"Okay, now, just how did all this start?" Karmlyn asked Islyne/Jinx as the taxi they were in sped away from the Starlight Club, it's headlamps lighting up the dark streets of the city.
Islyne/Jinx took a deep breath, then let it go, then softly spoke in Absolin's Aglir language, "(Give me a minute. I must still be a little weak,) she paused, "(from that encounter in the alley, Miss,) uh," she hesitated, "(I only heard your first name,) Karmlyn. (I think I know who you are, but not completely certain.)"
"Sen-Tiago, Karmlyn Sen-Tiago. (Guess we didn't have time for introductions.)" Karmlyn allowed herself to smile, Maybe I should ease up a little. It's not every day I run into someone as notable as myself, especially another mymar in the middle of the galaxy.
"(Karmlyn Sen-Tiago. Yes, I believe I have heard of you.)"
Karmlyn's smile continued, "(Good things, I hope.)"
Islyne/Jinx was silent for a few moments, with a neutral expression, then spoke, "(Let's just say I've heard some interesting stories.)" she gave a brief pause, then, "(Only you would arrange such an incident back there.)"
Karmlyn simply responded with another smile, "(Well, that's one night of gambling I'll never forget. Mar, lost a lot of credits in that distraction; but I'm sure they'll be talking about it for a long time.)" She smiled a little wider, "(I do have a way of making an impression on people. Same with you from what I've heard about you, Jinx. Sounds like you've led quite an exciting time in your travels outside Absolin.)"
Islyne/Jinx looked back straight ahead, "(I suppose you might call it that. The majority of it, however, has been rather mundane.)"
Karmlyn's grin got a little wider, "(You, Jinx, mundane? I think not.)"
"(My family didn't have a lot of money, Miss Sen-Tiago. If I want money, I have to take jobs for it.)"
"(You don't have to keep calling me like I'm your boss. Karmlyn will do just fine.)"
"(Thank you, Karmlyn.)"
"(Welcome.)" Karmlyn thought for another moment, then spoke, "(So, Jinx, what brings you here?)"
"(My job aboard a freighter came to an end. Their next destination didn't like mymar and similar races.)"
"Hmph. (Well the heck with those losers. They didn't want you, their loss.)" Karmlyn kept noticing Islyne/Jinx's cool manner, and brought it up, "(You seem rather down. I'm sure Bayle made it, or are you worried about his friend?)"
"(It is not that, Karmlyn.)" Islyne/Jinx paused momentarily, then, "(I'm not exactly the spirited type of person.)"
"Oh." Karmyln's smile toned down a little, "(So, just how did you get into this mess?)"
"(I was on my way to a motel when I saw someone being beaten. I tricked the attackers into fleeing, then helped the human get a taxi to a hospital, stopping at the Starlight Club on the way over. He said he was to meet Bayle and get a datapad disk of information about some men bribed by the Vyrian Mob.)"
"(You mean this?)" Karmlyn stuck a hand just underneath the skirt rim of her dress, passed the disk from her tail tip to her hand, and brought it out for Islyne/Jinx to see.
"(Apparently.)"
Karmlyn's smile faded, "(And it won't be just the mob that's after us. Anyone they've paid under the table could be after our tails too.)"
Karmlyn got her purse, and pulled her datapad from it. She removed the Lagos map & information disk, and put in Bayle's disk. After the information began appearing on the screen, she began reading it.
Islyne/Jinx looked over, "(What does it say?)"
"(Just an outline at first.)" She pressed a few buttons on the pad on the information keys, "(Just a sec, almost got it.)" Her smile then returned, "(Got it.)" Her eyes looked down the list, her smile fading slightly, "(Looks like these jokers have been making quite a few payoffs to one long list. Government officials, on this planet and others, both planetary and local, some business owners and managers, union leaders, police-)" Karmlyn then stopped short, and her smile went away completely.
"(What is it?)"
"(Trouble. The police chief here and some under him are also on the take.)"
"(You mean we can't go to the police?)"
"(Not in this city we can't. And since we stick out like nails on a board, being the only two mymar around, we need to get out of here, fast.)"
"(That means we won't be able to give the disk to where Lexxon told us to.)"
"(We can take it to the authorities on some other world.)"
Islyne/Jinx sighed softly, "(You're right.)" she paused briefly, then, "(We are already in the general direction to the spaceport. We can just tell the driver to go there.)"
"(Yeah, but let's hope nothing stops us on the way over.)"
The hover-cab continued down the streets as Karmlyn and Islyne/Jinx talked. They eventually passed a large, black, hovercar. Inside were men dressed like the ones at the Starlight Cafe the women ran into. They noticed who was in the back of the cab, tinted their windows dark in an instant, and drove out and began following it.
It was Islyne/Jinx who first suspected something was wrong, and began looking around. Karmlyn noticed her, "(What's wrong?)"
"(Not sure exactly.)" Islyne/Jinx told her, "(I sense something isn't right. Just what, I'm not certain.)"
"(Hell, I could have told you that.)" Karmlyn quipped, "(With a mob after us, and the cops taking credits under the table, we could have someone just waiting for us around the next corner.)"
It was this time that the large black hovercar caught up to the cab, and rolled up alongside the driver's side. Karmlyn caught sight of it, and looked nervous, "(Something tells me your something just showed up.)"
The cab driver kept glancing at the large vehicle close beside him, then saw one of the tinted windows roll down, and a blaster stick out. "Uh, oh. Ladies, we have a problem." He began to slow down.
Karmlyn quickly turned to the driver, "Don't slow down! Get us away from them!"
"Look lady, I don't want any trouble. If someone pulls a gun on me, I don't ask questions. I just play along so no one gets hurt. I don't get paid to do otherwise."
Karmlyn gave the driver an angry look, "Fine!" She then drew her holdout blaster from her purse and pointed it at him, "Then maybe this will get you to speed up!"
The driver gave Karmlyn a shocked look, "Uh, yes Mamm!" He turned back, and began rapidly accelerating the cab.
Islyne/Jinx looked at the scene with disbelief, "(Karmlyn, what are you doing?! We can't just-)"
Karmlyn looked at Islyne/Jinx, "(The Hell we can't! No mob, Vyrian or otherwise, is known for being nice guys, and I have no intention of falling into their clutches!)"
The cab began to accelerate away from the black car, and the passenger with the blaster then began firing. Islyne/Jinx immediately ducked as a bolt shot through the plasti-glass window, shattering a hole through it. The driver swore, and began swerving to avoid further fire, "I'm not getting paid near enough for this!"
Another shot was fired from the black car, streaking past the cab. Then another. Karmlyn then pointed the tip of her stingbeam through the hole in the back window, aimed just to the side of the attackers, and fired. That shot zipped by the car.
Islyne/Jinx looked at Karmlyn, "(That tiny beam can't damage that vehicle!)"
"(No,)" Karmlyn told her without taking her eyes on the mobsters' car, "(but it may get them to back off a little. Make them think they're at risk too.)" Karmlyn fired another shot, one that just barely missed.
The black hovercar slowed down a little. It appeared Karmlyn's tactic had worked. Then the mobster with the blaster fired not just one, but several shots at the cab. Another went through the plasti-glass window, but failed to hit anyone. Two hit the trunk area, shattering metal, but neither penetrating it or affecting the speed of the cab.
The cab driver shrieked a few religious and bodily function terms, then swerved wildly from left to right. Karmlyn and Islyne/Jinx were knocked around a little, but managed to hang on. An oncoming hovercar sounded it's horn as he swerved in front of it, then dodged with seconds to spare. In the meantime, the black car was still shooting at them, and blaster bolts continued to zip by.
When an intersection came up, the cab driver took a hard right and made a sharp turn. Another hovercar was going down the road, and the two narrowly missed. The mobsters' car put on the brakes to avoid hitting it, and the third car, beeping it's horn, went on.
"Ha!" Karmlyn grinned, "(That'll put some distance between us!)"
It was this moment the cab driver then put the brakes on, slowing the cab down, and opened his door. Karmlyn turned toward him, "Hey, what are you doing?"
"I've had enough of this, lady! You want to go further, drive it yourself!" He then jumped out, tumbling onto the sidewalk upon landing.
Karmlyn swore a couple choice words in her language, "(Can't get good help these days.)" She then quickly scrambled over the seat, "(Better get a hold of this thing before it crashes into something.)"
Islyne/Jinx then looked behind, seeing the black hovercar starting to move, "(Here they come again.)"
Karmlyn reached the controls, and hit the accelerator. The cab then sped off. She then tossed her stingbeam to Islyne/Jinx, "(Here, Jinx. If they get to close, make them back off.)"
Islyne/Jinx groaned, "(This is not one of my better days.)"
The cab had some distance from the mobster's car this time, but it was slowly catching up. Karmlyn could see it through the rear display, "(Damn! Got to do something.)" She then noticed the sidewalk to her left was clear, there were several oncoming hovercars a few seconds away, and they were almost an another intersection. She decided the situation called for the gamble, "(Hang on!)"
Karmlyn made a hard left, and narrowly missed hitting the oncoming hovercar, blaring it's horn. The cab jumped a bit as it got onto the sidewalk. Karmlyn didn't quite correct her course in time, and the side of the cab scrapped the walls for about a couple seconds, then backed off a bit.
Islyne/Jinx had been knocked over onto the seat by the violent move, "(Karmlyn, if this kind of driving continues, I'm going to vomit.)"
"(Well it won't be on my fabric.)" Karmlyn quipped wryly, then saw someone step from a building onto the sidewalk. She swore, and blew her horn. Islyne/Jinx got up just in time to see, and instantly focused her concentration on the man to alert him of the danger.
The man's attention fell upon the oncoming cab, and he instantly jumped back. He was just in the nick of time as the cab zipped right by.
Then came the intersection, Karmlyn continuing to blow the cab's horn for some kind of warning. Just as they were about to leave the sidewalk, Karmlyn hit the brakes and made a hard left at the same time. The cab skidded around, and nearly hit a parked hovercar. But it straightened out, and sped off. Behind them, the mobster's car had to come to a halt in order to wait for the hovercars on the left side of the road to pass. Karmlyn sped down the road, and made a hard right at another intersection before the mob car could continue.
Once around the corner, Karmlyn looked around. This was a run-down part of town with older-looking buildings, some of them boarded up. She then noticed one building with fairly large double-doors. She slowed down, and turned into them, hitting the doors just hard enough to break the lock, but soft enough that they stayed on their hinges. Luckily for her, they were the opening-inward kind. The cab then entered a building with little but dust.
Karmlyn stopped the cab, then opened the door and scrambled out. She rushed to the doors, and swung them back shut. She then rushed back to the cab, and backed it up to the doors. This way, it would be as if they were locked. She then turned off the cab, and it's lights.
"Whew!" Karmlyn sighed, "(It was a close call, but we got away. What do you think about that, Jinx?)" She got no immediate answer, "Jinx?"
All she heard were the sounds of someone heaving in the back of the cab.
Karmlyn gave a perplexed look, "Gee, (When you said you were about to give the 'ol heave-ho, I thought you were just exaggerating.)"
"(I wasn't.)" Islyne/Jinx moaned, "(Sometimes after heavy or repeated use of psionics, my stomach gets a little-,)" she then heaved again.
Karmlyn looked down at her peer, "(What was it a human friend of mine would have said?) Nothing like a little adventure thrown in, or in this case thrown up."
"(I fail to see the humor), Karm- urp."