Chapter 10 Into the Trap

Obi-Wan landed hard, his effort to roll out of the fall thwarted when his apprentice landed on top of him. For a moment, he laid there, with Zak lying across his back trying to catch his breath. Zak moaned, "Zak?"

Obi-Wan gasped.

Zak moaned again and then replied, "Yeah."

"Are…you…hurt?" Obi-Wan asked, fighting for breath.

"Umm…no, Master." Zak answered.

"Then…could you…please…" Obi-Wan started to ask.

"Oh sorry." Zak interrupted when the fact that he was lying on top of his master dawned on him.

He rolled off and lay still on the ground for a moment looking up at the vornskrs looking down at him.

Obi-Wan grunted as he rolled over on his back and, with a little effort, managed to sit up. Zak watched as the vornskrs moved out of sight one at a time before he too sat up and looked at Obi-Wan, "You're bleeding again, Master." He told the older Jedi.

Obi-Wan put his hand to his head, and sure enough, he felt the warm wetness of fresh blood; the gash above his eye had reopened, "Oh dear." He said, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, I had a softer landing than you did." Zak answered, smiling.

Obi-Wan shook his head and smiled back at him, "Lucky you; now, we had better contacted Master Maru and tell him what's happened." He said, reaching for his comlink, "Blast it!"

Zak looked at what had once been his master's comlink before it had come in contact with a rock on the floor of the pit, "Well, mine should be….oh this is not good, Master." Zak replied when he realized his was missing, "I'm sorry; I must have lost it when that vornskr knocked me down."

"That's alright; we'll just have to get out of this ourselves." He assured Zak with a pat on the shoulder, "It won't be the first time."

"I should have been more careful." Zak admonished himself.

Obi-Wan stood up with a groan and put a hand down to help Zak up, "We had our hands full at the time, Zak; I might have lost mine too if I'd been in your place." He told him.

"This was a trap, wasn't it." Zak said.

"Yes, it appears to be." Obi-Wan confirmed.

"That's what Ferri was hiding from me; he tricked us, Master." Zak realized.

"Yes, I'm afraid he did. But we still have our repelling lines; we can climb out of here very easily." Obi-Wan assured him.

"I don't think you'll be going anywhere, Jedi." Someone above them said, "At least not until Devan gets here."

They both looked up and over to the other edge of the pit to see Kien smiling down at them and pointing a blaster rifle in their direction. Obi-Wan started to move toward him, "Huh uh, you stay right where you are, Kenobi, or I'll put a nice big hole in your boy." He threatened.

Obi-Wan put an arm across Zak's chest and drew his Padawan behind him, "What do you want?" He asked.

"What do I want? Retribution for this!" Kien answered holding up the still bandaged hand.

"Ah yes, that; it makes me wonder how good a shot you are with your off-hand, Kien." Obi-Wan said.

"Good enough; go ahead, test me." Kien bragged.

"I'd rather not take the chance; your wild shot just might hit my apprentice." Obi-Wan replied.

"Right; well the two of you just sit down and wait for Devan. She'll be along in a minute." Kien ordered.

"And when she gets here, what are you going to do?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Finish what we started on Alderaan." Kien told him, "Now sit down."

"Zak and I will not be party to this, Kien; there are Clone troopers on the way here as we speak." Obi-Wan answered.

"Well, see, you don't have much choice; either you let us hunt you or we'll kill your little bounty hunter friend and then we'll kill your cub." Kien warned, "Now, I'm telling you one last time; sit down."

Obi-Wan nodded, "Very well; you win this round, Kien." He said and then turned his head, "Do as he says, Padawan."

Zak nodded reluctantly and sat down and Obi-Wan joined him, "This is not over." He told the hunter.

-------------

"I'm sorry, Master Skywalker; I advised him not to go." Clive said as he finished explaining to Anakin what had happened.

"I know; but with a boy's life at stake, he really didn't have much choice. We are just about to come out of hyperspace and will be shuttling troops down as soon as possible. I will be aboard the first shuttle; I will see you shortly." Anakin informed him.

"Alright; you have our coordinates, Ferri and I will be waiting for you." Clive replied.

"Very good, Clive." Anakin answered and ended the transmission.

"Well, Padawan, they are nearly here. It should not be much longer." Clive said, turning to his apprentice.

"Oh, that's good news." Ferri replied, while inwardly dreading Skywalker's arrival and trying to think of a way to avoid him.

Ferri knew how powerful Anakin was; The Chosen One would sense his guilt and then he would know what Ferri had done. He began to fear what Anakin would do to him.

-------------

Anakin ended the transmission and shook his head, "The closer we get, Chancellor, the stronger this bad feeling gets. Clive Maru just told me that Obi-Wan and Zak were forced to go after Boba alone because the hunters threatened to kill him if they didn't. Something's happened; something bad, something very bad." He said.

"We will be there very soon, Anakin; and then we can get to the bottom of this." Bail assured him as he put a hand on his shoulder.

"I only hope we aren't too late." Anakin answered with a shake of his head.

-------------

Devan joined Kien and peered down into the pit, "Well, well, well; hello, Master Jedi; how nice of you to drop in. I assume Kien has explained the game to you; basically it's the same one we were playing on Alderaan. Only in this one, the stakes are a bit higher." She said, smiling sweetly at him.

"You're going to kill us all anyway, Devan; why don't you just do it and be done?" Obi-Wan replied.

"Oh, where's the fun in that? Then I'd just have to get my fun some other way, like killing your little bounty hunter first right in front of you…and I'd do it slowly; you don't want to see that do you? And then there's your cub to think about; he'd be next, just as slowly. Followed by you; so you see, I don't see as you have much choice. But, to prove what a fair-minded woman I am, I'll offer you a deal, just this once. If you beat Kien and me in this game, I'll tell my other friend to let all of you go. How would that be?" Devan answered amicably.

"Well, the problem with that, Devan, is that your other friend is in this just as deeply as you. He kidnapped the Chancellor's son from the medical center while the boy was still recovering. That's a serious charge; not to mention helping you and Kien set up this little game of yours. Somehow, I don't think he would go along with that part of your deal." Obi-Wan told her, "How did you persuade Ferri to go along with this?"

"Ferri?" Devan asked, looking at Kien.

"That must be the other boy; I told you about him." Kien answered, "His life, that was all it took, Kenobi; he's a little cowardly for a Jedi, don't you agree?"

Zak nodded knowingly, "I see; so you took advantage of his fear for his life? That's nice, Kien." He said.

"Well, I would think if he liked you in the least bit, he would have had second thoughts. But he said he had no love for you; so apparently, the decision wasn't to hard for him." Kien replied.

"That's enough talk." Devan said, taking a pair of binders from her belt and throwing them into the pit, "Pick those up, cub; and put them on Master Kenobi there."

"What if I don't?" Zak asked, "Are you going to come down here and force me to?"

"Oh no; I'll just shoot your master in the head, is that what you want?" Devan answered, "Do it, boy."

Zak hesitated, "If you shoot him, then you'll spoil your fun." He said.

"True; in that case, I'll just shoot you." She told Zak and then looked at Obi-Wan, "How would that be, Kenobi?"

"Do as she says, Zak." Obi-Wan instructed, "We don't have a choice right now."

Zak sighed and reached for the binders, "Behind his back, kid." Kien ordered.

Zak looked up at them and then at Obi-Wan; Obi-Wan nodded and put his arms behind his back. Zak sighed, shook his head and swallowed as he locked the binders around his master's wrists, "Tighten them down good, boy; we don't want him getting loose on us." Devan added.

"It's alright, Padawan; do what she wants." Obi-Wan told him quietly, wincing as Zak squeezed them tightly.

"That's it, now I want both laser swords where I can see them." Devan instructed.

Zak looked on the ground, and searched underneath the camouflage material that had covered the pit and fallen down with them; finding one and then the other, he brought them both out and held them up.

"Good boy; attach both of them to your belt. Now, these are for you." Devan said and threw another pair down, "You put them on and then we'll get you out of there."

"I can't leave you here with them, Master." Zak told Obi-Wan as he attached the both lightsabers to his belt.

"Time's running out, kid; put those on or Devan and I might just decide it's too much trouble to play with your master before we kill him." Kien warned.

Zak swallowed and gave Obi-Wan a stricken look before he stood up and secured the binders around his wrists in front of him, "That's a good boy, now come on over here and we'll throw a line down for you." Devan said.

Obi-Wan looked at him reassuringly, "Go on, now; I'll be alright." He said.

Zak moved to the wall below them and waited as Devan tossed a line down to him; he grasped the line and looked toward his master as Kien pulled the line up until he felt Devan's hands yanking him up over the edge of the pit. He had one last glimpse of Obi-Wan before Kien hauled him to his feet and pushed him away from the pit, "Very good; now you just sit down there and wait. Once we have your little cub tucked away safe and sound, we'll come back and start the game." Devan told Obi-Wan as she looked down at him before turning away and moving, with Kien, out of Obi-Wan's line of sight.

"You'll never get away with this." Zak told them as Kien took the weapons and prodded him forward.

"Shut up, kid; it's over for you and your Master Kenobi and your little bounty hunting friend." Kien replied, poking him sharply in the back with the end of his blaster rifle, "Just keep moving."

"If you kill us, the Jedi and the Chancellor will hunt you down." Zak said.

"Well, they'll have a hard time finding us; there are many places for us to hide from them." Devan answered.

Zak laughed, "You won't even make it out of this system; even if you manage to get off the planet. The Chancellor's troopers are already on the way. By the time you play out this little game, they will already be here looking for you." He informed them.

"Clone troopers? They aren't smart enough to find us." Kien laughed back at him.

"We'll just have to see about that." Zak replied.
Devan jabbed him in the back, "Enough talk, just keep moving." She ordered.

-------------

Obi-Wan silently berated himself for not recognizing Ferri's treachery; even after Zak's uncertainty, he had continued on. He had done this because he could not believe that Ferri, for all his resentment toward Zak, would actually betray them. He had overestimated the boy by thinking that underneath all the hostility, Ferri was still a Jedi; he had been wrong and now it just might cost both of them, not to mention Boba, their lives. He wondered how far away Anakin was with the Clone support troopers; would he arrive in time to stop this madness? Obi-Wan knew that the only chance any of them had was for him to play along and try to stay ahead of Devan and Kien until Anakin and the Clones found them. Without the Force, that would be very difficult, and then there were the vornskrs to deal with as well; they would also be hunting him.

"Hurry, Anakin." He thought to himself.

-------------

Banyon fidgeted in his seat; he hated these long trips through hyperspace. The small ship he piloted had little room to move around in. He checked the nav-computer for the umpteenth time to see how much longer it would be. Just about an hour and half; he only hoped he was not too late and that Carlyle's daughter was still here and that he would not meet up with the Jedi…or anyone else who might be hunting for her; he wanted to get paid.

-------------

Viral paced the ship; the more he thought about Cardl's last words and that look he gave him, the more he began to think that Cardl suspected he had been the one to tell Kien and Devan about Myrkr. If Cardl discovered that his suspicion was correct, Viral knew he was a dead man; just like Moran before him. Even if he were to eliminate the pair before Cardl had a chance to talk to them, he would never trust Viral again. But if he managed to secure the boy and give him to Cardl as a gift, maybe Cardl would lay his mistrust aside. Yes, the boy would be the key.

-------------

Devan triggered the bunker door and Kien shoved Zak in.

"Ah, there you are. I was just beginning to wonder what happened to you; so this is the Jedi cub you've been talking about." Tyrien said, looking Zak over, "Not so powerful now, are you, son?"

Zak looked back at him impassively, "And you kidnapped Boba Fett; that was not very smart." He replied.

Tyrien smiled at him, "You're standing here in shackles with blasters pointed at your back and you're telling me that I'm not smart? That's very amusing." He answered.

Devan poked him in the back again, "Move." She ordered, pushing him toward the lift as Kien laid their stolen lightsabers on a nearby console.

Tyrien moved ahead of them and triggered the door; Kien shoved him in roughly and slammed against the wall of the lift, "Have a nice ride." Tyrien said pleasantly as the lift door closed.

Zak felt the lift descend and then stop; when the door opened, Kien turned him around and shoved him out. Zak stood in a dimly lit corridor; cells lined the wall going in both directions, "Which way?" Kien asked.

Devan pointed to the left, "That way." She said without hesitation; choosing the opposite direction she and Tyrien had taken the bounty hunter.

Kien nodded and prodded Zak forward, passing several cells before Devan halted and triggered one of the cell doors; "Is this where you're keeping Boba?" Zak asked.

"That is none of your business, cub." Devan answered, pushing him into the cell and then following him in, "Move over there."

"You know; I'm getting really tired of you pushing me around." Zak told her.

"Too bad." Devan replied as she shoved him with the butt of her blaster rifle, "Just get over there."

"Come on, kid; it would be better if you didn't make her mad." Kien said, taking Zak's arm and forcing him against the back wall.

"Is this the part where you shoot me in the back?" Zak asked.

Kien laughed, "No, not yet; here, turn around." He replied as he took Zak's arm, turned him around and forced his arms above his head, "Alright, just keep your arms up…yeah, that's a good boy."

Zak looked up and watched Kien as he adjusted the length of a chain with an open hook at the end of it, "There; that should be just about right." Kien decided and then attached the hook to the binders around Zak's wrists and closed it, "All set, Devan."

"Very good; now we know you won't be able to play with the door controls." Devan said. "See you later, cub."

Kien grinned at him before turning and following Devan out. Devan smiled as the door slid shut. Zak sighed and tested the chain holding him against the wall before resigning himself to wait. Somehow, he knew that his master and Master Anakin would come through. He would just have to be patient.

-------------

And on the other end of the cell block, Boba Fett lay curled up on the floor, he had heard the lift door open followed by muffled voices and the sounds of footfalls. He thought at first that Devan was coming down to check on him until the footsteps headed in the opposite direction and he then guessed that they must have captured Zak. Of course, they wouldn't want the two of them anywhere near each other, so it would seem logical that….

"Hello, bounty hunter!" Devan said pleasantly.

Boba jolted at the sound sending a wave of pain through him, he had been so deep in thought that he had missed Devan's footsteps and the opening of the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I startle you?" Devan asked, "That must have hurt; I'm so sorry."

Boba remained silent and stared at the wall in front of him.

"Come now; I know you heard me, I saw you jump." Devan said.

"What…do…you want….bantha cow?" Boba asked without turning around.

Devan moved into the cell and kicked him in the back of the leg, "I'm getting very sick of you calling me that. Do it one more time and I'll have Kien shackle you to the wall like he did your friend; only it will be a lot more painful for you considering your present condition." She threatened.

"Just leave me alone." Boba said.

"Alright, I just wanted to let you know we have the Jedi cub now and the fun is about to begin; wish us luck." Devan replied.

Boba turned his head enough to look at her, "Luck? Yeah…I wish…you luck…all bad." He answered before turning away again.

"Nice." Devan said and then exited the room and triggered the door.

Boba sighed and closed his eyes; he didn't even have the strength to struggle anymore.