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Chapter 4~

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Obi-Wan Kenobi's blue-grey eyes slid over the peculiar comlink Panaka had given him, and then glanced out at the plateau his starship had landed on.

What a peculiar meeting place.

He looked back at the comlink, and then keyed in the code Panaka had given him with it. The comlink itself was also peculiar; what was more was that the Senator seemed to have one as well. She had offered Obi-Wan hers, though Panaka seemed to have seen her hesitation in doing so and had procured another one for him to use.

The comlink sounded a sort of chime to indicate that the code had been received, so he held it up to his mouth to speak.

"This is Obi-Wan Kenobi. May I ask to whom am I speaking with?"

He heard a surprised intake of breath at the other end of the comlink, and then a voice responded.

"Where did you get this code?"

"Quarsh Panaka, who is currently on the security forces of Senator Padme Amidala, gave it to me. I am to assist you in your investigations."

"Assist me? I don't need any assistance!" Whoever it was clearly very indignant.

"I assure you, I don't doubt it. Unfortunately, the Jedi Council has assigned me to Senator Amidala's security forces, and it is uncommon for them to allow an unknown hire to be the only investigator."

"Did Padme decide this?" Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at the casual use of her name, but didn't question it.

"She sanctioned it. She seemed to think that she was well protected enough that she could afford to send me to investigate."

"Where are you?" He sounded incredulous. Surely he hadn't thought himself the only one privy to these investigations? And what was he doing on Serenno, of all places?

He held his thumb over the communicator of the comlink. "I'm on one of the plateaus, north of Dooku's residence. It's the tallest one in this area, you should see it."

Apparently, his contact didn't see fit to grace Obi-Wan with a reply, because he heard the comlink click out. He sighed, and contented himself with waiting for this bounty hunter to arrive.

. . . . .

It took only minutes for Obi-Wan's contact to arrive, and the suddenness startled him, but not nearly as much as the appearance of the boy that emerged from the speeder.

Or, should he say, force presence.

His appearance was something, Obi-Wan could give him credit for that. He was tall, but clearly young, at least in years. His eyes told a different story. They were steeled in a way that told of tragedy and hardship, but not of weakness. They told of determination. Of someone who would go to any lengths to achieve what they intended.

His armor had a distinct Mandalorian flair to it, though it was not entirely traditional. He wore no helmet, at least not now, and there were clearly modifications to the design, perhaps of his own making.

However, Obi-Wan Kenobi knew that this boy was not from Mandalore, because he knew him. Not by the blue eyes or the windswept hair, but by the force presence.

It was like looking into a neutron star, and it wasn't something he would have forgotten. It had been ten years and he still recognised the pressure of that overwhelming presence.

Anakin Skywalker.

A person he had thought he would never see again. And, even if he had known, he would have never expected the pang of grief that returned so easily to his heart, along with the guilt.

Obi-Wan, promise... Promise me you will train the boy.

Yes, master.

He had promised. And then he had begged the council to permit Obi-Wan to train him, and they had agreed.

But the boy had already been gone, flown off in a stolen starship. The Queen had been furious that Panaka hadn't stopped him; she had been so worried for his safety...

Well, she certainly isn't concerned about his whereabouts now, he thought, breaking out of his reverie.

Obi-Wan looked back into Anakin's eyes, but didn't speak. He had no way of knowing whether or not the man remembered him.

Anakin spoke first, steeled eyes boring into him. "What," he spat, "Are you doing in the middle of my investigations?"

Maybe it would of been better if he hadn't remembered me. Anakin didn't seem to make any attempt at all to hide his contempt.

Obi-Wan spread out his arms in a gesture of goodwill. "I'm here to help with your investigations. Surely you didn't think the Senator would have you looking into them alone?"

The man blinked, clearly taken aback. He apparently did think that, Obi-Wan thought. He wondered, in what circumstances had Padme hired him? How did they even get back into contact?

"I was under the impression that the Jedi had refused to look investigate the Senator's claims," Anakin said, the distrust and anger back in his eyes. And the way he spat out the word Jedi, as if it were a word too filthy to even utter without a bitter taste in his mouth...

Well, what did I expect? For him to still revere the Jedi the way he did in his youth?

Obi-Wan looked back into the mans eyes, and with a carefully controlled expression, said, "Of course not. Our first priority was to make sure she had the necessary protection, but once that was assured, I was permitted to join the investigations. After all, she can't really be safe until we find the individual who is behind these attacks."

Anakin opened his mouth as if to protest, but then he seemed to realize that he actually did agree with that statement. He lifted his chin, still scrutinizing Obi-Wan.

"I don't need your help."

Obi-Wan inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Like I said, I don't doubt it. But in situations like these, two sets of eyes are most often better than one, and that can only speed up the investigations. After all, the sooner the investigations are over, the sooner the senator's life will no longer be at risk."

Finally, Obi-Wan saw something falter in his expression. Some of the anger fell away to show the fatigue, some of the indignation gave way to worry.

He cares for her. He legitimately cares for her.

So there was still a part of him that didn't consist of loathing. The thought gave Obi-Wan hope, and he latched on to it like a starving man.

Because Anakin still hadn't responded, Obi-Wan took the liberty. He cleared his throat. "So if I may, who is your suspect here? I can't recall any of the Senator's more violent enemies having made their residence here."

The young man looked up. "Count Dooku lives here, and the Senator thinks that he is behind the attacks, so this is where we investigate." He lifted his chin again, daring Obi-Wan to protest. He didn't.

Well, at least he said "we."

. . . . .

Anakin Skywalker was, to say the least, not happy with present arrangements.

It didn't help that they were both shoved into the same nondescript speeder. The Jedi one would have been far too conspicuous.

Anakin was thoroughly convinced, however, that this speeder was definitely not designed to hold two passengers in the same cockpit.

Kriffing Jedi think they can kriffing but in whenever they kriffing feel like it. Anakin had already filled in Kenobi on his sort-of arrangement with Dooku, and the Jedi kept suggesting strategies, as if Anakin didn't even have a plan yet.

"If I may, we could start in the intelligence branch of Dooku's security. For an intruder, that would be the best way to gain information."

Anakin gritted his teeth. "Yes, but I already have a suspect."

The Jedi's eyebrows raised. "Really? Then we should watch him, follow him, to confirm your suggestions."

Anakin felt his cheeks color slightly. That might have actually been a good idea. He gritted his teeth again.

"My suspect is already in custody."

The Jedi could do little to hide his surprise; he actually managed to back away from Anakin in the small cockpit.

"What? How...?" He must have thought better of whatever comment he was thinking of. He closed his mouth, swallowed, and then started again.

"Well, then I suppose we will need to interrogate them, unless you've already done that." Obi-Wan glanced warily at Anakin, as if he half expected him to say yes.

Anakin held back an involuntary grin and shook his head. "No. Interrogation isn't, er, my specialty." His urge to grin died as soon as he said it. No, interrogation was definitely not his idea of a decent information gathering technique.

Now it was Obi-Wan's turn to let a modest grin slip. "That's all right. I, myself, am somewhat accomplished at negotiation."

Anakin nodded, and after that, they fell into a semi-comfortable silence, and it actually was somewhat bearable, in Anakin's opinion, at least until the Jedi had started asking kriffing questions again.

"So, my friend, how did you get back in contact with the Senator? I'd been under the impression that she had searched quite hard for you in the earlier years after you left. I wasn't aware that she had found you."

When Kenobi started talking, Anakin found himself slightly annoyed because it was none of his business, but then he found himself suddenly captivated by the implications in what the Jedi was saying. Anakin found himself momentarily unable to speak.

She searched for me?

In all the years since he had left Naboo, Anakin hadn't once thought that Padme might have worried about him. He hadn't even said goodbye, thinking that she would be too busy to see him. He hadn't wanted to interrupt the more important things that she was bound to have been doing.

Anakin swallowed a lump that had somehow formed in his throat. He had never known she cared that much.

He blinked and looked back at Obi-Wan, who wore an unreadable expression on his face. Anakin swallowed again, and found his voice.

"How did you know she looked for me?"

This time he got a half-grin from the Jedi. "She threw quite a fit when you disappeared. I remember when she found out that Panaka had let you go; the man can handle armies and battle plans just fine, but give him a self-righteous queen and it's an entirely different story."

Anakin had to laugh at that image; he had seen Panaka intimidated on a few rare occasions; it wasn't a pretty sight.

But Padme...she had wanted to know where he was. She had not only noticed he had gone, but she had apparently tried to find him.

"Do you...do you know where she tried to look for me?"

Obi-Wan again wore that peculiar, unreadable face.

"No, I don't know. That was part of why she was so upset; you could have been anywhere."

She looked for me.

He still wondered why she hadn't recognised him, but it didn't bother him so much now that he knew she had cared.

At least, she had. The question of whether or not she did now was still unanswered.

Anakin looked back over at Obi-Wan, who was beginning to speak again.

"I do wonder, which one of you made contact first?"

"I-I did."

"Well, I'm sure she was relieved to know that you were all right, regardless of who found who."

Anakin felt a sudden pang of guilt. He had never thought of her being worried, but it made sense. She would have felt responsible for him after Qui-Gon's and his mother's deaths, and he had left without even a word. And she still doesn't know I'm all right. She hadn't recognised him when he rescued her; she had no way of knowing what had happened to him after he had left Naboo.

In all fairness, she was busy. True as it may be, it didn't make him feel any less guilty.

. . . . .

Obi-Wan, was to say the least, surprised when his companion led him to a maintenance closet to find the unconscious prisoner. He raised his eyebrows at Anakin, who put his hands up defensively.

"What? I used a sleeping drug, perfectly harmless."

The Jedi left one eyebrow cocked. "And you locked him in a maintenance closet."

The corners of Anakin's lip quirked upwards yet again. "You'd be surprised how useful those things can

be."

Obi-Wan shook his head, deciding he didn't want to know.

Anakin glanced around. "We should move him. He should wake up soon, but I don't know exactly when."

Obi-Wan shook his head again. "There's no need. I can wake him up right here." He bend down and leaned his forehead against the unconscious man's and closed his eyes, using the Force to remove all traces of the drug from the man's system. He felt the prisoner begin to stir and looked back up at Anakin, who was staring at Obi-Wan in awe with his lips slightly parted.

Suddenly, Obi-Wan could see traces of the nine-year-old boy in the man before him. The childlike innocence was still there, evident in the wonder in his eyes.

So it hasn't all been forced out of him. It was almost a miracle, considering what the boy must've gone through in his life as a slave, and then who knows what after.

The prisoner groaned, putting an end to the moment. Both Anakin and Obi-Wan knelt in front of him, and Obi-Wan noticed what must be the rank symbol on his uniform. He didn't know what it meant, but he hoped that Anakin had the sense not to grab someone with a high enough rank that his superiors would notice him missing.

Obi-Wan positioned himself so he was on an angle to the man, and Anakin followed his lead. This was to make himself less threatening, in hopes that the man would respond better this way.

Anakin looked at him. "The drug will give him a headache and make him hazy for a few minutes, kind of like a hangover." Obi-Wan wondered briefly if Anakin knew this from personal experience, but decided that he didn't really want to know the answer. He looked back at Anakin and nodded; the haziness was to their advantage; the more clear headed the prisoner was, the less likely he would be to talk.

The man lazily glanced around for a moment, and then seemed to realize where he was, because his eyes grew large and he quickly scrambled up to a sitting position. He then tried to stand up, but Obi-Wan put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

The man didn't say anything, but frantically glanced back and forth between his two captors. Poor man, Obi-Wan thought. Between Anakin's armor and my Jedi robes, we must be quite an intimidating sight.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "Sir, we were wondering if we might ask you a few questions."

The man didn't offer a reply, but he closed his gaping mouth and swallowed. So much for the haziness. The shock of the situation seemed to get rid of that more effectively than time would have.

The man's eyes were still bulging. Not exactly an ideal place to get him to talk, Obi-Wan thought. He gave the man an encouraging smile and asked, "How long have you been employed here?"

The man's eyes grew even wider. Well, I know a lost cause when I see one. He looked at Anakin and shook his head.

Anakin nodded and before Obi-Wan could say anything, got out a damp cloth and put it over the man's mouth. Their prisoner slumped over, unconscious once more.

"You didn't need to knock him out!"

Anakin seemed offended that Obi-Wan would feel the need to question his methods. "We need to take him with us! How else would we get him to come quietly?"

"We could have gagged him and made him walk. Now we have to carry him!"

Anakin opened his mouth, another reply on his tongue, but then they both froze, both feeling the same thing in the hallway outside.

We're about to have company.

In an unspoken agreement, Anakin slung their captive over his shoulder and Obi-Wan opened the door. He glanced at Anakin, and confirmed that they were both thinking the same thing. They could feel that the end of the hallway that they had come through remained empty; the life forms were all coming from the other end. If we hurry we should be able to make it.

One after another they rerouted their way through the back of the complex; the closet where Anakin had stored the prisoner hadn't been very far in. They only had to backtrack twice when they almost ran into security personnel, and they were back out to their borrowed speeder almost before they knew it.

Unfortunately, they still had an unconscious prisoner with whom they had no idea what to do, and who may or may not turn out to be the key to saving Padme Amidala from further assassination attempts. Anakin assured him that he had plenty of the sleeping drug; that wouldn't be a problem.

Still, their plans had gone completely askew, and they only had three days left to find Dooku's spy, not to mention what would happen after that.

This was not at all what Obi-Wan had expected when he had come to assist in these investigations. He looked over at Anakin, and all he got was yet another lopsided grin.

He had a sneaking suspicion that this was often how things went when one worked with Anakin Skywalker.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! Just so you guys know, I try update every other Tuesday, but as you may have noticed, sometimes I get behind and it turns into every 3 weeks.

I don't have a ton of expirience writing Obi-Wan's POV, let me know how I did. We will hopefully be getting back to Padme soon, for those of you who missed her in this chapter, and to my fellow Anidala shippers, your patience will pay off, maybe not in the next chapter, but soon ;)

Reviews = love :). They really help a ton.