you say?"
"I say screw CorSec pension." And we lifted off, heading to the warehouse.
The warehouse near Treasure Ship Row was close to Treasure Ship Row than I would have liked, but with Maxi as backup, it wouldn't be a problem. We landed inside the warehouse and I opened the cargo hatch. I told Maxi to sneak out back and hide in the crates just in case anything went wrong, but I didn't expect it to. Maxi slid out and I went out a minute or so afterward to find Sala. I didn't find Sala, though. What I did find was Maxi with his hands in the air and a heavy repeater blaster carbine staring at me.
"Hold it," the carbine said. "Move and you're a cloud of smoke and a bad smell." The carbine was attached to a rather young face.
"The money is in the hold, why don't you go up and look for it?" I said.
"Not a chance in hell." the carbine spoke again. Maxi was shaking his head at me.
"Worth a shot," I shrugged. "Sorry, Maxi. Didn't really expect a heist."
"More like a setup." Sala's voice echoed through the warehouse. "Our friend with the blaster here is a bounty hunter. Evidently Mister Reid is fairly upset with you, Farrow."
"You fell for this, Wil?" Maxi was shaking his head again.
"I've had a bad run, man. It's not easy these days, you know. Needed the work."
"Well, I'm glad I tagged along to help. We haven't done this in so long, you and I." He sounded genuinely irritated.
"Enough!" The bounty hunter waved his carbine between us, as if to emphasize it's presence.
"Little wet behind the ears, aren't ya, bounty hunter?" I figured being a wiseass maybe wasn't such a bad thing. "What is this, you're first mark?" He just looked at me, hard, like he was trying to strangle me with his eyes. "Resourceful, kid. Really, setting up a bum spice deal to draw me out."
"Oh it wasn't a fake, Mister Farrow." Sala piped up again, drawing his own little blaster pistol. "I have the spice, and I really was prepared to sell it. But our friend here caught me as you were leaving my club. I figure it can't be bad to curry favors with the Bounty Hunter's Guild and Darruk Reid if I'm going to be in the spice business now. Don't you think?" The little Zabrak chuckled. "Hell of a night life, eh, Mister Farrow?"
"You let this little **edit**, rope you in, Wil? Man, you are gettin' old, aren't you?" Maxi started in again. I just clenched my jaw. "I cannot belive you dragged me into this."
"Give it a rest, will ya, Maxi? Just relax."
"Rest nothin'!" He shouted, "I've got a really big blaster pointed at my head and you tell me to relax!" He was shouting now, and the bounty hunter seemed confused, so I rushed him. I brought my hands down and put my shoulder in his stomach, sending him stumblign into Sala.
"Run!" I shouted. but instead of heading into the ship, like he should have, he darted farther into the darkened warehouse. I had no real choice but to follow.
Message Edited by Tych on 07-31-2004 01:37 PM
We weaved back and forth until we could find a decent bit of cover, and just in time. We ducked behind a ferrocrete pillar just as the bounty hunter opened up with that heavy repeater of his. Bolts whined past our heads and chipped the pillar down to jagged edges.
"Dammit!" Maxi yelled.
"Are you hit?"
"No I just got something in my eye."
"Ah hell, Maxi..." I pulled my piece and started blind firing around the pillar. "You know, that kid didn't even take my weapon."
"Same here." I noticed he'd been doing the same blind firing. "Listen," Maxi said, "I'll lay some cover, see if you can't get around to the other side of the ICE." I nodded in acknowledgement and began sidestepping and firing as the bounty hunter ducked under, I tucked into a roll that landed me behind what I assumed was a crate of spice. I thought I could smell the pungent aroma of bad Muon, but it was hard to tell with all the blaster smoke. I heard the heavy repeater and Maxi's blaster returning fire, but nothing shot my way. The bounty hunter really was new. I crawled under the ship, darting between her landing gear, using them as cover, until I got into a decent firing position. I had a clear shot on the kid. I sighted in a took it. The heavy repeater stopped firing and a gurgled scream started. It had caught him in the chest, and what didn't burn started to bleed into his lungs as he died.
"Don't shoot!" Sala screamed and threw his gun over the crate of spice he'd been stashed behind. "Please! Don't shoot!"
"You planning on shooting the little **edit**, Wil?"
"I haven't decided yet, Maxi."
"Well don't take too long, Wil."
"Please, don't shoot!" He screamed again, this time his hands up over the crate. "Please!"
"Oh alright!" I shouted. "Come on out of there Sala, keep those hands up." Sala came up, taking very small, slow steps, looking like his night life had gotten the better of him. Maxi and I walked over to him, our blasters held casually. "So what do you think?"
"I'm thinking that I just got a bigger cut of the spice racket in Coronet, Wil."
Sala's face turned a whiter shade of pale, of possible. "I'm not going into the spice racket. Not after this!"
"Oh, sure you are, Sala. And I better see a cut everytime you think about dealing in this town. Hell, we got your first deal right here! Don't we, Wil?"
"Well, I wouldn't call it a 'deal' really, Maxi. This is more like a heist." I thought Sala was going to vomit right there.
"Hey, don't feel too bad," Maxi tried to comfort him. "It was your first run, this kidn of thing happens. Hey, at least you didn't turn out like that kid." He kicked at the bounty hunter's corpse. "Could have been worse, Sala, if you stop and think about it." He did vomit then, luckily, it missed me.
We had Sala's Load Lifter put the crates in the Ice, and I got ready for takeoff. As I was leaving, I tossed a credit chip at Maxi. "That's a hundred even Maxi, figured you earned it, I'll be back with another fiftyonce this is sold."
Maxi just smiled and said, "don't be a stranger now, Wil. I like this business. And we'll let you know if Sala needs anymore shipments." He put his arm around Sala's shoulder like he had mine.
I thought of Maxi and Sala's business arrangement as I entered hyperspace. I just chuckled and shook my head. I had a small fortune to make a several problems to solve. Maybe if I couldn't find a loving woman, I could at least find a friendly harlot.
Message Edited by Tych on 07-31-2004 01:36 PM