Built on Hope (Cassian Andor FF)

13. Hunter or Hunted

Talia Revik sat alone at the local watering hole full of Imperial workers. One hand held onto her drink, a variation of a Kibshae, which was a clear liquid that had minimal alcohol. Her other hand was shoved into her pocket, moving Captain Antilles' holochip around between her fingers.

Trusting her handler to send it back to the Rebel base was not an option. The package would bounce between too many people, and who knows if it would even get to its destination. Talia hated that she couldn't go back to the base, but the risk of being followed was incredibly high. All she could do was wait until she figured out a plan on how to get it there safely. She put it in her pant pocket for safe keeping. 

Talia set her drink down onto the table and stood up. Time to make the drop. She exited the bar through the back. She looked around and spotted a man soiling against the wall. The rest of the dark alley was empty, thankfully. She could see the people strolling down the street on the far exit. Some storm troopers passed by, causing her to tense up a bit.

Having so many storm troopers only set the city on edge. It only made matters worse since Imperials of all kinds were despised there. Most of their population worked for the Empire in some way, but a lot of them dreaded it. That was shown through the horrible graffiti, beautiful rebellion art works, and more throughout the city.

Talia set her hand against the wall, pretending to be a little sick from the swill the bartender gave her. She needed the man to leave without getting suspicious of her being there. The man turned to glance at her and spoke up in a course accent, "Rough night?"

"Working for the Empire is always rough," she replied truthfully. She coughed and spit up a bit to make her sickness seem real. She made a deep noise as if she were going to throw up.

"Ah, you're one of us. Don't worry. Other citizens feel the same." He zipped up his pants and patted her on the back. "Do you need me to take you to the medics?"

Talia shook her head and gulped loudly. "I'm good." She waved him off and spit out excess saliva. The man nodded and walked back inside the bar.

The rebel spy straightened herself up and glanced around once more before going towards the drop. She removed the brick and stuck her hand in the pocket, but only grabbed onto air. It was empty. Guess he has nothing to say to me. She reached into her inner uniform jacket pocket and put the information holochip into the wall. Talia stuck the brick back, poking it a few times to make sure it didn't move out of place. She shoved her hands in her pockets and headed towards the street at a regular pace.

A pair of hands yanked her back into the alley and she tore away from the person's grasp. She whirled around and almost swung for a punch until she saw who it was. Captain Cassian Andor in the flesh. A mixture of relief and anger tinged up in her stomach. "What the hell are you doing here? Don't you know you being here is-"

Cassian cut her off in a short, breathless reply, "I'm saving you." He pulled her further into the alley and towards the bar door.

She resisted for a second, confused about the whole situation. "From what?"

We don't have time for this. Cassian thought quickly. He turned to her and whispered, "There's a bounty hunter that's going to be here any minute." I'm not going to fail someone else.

"Am I compromised? Or just the drop?" Her stomach twisted sharply into a knot. How? Was it something she did? Did the handler mess up? Was the Empire spying on her? Is she going to be executed? Will her face be plastered all over wanted posters? Talia kept her composure, but couldn't help from frowning at the sinking feeling settling in her system.