Chapter 14: THE SLICER IN THE WALLS
Gang territory announced itself through graffiti and silence.
The market bustle faded as I moved deeper into Draven's sector. Shops grew sparse, replaced by warehouses and abandoned structures. The few people I passed walked with their heads down, moving fast, not making eye contact.
Occupation zone. Same psychology everywhere.
I spent the first two hours observing. Patrol patterns, shift changes, which buildings got traffic and which were empty. Military reconnaissance adapted for urban criminal enterprise.
Draven operated from a converted processing plant near the sector's center. Guards at the entrances, vehicles in the loading bay, the kind of activity that suggested legitimate business layered over something darker.
But the interesting intel came from the patrol teams.
They weren't just walking routes—they were searching. Systematically checking abandoned buildings, prying open maintenance hatches, sweeping with handheld scanners. They were hunting someone.
I found a vendor selling questionable meat from a cart near the sector boundary. The kind of vendor who saw everything and pretended to see nothing.
"Busy day," I said, buying something that might have been protein.
The vendor grunted. Human female, older, with the weathered look of someone who'd survived through selective blindness.
"Always busy when Draven's boys are moving."
"Looking for something?"
She glanced at me sideways. Assessing.
"Someone. Twi'lek. Stole from the boss. Word is she's got data that could burn the whole operation."
"Valuable data?"
"Valuable enough to put fifty thousand on her head. Internal bounty. No Guild involvement."
Fifty thousand credits. For data. That meant the information could hurt Draven more than fifty thousand—probably much more.
"She still alive?"
"Must be. They're still looking."
I finished my protein-substance and moved on. The vendor had given me exactly what I needed: motivation.
The maintenance tunnels beneath Nevarro's industrial sector were a maze of forgotten infrastructure.
I'd found the entrance in an abandoned refinery—a hatch concealed beneath fallen debris that someone had recently cleared. The marks were fresh. Someone was using these tunnels.
The space was cramped, barely tall enough to crouch in. Cables and pipes lined the walls. The air tasted stale and recycled, with an undertone of something chemical.
I moved slowly, checking each junction for signs of passage. A food wrapper here. A scuff mark there. The trail led deeper, toward a section that my mental map said ran beneath the old water treatment facility.
The blaster was in my hand before I consciously drew it.
"Stop there."
The voice came from the shadows ahead. Female. Accented Basic—Ryl influence, maybe.
"I'm not Draven's."
"Everyone says that."
"If I were Draven's, I'd have brought friends. I'm alone."
A pause. Then: "Step into the light. Slowly."
A glow rod flickered on ahead. I moved toward it, hands visible, blaster pointed at the floor.
She emerged from a alcove carved into the tunnel wall. Twi'lek, as expected—blue-green skin, lekku wrapped protectively around her neck. Young, maybe early twenties. And exhausted. Her eyes had the hollow look of someone running on stimulants and fear.
"Who are you?"
"Cole Morgan. I'm looking for leverage against Draven."
"Why?"
"He's threatening a client. I need something to make him back off."
The Twi'lek studied me for a long moment. Her hand rested on a holdout blaster at her hip—cheap model, probably unreliable, but she knew how to hold it.
"You're the security consultant. The one who beat three of his enforcers."
News traveled fast.
"Word gets around."
"Word gets around that you're either very skilled or very stupid." She tilted her head. "Which is it?"
"Both, depending on the day."
Her lips twitched—not quite a smile.
"I'm Vex'ila. And I have what you're looking for. But I need something in return."
"Name it."
"Off this planet. I've been hiding for twelve days. They're getting closer. Eventually they'll find these tunnels."
"I have a ship."
Her eyes sharpened.
"What's the catch?"
"I need technical skills. Slicing, data analysis, system infiltration. You provide those, I provide transport and protection. No contracts, no ownership. Partnership."
"Partnership." She tested the word like it might bite her. "Everyone has an angle."
"My angle is that I'm building something. An operation. I can't do everything alone. You have skills I don't have. I have a ship you need. Mutual benefit."
Vex'ila was quiet for a long time. In the dim light, I could see her calculating—risks, rewards, alternatives.
"Show me your hands."
The request caught me off guard.
"Why?"
"Because I want to see if you're hiding weapons."
I held up my gloved hands. She examined them, frowning.
"You always wear those?"
"Medical condition. Can't risk contact."
It was the truth wrapped in a lie—my standard approach now. I couldn't tell her about the touch-theft. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
But she'd notice. Like the Mikkian kid had noticed, weeks ago. Like Vera had noticed. The gloves were a marker, a peculiarity that people remembered.
Vex'ila accepted the answer with a shrug.
"Fine. We have a deal. But I want to see this ship before we go anywhere."
"Fair enough."
I extended my hand—glove to hand, the way I'd done with Telos.
She shook it.
"When do we move?"
"Now. Your data's the only leverage I need against Draven. The sooner you're off-planet, the sooner I can use it."
"It won't be that simple. They've got search parties covering the exits."
"Then we don't use the exits. We make our own."
Author's Note / Support the Story
Your Reviews and Power Stones help the story grow! They are the best way to support the series and help new readers find us.
Want to read ahead? Get instant access to more chapters by supporting me on Patreon. Choose your tier to skip the wait:
⚔️ Noble ($7): Read 10 chapters ahead of the public.
👑 Royal ($11): Read 17 chapters ahead of the public.
🏛️ Emperor ($17): Read 24 chapters ahead of the public.
Weekly Updates: New chapters are added every week. See the pinned "Schedule" post on Patreon for the full update calendar.
👉 Join here: patreon.com/Kingdom1Building