The Only Witness

8

“Rutin,” Lena said, gazing down at the package. She ran her fingers over her name. “This is Rutin’s handwriting,” she explained, looking up at the Jedi. “I’d recognize it anywhere.”

Qui-Gon looked down at the package, feeling quite certain that it was some sort of trap. Rutin was dead, was he not?

“I’d like to have a look at that,” he said, stepping forward. “I want to make sure it is not dangerous before you open it.”

Lena frowned. “Rutin would never put me in danger,” she said adamantly.

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. From what he could gather, Rutin had put her in significant danger. But he saw no point in reminding Lena of that now.

“It could be a trap,” Qui-Gon said plainly. Lena scowled slightly at Qui-Gon. Perhaps, Qui-Gon mused, she felt he was stealing her last gift from Rutin But she gave Qui-Gon the package.

Closing his eyes, Qui-Gon held the package for several moments. When he opened them again, he returned the package to Lena.

“I do not sense anything immediately grave,” he said. But he was not convinced that the package was from Rutin, or that it would help them gain evidence against the Cobral. He was not convinced of anything.

Lena set the box on the table and opened it with a small pocket blade before removing the wrapping. Then she began to empty its contents and set them on the table: a pair of black boots, a small vial of dirt… Lena’s face fell as she looked over the contents of the box. “This doesn’t make sense,” she murmured.

“I think I’ll go make us all something to eat,” Mica said, excusing herself.

“Good idea, Mica,” Lena said. “I’m starved.”

Qui-Gon sat down next to Lena as soon as Mica left the room. He was unclear about the motives of both women, but felt he might be able to get some answers if he addressed them individually.

“Have you had any visitors to the warehouse?” he asked, not wasting any time.

Lena turned her attention away from the package and shook her head. “No, why?”

Instead of answering, Qui-Gon asked another question. “Have you received mysterious packages before today?”

Lena shook her head again. “No, of course not. I would have told you about them.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Qui-Gon said, not entirely sure that he believed her.

The next question was perhaps the most important. “Is Mica the only one who knows about this place?” he asked quietly.

Lena looked up quickly. She was frowning.

“I think I’ll go see if Mica needs any help with the food,” Obi-Wan said abruptly.

Qui-Gon gave a brief nod to his Padawan, indicating that he thought it was a good idea. But he did not take his eyes off Lena’s face.

Still frowning, Lena got to her feet. “Yes, Mica is the only other person besides you and Obi-Wan who knows about this apartment,” she said flatly. She turned to face Qui-Gon again, her hands on her hips. “But do not question my cousin’s loyalty. Mica and I grew up together. We are like sisters. And she is not in league with the Cobrals.”

Lena crossed the room, then let out a sigh and came back to sit next to Qui-Gon. “I don’t even like to discuss the Cobrals in front of Mica,” she said slowly. “As a very young girl she witnessed the murder of her mother, and the memory is still excruciatingly painful.”

“The Cobrals were responsible for her mother’s death?” Qui-Gon asked, slightly surprised.

Lena nodded sadly. “They killed her in cold blood. Mica was only seven and she saw the whole thing. It was a huge loss, and perhaps an even bigger trauma. She has never gotten over it.”

Qui-Gon was silent as this information sank in.

“Everything on Frego is so complicated,” Lena said with a heavy sigh. “But I will try to explain. As I’ve said before, the Cobrals have many allies on Frego. For centuries Frego’s government treated the citizens poorly—taxes were high and public services virtually nonexistent. Fregans worked hard only to have their money taken from them.

“The Cobral family changed all of that. While it is true that they made their fortune selling drugs and weapons and had a rough reputation, they used their power to force the government to provide the basic services people needed. They even lowered taxes and raised wages.”

“Which made life for the people better,” Qui-Gon said. He had visited planets with similar stories. A corrupt power ousted an unjust government, making positive changes. But the means through which those positive changes were made had its own kind of evil.

“Today the government acknowledges that the ways of the past were wrong, that they treated the people unfairly,” Lena continued. “And many politicians resent having to operate under the Cobral thumb. They want to do right by their people. Or at least some of them do. Others appear to be noble, but are corrupt to the core.”

“I see that the Cobral makes things quite complicated,” Qui-Gon commented. “For everyone, it seems.”

“There is no honesty, no safety,” Lena stated. “We live by whims and not laws. That is why the violence has to stop. I know there is a better way, and I want Frego to have a chance for a new beginning-the beginning that Rutin and I did not have.”

Tears welled in Lena’s eyes, and for the first time Qui-Gon softened toward her. He understood just how she felt. He and Tahl had never had a new beginning, either.

Lena wiped her cheek. “There are some politicians who would also like to forge a new path for the future. And some people would like to support a new government. But many others feel a strong debt to the Cobrals for making life better.”

Lena gazed solemnly at the package and the boots on the table. “It seems that no one can break free.”

“But you trust your cousin completely?” Qui-Gon asked, getting back to his original line of questioning.

Lena looked Qui-Gon in the eye. “Without hesitation. As I told you, she is like my sister. Mica longs to avenge her mother and shed the corruption. Perhaps more than anyone.”

Qui-Gon did not point out that Rutin and Solan were brothers. Instead he took a breath and let it out slowly.

“I’m afraid that Mica may have revealed your whereabouts,” he stated. “Or else another party has discovered them on their own.”