Jana Cruz flicked a cigarette on the table in front of her, in her other hand scrolling through the PDA given to her Callahan on Malta. The mission was simple enough, go to Tau 29 and meet up with one of his old goons, in some slightly formal manner to say the least. It seemed easy enough for Jana. The tau's were quiet enough nowadays with Gallia's continuing advance into Bretonia and Liberty. It finally brought relative peace and allowed the Outcasts to resume their reign on piracy in the region. Almost poetic, but as Jana finished her cigarette she realized nothing was poetic in the world she came from, she stepped out of the bar through the station. Getting into her issued rapier, and went out into the always cold, always unforgiving abyss.
Jana liked to keep this in her mind constantly, that humans were just like space: cold, violent...
Freeport 6 certainly hadn't changed in the time Jana had been through it, although a vibrant bar kept her in high spirits. There were a lot of people in the bar, Jana still had no actual idea what the person she was looking for actually looked like, but still... surely Callahan informed her contact of who they'd be meeting.
It was only time to bide, Jana sat down, lighting another cigarette after the flight from Tau 23, thinking to herself that she silently needed to quit, then chuckled to herself as she remembered where she came from. Jana figured the time had come and she should actually cut down to business, she remembered Callahan's words about the bartender and how they were the key to the meeting. She shrugged and walked up to the bar, smiling coyly as the bartender noticed her presence.
"So, do you know a Harry Callahan? Killer guy from Cambridge?"
For a drug dealer, Jana was rather socially inept
The bartender nodded, quickly taking her behind the "EMPLOYEES ONLY PAST THIS DOOR" sign from the grimy setting of the bar to an immaculate conference room even Interspace Commerce would drool over. In the back of the room sat a single individual, making eye contact with Jana. As the door silently closed behind her Jana cleared her throat, taking in the individual.
"Nice place you got here, swankier than even the swanky bar."
Jana really hoped Callahan wasn't getting her killed
With all the grace and fluidity of a hibernating bear, the figure stood- a man nearly as tall as the ceiling was high, and bearing what looked to be multiple prison tattoos all across his arms and chest, visible only because of a partially opened vest. The man eyed Jana intently, moving around the table to within arms-reach of Jana before speaking- never breaking eye contact.
"Miss Deacon has been expecting you. You will remain here until she arrives. Make any moves against her or anyone else in this bar, and there will be no warning shots, no vague threats. You will simply cease. Do you understand?"
As he was finishing, a second figure came in through a separate door than the one Jana entered - a woman, smaller and quicker in her step than the other. Dressed in a white jacket about two sizes too large for her with its collar popped, a black flight-suit and a navy-blue sling holding her left arm in-place. Silky silver hair flowed down from her head, framing her face, somewhat unkempt and appeared to be long enough to reach her waist if it wasn't tied and hanging over her left shoulder. Despite the silvery-white coloration, much of the ends of her hair seemed to be darker in tone- likely formerly dyed although the black color it clearly was at some point previously has all but faded away.
Halfway to the end of the table, the woman looked in Jana's direction, pausing for a moment before speaking in a slightly annoyed tone.
"No need to roll out the threats, Tony. I can take it from here. Wait outside."
With only a moment's hesitation, this 'Tony' turned and headed through the door Jana came in, slamming it behind him. The woman sat, saying nothing while flipping through a datapad held by the arm still in the sling, casually flipping through a number of files. Eventually, she exasperatedly dropped the pad on the table, rubbing her eyes with her free arm before resting her elbow on the table in front of her and finally addressing Jana directly.
"If Callahan sent you then you probably already have a decent guess who I am so I'll save us both the trouble of guessing-games: I am Erika Espinosa - yes, that Espinosa, and you'll forgive my precautions with Tony out there: the last time I dealt with anyone directly from Malta after I took my leave of the world, I got to expereince the ever-wonderful feeling of being tossed out of a window about 3 stories up from the closest available approximation of the ground."
Another pause before she spoke up again, now seemingly more relaxed as she leaned back in the chair.
"Guess that's what I get for putting a famiglia Don in the ground -- hm.
And I take it you're not one of the few remaining Maltese that want me dead, all the rest have spent the past 2 years getting over that particular little grudge or trying to get me killed and failing. If you were, Callahan wouldn't have trusted you with this assignment."
She leaned forward again, tapping the datapad again a couple of times before returning her attention back to Jana
"So, what all exactly did he tell you?"
[ sci·am·ach ]
/sīˈamək/
A simple, angry man casually working his way through life on a personal quest to acquire copious amounts of street cred.
A silent penny dropped in the air the moment "Erika Espinosa" dropped in the room.
This was somebody Jana idoled for a long time, the leader of the infamous (at least in her mind) Crimson Cross were a force that aligned with Jana's aspirations to a complete tee, and meeting this "friend" of Callahan's who just so happened to be an ex-leader of the primary Maltesian fleet, with an image of force and upholding their beliefs with assets such as their mighty Naxxar...
Jana thought she was getting a bit off track here...
She straightened her jaw and composed herself to look some better form of presentable to her idol
"He uh, didn't tell me much else than to pick up some 'package', whatever he's talking about I don't know, I'm not particularly up there yet to know the intricacies of these matters. I'm here though on his behalf, as he's very busy back on Malta working together his own schemes. But yeah... he sent me for a 'package' of some descriptor, one I hope won't kill me I suppose?
Espinosa sat quietly; eyeing Jana up and down as if uncertain for just a moment before reaching into the left side of her jacket. Albeit with some difficulty due to the sling, from within she produced a small data-drive, no longer than a pen and only slightly wider and boxier. Imprinted on the side was a small gold and black logo, somewhat indistinguishable due to fading and distance,
"The package itself wont kill you. You running with it in hand however, very much may.
Some old friends of mine and a few lesser-known heroes known mostly to those plying the Cardamine haulage-routes had a bit of a project a long time ago. That project's borne fruit was given as a gift to the Cross a long time ago in exchange for some help with repairs, and could've been a more common sight around Maltese airspace if things hadn't gone the way they had roughly two years back. This drive, is that exact gift- one of two duplicate drives we received and something I carried with me into my self-imposed exile. With where I am now and where I'll be for the time being, holding onto both of them doesn't benefit anyone and is of very little use to me."
She planted the drive down on the table, sliding it across until it came to a stop just short of the edge of the table, in front of where Jana was.
"But to Callahan, and to the families within Amalfi, well- that's a very different story. Exactly what is on the drive is something I'll let be a surprise for now; Harry will no doubt let it be known once he has his grubby little mitts on it. Just know: the Directorate has some work coming up in its future. "
[ sci·am·ach ]
/sīˈamək/
A simple, angry man casually working his way through life on a personal quest to acquire copious amounts of street cred.
Jana glared at the package on the table, timidly reaching out for it and securing it in her hands.
What was in Jana's hand was clearly very important to Callahan and Amalfi's future, she felt honored but... still strange over how Espinosa tied into all of this, Cross had grandfathered assets and intelligence over to Amalfi, this much Jana knew, but just what role Espinosa played in this was a trivial pursuit
Jana should probably just thank Espinosa and go
"The family in Amalfi is indeed a situation that could... depend on this. Callahan sent me out here to retrieve this, I honestly had no idea you were even alive, and here you are giving this to us. I won't go as far to pry into the package or your personal feelings on this, but even aside from Callahan and official business, I do want to thank you Espinosa. It's been a pleasure and I do hope we can continue to see you."
...
Jana held the drive in her hand and looked at Espinosa, resolve in both of their eyes
"Circumstances child, circumstances dictate my place be here of all places. We'll see how things go from here. "
Espinosa adjusted the sling around her neck, standing and gesturing Jana towards the door she came from, then herself departing through the second door.
Later, by the docks, she watched as Jana's vessel flew off from the station's launch-bay, observing it's course towards the upper Taus before fading from view moments later, leaving only a bright dot among the stars from her engine exhaust. She silently stood on the docks, contemplating for a moment as the regular hustle and bustle of the freeport's populace droned on behind her, paying her no mind as she stood at the terminal. Her hired gun, Tony, approached her; his stern expression visible in the reflection in plexi-glass window the pair of them stood before.
"Anthony placed the tracking beacon in her hold, and I've sent word to Callahan that his agent has the package, along with the beacon's transponder. If she runs with it, she wont get far.
He shifted his considerable weight around for a minute or so, stretching an arm and generally loosening up while Espinosa stayed silent. The pause persisted for a little while longer before he spoke again.
"And I can't exactly do my job if you send me out of the room m'am."
"It was a calculated risk. What few fanatics really did want me dead for putting three rounds in Olmos stopped sending people after me months ago. This was just to see if Callahan had turned or been turned. Seeing as I'm not riddled with holes or poisoned at the moment, I'd say I'm probably as close to 'in the clear' as I'm ever going to be. "
"So if you go back, whats to stop them from getting to you or.. her once you're back?"
Erika inhaled, calming herself for a moment after processing and momentarily panicking in response to what Tony had just suggested. The first possibility was a concern, but the second was a significantly larger one.
" I cant stay away forever. You know that.
Callahan's still a supporter of mine. With this transaction, he'll likely have the leverage he needs to convince both the Varela twins that I'm worth keeping around. If he can do that, I'll have enough protection within Amalfi to deal with Olmos' old fanbase."
"You think they'll let me back?"
"The only reason you had reason to fear for your life Malta-side was because you busted the face of some rookie who had connections. I assassinated a political and military strongman. Big difference there buddy. "
She went back to staring off into the stars, contemplating for a moment longer before turning her attention back to her attendant by her side. She pulled out her datapad, flicking a few windows away and opening a file, one that covered half the screen in sequenced numbers and letters.
" In the meantime however, we have work to do. Here's the access codes, get the Delphi prepped- and alert the crew that we're getting ready to launch. " Punctuating her sentence, she shoved the pad into Tony's torso, letting him walk off with it as she watched. The events of the day were something to behold, and something to celebrate. It was no mere transaction, she knew that much. No, this was the beginning of something. Something far more important than just the datadrive.
[ sci·am·ach ]
/sīˈamək/
A simple, angry man casually working his way through life on a personal quest to acquire copious amounts of street cred.
![[Image: maxime-delcambre-bar-sci-fi-by-maxime-de...1444418898]](https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/covers/images/001/300/979/large/maxime-delcambre-bar-sci-fi-by-maxime-delcambre.jpg?1444418898)
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