Chapter 4: Circles
Cody swore and stepped over the body of yet another useless contact. His trail had gone stone cold, and he was beginning to wonder where he had gone wrong.
"I've somehow taken a step back." He muttered under his breath thoughtfully. "If not, then two steps back." He shook his head slowly. Which should make me jump forward later.
Cody had been searching Nar Shadaa longer than any other Bounty Hunter would've, but his lust for revenge kept him going. Either Rex was "lost" and Cody would have to somehow uproot him, or that dik'ut bartender had...lied!
Cody stopped in mid step. The bartender knew who he had been looking for... that had been clear. Cody thought over their conversation as he began to move toward the docking bay his ship resided in. The bartender had referred to Rex and Ahsoka as a "couple" which would only mean... It clicked. The bartender had known they were together, but he also knew they were married.
Cody grinned as he broke into a trot. How could he have missed that? Now he had to figure out exactly where they had gone.
Think like Rex. Cody thought as his pace quickened again. Rex would want to be somewhere that Vader wouldn't sense Ahsoka... somewhere Vader wouldn't go...Tattooine. Cody nodded to himself. Obi-Wan Kenobi had once mentioned to him that Anakin had bad feelings toward the dustball of a planet because of the fact that he had been enslaved there! Cody laughed out loud.
"Of course." Cody smiled to himself as he entered the docking bays and made his way toward his ship. "They would be safe from all the bounty hunters around them, as long as Ahsoka didn't reveal herself as a Jedi, because of the fact that there is no current bounty on them!" He laughed to himself.
Running as fast as he possibly could for his ship, Cody felt the cold darkness that resided in the core of his being jump with delight. He had been a step or two behind Rex for several years, but now he had taken a jump, and was now ahead of Rex.
"I shall have my revenge." Cody whispered to himself as he boarded his ship.
Cody sat in the cockpit of his ship, the Dawning Revenge, thinking carefully over the last few years his life had been. Terrible memories of Barriss' death knocking at his cold heart, stirring up a soul that hadn't been stirred in years.
Tears stung his eyes... eyes that hadn't betrayed any emotion for nearly eight years.
Cody wiped away the tears angrily as he picked up a small, hand held holo-projector. Holding it silently for several moments, Cody finally flipped it on. A picture of Barriss and himself appeared, his Jedi wife holding his hand to her stomach.
A smile twitched at Cody's lips. That had been the first time he had felt his baby's kick, felt the tiny life he had helped to create. A life that he had wanted so much to hold... love.
Abruptly, the picture changed to a photo of himself and Rex. They had both just graduated officer's training then. They had their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders, laughing. Cody's teeth clenched as it changed again. This time to a photo of himself and Barris on one side, Rex and Ahsoka on the other.
"Aargh!" Cody screamed in anguish, tossing the small holo-projector on the ground and crushing it under his boot. "I hate you Rex!" He hissed in pure hatred as he stared at the crushed device, tears running down his face for the first time in years. "I will kill you."
The hyperspace alarm went off, announcing that he was approaching Tattooine space, and, about an hour later, his boots crunched in the sands of the backwater planet.
I'm here, Rex. He whispered inwardly. I'm coming...
Ahsoka sat in mediation when a voice broke through, carried to her by the Force. I'm here, Rex...And I'm coming! It snarled like a feral animal, echoing in her mind as her eyes snapped open.
Cody had arrived. Surely not... The Force sent a tremble of warning, and her doubts were destroyed in that moment.
He iscoming. She thought as she shut her eyes. He's he's here.