Chapter 14 Boba Strikes Back

Bail turned toward the window with his hands behind his back; he sighed, shook his head and without turning back around said, "I do not want to believe that; however, you may be right, Master Kenobi. I will have one of the Clones round them all up so I can get to the bottom of this." He turned back around, "If someone has taken Boba….if one of my people is responsible…." He walked out the door without finishing.

Zak looked down at Obi-Wan, "Go with him, Padawan; perhaps your Jedi insight will help route out his traitor." Obi-Wan told him.

"Yes, Master….Master, do you think Boba….you don't think they have killed him?" Zak questioned.

"I don't know, Zak; but my instinct tells me they have something else in mind for our young friend." Obi-Wan answered.

"They are going to use him to draw you out; aren't they." Zak reasoned.

"That would be my guess." Obi-Wan replied.

"But why Boba and not me? They must know that I'm your apprentice." Zak wondered.

"I'm not sure; perhaps Boba caught him doing something that gave him away and instead of just killing him, he decided to use him against us first." Obi-Wan surmised. "So we have to find him quickly."

"Yes, Master; but you…." Zak began.

"…will not be doing anything except resting." Averill finished, "Or you will be of little use to anyone."

Obi-Wan sighed, "Not the way I feel now; I have no choice but to call on Master Anakin." He decided.

"But you said he'd come if he found out what happened." Zak objected.

"Well, I will just have to convince him not to." Obi-Wan replied. "Go now; we must not waste any more time."

"I understand if you feel you need a second opinion, Master Kenobi; I will contact this Dr. Anakin for you if you wish." Averill offered.

Zak stifled a laugh, "Anakin Skywalker is not a doctor, sir; he is a very powerful Jedi. Together, we can combine our Force strengths to help me mend a little faster." Obi-Wan explained.

"Oh I see; fascinating. I would like to have another look at you afterwards." Dr. Averill replied.

"Of course; Zak, you'd best be off now." Obi-Wan said.

"Yes, Master." Zak answered and left quickly.

"I will leave you to meditate or whatever you need to do to contact this Master Skywalker." Averill told him as he started to go, "I will remain here in the house; if Boba was taken from here against his will, who knows what they may have done to him."

"I'm sure the Chancellor will appreciate you staying." Obi-Wan replied as the door slid open.

Averill turned back at the doorway, "Bail and I are old friends, Master Kenobi; he has…well, he would like Boba to accept him and Breha as family the way he and Breha have accepted him. It's unfortunate that this had to happen now because I believe he was actually starting to come around." He said, shaking his head sadly.

"This is not over yet, Doctor; not by a long shot." Obi-Wan assured him.

"I pray you are right, Master Kenobi." Haris answered as he closed the door.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes took a deep cleansing breath and reached out; almost immediately, he felt Anakin respond. "Obi-Wan; are you going to let me help you now?" "I must have your word that you will not come here." "Why? What are you hiding?" "Your word, Anakin; or this ends now." "I can't give you that until I know…" "Your word now." There was a pause and Obi-Wan sensed Anakin's frustration. "Alright, we will do things your way; you have my word." "You will not come to Alderaan." "I promise, I will not come." "I will hold you to it, Anakin." "I know you will; open yourself up to me." Obi-Wan lifted the block he had put in place and felt Anakin's initial shock as Obi-Wan's mind opened to reveal to him all that had happened. "Why did you hide this from me? I could have helped you." "Because I did not want you coming here." "I can still come." "No, by the time you get here it will be over; just help me heal, that will be enough." "Will they hurt Boba?" "Not if I have anything to say about it." Obi-Wan felt the familiar surge of Anakin's Force sense blending with his own, bolstering his strength and sending out healing where it was needed. Their consciousnesses remained joined for several minutes before Obi-Wan initiated the separation. "Are you sure I should not come?" "Yes, my brother; you have done more than enough." "I am not happy that you blocked me." "I am sorry; I felt it was the only way to keep you from coming here." "You still should not have shut me out; we will talk about this when you come to Naboo." "If you feel it's necessary." "Oh yes, I certainly do; may the Force be with you, brother." "Thank you, Anakin." Obi-Wan felt Anakin pull back, but he remained in meditation a while longer. When he came out, the piercing headache had been replaced by a dull one and the blurred vision had cleared. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up tentatively; a wave of dizziness hit him, but quickly passed and he managed to dress with little difficulty.

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Various members of Bail Organa's staff stood together in the sitting room. Bail began to take each one aside and question them alone in his office. Zak sat next to him, his mind focused to detect any sign of deception. As each one was escorted in by a Clone, questioned and then allowed to leave, Bail's frustration grew. When the questioning and Zak's probing ended with no positive result, Bail put his head in his hands. "Well, we have spoken with each of them, Zak; were any of them lying?" He asked.

"No, not any of them; but, Chancellor, aren't you forgetting one?" Zak questioned.

"No, I don't think so." Bail replied.

"Yes, you are, sir; what about Micah?" Zak asked.

Bail shook his head and smiled sadly, "No, I do not even have to think twice about that. It could never be Micah." He answered.

"I'm sorry, Chancellor; begging you pardon, but you don't know that." Zak countered.

"I know Micah; I cannot imagine him turning against me." Bail argued.

"Then where is he? Shouldn't he have been with the rest of your staff?" Zak asked.

"I am sure he has a reasonable explanation; let us just go and find out what it is." Bail said confidently, standing up.

Zak stood and walked back into the sitting room with him. The Clone was just dismissing the staff members Bail had questioned and cleared.

"Ged, I did not see Micah among those I spoke with; have you seen him?" Bail asked the Clone.

"No, Chancellor; my men and I located all members of your staff but him. I don't believe he's in the house." Ged answered.

"That's odd, why would he not be in the house?" Bail wondered.

"I'm sure I don't know, sir. Should we check the grounds for him?" Ged asked.

"Yes….There must be some reason…" Bail trailed off, no longer sure of anything.

He turned to Zak, "The last time I saw Micah, he was in the kitchen." He told him, "Maybe we should start there."

Zak nodded and followed him.

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It was cold in the shed; not freezing, but cold enough, he had no coat and despite his best efforts, Boba had lost the feeling in his feet and now, from sitting on the cold ground, his backside had gone numb and the loss of feeling was spreading down his legs. His hands, numb from the cold and lack of circulation, would be useless even if he managed to free himself. He recalled his complaint to Zak just the day before; he had no idea then what the meaning of numbness meant. The only part of him that was not cold was his head, it was stifling and hard to breathe underneath the hood, and his hair was damp with perspiration. Yet even now, his anger and hate burned when he thought about Moran's threats to his…to his…to the Chancellor and Lady Breha. Lady Breha, who, the day before, had told him to come back in one piece and looked at him in shocked concern as he stood in the entrance hall cradling his injured arm later that night. Lady Breha who he had wounded with his harsh words only just this morning; and the Chancellor, always there with a pat on the back, a kind word, a gentle smile and yet a tight rein on occasion or good talking to when he needed it….like this morning. The sudden realization that he would die to protect them came to him although he did not fully understand why. He wondered if they realized he was gone; yes, they would have to, it must be past midday by now. Would they think that he had left on his own? He shook his head; no, he had told the Chancellor he would stay. He was concerned that Master Kenobi would come for him even in his weakened state and then Moran's hunters would kill him. He shook his head again; no, that would no happen. He would not allow it; he would make sure they killed him first.

He heard a rustle outside, then the sound of the door being unlatched and opened, "Wake up, bounty hunter." Devan's voice commanded.

Boba decided not to respond, "I said wake up, boy." Devan repeated as Boba heard her move closer.

He remained perfectly still and closed his eyes. He heard Devan put something on the ground, "Boy, are you deaf?" She asked as she slapped on the side of the head.

Boba moaned softly, "Well, let's just take this off, maybe that will wake you up." Devan said as she pulled the hood up.

Boba kept his eyes closed as Devan slapped him across the face, "Hey, come on, kid." She said and Boba moaned again.

"For the love of…." Devan began stood, legs apart straddling Boba then squatted down and shook him by the shoulders, "Come on."

Boba's eyes flew open and Devan noticed, too late, the glint in them as Boba brought his knees up. Devan dropped to her knees, clutching the place Boba had hit, and cried out in pain. Boba laughed through the gag as he brought his feet up and kicked Devan squarely in the chest. Devan, still on her knees started to fall backward and Boba kicked her again….in the face. Blood exploded from her nose and she brought one hand up to her face as she screamed again. Boba brought his feet up for another kick as Devan tried to scramble out of the way. The kick caught her off balance and she flew backward, falling hard and striking her head. She did not move for several minutes and when she did, she stood up shakily and staggered out of the shed leaving the door open and unlatched.

For Boba, the exercise had brought some of the circulation back to his legs; his hands were useless, but at least he knew that if he could just get loose, he could get away…and the stifling, suffocating hood was off. He glanced down to see what Devan had put down next to him; it was one of the pocket slug throwers and now Boba wondered if Devan had intended to kill him. He waited, expecting Moran and the others to come and punish him, but no one appeared and the door remained unlatched and open. Yes, he decided, Devan had come to kill him and after he had kicked her out, literally, she could not tell Moran because she was not even supposed to be in here. However, he knew eventually they would come to check on him and the hood would go back on. They would probably also tie his hands and feet together again because they would think he had managed to remove the hood himself since he knew Devan would never admit to coming into the shed. But the slug thrower, wouldn't that give her away? No, he knew she would talk her way out of it; Moran would never take his word over hers. In that case, he decided the weapon might come in useful later. He managed to maneuver so that he could push it under a parasteel pallet behind him. He then decided that this would be the only chance he would have to escape. With the door open, letting in the late afternoon light and the hood off, Boba glanced around, hoping to see something, anything with a sharp edge to cut through the ropes binding him. There seemed to be only junk scattered around the shed, but among that junk, Boba spotted something that might be useful….on the other end of the shed. With fierce determination, he began to scoot, a few centimeters at a time, toward the promising object.

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Devan cursed herself for being gullible enough to be fooled by Boba Fett, her nose was broken and she wondered if the boy had cracked her breastplate when he kicked her the second time. The area where he first kicked her throbbed along with her head where she had landed when Boba had kicked her back that last time. Despite what Moran had decided, she had wanted to hunt the bounty hunter and that was what she intended to do. Her intention was to lead him up into the Heights hooded and bound, stun him, release him and then wait for him to recover so she could hunt him. But he had ruined all that; or more accurately, she had ruined it with her own incompetence and complacence. She had to give the boy credit; he was cagey and he would have made a hunt interesting. Now, though, she was not entirely sure how she could explain her current appearance to Moran and she did not dare go back to the shed to retrieve the weapon she had left there when she had stumbled, in a daze out, of the shed.

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Zak and Bail were just coming into the kitchen when the door leading from the kitchen to the gardens opened and Micah entered.

"Chancellor, hello; I was not expecting…." Micah began.

"Not expecting what, Micah? Me to catch you sneaking in here?" Bail asked.

"No, sir; that is not what I meant at all. I just didn't expect you to be in my kitchen." Micah replied defensively.

"Boba has disappeared and Master Kenobi suspects he did not leave here of his own accord." Bail began, "I have had everyone on my staff rounded up and have questioned…"

"Sir, with all due respect we are talking about a reformed bounty hunter; perhaps the boy decided to continue in that vain and simply left. As for Master Kenobi's assumption, I don't think he realizes the kind of security that is in place here. No one could sneak in, abduct someone and then leave undetected; it's impossible." Micah interrupted.

"Master Kenobi believes; and I agree with him, that someone on my staff had something to do with it." Bail added.

"Well, now that you have apparently questioned the staff, you must know this is not true." Micah replied.

"We have not questioned the entire staff, Micah." Bail told him.

"Oh, sir; surely you don't think I had something to do with this?" Micah questioned.

"Right now, I am not sure about anything. Where have you been, Micah?" Bail asked.

"I just needed some air; I was out in the gardens." Micah answered.

"Really; that is very strange because Commander Ged had some of his men out on the grounds searching for you." Bail informed him.

Then they must have missed me because I assure you, I was there." Micah insisted.

Bail shook his head sadly, "Yes, I am sure they must have; Micah, did you see Boba at all this morning?" He asked.

"I'm sorry, Chancellor; I wish I could say I did." Micah answered. "Is that all, sir?"

"Yes, thank you, Micah." Bail replied as he turned and left the kitchen.

Zak followed him and then turned to look back at Micah just before he went through the door.

They walked together silently until they reached Bail's office; closing the door, Bail turned to Zak, "Well, was he telling us the truth?" He asked.

"No; he was lying about everything. I don't know where he was, but it wasn't in the gardens and he has seen Boba; he was lying about that too." Zak answered.

Bail sat down in one of the armchairs, and leaned his head back, "I still find it very hard to believe it could be Micah. Perhaps he knows that Boba left on his own and Boba told him not to tell us. Maybe he was gone because he took Boba to the spaceport." He speculated.

"You know that isn't true, Chancellor." Zak reasoned.

"No, I do not, Zak; and until I have further proof, I cannot accuse Micah of anything more than helping Boba leave Alderaan." Bail replied.

Zak turned to leave, "I hope you're right, sir." He said as he opened the door to leave and then turned back, "Chancellor, suppose you were to try to get him to tell you that he took Boba to the spaceport."

"And I would want to do this….why?" Bail asked.

Zak smiled wisely, "Because if he admitted that to you, I'd be able to tell if he was lying about it. Then you would know one way or the other that Boba did not leave here of his own free will." He explained.

"You are so sure Micah is lying; what if you are wrong?" Bail replied.

"Then I will be wrong; but if I'm right, this may be our only way of finding out what happened to Boba." Zak answered.

"Very well; let us go back and speak with Micah again." Bail said.