ℝ𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕠 ℝ𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕣 - ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖

Hello there, Thrawn again continuing my participation in the ℝ𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕠 ℝ𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕣 , so if you want, go check that out. Anyways, hope you like it :)

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Jail was as bad, or even worse, than he thought. Especially considering the crimes he had been arrested for, he wasn't going to get any nice treatment. If he wanted to get out, and he did, the best option was to try and clear his name, though that might be proven difficult. Maybe he had to bargain for an option that suited both parties, for such, he'd have to include Velli as the chip. When the two investigators came for the first time after two days of beating, he was prepared to give them what they wanted. He might not know much but he could still surprise Velli and the mistake of not killing him right away. He was taken to a glassed sound proof room where a senior man sat and a younger man stood behind by the wall, he barely got to his seat and the questioning began "So, you are the bomber and assassin from the last two crimes?" If he refuted, it would be taken as meaningless defense, instead he went with a more indirect approach "In a way, yes. Though I'm hardly the man you want."

"Is that so?" The older one asked sarcastically, "Please enlighten us." It didn't suffer the effect he wanted and it seemed unlikely they would trust his words but there was nothing else "I'm just a courier, I drop packages off, I drive people from place to place, I'm the driver, nothing more." It was the younger man who asked this time "How come then that your DNA was found on the crime scene?" He was waiting for that one, "It was planted, I had just left that couple from the United Resorts and I was about to leave when I heard shots, I never touched or got close to them. When I got inside, the murderer was getting away, I ran after him, we fought and I ended up shooting him. That's the story." There was a moment of silence before someone spoke "The problem is, we don't have any witnesses and your fingerprint is on both, the crime weapon and crime scene. But, fine, let's leave that aside for now. Tell us about the bomb."

It was again the sort of story that felt as much brushed with tainted imagination as a criminal trying to evict condemnation. Pou, a man in his fifties with a trimmed white beard and wrinkled face, sat opposite to Rider, the supposed-criminal-that-claims-to-be-innocent. It wasn't the first time he saw the pattern, and it wasn't by far the last he'd see during his career. Although, there was something interesting from his second story, the mention of Macavelli, the crime boss from Zuria. It got even more interesting when the driver started to comment on some information that, at first seemed far-fetched, but when he thought about it, it made sense for a powerful figure. Velli was cleaning the slate on the Corporate District before he could expand and take over. The last thing that surprised him was the offer of Rider helping the police to uncover Velli and arrest him.

He called the session off from that point, to resume on the following day. The offer was unscrupulous, not only was the chance of deception and double-crossing very high as to escape back to his boss and in the process, even kill officers for following Pou's orders, but also because he couldn't see what the man would gain from the situation as it were. The next day began with that question but the answer was confusing, Rider opened up to his true origins and what got him where he was now. The name Dante carried great value these days on Zeltros and anyone claiming the name could just as surely be someone trying to make money from lies. Fortunately for both sides, he could run an ID and blood check. Wouldn't you tell, he thought, that the man was telling the truth? It matched perfectly with the identity of Rom Dante, son of Kosa Dante. He was forced to reconsider the offer. As a first step, he took Rom on a stakeout, he pointed many characters around the main facility, the Travellers' Delight, and possible entry points. He described what he could about Velli, physically and how he operated, to Pou. By the end of the day, they headed back to the station and his team went to double-check the info gathered.

When everything checked out, Pou decided to patrol Velli's operations up close, there was an undercover agent on every block on Zuria following any head tilt and step of any and all who ed by. It was a week before they noticed something suggesting an operation, three speeders lined up in front of the Delight and six men entered each one, with the vehicles separating in different directions. The field agents reported back to the station but when the police speeders caught up with the different speeders, they were ambushed and slaughtered. The story cut the headlines of the net but that wasn't Pou's source of anger. He felt betrayed by Rom, but the man had nothing to do with it, he'd been kept in a room at the station without means of communication. It wasn't right to blame the boy, he had to blame himself for infiltrating dangerous waters and paying the price for it.

However, if Velli wanted to test if the police had decided to meddle with his operations, his men probably didn't follow his instructions to the letter. By killing police officers, he now had extraordinary proof of his crimes and legality to charge into his territory. But first, he'd have to call for reinforcements and he knew just how to bring it in. Pou took Rider to a secret meeting with Marco Fresz, the head of Dante Industrial and an old friend of his father. Marco was sincerely happy to see his friend's son alive after what had happened and he told Rom that the Dante family still had a part of the company's shares, he had kept it intact in hopes of his return and in homage to Kosa. That eased things up even more, when Rom explained the situation, Marco promptly agreed to aid the operation. Excellent, Pou thought, now we will have an uncontested advantage over Velli.

The following night was tense, hot and quiet. It was almost time for the insertion. Hovercars and speeder bikes circled every d facility and began sweeping for suspected of the organisation. Meanwhile, a special forces squadron infiltrated the Delight from behind whilst the cops played diversion. Rom was among them, just as Pou. However, they cleared the building with no sign of Velli, across the channels, nobody reported seeing the crime boss. "Krif! Not now, not again!" Rom grunted "I'm going after him" he turned and got to his bike before Pou could interfere, there was no point in doing so anyways, he pointed. Rider split the blockade and turned on the extra boosters; if Velli wasn't there, he was heading to his estate. There was no other light along the road until he reached the mansion.

It was dark, yet the full moon casted a bright light over the gardens, exposing the four guards sweeping the perimeters. He rounded the house to the side where a stair connected to the second floor where the main suite was. Counting the intervals between guards, Rider crossed the electrical fence then ran full speed across to the stairs. The first two steps screeched but nobody else heard it. He climbed the rest of the way with extreme care then opened the window that led to the main corridor. He reached the main stairs, then the bathroom, then… someone walked out of the living room. He was fast enough to enter the supply room but it was close, too close. He decided to walk through the parapet until he reached the suite. There was no movement inside, he got in. The room was empty. He waited, it was only a matter of time before the man went to bed, he was here, that's for sure. His vehicle and personal bodyguards were here, and they were never apart.

When the door slid open, Velli, in his pajamas, was faced with a blaster to his head. His face was too good, Rom thought, it was like the man had just seen a ghost. "Rider!" He exclaimed but the other man shut his mouth "This is the end of the line for you, do you have any last words?" He took his hand off the man's mouth "Ha! You expect me to believe that? You soft weasel can't pull a trigger without cracking down, huh? What you gonna do when my guards come up here and you can't run? Please" he reached out for a drink on his side table but Rider slapped it hard "No, I'm not that person anymore, in fact, I never was. I had a hard time dealing with the fact that I almost broke my father's legacy but I didn't, and what I'm about to do next doesn't either." He released the safety trigger "This is not unnecessary violence, this… this is justice." The shot burned a scorch mark right through the middle of his head.

He rode back to the city and met with Pou, "It's done." He said, the old man coiffed his moustache before saying, "Are you ready to live with that choice?" Rider nodded positively "I am. "I've spoken with Marco and the syndicate of the Corporate district. I will be taking over Zuria, changing it from its troubled past and ing the other two districts as a productive commercial center. I look forward to working with you." The news startled Pou but he accepted the offer, he was indeed, like his father. They exchanged farewells and parted ways.

Retro Rider found a way to carry on his father's legacy, driving his speeder through the night.

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Till next time and as always may the Force be you!