Cat Hunt

"Oh? Another admirer?" Nawi said as she guided Eevi away from the area. "If you've got an admirer, he must have the patience and tolerance of a god."

"I suspect 'Juárez' may refer to Ciudad Juárez, south of the US-Mexico border. Considering the timing of this attack - mere hours after my convention talk - it wouldn't be a stretch to say this 'Carbonell' was hired by one of the officials in the convention center, and that these are his goons. A politician on the take wants me dead, while Rajabu would want me back alive. These men and Rajabu are not connected. Now...if I still know Rajabu as well as I think, he'll have moved from one spot to another while you were busy. You can get your payment and still help me out," Nawi said. "He's clever when it comes to negotiating with the criminal world, but he's still on the unintelligent side with regards to technology. What did he give you to capture me with?"

Depending on how subtly Eevi decides to sabotage the power-suppressing collar Rajabu had given her, he may never suspect a thing. This is especially true if they disguised Nawi's claws in some manner.

"Yes, another admirer." Eevi quipped, her lips curling into a smirk as she followed Nawi's lead, the tension from their earlier skirmish still crackling in the air. "Don’t sound too surprised. I do have my charms, though apparently, they’re only appreciated by the desperate or deranged. Patience of a god? Maybe. Tolerance? Probably a death wish."

Reaching into her pocket, Eevi produced the power-dampening collar Rajabu had supplied, holding it up casually between two fingers like it was a cheap toy. "He gave me this little trinket," she said, letting it dangle in the moonlight. "Supposed to neutralize all your fun little abilities. Slap it on, and you're just a slightly above-average cat lady with a bad temper. According to him, anyway."

Her gaze flicked to Nawi, sharp and calculating. "So...what do you think? Want me to just put it on you, promise to take it off later, and we can skip this whole song and dance? You trust me, right?"

The joke hung in the air, dripping with sarcasm as she studied Nawi's expression. When it became clear that even entertaining the suggestion might earn her a swipe from those claws, Eevi let out a dry laugh, flipping the collar over in her hand.

"Relax, I'm kidding. Mostly. This thing looks like it belongs in a bargain bin anyway. Rajabu’s tech game clearly hasn’t been breaking into the technical field of power dampening collars but I suspect it would still do the job." She paused, examining the device with a detached curiosity. "But you’re right—he's not clever enough to catch onto a few...modifications. Let’s just say if I do use this, it’ll be more of a decorative accessory than anything functional. Think of it as a fashion statement."

Eevi’s smirk widened as she slid the collar back into her pocket, her tone shifting to one of dry amusement. "So, Ciudad Juárez, huh? A corrupt politician out for blood, Rajabu wanting his little trophy back alive...sounds like my kind of party. Let’s hope this Carbonell guy doesn’t ruin the mood before we even get there."

"I've seen models like that one before," Nawi said. "Tend to be effective, but not particularly durable. Like Chinese knockoffs of better models - they suffer from poor tensile strength. Pop the cover off and give a good press and the wiring will give way. Hand a set of gloves to cover my claws, and I'll handle the rest at the meeting point..."



To say there were multiple plot threads here going on at the same time was an understatement. The Confederate Deserter, a reformed outlaw and current bounty hunter, checked in to a cheap motel in response to a bounty for a human trafficker that was supposed to be across the border. In Mexico. Been decades since he did a border hop - customs was not going to be happy that David Crenshaw was packing enough bullets to whack a small forward military camp overnight.

He could always pull out a passport if he needed to, but it was better for him to avoid detection altogether.

...

And thus, Rajabu and Carbonell are running out of time. Nawi and Eevi may be able to kill Rajabu and get to Carbonell if they hurry, but if they're too slow, Crenshaw may kill Carbonell before Nawi gets the chance to question who hired him and his goons.

Eevi leaned against a cracked pillar in the abandoned parking lot where they had stopped to regroup, her eyes narrowing as she considered their options. The damp night air clung to her skin, the faint scent of grease and engine oil lingering from the vehicles left to rust around them. Nawi was focused but restless, her claws tapping lightly against her forearm as she awaited Eevi's plan.

"Alright," Eevi began, her voice calm but edged with urgency. "Rajabu first. He’s the immediate threat, and you’ve got the most reason to take him out. But we can’t ignore the wildcard."

She gestured to the power-dampening collar Nawi had been inspecting earlier. "You deal with Rajabu. Sabotage the collar like you said, make sure he never sees it coming. When you’re done, head to the meeting point." Eevi’s lips curled into a sly grin. "I’ll handle Carbonell."

Eevi held up a hand to cut off any protest.

"Look, you want to make Rajabu pay. I want to make sure no one else interferes with that. This plan keeps both of us doing what we’re best at, and it keeps us from tripping over each other. Once we’re both done, we regroup. If Carbonell’s still breathing, you can finish the job and get your answers. If not..." she shrugged, "then I guess we move on to the next step."

She reached into her jacket and pulled out a map she’d lifted earlier, spreading it across the hood of a car. With a quick motion, she jabbed a finger at two locations circled in black ink.

"This is where Rajabu’s most likely to be. He’s not stupid, but he’s predictable. You know him better than I do, so I’ll defer to your instincts on that. And here," she tapped the other circle, "is where Carbonell’s name catches murmurs I've heard across my contacts and network with what attention I have paid to that name"

Eevi straightened, her expression sharp but detached. "Any objections, or can we get this show on the road?"

Nawi very much felt uncomfortable, given the collateral damage Eevi caused just trying to capture her, letting Eevi head off to capture Carbonell on her own. Not that she could if the Carbonell that was being referred to was going to Ciudad Juárez. All she was certain of was that he was no longer in Cancún.

Nawi may not have been a living lie detector, per se, but her senses were sharp enough to detect certain tells that a liar gives off when they lie. An abrupt elevation of the heartrate, a sharp shift in breathing, an otherwise imperceptible increase in sweat. Only the relative minority for whom lying was second nature could stand a chance at getting by these sharp senses. Eevi was, quite possibly, one such candidate. Through practice, if not as part of her personality.

"If the thugs that tried to knock me out in the hotel room are telling the truth - and I think they are, since I couldn't smell out a fib - Carbonell likely called from the nearby airport minutes before I was attacked," Nawi said. "If he's in the air, we won't get far unless we know where he went.  Ciudad Juárez - if that's where he's going - is a two and a half hour flight from Cancún, at fastest. Unless these contacts of yours can trace the passenger lists and book us a private jet without security, we're stuck."

Nawi cut only one or two parts of the electronics, but not the power circuit. The tiny light that indicated that the collar was running would come on when fastened around her neck, but would have no effect on her powers. A set of gloves would be enough to conceal her claws.

"Besides," Nawi added. "While you contacts are tracking the passenger lists, you can grab whatever reward Rajabu had promised for you upon my capture. He doesn't tend to pay in paper money, since they can be tracked. We deal with him while your contacts track the passenger lists; you have your reward, and I get my lead."