The Summer Strikes Back, Part 10

The next week seemed to pass in a blur. Luke, Wedge, and the Rogues filmed their short commercial, borrowing Poe's Star Wars and Blackstar action figures to make a “stop motion” short. It seemed to do the trick. Not everyone at the Holly Beach Drive In appreciated their covering a quarter of Superman III with their commercial, but from all the popcorn and Jujubes thrown in their direction, it seemed to get their attention.

Sabine made posters on her day off advertising the block party and the surfing contest. Leia was impressed with the girl's skill. Phineas Estate Park, with its trees and whitewashed gazebo and sprawling Victorian mansion and museum, was painted with emerald-green and sienna brushstrokes that looked real enough for her to want to walk right into it. The posters were tacked and taped everywhere they would be seen – trees, the bulletin boards at Ajax Grocery Store and the library, the windows of Ackbar's Restaurant and Chirrut and Baze's Chinese Palace, the laundromat next-door to their place, Kes' stores, most of the stores downtown. When Ezra wasn't working, he, Leia, and Leia's charges from Endor Estates gave out fliers to the shoppers on the Hamilton Street Walking Mall.

Leia was a dynamo. Hank couldn't believe how much she got done in a week. She kept pressing at the city council to decide what to do about the plans. She sat in on both of the meetings they had that week to discuss it. She called Senator Mothma twice for advice. She rented the space at Phineas Estate Park for the block party. She joined Kanan and Hera, after Hera got home from her fishing trip, in convincing Ackbar to cater the party. She babysat little Davy Wicket and his sister Laurey at Endor Estates in the afternoons.

Even in the midst of all the activity, Hank found time to press his suit with Leia. “Hey, Your Worship,” he started the morning after the barbecue. The two of them and Charlie were repairing the damages at Jyn and Cassian's cottage, including the busted front door. “Want to go out to dinner tonight? Chirrut and Baze make a great Szechuan Chicken and Moo Goo Gai Pan.”

“Sorry, Hank.” Leia shook her head as she hammered boards over broken windows. “I have way too much to do.”

Charlie nudged Hank, nodding at the girl. “You know,” Hank admitted as he and Charlie held up the door, “we need ideas for how to decorate the Falcon.”

“Right, lass,” Charlie added. “She's competin' with some of them fancy yachts. We're going to need an amazin' theme if we want to win the top prize.”

Leia sighed. “All right. I'll go to dinner with you tonight, but just to talk business. Nothing else. I have too much going on to fall in love right now.”

Hank shrugged. “Sure sweetheart. It'll just be business. Whatever you say.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

They met that night at Chirrut's Chinese Palace downtown, Leia having come from the City Council meeting. “Idiots,” she mumbled as Hank pulled into the Walking Mall's parking lot. “Damn fools. Should have listened to me.”

“Hey, sweetheart.” Hank grinned under his perpetual sunglasses. He sported a Navy jacket over a cleaner-than-usual white t-shirt and shorts. “What's got you in a snit?”

“First of all, you're fifteen minutes late.” Leia adjusted her wide leather belt over her pleated white dress. “Second, those imbeciles at the City Council refuse to take me seriously. Some of them actually think this huge project that could tear down half the businesses on the island will be 'good for the city!' Of course, some of them don't even live here. Others don't own local businesses. They don't understand.”

“It'll be all right. If anyone can make the see the light, it'll be you.” He put out his arm. “Shall we? I think you need a night out, Your Worship. You need to forget about all this.”

“Well, all right.” Leia hesitantly took his arm. “But no funny business.”

Hank shrugged. “Wouldn't dream of it.”

Chirrut's Chinese Palace was a cozy little place in a shopping center directly across the street from the Walking Mall and its Victorian buildings. It may not have been as fancy as the frillier houses nearby, but there were lovely Asian lanterns, small drums, and tapestries on the walls, and the smell coming from the kitchen was amazing. Hank and Leia were seated next to a small, tinkling indoor fountain.

“This is lovely.” Leia let Hank pull out the chair for her. “I've walked or ridden by this place a hundred times, and of course I know Chirrut and Baze because they live at the cottages, but I've only ordered take-out. I've never eaten in.”

“I haven't, either, but their take-out is amazing.” Hank unwrapped chopsticks. “If you like it spicy, this place can't be beat.”

Bodhi Rook, an Arabic friend of Jyn's, took their order. “Hello! Welcome to the Palace! Are you two ready to order?”

Leia smiled. “Hi, Bodhi. I'll have the Shrimp With Szechuan Sauce and an iced tea. I feel like I owe it to Chirrut and Baze after it helped scare the Imperials off.”

Hank grinned. “Ooh, you like it hot, too! I'll have the Chicken and Vegetables in Garlic Sauce.”

“Luke teases me about having a lead-lined stomach.” Leia watched as the tanned youth with the longish hair and scruffy beard took down their orders. “Bodhi, I thought you were working in the Empire Industries offices last year. You and Kris.”

Bodhi licked his pen tip as he wrote, then shook his head. “We both quit. I was making good money, but I wasn't feeling good. I knew they wanted to build that big hotel, but I didn't think it was right. We don't need it, and it isn't fair to drive people out of their homes.” His face dropped, his eyes haunted. “My family's from Afghanistan. We know what it's like to be driven out of your home.” His lips went up, but the smile was fixed. “And you know Kris. I don't think Mr. Palpatine appreciated his sense of humor.”

Leia patted his hand. “Hey, have you heard from Jyn and Cassian? We were fixing up their cottage just today.”

Bodhi sweet smile returned. It really lit up his face. “Jyn called me this morning. They'll be home by tomorrow afternoon. The doctors just have to look at Cassian's ribs one more time. He'll be laid up for a few weeks, but it shouldn't be too bad.”

“That's good to hear.” Hank tucked the napkin into his shirt. “I like Cass. He's teaching me Spanish for when we go down to Mexico.”

Leia spread her napkin in her lap as Bodhi went to give Chirrut their orders. “You still want to leave at the end of the summer.”

“Don't have a choice in the matter, sweetheart.” Hank looked down at the Zodiac on his paper menu, trying not to look into Leia's eyes. “I told you, I have nasty people on my tail. I can't stay in any one place longer than I can help it.”

“As long as you can stay for the Block Party and the Pageant. We're going to need as much help as we can get.” Leia turned over her menu and pulled a pen out of her pale blue Bermuda purse. “How about a pirate theme? It's not the most original, but it's something we can do pretty easily. It wouldn't be hard to make a flag and paper pirate hats, and we could convince Sabine to paint a banner...”

Hank was only half-listening to his date. His eyes had slid to the rapidly-darkening parking lot. A familiar figure in a narrow sunglasses and a green-and-red Members Only jacket leaned against a truck wedged in the front between a Buick and a boxy Ford. The lights flickering in the windows bounced off the gun sticking slightly out of a holster under his jacket.

“Bodhi,” he said quickly as the young man brought them their meal, “we'll have it to go.”

Leia frowned as he leaped out of his chair. “What? Why...”

Bodhi looked just as confused. “Well, all right.” He put a hand on Hank's shoulder. “You look like you have seen ghost.”

“I'll be a ghost if that guy catches me.” He grabbed the white cartons with the thin metal handles as soon as the young man brought them over. They both handed him money. “Hey Bod, there a back way out of here?” He nodded at the window. “That guy in the green jacket is after us. He's a real winner. He'd sell his grandmother to earn a buck.”

“Sure. The back door is at the end of the hall where the bathrooms and the pay phone are.” Bodhi quickly tossed the containers into a bag, tossed it to Hank, and started towards the end of the building. He lead them passed the wood-paneled hallway, with its chipped Bell telephone and scuffed beige linoleum. The door at the end of the hall left them in the parking lot. Bodhi frowned. “That guy, he is still there. Will you be ok?”

“Yeah. I've dealt with this jerk before.” Hank patted his shoulder. “Thanks, man.”

“I don't understand what all this is,” Bodhi shrugged, “but, you're welcome!”

“I don't understand either.” Hank shoved the bag of food at Leia as he rushed over to his battered red truck. “What's going on? Why is Bobby Fett after you?”

“Let's just say we go way back.” Leia jumped in as Hank turned the ignition. The gas tanks turned over several times before it finally rumbled to life. “Hey, Your Worship, how'd you like a moonlit cruise to the back wetlands at Ord Mantell Harbor?”

Leia winced as a gunshot left a hole the size of her fist in the side of the bed. “Doesn't sound like we have much of a choice!”

They peeled out of the parking lot so fast, they just missed an old lady in a pale blue Buick the size of a small tank. She nearly ran into a couple in a Toyota, who in turn nearly ran over the tiny hut that acted as the toll booth for the city lot.

Hank crowed. “That'll hold him for a while.” He put his arm around Leia. “Aw, come on, Your Worship. It'll be fun.”

“Yeah,” Leia muttered, “fun.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Leia had to admit a few hours later that Hank was right. The waterways up and down the Jersey Shore were beautiful at night. They watched the sunset going under the Mantell Harbor Bridge. Hank showed Leia the basics of how to work his boat and even throw a trap. She seemed to get it down pretty quickly, even managing to catch a big crab.

Hank tossed the crab back. “We'll be going after more by the end of the week.”

“Do you really have to leave so soon?” Leia sighed as she dug into her sweet and spicy shrimp. “We could use your help around the Cottages. Uncle Ben's going to be laid up for at least another two weeks or so, and even then, he's starting to get on in years. He won't be doing this much longer.”

“Nahh, he'll be ok. He has all the folks who live there. After what they did to the Imperials, I don't think them fixin' leaky roofs will be a problem.” He'd set up a makeshift outdoor meal on an empty wax box and two clean crates.

Leia watched as Hank expertly caught two pieces of chicken laden in drippy golden sauce between the bamboo chopsticks Bodhi included in their bag. “How do you do that?”

“It's all in the wrists, sweetheart.” He put the empty carton aside and leaned back on the crate. “I'm kind of glad we ended up on the water. It's a nice night. Kind of cool, for August.”

Leia nodded. “Yes, it is. Bit humid, too. Hope that doesn't mean a storm is coming. We don't need the block party to be rained out.”

The young woman looked gorgeous in the last fading light of the evening. The streaks of scarlet and lavender gave her translucent skin an otherworldly glow. The white pleated sundress, perfectly crisp even after catching crabs, gave her the look of a goddess straight out of Clash of the Titans. Her long hair was pulled into a braid around her head, a fitting crown for the princess she was at heart.

Hank couldn't help himself. “You are so beautiful.”

She blushed, her delicate skin turning nearly the same shade as the last fleeting rays of the sun. “Thank you. You look almost half-way decent yourself.”

“Thanks, Your Worship.” He stood, making his way towards the wheel house. “I hate to ruin the moment, but I think it's time we headed back. It's getting dark, and...”

Leia looked up as he trailed off. “And what?” She jumped up, being careful of the crab traps and coils of rope, as she joined him at the controls. “What's out there?”

A sleek black and green motorboat was coming up behind them fast. The name Slave I was painted on its slide in slanting, jagged red letters. “It's him, isn't it? The man from the parking lot. I saw him at the docks the first day I was here. He was with Vader and his goons, too.” She frowned, narrowing her eyes. “It's you. He's after you. Kanan told me he was a bounty hunter.”

“Me n' Charlie, but yeah.” Hank pulled on the throttle as they sped across the harbor. “Let's just say we go way back with Bobby Fett. He'll tattle on his grandmother and turn her in if it'll net him a quick buck. I thought we gave him the slip.”

“Doesn't look like it.” Leia ended up in Hank's lap when bullets rocked the ship. She glared at him. “Don't even dream about it.”

“Wouldn't consider it.” Even so, Hank grinned down there. “As much as I'd like you to stay for a while, I do have to drive.”

Leia had just pulled herself to her feet when three bullets shattered the wheel house's window, just missing Hank. “Shit!” Hank pushed Leia to the ground, then climbed back into the captain's chair. “Get into the navigator's chair and strap yourself in, sweetheart. I'm gonna have to do some fancy footwork to get rid of this jerk.”

Leia did that, just managing to pull the seat belt on as the boat was rocked even harder by three more bullets. She clutched the sides of the chair, her face even whiter than usual. “We need to shoot back, before he kills both of us!”

“No time!” Hank turned them around, towards the wetlands. “We're gonna have to out-maneuver him.”

The two ships wound around the wetlands, sending sea birds and marine mammals flying and swimming in all directions. “I don't think we should be here,” Leia complained. “These wetlands are protected. We could be doing real damage to these animals!”

“Do you have any other ideas?” Hank had just said when something smacked against the side of the boat. It would have knocked them both out of their seats if they hadn't been strapped in.

“We have to get out of here!” Leia glared behind them. “We almost hit two species of rare turtle.”

“I don't need the Environmental Protection Agency on my ass, too.” Hank grinned and pulled on another lever. “Let's see Fett outrun this!”

They turned a corner around a sea plover nesting spot, upsetting a flock of plovers and seagulls as they did. While they just barely missed the sand bar at the end of the wetlands, Fett wasn't as lucky. The Slave I ran right into it and stalled. Leia watched out the back as he tried to turn it over several times. The local animal population wasn't having any of this noise! Gulls and plover attacked him, pecking at him and throwing eggs and sticks at him.

“That'll hold him for a while.” He frowned at Leia. “Are you all right?”

“I'm fine.” She poked her head into a cabinet. “Where do you have a broom?”

“Down in our living quarters.” Hank sighed again. “I'll help you clean it up. It's my ship.

Leia smiled. His insides turned into mush. “How about you sweep, I hold the pan?”

If she'd told him to punch himself in the nuts, he would have agreed to it. “Yeah, sweetheart. That's fine.” I can't do this ran through his mind as he went to get the broom. She's in danger as long as I stay here. The sooner Charlie and I get to Mexico, the better for everybody.