CRACK!

Another punch another rib broken.

All measure of sickening noises eminated from this dimly lit room in the small hours.

Tonight was no exception.

Jev Hadaar, a small time shopkeeper sat, bound, bloodied and beaten to a chair, under a solitary swinging lightbulb.

"Now Mr Hadaar," Whispered Mevris, "I really don't want to have to tell you again. And when I ask you, please tell me, who the @#%$ are you selling drugs for?"


The bruised little man raised his head, and spat a ball of blood and saliva into Mevris' face.

"Ha, cute, very cute."

CRACK!!!!

Another rib gone.

Mevris grabbed the shopkeeper's chin in a pincer like grip, pulling his jaw close, so he could stare him in the eye.

"Tell me, where the @#%$ are getting your @#%$ from? Uh? Which @#%$ is supplying you?"


Silence


"Fair enough mr Hadaar."

Mevris unholstered his blaster and release a laser bolt into the poor man's leg. He screamed out in pain, biting his own tongue. Blood began to flow freely from his mouth, dripping fluidly to the concrete floor.

"If you wanna keep your other leg, tell me who the @#%$ you're workin' for?!"


"Alright!!!"Yelled Hadaar. "Alright. I'll tell you. I get the stuff from a man named Danfe Midis. He's a big time player around the industrial district. Smuggling drugs in and out in transports, that kinda stuff.

Hey listen man, he only used my shop as a front. I had no choice, he said he'd kill me.

You . . . you gotta' belive me Somir, you have to, please?"


"Oh, I believe you Jev, I believe you."

BLAM!!!


The smoking head of the recently deceased shopkeeper dropped to the floor, in a melee of spattered blood and sizzling tissue.

"Bruno, run me a bath.


And clean this @#%$ up."

Mevris 'the vice' Somir. A nickname gained through his dealings with those unfortunate enough to piss him off.

Placing a man's head into a vice and slowly turning till the point of fracture incured a tremendous amount of personal satisfaction for Mevris. Possibly a trait that rubbed off from his father, Meschi.

Gaining a nickname known through an entire galactic sector let alone a planet was no easy feat. Also gaining a reputation that was as similarly feared as a nickname was the hardest part of all.

Unlike some of his other family members, who's reputations were such that they didn't have to back them up, he openly flaunted his wealth and inate preference for violence.

Nevertheless, the public knew that the front of intimidation was no mere facade. The Vice could brutaly back it up.




Drugs were the mainstay of public life.
Be you of the highest galactic standing, or the lowest common denomination, everyone was a potential customer.

On coruscant, the demand for recreational substances were probably the highest in the galaxy. If a man applied his trade correctly, his possibilities would become endless.

The one man who had been plying his trade correctly this far was Danfe Midis, a man who's wealth went beyond money.
The legendary drug baron of the core had a hand in every sector of life. The local authorites, the Mining guild, even the occasional hutt were under his thumb. Senators and politicians were never far out of his reach. Legend had it that he had connections in the highest reaches of Empire's elite. A frightening thought.

Frightening to most, but not Mevris.

Unlike the petty drug peddlers and insignificant cartels that swarmed the streets, Mevris didn't just want a piece of the pie, he wanted the entire kitchen.

Midis was the key to gaining control. With Midis out of the way, his empire would be in disarray, the smaller cartels would move in, like vultures to a rotting carcass.

However, he would let them come, and in one fell swoop, consume them, taking control of a new, revitalised empire of his very own.


................


The orange hue of coruscant's evening sun glinted off the pitch black hood of Mevris' personal Luxury speeder.

Stepping out, Mevris was fully decked out in the most expensive of suits money could buy. It spoke , style, but seriousness all at once.

The young Somir and two of his heavies had stopped outside a tiny shack of a diner in one of Coruscant's lesser districts. The door read closed and the sign on the roof read 'Miko's bar and Grill, come for the wormpie, stay for the service'.

"Yeah right." Chuckled Mevris as he walked inside.


A stiffled grumble then a yell came from behind the counter as the little door bell gave off it's ding.

"Hey, we're closed, can't you read the @#%$ sign?

Oh hey, well if it isnt little Mev Somir. I haven't see you in God knows how long, you're @#%$ big. How d'you get so freakin' big?

How's things my boy? How's your father."


"He's doing real good Miko, real good."

"Ahh that's good to hear. So what are you doing in my neck of the woods?"

"I've come to call in a favour."

"Sure anything for the family. You name it."

"Well first I need some information. I want everything you've got on Danfe Midis. Let's just say that he presents an obstical to my buisness plans at the moment."


"Hey, I don't think you wanna @#%$ with Midis, he's dangerous, he's got connections you know."

"Don't you think I fuckin' know that. It's him who should be worried. He's gonna end up learning that you don't @#%$ with a Somir, and he's gonna learn it the hard way."

"Did you run into some trouble with this guy?"

"Yeah. A few months ago he wacked two of my best guys and stole three shipments of spice from me. He cost me a lot of money, and he made me look like an idiot.

And I 'ain't letting no punk, son of a @#%$ make me me look the fool.

This @#%$ is gonna pay big time for what he did to me."


Meko could see Mevris' veines pulsating on his forhead. It was evident that his rage for Midis spanned many levels.


"Yeah, well I'll see what I can dig up for you. In the meantime don't be doing anything foolish."

"What, what, so you callin' me a fool now. Is that what you think of me?!"

"Hey hey, no way, I was just saying, don't do anything you might regret."

"I ain't regretting nothin'. In fact this @#%$ is gonna regret he ever screwed with me."


Slamming the door behind him, Mevris stormed out of the diner and back into his limo.

War was coming, a war which would change who ruled in this town.

He had recieved some information on Midis the next morning on through the planetary mainframe.

Mevris browsed through the unnumerable pages of information while he sipped at his coffee.

"Very interesting." he mumbled.

Faces, names and places. Enough information to bring down every petty drug runner on the face of the planet, exactly what Mevris wanted to do.

It seems Miko's little favour would go a long way.


..................


His sleek Tagge XV5050 speeder pulled up outside a public comms booth in a shady little grime hole somewhere in coruscant's industrial district.

Picking up the reciever, he inserted a credit chip and dialed a number scrawled on a piece of paper he had retrieved from his breast pocket.


ringing . . .


ringing . . .


"Hello?"


"Hello, Ms Damour, it's Mevris . . .what'dya mean Mevris who?!


Somir. . .who else? Listen, I've got a job for you, if yo're interested.

What an annoying inconvinience.

Tess suppressed a sigh as she gave Mervis her location and turned off her personal comm. She chewed on the inside of her lip, mulling over the situation a moment.

The moment passed and sheplaced the heal of her foot against the lower back of the man that slept beside her and pushed him out of the bed. " You. Out. Now."

The nameless, and naked, man knelt on the floor, looking angry and confused all at once. " This is my place though."

She sat up, her long dark hair falling into her face but still could not lessed the stare she fixed him with. " Does it look like I care?" The look and tone of her voice left little room for debate, especially when one took in the people she worked for.

He growled and grabbed his cloths from where they had been thrown the night before. " Fine, but I want you gone by the time I get back."

" I suggest you don't hurry." Tess leaned back on the bed, scowling the entire time it took him to dress and leave the appartment. Barely a minute later the buzzer at the door was sounding, letting her know Mervis had arrived.

She lifted herself from the matress, pulling the flimsy sheet with her and wrapped herself in it as she made her way to the door. The door slid open and she stared at him with the same unnerving look she had given the appartment's owner.

" This is going to cost you."

"Hey, it looks like I saved your butt.

The angry lookin' guy I bumped into on my way up here, well, let me put it this way, I've seen hutt's with better taste than you got toots.

Now down to buisness.

I gotta job for you. I've got two marks I want taken care of."

Reaching into his coat he procurred a brown envelope, and threw it onto the bed.


"Hit number one," Began Mevris as Tess emptied out the contents of the package onto the sheets. "Joey "tentacles" Parduchi."

The first holophoto to fall from the envelope was of a of a rough looking Quarren male.

"He's a nasty little guy, he works for a shipping and transport smuggling company that's used to front Danfe Midis' operations.

Hit number two, a little weequay who's made quite the name for himself in the drug market too, and as a result has become quite a competetor against Midis and his group.

Here's what I want you to do toots." Said Mevris planting his buttocks down onto the bed beside Tess.

"I want you, to take your little gun or whatever you use, and go kill the Quarren guy, and I want you to make it look as though it was done by the Weequey guy, get me?"

Tess nodded, although still not thoroughly amused by Mevris.

"So then, in all the confusion, I want you to take out hit number two, so they blame it on the other guy."

As much as Mevris' lack of proper communication skills confused the woman, it still got the message across.


"Now I dont care what you have to do, just make them look convincing, I cant afford any of this coming back on me, and if it comes back on me, you can sure as hell bet your sweet toosh, that it's gonna come back on you too.

Got me?"

Her eyes roamed over the photos, taking in every detail of both targets in a matter of seconds. A half smile crossed her smudged lips and she pushed the pile of information back toward Mervis.

" That's all very well and good, Mervy," She got up off the bed, letting the sheet slip to the floor as she reached for her clothing. " But you seem to be forgetting one minor detail."

Her back to him, she dressed in her under garments before looking around the room for the slacks she had been wearing.

" And that would be..." Mervis coaxed, not pleased at all.

Tess saw the article of clothing tossed over the back of a chair and moved to it. " Price, Mervy. I work for the Family, not you."

The slacks were draped over her shoulder and she turned to face him, a sardonic smile evident on her features. " I wasn't kidding when I said this was going to cost you."

(This message was left blank)

"Hey listen, when you work for the family you work for me too, though I could just walk out the room right now and go pay my little brother to do this job, which I might add is very, well, payed."

Mevris was lying through his teeth, but didnt show it. He knew Tess was the only decent hitter in a hundred light years. If he hired Jerik on this one he'd want a cut, and a substantial one at that.

"Then why are you wasting my time?"

"I'm wasting my time becuase I thought you might be interested in a 50k per hit payoff."

Tess chuckled softly, letting the pants fall to the floor behind her, and walked slowly toward Mervis who still sat on the edge of the bed. She moved in close to him, her legs pushing his knees together as she straddled him. Tess' body was pressed so close to his he had to lean back to look her in the face. She leaned in, and purred.

" Just what kind of girl do you take me for, Mervy?"

Her lips hovered just above his.

" 250. Each. Upfront. Or you can have that brother of yours take care of your little problem."

Mevris leaned back, until he was almost perpindicular to the nice lady.

"I think I can manage 500k," gulped Mevris. "Lemme get out my cheque book."

"No, silly."

Her tone turned from playful to deadly serious in the blink of an eye.

"Cash only, and soon."


"Heh, if it's Cash the lady wants its cash the lady get's." chuckled Mevris nervously.

"Now, uh, do you mind." said Mevris, motioning towards Tess' legs.