Anakin returned from the Senate just before third meal and found Siri waiting for him once again on the Temple steps. She had a data pad in her hand and looked tense as she sat wrapped in her robe despite the warm day.

Part of his mouth went dry because while finding her waiting for him wasn't exactly unusual, the manner in which she waited was. Had she heard some news about Obi-wan?

He picked up his pace, rushing up the Temple steps towards her.

"Siri!" he called out. She looked up and her expression of puzzlement spread to concern as she stood and took a couple of steps down to meet him.

"Anakin! Are you alright?" she asked worriedly. He paused, a little surprised at that. Was she worried for him? Well, he supposed that wasn't an entirely unfounded concern.

"I'm fine. I didn't even see him. What about you? What about Obi-wan? Did you hear any news?"

She looked both relieved and surprised at his words, but the moment he mentioned Obi-wan, the worry returned and she looked over her shoulder at the Temple.

"No. Nothing."

"Oh," Anakin said, awkwardly falling quiet.

"It's only been a day," she reassured, forcing a smile and a cheerful tone. "I'm sure we'll hear something soon."

Anakin frowned up at her, unimpressed, and she dropped the poor act. Funny, normally she was a phenomenal actress.

"I've always… disliked this waiting," she said quietly. "Not knowing, maybe never knowing."

The younger blond nodded solemnly. "I, as well."

She frowned at him. "You're talking strangely again. And you said you didn't meet him?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yes. It seems he was busy with a new worm infecting his system," he said dryly. "So I waited in the lobby most of the time and had a rather interesting discussion with Mon Mothma, the Senator from Chandrilla.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" He crossed his arms, unsure as to whether he should look amused or annoyed.

Siri just blinked at him. "Another worm? Seriously?"

Anakin's expression sobered. "You… didn't know?"

She shook her head. "No. Unless Quinlain did something he didn't tell me about… which, okay, he may have, but… I doubt it. He was pretty shaken up about the idea of a… well, you know what in the Senate," she said, looking around. No one was near them, but he appreciated her discretion.

"You should contact him and ask just to make sure, but… if it wasn't you, then who?" Anakin mused.

Siri snorted. "Well, it isn't like he doesn't have his own fair share of enemies."

"True," Anakin said. "This will likely be a study in futility."

"I agree," the older blond nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm…"

"Speaking of futility, though," the initiate started, a little uneasily.

"Hmm?" Siri asked again, apparently having gotten lost in thought. Anakin decided he'd rather show her than explain, so he took out his comm and opened it to the message Dooku had left on the prearranged site. The taller blond just stared at the message from the former Jedi.

From a Fallen Jedi.

From a potential Sith.

From a potential spy.

He'd tried not to think about it while at the Senate. Now, it seemed, he had no choice.

They sat there for several minutes in a harsh silence that neither one seemed to want to break.

"So, what do we do?" Siri finally asked, not because she didn't have her own ideas, but probably because she wanted to know where he stood.

There was a problem with that.

"I don't know," he said. He hadn't known what to do for the last several meetings between him and Dooku. Why did she think that would change now?

"We know he's Fallen," Siri pointed out, running a hand through her blond hair. She normally kept it in a pony tail, but at the moment, it fell loosely around her shoulders, ruffling slightly in the breeze. He must have caught her at a bad time. Well, one of her best friends and her former (from her point of view) padawan had gone missing. He supposed that no time was a 'good' time right now.

He empathized.

"We don't know why he wants to meet us," Anakin said.

"It has far more chance of being a trap," Siri supplied. "And we were wary before…"

They both sat there for several seconds.

"The Force says to go," Anakin finally said, putting his head in his hands.

"I know," Siri responded, putting her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose.

Anakin looked up, surprised. "You feel it too?"

She shot him a dry glare. "Why wouldn't I?"

His face scrunched up like he'd bit a lemon. "That means it's most likely not the dark side telling me to go…"

Her expression smoothed out. "Oh."

More silence.

"I'll get my Zora outfit."

Anakin nodded. This would have to be handled delicately. Very delicately.

xXx

They walked back to her quarters in silence, not really wanting to talk about anything, especially where someone might overhear them. They only began to really plan once her door closed behind them.

"So, what's plan A?" he asked as she went into the back room.

"Send a message to Master Yoda. Use my comm if you have to," she called over her shoulder. "Let him know that we'll be leaving to see Dooku tomorrow and tell him where."

"I haven't figured out where yet."

"Pick something," she returned. "In any case, I'll approach him."

Anakin stopped typing the note for Master Yoda into the comm and looked up at where she'd disappeared into her room. "What?!"

"It follows your pattern of sending 'someone' in to speak with him and he'll know me from last time."

The initiate bit his lip. "I can't send you into a potential trap," he said.

"I'll tell him you hired me again. The trap will be set for you, not me, especially if I'm just the hired hand."

He wasn't comfortable with this. As Anakin, he'd never been comfortable sending other people into dangerous situations in his place. Or at all. He'd done it, especially during the war, but it had taken several harsh lessons from the Emperor himself before he'd really learned to delegate. He'd still hated it… and that may or may not have been part of the reason why half the people he worked with ended up dead as Vader… Because he'd never really gotten over the idea that if he wanted something done right, he'd have to do it himself.

This situation may or may not count as delegation, but letting other people do their jobs in conjunction with his was one of the few lessons from his time as Vader that he should probably incorporate into his life now.

"I don't like it," he said, but that was the most he would protest because she'd made her choice and he needed to respect that.

"Don't blame you," she said, walking back out with a garment bag over one shoulder and a case in her other hand. Then she smiled at him. "Actually, I'm kind of proud of you. I know how hard it is for you to trust other people."

Anakin felt a little bubble of warmth in his chest at her praise and acknowledgment, as well as his success in reaching a point where his tendencies leaned more towards what he'd been before Falling, but that didn't eliminate the cold bubble of worry in his stomach.

It must have shown on his face because she sighed. "Anakin," she said with a smile, "I can take care of myself."

He nodded. "I know."

She reached out and ruffled his hair. He leaned away, staring at her in blatant shock and offense.

"Thanks for caring, though," she said.

He still huffed, but decided to forgive her for the embarrassing treatment. This once. Besides, it wasn't like anyone else had been in the room to see it.

"Well, let's figure out where we're going tomorrow and let Dooku know," Siri said, pulling up the holoweb.

xXx

They picked out a bar in the lower levels a couple of districts away then sent their message to Dooku on the forums. They tried to go over the information they already had from Palpatine and make more connections there (Anakin had a hard time believing just how much information they'd gathered), but neither one of them seemed able to really focus. Finally, they just gave up for the night and went to bed. Siri even walked him back to his room, despite his exasperated protests.

Just before he slept, Anakin realized he hadn't been racing in over a week and he made plans to do so soon. Just… not tonight or tomorrow. As much as he would like to wish otherwise, he just didn't have the time.

He woke up feeling jittery and paranoid. His classes didn't help, seeming to drag on more than normal and he found himself anxiously waiting for the evening to come. Of course, he'd have to go to his session tonight with Master Xio. He wasn't sure if that would help or hinder him at this point.

Once he got into the session, they spoke of many things; Palpatine's new worm, Anakin's offers of padawanship, the Tuskan Raiders he'd killed in his first life and how to properly grieve. She even went into why some things his Jedi Masters had told him may have either skipped a few steps or not given him the full picture. It was, as usual, an emotionally straining session, but he felt he'd certainly learned new things and made progress.

He'd also decided not to accept Obi-wan's offer of padawanship. As much as he hated to let the good that he had with Obi-wan go, he'd outgrown what their relationship had initially given him. He hadn't brought it up to Master Xio, but he also really wanted to get to know the knight as more of a brother and a friend than a father figure. He hadn't yet decided on Mace Windu's offer, but for the sake of the galaxy was currently leaning towards 'no'. Still, he knew he could learn a lot from the man, so he hadn't shelved that completely either.

To be honest, Siri's offer was still on the table too… but right now, none of them felt right. He didn't know why and it grated on him.

He went to third meal feeling a little overwhelmed, something his friends seemed to pick up on (why hadn't he seen how great these children were the first time around? Well, he knew, but still) and he gratefully made his way through dinner and then headed straight to Siri's room, having everything on him that he'd need.

He ended up having to wait for a couple of minutes for her to come back from her own end meal and then they had to comm Yoda. He seemed just as wary as they were, but in the end allowed them to go as long as they promised to be careful. Anakin wondered if he really thought they wouldn't be or if that was him just trying to curb their natural, reckless tendencies.

In the end, he brushed the thought aside as they left to get another motel room where they could both put on their disguises. It didn't take Anakin long to don his Luke Lars outfit, and at that point he basically sat and watched Siri carefully apply her wig, the 'tattoo' she wore on the side of her face, the false earrings, the makeup. Slowly, she transformed into a completely different person and he honestly found it fascinating.

"Did you do this every day?" he asked. "When you were under cover?"

She paused and glanced at him before going back to applying some mascara.

"Absolutely not. That was a permanent job, so I had to get more long-term alterations. Constantly dyed my hair, had it cut a certain way… even had some semi-permanent makeup applied. It's pretty common among bounty hunters."

She put the little wand back in the bottle and sat back, turning her face left and right to make sure she'd gotten everything, then nodded in satisfaction.

"I actually had to get my tattoo removed when I got back to the Temple," she said as she began to put everything away.

"Didn't want to keep it?" he asked, although to be fair, he wouldn't either.

"Kriff, no."

He snorted as she finished cleaning up, then stood and went to grab the garment bag. "Be out in a sec," she said as she went into the bathroom. Five minutes later, she came back out, completely dressed as Zora. Then he watched as she began placing vibroblades, blasters and her lightsaber on discreet parts of her costume.

Eventually she gathered her Jedi robes and smirked at Anakin.

"Ready."

"Okay," he said as he stood and followed her out the high window and into one of the back alleyways. Then they made their way to their speeder, which they'd parked in a blind spot when it came to the holocams, so no one could see them take the same speeder a couple of Jedi had come in before. (Or, if they would simply see two bounty hunters stealing a ride. They were honestly fine either way.)

Once they reached the general area Anakin let Siri off to wander down to the restaurant, making sure that she had a recording device, as there would likely be many jammers there. Then he went to park and followed her down. He reached the general street a little after she'd walked inside, and waited for her in a little cafe across the way. He spent the time searching the area through the Force, because while he hadn't felt anything directed his way initially, that could very well change at any given moment, meanwhile keeping a metaphysical eye on what was going on inside through the Force.

Meanwhile he had to repeat to himself that Siri knew what she was doing.

xXx

Siri strode casually into the dim light of the diner, carefully scanning everything she could both with the Force and her other senses. Nothing really stood out, but then that was the point. They'd just wanted another dive to get lost in. Although it did feel colder than expected in the Force, now that she really concentrated.

So, he'd already come. Unsurprising.

It didn't take her long to find him. He sat in a booth where he could see everyone exiting and entering through every doorway within his view. The table was also very nearly in a blind spot when it came to the holo-recorders. He'd be out of the picture in any case, as would most of the table. Typical Dooku, picking the most advantageous spot for himself. Not that she could really blame him, but it still rubbed her the wrong way.

Then again, it was Dooku. Most things about him rubbed her wrong.

She still strode up to him, gesturing for a server as she did so, then took a seat across from him, giving off a nonchalant air. She was in this for the money, and didn't particularly care about the risks – at least that was the persona she wanted to portray.

"Well," the Count said stiffly. "If it isn't the backup dancer."

Ah, so he'd remembered that? Meant she could be a little playful and just touch looser with the rules than she'd initially planned on, but that was fine.

She shrugged. "Just here to test the waters. Easiest paycheck I've ever made." She noticed the waitress coming over (almost jealously noting the conservative uniform… lucky) and smiled at the man across from her. "You are getting the tab, right?"

If possible, his expression dried out even further, making him look utterly deadpan. "Yes."

Her smile widened. "He said you would."

Siri then proceeded to order the largest, most expensive meal the diner offered. Perhaps it was a bit petty – it wasn't like she'd put any sort of dent in the Count's coffers – but every now and then, she could indulge in some satisfactory payback, even if only in small ways. Besides, it was something her persona would do.

The waitress left and she turned her attention back on the former Jedi, smiling sweetly. "So, I'm here to see why you want to talk to the boss."

The man put a disk on the table. A data disk. "I will only give this to Lars himself, but this is the information he's looking for. I finally found enough of it that a skilled prosecutor will be able to put a very tight case together."

Siri's breath caught in her throat as she looked down at the disk. Was he implying that… the disk held the ever elusive evidence against Palpatine? She forced her eyes away from it and leaned her head on her arm casually.

"How are we to know this isn't a trap?"

Dooku sighed and pulled out a holo-reader, plugging the disk into it after looking around to make sure no one else was watching. The information that arose almost drew a gasp from her. Almost. A couple of months ago, it would have, but she'd finally gotten enough self-control back to forgo that. It had been a long, hard battle. One she was rather proud of.

Still, the information… It dealt with the clones. From what she could see, it was the initial clone order. And then several instructions for Dooku to start a war…

This…

This was golden!

She hummed easily and nodded, hoping she came off as only barely interested. "I see. This is… certainly an interesting read. How did you come by this information, if I may ask?" she said, reaching towards the projection to move it onto other information. He shut the projector off and withdrew his hand, much to her disappointment. So much had been there just on that initial glance. What else had he gotten for them too? This was better than they could have hoped for. They had to get that disk.

"Well," he said, as if contemplating whether he should tell her or not. He eventually decided to, apparently, as he continued a few seconds later. "Last week a very ambitious and clever slicer managed to get a worm on Palpatine's comm. He most certainly went on about it later and how he had no way of knowing how much information was compromised. I thought it a clever idea, so I commissioned one of my own."

Siri just blinked at him.

"That worm… was yours?" She wanted to burst into laughter, because the irony… the poetic justice…

The Force was laughing at them.

He smirked. "So, you heard of it?"

She nodded, not trusting herself to open her mouth.

His smirk widened. "I wasn't able to get as much as I would have liked, but I still got some rather incriminating evidence. Combine that with some instructions he's sent me and we have achieved our goal. I just need to get it to Lars."

She still almost couldn't believe this and found she could only sort of sit there, incredulous as she tried to maintain her persona. Eventually, she leaned back, cocking her head a little. "But why?"

He raised one eyebrow in question.

Siri clarified. "He said you might not be… trustworthy. Why should he trust this? And why bring it to him?"

Dooku rolled his eyes a little. "I may be Fallen, but as of right now my goals remain the same. I want the Sith gone. I trust Lars to take this to the right people. For myself, I will have to disappear. Sidious will know where this information came from. But then, it's in the nature of the Sith to betray each other."

Her nigh elation almost evaporated at that. He'd just counted himself among the Sith… The Sith he said he wanted to destroy… She found that chilling, sad, and more than a little worrisome.

"Well, I will have to pass this on, then," she said, stretching a little.

To her annoyance, Dooku just snorted derisively. "Ms. Zora, you act very well, but you can drop it. You're working with Lars, not for him."

Her smile faded ever so slightly as she considered how to play this now. Dooku hadn't made any sort of threatening move towards her, but he had called her bluff – a very good bluff, if she might add – just after he had outed himself as a Sith. Before she could think of something to answer, he leaned forward, curiously.

"What did he offer you? Training? You're certainly more controlled than a wild or typically rogue Force user. Is Vader starting his own little group of Force Sensitives?"

It took every ounce of self control Siri had regained to not panic right then and there. He knew. He knew about Anakin (well, Lars) being Vader. Her mind ran over the implications. Was he here to out Anakin? Capture him? Or was this simply a dark-sider power play (they did so like to do that)? Or…

Was he warning her that Sidious knew?

She dropped her playfully bored persona completely and sat back with her arms crossed, eyeing the man carefully, hand only centimeters away from her hidden lightsaber.

Eventually, she decided on a vague form of the truth. "He isn't teaching me anything. Our alliance is one of convenience." And friendship, but Dooku didn't need to know that. "However," she conceded, "he did help me out of some… tough spots. I'm here to return a favor." All technically true, even if she didn't actually owe him anything. The favor was mostly for her Obi-wan.

After a moment, she shrugged. "The paycheck isn't so bad either." May as well reinforce that.

"These past 'tough spots'," the Count said slowly, stroking his beard (she was thankful it somehow looked more sinister on him than it ever could on Obi-wan). "Would they be where you both met your Anakin?"

She narrowed her eyes in warning. That was getting far too close to dangerous territory.

"My past is my own. So is his," she responded. She hadn't realized he'd picked up quite so much from their little run-in when she'd stopped Anakin from tearing him apart with the dark side.

Dooku just raised an eyebrow again. "This Anakin wouldn't happen to have the last name of Skywalker, would he?"

Siri seriously contemplated taking her lightsaber out right then and there. She almost did, but only stopped herself from doing so when she realized she still sensed nothing offensive from Dooku.

"How do you know that?" she practically hissed.

He smiled. "What would you say if I told you he was alive?"

That took Siri aback and she just sort of stared at him in shock as she tried to process that because… what?!

He seemed to take her befuddlement as shock because he grinned smugly.

"I could tell you he's currently in the Jedi Temple," he went on nonchalantly. "This boy whose life was cut so tragically short."

Several more seconds of staring later, Siri finally put the pieces together. Dooku thought she and 'Vader' had come across Anakin at some point, that he was connected to them somehow, and that they thought he'd died when he actually hadn't. He thought they didn't know he was alive and living as a Jedi initiate.

To be fair, she had mentioned his name before in front of Dooku. Apparently, the man hadn't realized she'd been addressing Anakin.

Yeah, this was too much for her right now.

"I'll… be right back," she finally said, struggling to keep a hold of herself as she rose from the table and forced herself to calmly walk outside.

She waited until she'd walked several feet from the entrance, made sure she couldn't be seen by any holo, flipped off her jammers, and then finally let it out. She burst into long, loud, hearty laughter that may or may not have been a little hysterical. This… this was so far beyond what they could have possibly imagined.

"Siri?" Anakin's voice came through her comm. "That is you, correct?"

She couldn't answer, still laughing, almost bent over and holding her stomach. She did manage to shoot a look in his general direction and nod.

Several locals were looking at her strangely, but she didn't care. She couldn't care. And she couldn't seem to stop.

That's when 'Luke Lars' appeared before her, confused and possibly a little worried. "Siri?"

She laughed harder.

It took her a couple of minutes to calm down enough to explain everything to Anakin in a hushed tone. She made sure to turn her jammer back on and look away from where prying eyes could potentially see or overhear any information she gave before she half whispered, half hissed an explanation to him, still trying to hold in her laughter. She told him about Dooku's new status first. It went a long way to helping her calm down. But then she told him about the worm, and finally Dooku's deductions about 'Anakin Skywalker'.

His very wrong, but still oh-so-right-from-a-certain-point-of-view deductions.

Anakin just stood there in a sort of shocked silence for several seconds before he burst into laughter too, dragging her right back into a fit of her own. The two of them just stood there, in the back alleyway of a Coruscanti diner, drawing far too much attention from the locals and not being able to care one whit.

She managed to calm down faster this time, which helped Anakin do so as well; a very good thing because now they had to plan how they would approach this, and they would have to do so while maintaining the current status quo with the Sith Lord.

Before they really got into it, though, Anakin turned to her and shook his head. "Am I the only one who thinks the Force is laughing at us?"

Siri burst into laughter again.

xXx

AN: Thanks to Carradee, Quathis and Khalthar for their help on this! :D

I have this image in my head of Anakin in his 'Lars' disguise and Siri in her 'Zora' disguise leaning against some gratified wall in lower Coruscant laughing their heads off... Next chapter likely won't be so amusing though. :/

Speaking of, I'm moving and going on a trip out of state for Hubby's family and between all of that, I may not be able to post next month. I will try and get the next chapter up on time, but no promises. Depends on how overwhelmed I am and how badly my anxiety acts up.

In any case, thank you for reading!

Discord: discord. gg/2acAymzqku (no spaces)