Disclaimer:

All characters in this piece are the properties of George Lucas and Co. All credit for this piece, therefore, goes to them for the creation of the wonderful world and characters I am playing with in this story.

Summary:

Some possibly OOC and marginally AU musings of Cad Bane on Hardeen prior to, during and after "The Box" and "Crisis on Naboo".

Chapter Four

Things hadn't gone as planned. This shouldn't have surprised Cad Bane, because nothing after the kidnap attempt had unfolded the way it was supposed to. Still, that didn't make the fact that he was currently prone on the ground beside Eval any less humiliating.

Admittedly he'd hesitated a second too long in shooting Hardeen when he'd kicked him to the ground. That had been deliberate; Hardeen deserved a chance to die standing like a man, not like bantha fodder in the dirt. Cad had that much respect for him left. But Hardeen wasn't supposed to be able to pull out moves which stank of jedi techniques to avoid his subsequent shots.

Hardeen certainly shouldn't have been able to reach him when he'd boosted off the ground, his instincts warning him that the man was a whole lot more dangerous than he'd previously believed.

And now Hardeen was approaching him, blaster at the ready. He lay there for an instant, too sore to move. Being thrown into the ground with the full force of a pair of propulsors behind him tended to do that, even with a phindian for cushioning. Eval, less injured, demonstrated his team loyalty by hastily backing away, all traces of courage seeping from him like slime through hutt pores.

If he were to be fully honest with himself, Cad Bane knew he was in trouble. He didn't have a weapon and his body wouldn't move. He needed to buy time; to distract Hardeen long enough to get moving again. He half opened his mouth. Hardeen's eyes seemed suddenly very cold...

The sudden shrieking of an engine distracted him. A blue landspeeder. They pulled up almost in front of him and even if they hadn't the hiss of two lightsabers igniting would have told him exactly who had arrived. That and the backflip exits from the landspeeder. Only jedi though that was the best way to get out of a ship... Blast it, he was willing to bet his entire account's worth of credits that Dooku had known about this.

"Please. Do not kill Moralo Eval."

Yes, the criminal genius would opt for vapour-spirited snivelling. Well, defeated though he might be (because it would have been a challenge escaping from Windu and Skywalker at the best of times and he was currently sorely underequipped), he had no intention of following the phindian's example. He sneered. Didn't Eval know jedi didn't willingly kill?

A clone pulled him to his feet; firmly but not roughly. He was surprisingly considerate, given that Cad had almost kidnapped his leader. He was recovering his ability to move now; his legs were half supporting his weight.

He saw Windu approach Hardeen. He wondered how much the jedi had paid the man to betray the plot to them, for surely there was no other way they could have reached the coordinates this quickly. There was also no other obvious explanation for their friendly reception of him; Skywalker was not trying to slice him down now. Cad decided then and there Kenobi was most probably alive.

Windu was speaking now. He gave him the part of his attention not busy thinking of potential plans of escape.

"You did a good job... Obi-wan."

Cad was sure he hadn't imagined the pointed glance from the dark-skinned master that accompanied the revelation.

That hurt more than it should. Possibly because all the signs had been there and he'd overlooked them; or rather, chosen to ignore them. Like the leadership skills. The mercy. The fact that, as he now saw, Har-no, Kenobi, had been intent on worming his way into the plan from day one. Even Dooku's apparent double cross made sense; he'd warned Bane something was wrong with the man. He had seen this coming.

Anger gave him strength and he pushed off the arms of the clone trooper steadying his shoulders.

"Kenobi. I should have known. Somethin' smelled wrong about you from the start."

Kenobi, and it was strange to see the General's wry expression on Hardeen's familiar face, looked at him, one eyebrow raised quizzically.

"Yes, well, spending so much time with you was no reward either."

It was Hardeen's voice, low, gravelly and ill-bred. But the words were Kenobi's and his gaze was entirely dismissive. It was as though his time as a bounty hunter had just been a necessary but unpleasant role he'd performed and now it was over he no longer had any use for those whom he'd manipulated into trusting him. No need to pretend to respect them.

On second thoughts, that was probably exactly what he'd felt.

"Reward? I'll give you a reward when I plug you full of laser bolts."

It was satisfying to say that, even if he was getting his arms manacled behind his back and led off, most likely back to prison. Satisfying because he realised now that every gesture from Hardeen had been made with the purpose of getting in on the plan. He hadn't helped against Skywalker or in the Box because he'd had honour or cared but because Cad Bane and Moralo Eval had been a useful tools; without them there was no way Dooku would have included him in the plot. And Cad Bane had rescued him.

OOOOO

He was put inside a cell for the flight back to Coruscant. Small. Isolated. A yellow ray shield blocked the exit. It was very familiar. Cad decided he was glad he didn't have any information the jedi wanted.

The trip was short. Just one standard week. A small squad of troops stood guard outside the entrance when food was delivered. Windu came the first time too, doubtless to make sure he fully understood the futility of trying to escape from the cruiser.

He did.

He fully intended to hold off his escape until he reached the high security prisons. He'd been in there four times now, and only two of them had been intentional. It wouldn't be easy, but he was sure he'd be out within the month. If stealth failed there was always someone who could be bribed to smuggle in a weapon or turn a blind eye to similarly shady activities.

And this time there'd be no Hardeen or Eval to complicate matters.