Chapter Two
Obi-Wan regained consciousness while seated in the upright position, his head bent forward with his chin resting on his chest, his neck aching as the world slowly blossomed into view. He slowly raised his head and blinked his eyes heavily as he noted his surroundings, though there wasn't much to see in the dimly lit bedroom.
As the drug began to fade from his senses, Obi-Wan realized his hands were bound behind the back of the dining chair he was currently occupying. The Jedi tested the restraints and an unpleasant shock went up his forearms from the cuffs around his wrists, causing him to grit his teeth. The bounty hunter had certainly come prepared for this confrontation.
The Jedi had not been moved far – perhaps a few meters towards the center of the small dining area. The Senator's estate was so grand that each bedroom was almost a complete residence, furnished with a kitchen and eating area. From his position, he could glimpse the breathtaking city if he looked over his shoulder, though this risked an electric bite from his restraints.
"It's too nice a night for such unpleasantries, wouldn't you say?" Obi-Wan commented in a warm, pleasant tone. He couldn't see Bane, but he could sense him nearby – his barely-contained fury creating a buzzing undercurrent in the air. "Why don't you untie me and we can discuss this like two civilized gentlemen?"
The hooded Duros entered his field of vision like a dark phantom, seeming to glide above the carpet as he came to a halt in front of the restrained Jedi. Even though the light from the city was dim, it cast enough illumination for the Jedi to get a better look at the bounty hunter.
Cad Bane was disheveled in appearance, gaunt in the face, and his body language spoke of constant wariness. Normally, his attire consisted of items of questionable taste but undeniable practicality. He sported the usual wrist gauntlets and rocket boots, but his signature wide-brim hat was nowhere to be seen. His cloth cloak was tattered, his trousers slightly too big, and his brown tunic torn and stained green in several places.
In short, Bane looked like he had been dragged through Hell and back. What was worse, he looked as though he couldn't care less. His eyes were focused on Obi-Wan with such laser-like intensity that Obi-Wan had to consciously force himself to remain still and not fidget.
To be truthful, Bane's outward appearance was not so dissimilar from Obi-Wan's inner state, though he would never admit such things to the dastardly criminal.
"I don't remember you appearing so misused the last time we met," Obi-Wan commented with his trademark charm, as if they were exchanging pleasantries over a dinner table and he was not, say, tied to a chair with multiple abrasions covering his body. "I take it life as a fugitive has not treated you well?"
Obi-Wan was rewarded for his tone by Bane rushing forward and slamming his fist into the Jedi's gut. He did not have enough air to cry out as he doubled over, crackling pain shooting up his arms as his bindings were unintentionally jostled. When he did have air to breath, he gave a half-cough, half-laugh.
Considering his current predicament, antagonizing the bounty hunter was not the smartest course of action. But whether it was the drug Bane had injected him with or just his general state of exhaustion, Obi-Wan wasn't feeling quite himself at that moment – as indicated by the wolfish grin on his face.
"I suppose… I deserved that," Obi-Wan wheezed with wry humor, fully aware that his actions were becoming quite foolish. Ordinarily, he would have had no qualms with throwing sharp words at this particular bounty hunter, but he was at Bane's complete mercy. It would be wise to curb his sarcasm for the time being.
"Deserve? Deserve?" Bane growled through his teeth as he grabbed a handful of Obi-Wan's hair and snapped his head back, bringing his narrowed crimson eyes within inches of the Jedi's. "I'll show you exactly what you deserve, Kenobi!"
Bane's bony knuckles crashed into Obi-Wan's face, repeatedly and violently – the Jedi helpless to do anything but attempt to clear his mind, focusing inward and pushing the bright pain into the background. Obi-Wan couldn't be certain, but he thought he partially lost consciousness at some point, unable to see anything but flashes of blue knuckles.
Once the gray fog receded from his vision, Obi-Wan blinked up at Bane as the Duros panted harshly, his hands darkened by a mixture of red and green. He appeared as if he would physically and mentally come apart at any moment, and Obi-Wan assumed he didn't look much better.
The Jedi Master continued to watch the bounty hunter, steadying his own breathing as he focused the Force inside of him, ignoring his throbbing and bleeding face. He pushed away the doubt, the pain, the fear, and focused on what was most important. He needed his lightsaber.
Obi-Wan glanced toward Bane's belt, but the hilt was not there. Wherever it was, it was hidden out of sight. A smart move on the part of the bounty hunter, but unless he had removed it far from hand, Obi-Wan would be able to recall it.
His attention was drawn upwards at the sound of a pistol cocking, and thoughts of his lightsaber were put on hold as cool metal met flushed skin.
Obi-Wan Kenobi spit coppery blood onto the plush carpet of the darkened bedroom, shaking the hair from his eyes as he studied the man who towered over him. The Jedi was unperturbed by his bleeding lip, his panging ribs, even his throbbing knee (he was fairly sure he had a torn ligament). His only concern was the trouble in front of him, and the barrel of a LL-30 blaster now pressed against the center of his forehead.
Obi-Wan's smoldering glare was fixed on the oval, crimson eyes that blazed with an all-consuming hatred he had seen before, not so long ago on the planet of Naboo. It was after that fateful encounter that things had begun to fall apart for Obi-Wan, and this seemed to be the inevitable culmination of that event.
"What are you waiting for, bounty hunter?" the Jedi prodded, slightly shifting in the cushioned chair, his bound wrists clinking behind his back. "Here I am, face-to-face. If I remember correctly, that is your preferred method of murder."
The pressure against his forehead increased, and Obi-Wan wondered (not for the first time) just what in the hell he was doing. Why was he taunting the mercenary who had every incentive to plant a bolt between his eyes? Had things fallen so far that he had acquired a death wish?
And yet, apart from his ragged breathing, the Duros remained silent. There was no blaster-fire, no more vicious blows to Obi-Wan's face or body, and the expression on his captor's face was… odd.
Plunging headlong into the recklessness that was more characteristic of his former Padawan, Obi-Wan lifted his chin and snapped, "Kill me or release me. Either way, get on with it, Bane."
As he watched the bounty hunter's expression slowly change into something completely foreign and alarming, Obi-Wan sensed the change in his emotions happening simultaneously. The ugly, all-consuming hatred began to fold into a hardened gem of something awfully close to pain.
"You don't gotta clue, do you, Jedi?" Bane growled quietly, and Obi-Wan could actually hear the tremble in his voice. The barrel of the pistol was still pressed to his forehead, but the Jedi could see the hand that held it was slightly shaking.
"No… you got no idea. Why would you? Deh Jedi have no remorse. No humility. Just a moral code dhey claim to follow with one breath and break with deh next." The pressure increased against his forehead as Bane's lips pulled into a hateful snarl, and Obi-Wan knew that there would be a circular indent in his skin. Of course, if the Duros pulled the trigger, he wouldn't have to worry about a little bruising later.
"Deh great meddlers of the galaxy. Deh peacekeepers who kill. Deh holier-dhan-thou knights who tink dhey're above everybody else."
Obi-Wan's eyebrows raised incredulously as he remarked, "Are you out of your mind, Bane? What are you talking about?"
The barrel of the pistol was removed from his head, only for the butt of the weapon to slam into the side of Obi-Wan's face, cutting his cheekbone and giving him yet another injury.
"Shut yer mouth, Jedi. I ain't done," Bane seethed, his bared fangs illuminated by the dim light coming from the window.
"Clearly," Obi-Wan replied evenly as he felt warm liquid begin to trail down his cheek, his next words edged with sarcasm as he smiled amicably at the bounty hunter. "I had no idea you felt so strongly about our Order."
Bane roughly snatched the front of Obi-Wan's robes, causing him to groan in pain as his handcuffs sent more jagged spikes of pain into his arms.
"Yer Order ain't nothin' but a buncha phonies," Bane hissed as he held Obi-Wan inches from his face. "A cult of murderers and liars. You claim I kidnapped yer children, but I only got to 'em before you did." The bounty hunter roughly shoved him against the back of the chair, releasing Obi-Wan while glaring with eyes narrowed into menacing slits. "Yet I'm deh criminal. Hypocrisy was always deh Jedi way."
"You left a few things off your list of exploits, Bane," Obi-Wan replied, dropping his tone of civility as he checked off Bane's recent crimes. "Torture, terrorism, murder. What was that other one? You know, the really big one? Oh yes, conspiracy to kidnap the Chancellor."
Obi-Wan expected this retort to be met with more fury and violence, but Bane merely curled his lip at the bound Jedi.
"Is dhat any different from what you Jedi do? How many times have you tried to kill Dooku?" Bane reached forward and grabbed the Jedi's lower jaw, his smooth fingers digging into his beard as he forced Obi-Wan's head upwards, demanding his full attention. "How many neutral planets have you forced into yer conflict? How many innocents have died because of yer political war?"
Before Obi-Wan could express his skepticism over the bounty hunter giving a second thought to the innocents of war, Bane's next words brought him up short.
"How many others have you tortured with yer Jedi mind tricks?" The Duros hissed the last syllable unpleasantly, narrowing his red eyes as his fingers dug into Obi-Wan's cheek. "You haven't forgotten about dhat, have you? I know I haven't."
Obi-Wan attempted to maintain eye contact with the bounty hunter, but he eventually failed. His gaze fell away from Bane, forehead creased in discomfort as he remembered the way the Duros had writhed in agony while under the effects of Force persuasion. How he had snarled and howled in pain as Master Windu, Anakin, and Obi-Wan had attempted to pry open his mind unsuccessfully. It had been an unpleasant memory, one he tried not to dwell on, and it was something he never spoke about with the others.
Obi-Wan understood what had been at stake – not just missing children, but the future of the entire Order and all Force-sensitive people. The Sith had found a path the Jedi could not allow them to explore. There had been no alternative. He just wished he could have removed Ahsoka from the room beforehand. The haunted look in her eyes after Bane's interrogation…
"Dhat's what I thought…" Bane growled as he finally released Obi-Wan's jaw, causing the Jedi to jerk away from the bounty hunter's touch. If the gesture offended him, Bane gave no indication, standing up to his full height as he glowered at the bound man. "Liars, betrayers, and deceivers."
Obi-Wan remained silent – not because he agreed with Bane, but because he was too exhausted to argue. The bounty hunter was going to believe what he wanted to believe, and there was nothing the Jedi could do to change his mind.
"Prove me wrong, and I'll let you go."
Obi-Wan blinked, turning his head back to stare up at the Duros, who gave a nod, holstered his singular pistol, pulled up another chair from the dining table and placed it squarely in front of the bound man.
The Jedi Master could only stare at him in disbelief.
"You must be joking."
The Duros took a seat, crossed his long, thin legs, and rested his hands upon his knee.
"Does it look like I'm laughin'?" Bane remarked with a curl of his lip.
"You would put me on trial?" Obi-Wan asked incredulously, wondering what in the galaxy the bounty hunter was planning. He would have thought hearing Bane speak again would have been a relief, but with the way this conversation was going, Obi-Wan preferred the semi-feral, silent Duros who had stalked him to this planet. Single-minded violence, he could comprehend and plan for. Whatever game the bounty hunter was playing now, Obi-Wan didn't understand in the slightest.
"For what? Simply being a Jedi?" Obi-Wan inquired, his eyebrows furrowed as he attempted to decode Bane's ulterior motive. Even though the Duros and the Jedi had been embroiled in battle many times, he had never seemed to take their presence personally. Obviously, something had changed.
"Don't play the victim with me, Kenobi. Ain't nothin' simple about deh Jedi, and you ain't no angel," Bane replied calmly, displaying the cool composure the Jedi was used to seeing. It did not comfort him in the least.
"That's quite apropos, coming from you, Bane," Obi-Wan retorted as he glared daggers at the bounty hunter. "You have far more blood on your hands than I ever will."
"We all got tings we gotta answer for, don't we?" Bane answered, never removing his crimson eyes from Obi-Wan as he dragged out the last word, his fangs displayed in the dim light. The man certainly had a way of being intimidating when he wanted to be.
"And what is it, exactly, I must answer for?" Obi-Wan inquired with some annoyance, moving his jaw back and forth to test how much damage the bounty hunter had done from his earlier bout of violence. It had already begun to swell, but nothing seemed to be dislodged or broken.
Bane unfolded his legs, slightly spread them and hunched forward, leaning his elbows against his thighs as he fixed his baleful glare on Obi-Wan.
"Dhat's deh problem, Kenobi. Yer Jedi arrogance has blinded you from seeing deh point." Bane opened his hands, almost in supplication as he added, "How're ya supposed to make amends if you think you've done no wrong?"
"Make… make amends?" Obi-Wan barked a laugh, drawing a dark frown from the bounty hunter. "You… what? You want me to apologize?" He laughed again, unable to help himself. The situation wasn't humorous, far from it, but the ridiculousness of what Bane was implying was so absurd he could do nothing but laugh.
This was about the Rako Hardeen incident. Of course it was. It always came back to that infamous mission, no matter how much Obi-Wan wanted to forget it and move forward with his life.
"You want me to apologize for protecting the Chancellor of the Republic?" Obi-Wan grinned with nothing that resembled levity. "You want me to express contrition for thwarting a kidnapping masterminded by the leader of the Separatist Alliance?" The grin began to fade from his face as Obi-Wan's tone began to finally take on the anger he had excluded from it thus far.
Cad Bane – a cold-blooded mercenary, a remorseless murderer, a vile piece of scum – wanted Obi-Wan to answer for some imaginary crimes he supposedly committed?
"You want me to feel regret for bringing Moralo Eval, a man who had murdered his own mother, to justice?" Obi-Wan's voice grew louder as he unwisely pulled at his restraints, uncaring towards the shocks that sizzled up his arms. "You want me to confess my sins for using a Jedi-killer as a means to an end?"
He knew he should stop talking. The thunderous look on Bane's face said everything, and he was making it worse with each syllable. But Obi-Wan could not halt the words as they split from a buried fount of frustration he hadn't realized was there. The deep concern over Anakin, the anguish he had caused Satine, the Guilt and loathing he began to wear like a second skin – it was all coming to the surface in a string of bitter words that were not truly meant for the bounty hunter at all.
But Bane was sitting directly in front of the rankled Jedi. He was the very reason Obi-Wan had to confront these ugly truths to begin with, and he made for a hell of a convenient target.
"You want my apology, Cad Bane? Well, here it is," Obi-Wan answered in a low voice, leaning forward as far as his restraints would allow so he could stare the bounty hunter in the eye as he articulated each word clearly.
"I'm sorry they didn't bury you in a deeper, darker pit – one from which even you couldn't escape."
Bane's roar of fury could have caused a gundark to cower in terror. He launched himself at Obi-Wan, his hands wrapping around the Jedi's throat as the chair was knocked backwards, spilling them both to the floor as the piece of furniture broke apart under their combined weight.
The bounty hunter's fingers squeezed mercilessly around his neck, thin legs straddling his middle, and Obi-Wan couldn't give voice to the pain that was his arms as his bindings mercilessly electrocuted him. The Duros must have felt the shocks as well, but he showed no signs of stopping as he throttled the Jedi with all of his hatred.
Obi-Wan knew he wouldn't remain conscious for long under the unrelenting vice around his neck. Bane's fingers were digging into Obi-Wan's neck so hard he would have torn flesh had he possessed fingernails, but no amount of bucking or squirming would dislodge the enraged Duros.
His hands were beginning to go numb from the constant shocks from the restraints, but Obi-Wan concentrated all of his mental focus on the bracelets. He knew he was going to die unless they came off, and no matter how well they were designed, there was always a way to find flaws in an object with the aid of the Force. Obi-Wan gritted his teeth and mentally speared at the bindings, desperately seeking the chink in the material that would expose a weakness. Time was running out, and he arched his back in a frantic attempt to throw Bane, but he was latched on tightly, spitting out a string of words that were likely curses in Durese.
As his lungs began to burn and spots appeared in his field of vision, the Jedi found what he was looking for – a slight imperfection in the component of the left wrist cuff. Obi-Wan focused down his concentration into a pinprick and plunged the Force into the minute defect, shattering the material into fractured pieces.
Before the restraint had finished crumbling from his wrist, Obi-Wan swung with all his strength and slammed his left fist into the side of Bane's head, knocking him off the Jedi and onto the floor in a sprawl.
Obi-Wan gasped for a single breath before leaping onto Bane, giving him no opportunity to retaliate. He landed on the bounty hunter hard, grabbing his elbows and pulling them behind his back, pinning them between their bodies.
Bane wasn't entirely restrained, and he almost dislodged Obi-Wan as he thrashed underneath like a wild animal as he snarled in rage. He fought with surprising strength despite his wiry frame, forcing the Jedi to choose a different tactic of restraint.
Obi-Wan rolled onto his back, pulling Bane on top of him by the arms. He grasped the bounty hunter's wrists together with one hand, locking them together and pulling them up at a painful angle where the Duros would have no leverage to free them, his other arm wrapping around Bane's neck to trap him in a headlock.
When Bane attempted to kick him with his heels, Obi-Wan wrapped his legs around the Duros' limbs until, they too, were linked together.
It was only then, with Bane fully immobilized, that Obi-Wan finally focused on breathing properly instead of gasping and wheezing for much needed air, his various injuries announcing their presence. The Jedi was no less than a complete and bloody mess.
With Bane trapped on top of him, the immediate danger had passed. Obi-Wan outweighed and outmuscled Bane a considerable amount, and he had him in a full body-lock. He wasn't going anywhere.
The Duros was having none of it. He attempted to twist and squirm and growl menacingly, but Obi-Wan kept his iron grip firmly intact. He was still without his lightsaber, and Bane would not be mentally subdued by the Force. He would have to find a way to keep him under control while he contacted the Council to tell them Bane was in his custody.
Obi-Wan's attention was snapped back to the situation when he began to feel another change in the bounty hunter. His limbs, before fighting ineffectually against Obi-Wan's hold, were now trembling in distress. His emotions, once embroiled in a fire-storm of rage, had now become that hardened gem of pain, of agony. His uneven breath was harsh in his throat, and Obi-Wan grew alarmed at the volatility of the bounty hunter's mental state.
His alarm only grew as the Duros spoke.
"I… I trusted you."
"What?" Obi-Wan asked immediately, imagining he had heard incorrectly since the bounty hunter had spoken in a breathless whisper.
"I trusted you!" Bane hissed through his teeth, his voice full of anguish as his emotions pulsed with overwhelming suffering. It startled Obi-Wan so completely that he might have let go of the bounty hunter if their limbs hadn't been so tightly entwined.
You lied to me, whispered another voice, one not spoken aloud or from Bane.
"I saved yer worthless hide when Skywalker was about tah skewer you!" Bane yelled hoarsely as he renewed his struggles against Obi-Wan, forcing the Jedi to tighten his arm around the Duros' neck. "Saved you in the Box when Eval wanted you dead!"
Bane threw his weight against Obi-Wan's hold and screamed with unhinged fury, "I could have let you die, but I didn't, ya fuckin' bastard!"
Obi-Wan was speechless, completely caught off-guard by the bounty hunter's shocking confessions. But it was nothing compared to what he said next.
"I saved you… I trusted you… And you threw me away like garbage." Bane's voice broke on the last word, and his physical protests against being restrained devolved into unmistakable shaking.
Obi-Wan was unable to fully process the words the bounty hunter had spoken to him. Unbidden and uninvited, other familiar voices of accusation spoke their grievances in his mind.
If I'd known what was going on, I could have helped you.
Why didn't you tell me, Obi? You can trust I will always keep your secrets.
I know I did some questionable things, Obi-Wan had responded, pleaded. Desperate for them to understand. I did what I had to do. I hope you can understand that.
You lied to me. How many other lies have I been told by the Council?!
You were dead. Do you understand? A piece of me died with you, Obi.
I saved you… I trusted you… And you threw me away like garbage.
Obi-Wan had been aware of the suffering he had caused Anakin, Ahsoka, and Satine. Even Senator Amidala had not been unaffected by his "death", and as touched as he had been by her relief that he still lived, it only added more weight to his heart.
Never, in a thousand years, would he have guessed his duplicitous acts would have wounded Bane of all people.
But they had. He could feel Bane's agony, almost visceral in their close proximity and magnitude. Bane had now joined Anakin and Satine on the list of those he had deeply wronged and whose trust he had shattered.
But he had had no choice. What else could he have done? Warn them of the mission? There had been too much at stake. So much that could have gone wrong…
It went horribly wrong in the end though, didn't it? Anakin was not only losing his faith in Obi-Wan, he was losing his trust in the Council.
Satine was strong, much stronger than Obi-Wan, and she would persevere. She would heal from the damage he had done. She may even forgive him. But she would never forget how he had allowed her to think he was dead. That grief and heartache had been real, and no amount of apologies could erase the significance of that fact.
And now, Bane. Bane, who had always enjoyed engaging with the Jedi on the battlefield while never making a real effort to kill them. Bane, who had the strength to resist the mental probing of three fully trained Jedi. Bane, who sold his services to the highest bidder, even though his talents could help the galaxy in a multitude of ways.
Bane, who had snatched Obi-Wan from the jaws of death in the den of evil.
And how had Obi-Wan repaid the bounty hunter? With a sneer, a flippant comment, and a three life sentences on a prison planet.
What have I done?
"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan softly uttered. Bane's trembling immediately froze, as did his harsh breathing.
"What…?" Bane choked out in a strained voice laden with disbelief. "What did you say?"
"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan repeated more clearly, still reeling from the shock of his revelation – the full weight of the consequences of his actions. Until this point, he had refused to fully confront the fallout from his deceitful mission.
It had taken the suffering of an enemy for him to acknowledge the enormity of his lies and deceits.
"I'm so sorry, Bane."
He wasn't sure what he expected the bounty hunter to do. Snap back into his snarky, sarcastic self and demand Obi-Wan release him. Curse Obi-Wan and tell him what a fool he was.
The last thing he expected was exactly what happened.
Bane's body began to tremble again, but not only from distress from the intensity of his emotions. His body was shaking from the force of something else.
Cad Bane… was crying.
Author's note: Thank you SO much for reading! Do you hate Obi-Wan yet? Hang in there readers, I promise you're in good hands!
Thank you again to CaptainMazzic for being my beta reader and allowing me to use his incredible drawings for my cover art.