Shadows of Bankor

With Petrus tagging along, it was agreed upon to seek out Mahon early in the morning. Petrus had some... mysterious meeting, it seemed, and perhaps a bit uncharacteristically for Dove she wasn't inquiring either what it would be about.

Cradling a cup-holder with four tall Spacebucks-cups, Dove buzzed Mahon's apartment.

There's a grunt... and then a "Hello?"

Petrus nudged Dove with his elbow. "You do the talking." He whispered. "Better warn him I'm here, too." Petrus was pretty certain that Mahon would not be happy to see him, not two days in a row like this.

"Good morning, handsome," Dove said in the sweetest tone she could manage. "It's Dove."

"I brought coffee, to wake you up. And to talk to you about something. From artist to artist. Oh, and Petrus is here too."

"Come up," he said and buzzed them up.

With entrance given, Dove didn't waste too much time lingering... or keeping Mahon waiting too long for his morning kaff. "You worry too much, kid. The only ones he dislikes are the Imps," she remarked to Petrus in a quiet tone.

"Good morning~" another warm morning-greeting for their probably groggy host.

He wraps a towel around himself and said, "Yeah... also what... Dove? Petey?"

Petrus grunted, neither agreement nor disagreement. Perhaps he just wasn't the most awake, either.

...

"Petrus." Why keep correcting if he never got it right? Oh well. "Good morning, Mahon." Petrus said quietly, smiling gently. "We come bearing kaf." He picked up one of the cups, holding it out to Mahon.

"Tsk," Dove chuckled, taking a cup of kaff for herself. "Is this how you greet a lady? After the sweet music we made together?" As usual, she tread the delicate line between being serious and joking.

"Have some kaff, wake up, and we can talk. Pants are optional."

"Are they, though?" Petrus murmured. He looked away, towards the statue of Sloan... well, that's not better. He titled his head back, looking up at the ceiling.

He took a drink and then said okay, "So hit me pretty lady, I think I am awake."

It sounds like Mahon was going pants optional today.

Dove took a big gulp of kaff herself. Kaff helped stim the nerves, right? Seeing as there was no reason to beat around the bush this time, she jumped right into it.

"Well, I got an in with the Inquisitor. For better or worse."

Mahon blinked and then said, "Well congratulations... okay wait I thought you said Inquisitor? Because that is crazy talk."

"Okay... brain is foggy start at the beginning." He turned to Petrus and said, "Hey hand me the brandy... whiskey something strong."

Petrus frowned, but moved automatically to get a bottle. Fortunately, he'd spent enough time despairing to be familiar with different types of alcohols. He handed Mahon a bottle of brandy.

"An 'in'? What do you mean an 'in'?" Petrus said, frowning at Dove. "I thought..." He took a deep breath. "No, okay, sorry. But still, so you've got some sort of info on him or something?"

"Not info yet, kid."

She let Petrus give Mahon the bottle.

"The big bad himself showed up during some routine paper-check when I was out and about. Ended up questioning me about stuff and if I knew about this Oraka Hin that they've posted a notice on." Now she gave an apologetic look to Petrus. "I think he could read my mind or something, since he suddenly questioned me about someone who looked like you. At least he seemed to buy that you weren't of importance, or that I didn't know anything important about you."

"Anyway," she fished out a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of her jacket. "The big bad's decided to... claim me as his agent to find Oraka Hin? And insisted on having me over for dinner tonight. Thats my in."

Although he certainly looked disturbed, Petrus accepted the implied apology with a deep breath, a nod and a slight smile. He'd trusted Dove with his life before, after all.

Petrus frowned at the cigarettes. "You know, those aren't good for..." He fell silent. Slowly, his eyes drifted from the cigarettes to Dove, his expression blank.

"So... your 'in' is that he's decided you're working for him? And... what, a dinner date?" Petrus buried his face in his hands. "Just making sure I heard that right." He said, his voice muffled.

"Correct. And don't worry, these aren't gonna kill me," she chuckled and lit the cigarette.

"So what's your plan?" Mahon asked as he filled his kaff with booze.

"I need to give him some info, preferably some that is harmless to us, but can at least seem useful to him," she said, twirling the cigarette between her fingertips for a moment. "Other than that, my plan is to stay on his good side as much as I can, and hopefully be able to pass on info to you guys."

Dove took a long drag from the cigarette. "Playing the double-agent, basically. Been some years since I last did anything like that."

"You think that will work, he can literally read your mind," he responded.

"Not fully, I think," she considered. "If he can fully read my mind, he'd know everything about the kid here. It seems only could have a... vague sense, if that makes sense?"

Dove now looked to Petrus who understood more of how the Force works.

Petrus raised his hands. "I don't know. Maybe." He frowned. "I do know that the more time he has, the more time you spend in proximity to him, the more likely it is that he'll succeed."

He started pacing, shaking his head. "Sooner or later, he'll get what he's looking for. Maybe you have a little time. I don't know." He spread his hands. "I'm sorry."

"Hmm, that does complicate things. But I'm pretty sure if I skip out on tonight's meeting at least, he'll probably keep his promise of finding me... kriff, he'd probably even manage to track me down to the moons of Bogden, I bet. Seems like the stalkerish type."

This is why she was glad she wasn't messing with Jedi directly during the war. The Force was all sorts of cheat-codes in the game of life.

"I'll do my best to distract him at first though, and probably figure out a way to be too busy to spend more time with him."

"The good news just keeps coming, huh?" Petrus said, shaking his head.

He looked at Mahon, his lips pressed together. After a few moments, he spoke. "I can think of one good piece of information. Good, but outdated." He raised his eyebrows questioningly. They knew where the Jedi had just been, after all. If he had covered his tracks properly...

Dove raised an eyebrow at this information, but nodded slowly. "Alright, that's useful. A good start."