The Summer Strikes Back, Part 7

“What a piece of junk!”

He couldn't believe they were going to Organa Island on THAT. It was as bad as Leia had described it to be, and worse. They'd be lucky if it made two knots.

“It'll make at least 70 knots when it gets warmed up,” Hank insisted, completely unfazed. “But we're in a bit of a rush here, so if you'll all just get going...”

Arturro had to drag Chip up the ladder. “I forgot how much I hate boat travel,” the tall blond groaned. “I get so terribly sea sick!”

“Barf over the side if you can.” Hank made for the wheel house. “I don't need the deck to smell worse than it already does.”

Luke settled down on a coil of rope between and empty crab trap and bright orange net weights. Ben sat next to him. “How are we going to get past the guards?”

Arturro grinned and handed Ben a net. Chip had already sprinted for the side of the boat, his face greener than the waters of the Atlantic. “We'll have to fool them.” Ben grinned down at the net. “Hank, how much netting do you have on this hulk?”

“Enough for my needs.” The tall fisherman pulled back on the throttle, easing the ship into Ocean View Harbor. “Why?”

“When I was stationed in Japan during World War II, one of the most important things we had to learn about was the correct method of camouflaging ourselves. When done properly, you would be invisible to the naked eye.” He started wrapping net around the wheel house.

“Whoa, old man!” Hank waved his hands. “What are you talking about?”

“We're going to go in disguise.” He tossed Charlie a wooden wheel of netting. “Here. Drape this over the sides. Make sure it doesn't get into the engine.”

Charlie saluted him. “Right on it, mate.”

Hank pulled down on the throttle, sending moonlit spray over their heads. “What are you doing? I need those nets! I can't catch fish without 'em!”

“We'll make sure we don't damage them, Hank. We're just borrowing them.” Ben gave him an easy smile. “Trust me.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Leia had been taken across the bay on Tarkin's private yacht, the Mary Shelley. The main building for the Alderaan Manor Country Club and Resort was one of the oldest in Ocean View County, having been built in 1876 as a fanciful home for an eccentric millionaire. The wealthy steamship magnate died after only a few years of residence. After sitting empty for a decade, the house was eventually turned into a hotel. It had remained an exclusive country club and one of the most expensive hotels in or around Ocean View until hotels were built on the island that were even more expensive, with more modern amenities and no need to rent a boat to get to the grounds.

Two men in red and black Empire Industries uniforms tossed her into one of the bedrooms. The lavish canopy with the bright floral bedspread and cheerful yellow curtains failed to comfort her. There had to be a way off this island. The plans had to be sent to Senator Mothma, or other local businesses would suffer the same fate as the Royal Naboo and Old Republic hotels.

It was nearly daylight when they finally dragged her into what appeared to be a private office. It had probably been the steamship millionaire's office at one time. The books on the heavy walnut wood shelves were ancient, mostly on running hotels, the steamship business, the Atlantic Ocean and the boats that crossed it, or the local municipalities.

She knew who the gaunt older man behind the massive walnut and brass desk was instantly. Vader hovered like a shiny black cloud by his side, occasionally peering over his shoulder at the prisoner. “Mr. Tarkin,” she snapped. “I should have expected to find you holding these idiots' leashes. I recognized your foul stench when I was hauled in here. Lavender water, I think? Rather old fashioned, for an ambulance chaser.”

Tarkin stood, grabbing her chin and pulling it up to admire the girl's flashing eyes. “Charming to the last, don't you think, Vader?”

“Huh?” Vader had been concentrating at the sound of a motorboat out the window. His helmet-clad head moved back over. “Oh yeah, her.” She didn't like the smirk in his voice. “She's cute. A real trouble-maker, but cute.”

“And I can make a lot more trouble for you if you don't bring me back to the island as soon as it's light.” Leia glared at them. “You're in violation of at least six federal laws, including kidnapping and trespassing on and destroying private property. Vader and his idiots did major damage to my uncle's cottage, damage that you'll likely have to pay for.”

“Ahh, the cottages.” As Tarkin stood, Vader roughly grabbed Leia's arm and shoved her to the back window. Though they were mostly surrounded by trees and an unkempt golf course, she could see a couple of Vader's boys making their way to the docks. The trio carried car jacks and baseball bats. One of the boats was wound with fisherman's nets; despite the encumbrance, she'd recognize it anywhere. “Since you're reluctant to tell us what you've done with our property, we intend to...remodel...your uncle's prized real estate. What Vader and his gang did to your friends' home last night will seem like Sunday School by comparison.”

“No!” Leia's sable eyes widened. “You can't do that! There's kids there, including a four-year-old! People live there!”

“You would prefer another target? Perhaps something larger and more substantial?” He crowded the girl against the window. “I'm tired of asking, child, so it'll be the last time. Where are those plans?”

Leia blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Dantoonie, on the mainland. The old schoolhouse.”

“There, Vader, you see? She can be reasonable.” He pulled Leia from Vader's grasp. “You can take your men to the Cottages as soon as it's light enough to be out on the ocean.”

“What?!” The girl in white struggled in the gaunt lawyer's arms. “You said you wouldn't hurt them!”

“I never said that.” His piercing blue eyes glared down at her. “Dantoonie is too far on the mainland to make an effective display, and that schoolhouse is a National Historic Landmark. We don't want to bring the federal government into this. But don't worry. We'll deal with your meddling friends soon enough.”

“No! Let me go!” She made for the door, but Vader wrapped his muscular arms around her waist and carried her down a hall before she could get close. He yanked open a closet and swung it open, throwing her into two brooms and a shelf of toilet paper. “You asshole!” Her little fists pounded on the front of his black leather jacket. “You won't get away with this!”

“We already are.” He stroked her brown buns. “You know...you don't have to go through this. I can take you away, find us a place to hang out, get to know one another. I know a place under the boardwalk...”

Leia slapped his hand away. “You're going to rape and harass me, too? You're a real piece of work. I wouldn't go on a date with you if you were the last man on this planet!”

“Can't blame a guy for trying.” He stepped back, slamming the door in her face. His “Later, babe” was muffled by the heavy oaken door and the sound of a broom handle being wedged against it.

She pounded hard on the door, yelling at the top of her lungs. When pounding proved ineffective, she threw her body into the wood. That only resulted in a sore arm. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, her gaze roamed around the tiny room. It was mostly shelves and shelves of bathroom cleaning supplies, toilet paper and bottles of floor wax, Pledge furniture spray, and bleach.

“Ow!” A wooden dowel fell on her head with loud smack, then clattered against the door. As she rubbed her bruised noggin, she looked against the door to see what attacked her. The other broom, with its well-varnished handle, had been dislodged as she'd searched the shelves. “This'll do.” She took the handle and smacked it as hard as she could. If she couldn't break the door, she'd at least get someone's attention.

She was on her sixth thwack when the door was flung open. “Sis, it's me! I'm here to...oof!” Leia's last swing accidentally made contact with her rescuer's gut. Her brother doubled over, clutching his stomach.

“Luke!” She leaned the broom against the faded violets on the wallpaper and bent over to attend to her winded twin. “I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you.”

“That's...ok...” her brother wheezed, in a voice considerably higher than usual. He'd thrown on one of the white leather jackets worn by the Imperial Gang; the helmet lay beside him. It made a rather odd combination with his loose tan shorts, old green tie-dye flip-flops, and Howard the Duck t-shirt.

Gunshots rocketed the hallway as Hank Solokowski and Charlie Bachman came barreling past them, followed by at least five workers in red and black jumpsuits with “Empire Industries” embroidered on the chest. “Come on, kid!” He grinned. “Oh good, you found Her Worship. Now all we need is to pick up the old man and get out of here.”

Charlie and Leia helped Luke to his feet. “You all right, mate?”

“Yeah, I'm fine.” Luke pushed Leia aside as another bullet ricocheted on the woodwork. He pulled out a small black box. “Hank, I'm glad you had these walkie-talkies. Chip, are you and Arturro all right?”

“For the moment.” Chip's British accent sounded a bit whiny over the back box. “We dispensed with those men you, Mr. Solokowski, and Mr. Bachman rendered unconscious. They're in the storage sheds by the pool.” Arurro's higher voice was a little crackly. “No, Arturro, I don't think they have a crocodile pit we can dump them in. This is New Jersey. The only crocodiles here are in the reptile house at the Ocean View County Zoo.”

“Have you seen Ben?” Another bullet lodged in the wall way too close to Luke's head. “He was supposed to be dismantling the security system, so we could get out of here.”

“Not since he left...” The sound of bullets now matched the ones flying past Luke's nose. “I'm going to have to sign out. We have a few problems. Arturro, wait for me!” The static that followed didn't sound too much different from Chip's fussing.

“This is some rescue,” Leia grumbled. “You boys got in. Didn't you have a plan for getting out?”

“Don't look at me.” Hank waved his gun at Luke. “Your brother and uncle are the brains here, sweetheart.”

Luke glared at him. “Stealing the uniforms was your idea. I couldn't even see in that helmet!”

Leia rolled her eyes and pulled the broom out of the closet. As soon as it was in her hand, she brought it up over the head of the nearest Empire Industries employee. It was hard enough to make him drop his gun. Hank took advantage of the distraction to ram into the side of another, making him drop his gun. Charlie threw two more into the wall.

Darting to the back of the hall, she flung open two wide windows that flanked the back of the hotel. “Into the dumpsters, boys.” Still holding the broom, she leaped out the window.

Hank leaned over as she landed in the wide metal trash containers below them. “Is she crazy? This is no place for dumpster diving!”

“Either we jump, or we deal with more of Tarkin's men.” Luke winced as bullets shattered an antique lamp on a table. “I'd rather deal with the garbage.” His jump was far less graceful than his sister's, really more like a belly flop.

Charlie winced as he leaned out the window. “I ain't goin' down there! I smell dead things down there, and skunk, and...”

“Get down there, you big furry oaf!” Hank gave him a swipe on the rear. “I don't care what you smell!” He shoved his protesting co-pilot out the window, then jumped himself with an impressive Tarzan yell.

The landing was just as crunchy and disgusting as he figured it would be. “This was a really brilliant idea, Princess,” he grumbled as he struggled among thick black plastic bags. “What a wonderful smell you discovered. What do you think it smells like, Charlie? Rotten eggs? Exploding heads? Maybe cabbage that's been boiling for a hundred years?”

“Oh, shut up.” Leia brushed drops of cola off her white skirt. “It could be worse.”

She seriously regretted those words as bullets exploded off the tulip trees over their head. “Something's alive in here!” Luke let out a screech as he pulled his leg away, revealing three long scratches. “Owww! I stepped on an animal, or something furry!”

Hank threw a hand over his head. “Shh! Do you want them to find us here, kid?”

After a few minutes, the silhouettes at the window drifted back into the house. “All clear, boys.” She managed to climb out of the dumpster first with some difficulty. The other three followed, with Charlie helping Luke out. “Ok, Luke, let's take a look at your leg.”

Three angry red scratches ran horizontally down the side of Luke's right thigh. “Damn, kid.” Hank winced at the jagged cuts. “What the hell was in there, a bear?”

His sister shook her head. “More likely a raccoon got stuck rooting around for dinner.” Charlie handed her a crushed tissue from his pocket. Leia wiped at the trickle of blood running down his leg. “Doesn't look like it's too serious. You're lucky he didn't bite you. We don't need to be dealing with rabies on top of everything else.”

Luke turned pale at the mere mention of diseases. “Swell.”

Hank started down the nearest path. “Ok kid, if you're able to walk, we can get out of here. Those guys aren't going to stop looking for us.”

More bullets splintered the tree trunks around them, these shot by three Imperial Gang members. “Well, that was fast.” Hank pulled a small black gun out of his pocket. “Charlie n' I will handle these guys.” He hastened down the dusty path after them, yelling “We'll meet you at the boat!”

“Er, sorry, mates.” His towering co-pilot shrugged. “Got to go make sure 'e's ok.” He rushed after his friend and the Imperials.

“You know,” Leia started as they took the other path, “I have to give that man credit. Hank does have courage.”

“What good will it do if it gets him killed?” Luke winced as he heard more bullets in the distance. “Wait. I have an idea.” He ran for the nearest tree trunk and shimmied into the branches.

Leia groaned. “What are you doing? This is no time to pretend to be Tarzan!”

“They won't know to look for us up here.” He slid his fingers down to Leia. “I'll help you, sis.”

“Oh please. I'm better at climbing trees than you are.” Unfortunately, she'd forgotten she was wearing a sundress and white sandals with slippery soles. It took her much longer to haul herself into the branches than he did.

“What was that about being the better climber?” Luke grinned.

Leia rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Luke.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Luke had actually begun to enjoy swinging through the trees. It was like being in one of those B jungle movies from the 40's he liked to watch on Channel 17 late at night. Here he was, the great explorer, escaping his foes, with his sister and partner by his side. They'd return to his uncle, a scientist, and the pirates who brought them to this island, then would make sure that the plans for the deadly ray gun were back in the hands of the authorities...

“Yeow!” Another bullet shattered wood under their feet. “Luke, snap out of it!” Leia grabbed his hand. “We're almost there.” She pointed ahead of them. The docks loomed ahead of them, close enough that they could almost touch it. “Let's get out of...oh!”

“Freeze!” Two Empire Industries workers in red and black coveralls pointed guns up into the trees. “Come on down, kids. Our boss wants to talk to you.”

“You'll never take us alive!” Luke yelled down at them. He grabbed a vine and his sister's side. “Hold on. We're boarding ship.”

“What?” Leia didn't have the chance to protest further, or even breathe, before her brother wrapped his arm around her, gripped the vine tightly, and swung over the heads of the surprised dock workers. They landed in a heap on the top of a coil of rope.

“Luke Walker,” Leia groaned as she rubbed her rear, “that was the craziest thing you ever did!”

Luke was already untying the boat from the dock. “It got us here, didn't it?”

“Luke! Leia!” Chip hurried out of the paths that went to the golf courses first, followed by Arturro. “We lead the men on a merry chase. They think we're still back at the golf courses. Which, by the way, are more like the golf jungles. They need to prune the bushes and apply weed sprayer to the lawn.”

“We'll tell Tarkin that later.” Luke shooed the duo up the boarding ramp. “Do you still have the tapes and plans?”

Arturro disappeared into the main captain's cabin, going a mile a minute in his language. “Roughly translated, Arturro hid them in the floor boards in the secret hiding spot Mr. Solokowski showed us when we arrived. I don't know why he did this, but it is out of sight.”

“As long as you know where they are.” Luke's blue eyes swiveled nervously towards the paths from the house. “Where's everyone else? Hank, and Charlie, and Uncle Ben?”

Even as the young man finished his sentence, more gunshots echoed on the docks. Hank and Charlie barreled at full speed out of the trees. “Get on the boat, kid!” Hank grabbed another rope on the dock. “We'll finish this!”

Luke squinted, trying to see into the dusky dawn rising over the green leaves. “Where's Uncle Ben?”

“Not a clue, kid. Didn't see him.” Hank threw the last rope on-deck, then almost leaped off the dock. “I hope the old man found the mechanism to open the fences around this island, or this is gonna be a really short trip.”

Charlie looked up as shouts were heard on the shore. “There they are! Vader, too!”

Everyone flew down the plank and onto the dock as Ben chased Vader to the shore. “The circle's complete, old man.” Vader held a bat over his head. “When I left you, I was the learner. Now I'm the master, pal.”

“You're no master, Vader.” Ben's intense blue eyes glared up at him. “You'd hit an unarmed senior citizen.”

“You? You were actin' like you were a hundred when you were forty.” Vader lunged for him, his beefy fists flying. To Luke's surprise, his uncle mostly managed to hold his own, nearly knocking Vader off the dock at one point.

Luke started towards him, but Hank, of all people, pulled him back. “Let 'em fight, kid. Sounds like this is between the two of 'em.”

“But he's my uncle! Or close to it, anyway.” Luke tried to pull away. “I have to help him!”

The combatants on the shore were too involved in their duel to pay attention to the group near the boat. “You can't win, Vader.” Ben pulled away. He was breathing hard and moving slower. His right eye was so swollen, it was almost shut. “If you strike me down now, I'll become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”

Vader let out a hiss when his uncle got a strong right into his chest. “What the fuck does that mean?”

Ben didn't answer. He was clearly tiring, even though his fists were still raised. This time, when he went after Vader, the beefier man was ready for him. He caught him hard in the chest, then gave him a sharp kick in the side with his steel-toed leather boots. Luke and Leia gasped as Vader swung a bat into their uncle's chest and rear, leaving him gasping and barely conscious on the deck.

“NOOOOOO!” Vader was about to wallop the prone Ben over the back when a blond blur in loose khaki shorts and a Howard the Duck t-shirt ran smack into him, sending him crashing to the deck. “You bastard! You killed him!”

“No, Luke! He's ok!” Leia and Chip were helping Ben to his feet. “He's breathing!”

“Not very well, though.” Chip pulled a perfectly pressed white handkerchief out of his pocket. “We have to get him to a hospital, quickly!”

Luke was still pounding at Vader. “What did our uncle ever do to you, you jerk?”

“This!” Vader flipped open his helmet. The skin underneath was a jagged sea of angry purple and red welts and burns. “Your uncle did this to me, Stick Boy. It's his fault I look like I'm gonna terrorize Camp Crystal Lake! Friggin' Jason Voorhees is better lookin' than I am!”

“But...” Luke stammered, scrambling back, “that's not true...”

“Lad, this is not the right time to kick the bloody snot out that bastard.” Charlie darted down the wooden ramp and easily lifted Luke over his shoulder. “Let's go, boy. We'll give that arse the what-for later.”

As soon as Charlie stomped on-board, he and Arturro pulled in the ramp, and Hank pulled them out of the docks as fast as he could. Gun shells created geysers a mile high around the Falcon, but the small fishing vessel was too quick to catch them.

“You came in this thing?” Leia snarked as she joined Hank in the wheel house. “You're braver than I thought.”

“You'd be surprised, Your Worship. I've got a few tricks in this baby.” He pushed a button, letting off a smoke screen that blanketed the bay in a rolling fog. Another button shot water into the air, pushing bac two speedboats on their tail.

Charlie poked his head out. “Want to use the guns and harpoons, mate?”

“Yeah.” Hank winced as more bullets exploded around them. “Take over. I'll get the harpoon. The kid might be up to shootin'.”

Luke was down below, in the bedroom he and Charlie shared on long trips. He was wiping his Uncle's split lip, his eyes red like he'd been crying. “I couldn't stop him,” he heard him whimper. “I couldn't protect you.”

“You did what you could.” Ben coughed as another explosion rocked the ship.

Hank felt a little guilty about breaking up such a tender scene, but they needed Luke's help. “Come on, kid. We're not out of this yet.”

Ben nodded and struggled to sit up, an arm around his chest. “Chip and Arturro can stay with me. You go and help get rid of these nuisances.”

Luke didn't like it, but he knew his uncle was right. He could see two black and white speed boats, one with mounted guns, out the porthole window, even as he got to his feet. He followed Hank up the scuffed wood and metal steps back to the main deck.

“The harpoon's on the end, kid.” Hank rolled his eyes at the shocked look Luke gave him. “No, I don't hunt whales. What, you want me to get arrested? Not only are most of them bigger than this boat, but most of them are protected. You catch a whale on purpose, you can get arrested quicker than Jason Voorhees can carve up teenagers.”

“I don't think that matters at the moment.” Leia poked her head out the door of the wheel house. “Here they come!”

The duo ducked more bullets as Hank pulled what appeared to be a machine gun, a real model from one of gangster movies of the 30's, from a storage area under the deck. Luke's “harpoon” was more like a giant crossbow, shooting sharp arrows that pierced the speedboats' gas tanks and guns. Hank took out the men on the decks and shot off watery explosions of his own, covering their exit.

“Hey, Princess.” Hank handed her balloons he'd been filling from a plastic bottle on the ship as the last two boats closed in on them. “Here. Shoot these at their windshields.”

Leia raised an eyebrow. “All right.” She took a bucketful, throwing them with a hard right as the boats slammed into them. One hit their windshield; two more landed on their roofs and on the men, covering them with black ooze. “Oil. They're filled with oil.” She smirked at Hank. “Nice.”

“Thanks...fuck!” A final bump nearly sent them all to the decks. He nearly landed right on Leia. “Well hello there, Princess. You can't get enough of me.”

“In your dreams.” Hank rolled off, clutching his chest after Leia gave him a white sandal to the midsection. She threw a gas-filled balloon at one of the guns, making it too gunked-up to work. “Finish 'em off, baby brother!”

“I'm not a baby!” Luke grabbed the gun and shot a hail of bullets into their side. The impact from the gun sent him head over heels onto the deck. He looked up in time to see the final Empire Industries boat run aground at Pennsylvania Road Beach, leaving its occupants arguing over how this happened and who should push it back first.

Leia grinned and threw her arms around big Charlie. “We did it!”

Charlie wrapped his arms around the girl. He gave GREAT hugs, warm and furry. “We're bloody amazin', lass!”

Hank smirked as he joined them at the wheel house and Charlie went to clean up the deck. “Not a bad bit of rescuin', huh?” He took the wheel, his lazy grin plastered on his face. “Ya know, sometimes, I amaze myself.”

“That doesn't seem too hard.” Leia made a face. “I think they let us go. We got away too easy.”

“Easy?” Hank turned from the wheel. “You call that easy?”

“They know where the cottages are.” Leia waved her hand at the shoreline of Ocean View Island. “They're probably following us.”

Hank shook his head. “Not this ship, sister.”

Leia settled down in the cracked black vinyl navigator's chair. “At least we still have the tapes and the blueprints.”

“What's the big deal about all this?” Hank's eyes were on the water. “Why does everyone want a bunch of tapes?”

“They're concrete evidence that Tarkin, Vader, and Empire Industries are pressuring residents of Ocean View to sell their homes and businesses, in order to build a massive hotel and mall that could destroy half the town.” Leia sighed. “Palpatine's ruthless. Senator Mothma's had at least three hearings accusing him of environmental and safety infractions. He's wiggled out of every one. It's not over yet.”

“It is for me, sister.” Hank kept one hand on the controls. The other waved a finger in Leia's face. “Look, Princess, I'm not in it for your cottages or anything else. I have enough problems at the moment. I don't want Empire Industries up my ass. Your uncle's paying me good money to rescue that sweet little fanny of yours.”

“You don't have to worry about the reward.” Leia stood abruptly, at least as well as she could on a swaying ship. “If money is all that you love, then that's what you'll receive.”

Luke chose to pop in at this tense moment. “Leia, Uncle Ben's conscious, but he's coughing a lot. I think he may have broken ribs. We have to get him to the hospital as soon as possible.”

“I'll watch him, Luke.” She spoke to her brother as she shoved past him, but she glared at Hank. “Your friend's quite a mercenary, brother. Wonder if he really cares about anything, or anybody.”

“I care!” Luke tried to insist, but Leia had already taken off. He took her place at Hank's side. “So, what do you think of her?”

Hank's eyes remained on the water, but they were far-away. “Tryin' not too, kiddo.”

Luke noticed Han's dreamy look. If there was one thing he had no problem with, it was playing matchmaker. “You know,” he started, “Leia dropped her boyfriend last winter. I don't think Tommy Isolder was right for her, anyway. He's a big jock. Ok guy, but not really Leia's type. She needs someone who challenges her.”

Hank snorted. “A princess and a guy like me?”

“Sure, why not?” Luke grinned. “You don't have anyone else right now, do you?”

“Don't need anyone else,” Hank muttered. Not after Brianna, he added mentally. She'd joined the Army as a nurse, leaving him high and dry...and he was the one who had to tell her dad when she died in the Afghanistan.

“You think it over.” Luke gave him that sunny, trusting smile. “I think Leia likes you.”

“She has funny ways of showing it.” The pilot rolled his eyes.

“If she insults you, that means she likes you.” Luke chuckled. “I know my sister. She's crazy about you. She's just too stubborn to admit it.”

Hank didn't know how to respond to that. He settled for “We're coming up on Ackbar's, kid. You tell your sister we're going to be docking in a few minutes.”

“Yeah.” Luke continued beaming. “You think it over, ok?”

“I will, kid.” Hank turned his eyes back to the twinkling lights on the harbor...but his mind was filled with images of the sassy school girl who took no shit from anyone, even him.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Had Hank turned his radars on that that moment, he would have realized that Leia was dead right about them being followed. A black and green speed boat lingered in the waters, just off his scope. “Are you sure we're following them?” Tarkin tried to move around on Vader's legs. The boat was so full, he had to sit on the lap of the Imperial Gang's leader. “I'm taking an awful risk, Vader.”

“Relax, Mr. T.” Vader's voice hissed confidently from under the helmet. “I know what I'm doing.”

“I can tell you about Solokowski.” The man in the black Ray Bans and green and red Members Only jacket sneered from the controls. “His real name is Harold, but everyone calls him Hank. He and that British Hulk Hogan buddy of his are involved in a bunch of drug running deals, including one with the Hutt they backed out of.”

Tarkin's smile more resembled that of a happy corpse. “I suppose someone should tell the authorities about his activities. After all, transporting illegal drugs has been coming increasingly under fire of late. Local police and federal agents may be quite interested in his record.”

“Screw that, old man.” Bobby Fett started up the gears. “I just wanna bring him to my boss. I'm getting good money for his skinny ass.”

Even Vader shuddered at Tarkin's unbridled delight. “We may be able to find a way to give us both what we want.”