DAY AFTER LOVER’S DAY
M O O D Music: Burn Notice - Senorita
The thing about being a Spy is that you have all the backing of an organization, country, or nation. But without that, all you have is your skills, smarts, and own lessons to rely on. And…maybe a few people who you might consider a friend to back you up when you need a hand in an operation. But, if there’s one thing you realize is that what you wear tells everyone what kind of business you mean.
And Sandra means business…
Rowler, had set up an explosive on a small bridge. He waits with a smoke in his fingers. Callista waits with her sniper rifle in a hotel window a few stories up, gazing over the Club Vain out on the beach front. The back alley of the club is the ideal escape route which she would provide cover as Sandra made her outing. It was planned perfectly…
Finally, there was Sandra…
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A redhead in shades, black dress, killing heels that clack, and a thigh holster to warn those she’s about make a dangerous visit to.
The walk is confident.
The walk is fierce.
Her hair leaves a trail of fire.
The eyes of Mon Cal beach goers on the strip of the hotel’s walkways outside has people looking and girlfriends slapping their lovers.
She stops in-front of the beach bar and smirks a little before going in.
There was one thing was Beryn was right about. That moving on is hard, but she was going to, but you can’t take the fire out of a redhead. This firecracker was going to pop on evil. Her new journey was about to begin, and this time, she’s ready to take on the universe.
Sandra walks into the bar and pulls off the shades, licking her lips. Her gaze darts back to the end of the room where the VIPs sit and they are laughing and looking around the low lit club, the dance zone is lit with various colors and the people on the dance floor are having such a good time, grinding against each other and savoring the beach day.
The fierce woman makes her way to the back and smirks a bit
“Hello, fellas.”
They look at her and look to each other and blink. The boss winces and looks on his datapad… right on time.
“Sandra Mana. The bane of my existence right now. You have my truck. I want it back. Sound good? Or I blast everyone you love.”
Sandra giggles and shakes her head and shows a picture
“You see, your spice truck with the hidden weapons is still in my paws. A shame that you might disappoint your clients, hmm? Tell you what, if you want to rat them out then maybe they wont think you were the ones who cut the shipment.”
“Wretch. You don’t know who I’m dealing with. So how about we just blow your little redhead all over the place and then we go find the stuff.”
Sandra rolls her eyes
“Listen, I didn’t come here without my own plan, alright? If i’m dead, your stuff goes ‘ka boom’ and then you get found out anyways. So, here’s the plan. I’ve already sent the police your location of the shipment. What I do next is up to you.”
They look at the boss and whisper amongst themselves
“No deal. I think you die now, the fish police come and I fry them, and then I go get my truck back. How does that sound?”
Sandra takes out a datapad and presses a button
“Oops… looks like this poor timer went off. I suggest you either wait around for the police or run~”
They look at each other… half run and the other half draw blasters on Sandra. Just as they do, Sandra kicks the table of liquors at them and they shout. Sandra begins to dart out the back door of the club and they get up to go chase her. She presses a button for Callista to make her move as she hops on one of the mobster’s speeder bikes.
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Most people think snipers like to shoot from ledges. The fact is, the best sniper position is inside a room, through an open window. It hides the shooter, masks the report of a supersonic round and makes the muzzle flash impossible to see.
A small red light attached to the side of the hefty rifle in Callista’s hands starts blinking, and the blonde Padawan nods to herself. She takes a breath and leans in to the scope, moving just a little to adjust her aim for the alleyway. Just as the blinking stops and Sandra starts zooming away, she squeezes the trigger as she exhales. A bolt of plasma screams through the air, arcing with gravity and bending in the wind but striking home right into the chassis of one of the other speeder bikes whilst the gangsters start rushing out after Sandra.
The mobsters that try to get into their speeders are met with a sniper bolt ripping into their vehicle. They look around, but it’s pointless. Sandra looks like she’s having trouble starting the speeder and they point at her again…
P’KEEWWW! Another shot rings out and bursts against the wall behind them with a small explosion, forcing them to duck their heads. P’KEEWWW! Another bursts against the ground by the door just as more pour out from the club.
(Kshht) “Having some trouble down there? Be careful, Sandra…” (Kshht)
(Kssht) Thanks, love. Just a little GUAH…" (kssht)
Sandra grumbles at the speeder and gives it a hard kick off and the speeder takes off. Three others get on their speeder and now give chase to Sandra through the widening alley as she makes her way to Rowler’s location.
Sandra gives Rowler a call on her comms.
“Rowler! Take out the small bridge in 15 seconds, ya? Get the ship warmed up, I think i’m coming in hot!”
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ROWLER MOOD MUSIC
The comm crackles to life, the slow hiss of the lit cigarro coming through clearly as the other redhead inhales the smoke from it.
(Kshht) “Roger” (Kshht)
Rowler reaches a hand up to pluck the cigarro from his lips, exhaling the smoke into the open air. He pushes himself off the bulkhead he was leaning on, strolling around to the top of the loading ramp and bending over slightly to glance out across the landing area. After a moment of consideration he shrugs to himself and tosses the cigarro off the ramp, moving inside to warm up the Stormhawk.
The cigarro lands besides a small puddle of conveniently-placed fuel, a long line of the stuff leading all the way off to a bundle of explosives atop the small bridge. The fuel doesn’t catch fire at first, as the cigarro and the embers thrown from it wildly vary in direction. A few moments later though and the cylindrical smoke rolls its way onto the puddle of fuel, igniting it and snaking rapidly toward the small bridge.
Settling down in his comfortable captain’s chair, Rowler flicks on the ship’s comms, tuning them to the channel the trio were using.
(Kssht) “Lotsa sparks and menacing noises incoming, just go right on through” (Kshht)
Sandra ramps up the speeder and makes it past the bridge, just in time for it to pop and with a blast, sends the three speeder bikes chasing her to a halt. One flies off his bike and lets it fly into the burning water.
The speeder Sandra is on slides to a stop and she gets on the Stormhawk’s bay. Just in time for the sounds of sirens to surround the Club Vain a few blocks back.
“I’m on, Rowler!” she calls into her comms
*P’KEEWWW! P’KEE-P’KEEWWW!
A trio of sniper bolts slam past the gangsters in one final volley, one of them punching through the repulsorlift of a speederbike and knocking it to the ground. That done, Callista lifts her rifle and moves over to the case nearby, quickly dismantling the weapon and stowing it away to scurry out of the room - leaving a credit chit tip for room service first.
Moments later, the Blonde is on the hotel lift, casually scrolling through HoloNet postings and chewing some gum while she waits to arrive at the main level and make her exit.
The Stormhawk rises slowly off the ground as the boarding ramp closes and the landing gears retract. As the nose of the ship shifts ever more skyward, Rowler increases the speed step by step. After the freighter is clear of surrounding buildings and with all the grace of a street racer, he slams the accelerator forward, sending the ship blasting forward in a jolt.
As the ship blasts forward, it sends flying the few pursuers who had recovered their senses. The freighter flies low for a minute, strafing the beach before jetting forward toward the starport. A landing pad had been rented out earlier that day, under a false identity and with credits to falsify records. A perfect spot to land for a few minutes to let Callista catch up.
Callista boards with no issues not long after, wearing a bright smile as she skips up into the familiar ship she once lived out of. The ramp closes again behind her, and once more the Stormhawk tears off into the sky.
Sandra comes to the cockpit and pats Rowler on the shoulder.
“Nice and clean, ya? Baddies get reported, their loot gets taken, and a few of them get a few years in jail. Let’s hit some stars and burn some fuel.”
The captain can’t help but let out a chuckle as he adjusts all the necessary controls and devices to propel the Stormhawk to break through the planet’s atmosphere. It had been a while since he had been on his ship, and to think that he would have a job to do with two people close to him right after getting it back? He didn’t believe in fate or destiny, but this was making a tough case against that line of thinking.
“All clear.”
He checks the instruments a few more times over the next minute or so, seeming very focused as he monitors them. He finally lets out a satisfied sigh, leaning back in his large comfy chair and swiveling around to pat Sandra on the arm in return.
“No pursuit, so far as I can see on the sensors. Local chatter from the authorities are focused on the shipment and the owners of said shipment. So yeah, nice and clean!”
A few seconds later, Callista pops in behind Sandra and drops into one of the crew chairs with a grin, spinning in place.
"Stormhawks away!"
You don’t last long as a spy if you don’t trust anyone. If you’re looking over your shoulder to see who’s coming after you, you can’t see where you’re going. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut. And maybe a crazy ex-merc-smuggler and your girlfriend will be those people.
"My name is Sandra Mana. And I used to be a spy."
FIN
