Anya looked down at the planet below. It would take some skilful flying to land on Nal Hutta without the wrong people noticing something was up. But she was a good flyer, and she could do it. It didn't take her too long to land the ship and soon she was on the surface of Nal Hutta. She left her droid Chas with the ship while she went off.
Now, to find a way to get into Darula's dwelling. Landing was the easy part compared to getting in there and getting out. Not to mention she had one of the best bounty hunters in this part of the galaxy following her. Ducking down a side alley, making use of overheard conversations about Darula the Hutt, she managed to find the entrance to the palace. Anya Dariss glanced up at the doors and then had an idea. She hated doing it, hated it more than anything else almost, but, if she was going to find Garjlah, it would have to be done. The last time she did it she was sixteen, and her hair much longer, but the length of it didn't really matter.
Kiernan Thanet stood just inside the doors to the palace of Darula the Hutt. He wore a long cloak, and stood in the shadows. No one would notice him, yet he could notice everyone. He frowned as he saw the newest newcomer enter. She looked like many of the other girls who came in here, but she carried herself differently. He peered after her for awhile, then turned back to waiting. How he would enjoy finding out who she really was But that would not do. He was waiting. Waiting for Zorkos. For surely he would come – no one else was capable of capturing or killing Garjlah. And if he, Kiernan Thanet was able to kill Zorkos . . . how much more his standing with the Hutts would increase.
Evening came, and still there was no sign of anyone else. And Thanet could not stay away any longer. His absence would get to noticeable. Signalling to another, he quietly whispered for him to take up watch here. Then, as silently as he had appeared, he left to rejoin the others.
Anya Dariss mixed in with others, her gaze all the while searching for Garjlah. His was a name known throughout the Empire – a notorious bounty hunter, almost as infamous as Zorkos. No one had been able to catch him. That is, no one had been able to catch him after he escaped back to the Hutts. As she stood and mingled amongst the crowd, she remembered . . .
Anya glanced around the room. The Corellian Diplomatic League band was playing, and many of the guests were dancing. Her target was on the far side of the room. The tricky part was getting there, receiving the datapad, and somehow concealing it on her person. It was small, so it should be easy to hide . . . or so she hoped. There, the guests near her and begun to scatter a bit. An open path lay to the other side of the room. And the person she was to meet was positioned right at the end of the path. As she began walking, she suddenly felt like the room was going to spin. The distance from where she was to the other end of the room seemed like miles.
She felt an iron-like grip on her shoulder, and was jerked around, coming face to face with a gruff looking man in a militaristic uniform. Without a word he pulled her to the dance floor. The feeling of dizziness was getting stronger. Somehow she had to get away from him. That thought seemed burned into her head. I must get away. I need to get away. But how? As the man waltzed to the side of the room near the porch, he pulled her out with him.
"What are you doing?" she whispered.
"What's it look like?" he responded harshly, also in a whisper. Then, she felt the cool steel of a knife on the back of her neck. "You've interfered once too often. And I intend to put a stop to it, once and for all. First though, hand over that datapad you've got."
"I haven't got a datapad. And why don't you use a blaster? It would be quicker and easier," she responded, hoping to buy time to pull away.
"Not gonna work on me, missy. With a blaster, you might not die. With this, I'll make sure you're dead. And then I'll take the datapad. Either way, whether you hand it to me sooner or later, you're gonna die missy."
Anya sighed, and moved her arms as if fumbling for something in pockets. She didn't have any, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Pulling her shoulder up, she quickly pulled it down and back, knocking the arm holding the knife back, while she threw her body forward. Then, she ducked down and slid out of his grasp. She still felt dizzy, but she needed to get out of there. That much she knew. Running quickly towards the building, she hit a man standing in the hall.
"Here, let me fix your hair," he said, and did so. "There. Now you're all set. Run along miss."
Without pausing she ran down the back hallways and out onto the streets. The crisp cool air of the Corellian night hit her like a board. The dizziness disappeared, yet she had to pause and lean against a building to catch her breath from the sudden change of air. Running again, she headed towards the hideout that she knew so well . . . since she first was brought there ten years ago.
Cramer met her at the door. "Well, where is it missy?" he asked, a stern look on his face. "Whatcha running for? If you bungled this . . ."
"In . . . my hair," she murmured, gasping for breath. "Running . . . because . . . being chased. Or was. At the reception, don't know who, someone came. Tried to kill me, and take the datapad. Managed to escape."
Before she could pull the datapad from her hair where the man had put it, Cramer pulled her hair from it's elaborate style, and jerked the datapad out. Travis, meanwhile, questioned her about the man who attempted to kill her.
"What did he look like? Who was he?"
"I don't know who he was!" Anya shouted in exasperation. "I've told you. I don't know! He had a beard, and was very gruff looking. I can't tell you anymore about him than that. I've told you, I felt dizzy and faint when he came over. That doesn't help me notice what people look like."
Travis shook his head. "No good Cramer. Can't tell who exactly it is. Fits the description of at least three men of the Grey Hound smuggling organization. At least we know it's them. This isn't good."
"Nah. It won't be too bad. At least they don't have the datapad. See, I told you she'd be good. Look. I've got business to attend to. Wait for me for a year, and if I don't show up, the worst has happened. You take over the business. Maybe this here miss might be even more helpful."
Anya Dariss drew her mind back to the present as she was jostled by someone else. It was loud and noisy – something she hadn't dealt with since before her court martial. She'd get used to it again. She had too. She did before, back on Corellia. She could do it now. But first things first, to find Garjlah. Then she could worry about getting out of here.
