Chapter 11 A Close Call
Boba was roused from his fitful sleep when the door to his cell slid open; he sat up and looked blearily at the examiner who followed a guard in, "What do you want?" Boba asked with disgust.
"Stand up." The examiner ordered, pointing a switch at him.
"You have no right to be here; if you want to ask me anything, my counsel should be with me." Boba replied.
"Don't tell me the law, boy; get up." The examiner ordered again, the switch slapping against his leg.
"Then you don't know the law as well as you think you do; you can't be here without my counsel." Boba told him.
Acken brought the switch up and whipped it across Boba's face, "You filthy bounty hunter; I can do whatever I want." He answered.
The blow knocked Boba back and for a moment, he lay unmoving as a wave of nauseating pain washed over him; his cheek felt as if it were on fire, and when he put a hand to his face, he could feel the warm wetness of blood.
"Get him up." Acken ordered.
"Sir, I don't think…." One of the guards protested.
"You don't get paid to think; get him up." Acken cut him off.
The guard glanced at his partner and nodded; the other nodded back and slipped out of the cell. Then with a sigh, the remaining guard reached down to pull Boba to his feet, "On your knees, boy." Acken ordered, striking Boba in the back of his legs.
Boba landed hard, knees first on the permacrete floor; he glared up at the Mon Calamari, "That was a mistake." He gasped and then launched himself toward Acken.
The guard pulled him back, "Easy, son." He said, forcing the young man down.
Acken recovered quickly and drove his fist into Boba's midsection and Boba collapsed, gasping for breath, "Restrain him." Acken ordered.
The guard looked at him incredulously, "Why?" He asked.
"Don't ask why; just do as I say." Acken ordered.
"Sir, with all due respect, I believe you have lost control of your..." The guard replied.
"Alright; if you will not do it, I will…and you are on report for disobeying a direct order." Acken answered, snatching the guard's binders from his belt.
"I think you have crossed the line, Examiner Acken." The guard stated as Acken knelt down and pulled Boba's arms behind his back.
"Don't tell me the law." Acken replied, clamping the binders painfully tight as Boba continued to gasp for air.
"Then I will; stand away from him." The order came from the open doorway.
Acken looked toward the doorway; the Bothan examiner stood behind the guard who had previously left the cell, "Who are you to tell me what to do?" He demanded.
"The voice of reason; look what you've done, Acken." The Bothan answered.
"But, Tursk, he's an assassin; he would have killed the Chancellor." Acken protested, "And after what happened to today, I would think…."
"Perhaps he is the assassin, and perhaps he knows who is behind the incident today; but it still gives you no right to brutalize him." Tursk countered, "Even if he were not highly regarded by Chancellor Organa, he should not be treated in this manner; there are proper rules that must be followed."
Acken considered this for a moment and then moved away from his captive prisoner; Boba reflexively drew is knees up to his chest, still unable to catch his breath. Tursk shook his head in disapproval at Acken, "Release him." He ordered, "You understand there will be an inquiry into this; it's not the first time you've taken things too far."
One of the guards bent down and triggered the binders; as soon as he was free, Boba brought his arms around and clutched his stomach, still trying to catch his breath.
Acken nodded, "Yes, but I thought…." He started.
"No, you did not think; because if you had, you would have realized how far over the line this is. You're a disgrace, Acken." Tursk told him as he knelt down next to Boba, "You had better hope he is not seriously injured."
"I did what I felt was necessary to get the information we need to find…." Acken started.
Tursk shook his head, "The methods used for gaining information do not include beating bound prisoners." He said and then turned to one of the guards, "Bring him some water."
"And just how do you propose to make him talk?" Acken demanded.
"Well, you have rendered him incapable of saying anything; I fail to see the logic in that." Tursk replied, "If I help you, do you think you can make to the cot?"
Boba nodded and Tursk pulled him unsteadily to his feet and lowered him to the cot, "He provoked me." Acken said defensively.
Tursk glared at him, "That is not the story I heard." He countered, causing Acken to look away.
The guard returned with a tumbler of water and Boba drank it in between gasps. Tursk prodded Boba's midsection carefully, "It appears you have just knocked the breath from him; you are very lucky it was not more than that. But you have drawn blood; and for that, you are in very deep trouble." He stated.
"May I remind you of just who is in charge here?" Acken said arrogantly.
Tursk turned back toward him, "It is no longer you." He replied, "Pending a complete investigation, you are suspended."
"How dare you!" Acken exclaimed.
Tursk stood up, "No, how dare YOU! You have abused your authority and gone beyond the law for the last time; you'll be lucky if you do not face charges yourself when this is finished." He answered angrily.
"You don't have the right…" Acken began.
"Yesterday after you lost your temper and struck him in the face, your behavior was discussed with the Vice Chancellor; and she DOES have the right." Tursk answered, "Get him out of here."
Acken had little choice but to allow the guards to force him out of the cell. When he had gone, Tursk turned his attention to Boba's bloody cheek, "He had no right to strike you; I apologize for him." He said as he held a cloth to it.
"What…what happened? The Chancellor….he's not…" Boba asked, finally able to speak.
"No, the Chancellor, thank the Maker is recovering well; but there was an explosion in the Vice Chancellor's office." Tursk answered.
Boba shook his head, "No, no, no; if I weren't stuck in here, I could be trying to find out who's behind this." He declared, "Was the Vice Chancellor injured?"
"No, but she was badly shaken; and her aid in the outer office was killed." Tursk answered.
Boba rubbed his hand over his face, "So now you think I have an accomplice; is that it?" He surmised.
"You must understand how it looks." Tursk replied.
"How many more people are going to die before you start looking for the real killer?" Boba asked.
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Despite her protests, Mon Mothma was transported to the medical center and thoroughly checked over; when it was determined that she was only a little bruised but otherwise unhurt, she was released. Immediately, she went to see Bail, who was visibly relieved to see she had managed to escape the deadly blast, "I'm sorry, Mon; I cannot understand how this could have happened." He said, shaking his head.
"Well, if this isn't proof that your bounty hunter is responsible…." Mon replied angrily, "My aid is dead."
"I know, but surely you cannot still think Boba had anything to do with this; he was arrested yesterday." Bail answered.
"Then he planted it beforehand and timed it to go off during our meeting; how can you continue to…" Mon protested.
"How could he possibly know that meeting would be in your office? You ask me how I can continue to believe he is innocent; but why are you so obsessed with thoughts of his guilt?" Bail countered.
"Then who else would have access to those offices? Maybe he planned on you being dead, Bail; did you ever think of that?" Mon asked.
"No, I have not; you do not know him as we do, he has nothing against any of us. Have you ever thought that it may just be a member of your staff?" Bail replied.
"Ridiculous; I trust everyone on my staff implicitly." Mon insisted.
"And I trust my son implicitly; it appears one of us is wrong." Bail said.
"You are wrong about Boba, Vice Chancellor; he would never hurt Papa, and he would never hurt you." Gemma stated from a chair in the corner.
"Gemma, I'm sorry, dear; I did not know you were in here." Mon answered, softening her tone.
"Why? Do you not want me to know you think my brother is a killer?" Gemma asked.
Mon blushed, "I don't want to believe that, Gemma; but everything points to him." She explained.
"He did not do any of the things you think he has done." Gemma told her and then stood up to take her father's hand.
Bail smiled at her, "No, he has not; and with the help of the Jedi, there will be proof of it." He said.
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Obi-Wan picked his way through what remained of the Vice Chancellor's offices. After speaking with her, and conferring with the Chancellor, it was apparent that the bomb was meant to take out all those attending the meeting that morning. Only the fact that their business had been concluded earlier than expected had saved them; and the Vice Chancellor's sudden urge to see her daughter is what saved her. Tragically, Mon Mothma's young aid had not been so fortunate, her mangled body had been recovered under the debris in the outer office; only twenty-two, she had just recently been married. Mon chose to bring the sad news to her newlywed husband personally. Something caught the Jedi Master's eye, and he bent down to take a closer look, "Here it is." He announced, pulling something free, "There isn't much left of it."
Anakin moved toward him, "Well, hopefully there will be enough to see if it matches what was found on the ceremony platform." He replied as examined what had probably caused the explosion.
"May I see it, Master?" Ferri requested.
"Yes, of course, Padawan." Anakin answered, handing the piece of debris to him.
Ferri looked at it for a moment, turned it over and rubbed his fingers across it then closed his fingers around it and closed his eyes. With a sharp intake of breath, his eyes snapped open and he dropped the fragment on the floor.
"Are you alright, Ferri?" Anakin asked, "What did you see?"
"It wasn't what I saw, Master; it was what I felt. It was like…it was malignant. This guy loves what he's doing." Ferri explained and then looked at Anakin, "And he hates Boba Fett."