Chapter 9: Suspicions

Obi-Wan was frowning long before the end of her tale. He had hoped it would have cleared things up, and for a few things it did - like how she had found the warehouse with the nano droids - but all the new information did was create more questions.

"Where did Knight Offee get that information? And why didn't she come forward with it once you were captured?" Those were some of the most pressing ones, for the case. The ones it was important get answered, so her name could be cleared.

Ahsoka blinked. "She said she'd do some investigating the first time we talked. From that, I guess." His incredulity must have shown on his face - he knew she knew to always verify where information was coming from when possible - because she want on the defensive. "We didn't exactly have long to talk; the Wolffe and the Guard showed up to try and arrest us at about that point, and then Ventress attacked me at the warehouse and I got captured and I never got to ask her."

He reached for the Force for patience. It wrapped around him soothingly - but no answers. Still, he was grateful for what he had. It would, he hoped, be enough. "Are you sure it was Ventress?" It didn't sound like her, that double-cross. If she'd been planning on killing Ahsoka, she could have done that the first time they met down here. If she had been planning on framing Ahsoka, how had she known where to take her, and why hadn't she been the one to provide the information instead of Barriss Offee, of all people. If Ventress had been looking into what had happened, then why attack Ahsoka instead of continuing to work with her? And why would she want to investigate anyway?

It just didn't sit right. In the past, when she'd been working for Dooku, she might have done something like that then; but nowadays?

He didn't think so. He could be wrong, of course, but he didn't think he was. And he had to check.

"It looked like her," Ahsoka elaborated. "And how else would they have had her helmet and lightsabers?"

Obi-Wan felt a glimmer of…something. Sort of hope, sort of suspicion. "Helmet? You didn't see her face during the fight?"

"Well who else could it have been!?" she exclaimed in exasperation, eying him.

"The person who bombed the Temple and framed you, for starters."

From the way her eyes widened, she hadn't actually thought of that. "But I thought that was Ventress who bombed - "

"Yes. And that would be a reasonable conclusion," and not the true one, he hoped, "if Ventress were the one who attacked you at the warehouse, because the person who attacked you at the warehouse made sure to frame you for the possession of the nano-droids there, so it follows that they either were the bomber, working with them, or someone of an entirely different group who had something to gain by doing so. Given that they knew where the nano-droids were, and what time you would be there, I find the last unlikely."

"Ventress said she was after the bounty, initially," Ahsoka reiterated slowly, thinking it over. "I persuaded her to help me by, well," she gave him a sideways glance. "By pointing out the similarity of our positions."

His chest ached. "True," was all he trusted himself to say.

There was silence for a moment.

"But, if it wasn't her, how did they get the helmet and lightsabers? There was only a small gap between her leaving outside and her - whoever it was - attacking me. They would have had to beat her, and that would have been a noisy fight. Well, unless they snuck up on her. But someone'd have to be pretty good with the Force to do that."

He let her think that over aloud, before offering, "This hypothetical person was skilled enough with Ventress' lightsabers to beat you. And we know Letta was murdered using the Force by him or her."

"Her." Ahsoka stated firmly. "She looked like Ventress, helmet, lightsabers, dressed in black…" She trailed off, staring into space. After a moment her eyes widened. "It - it wasn't her."

Obi-Wan tilted his head. "So it was a male-"

"No, her. Ventress." Ahsoka's voice was hushed, and she was speaking quickly, as though afraid the words would disappear if she didn't say them fast enough. "It looked like her, same body type and everything, but she wasn't wearing the same clothes, and she was shorter, I almost didn't see, the lighting was so poor, barely anything apart from our lightsabers and we were moving so fast, but it wasn't her. It wasn't her." She looked shocked. Almost ill. "It wasn't her, and I thought it was…" she leant against the wall, sliding down. "I thought it was, I didn't realise…" Her head dropped back against the wall, staring blankly.

Awkwardly he sat next to her. "That seems to be a favourite tactic of this person," he offered. "Pinning the blame on others."

She gave him a scathing look. He shifted uncomfortably. "It wasn't your fault, Ahsoka."

"It's the exact same thing!" Oh Force. How did he help? He wasn't any good at this sort of thing, none at all. He'd always dealt with his problems on his own, maybe with the silent support of his Master or the occasional council from Master Yoda, but largely on his own. Anakin never came to him with his problems. He didn't know how to offer the sort of support that would be helpful right now. "I should have seen it, should have realised!" She'd sprung back to her feet, was pacing the room back and forth at slightly dizzying speed. He carefully climbed to his own feet, then placed himself in her path.

"You did."

She near skidded to a halt in front of him, face uncomprehending, that incomprehension quickly melting into anger. He hurried on. "You saw it just now. You figured them out, and now they won't be able to fool you like that as easily. Now, what happened to this mystery assailant?"

She was still fuming. But she wasn't shouting at him, or herself, which he considered a tentative success. "Don't know," She muttered. "No one else saw her. She chucked me with the nano-droids, and I saw her look down, and then she just up and vanished as the Clone's appeared." Her eyes flashed. "Easily?"

"As easily as someone who isn't watching out for it," he clarified, wincing mentally. After years with Anakin, he should have known better than to use a phrase like that. She was far too much like her Master - well, former Master - sometimes.

"Right." As suddenly as it had appeared, the energy and anger was gone, draining out of her. "So, I'll ask Barriss where she got the information. And we find Ventress."

"Are you sure?"

"Look, why wouldn't I be? Barriss is my friend, she was helping me when I was on the run, she told me where to find the nano-droids-"

"And thus led you straight into a trap."

"…What?"

Obi-Wan sighed tiredly. He hadn't got much sleep, too busy watching out for trouble and worrying that they would be found and not thinking about what the Council would think and wondering how and when the gap between what was right and what was allowed had opened, and just how wide it was. "She led you to the warehouse, where you were attacked by a person who framed you for possession of nano-droid explosives, and who is likely the person who bombed the Temple. She may not have done so deliberately. Her source may have been the one setting you up, or the line may have been tapped, but either way, it's risky to contact her."

The former Padawan's face set stubbornly. "I made sure it couldn't be tapped or traced."

He acknowledged that with a brief incline of his head. "You did. But do you know if she did the same at her end? Knight Offee is a Healer, not an espionage specialist."

He didn't voice his other suspicion. The line being tapped was possible, if unlikely, as for that the person would need to be close to the unguarded end of the call, which implied that they were in the Jedi Temple or shadowing Barriss Offee around. Then again, the person was probably a Jedi. And if Barriss Offee really was helping her friend and the call hadn't been the culprit, then it was likely she had just found rotten information, planted to get Ahsoka where the bomber wanted her.

"I - don't. Know, that is." Ahsoka reluctantly admitted

It was a possibility. Just a possibility at this stage. He'd see what happened next before bringing it up with Ahsoka. If he was wrong, and Offee was on Ahsoka's side, then he didn't want to shatter the belief Ahsoka had in one of the few people she could still bring herself to trust. "So…"

She glared at him, before looking down. "I guess I - we - find Ventress. Once you disguise yourself."

One hand went to his naked face. "What, this not enough for you?"

She blinked uncertainly at him for a moment, before she saw the quirk of his mouth, realised he meant it humorously, and scowled at him. "You're still recognisable."

Personally, he rather thought that if someone recognised him without his beard, they would know him well enough to recognise him with other precautions, but this wasn't really about disguise. It was about trust. Though he still felt obliged to point out that, " You didn't recognise me at first," before he relented, ever-so-slightly-amused, as she folded her arms and attempted to imitate the look he himself would give to Anakin when he wanted his former Padawan to stop evading his questions and just get to the point. "Well, what do you suggest?"

That brought her up short. "Er…" He waited as she thought, content in having distracted her from her self-recrimination. "Haircut?"

She was pushing him: testing whether he would stay or not. Making ridiculous demands (and it was ridiculous, and he knew she knew it,) to see whether that would push him away, because all her support had vanished, and she wasn't sure whether she could trust him to stick with her. He knew that. Even so…his hair? He'd already temporarily sacrificed his beloved beard, holding a solemn silence and staring at the detached bristles for a long moment before letting them go and washing them away, and now she wanted him to cut his hair? He kept it short: cutting it would leave it at Padawan length.

Well, it would grow back eventually.

"Right." There were no chairs, so he knelt so she'd be able to see what she was doing. "Just don't shave it all off."

There was a slightly shocked pause as she realised he'd actually complied, then a small snort of amusement. "I won't."

He smiled.

Next Chapter: The Chancellor meets with Mace Windu, and Sidious plots.