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7. Hide And Seek
The couples moved slowly around the dance floor to the jazzy song. But Devorah was in no mood for dancing.
"Listen, Jedi," She hissed as they swayed to the music. "I have to admit, I'm pretty curious. What business do you have with Senator Parkere?"
Kit bristled. If she thought she was going to get anywhere asking like that, she was wrong.
"Our business is our business. How about this: you tell me why you're here, and I'll tell you why we're here."
Devorah laughed, a deep sultry laugh. "You drive a hard bargain, Desric. Or is that your real name?" She raised an eyebrow and pursed her rouged lips.
Kit took a deep breath, wondering how much to reveal to this woman. "I am a Jedi working in enemy territory. Use your common sense. Do you think I – we – would be stupid enough to use our real names?"
Devorah pretended to think hard. Kit rolled his eyes. "Why, no. I suppose not." She squeezed him. Kit tensed in surprise. "So, what is your real name?"
Kit ignored the question. "So, how about it? You tell me why you're here, and I'll tell you why we're here. Simple."
Devorah's eyes became wary and guarded. She was debating whether or not she could trust him. Kit sighed inwardly.
"Look, Santez. I don't trust you any more than you trust me. But if you don't like it, just remember," Kit half-smiled at her. "You are the one who started this conversation..."
"OK, OK, I get it, Jedi." Devorah was quiet for a minute. The couple continued to dance, although Kit was keeping a firm eye out for Aayla. He couldn't see her. A familiar feeling of dread rose in his stomach. Making sure he was watching the right table, he looked again. Now there was no doubt in his mind. Aayla was missing.
Suddenly he stopped dancing and half-ran to the table they had been sitting at before, pushing past dancers frantically and leaving Devorah looking after him with a look of angry rejection.
He stopped at the table and looked in every direction, hoping to see some sign of Aayla. There was none.
Devorah came up behind him. "What the karking hell is up with you?" She was about to kick him, but Kit held her back with the Force. Her eyes widened in shock, then anger.
"What do you think you-!"
Kit turned around and held her by her shoulders and put a hand over her mouth, stemming the flow of words. He looked into her eyes.
"Devorah, where is my colleague?" His voice was sincere, but anger and borderline desperation pulled at it. He let go of her mouth so that she could speak.
Devorah was shocked. "Your colleague?"
Kit tried to hold back his frustration. "Yes, Devorah! My colleague! Rutian Twi'lek, about this tall, very pretty, nice figure, wearing a black velvet dress! You remember her?" The sarcasm was evident.
"Oh, ha ha, Jedi." Devorah retorted. "Yeah, I remember her. What about her?" Devorah raised an eyebrow in annoyance.
"Don't pretend you don't know! She's gone, Santez! Where is she?" Kit was squeezing her shoulders hard in frustration.
"Ouch! Let go of me!" Devorah yelled. Not wanting to draw attention to them, Kit obliged. More quietly, Devorah went on. "And what makes you think I know where your damned tart is? She's not my business!"
Kit sighed. It all made sense now... "You came over here to distract me, didn't you? So that your friend Senator Parkere could take her away! You were in league all along!"
Devorah's eyes widened. "No! It's not true!"
"Where is she, Santez? Tell me!" Kit was trying not to shout.
"I. Have. No. IDEA!" Devorah hissed. "And you're wrong! I'm not in league with that sleemo!"
"Then why is my colleague missing?"
"I'm guessing he took her!" Devorah opened her mouth to start shouting, but Kit dragged her away. He led her indoors to an empty room. To his surprise, he found the other Council members waiting for him.
"Who are they?" Devorah sneered.
Kit sighed in frustration. "More colleagues. Now are you going to tell me what you know or not?"
"Not!" Devorah shouted. Her eyes wandered over the Council members. Kit watched her. He thought he saw her pause for a moment when she saw Master Windu, but he couldn't be sure. He thought he saw something else, too. Something like...regret? Pain? Recognition? It didn't matter. What did matter was finding Aayla.
"What's going on, Master?" Master Windu's eyes seemed to reflect Devorah's emotions, but he was much better at hiding it. All the same, he didn't take his eyes off her as he spoke.
"Aayla has gone missing. I think the Senator has her, and what's more, I think she knows something about it." Kit gave Devorah a mistrusting look.
Master Windu raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" He spoke directly at Devorah.
She paused for a moment, looking Master Windu up and down. She walked up to him and looked him right in the eye.
"No. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not the bad guy here." She chuckled.
"This is no time for games, Santez." Kit was surprised that Master Windu knew her name. He made a mental note to ask him later about his connection with Devorah.
"I'm not playing games. For once." She chuckled again. Her face was very close to Master Windu's.
"What do you know, woman?" Master Kolar, ever one for action, was getting as impatient as Kit now.
"Look, all you guys need to know is that I have nothing to do with your precious lady's disappearance." She laughed. "Ironic, isn't it? For once, I'm the innocent one, and yet, I'm the one who gets blamed this time! Yet whenever it is my mess, I'm never the one who has to clean it up." She winked at Master Windu and walked back into the centre of the room. "The way I see it, you should be looking for her, not questioning me. That is, if she's still here..." She raised an eyebrow in point.
"She's right." Master Windu took immediate action. "If the Senator is the one who took her, she is probably in grave danger."
Master Kolar nodded. "I shall go with Master Tiin and Master Fisto to search for her."
"And I shall stay and gather information, and wait for Master Koon's message." Master Windu agreed. With those words, the Jedi Masters departed, leaving Devorah alone in the darkening room.
Master Windu was about to leave, when he turned around and addressed Devorah.
"At least try to stay out of trouble tonight."
Devorah laughed. "You know me too well, Mace." She winked. "I might try...and I might not."
Master Windu rolled his eyes. "I see you still get the last word, Deedee."
Devorah's eyes widened and flashed with anger at the pet name. She opened her mouth to say something cutting, but Master Windu's laughing drowned it out as the door slid closed. Devorah thought about chasing him, but decided to just leave it.
"This won't be the last time we meet, Windu..." Her laugh echoed in the empty room. At least she had had the last word, even if there was no one around to know it.
Aayla's head throbbed violently. She couldn't see anything. Where was she? She had no idea. She tried to sit up, but she was so disorientated that the movement just made her feel ill. She lay back down again, feeling around her. To her surprise, she found that her hands and feet were tied. Concentrating, she reached out with the Force...
"Aahh!" She gasped in pain as the collar around her neck sent out an electric current that shot through her every nerve ending. When the pain subsided, she realised how grim her situation really was. She was wearing a collar that electrocuted her every time she tried to use the Force, and if she listened hard enough, she could hear the hum of engines. She was on a ship. And she had no idea where that ship was going.
She decided the best thing to do was to figure out how exactly she had ended up here. She cast her mind back to earlier, when the Senator had taken her to his study...wait, no he hadn't. She had gone in ahead of him because he had met someone in the hallway he needed to talk to. So she had gone in, and then...and then what? The study...the study...The study! She had gone in and looked at his computer! That was it...but what had she seen? Something important...the suite. She had seen the suite in which she had been staying. And the corridor outside it, too. But how was that possible?
Cameras. He had cameras. She gasped. He had been watching the whole time! He knew that she and Kit were Jedi! He knew of their plans! He knew that she had had a fight with Devorah, and he saw she and Kit contacting the Council!
Her heart began to race. She knew the others were in great danger. She had to warn them! But...how did she end up here? Thinking hard again, she tried to remember what had happened after that.
So she had seen the camera screens...and the the Senator came in and saw her looking...at least, she thought he did. She couldn't actually remember seeing him come up to her...she had had her back to the door, she must have done. And then...he had whispered in her ear. He had said...what was it he had said?
"Your snooping will end once and for all, little Jedi."
And then he had hit her over the head. Hard, judging by the throbbing bump at the back of her head. At least she wasn't dead. Yet. She sighed in was times like this Aayla wished her subconscious would be more positive. Or just shut up altogether.
So he had hit her over the head, and then...brought her here. But where exactly was "here"? A ship. She knew that much. And it was very dark. Letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, she could just about make out the shapes of large crates, about two or three of them.
That was odd. Why didn't he fill the ship completely with crates? Wouldn't he get more delivered that way? Unless...a cold shiver ran up Aayla's spine. She wasn't on a transport ship. This ship was for one mission alone – suicide. And it was taking her down with it.
"She's not here." Master Tiin reached out with the Force one last time. As with the last three times, he felt nothing of Aayla's presence.
Kit took a deep breath to calm himself. It didn't work. He still felt tense and on edge, as though any minute he would feel Aayla reach out to him and he would know where to look. So far, they had found nothing.
That was what was strange. He couldn't feel Aayla's Force signature. Usually, no matter how far away she was, he could still feel her presence. It was like she was a little piece of his soul. But now...he felt nothing. Which was disconcerting to say the least.
"I can't feel her. Anywhere. It's as though her Force signature has just...disappeared." Kit sighed.
"I sense it too." Master Kolar frowned. "It's odd, for a Jedi not to be able to sense another."
Master Tiin thought deeply for a moment. "Unless...she is wearing some kind of collar that prohibits use of the Force, and in turn removes her Force signature."
"It's probable. Either way, she's not here." Master Kolar began to pace.
Kit thought aloud. "Then where would she be, if she were hidden? If you were the Senator, where would you hide her?"
"I wouldn't. I'd kill her." Master Kolar was blunt, as was his nature.
"I hate to admit it, but Master Kolar could be correct." Master Tiin thought for a minute. "What about a study? A private room? He could at least hold her there until the party was over and...deal with her later."
"It's worth a try." Kit was anxious to get going. If this man was going to kill her, they needed to get to her. Fast.
The Masters set off down the corridors to the Senator's study. Opening the door slowly revealed that the Senator was indeed not in. Kit walked over to the windows and looked out. Sure enough, the Senator was mingling with his guests under the marquee.
"It's safe." He announced. "He's out there."
The Masters nodded and began to search. After a while of knocking on panels, feeling under desks for hidden switches and lifting up carpets to look at the floor beneath, the Masters turned their attention to the computer.
Master Tiin sat at the desk and fired it up. It asked for a password.
"Damn. It's password encrypted." Master Kolar began to pace again.
Kit began to think. If you were the Senator, what would be the password?
"Try 'weapons'?"
Master Tiin typed in the word. The computer announced that the password was incorrect.
"'Smuggling'?"
Incorrect.
"'Jedi'?"
Incorrect.
Kit sighed. What in the name of-?
Oh.
"Try 'Aria'."
Incorrect.
"'Farani'?"
Incorrect.
Kit paused.
"'Aayla'?" The suggestion was barely a whisper.
The atmosphere was tense. Master Kolar stopped pacing and watched as Master Tiin typed it in. A screen showing lots of files appeared, and the computer announced that the password was correct.
Kit shook his head sadly as Master Tiin brought up files with dates and numbers on.
"These are the files Aayla was talking about. They're not going to tell us where she is." Kit began to walk around, looking at artwork and pictures.
"They might." Master Kolar murmured. "The shipment tonight was supposed to leave half an hour ago. If it left, Aayla might have been on one of the ships."
"And if it was stopped by Master Koon, she could be safe." Kit's twin hearts leaped.
"We had better inform Master Windu. We're going to the shipping yard." Master Tiin got out his comlink.
"...and so we believe that that is where she is, and we are heading over right away." Master Fisto's voice buzzed out of Master Windu's comlink.
"Agreed. I shall stay here and wait for the signal from you and Master Koon to arrest the Senator." Master Windu was about to end the conversation and go to dinner, which was being served as they spoke, but another signal caught his attention. He responded to the message.
"Master Koon. What news do you bring?" Master Windu and the Masters on the other line waited for a response.
"We have managed to stop most of the ships, however, three managed to escape before we could catch them." Master Koon's deep voice was grave.
"Go on." Master Windu urged.
"One ship, as revealed by our scanners, did not hold a large amount of crates. In fact, it held only three. It was the first ship to take off." Master Koon paused. "A ship loaded like that, with only a few crates to make it look heavy, and only one crew member can only be out to do one thing."
"A suicide mission." Master Tiin finished. "That ship is bound to crash, and destroy whatever is on board."
"And the only thing of value to the Senator that could be on board is-"
"Aayla." Master Fisto interrupted. A cold feeling crept it's way up his spine and took hold of his hearts.
"I'll bet those crates are filled with explosives and bombs." Master Windu mused. "I shall arrest the Senator the first chance I get. Hopefully then, he will tell us how to stop the ship, and this whole mess will be over and done with."
"Easier said than done." Master Tiin voiced the fears of all the Masters. Little did he know just how right he was.
Oooh! What's going to happen next, I wonder? Hey, did anybody notice the reference to the Clone Wars episode "Senate Spy"? With the password being her name? =D Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
If you want to know more about Devorah, and how she knows Mace Windu and other stuff, you'll have to read Izzy's (username IzzyandDesRoxSox) story "Twisted Fate" because Devorah is her character. She's writing a series about Devorah. Go read if you're interested. It's really good! It's in the "Clone Wars" archive, not the "Star Wars" archive.
Reviews? =D
TheLightIsMine x
