Jango handed him the cylinder. He peered inside, they seemed to be some kind of anthropods. Because they were silent and extremely poisonous, they made an excellent assassination weapon. He smiled and looked up at Jango.
"Should be easy," he said. Jango didn't smile back. "Zam already failed this morning with the explosion. They'll be expecting another attack. There is no more room for mistakes."
Anakin's lip quirked upward again. "Have I failed you yet?"
This time Jango had to smile back. Though they had never been close, he had watched the boy grow from an overeager child into an effective weapon, and no, he hadn't yet left a job unfinished.
"You know where to meet me when the job is done." Without further ado, he sped away. Anakin had already been briefed on the details, just as Zam had been. Jango often employed both of them to get a job done; sometimes he needed more than one person, and sometimes he just wasn't in the mood for second chances. Like now, Anakin thought with a grin.
He didn't know much about his target, but politicians were always the same to him: snobby, rich, and didn't give a kriff about their 'inferiors.' They didn't care what happened to the people they represented unless it benefited them. This old Nubian senator probably had the same profile as that old sot from Moer he had offed a few months back.
Well, he mused, not all politicians are so bad. One of his most cherished memories was of a beautiful queen from Naboo with the face of an angel. She was, in fact, from the same planet as the old fogy he was going to assassinate tonight. But she's not even a politician, not really, he thought. A queen isn't the same thing as a senator.
He arrived at his target's window, thousands of feet above the ground levels. He gingerly carved a hole in the window, careful not to make any noise that would wake the senator. The anthropods slid inside, where they would instinctively feed on the only living thing in the room. Easy. He honestly didn't know what Jango had been so worried about; any amateur could assassinate someone with anthropods. It didn't take any sort of skill. He turned to leave, barely sparing a glance at the senator-
And what he saw made him freeze.
What he saw was definitely not the pompous old fogy he had fully expected.
What he saw was an angel.
Thoroughly frazzled, all he could think was get inside, get inside, don't let those things touch her! He didn't care about getting caught anymore, he had to save her. He reached deep inside himself, where he often felt something, something elusive he couldn't name. He used it to channel all the energy around and inside him, and pushed it all at the glass. It shattered, and he leapt inside to find the anthropods just inches from her, and with two bolts from his blaster they were dead.
Unfortunately, the sound of the blaster had also woken Padme. She stared at him wide-eyed for a moment that seemed like an eternity. He realized what he must look like, standing in her sleeping quarters in front of a broken window holding a smoking blaster.
In that same moment, he realized that Jango would be back to kill her, with Zam to help him. He also knew that her guards wouldn't be enough to keep her safe, after how easily he had gotten in. Not even Jedi would be suitable; the Jedi hadn't even good enough to protect his mother.
He thought of all this in the second before she was about to scream. Before she could, he clamped a hand over her mouth, scooped her up into his arms, and slung her over his shoulder. Padme clearly did not appreciate this, she first kicked him so hard he nearly dropped her, and when that didn't work she actually bit his hand.
"Arhg!" he yelled in surprise, and let go of her mouth. She started yelling for help, and not a second later, a strangely familiar lightsaber-wielding jedi burst into the room. "Stop them!" he yelled, but it was too late. Anakin was already back out the window; he dumped Padme unceremoniously into the back of his speeder and strapped her in.
She started yelling very unladylike things at him, most of which he couldn't hear because of the starting engine of his speeder. After he had sped, they unfortunately became much clearer.
"You take me back this instant, Sleemo," and "I have powerful friends!" and of course "You will never get away with this!"
"I'm trying to protect you!" he yelled back, but she hardly seemed to hear him, and continued on her indignant rant. As if it wasn't hard enough to lose a jedi on his tail without a senator yelling in his ear.
Thanks to his superb flying skill, he did lose the Jedi. However, he was still faced with the more difficult problem of where in the galaxy he could go to keep Padme safe and how to keep her from escaping and going right back into the line of fire. She had a big enough price on her head that it was going to be a real job keeping her alive.
This evening had definitely not gone as he had planned.
Anakin could take her to Corellia, or Tatooine...but that wouldn't solve the problem. He needed to know who put the price on her head, and how to get rid of it...
The problem was that he didn't have a clue who hired Jango. His job wasn't to ask questions, it was to get the job done.
Well, and even if he did, it's not like he could take Padme anywhere near the people that were trying to kill her. So it was clear that he had to find out who was trying to kill Padme without putting her in danger. Somehow. One of Jango's favorite lectures echoed in his head: "Always get to know your enemy before you go and do something that will piss them off. That way, you will know their weaknesses, and when they clue in you can be as far away from them as possible."
Anakin had always been impulsive, and it had gotten him and Jango into a few not-too-pleasant situations.
Well, he thought, you did just grab a high-profile senator right out from under the nose of a Jedi.
Speaking of the senator, she had been awfully quiet for the last few minutes. He craned his head to look back on her and saw something large and metal-looking come toward his head.
Oh no, he thought numbly before the object slammed into his face, and everything blacked out.
. . . . . . . . . .
Anakin awoke simultaneously feeling as though he had been asleep for a very long time and also as though he had only just drifted off. He was in an uncomfortable position. Must have fallen asleep in the kitchen again, he thought absentmindedly, Mom will be upset; she thinks it will make me sore. Well, in all fairness, he was sore, but wasn't about to open his eyes just yet.
He reached out with his something and felt a quite lovely, and quite irritated presence beside him.
"Mom?" he grumbled, and opened his eyes.
What he saw was definitely not his mother. It was a very angry looking Padme, who was currently pointing a blaster at his head.
His blaster.
Anakin's recent activities whooshed back into his head like an unpleasant headwind. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.
"Who are you, and who are you working for?"
Anakin opened his mouth a second time, a snarky reply on his tongue, but she cut him off again.
"Why did you send the kahouns in to kill me and bomb my ship if your plan was to take me alive?"
"I-"
"Where were you taking me?"
She really was quite a sight, sporting disheveled hair and a nightgown but still somehow managing to look regal and spit fire from her eyes.
"I was hired by an independent mercenary who's client's name was kept private." The trained response was what came out, even though he was thinking something entirely different.
She didn't buy it. "Who hired you?" she repeated.
"Look, I don't know, but I can find out-"
"You have not been cooperative, so you will be taken in for questioning. I have already contacted the Jedi; they are on their way. Unless," she said, raising an eyebrow, "you tell me what I need to know..."
"I know how to find out who's trying to kill you," he said quickly. "Whoever else you would hire doesn't have my resources or my contacts. I could have you safe faster than anyone."
She paused. "I don't trust you. Besides, I already have Jedi investigating my assassination attempts."
Anakin snorted. "The Jedi are great for interplanetary disputes and stuff, but they don't have half my resources or my, uh...specialized knowledge."
She still didn't seem convinced, but at least she didn't look like she was going to shoot him anymore.
"I can double whatever your employer has offered if you'll stop trying to kill me, but I don't hire bounty hunters. What is your pay rate?"
"I-" he started, but his voice was shaking. Anakin looked down at his hands, and started again. "I don't want you to pay me. I...I just want you to be safe," he said quietly. He couldn't let her pay him to not kill her; the thought revolted him. He didn't look up yet, not sure he wanted to see the expression on her face. Padme was silent for what felt like a long time.
When she finally spoke again, her voice was softer, somehow. It was more gentle, less demanding, and it made his heart flutter. "Like I said, I have investigators, but they won't listen to me," she started slowly. Anakin looked up. "I would like someone to investigate my suspicions, and fast." Anakin nodded encouragingly.
"I think Count Dooku is behind it," Padme continued, pausing as if she expected him to protest. He didn't blink. "The Jedi don't agree with me, and are unwilling to investigate the possibility. I want you to look into it. If you're as good as you claim, it should be no problem for you." she added.
He grinned. "I wouldn't put it past Dooku. He's hired the likes of me before to get a job done." Padme seemed surprised by that, but didn't say anything.
They were both quiet for a moment. "If we have an agreement, then, can you take me back to my apartments?" she asked.
He looked back up at her face, shocked. "You can't go back there! With the price on your head, you'll be killed before you can say 'assassin!'"
Some of the hard glint came back into her eyes. "I have been working toward this vote for two years. I will not be kept from my duty by petty assassins."
Anakin stuck out his chin stubbornly. "You can't go back! You'll die!" He most definitely did not like how his voice broke when he said the word die. Get a grip!
"I'll be fine," she said, her voice softer again. "This is hardly the first time I've dealt with assassins."
"But these ones will be different," he persisted. "Whoever's trying to off you isn't going to send amateurs. The price rate says that clearly enough."
She sighed. "I understand the risks, bounty hunter. If I ran away from danger every time it came at me, nothing would ever get done."
Anakin looked back up at her. She really doesn't have a clue who I am. He pushed the thought aside; that really didn't matter right now. "At least let me send some extra security measures. There should have been alarms going off when I first cut the glass to your apartments, and at the very least when the window shattered. And I shouldn't have been able to cut the glass so easily." He really had expected better from 500 Republica. "You shouldn't have even been in a room with a window," he added.
"I will definitely address that with my caretakers, but-" she stared.
Anakin hesitated. "Let me send someone to protect you. Someone I know you and I can both trust."
"Look, you seem to mean well, but I can't let just anyone onto my security," she said.
Anakin grinned suddenly. "You'll know him when you see him. And if you still don't trust him, you can send him away. But I don't expect you will."
Padme sighed again. "I guess that will work. You really should take me back now. The Jedi will be here any minute." She frowned. "I really don't know why they aren't here already."
"Like I said," Anakin said bitterly, "You can't count on the Jedi." Padme's eyes narrowed, but she let it slide.
They sat in silence for a moment, and Anakin cleared his throat. "So if you'll, uh, untie me, then I'll fly you home." She jumped and quickly did so, and they were off.
They were fairly deep into the lower levels, and in a completely different sector than the wealthy Senate area, but after all the years Anakin had spent in his trade, he knew Coruscant like the back of his hand. They were back to Padme's apartments in no time.
He stopped the speeder just out of sight of the still broken window, and pulled out two comlinks.
"These run on a private channel. I modified them myself; they're impossible to hack. We can use them to keep in touch and so you'll be kept up to date on my findings." He handed her one and turned to start up the speeder again, but Padme grabbed his arm.
"Wait. I don't even know your name."
Anakin grinned. "Just consider me your special contact."
Padme opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Her bounty hunter smiled again; with a certain spark in his eye, as if he knew a secret she didn't.
"Wait!" she called again, bewildered, but he already had sped off.
She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something familiar about him.