Chapter 6
Dance with the devil
Qui-Gon stood outside the room where his prone padawan laid on a bed. The Jedi Master had received a message from Amaele about his padawan's condition, while the healers were performing some blood tests to determine what the boy had been injected with.
When he had first arrived he had demanded to know how Obi-Wan was doing. The healers reassured him that the boy had a steady heartbeat and appeared to be in no apparent danger. "It was only a mild sedative, nothing too serious. He should be awake in no time." As the healer finished the young man in the bed began to stir from his drug-induced slumber.
Qui-Gon rushed into the room and over to his padawan's side. Obi-Wan opened his eyes and looked up at his master. The young man looked to his left and right. "Unbelievable." He muttered closing his eyes. "What happened?" He asked struggling to sit up. The sedative was taking its time wearing off and he still felt a bit woozy.
"That psycho drugged you, then ran off." Amaele said bluntly appearing in the doorway. Obi-Wan looked at her a bit confused.
"Kelilah injected you with sedative and left the healers ward through the window." Qui-Gon explained. Obi-Wan thought for a moment and the events that took place before he slipped into unconsciousness began to become clear. He remembered Kelilah had started to cry and he had tried to comfort her. He looked down at him arm as he remembered her stabbing him with the syringe. There was a bandage around his arm now. "I'm sorry Obi-Wan but this is how it has to be. I have to end this one way or another." She had said that right before the world around him went dark.
Suddenly a feeling of urgency filled him. "We have to go find her! She is going after Nurgal and—"
"Obi-Wan calm down. The council has already sent teams of Jedi out to find her." Qui-Gon said placing a hand on the young man's shoulder.
"No they won't get to her in time. We have to." Obi-Wan said as he slid off the hospital bed. When his feet hit the ground and he tried to support his own weight, he stumbled a bit but quickly caught himself.
Qui-Gon watched as Obi-Wan began to walk out of the room. Amaele tried blocking his path by standing in the middle of the doorway. "I don't understand what you are doing." She said. "This girl treats you like you're the scum of the galaxy. She's the reason you land in the healer's ward twice in two days and one of those times was done by her own hand! Yet you still try and defend her?"
"Move Amaele." Obi-Wan said but the girl held her ground but all Obi-Wan had to do was stare her down and the healer apprentice stepped aside.
As Obi-Wan walked out into the hall Amaele turned to Qui-Gon helplessly. "Master Jinn please, talk some sense into him." She pleaded with the man.
"Amaele I share your concerns but I trust Obi-Wan's instincts." Qui-Gon said gently.
"But—" Amaele began but Qui-Gon silenced her. He smiled slightly
"Obi-Wan has always remained loyal to me when I go off and fight for a cause I believe worthy. I Think I owe it to him to show the same loyalty." Qui-Gon said then left the young woman alone.
Amaele walked over to the bed and sat down. "Am I the only one left with common sense?" She asked turning her face skywards.
"Master, we have no idea where Kelilah is, so where are we going?" Obi-Wan asked as Qui-Gon climbed into a speeder.
"Security Force headquarters." Qui-Gon said as Obi-Wan climbed into the passengers seat. Qui-Gon started the speeder and the two drove away form the temple. "I think Senator Basilio would know where Kelilah would be heading."
The Security Force headquarters was crowded with officers booking criminals, questioning suspects or witness and heading out to crime scenes. No one seemed to notice the two Jedi walk in Qui-Gon looked over the heads of people trying to find any sign of Arsene or even officer Kivi.
Qui-Gon walked up to the front desk. A female Twi'lek with red skin sat behind it talking on a comlink. "I don't know what she was thinking wearing that outfit last night." The Twi'lek said into the comlink. "And then she has the nerve to show up with Scyros!"
Qui-Gon tried to get the aliens attention. They had very little time to spare but the Twi'lek acted as though she didn't even see the two Jedi standing in front of her. "Excuse me." Qui-Gon said in stern tone. The Twi'lek looked up at the Jedi.
"I'm going to have to call you back." The Twi'lek said to the person on the other end of the comlink and cut the transmission. "Can I help you?" She said with a bit of an attitude, clearly not liking her conversation cut short.
"Did Inspector Arsene and Officer Kivi arrive here with Senator Arsene?" Qui-Gon asked.
"Yes. They arrived a short time ago and are in the Inspector's office." The Twi'lek replied with a forced smile.
"Thank you." Qui-On said and he and Obi-Wan started down the hall towards Inspector Arsene's office. As they drew closer Obi-Wan began to feel that something was wrong.
They reached the door and Qui-Gon knocked. After waiting and receiving no reply, the Jedi opened the door and walked into the office. He stopped when he entered. Senator Basilio sat dead in the chair behind the desk shot in the chest and Officer Kivi laid on the floor unconscious.
Qui-Gon hurried over to Kivi and kneeled down by the man. He felt for a pulse and was relieved to find a steady heart beat. The man just appeared to have been struck in the back of the head with something hard.
Obi-Wan still stood in the doorway. The conversation he had with Drell surfaced again. "You think there could be someone working on the inside?" He remembered asking Drell after the other padawan had given his input on the case. "Where's Inspector Arsene?" He wondered aloud.
"Right here kid." A voice behind him said. Obi-Wan turned and came face to face with the muzzle of a blaster. Arsene motioned for him to step further into the office. Obi-Wan stepped back until he reached the desk. Qui-Gon came up beside him. "Nothing personal boys but I have a job to do."
"Withholding important information to lead to this killer one of them?"
"As a matter of fact it is. Two years ago I was working missing person cases in the outer rim, which is the worst place to be if you're a security force personnel. A man approached me and offered me a job. I turned him down at first, claimed it went against what I had gone into this type of work for but when he offered me a position on Coruscant I couldn't resist."
"Then why did you give us the data on the other victims and the tattoo?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Really worthless information unless you have some one to explain it to you and besides I didn't want you getting suspicious. I know about you Master Jinn, about you and your apprentice solving the murder of Senator S'orn's son. I couldn't very well do my dirty work with you two around." She walked to Kivi and stood over his body. "I was going to say that Officer Kivi here was the one who killed the Senator and I bravely subdued him but then you had to appear! So now I have to do away with both of you."
"You are in Security Force Headquarters filled with officers I do not think you will get far." Qui-Gon said in his usual cool manner. Arsene smiled. Behind her on the ground Kivi began to stir.
"Master Jinn you have no idea what you are dealing with. This man has many, many connections in the Security force and the Senate. I could kill you right in the lobby of the Security Force headquarters and I would get away with it." Her finger tightened on the trigger of the blaster.
Crack!
Arsene fell to the ground unconscious. Kivi stood behind her holding his blaster after hitting her in the back of the head with the butt of the weapon. "See how you like it." He said scornfully and rubbed the back of his head.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
On the other side of town in one of the market districts, Drell was finishing up the errand that his Master had sent him on. He jumped into the driver's seat of the speeder and took off into the airways. He sat back as he drove with the radio blasting out the latest hit single from a new band coming out of Corellia.
He was singing along with the refrain of the song that was quite catchy, when he began to feel slight trickles of warning form the force. His singing trailed off as looked around at his surroundings.
Then just as he turned his eyes from ahead of him, a speeder coming from the opposite direction cut in front of him. "Oh force!" He cried out as he turned sharply to avoid hitting the other speeder. He looked back and got a good look at the driver. It was Kelilah. Drell turned around and began to follow her.
Obi-Wan walked out into the lobby of the security force headquarters. They had taken Inspector Arsene into custody but unless they found Kelilah and this Nurgal, Obi-Wan was sure that the woman would walk.
He sighed in frustration. The only person that could have told them where Kelilah would be heading was dead and Obi-Wan couldn't seem to track Kelilah down through the force. He wasn't sure if she was blocking him or he wasn't focusing enough. He walked over to a bench and sat down. Maybe Amaele was right. Kelilah treated him badly for no reason that he knew of, yet he still wanted to help her. Why?
His comlink began beeping. "Yeah?" He said after activating it.
"Hey Obi, your not going to believe this." It was Drell. "I ran into your girlfriend, or almost ran into her anyway."
"Drell what are you talking about?" Obi-Wan asked. He was too tired for games.
"Kelilah. The girl cut me off and I almost hit her. I followed her down to the lower levels. I'm parked out side of this building she went into."
"Drell stay right where you are!" Obi-Wan said urgently then cut the transmission. He ran out of the lobby and back into Arsene's office where Qui-Gon and Officer Kivi were.
Drell waited by his speeder for Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to arrive. He didn't particularly like being in this part of town at night. There was little activity at the moment but around the dark corners of the lower levels anything could happen. He heard a speeder coming towards him and relaxed as he saw it was Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon.
The two Jedi exited the speeder and walked over to Drell. "She went in there." He said pointing towards and entrance. "Nothing has happened since." Qui-Gon looked to where Drell was indicating. He turned to the other padawan.
"Drell, contact the council and wait for them to send the other Jedi teams here." Qui-Gon instructed. Drell nodded and got into his speeder. Qui-Gon turned to Obi-Wan who appeared to be anxious to get moving. "Calm yourself Padawan." The Jedi Master said. Obi-Wan took a deep breath and exhaled. Once Qui-Gon was sure Obi-Wan had calmed his nerves the two made their way to the entrance.
Once inside, the two Jedi came to a long corridor with doors lining each side. Cautiously they made their way to the other end. With his nerves calmed Obi-Wan could feel Kelilah's force presence.
They walked until Obi-Wan stopped at the forth door on the right. This is where he felt the force presence the strongest. Qui-Gon moved over to the other side of the door. Him and Obi-Wan now stood in either side with their bodies pressed against the wall. Qui-Gon opened the door. Qui-Gon looked inside to see if everything was clear. Once sure that it was, the two walked into the room.
The room was small and empty but there was another passage way and the two Jedi went straight for that. At the end of this passage way was an archway guarded by two heavily armed men. The two Jedi crept up to the archway as close as they could get without catching the attention of the guards they pressed their bodies against the walls.
"So you have finally come to me." They heard a voice say. Qui-Gon motioned to Obi-Wan who walked over to Qui-Gon's side. Obi-Wan could now see Kelilah holding a blaster, raised to the same man that had attacked them in the memorial hall.
"I have not come to join you." Kelilah said coldly.
"Then that presents a problem." Nurgal said. "I had so much hope for you Kelilah." AS he spoke the blaster that Kelilah held moved from being pointed at Nurgal's chest to the side of her head. "But if you will not join then you will suffer the same fate as the other. It's funny in a way. For years I have been trying to take you but there was always someone to protect you: your mother, your master and now that boy but no more. It's end of game."
Obi-Wan had to hold back from crying out to get Kelilah's attention but that would only doom them all. So he tried something else. //Kelilah! // He called through the force.
Obi-Wan's message broke into her thoughts. Kelilah snapped out of her trance. She lowered the blaster and looked around confused. "Obi-Wan?" She asked. Nurgal too looked around at their surroundings and then spotted the two Jedi I the archway.
"Guards!" He said. The two men standing at the archway turned and drew their weapons, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon took out their lightsabers. Obi-Wan brought his lightsaber down, injuring the man's arm and causing him to drop his weapon. The guard grabbed his arm in pain. Obi-Wan spin-kicked him and the man went down. To disarm his attacker, Qui-Gon kicked the blaster from the man's hands then crouched down, kicking the guard's feet out from under him.
With the guards taken care of, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon walked into the room, lightsabers held up. Nurgal grabbed Kelilah by the wrists; the blaster fell from her grasp. Nurgal twisted her arm behind her back. He grabbed her head with the other hand and tilted it to the right. "Do you see this?" He asked Kelilah's shoulder length hair fell behind her shoulder revealing the 'Mark of Shane' tattooed an inch below her left ear. "This means she is one of use. The Jedi stole her and I am rightfully taking her back." Kelilah struggled in Nurgal's grasp.
Nurgal looked over to Qui-Gon. "It must have been tiring to hunt me down. And with all the stress of the investigation I'm sure your heart can't take it all." As he spoke Qui-Gon grabbed his chest finding it suddenly hard to breath. The big Jedi kneeled down. Obi-Wan looked at his master. He heard Nurgal say, "Lower your weapon and I will let him go." Obi-Wan looked up at Kelilah uncertain what to do.
"Obi-Wan, lower your weapon!" Kelilah shouted. "My life is not worth his!" Obi-Wan looked back at Qui-Gon. He doubted that Nurgal would let his master live or any of them for that matter. So he did what he believed best. He charged Nurgal.
Nurgal threw Kelilah to the side and drew his lightsaber. He blocked Obi-Wan's first blow and returned one of his own. Obi-Wan ducked out of the way of the lightsaber and stepped back. He chanced a look at his master for a split second. Nurgal had lost his concentration on the Jedi Master and there fore lost his hold on the man. Obi-Wan turned back to Nurgal and went at him from the side.
On the ground a few feet away Kelilah watched as the two fought. She looked over and saw her blaster lying on the ground. She called on the force and the blaster slide over to her. She picked up the weapon and raised it towards Nurgal.
Obi-Wan brought his lightsaber up to block a blow and then down to block another. He kicked Nurgal in the midsection and sent the man flying into the wall behind them. Obi-Wan was ready to make another attack when he heard the shot of a blaster ring out. He turned and saw Kelilah holding up a blaster. She pulled the trigger again and again.
Blaster fire ripped though Nurgal's chest and midsection. He leaned against the wall and slide down it. The fight was over.
Obi-Wan ran over to Qui-Gon. "Are you all right?" He asked urgently. Qui-Gon nodded coughing a bit. He pointed over to Kelilah.
"See how she is." The master managed to say. Obi-Wan was hesitant to leave his master's side but went over to Kelilah. The girl still held the blaster up rigidly. Obi-Wan walked over to her and kneeled down by her side.
"Kelilah you okay?" Obi-Wan asked but the girl didn't answer. "Okay give Obi-wan the blaster." Obi-Wan said as he took it from her grasp. He placed the blaster down on the ground, then put his hands on her shoulders and turned towards him till he was looking into her eyes. "Hey, you okay." She nodded numbly but then shook her head as her eyes filled up with tears. She leaned into him and began to sob on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her. "It's going to be okay." He whispered and kissed the top of her head.
Epilogue
Smile Like a Sunrise
Obi-Wan walked through the temple gardens. After what had happened it was a nice relaxation method. As he walked he saw a figure sitting in the grass by the water. He smiled when he saw that it was Kelilah. He had not spoken to her since they had gotten back to the temple and she was taken directly to the healer's after that. He had sought her out the next day but the healer's said that she needed rest and really shouldn't have any visitors.
He walked over to her and sat down. At first he thought that she would tell him to leave but to his surprise she said, "I'm sorry." in a soft voice that was barely audible. Obi-Wan looked over to her confused. She took a deep breath, "I'm sorry," She said a bit louder, "for the way I've been treating you."
"Don't worry about it. I'm use to blind hatred." She looked at him sadly.
"It was never anything personal against you, Obi-Wan."
"Kelilah, it's okay." The silence grew between them again.
"What happened to Inspector Arsene?" Kelilah asked. She had heard about the inspector's involvement with the murders.
"Megara Arsene is to stand trial soon and she won't walk either." Obi-Wan said with a satisfied smile. Kelilah nodded.
"Good."
"How are you doing now that it's over?" Obi-Wan asked.
"The council has restricted me to temple grounds and I have to see a mind healer and take this medication they have to keep me relaxed for the time being but despite all that I feel…good."
"That would be the medication." Obi-Wan said but Kelilah shook her head.
"No it's something else. Like a weight has been lifted form my shoulders or something." She looked out over the water. "I know I should be grieving for all those lives lost but I can't right now. I will eventually though."
"Well you know if you need to talk to anyone, the offer still stands."
"Thanks." Obi-Wan stood up.
"I have to meet Drell for a practice duel. I'll see you around Kel." He said then began back down the path, Kelilah over to him.
"What did you call me?" She asked. Obi-Wan looked back.
"Kel." He said turning towards her. She looked back out to the water a fond smile crossing her face.
"My Master used to call me that."
"Oh, I'm sorry Kelilah." Obi-Wan said quickly thinking that he had upset her reminding her of her master.
"No," Kelilah said turning back to him. "I like it."