Reparations [Talau]

[Mara]

[...from x]

The big Corellian stood a couple meters outside of a cantina in Kuat City, his back to the entrance. He was watching the various beings walk past him in the growing darkness as the sun slowly dipped behind the taller buildings. In all his travels he couldn't ever recall having come to this planet that played host to one of the largest shipyards in the galaxy. But that was probably due to Kuat being close to the core and his jobs having taken him into more shady and out-of-the way locales. Not that there hadn't been exceptions, especially earlier on. Of course, there had been so many trips, it was also possible he had just forgotten.

He was trying to gather his courage for a very important task he needed to accomplish this evening. Something he had put off for way too long and had been niggling at him the past months. Various things had gotten him sidetracked ever since he had stepped away from the bounty business, leaving his last, high-profile case without completing it. Ean Stenner, now formerly one of the premier bounty hunters, had gone to his home planet of Corellia to relax and decide his future. However, that hadn't lasted, and he had soon gotten the urge to get moving again. Invigorated by pent-up energy, Ean had gotten in a fight with a Weequay over literally spilled ale and had almost immediately started his search for a pilot so he could get off Corellia and get on with his life.

But after he had hired someone to pilot his ship but before he had been able to depart Corellia, a girl had come into his life, and put his plans to head out on hold. She had been an annoyance to him from the start, claiming that she had run away from home and that he, surprise surprise, was her real father. Ean had been able to believe the first part but not the latter. Wanting to settle the matter quickly, he offered to take the scowling child back to her family. Plus there had been the personal incentive that he might see Cassandra again; coincidentally the girl's mother had also been a woman he had known in his youth.

His gesture of goodwill towards the child's father had morphed into yet another as he had discovered that the woman of the house, Cassandra, had been missing as well. With a selfish motive, as well as wanting to reunite the family trio, he had gone on a search for her, using his experience and skills to a positive end. When he had finally found Cassie, she was on her death bed, being cared for by her brother, and he realized he would not be able to return her to her family. Especially since she dropped the biggest bomb of all: her daughter Ryla was his and did not belong to the man that the girl had until recently considered her father.

Still unsure what this news would mean for him, Ean had gone back to retrieve Ryla so that she could see her mother one last time. And as an added bonus he had let his fists give the stepfather a piece of his mind for his poor treatment of Ryla. They had then returned to the small apartment, the girl had been with her mother, and said her good-byes. He had done as well, making sure that Cassandra would be well taken care of until her passing. Father and daughter had gone on to his ship, awkwardly trying to figure out this new turn of events.

Ean's long-awaited trip to set things right with a former associate--if he was being generous with her title--of his had been delayed yet further when just steps boarding Heleen's Hope they had been ambushed. A bit of a sortie ensued then as he sent Ryla into the ship and fought off the assassin.  Even now he still hadn't a clue as to why or what, but he had battled hard until his daughter had gotten to safety. Luckily for him, his pilot had had the engines warmed up and ready to lift off; all he had had to do was find a break and dart inside the ship, blaster bolts flying, and leave the strange man alone in the hangar. Shots from the ship's cannon covered their departure.

It had been easy enough to track the woman he was looking for down. Before parting ways with him, Ean had gotten the slicer Felze Zeng to install a program on his datapad to ping anything associated with the name Namra Raquad. The bounty hunter had given the false identity to the woman in order to help disguise her, as well as forcing her to cut and dye her long blonde hair. He had discovered that the low-level military staff member knew his quarry well and had taken her with him to help with his hunt. After a few miscues that had brought up other beings across the galaxy with the same name, he had noticed a pattern of electronic sightings focused in and around Kuat City, and so that had become his destination.

And finally, after all the delays, he had made it to Kuat, a short hop up from the Corellian trade run from Corellia. There, he had been dealt another blow: Jaren, the Twi'lek he had hired to pilot his ship, deserted him at the earliest possible moment, citing that he couldn't take all the danger the big man seemed to attract. But Ean hadn't worried too much about this. He had more important things that required his attention and wasn't sure of his itinerary afterwards. Not only did he have to figure out what in the galaxy to do with this eleven-year-old newly discovered daughter of his, he had some unfinished business to attend to.

Leaving Ryla back aboard the Heleen's Hope with the promise that she not exit the ship under any circumstances, upon pain of severe repercussions, he had gone into the city. He was looking for the woman originally known as Samantha Zaftig. Their relationship had gotten off on a rocky start to say the least, and now, after some personal epiphanies, he wanted to apologize and make things right between them. Meeting the feisty blonde on his hunt for Major Borgonia, the woman's friend, had started new cogs turning in his mind. And even more recently, finding out about Ryla, had given him a new outlook on life.

So Ean had gone through the short list his datapad had come up with of her common haunts, places the I.D. had been spotted the most at, and he was currently at one of them: a cantina catering to Corellian tastes. A brief look through a nearby window had confirmed that she was inside. It had come as a surprise to him that Sam was Corellian; but in their time together, such topics had never come up. And it was a deep regret of his how he had treated the woman. He felt he was now a changed man, still deeply flawed, but embarking on a new chapter. Sam was the first step along this path of fledgling enlightenment for Ean.

Sucking in a deep breath, he finally turned to face the door of the establishment and went through it. He had come unarmed, leaving both blaster and holster back aboard his ship. Ean wanted to show that he was coming to see her in peace and meant no harm. Slowly he made his way between the tables and the bar, careful in the low light, his steps taking him towards a corner booth where the woman sat alone. Soft music was playing out of speakers, and there were murmurs of conversations from the patrons. The whole place had a calming atmosphere, something at odds with the cantina's Corellian theme.

Partially facing away from him, he studied her profile in the dimness as he came closer. The red dye was long gone, returning her to her natural blonde, and it had grown out from the severe chop he had subjected her to. Otherwise, she was just as he remembered her the last time he had set eyes on her. Once again his nervousness threatened, and he almost spun on his heels and left like a frightened child. But Ean steeled himself, feeling silly for being scared, and telling himself this was no big deal. He would just tell her and get it over with, and he would feel much better.

A couple steps from her table, he came to a stop and cleared his throat to gain her attention, as her eyes were turned away in what appeared to be contemplation. Sitting by her elbow was a half-full glass of liquor. "Like some company?" The question seemed benign enough; he had discarded breaking the silence with something stupid like "Hey, Sam. Remember me?" Ean let a small smile break across his face as he looked at her and spread out his hands, palms forward, arms away from his body. Even so, he prepared himself for what could be a violent reaction to Sam noticing who had just materialized right beside her, tensing his muscles.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Death.

That was the answer to all of her problems: death.

Just short of a full pardon (which she had no delusions of receiving any time soon) that was the answer to the question of how she finally got her life back. Certainly she could continue to hide behind a false name and always watch the shadows, hide in her little hole that was the PF compound, but…she didn’t want that. She loved Familiar, she really did. Chances were she’d work for them for the rest of her life, but she didn’t want to LIVE there! She didn’t want to constantly be planet bound, and when she wasn’t she didn’t want to have to look over her shoulder every five seconds. There was more to it than that, however…she had people she wanted to protect, someone she wanted to be with (if he’d have her), but they were all military. She couldn’t risk them like that.

So, she decided, she had to die.

The ice in her drink clattered softly as it melted enough to collapse in her glass, the whiskey at her elbow practically forgotten by now as it sat near her elbow. The upbeat little tune coming over the speakers was playing quietly for now until the band came in a little later. Once the sun fully set this place turned into a completely different dive than it was during the day…all the spacers and corellians just off work looking to get a good drink and a supper coming in around that time. For now, however, it seemed calm and quiet and it allowed her to think.

Samantha was currently pondering just how to ‘die’ without actually becoming dead…it was proving to be quite the conundrum.

With fingers laced and indexes pressed to her lips, her elbows sat propped on the table top as she tried to figure out how it might possibly work. Grey eyes gazed unseeingly out one of the far windows at the speeders zipping by, the serape wrapped about her shoulders having taken the place of her father’s coat. It had become a comfortable addition, but…nothing could replace that silly old thing in style, function, or sentimental value. As her thoughts churned, she once again realized that she had lost a lot of things that held sentimental value since that fateful day Ean Stenner had shown up in Vinay’s office, and subsequently taken her hostage.

It had caused a cascade effect in her life that was, at the moment, looking irreversible.

Of course, some good had come of it…she’d reconnected with the three men who’d meant the most in her life for the longest time, one of whom she was swiftly coming to consider as more than just the close friend she had thought of previously. She’d met the head of Familiar, who had reconnected her with Aunna and given her shelter in the storm. She’d reconnected with Athar and the Bah’lir community. Still, she wanted her life back…to be able to do with it what she wanted without fear of being caught and turned in for (no doubt) a swift death penalty.

A soft sigh escaped the blond only moments before the sound of someone clearing their throat caught her attention. Looking over at the sound, she furrowed her brow in confusion as her eyes worked their way up to the face of the person standing there. That voice…Stenner! Fire flashed through her eyes as she twisted in her seat, her hand dipping below that serape to the blaster pistol at her hip. One sweep of her eyes at his posture had her pausing, eying him warily without drawing the weapon. He didn’t look armed…did he have a tracker system on him? Was he being followed? What was the game here?

”Not really,” came the short and snippy response as she continued to eye his smile and posture with both caution and disbelief, her head turned just slightly away from him so she was looking at him just a bit sideways. ”The hells do you want from me, Stenner, and you’d better start talking fast because I don’t trust you far as I can throw you and I’m willing to bet credits that you’re up to something.”

[Mara]

Upon noticing his sudden presence by her table, Sam reached for a weapon. Ean could hardly fault her for wanting to shoot him; the big man had interacted with her for the sake of his job, treating her as a means to an end. His eyes slid half-closed as he stood there, unmoving. Wondering if this was the moment, the moment it would all end for him. He had always assumed his death would come as result of his work: shot, stabbed, blown up. So it wasn't really much of a shock to be in this situation now. However, he did regret that it was coming at an inopportune time in his life.

But a few seconds passed by without any flashes of light or searing pain, and he sneaked a peek at her. Her hands were still around the blaster, but it remained in her lap. Opening his eyes fully, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and lowered his arms to his sides. Ean was relieved; he had honestly been expecting a more violent reaction from the woman. Though there was a hardness in her features, Sam was surprisingly calm. He knew it could be deceiving, though; now that he knew her heritage, he would have to keep on his toes. Corellians could be a handful, as he had firsthand knowledge of.

She denied him entrance into her booth, and he merely nodded, assenting. He would allow her to dictate the path of this conversation; she would have complete control; he would do nothing unless she agreed to it. Of course, it would have been better to sit down for what he had to say, and perhaps there was still a chance he might do so, but he was fine staying on his feet. If Sam still decided to unleash her weapon at him, he'd have more space to move around and avoid it.

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "I don't want anything from you. There's no catch here. I've come to make peace with you. For... everything." Hopefully she would understand that he meant all that had happened since that afternoon he had kidnapped her on a whim, all the way up till she had gotten away from him and run off with that Jedi. For his taking up her friend's bounty. For his less than gentlemanly treatment of her. "I'll understand if you don't believe me; in your shoes, I'd probably be skeptical, too. But I promise, it's the truth. The past few months, I've been doing a lot of thinking. About my life. And other things."

Ean pulled out one of his hands and reached over the table, dropping something in front of her next to her glass. It was a key card. "That opens the storage unit where I had all your belongings moved to. It's yours. I want you to have it." He looked at her a moment before adding, "It's paid up for at least another year. In case you can't get to Coruscant right away. I would have emptied it myself and taken everything with me, but I hadn't the time." An apologetic shrug. The Corellian wasn't expecting her to suddenly forgive him, but was hoping this gesture of goodwill on his part was a step in a positive direction towards reconciliation.



Edited: For spelling

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Oh, Samantha may have been Corellian to the core with rocket fuel for blood, but she wasn’t stupid by any means. She easily kept that weapon out of sight and made no overtly threatening motions. She was an outlaw, after all…and drawing unwanted attention to herself wasn’t the best idea. It was enough that the man before her understood that she was armed and willing to do what she had to in order to survive. As he spoke, however, the blond watched carefully.

Grey eyes took in every movement, slight or otherwise, that he made. Silently she thanked Brathos, and not for the first or last time in the past year or so of her…traitorism…if such a word existed. While he wasn’t the easiest read in the book, Ean Stenner was, at least, easy enough to read that she was fairly certain he was speaking the truth. That, or he was a very, very good liar. She’d vote for the former over the latter. Still…did he really think that showing up and saying ‘I’m sorry’ for everything he’d done to her life would make peace with her?

Still…he had her attention now.

Quirking one brow just slightly she’d continue to watch and listen without moving. As he shoved his hands into his pockets, she’d shift just slightly, wary of the action but not moving against it as she slowly reached one hand to take up her glass and drink from it. Watered down whiskey…not the best, but it would have to do considering the situation. If nothing else it kept her trigger finger from itching quite so bad. As he pulled out one hand, she’d tense…until she saw the card key. Eying it with a sort of thinly veiled curiosity, she looked from it to him as he explained.

The explanation had her eyes narrowing just slightly in disbelief. Should she actually believe him…the man who had not only held her hostage, but had held everything of importance to her hostage after utterly destroying what shreds were left of her life in the military? Could this bounty hunter, who she’d only known to be driven by the lust to finish his job, really be doing something out of his perceived character with no thought for repayment? Was there really no catch? Honestly, Samantha had a difficult time believing it, but…maybe she could attempt to hear the man out. After all, she only needed a few things out of that storage and…even if it were some trap she could figure out the workings of it before she ever even tried to get near it. Still, what would he gain from turning her in at this point?

”Oh, nothing really…just ANOTHER bounty,” she mused silently as she debated what to do next.

Slowly she would set her glass down again, that same hand moving to cover the key card and slide it along the table top toward her. With a slight nod to the bench across from her, she’d finally speak, each word slow and deliberate…cautious. ”Alright, Stenner…you have my attention. Take a seat.”

[Mara]

As his words slowly sank in, Ean continued to keep his dull brown eyes on Sam, his body alert for danger. Just because he hadn't been punched or shot...or worse...yet, didn't mean he was out of the woods regarding such. Far from it, as long as the woman kept her hand on her weapon, her own body tense. But he had noticed the minute change in her expression and could almost hear the gears working inside her head as she did some serious thinking. About what, he couldn't begin to imagine, though likely it had somewhat to do with himself and his surprise appearance and subsequent peace offering.

He wasn't exactly a smart man, an educated man, but he had a fair amount of life experience from being out in the galaxy. Ean recognized well when he was in a delicate situation where it seemed he was wavering on a knife's edge. Wanting to give Sam enough time to digest everything, he also didn't want to overstay what accounted for her welcome, shaky as it was. And even though this was something he solemnly believed he had to follow through with in order to move on to new things, he was ready to concede the matter as finished with delivery of the key card and take his leave.

When she finally seemed to come to a personal consensus and reached for the key card, he allowed his muscles to relax. Ean had been worried that she might just snatch the key and tell him to bugger off, and that would be that. However, there was much more he wanted, needed, to say to her, and so far had only managed to accomplish the first step in the plan. And it had gone easier than he had dared to even think about, so many scenarios having invaded his mind, some of which ending with him laying on the ground with a smoking hole in chest.

Ean nodded to her as she tipped her head to indicate the seat across from her. "Thank you." Stepping over, he removed his other hand from his pocket and grasped the table edge to help himself slide into the booth. He sat down heavily, not bothering to cover up a sigh of relief. She was giving him a chance, however brief it might end up being. He just prayed that he had the will, and the time, to do it justice. What he had done to the woman in the past was one of his biggest regrets; if he knew what he did now, he wanted to think that the situation would have gone much differently.

Once seated, he glanced away from Sam for a few moments, composing his thoughts. She hadn't exactly given him the greatest segue, and he had to figure out where to start. He didn't fault her for it, though; if he had been in her situation, wary of someone's change of heart or random gestures of kindness, he would have remained quiet as well to force the other to speak out of a need to shatter the awkward silence.

After a deep inhale and an even deeper exhale, he turned his gaze back to her, knowing she would be expectant and probably wouldn't be willing to wait much longer. "When you..." Ean stopped and cleared his throat, beginning again with a stronger voice. "When you left, and I kept on the job, looking for the major... I remembered some of your words. And it made me think about what I was doing. But it wasn't until later that I really reflected on my life and where it had brought me so far. And I didn't like what I saw. What I had become."

The big Corellian sighed, this time with the opposite of relief, but his eyes didn't waver from hers. "And I quit. For the first time in my life, I just stopped right in the middle of a job, said hell to everything. I didn't care what the Republic might think of me. I cared more about what I thought of myself. What... my mother would think of me." He shrugged. "I just thought you should know. Your friend is safe now. From me at least."

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Samantha watched the man across from her with all the intensity of a trained kath hound, the intense silence making the situation awkward…probably more for Ean than herself. He almost fidgeted as he seemed to search for the right words, her grey eyes taking in the scene before her with a keen (if highly wary) interest. Whatever the man had to say it was obvious, at least to her, that he was uncomfortable in her presence. ’Good,’ she thought, with some irritation. ’I’m glad he’s uncomfortable. He darn well deserves it…and probably more. He has no clue what I’ve gone through since he held me captive. The least he can do is feel awkward!’

When he finally started talking, pausing a moment, then started again the woman shifted slightly in her seat to face him more appropriately. Now, the (currently) stoic blonde wasn’t sure what she had expected the mercenary to say, but whatever it was…it hadn’t been what she heard from him now. It earned him a slight quirk of a brow at first, and by the end she was sitting back, gazing at him from across the table with a carefully arranged expression of neutrality. ’Hmm…interesting. I sure as hell didn’t expect this…’ she mused as she tapped a finger against the side of her blaster as she debated her next move.

Finally, at long last (and no doubt to Ean’s great relief), she pulled her hand from beneath her serape and leaned forward, resting both forearms on the table, her posture letting him know ahead of time that he should be expecting something…probably not too pleasant in the way of words. Even as she did this, however, the server arrived. Taking one look between the two of them, the woman wasn’t entirely sure what she had just walked in on and shifted around uncomfortably. Sam, however, didn’t miss a beat.

Turning to look at the teen, she beamed a bright smile. ”Great, there you are! Kittie, this is Ean…he and I were just discussing a few things about the last job we did, but I think Ean here was just lookin’ for a drink.” Turning to Ean, she gave him the most impish smile possible. ”Hmm…Let’s see if I can’t remember what you like…whiskey, Corellian. Right, Ean? Yeah, that sounds about right…” Without so much as waiting for a reply, she’d laugh a little and turn back to Kittie, leaning her elbow on the table and pushing her own glass toward the girl as if not a thing out of the normal was happening. ”Two corellian whiskeys, one for him and another for me.” The girl, at least, seemed more at ease now, nodding as she tapped in the order and gave a smile and a bright little “sure thing” before heading off again.

Turning back to Ean, Sam would take up her previous posture, staring at him for a long moment (all signs of good humor gone) before speaking, her tone dark and quiet so only he could hear her. ”You know, Stenner…you have a lot of nerve, and you’re lucky as hell that I believe you.” She’d glare at him, the deep frown on her face seeming odd and out of place on her features. ”Do you have any idea what you’ve done? I mean a real idea…not just from hear-say or supposition? You can’t possibly know half of what I’ve been through since I got away from you. You can’t possibly understand the lengths I’m about to go through just to get some semblance of my life back, since Via only knows if I’ll ever be able to get my own life back.” She snorted a bit and sat back again, her tone easing, just slightly. ”The best thing you did for me was get me that damn ID.”

[Mara]

Though he hadn't exactly been expecting her to jump up for joy and give him a giant hug, all forgiven, Ean had thought his awkward confession might elicit more than just a blank stare from the blonde. But he was a patient man, for the most part, from years of suffering great lengths of inactivity throughout his career, and so he drew on his reserves to remain calm. The big Corellian sat there quietly, keeping his own face rather passive while he waited for Sam to, hopefully, decide on some kind of verbal response.

She leaned her arms on the tabletop, taking her hand off her blaster, and some of the tension went out of his muscles, replaced with a inkling of hope. But that hope disappeared as the look displayed on her face made him brace himself for whatever biting remarks were to come. That perhaps she didn't believe him, was highly skeptical that he felt himself a changed man. That it was all some kind of trick to collect on her bounty. Ean wanted to think Sam was smarter than that, but the truth was, in her shoes, he would have been wary of his sudden turn of heart as well. He was okay with that; the man was prepared to remain for the long haul until she understood his intentions.

However, Sam was interrupted, giving Ean some respite, when their server arrived, looking rather skittish. But the woman sitting across from him put the young woman at ease, as if they were two friends out for a casual drink; there was no trace of her earlier hardness. He nodded politely when introduced; trained years and years ago to be prepared for surprises, the Corellian rolled with the blonde's sudden good humor as if it were completely normal behavior for her.

When she consequently mentioned that he wanted a drink, though, he held up a hand, palm outwards, to desist. "No, that's all right. I don't think--" But Sam had barreled over his words, and he stopped, sighing. Perhaps a glass wouldn't hurt, after all. Given the conversation so far and what was inevitably coming from the woman after this brief delay. So he nodded again and smiled at the serving girl, assenting to Sam's assessment of his preferred beverage. Actually, he tended to stick to ales, but maybe the choice would turn out to be an unexpected boon. "Whiskey will be fine. Thanks."

Once the girl had departed to fulfill the request, it was like her arrival hadn't happened. Ean turned back to see Sam in exactly the same position. And again, he prepared himself, only barely, as her words quickly followed. As he listened, he expertly kept the astonishment off his face as she stated that she did, in fact, believe him, feeling relief in that, at least. Though, the hurt that the rest of her words caused, hurt that he already had fathomed but that took shape as she formed them aloud, weren't as easy to rebuff, and his face mirrored some of that regret.

"No. You're right. I don't know," he said honestly after she had finished, his features still a little drawn. "And I won't pretend that I do. My imagination isn't that great." At this, the corner of his mouth turned up momentarily, before his voice took on a serious tone. "I have come to try and set things right with you. That..." Ean nodded towards the key card that was sitting on her side of the tabletop. "That was just the first step in what I'm willing to do for you. I can't change your past... but maybe I can make your future easier to bear. So that you won't need that I.D." His brown eyes looked at her grays, unblinkingly. "If you'll have me, my resources, my services. Otherwise... I've said what I came to say. And I'll leave you be."

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

short and to the point =shrug=

---

Samantha listened quietly as Ean said his piece. Was she still wary of the man? Of course, who in their right mind wouldn't be? Did she believe that he was honestly trying to do right? Tentatively, yes. Everyone did what they thought they had to do to...Ean was no different. At least he hadn't done it maliciously, he'd done it neglectfully....despite being malicious after the fact. He'd seen her as a means to an end, he hadn't taken her just to ruin her life. That made her sigh a little bit, unsure of how she should feel about the situation. Still, he was offering her help and...that's when an idea came to her.

"Alright, Ean....you want to help, I can give you a way to help, because...getting my name cleared isn't gonna be easy, especially being wanted by damn near everyone for treason." Glancing up as the girl came back with their drinks, she'd nod, smile, and send her off once more before turning back to the man across from her. "I want you to kill me."

A devious little smirk formed on her face, grey eyes glinting with some form of odd amusement as she said that, just waiting to see his reaction.

[Mara]

(((No worries!)))


Ean let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding while waiting for her response to his offer. He had half-expected her to just blow him off: take the keycard, nod her thanks, and ask him to leave. Maybe because she still didn't believe his sincerity, or maybe because she just wanted to be rid of him and move on from the past. And he wouldn't have faulted her for any of that; still, though, he had been hoping that Sam would remain in his life in some capacity. Why, he couldn't really be sure.

A smile spread across his face at her acceptance, and his earlier dread melted away. "Anything I can do. Anything, Sam. It's all at your disposal. Credits are no object," Ean said earnestly. Despite the difficulty in what the blonde needed, would have need of, he knew he would do everything he could to help her out, had offered just that. With his money, his sources, his contacts, his skill and experience garnered over the last several years. It would be his pleasure to do so for causing the trouble in the first place. Even if he hadn't done it consciously and would never understand what she had been through. Time was well overdue for the Corellian to make amends for his decisions and choices.

Their server returned with their drinks then, and he nodded at the girl as she placed his glass of whiskey down on the table. For the moment, he just let it sit there, ignoring it, and returned his attention to the woman across from him. Sam seemed to be gearing up to something, and he wanted to catch whatever it was. Though what it could be, he wasn't sure; she had already asked him for his assistance in clearing her name, scrubbing her record clean of treason. Perhaps she had an idea on how to go about it? Or just had a snarky remark? But she indeed had a plan in mind and said it casually, as if it were a simple thing, something that happened every day. His brown eyes widened in reaction.

He grabbed his whiskey and took a long sip, savoring the drink for a second or two, before leaning back in his seat, unsure how to react. But as he further pondered her words, however, he concluded that the idea shouldn't have been unexpected and was actually very logical. If Sam were dead, the charges against her would obviously be dropped, and she would no longer be hunted. Of course, Ean assumed that she did not mean a physical death--at least, he hoped not--but rather a complete erasing and destruction of an identity so she would be free to do whatever she wanted without having to look over her shoulder every moment.

Having quickly accepted her idea and come to terms with it as the best course of action under the circumstances, he nodded; all surprise had gone from his features and had been replaced with a resolve to get this job done right. He was already thinking of ways to accomplish her 'death,' of sources to contact, favors to call in to do it realistically. However, there was just one detail she hadn't mentioned, a very important one, as far as he was concerned, and he needed that information before he could even begin to set things in motion. "Hmm. All right. I can do that. Question is... which one of you? Sam... or Namra? Or both?" Ean calmly lifted a brow, tapping a finger against his glass, which he rested back on the table.