When they reached the street again, they took a right and walked for
a few minutes before ducking into the shadows of a side alley. Kaybin
pulled out his wallet, his real wallet, and stuck it in another pocket,
just to keep any prospective thieves guessing. Saeryn leaned against the
wall and checked the power packs on her blasters.
"Well, what now?" she asked. "Obviously we need to get a hold of this Garbag the Hutt, but my gut instincts are telling me it's not going to be that simple. There's something else going on here. First a Black Sun squad raids the docked freighter, kills the captain, and steals the guns, then Jabba ends up with them? Something's not right."
Kaybin shook his head. "No, it's never simple," he sighed, "and yes, something's not right." He sighed again as he took a swallow from his flask of water. "I don't know, Saeryn. If we didn't need the payoff from these guns so bad, I'd be tempted to call the whole thing off and lay low for awhile. I'm tired of Black Sun getting on our case for stepping on their toes. I'm not so sure that our agreement to run supplies for the Rebels was a good idea."
Saeryn snorted derisively. "Black Sun," she spat. "Come on, Kaybin. They're a bunch of lowlife scum running around on the orders of some reptile. The only skill he looks for in his people is knowing the business end of a gun from the other. It's not like they're bounty hunters or something."
"No, but they can get bounty hunters," Kaybin returned softly. "I heard Boba Fett himself pulled a job for them not so long ago."
"And you think the fact that we got a couple of small deals that they lost out on will make them send Fett after us?" the woman asked. "Kaybin, you're starting to sound paranoid, and I don't like that." She shoved her blasters back into their holsters and looked back out toward the bustling street. "It's makes me edgy."
"Better that than dead," the Bothan said. "But don't worry, I'm not thinking of backing out of the deal. We're going to get those guns, and we're going to get the payoff when they reach the Rebels." He slapped a new power pack into his blaster as if to emphasize the point. "Next time, though," he added, "we'd better make sure we're not getting into something we're not ready for."
Saeryn grinned and nodded. "Agreed. Jeebs said we could find old Garbage – or whatever he's called – at docking bay 92. The spaceport is on the other side of the city, so if we want to make it before dusk, we're going to have to move."
"Or get ourselves some transportation," Kaybin muttered. "We should have brought the speeder bikes from the Lady Rebel."
"Right, and then become a magnet for every Jawa in the city!" Saeryn remarked dryly. "That would not have been a plus." She peered back out at the street. "No, my friend, we're going to do it the old fashioned way – we're going to walk."
The first of Tatooine's suns was setting by the time the various tunnels and corridors leading to the spaceport came into view. Saeryn and Kaybin halted briefly under the awning of a dilapidated parts shop to consult a datapad; after picking out the best route, they started forward again. Minutes later, signs that included directions to docking bay 92 started showing up on the walls of the tunnel they were following.
"Time to play it safe," Saeryn murmured.
Kaybin nodded and slowed his gait to let her get a lead of several paces. Now, separated by a large portion of the quickly moving crowds, it would not be readily apparent that the two were associated in any way. Saeryn tried to keep everything and everyone in sight all at once as she neared their destination, and her Bothan companion kept one hand discreetly tucked inside his vest, where he had a nasty DX-97x – a rapid-fire version of the DX-97 – concealed. If any one opponent tried to attack either one of the pair, he, she, or it would also have to watch its back.
Saeryn soon found the entrance to docking bay 92. It was a narrow little doorway that led down a low corridor to the right. The corridor itself opened up into what she guessed was the landing pad, but the bright red glare of the setting suns prevented her from seeing what was actually on it. She paused in the doorway and looked at her datapad, as if simply stepping aside to figure out where she was going, then glanced up and scanned the crowd. Satisfied that no one was watching the door – at least, not obviously – she ducked into the corridor and went halfway down it, then stopped to wait for Kaybin to catch up.
The Bothan arrived a minute later, pulling his blaster out of his vest as he stepped up beside her. "This is too easy," he murmured, making sure to keep his voice low enough so that it wouldn't echo out into the landing bay and be heard by anyone who was listening. "If there was Hutt property in here, there'd at least be a couple of cheap guards out front. There'd be no way we could just walk in like this."
Saeryn nodded, realizing he was right. And although she suddenly got the feeling they were walking into a trap, she couldn't think of any other way to proceed. "Maybe they're posted inside the bay," she said hopefully. She went on at her companion's doubtful look. "We need those guns, Kaybin. We really don't have any other choice. You know the Hutts. If they do have the guns, they're going to sell them off to the highest bidder as soon as possible. We can't let that happen. This may be our only chance to get them back."
Kaybin nodded glumly. "All right," he said. "Let's get this over with."
The Bothan hefted his blaster menacingly as he advanced, but Saeryn left hers in their holsters. The guards were unsnapped, however, and she could have them drawn in the matter of a second.
They stepped carefully from the corridor and into the landing bay, splitting up to start heading in opposite directions in case of an ambush. The red light of the sunset was still bright here, but Saeryn could now make out the rusted hulk of a battered Corellian YT-1100 series freighter sitting on the pad; it looked terrible, but it appeared that it had been flown recently, with fuel and cooling lines attached at various points along the underside of its hull. At first glance, the bay itself appeared to be empty, but as she came around the right side of the ship, she saw two huddled forms crouching by the wall, intent on something on the ground.
"Kaybin," she called warningly.
The two figures looked up from their dice game, groping for their guns as they stood. One was a Weequay, the other a Rodian. Saeryn started to reach for her blasters, but the two aliens didn't raise their weapons.
"Who're you?" the Weequay asked in rough Basic.
"I'm looking for Garbag the Hutt," she said, evading the question. She glanced over her shoulder briefly as she heard footsteps behind her; it was Kaybin. "He around?"
"Vra, na'stodi wanzi," the Rodian chortled. Saeryn didn't speak Rodian, but she got the gist of what he was saying. That depends on who's asking.
"Saeryn Farth," she answered. "I was hired to run the guns that Garbag now has. I'm here to negotiate their turnover into my possession."
"Ahhhh, you're just the ones I have been waiting for," came a deep, booming voice from behind the two smugglers.
Saeryn and Kaybin both turned to see a large Hutt slithering down the ramp of the freighter, his arms spread wide in what was supposed to be a welcoming gesture. Instead, it made him look like some sort of repulsive slug asking for a hug.
"You must be Garbag," Kaybin breathed in disgust.
"Indeed I am," the Hutt replied, apparently unaware of the Bothan's distaste.
"What's with all the firepower?" he asked, nodding at the half dozen guards that had descended behind the slug-like alien.
Garbag smiled broadly, his huge eyes twinkling in the light of the sunset. "Oh-ho, come now, you do not think I would leave my precious guns unprotected now, do you? You are not the only ones who would like to get their hands on them."
"Actually, technically, they're our guns," Saeryn pointed out. "We're the ones that were contracted to run them. The only reason you have them is because a Black Sun squad raided the freighter they came in on and stole them. Now, we're reasonable people, and we'd like to thank you for keeping them safe for us. We'll give you say, fifteen percent of what the guns are worth, plus whatever you had to spend to get them moved here. Think of it as a token of our appreciation for your efforts on our behalf."
Garbag laughed then, his deep voice booming and echoing about the bay. "Come now, Farth. Do not think me so foolish as that; it could end up getting you killed. This is Tattooine, not Coruscant. I have the guns now, which means they're mine. If you want to buy them from me, that is fine, but you'll have to give full price. Fifteen percent just won't do, I am afraid."
Kaybin cursed under his breath, but Saeryn just sighed in exasperation. She had known this was going to happen. "All right, I can be reasonable," she went on. As she spoke, she planted her fists on her hips, as if she were getting angry; her hands were now close enough to her blasters that she could draw and shoot before most of Garbag's thugs could blink. Nevertheless, she wanted to give this situation one more chance to end in something other than a bloodbath. "What would you say to thirty percent? And don't forget, that's plus the expense of getting the guns moved."
Garbag crossed his stubby arms over his gelatinous chest and gave another laugh. "Ahhh, ever the idealist, aren't you, Farth?" The expression that passed for a grin on his face changed into something more serious. "But you're forgetting something; you're not in any position to negotiate. You're on my territory now. You pay full price for the guns, or you leave empty-handed."
"Don't you mean Jabba's territory?" Kaybin quipped, his long fingers playing with the trigger of his DX-97x, though he kept the weapon at his side.
Garbag hesitated for the briefest moment, and although Saeryn wasn't exactly an expert in Hutt body language, she was sure she caught a hint of uncertainty. "You know what I mean," the Hutt returned levelly.
Saeryn didn't respond immediately, trying to catch hold of the thought that had flashed through her mind at Garbag's hesitation. But it was gone, and the more important matter of getting their guns back took precedence at any rate. She and Kaybin didn't have the kind of money they would need to buy the guns all over again. They barely had enough creds to pay the thirty percent she had offered, and they were only actually carrying a fraction of that. But they needed those guns if they hoped to stay in the business; the Rebel Alliance had made it clear they weren't going to mess around with dealers that couldn't deliver. Too many lives depended on it.
She was going to have to think fast, and start using some of the strategy and deception she had picked up so well from her father. She made a show of looking around at Garbag's street toughs, as if realizing how much she and Kaybin were up against. "All right," she said softly, slowly. "All right. We'll pay you full price for the guns." She ignored her Bothan partner's incredulous gasp, and went on before he could protest. "But as I'm sure you can guess, we don't have that kind of money on us. We can give you fifteen percent now, another fifteen once we access our accounts, and the rest of it when we sell the guns."
"No deal," Garbag thundered, almost gleefully, Saeryn thought. "You pay one hundred percent, now, in hard creds, or the guns stay on my ship!"
Now it was Saeryn's turn to gasp incredulously. He couldn't be serious! She knew Hutts were hardline bargainers, and she had expected him to counter with a nearly insane amount, but one hundred percent was preposterous! He was risking that they would call his bluff and walk away, leaving him with a lot of guns and no buyers. No Hutt would take that kind of risk.
Once again, the feeling that something wasn't right here came back.
"You can't be serious," she replied levelly. "No one walks around with that kind of currency on them!"
Garbag gave what passed for a shrug. "Then I guess we have no deal. You will have to go back to your Rebel friends, and tell them that you lost out to a Hutt."
That stopped Saeryn cold. At the same time, Kaybin murmured out one side of his mouth, "How does he know we're dealing with the Rebels?"
"He doesn't," she replied. "But Black Sun does."
"Well, what now?" she asked. "Obviously we need to get a hold of this Garbag the Hutt, but my gut instincts are telling me it's not going to be that simple. There's something else going on here. First a Black Sun squad raids the docked freighter, kills the captain, and steals the guns, then Jabba ends up with them? Something's not right."
Kaybin shook his head. "No, it's never simple," he sighed, "and yes, something's not right." He sighed again as he took a swallow from his flask of water. "I don't know, Saeryn. If we didn't need the payoff from these guns so bad, I'd be tempted to call the whole thing off and lay low for awhile. I'm tired of Black Sun getting on our case for stepping on their toes. I'm not so sure that our agreement to run supplies for the Rebels was a good idea."
Saeryn snorted derisively. "Black Sun," she spat. "Come on, Kaybin. They're a bunch of lowlife scum running around on the orders of some reptile. The only skill he looks for in his people is knowing the business end of a gun from the other. It's not like they're bounty hunters or something."
"No, but they can get bounty hunters," Kaybin returned softly. "I heard Boba Fett himself pulled a job for them not so long ago."
"And you think the fact that we got a couple of small deals that they lost out on will make them send Fett after us?" the woman asked. "Kaybin, you're starting to sound paranoid, and I don't like that." She shoved her blasters back into their holsters and looked back out toward the bustling street. "It's makes me edgy."
"Better that than dead," the Bothan said. "But don't worry, I'm not thinking of backing out of the deal. We're going to get those guns, and we're going to get the payoff when they reach the Rebels." He slapped a new power pack into his blaster as if to emphasize the point. "Next time, though," he added, "we'd better make sure we're not getting into something we're not ready for."
Saeryn grinned and nodded. "Agreed. Jeebs said we could find old Garbage – or whatever he's called – at docking bay 92. The spaceport is on the other side of the city, so if we want to make it before dusk, we're going to have to move."
"Or get ourselves some transportation," Kaybin muttered. "We should have brought the speeder bikes from the Lady Rebel."
"Right, and then become a magnet for every Jawa in the city!" Saeryn remarked dryly. "That would not have been a plus." She peered back out at the street. "No, my friend, we're going to do it the old fashioned way – we're going to walk."
The first of Tatooine's suns was setting by the time the various tunnels and corridors leading to the spaceport came into view. Saeryn and Kaybin halted briefly under the awning of a dilapidated parts shop to consult a datapad; after picking out the best route, they started forward again. Minutes later, signs that included directions to docking bay 92 started showing up on the walls of the tunnel they were following.
"Time to play it safe," Saeryn murmured.
Kaybin nodded and slowed his gait to let her get a lead of several paces. Now, separated by a large portion of the quickly moving crowds, it would not be readily apparent that the two were associated in any way. Saeryn tried to keep everything and everyone in sight all at once as she neared their destination, and her Bothan companion kept one hand discreetly tucked inside his vest, where he had a nasty DX-97x – a rapid-fire version of the DX-97 – concealed. If any one opponent tried to attack either one of the pair, he, she, or it would also have to watch its back.
Saeryn soon found the entrance to docking bay 92. It was a narrow little doorway that led down a low corridor to the right. The corridor itself opened up into what she guessed was the landing pad, but the bright red glare of the setting suns prevented her from seeing what was actually on it. She paused in the doorway and looked at her datapad, as if simply stepping aside to figure out where she was going, then glanced up and scanned the crowd. Satisfied that no one was watching the door – at least, not obviously – she ducked into the corridor and went halfway down it, then stopped to wait for Kaybin to catch up.
The Bothan arrived a minute later, pulling his blaster out of his vest as he stepped up beside her. "This is too easy," he murmured, making sure to keep his voice low enough so that it wouldn't echo out into the landing bay and be heard by anyone who was listening. "If there was Hutt property in here, there'd at least be a couple of cheap guards out front. There'd be no way we could just walk in like this."
Saeryn nodded, realizing he was right. And although she suddenly got the feeling they were walking into a trap, she couldn't think of any other way to proceed. "Maybe they're posted inside the bay," she said hopefully. She went on at her companion's doubtful look. "We need those guns, Kaybin. We really don't have any other choice. You know the Hutts. If they do have the guns, they're going to sell them off to the highest bidder as soon as possible. We can't let that happen. This may be our only chance to get them back."
Kaybin nodded glumly. "All right," he said. "Let's get this over with."
The Bothan hefted his blaster menacingly as he advanced, but Saeryn left hers in their holsters. The guards were unsnapped, however, and she could have them drawn in the matter of a second.
They stepped carefully from the corridor and into the landing bay, splitting up to start heading in opposite directions in case of an ambush. The red light of the sunset was still bright here, but Saeryn could now make out the rusted hulk of a battered Corellian YT-1100 series freighter sitting on the pad; it looked terrible, but it appeared that it had been flown recently, with fuel and cooling lines attached at various points along the underside of its hull. At first glance, the bay itself appeared to be empty, but as she came around the right side of the ship, she saw two huddled forms crouching by the wall, intent on something on the ground.
"Kaybin," she called warningly.
The two figures looked up from their dice game, groping for their guns as they stood. One was a Weequay, the other a Rodian. Saeryn started to reach for her blasters, but the two aliens didn't raise their weapons.
"Who're you?" the Weequay asked in rough Basic.
"I'm looking for Garbag the Hutt," she said, evading the question. She glanced over her shoulder briefly as she heard footsteps behind her; it was Kaybin. "He around?"
"Vra, na'stodi wanzi," the Rodian chortled. Saeryn didn't speak Rodian, but she got the gist of what he was saying. That depends on who's asking.
"Saeryn Farth," she answered. "I was hired to run the guns that Garbag now has. I'm here to negotiate their turnover into my possession."
"Ahhhh, you're just the ones I have been waiting for," came a deep, booming voice from behind the two smugglers.
Saeryn and Kaybin both turned to see a large Hutt slithering down the ramp of the freighter, his arms spread wide in what was supposed to be a welcoming gesture. Instead, it made him look like some sort of repulsive slug asking for a hug.
"You must be Garbag," Kaybin breathed in disgust.
"Indeed I am," the Hutt replied, apparently unaware of the Bothan's distaste.
"What's with all the firepower?" he asked, nodding at the half dozen guards that had descended behind the slug-like alien.
Garbag smiled broadly, his huge eyes twinkling in the light of the sunset. "Oh-ho, come now, you do not think I would leave my precious guns unprotected now, do you? You are not the only ones who would like to get their hands on them."
"Actually, technically, they're our guns," Saeryn pointed out. "We're the ones that were contracted to run them. The only reason you have them is because a Black Sun squad raided the freighter they came in on and stole them. Now, we're reasonable people, and we'd like to thank you for keeping them safe for us. We'll give you say, fifteen percent of what the guns are worth, plus whatever you had to spend to get them moved here. Think of it as a token of our appreciation for your efforts on our behalf."
Garbag laughed then, his deep voice booming and echoing about the bay. "Come now, Farth. Do not think me so foolish as that; it could end up getting you killed. This is Tattooine, not Coruscant. I have the guns now, which means they're mine. If you want to buy them from me, that is fine, but you'll have to give full price. Fifteen percent just won't do, I am afraid."
Kaybin cursed under his breath, but Saeryn just sighed in exasperation. She had known this was going to happen. "All right, I can be reasonable," she went on. As she spoke, she planted her fists on her hips, as if she were getting angry; her hands were now close enough to her blasters that she could draw and shoot before most of Garbag's thugs could blink. Nevertheless, she wanted to give this situation one more chance to end in something other than a bloodbath. "What would you say to thirty percent? And don't forget, that's plus the expense of getting the guns moved."
Garbag crossed his stubby arms over his gelatinous chest and gave another laugh. "Ahhh, ever the idealist, aren't you, Farth?" The expression that passed for a grin on his face changed into something more serious. "But you're forgetting something; you're not in any position to negotiate. You're on my territory now. You pay full price for the guns, or you leave empty-handed."
"Don't you mean Jabba's territory?" Kaybin quipped, his long fingers playing with the trigger of his DX-97x, though he kept the weapon at his side.
Garbag hesitated for the briefest moment, and although Saeryn wasn't exactly an expert in Hutt body language, she was sure she caught a hint of uncertainty. "You know what I mean," the Hutt returned levelly.
Saeryn didn't respond immediately, trying to catch hold of the thought that had flashed through her mind at Garbag's hesitation. But it was gone, and the more important matter of getting their guns back took precedence at any rate. She and Kaybin didn't have the kind of money they would need to buy the guns all over again. They barely had enough creds to pay the thirty percent she had offered, and they were only actually carrying a fraction of that. But they needed those guns if they hoped to stay in the business; the Rebel Alliance had made it clear they weren't going to mess around with dealers that couldn't deliver. Too many lives depended on it.
She was going to have to think fast, and start using some of the strategy and deception she had picked up so well from her father. She made a show of looking around at Garbag's street toughs, as if realizing how much she and Kaybin were up against. "All right," she said softly, slowly. "All right. We'll pay you full price for the guns." She ignored her Bothan partner's incredulous gasp, and went on before he could protest. "But as I'm sure you can guess, we don't have that kind of money on us. We can give you fifteen percent now, another fifteen once we access our accounts, and the rest of it when we sell the guns."
"No deal," Garbag thundered, almost gleefully, Saeryn thought. "You pay one hundred percent, now, in hard creds, or the guns stay on my ship!"
Now it was Saeryn's turn to gasp incredulously. He couldn't be serious! She knew Hutts were hardline bargainers, and she had expected him to counter with a nearly insane amount, but one hundred percent was preposterous! He was risking that they would call his bluff and walk away, leaving him with a lot of guns and no buyers. No Hutt would take that kind of risk.
Once again, the feeling that something wasn't right here came back.
"You can't be serious," she replied levelly. "No one walks around with that kind of currency on them!"
Garbag gave what passed for a shrug. "Then I guess we have no deal. You will have to go back to your Rebel friends, and tell them that you lost out to a Hutt."
That stopped Saeryn cold. At the same time, Kaybin murmured out one side of his mouth, "How does he know we're dealing with the Rebels?"
"He doesn't," she replied. "But Black Sun does."