The Summer Strikes Back, Part 16

Luke and Yoda were meditating in Yoda's living room when Luke heard the insistent banging on the front door. He sighed, stretching his cramped limbs. “I'll get it, Yoda.”

Arturro tumbled into the living room, nearly doing a Dick Van Dyke pratfall over a small embroidered footstool. His swarthy face was pale under its natural tan, and he was going a mile a minute. Luke hurried over to his friend. “Arturro, what's wrong? I can't understand you!”

Yoda joined them as Luke helped his friend to his feet. “Call from his friend, he got. In danger, they are.” The short Asian man stood by Arturro, listening. “Imperial Gang has tracked them down, he says.” His slightly greenish pug nostrils let out a snort. “On Bespin Island, they are. At Cloud City night club. Friend heard Vader, he did. Imperials wish to kidnap sister and fisherman.”

Luke's eyes widened in horror. “What? Why? Why Leia? What do they want with my sister?”

Arturro looked just as worried as Luke felt. “Know, he doesn't.” Yoda frowned. “Friend never finished call. Cut off, he was.”

“I have to help them!” He turned to Arturro. “Did they say where on Bespin Island they are?”

Arturro shrugged as the phone rang in the kitchen. All three of them went for it, but Yoda got there first. “Hello?” Yoda nodded, his frown deepening into a multitude of crags. He handed the phone to Luke. “For you. Your uncle, it is.”

Luke took the phone. “Uncle Ben? Are you ok?”

“I'm all right,” the older man rasped, “but Luke, the Imperials have Leia.”

“I know. Chip called Arturro, but he got cut off.” He wrapped the thick pea-green cord around his finger. “Uncle, I have to rescue them. Hank is my friend, Chip is Arturro's best friend, and Leia is my twin sister! I can't just leave them there, in the Imperials' clutches!”

“Luke, you read way too many comic books.” Uncle Ben coughed. “This is a job for the police. I have connections here and on Bespin Island. They'll stop these men from doing any harm.”

“Yes, yes! To Benjamin, you listen.” Yoda made a face. “The wave yesterday. Remember your failure yesterday when you lost board. Learn patience, you must. Job for you, this is not. Job for officers of the law, it is.”

“It's you they want, Luke.” He could hear his uncle shuffling across the polished linoleum floor in his kitchen. “You and your abilities. They don't want you to win that surfing contest. That's why they took Leia and the others.”

Luke stuck his chin out stubbornly. “That's why I have to go.”

Arturro nodded, letting out another panicked run-on speech in his own language. “Touched by concern for friend, I am, young Arturro,” Yoda admitted, “but take Imperials on your own, you cannot.”

Luke nodded as Arturro rolled his eyes. “I agree with Arturro. We'll be careful. We've dealt with the Imperials before.”

“And you ended up with a black eye twice and barely got out before Vader appeared last time.” He heard the refrigerator open. “Luke,” Uncle Ben insisted, “I don't want to lose you to Palpatine the way I lost Vader. You're not in the Coast Guard yet. You can't save everybody.”

His nephew sighed. “Uncle, I'm not going to go and join the Imperial Gang. It's just that...Leia is my sister. She's the only sister I have. We're twins. I know something's wrong. I can feel it. We know each other better than anyone else.” He turned to Yoda. “I'll be back as soon as I can, all right? We still have a little over a week before the contest.”

“Strong is Vader!” Yoda admonished. “Mind what you've learned. Be patient. Stay focused. Save you, it can.”

“I will!” He put the receiver on its side, then hugged Yoda. “Thanks for everything. I'll return, I promise.”

“Welcome, you are.” Yoda was surprisingly cuddly for such a wiry guy, like hugging a Muppet. “Late, it is. Dinner, you must eat, then you can leave.” He picked up the phone. “Talk to Benjamin, I must.”

“All right.” Luke nodded at Arturro. “Come on. We'll go to your uncle's house and tell him that we're going to be out of town for the night.”

Yoda sighed as the two hurried out the front door. “Told you, I did,” his gruff voice scolded. “Reckless is he. He cannot win contest if he's hurt or dead.”

“I need the money from this contest, or I'm going to lose the Cottages.” Liquid could be heard pouring into a container. “That boy is our last hope.”

“No.” Yoda said softly. “There is another. Sister is good surfer, you said. She could do it, if boy cannot.”

“She can't do it if Vader has her.” Ben gulped his orange juice, then leaned against his chair. “All we can do is hope nothing worse comes out of this. And,” he smiled, “call the police and leave an anonymous tip about possible gang violence in Bespin Island tonight.”

Yoda gave him a toothless grin. “Do that, friend. Cops should know when bad things happen in their towns. Our civic duty, it is.”

Ben chuckled. “I always was a civic-minded man. Good night, old friend.” He put the receiver down, then went to look for the phone number for the main Bespin Island police station.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Charlie was on his way back from the Falcon at that very moment. He didn't entirely trust the blokes Lance had working on her. Two of them looked like they were loosening lug nuts instead of tightening them. He caught another yanking out wiring instead of re-welding it. Lance was up to something, and it wasn't his arm pits.

He was passing an alley in Fisherman's Basin on his way to Lance's club when he heard a loud, pained groan. It sounded almost familiar, like a high-pitched wail. Curious in spite of himself, he peered around the corner.

Garbage men were hauling trash out to their lorry on the curb. The grinding noise their grimy vehicle made almost drowned out the anguished groans. Charlie wrinkled his nose as he went to investigate, dodging three blokes who distinctly resembled pigs in dark blue Bespin Island Sanitation Department jumpers.

That was when he saw a familiar skinny arm, clad in a plaid seersucker shirt. “Don't worry, mate!” Charlie pushed another sanitation worker aside and almost literally dove into the trash. “I'm comin'!”

Chip wasn't in good shape when Charlie managed to pry him out of the trash. He was awash in bruises, some of them deep. His split upper lip trickled blood onto what remained of his gold plaid seersucker shirt. His glasses were gone all together, and one eye was swollen almost completely shut. “Good lord, mate. You look like you just fought for the heavyweight title with someone five times your size and lost.”

He lifted the young man into his arms easily, as if he weighed nothing at all. The boy didn't even notice. He snorted a bit, then returned to moaning and uneasy slumber. “Come on, mate. Let's get you home and cleaned up, before these pigs decide to put you out with the trash.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Leia hadn't had such a wonderful day all summer. After breakfast, they walked downtown, window shopping and checking out the sights. Hank even bought Leia a beautiful necklace made of tiny shells and polished quartz.

They went for a long walk on the beach after stopping at a booth on the boardwalk that sold fried seafood for lunch. Leia didn't know Hank was so intelligent or fascinating. They discussed everything from world events to some of the terrible movies that had come out that summer. He'd paid more attention to world news than they surmised. They had a fine time arguing whether they should involve themselves further in the Russian-Afghanistan Wars or just leave them alone.

After lunch, they had sex under the boardwalk on the edge of town near Lance's condo. This was absolutely nothing like making out with the boys in South Philly. They were rough, awkward, desperate to . Hank was tender. He was slow. He didn't mind letting her control things every once in a while. “Always fun,” Hank said as he rolled back, pulling his shirt back on. “You're a lot better at this than I would have figured.”

“I'm not a virgin, if that's what you're wondering.” Leia managed to get her bra hooked and over her shoulders. “I just don't make a habit of it. I have other things that I want right now.”

“Yeah, well, it's been a while since I've done it.” His lazy grin returned at Leia's raised eyebrow. “I know what you think of me, Prin...Leia. I don't chase every female I see. You're the first girl I've been with seriously for four years.”

“I'm surprised.” She tugged her blue-striped blouse over the matching blue and white tie shorts. “Hank, what's going to happen once we get back to Ocean View? Vader's still out there. So's Bobby Fett.”

Hank was pulling on his old black flip-flops with the red woven thongs. “Huh? Well, you'll be going back to the Cottages, and then to college, I guess...”

She watched him, even as she pulled on her own white sandals. “Then you're as good as gone, aren't you?”

“Well,” he muttered, “yeah, maybe.” He pulled her into a deep kiss. “Why don't we just get back to the condo? Get cleaned up, maybe grab a nice dinner somewhere in town...”

Leia's sense of unease melted into goo, along with her legs. “Uh, yeah. Let's do that.” But she didn't let him go, or stop kissing him, for a long time.

~*~*~*~*~*~

That nagging feeling she'd had ever since they pulled in at Bespin Island returned in full when they got back to Lance's expensive condo a block from the bay. Neither Charlie nor Chip were there. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Chip all day. Charlie must have still been at the Falcon.

“Hank,” she insisted as she stepped out of the guest room, “we have to find Chip. No one has seen or knows where he went. He's been gone too long to have gotten lost.”

“Relax, sweetheart.” Hank smirked. “He's probably hiding in the library or something and lost track of time.” Leia looked stunning in the knee-length watermelon-red dress she'd chosen on that shopping trip with Lance. The tiny white dots on the rayon fabric, loose-fitting top, and ruffled sleeves and trim on the skirt floated around her shapely knees. Low-heeled white pumps glowed on her tiny feet. Her long hair was pulled into two braids with sliver clips. “You look terrific. You should dress up like this more often.”

“You're not bad, either,” Leia added with a grin. Hank sported the same navy jacket he wore on their date to Chirrut's Chinese Palace, this time paired with a white button-down shirt and perfectly pressed light brown trousers, his sunglasses perched over his nose as usual. “I don't think I've ever seen you this dressed-up before. It's a good look for you.”

“Thanks.” Hank tugged at his jacket. “Maybe I should call Charlie, see if he wants to come to dinner with us.”

Leia chuckled. “He'll probably be cursing over the Falcon's engine all night. We could always bring him dinner down there and see how the repairs are coming.”

Hank nodded as he fiddled with his cuffs. “You're probably right. Lance should be back, too. We could send some of his buddies after Chip. They know the town better than we do.”

She sighed. “Hank, I don't trust Lance. I just have this feeling...”

“Mates!” Banging on the front door interrupted Leia before she could explain that feeling. “Open up!” Charlie kept kicking. “I found Chip!”

Hank flung the door open. “What are you trying to do, wake up the whole neighborhood?”

“I'm sorry, mate, but I couldn't knock.” Leia's eyes widened as Charlie stomped in, dumping what remained of Chip on the pristine white and ocean-blue couch. “Found him behind a bunch of garbage cans. Someone worked him over good, they did, the poor bloke. He never had a chance.”

“What a mess.” Leia ran her fingers across Chip's badly bruised cheek. He winced, muttering about lances and clouds and gangs in his sleep. “Charlie, I guess you didn't see who did it.”

“Probably not the rubbish men. They didn't even notice him.” Charlie wrinkled his long nose. “Although given some of them looked like they came out of that Dark Crystal Muppet movie from last year, I wouldn't put it past them.”

Lance came in while they were still figuring out what to do about poor Chip. “Sorry, am I interrupting anything?” He was dressed in a pale blue jacket with a loose yellow shirt and dark trousers. His dark curls and thin mustache were perfectly brushed and tousled. Coffee-colored eyes roved over Leia's creamy figure in the blazing red dress. “You look beautiful, my princess. You truly belong among the clouds.”

Hank pushed between them before Lance could kiss her hand again. “Nice try. We have a date tonight.”

Lance ignored the possessive glare from his old friend. “How would you like to have dinner at my club? The VIP Lounge on the second floor has an excellent view of the sunsets over the bay, and we can spend the rest of the night dancing to the sounds of my good friend DJ Larry Botts.”

“That sounds wonderful, Lance.” Leia gave him a smile. “I don't usually get a chance to go to clubs at home. I'm too busy with school or community events.”

“And I can't remember the last time we went to one, mate.” Charlie frowned down at Chip. “Just let me take a shower and clean up this poor blighter here. I'll meet you in an hour for dinner.”

Lance seemed genuinely concerned when he saw the piece of bloodied meat that had been Chip. “Is he ok? I know a couple of doctors...”

Hank made a face. “No, he's fine. Just ran into the door, that's all.” He quickly took Leia's arm. “Let's go. I'm starved.”