The Deadly Hunter

13

Everything had happened so fast, but Obi-Wan’s extraordinary reflexes gave him a second to plan. It was enough. As he shot over the railing, he was already accessing his liquid cable launcher. He aimed it at the platform edge. It engaged.

The line played out, and he swung in empty space. It was an eerie feeling. A cruiser zoomed by him, its driver surprised to see a boy dangling in the middle of a space lane.

Obi-Wan felt sweat trickle down his flanks. He retracted the launcher, and it carried him up to the platform level. Qui-Gon was waiting.

“That was fast thinking, Obi-Wan,” Qui-Gon said, relieved and agitated. “Your reflexes did not fail you. I should have been more alert.”

“Where is the parking clerk?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Took off in the speeder,” Qui-Gon said grimly.

“Do you think the bounty hunter bribed him?”

“I think the boy was the bounty hunter,” Qui-Gon said. “We will not make that mistake again.” He felt lightheaded with relief and realized that fatigue had set in at last. “Come. We can’t do any more tonight. We need to rest. At least we know the bounty hunter is still on Coruscant and is not tracking Didi and Astri.”

By the time they reached the Temple, Obi-Wan’s steps were dragging. His close call had cost him. Qui-Gon was glad to send him to his quarters.

Back in his own quarters, Qui-Gon lay on his sleep couch in the darkness. He wished for rest, but even a Jedi could not summon sleep when the mind was active.

She had deceived him again. She had nearly killed Obi-Wan. She was thinking faster than he was. It was because his preoccupation with the whys of the investigation was leading him to be less vigilant. He had been more worried about Didi than about his own Padawan.

Qui-Gon thought back to the interview with Jenna Zan Arbor. Obi-Wan was right. It made sense that the Tech Raiders would want to steal Senator S’orn’s data pad. No doubt they had engaged Fligh for the task. It was in Fligh’s character to hold out on them. And it was possible that Fligh had concealed the data pad within the café, involving Didi. Perhaps he’d tried to retrieve it and that was why he’d been killed.

Qui-Gon stared at the ceiling. Logic told him that this scenario made sense. Why couldn’t he sleep?

It was because the killing of Fligh did not seem like the job of a criminal gang like the Tech Raiders. They did not need to disguise their work, to send the Coruscant security forces on the wrong path. They arrogantly thought themselves too big to care about a local investigation.

No, Fligh’s murder still did not make sense. That indicated to Qui-Gon that it was about emotion, not logic.

He thought back to Senator S’orn. He had glimpsed the despair and bitterness deep within her. Such emotions could drive someone to evil, certainly.

Jenna Zan Arbor appeared to have nothing to hide. Yet it still bothered him that she’d shown up at Didi’s Café. True, she didn’t know Coruscant, but her friend did. She could have asked for a recommendation from Uta S’orn. Why did she take the advice of a stranger?

Murder is an upsetting topic.

Especially for the victim.

There was something cold in the way Jenna Zan Arbor had smiled when she made that light remark. Her smile was keeping Qui-Gon awake.

And the vision of Obi-Wan shooting over that railing into deep space while he scrambled to get to him. And the knowledge that the bounty hunter would likely return to Didi and Astri’s trail.

Yes, he had much on his mind.

He reached out to the night. He pulled the darkness around himself. He drew long slow breaths. He could do nothing tonight. His worry about Didi and Astri would simmer inside him, would flare to life again in the morning. Until then, he would sleep.

The next morning, Helb was nowhere to be found.

“This is suspicious,” Obi-Wan said. “No doubt he knows that we are on to him.”

Qui-Gon had decided not to share his feeling that the Tech Raiders were not responsible for Fligh’s death. He had only cloudy doubts and vague feelings to report; he wanted more concrete evidence.

And Helb knew more than he was telling. That was certain.

Vandor-3 was a neighboring satellite planet of Coruscant. Luckily Qui-Gon had taken a cruiser from the Temple landing platform, just in case they needed to travel beyond Coruscant’s atmosphere. It was a short journey to Vandor-3.

They hovered outside the base’s air space until they were given clearance to land. Qui-Gon saw the landing platform below, in the midst of what looked like a salvage yard. He eased the cruiser down between a maintenance hauler and a sea of swoops.

As soon as they released the loading ramp and exited, they were assaulted by noise. Workers and droids were everywhere, cutting metal, soldering circuits, dragging materials, operating gravsleds. Voices were raised in argument over the loud buzzing of hydraulic metal cutters, macrofusers, and hydrospanners. Enormous repulsorlift engines hung over their heads on a system of straps and pulleys. Speeder parts, circuit boards, boosters, converters, and other parts Obi-Wan did not recognize were divided into various piles.

“This is quite an operation,” Qui-Gon said as they edged their way past a starship, its engine parts laid out on the floor.

“Watch out for that acceleration compensator!” a voice bellowed.

Obi-Wan took a quick step sideways to avoid the equipment as Helb barreled toward them, his orange eyes sparking irritation.

“I’m guessing you didn’t come here for a deal on speeder parts,” he yelled over the noise.

“Just information,” Qui-Gon yelled back.

“Well, you’re in the way here. Follow me.”

The Jedi followed Helb into a quieter corner of the yard. A small shed made out of salvaged materials stood against a durasteel fence. Helb pushed the door open.

Inside, the din dulled to a dim roar.

“I’d ask you to sit, but you’re leaving,” Helb snapped. “I thought I made it clear that I’ve told you all I know.”

“I don’t think you have,” Qui-Gon said. “I think you’ve left something out. I think your gang hired Fligh to steal Senator S’orn’s data pad. Most likely Fligh had to agree to do it because he owed you money.”

Helb didn’t say anything. He crossed his arms.

“Maybe Fligh didn’t turn over the data pad. Maybe he thought he could get more money out of you,” Qui-Gon guessed, watching Helb carefully. “Maybe that’s why you put the deathmark on his head. You suspected he had given the data pad to Didi.”

“Listen, I’m not pretending to be overflowing with goodness, Jedi,” Helb said. “I’d sell out my brother for money. But we didn’t put a death mark on Fligh. Now get out of here before I call the security droids.”

Qui-Gon didn’t move. He put one hand on his lightsaber hilt. Obi-Wan did the same.

Helb shifted uncomfortably. “Look, we don’t want to get on the wrong side of the Jedi.”

“Then tell us the truth, and we will go,” Qui-Gon said.

“All right, all right. Yes, we did get Fligh to steal the data pad. The bantha-brain stole the wrong one! He should have taken her official data pad, not the one with her personal correspondence. But it worked out fine, because we didn’t know she was planning to resign. We got what we wanted anyway. Her legislation is dead. Why would we put a death mark on Fligh? Sure, he was a weasel, but he was a valuable weasel. Sent a lot of clients our way.”

“Fligh stole two data pads that day,” Qui-Gon said. “Do you know what happened to the other one?”

Helb shrugged. “Probably sold it, or gave it to someone he owed money to.”

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon exchanged a glance. “Didi,” Obi-Wan murmured.

“Maybe,” Helb said, overhearing him. “I’m sure Fligh owed Didi, too. Didi is the shrewdest sabacc player around. We all played that game of sabacc together. I lost to Didi, too. None of us could pay off Didi that day, but he let us slide. I didn’t pay him off until a few days later. Luckily I had something to trade with.”

“What did you trade?” Qui-Gon asked.

“I passed along this hideout I had in the Cascardi Mountains,” Helb said. “I never would have used it, anyway. I won it in a game of chance off some old fool wrapped in a pile of cloaks at the Splendor. As a matter of fact, it was the day I met the two of you—”

Helb didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence.

The two Jedi were gone.