Last Chance: Myn and Lara - pt. 12


Once he had noted down the oddity of Orine’s behaviour, Myn focussed on his chosen tasks for the day, namely shopping for a few things, and gathering more data for his investigation of the corruption of Corellia’s security corps.

Thus it was that he found himself choosing a streamlined design military boot from the selection at a cobbler shop that Rij had recommended to him very highly. He eyed the selection, and remembered the scuffs and dings that marred the finish of the nerfhide boots he wanted to replace with this purchase.

“Colour, sir?” the wizened older man seated behind the bench asked.

“Black, preferably.”

“And what size should I make them?”

“Men’s ten and a half,” Myn stated, recalling the label on the inside of the boot as it stood on his commanding officer’s desk, like some lonely sentinel tower.

“What size, Officer?” the cobbler asked again, glancing down at Myn’s small feet in disbelief. The young Corellian grinned, shaking his head at the assumption. “They’re not for me,” he informed the cobbler. “They’re a gift for... a friend.”

The grizzled shop owner gave a shrug of acknowledgement. “Alright. Sign here.” He slid the datapad and a stylus over the counter towards Myn. “You can pick ‘em up in a day or two. Usual ‘discount’ for CorSec.” There was something in the way he said ‘discount’ that distracted Myn’s attention.

“No, wait,” Myn caught him before he could slip into the workshop that adjoined the little stall. “There’s no ‘discount’ necessary. Listen, I’m conducting a little investigation...”

The bootmaker was reluctant at first, but as Myn made it clear he was determined to fix the problem, the craftsman eventually proved most helpful to Myn’s investigation. When he left the shop, Myn had a complete list of dates, times and rough amounts in creds or merchandise the extortionists had collected, and an introduction at the bootmaker’s cousin’s clothing store just down the street. He decided to stop in there and ask for her corroboration of the details the cobbler had given him, as well as permission to send internal investigators her way. He lacked names of offending security officers, and hoped she might be able to help him in that regard.

The clothing shop was unlike anything Myn had seen before. Growing up in one of the more remote small towns of Corellia, his exposure to fashion had been minimal, just the flimsi posters for design houses, or the occasional advertisement in local magazines, all of them directed at women. To step into a shop full of fine clothing, designed and made for men, was a new experience for the pilot.

The shop was empty but for two other men, immersed in a quiet discussion near the till at the back of the store. Standing behind the till was a pretty older woman, who vectored straight for him. “Ah, Sir, please, let me help you!” She gave the comm unit in her breast pocket significant pat as she glanced up at him, the gesture sheilded from the eyes of the store’s other occupants, and Myn nodded his understanding: she’d already received the call from her cousin, and was up-to-date on Myn’s investigation.

“Good afternoon,” he said politely, surreptitiously eyeing the two men at the back of the shop: they were probably the reason she was being so circumspect. “I’m looking for the owner.”

The plump brunette smiled at him, her cheeks dimpling prettily. “I’m at your service, Sir. Lasca Terrine.” She offered her hand and Myn shook it carefully.

“Your cousin sent me your way.”

“You must be Myn Jidone,” she answered with a genuine smile.

“Yes,” he replied, hiding his surprise at her use of his real first name. I must have signed it wrong at the cobbler’s, he realised, mentally kicking himself.

She gave his functional clothes a serious appraisal. “I can see why Faro would send you along to me,” she said, another infectious smile taking the sting out of the criticism. “Let me see,” she began, giving his arm a tug, “Something in a medium blue will bring out those eyes of yours...” she pulled him along through the racks and tables of clothes, selecting items from various displays as she went.

They both continued this ruse until his arms were laden with several articles of clothing, and she led him to the changerooms. “Your timing is impeccable, Officer Jidone,” she whispered, “The two by the till are the worst of the bunch, and they’re trying to collect more from me even now.” Myn’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I’ve put you in the closest booth to the till, you should be able to hear everything from here.”

Myn nodded and stepped into the change booth as Lasca went back out to finish with her ‘customers’. He kept playing the part of a customer himself, taking off his shirt to pull on one of Lasca’s selections as he listened in to the coercion taking place.

“Listen, Miss Terrine,” said a gruff voice, which Myn, trained sniper that he was, designated Target One, to keep the two of them straight in his head. He pressed himself as close to the door as possible to better overhear the continuing conversation. “We said before costs would go up if there was any trouble at your place.”

The second of the two men continued, his voice soft, and falsely reasonable: “There’s been a lot of criminal activity in the neighbourhood, and you need added security, so we’d like to get an advance on the next payment, you know, to cover costs. So that’ll be three thousand now and another five on tenth day, just like usual.”

There was a pause, and then Myn heard Lasca’s voice, answering in the same helpful tone she’d used with him. “Gentlemen, there’s nothing I can do. I just paid my lease and I don’t have your payment ready yet. I understand the raise in the fee, but... I just don’t have it right now.”

Another pause, and then Target One’s voice again, heavy with unspoken meaning: “Well, Miss Terrine, that’s unfortunate. I mean, we understand, but we can’t guarantee the Cap will...”

Her again, hurriedly: “Oh, no, please-”

“We can give you till Fifth day, and then... well, let’s just say it’d be terrible if anything happened to the shop, you know.”

“Oh, I hear you, Officer Vassilev. I’ll do what I can.”

“Take care then, Miss Terrine.” That was Target Two, moving away. “We’ll see you in a few days.”

“Certainly, Corporal Starne.” Myn shook his head with a grim smile at the woman’s ingenuity and helpfulness: two names to add to the growing file of this investigation, and the intimation at a third. He heard the door chime as the two men left.

“Officer Jidone?” Lasca called as she joined him. Myn opened the door of his booth and was about to speak but the look of wide-eyed shock on her face stopped him cold. Her stunned expression was soon accounted for, as she exclaimed “You look wonderful!”

Myn was taken aback and had to look down at himself to see what the fuss was about. The rich jewel tone of the blue shirt she had selected for him met his eyes, and he leaned back a step to catch a glimpse in the mirror. She had been exactly right, the blue looked very good on him, accentuating the spacer paleness of his skin, and complementing the dark thickness of his hair. He grinned at his reflection, and then turned back to the shop’s proprietor with a courtly half-bow: “It appears the lady’s judgement is impeccable.”

Her eyes twinkled as she took a pair of trousers down from the hanger on his door and put them into his hand, wordlessly urging him to try on the rest of the outfit. “You heard everything, then?” she asked in a subdued tone, waiting for his acknowledgement before pushing him back into the booth and closing the door on him.

Myn’s grin faded as he listened to the woman detail the various abuses her business had suffered since the extortion had begun, even as he tried on the clothes she brought him and modelled the finished ensembles for her carefully critical eye. He was very surprised to find himself purchasing several items even as he noted down the details Lasca had shared with him. It was a point of pride for him to pay full price, and seemed to reassure Lasca that he truly was not part of the extortion scheme.

He turned at the door. “Thank you, Miss Terrine-”

“It’s Lasca, please, Officer Jidone,” she replied with a smile. “Only they call me ‘Miss Terrine’. It makes me feel old.”

“Lasca, then. And you can call me... Myn,” he replied carefully, remembering to be consistent with his previous blunder. Lasca agreed with a half-smile before Myn returned to his original point. “Your help has been invaluable, Lasca. I’ll do what I can to end this before they come back.”

She gave a sad shrug. “Oh, don’t worry about us. We’ll find the money somewhere.”

“I’d prefer it if you never had to pay again,” Myn replied. Her grateful smile acted like a laser sight on his anger, focusing it on some very fitting targets. Carrying the bags with his purchases, Myn left her shop and headed back to his quarters at the CorSec hostel.

He was distracted momentarily by a bookstore on the route back. A glossy cover caught his eye from the street, and he entered the shop to have a closer look. It featured a clever hologram of a short-legged furred being, dressed in primitive hides and feathers and carrying a deadly-looking spear. As he watched the creature waddled away and ducked behind a shrub, peering out suspiciously. The scene replayed several times and Myn reached out to check the title of the book. As his hand reached into the hologramatic cover, the words of the title popped up in three dimensions: The Galactic Sciences Institute of Mrlsst presents: The Complete Ewok.

A slow, mischievous smile curved Myn’s lips, and he selected a copy of the book for purchase.

“Fifty-eight credits, sir,” the clerk informed him, and Myn raised an eyebrow at the price. “It’s just been published,” the man explained, “Hot topic, Ewoks. After Endor, and all.”

Myn reluctantly slid his chits over the counter for the overpriced book, but reassured himself it would be worth the look on his squadmate’s face when he saw the adorable little primitive on the cover. The rest of the walk back to his spartan quarters was without incident, and Myn tucked away his purchases before settling himself to his next task.

His adopted uniform as neat as he could manage, Myn commed the section head of the security agency’s Internal Investigations, and made an appointment for the next afternoon.

~*~


part 13

Back to main page