"Well," Quinlan said, leaning back in his chair, "that was something."

Bant leaned forward, dropping her voice to a whisper. "But do you-"

"Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Whispering? Why are you doing that?"

"Because I… don't want anyone… to hear me?" she said slowly.

Quinlan laughed at that, the sound like a thunderclap to the Mon Calamari's senses. "Please! No one can hear us! You think I chose this booth because of the cushions?" He paused at that. "Okay, I chose it because of the cushions too because they are damn nice but I also chose it because this booth has sound dampeners. If you need to talk about private stuff this is the place to do it!"

The bar that Quinlan had insisted they have the meeting in was a dark seedy place that one found on almost any planet that had a shadowy underbelly. She wasn't quite sure such establishments were built so much as they grew like mushrooms after a heavy rain, popping up complete with liquor that would curl one's toes and shifty bartenders who didn't care who you were so long as you didn't cause any trouble. The booth Vos had selected was in the far back corner, under a light with half its bulbs burnt out. But the cushions weren't ripped and the table had been clean and when she'd been given an aqua it had actually come in a clean glass.

Bant frowned all the same though at Quinlan's cavalier attitude. "But can you be sure? What if someone has it wired up or something?"

"You've been reading too many holodramas, Bant," Quinlan said with a smirk.

"She is wise to be cautious," the third member of their party chimed in, his gravelly voice making Bant's skin feel like it had been hit by an electrical probe. "You are much too lax, Vos."

"And here I'd have thought you'd like that!" Quinlan retorted, glancing at the Duros who was nursing his drink. "You are always complaining about the Jedi being too cautious! 'I hate waiting for them to stumble into my traps'."

Bant forced herself not to shudder at that reminder that the third member of their little group had a reputation of being willing to go against Jedi. While there were plenty of criminals willing to put hits out on knights it was rare to find a being that was able to do so with success.

Cad Bane was such a being.

"One can exist in the middle," he stated and though his tone was sharp Bant didn't sense any true rage or hate from the duros bounty hunter. Quinlan had assured her Bane was a 'good little blue egg' and that he'd only taken the contracts to hunt down Jedi because it was his job.

"After all," he'd told her when she'd first raised the issue while Bane was getting a drink at the bar, "the Council has had me do just as shady shit."

That had gotten her to shut up; the Council was still a bitter subject for Bant and Quinlan knew it. Damn him but he did. And it worked well.

Bant decided to get things back on track. "But you believe me, right?" She stared at Quinlan, trying to project through the force not only her belief that it was real but why she did. That it wasn't sadness over Obi Wan's death that was driving her to grasp at straws but rather hard fact. He had been in that room, there was a flash, he was gone, then the explosion. She had seen it and she needed Quinlan to see it as well.

"Sometimes Jedi think everything can be explained by the Force," he said with an almost lazy tone. "That there aren't any true mysteries left in the universe… just actions of the Force that we don't quite understand." He lightly tapped the datapad that lay on the table. "But that isn't true. There are other powers out there that are just as alien to us as the Force is to most of the Galaxy. It's arrogant to think that our power is the answer to everything."

"…then…" Bant said, needing to hear the words.

"Damn it all, Bant," Quinlan said with a frustrated groan. "I mourned for the bastard and now you show me it was all for nothing!"

She let out a sigh of relief. "He isn't dead."

"…no, he isn't," Quinlan finally stated. "But," he quickly added, "that doesn't mean we can begin throwing parades just yet. Obi would have let us know if he were alive and well… so whatever took him isn't letting him get a message back."

Bant chanced a glance at Bane who merely scowled at her. "If you are wondering if the Separatists took them… I have no idea. We don't go around and have dinner together and discuss our feelings. There are no play dates between me and my clients." He paused. "And even then… I've not gotten work from them for nearly 4 months."

"You haven't?" Bant asked, surprised. "Why not? You're the best bounty hunter in the galaxy."

Bane had been ready to say something biting to her before she added that last part. It caused him to lean back and nod. Bant wasn't lying either… Cad Bane had been a well known name in the Republic for over a decade. He and Jango Fett had battled it out for the title of Top Bounty Hunter for just as long. The only reason the Republic hadn't hired Bane was his costs were far too high. Having him bring in someone, dead or alive, was more than the gross output of some planets. The Separatists though seemed to be hemorrhaging money, throwing it out like mad, and thus could afford his high rates.

"Yeah," Bane said with a slight smirk. "But the thing is…" He paused, jaw working as he chewed on his words, considering them carefully.

It was Quinlan that spoke. "Something is going on with the upper leadership of the Separatists. Namely from the turncoat whose name rhymes with Blueku."

Bant motioned for him to continue.

"I'm not sure what is happening myself… it's all very hush hush. Most nobody on either side realizes it."

Bane chimed in. "You have to look for the little things… the pieces that separately tell you nothing… but together point to only one thing."

"What do you mean?" Bant said. Solving mysteries, unless they were medical, had never been her strong suit in her training.

"Dooku has an apprentice that he sends out to deal with troublesome Jedi."

"Asajj Ventress,' Quinlan stated. "I haven't seen her in a while." The way he smiled worried Bant greatly.

"That's because he has her doing other things. Not normal things. When she wasn't running around sparring with the likes of you and your kind she is sent out to deal with the Separatists generals, to make sure they understand that when they take a planet they are to hold it. But the generals… they are getting lazy again. They aren't worried. Orders for certain ship types also aren't being put in… ships that Force users prefer. Ventress isn't ending up in dangerous areas that would see her vehicles destroyed. Training droids are still being ordered… in fact at larger quantities."

"Ventress isn't getting the normal fights she used to get," Quinlan mumbled.

"And tech too… hacking equipment. Dooku is worried about something and he's sent his apprentice to investigate. And until he finds out what it is… he has put a hold on all bounties. Nothing for me to do." He shook his head in annoyance. "And that is a problem."

"Why not find something else to tide you over?" Bant asked.

"You think I haven't tried? You think I enjoy spending my time with you? The Republic won't pay me because they fear that I will sell their secrets to the Separatists."

"And you wouldn't?"

Bane smiled at that. "Maybe… if things were assured. But right now either side could win… and I don't like biting the hand that gives me my credits." His smile fell. "But your Republic doesn't understand that and you Jedi are too noble."

"Not me!" Quinlan said with a beaming smile. "I have no problem paying Bane."

"I wondered why he was willing to spend time with you," Bant teased before looking over at Bane. "Dooku and the Republic though can't be the only people willing to buy your services."

"They are though… now they are. This war… its changed things. No Separatist General is willing to hire me because they know that Dooku can pay enough to have me stop whatever contract I'm currently on and go do his work. And they don't want to have to wait… impatient lot, all of them."

"The Hutts?" Bant asked, curious.

"The Hutts have an agreement with the Republic. They don't want to have them accuse them of breaking the treaty by working with me. The Pykes don't want to get involved with any of them, either side. Hiring me could piss off Dooku or make the Republic think they've sided with him." He leaned back in the booth. "So I'm stuck with Vos."

"I'm paying you well," he stated. "And from the Council's own slush fund… that has to make it all more tasty for you."

Bane considered that. "Yeah… yeah it does."

Bant wasn't surprised. When Jedi went on missions, at least before the war, it wasn't unusual for them to get gifts passed to them. All of these were turned over to the Council unless they could justify keeping them; sentimental value only and it had to pass several investigations to ensure there was no attachment that could lead to the Dark Side. A photo. A small knickknack. Obi Wan had a bowl of river rocks. All the rest was then sold off, sometimes back to the very people who had given up said items (it was utterly classless to give someone money… but give them a relic you buy right back? That was dignified), and the funds put into a slush fund that all Jedi could draw on. Bant herself had used it to help buy a ship for herself, Threepio, and Artoo, as well as the investigators needed to find Quinlan. Thankfully she'd been able to track him down within a day, before the Council realized what she was doing and cut her off; that was the trick they normally used to get Jedi back in line.

But Quinlan wasn't most Jedi and as such the Council wouldn't think much of him draining so much to get Bane to talk with them.

"So we need to figure out exactly what happened to them," Quinlan said. "It might be the Separatists… but it could also be the Republic."

Bant WISHED she could have been shocked by that. She truly did. But the War had shown her so much about the galaxy… and there were days where she honestly understood the Separatists wanting to go it on their own.

"Only way we find out is looking into that spot where they disappeared," Bane said, pulling out a toothpick and sticking it between his teeth. "And that isn't gonna be easy. The Separatists… if they have this footage… they are going to be investigating themselves. The planet will be locked up tight."

"You can't get us through?"

Bane shook his head. "No… this going to require something else…someone else."

Quinlan and him shared a look.

"What?" Bant asked.

Her fellow Jedi smirked though at the Bounty Hunter, never turning his head towards her. "You think they will work with us?"

"They are in this to help the Republic… but they aren't loyal to the structure of it all. That was the whole reason they were created. Damn… they might as well do it just for fun."

"Then it's to Kamino then," Quinlan reasoned. "That will take some time… I should withdrawal more funds, get you paid now."

"You should," Bane agreed.

Bant looked at Bane, confused, as Quinlan got up. "What is on Kamino?"

"Not what… who. The Republics even dirtier secret." He leaned forward. "Have you ever heard of Clone Force 99?"