When She Was Good

[Molly Black]

Vilen. Well.. aren't you just; she thought, following him to the side of the spaceport traffic.

So, he did know her after all. A rather unladylike curse, at just how much he knew, was muttered while he continued. It was all true. She had been an informant. One of the most well informed, and more importantly discreet infochants that the criminal syndicate had actually. The knowing of details was not nearly as important as the knowledge of who to sell them to, and how to go about it. Her quick thinking and uncommon discretion had earned her the trust not only of the Black Sun, but also that of her daytime boss, Mu Satach - who was no one to be taken lightly. Mu got mad, people got bloodied, or disappeared entirely.

"I could be.", she said of being an enforcer. "Maybe I'm an incredibly dangerous maniac?", she posed.

"That being the case, there's no telling what's in my bag. It could be full of detonators about to go kaboom!"

It was full of no such thing. Frilly underthings, her makeup and a chipped tea cup that meant the world to her, that was all Molly carried around, and she was a little concerned he might not be as careful with the contents as she would like.

[Sev'ilen'sabosen]

Red eyes watched her for a moment, as if waiting for her to make good on the suggestion that she was a maniac. She went on and Vilen frowned.

“If that's true, I should take necessary precautions and throw the case off the edge of the city immediately.”

He turned, ready to stalk away from her towards the nearest guard rail that kept the citizens of Cloud City from taking a long, very final tumble into the clouds beneath them.

[Molly Black]

Giving a belated cry of distress at the very thought, Molly was on him like the color blue. Wrapping both her much smaller arms around his arm that was carrying her bag. She had a tenacious grip on him, even going so far as to dig her fancy heels into the ground, fully prepared to make him drag her along like dead weight if she had to.

"Don't. You. Dare." Her words were angry, but the look in her blue eyes was one of tortured panic.

[Sev'ilen'sabosen]

He stopped, looking down at her with eyes that were a contrast to her own: cool, focused.

“Are you ready to have a rational conversation?”

[Molly Black]

She was ready to rethink her previous plan of beating him to death with one of her heels and making a run for it.

Molly didn't even answer him, just pressed her color-enhanced lips into a stubborn, resolute line, tightening her arms around him further. Shaking her head at him was the best she could muster right now. 'No', the direction indicated, she was feeling quite far from rational thought presently, with him threatening to pitch her bag over into endless clouds.

Already scared of the guy, the threat of losing the only thing Molly had left connecting her to her mother was the figurative straw that broke the eopie's back. If he dropped that, she didn't care if the Imperials caught up with her and tossed her over to follow it.

A shaky little breath escaped her before she felt collected enough to attempt speech. "Please... ddddon't drop it.."

[Sev'ilen'sabosen]

He stared down at her, head cocked a fraction to the side. She might have been looking at him like a wounded animal, but he was almost certain that if his grip was to slip and the bag fell away into the clouds below, she would pounce on him like a feral beast.

“I'd rather not conduct business with you under threat of blackmail, Molly Black,” he paused, the words '...or worse' hanging unspoken in the silence.

[Molly Black]

Being the big girl that she was, Molly could accept facts. Right now the facts just so happened to be that she had no real options here, not without risking more than she was willing to. She really had no idea who this Sev'ilen'sabosen was, or what he was capable of. Until she did, maintaining a healthy bit of fear was advisable. He had the upper hand, for now. The minute he didn't.. well then they would just see about that.

"Give it back...", she somehow managed to force her voice into something calm. "Then I'll...converse rationally."

[Sev'ilen'sabosen]

He did as she asked and held out the bag. It wasn't that he believed her. Vilen saw the sway that the bag held over her. It would have been a simple thing to exploit it, but his intentions weren't to take advantage of Molly Black.

A pair of armoured Stormtroopers ambled up the ped-walk towards them. He could hear the muted crackle coming from their headsets as they shared a conversation, one of them laughing. Red eyes shifting between the two of them and Molly, the Chiss said nothing.

[Molly Black]

She heard the Stormtroopers coming. The crackling sound preceding them was enough to make goosebumps ripple over the skin across the back of Molly's neck like a warning. Automatically, a more relaxed posture came over her. Reluctantly lowering her bag, she resumed her former position, at Vilen's side. Even going so far as to curl her hand around his arm, much more sweetly this time.


"I know how to move information.", she confirmed quietly.

[Sev'ilen'sabosen]

The 'troopers glanced at the pair of them, but if they had any opinions on the woman and her Chiss counterpart, they said nothing. In spite of the Imperial presence, Cloud City remained a melting pot of galactic civilisation.

“I know how to move information,” Molly practically whispered.

“Do you have contacts in the Imperial garrison?”

[Molly Black]

Molly didn't answer right away, unsure of exactly what to say. What she had were not exactly contacts as he meant it. Seemed like the truth worked best in this situation, so she stuck with it. "Not exactly."

Her fingers drummed nervously on Vilen's arm before she continued. "I know some pilots, and a few officers."

She knew them only because of her former employer, Mu had a few favorites that came calling at Bliss, and a few that came calling for her. Either way, she knew which ones liked to drink, and which ones were easily taken in by the right kind of smile. Given the right motivation, they all liked to talk.

"I know a few of every kind, it seems."

[Sev'ilen'sabosen]

He smiled, though the expression didn't quite reach his red eyes. He seemed satisfied with what Molly had in the way of contacts, and the confirmation of his suspicions about her connection to the wider city appeared to ease some of the tension and rigidity in his posture.

Stepping to the side, the Chiss touched a hand to the small of her back.

“I'd like a tour of the city – from your perspective. Show me the sights.”

[Molly Black]

The sights?

Molly Black had lived and worked on Cloud City for years. Seeing the sights was not something she had ever done personally, she was far too busy for that sort of thing. Then again, she suspected the tourists version of the City in the Clouds was not exactly what Vilen had in mind. Something more prosaic seemed in order for the Chiss. She nodded her understanding.

Maintaining her light hold on Vilen's arm, she started forward. "This way..."

There was a heart to Cloud City, at least there was to Molly Black. One place where all paths merged. Where information was distributed from after being modified to one parties interest or another. One place where you could get The Special, and wind up needing the services of Dr. Henning before dessert.

"I'll take you to Cloud 9."

[Sev'ilen'sabosen]

"Wonderful," he said, in a voice that could not have sounded less enthused. Regardless, he was happy to be led by Molly as she set out on what he suspected was a familiar path for her.

"You made a bold move, coming back here."

[Molly Black]

"Not many options for me..", she admitted ruefully.

In many ways, it was like she never left. The same little urchin pickpocket was haunting the doors of the lifts that led to Starport District, although he seemed to be older, at least he'd grown taller. Must be a lucrative spot for larceny. Worried that he might remember 'Temperance Minock' as Molly Black, she did her best to avoid his eye contact, while keeping a tight hold on her one and only bag. The lift doors opened and they were admitted into the car, alone for a few floors at least.

"We're going to Port Town, Levels 121-160. ", she explained, keeping her blue eyes fixed ahead of her on the doors, rather than her completely imposing, slightly scary, benefactor. "It's not exactly glamorous, but it is an infochants playground."

It had been a while since her disappearance from the City in the Clouds. While the 'Who' aspect of information trading might have changed hands, she rather doubted that Port Town itself had changed much.

[Sev'ilen'sabosen]

The turbolift was soundless, though not silent. The soft strains of something that had once passed for music drifted into the car like noxious gas. Red eyes moved quickly over the listings tacked to the car wall, detailing the highlights of what could be found on the various levels of the city. His attention lingered on Port Town.

“You have friends there?”

[Molly Black]

Molly gave the question some thought. She'd had friends in Port Town, sure. Pirates. Thieves. Enforcers. Scoundrels, every one. Were they really her friends though? She had been gone a while, power had shifted. The Black Nebula and it's crime Queen were gone, the assets drawn back into the Black Sun syndicate. People had moved on, gone missing or died.

Did she have friends there?

"I guess we'll find out."