Nico's Gambit

Admirably Persistent Lawman

Not that it really made any difference to Coruscant if it was 1800 hours or 0400, the planet itself looked relatively the same the lower on the totem pole of society one went. This became apparent as Nico and Odette cased the Black Sun headquarters in a very dingy but brightly lit area thanks to the artificial environment at this level.

Odette grumbled to herself. Corso sat behind them holding his head between his knees. As predicted, he awoke with a massive case of hangover. Not surprisingly, he felt like garbage. Surprisingly, he was extremely vocal and petulant about it. He'd complained the entire taxi ride over, going so far as to act like he was going to retch out the window. He'd had to been shushed several times as he complained to anyone who would even look at him about how he vowed to never drink again.

"How are we even going to sneak over there fast enough to make it through any hidden turrets or laser grids with the sun out?"

"Girl, these guys don't waste the money on sissy security like that," Nico said. "They count on their reputation and their numbers to keep people out. Now, you did have a good idea in waiting until now because only the lowest on the low end of the organization is going to have shifts right now. They should be fairly easy to take out. The trick is to make sure to get them all so some enterprising young upstart doesn't get any ideas of sounding alarms to poke the nest of them down on our heads."

During their hour-long lookout, only one or two gang members besides the two lackeys at the front had either come in or out of the place.

"What are we going to do with Mr. Crudo Riggs back there?" Odette said, throwing her thumb over her shoulder.

"We're going to have to haul him along. We can't risk getting him picked up," Nico said, disgust on his face. "Or maybe, we can."

"No, we can't," Odette said. "You know what gangsters like them would do to a kid like that."

"If you say so."

"I do. You get him up and I'll give him a push in the right direction."

Nico grabbed Corso by the ear and hauled him to his feet. Corso had just enough sense to keep his complaints to himself. Pulling him by his arm, Odette followed Nico across the street. Without so much as a 'by your leave', Nico walked straight up to the door guards and blasted them both. The trio paused. No alarm so far. They made their way down the hallway. A blaster bolt whizzed past Odette's head. Nico flattened himself against the wall and Odette crouched down to see if she could see who the fire was coming from. A neatly hidden hallway along of the top of the ascending corridor covered the shooter. She tried to get a shot off but the degree of angle was all to the shooter's advantage. Odette growled.

"Shoot at them again," Nico whispered. Odette raised her blaster and fired off another round. She instinctively ducked as the next volley zoomed over her head, only to hear a cry of surprise as a shot from Nico's blaster wing clipped the shooter. Nico ran up and took him out the rest of the way.

"Coast is clear so far," Nico said, waving them up the ramp.

Odette grabbed Corso's hand and pulled him toward the junction in the hallway. Odette looked around the corner towards the room containing the holorecordings. If they were lucky, then no one would be in the storage room at this time of day. The trick was then to find the right recording. She prayed the gangsters bothered date and time stamping their recordings. The hallway deserted, they made their way around the corner to the storage room. She leaned Corso against the wall using her side and back to hold him there. She leaned over to take a peek through the doorway. It, too, seemed deserted. She was about to run through, when a hiss from Nico made her look up. He frowned, shaking his head. Nico's uncanny sense must have gone off. He held up his hand in his signal for her to wait. She leaned back up against Corso. It was only then she noticed how close in proximity she was to the young co-pilot. Good thing he thought to bathe regularly because even with a slight alcoholic overlay, he smelled good.