She
wasn't sure where she was when she awoke. Her nose was tickled by the
rich scent of leather. As her eyes gradually focused, she found
herself staring at the largest man she'd ever seen. Everything about
him was overwhelming, from the broad shoulders that strained his
heavy black suit to the wide-brimmed fedora that shaded a face so
thickly scarred and battered, it would have scared the hell out of
Boris Karloff. He held a long gold-topped cane that leaned against
his right leg. A leather glove hid the prosthetic hand it was said he
gained as a souvenir from the Great War.
All
in all, he was a fearsome sight. Fearsome to everyone, that is,
except for Leia Skylark.
“Derek
Vader,” she hissed. “You've already been forced to resign from at
least three archaeological societies after it was rumored you stole
Alderaanian artifacts for the Empire. If UCLA finds out you've
attacked one of their people...”
“Don't
play innocent with me, young lady.” Vader's booming voice filled
the back seat. “You were at that party this afternoon for a reason.
Dr. Bail Organa sent you an envelope containing his research and maps
revealing the remaining two locations of the lost Swords of the
Guardians.”
“I
don't know what you're talking about. I'm an intern and secretary for
Dr. Marta Mothma.”
“What
you are is a liar!” Vader's voice rose until it was something akin
to a deep whine. “Tarkin saw you snooping around at the party,
looking for the Sword of Strength.”
“I
was admiring your collection. By the way, you need to get someone to
dust and catalog it. It looks like you randomly dropped it on tables
when you stole it.”
“How
I found my collection is none of your concern.” He leaned out the
window as they drove through a spiky wired fence, giving orders to a
man in the black and white uniforms of Dark Star Industries. The
landscape around them was arid and barren. Leia hadn't realized how
far into the hills they'd driven. Scorched palm trees and desert
plants showed the remains of the wildfires that were epidemic in the
area.
The
building wasn't large, but it was ominous, a brick-and-steel
warehouse whose red and tan exterior almost matched the desert around
it. Leia didn't have too much time to look around. The moment the BMW
rolled to the front door, she was yanked out of the car by two more
of Vader's boys in the long white coats, her wrists tied roughly
behind her back. She could smell the dust and old stone and new metal
and ozone. In the distance, she thought she heard a loud and distinct
“boom” and an odd sizzle.
Somehow,
Leia wasn't surprised to see Tarkin behind the desk of the bland
office. “General Tarkin, I should have expected to find you behind
all this. Dark Star Industries has been suspected of giving arms to
the Empire illegally for years.”
Tarkin
stood, striding over to the girl. “Charming, to the last. You do
realize that what you've seen and heard here has more-or-less signed
your death warrant. We can't have the information on the latest Dark
Star weapon leaking to the public.”
She
gave him her most persuasive smile. “What is the latest weapon from
Dark Star?”
“A
laser cannon.” Tarkin opened the bars that blocked the window
closest to the testing site in the hills. “But not just any laser
cannon. The Death Star has ten times the fire power of any light beam
ever devised by man. The Khyber crystals from the Alderaanian
artifacts that Mr. Vader has gathered from sites in Central America
are built into the barrels, with the Swords in the center. The Sword
of Light is safely held at the Coruscant Armory for that very
purpose.”
Leia
laughed. “You watch too many Saturday afternoon serials.”
“As
I said earlier today, every folk tale has basis in fact. Even pulp
fiction.” His chilling smile belonged to a killer in a Universal
horror film. “I will only ask you this once. Dr. Bail Organa sent
you the maps and research he did on the location of the remaining
swords.” He backed her into Vader's massive chest. The hulking
industrialist placed a heavy gloved hand on her shoulder. “I want
to know where you hid the notebooks and the map.”
Leia
glared at him. “There's no way I'm going to tell you. Papa Bail
never wanted the swords to be used to kill people. He wanted them to
go to a museum.”
“They
would only gather dust there.” Tarkin waved his hand to the massive
black and gray cylinder being loaded into crates. “No, they're much
better off in Coruscant, where they can aid the Empire in its
spreading of law and order.”
“Death
and destruction, you mean.”
Tarkin
continued to monitor the men loading the gun. “Sometimes, a little
death is necessary to maintain control.”
Vader
frowned. “I told you she wouldn't talk.” He went to his desk.
“There are other means of persuasion that might be more appropriate
in this situation.”
Tarkin's
ghoulish grin widened as Vader pulled a needle out of a drawer. “Oh,
yes. Leftover from the last industrial spy you had to...persuade...to
give up their secrets, am I right?”
Two
factory workers shoved Leia into a chair. Heavy packing twine was
bound around her wrists and ankles. Leia's angry brown eyes were
glued to the needle as the black hand that held it came closer and
closer to her upper arm under the ruffled sleeve her her white dress.
“And
now, Miss Skylark, we will discuss where you hid those notebooks and
the maps.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
She
was standing near the edge of pit filled with thick, bubbling yellow
liquid. The heat was intense. The steam rose above her like white
silk. Her white party dress had been replaced by her working outfit –
a white work shirt, khaki slacks, and boots. Voices, one of them
familiar, called out to her in terror. Her eyes drifted upwards,
getting a glimpse of two silhouettes bound with rope, one shorter
than the other, dangling over the liquid. The shorter one was
startlingly familiar...
“Leia!
Please! Help us!”
Her
eyes widened. “Luke!” She dashed towards the pit, her heavy-soled
work boots slipping on the loose gravel. “Luke, I'm coming!”
She
was just about to reach the pit when another figure stepped out of
the darkness. This one was dressed all in black, his long coat
flowing around him like a cape. “You will not save them. They're
already mine. As are you, Guardian.”
Leia
knew that voice. “Vader, get out of my way! I have to get to my
brother!”
To
her shock, a blue sword appeared in her hand. The sword in Vader's
gloved hand glowed with an unearthly red fire. “I have two
Guardians under my control. Now, I will have the third. You are all
mine.”
“NO!”
She attacked him, swinging relentlessly with her sword. Her slashes
went through him. She backed away as he came closer to her. Luke's
screams and the other voice grew fainter in the background.
Vader
held up a hand to her. “Come with me. It is the only way.”
Leia
stepped back further, but her boot touched empty air. She was trapped
between the edge of the cliff and Vader's open palm.
“It
is your destiny.”
Still
clutching the sword, she finally backed into the abyss...and felt
herself falling into nothingness. Luke's screams continued in the
background as she fell...fell...flew...flying down...
“Leia,
I'm here to rescue you!”
~*~*~*~*~*~
“Huh?”
She thought she was still dreaming. Luke stood before her, his blue
eyes shining, his mouth curved into his huge sunshine smile. He was
untying her wrists, having already finished her ankles.
“Leia,
we're going to get you out of here!”
Her
brother sported the long white coat, white fedora, and black gloves
usually worn by Vader's goons. The fedora wasn't too bad, but the
coat and gloves were too big and too long. He looked like he was
swimming in white fabric and black buttons.
She
gave him a small smirk. “Aren't you a little old for playing
dress-up?”
He
helped his sister to her feet the second the last rope fell on the
floor. “Oh, you mean the coat. This was the only way we could get
in here.”
Leia
raised an eyebrow. “We?”
“Oh,
you know, us. Artie, Clarence, Harry, Charel, Benton, and me.”
“Swell.
Couldn't you have brought someone who knows what they're doing with
them? Say, oh, the police?”
Her
brother was already dragging her down the hall. “There wasn't time!
Clarence was afraid they'd kill you, or worse.”
“They
weren't going to kill me. They want to know what I did with Papa
Bail's notebooks and maps.” She looked at Luke. “Please tell me
the notebooks and maps are all right.”
“They're
fine. They're in the glove compartment in the Packard.” Luke pulled
a large black gun out from under his coat as shots were heard down
the hall.
A
tall man with scruffy reddish-brown hair in a similar coat and hat
dashed almost right into them. He was followed by the biggest,
hairiest being Leia had ever seen. He might have had a rather
handsome face, if she could find it under his flowing walnut hair and
bushy beard and mustache. Even the long hands that clutched the black
gun were covered in hair. If the coat was too big for Luke, it
couldn't begin to cover him. His linebacker shoulders strained in the
fabric.
“Uh,
I had a little problem convincing the guards at the door I was one of
Vader's boys,” the smaller man admitted sheepishly.
“Harry!”
Luke pushed Leia against the wall, just barely missing a bullet.
“That was our only way out!”
The
giant let out what sounded like a cross between a bark and a series
of low-pitched groans. “Yeah, I know, pal. I shouldn't have chased
those goons. Damn it, I thought I could take 'em!” A short bark was
followed by a booming guffaw. “Well, I would have, if they hadn't
suddenly multiplied on me!”
Leia
ignored this enlightening conversation in favor of staring at the
ceiling. There was a square right above her head, covered by what
looked like a grate. She could probably move it, if she could just
get to it. She grabbed Luke's gun, shot off several bullets into the
hall, then tossed it back to her brother. “There's an air duct over
our heads. It might be our ticket out of here.”
The
taller man started whimpering, but Harry smacked his shoulder. “Aw,
come on, you big coward, you can fit!” He tossed Leia his gun and
threw off the coat, revealing a slightly frayed tan bush shirt rolled
up at the sleeves.
Leia
gave the giant her sweetest smile. “Would you please lift me high
enough to open that grate?”
The
tall man did so, scooping her into his arms as easily as a child
picked up a rag doll. She used the gun to knock out the grate,
pushing it aside. “It's fine. Dark and dusty, but fine.”
She
and Charel helped Luke, then Harry, through the grate. It took all
three of them to pull the hairy giant through, and even then, it was
a squeeze getting him in.
Harry
waved a hand over his nose. “The air duct was a really brilliant
idea, doll face. And what a terrific smell you've discovered!”
“It
could be worse, you know.” Leia was already crawling down the dark,
rectangular corridor.
“Yeah,”
Luke added cheerfully. “At least we're all still alive.”
After
a few twists and turns, Leia finally came to another grate, this one
with light at the end. “I think this is it.” She shoved at it for
a few minutes before it finally gave way.
The
large room she dropped into was filled with nothing but crates,
statues, and artifacts. Everything from enormous statues to broken
pottery lined the shelves and filled crates. Harry came out next.
He'd slapped what looked like the brown cap of a US Army Air Corps
pilot without its insignia on his head during their crawl. “Looks
like you found UCLA's basement.” He picked up what appeared to be a
gold statue of three warriors, two men and a women, carrying swords.
“Too bad it looks like a lot of these are missin' parts.” He ran
his fingers over indentations in the tiny golden swords and masks
where crystal trim had been. “Do you know how much I could get for
this on the open market if it was complete?”
Leia
rolled her eyes. “We're not here to discuss your current job
occupation.” She picked up a statue of a woman warrior with similar
indentations. “These must be the artifacts Vader stripped of
crystal to make that pipe dream out there.”
Luke's
eyes widened. “The pipes? I thought they were some kind of big
gun.”
“They
are.” Leia put the statue back on the shelf. “Vader's using the
Khyber crystals to power some cannon. He's calling it the Death Star.
Tarkin thinks it'll help control the world, or some such thing.”
Luke's
blue eyes were huge. “I've got to get this to Ben. This could be
the story of the year!” He looked around. “We just need proof.
Otherwise, no one is going to believe any of this.” He whipped out
his camera and started taking as many pictures as he could.
Han
snorted as he admired what had likely once been a jeweled spear.
“Sounds like Vader's been reading comic books on the sly.” Charel
snorted and tossed a stream of what sounded like gibberish in Han's
direction. “Ok, so I like Dick Tracy. And maybe Terry and
the Pirates. And sometimes Flash Gordon. They just draw
Dale Arden so well!”
They
all looked up at the same time as Charel let out what sounded
something like a growl to Leia. “Damn it. He says he hears
footsteps. Probably more of Vader's boys.” He grinned. “Char,
pick up that crate over there. I just hope there's nothing important
in it.” The moment the worker came in, Charel dropped the crate
over his head, knocking him out instantly. Harry grinned. “Nice
shot, buddy. Come on, let's get out of here.”
“Not
without my proof.” Leia grabbed the two statues she and Luke were
looking at and wrapped them in Harry's discarded white coat. “I
know this is stealing, but it's likely these were already stolen
anyway.”
Harry
nodded. “Probably smuggled goods. Wouldn't be surprised if Vader
has a whole operation going here.”
Leia
gave him a smirk. “And you'd know something about smuggling,
wouldn't you?”
Harry
had no trouble giving her a lazy grin back. “Maybe.”
Luke
held up his camera. “And I got my pictures. There should be enough
in here to at least start an inquiry as to where all this came from
and why it's missing pieces.”
Charel
peered out the door. He rushed over to Harry, letting loose with more
gibberish. Tarkin strode through the entrance moments later, followed
by Vader and more goons in white coats. “What's this?”
Luke
whipped his Argus camera out of his pocket. “Hey Tarkin, say
cheese!” Tarkin threw his hands over his face too late. The blond
youth chuckled. “That shot will go on the front page of tomorrow's
edition of the Daily Star.” He checked his lens. “I hope you
didn't break my camera. Did anyone ever tell you that you look like
Dr. Frankenstein?”
“I've
got a better idea, kid.” Harry hit the officer standing next to
him. Charel went with Luke's idea and started throwing them into
crates. Leia grabbed the nearest chair and swung it over an officer's
head, knocking him out instantly.
Vader
reached for the camera and Luke's hand, but the younger man held on
tightly. He finally smacked the boy on the side of his head, knocking
him to the floor unconscious.
Leia
wasn't going to let anyone hurt her brother. She climbed on a crate
and, wincing as she did so, hit Vader over the head with one of the
statues she had wrapped. He stumbled and let go of the camera.
Charel
threw Luke over his shoulder as Han's fist connected with Vader's
chin. It threw him back a few feet, enough for everyone to take off
and out the door. Leia reached for the camera...but Tarkin took her
arm.
“Oh
no, young lady. I believe there are things in this that we don't want
anyone seeing.” He opened the camera, took out the film, and threw
it back to her. “Tell your enterprising brother he should know
better than to cross the Empire.” She finally kicked Tarkin in his
tight boots. He let go of her, wincing, as she took off.
The
factory was a maze of smoke and gunshots. She found a fallen pistol
and fired off its two remaining bullets, more because she hoped to
obscure their exit than hit anyone. She did her job too well. She ran
into three pipes and Harry Solomon's chest before she got her
bearings.
Harry
gave her his trademark lazy smirk. She was already beginning to hate
it. “Well, hello down there, princess. You already can't get enough
of me.”
She
gave him her coldest glare. “Look, I don't know you. I only know
you're Luke's friend. He respects you, though I can't imagine why.
I'll play nice for my brother's sake, but from now on, you do as I
tell you, all right?”
Harry
could do death glares pretty well, too. “Look, Princess, let's get
one thing straight. I'm the head of an independent company. I take
orders from one person – me!”
Leia
brushed past him, tossing the spent gun aside. “It's a wonder
you're still alive.” She ducked around the hulking man carrying the
only real family she had left as she made for the exit.
The
Packard and hers and Luke's Ford were waiting just outside the main
entrance when they arrived. Artie leaned out the driver's side door
of the Packard, his cute smile a mile wide. “Where were you folks?
Clarence and the old man were ready to send out for the Army Reserves
to storm the joint!” His words were countered by a faint “We were
not!” from the front passenger seat.
Leia
had never been so happy to see Benton Kenobi lean out the driver's
side window of the Ford. His grizzled lips turned down in concern at
the sight of Luke in Charel's arms.“Is he all right, Leia?” his
clipped British accent asked with concern.
“I
think so.” She ducked as the whine of bullets were heard.
Harry
ran for cover in the Packard. “Don't these jerks ever give up?”
“Ben
and I will take Luke in the Ford.” Leia opened the back door and
helped Charel get her dazed brother in. “Thanks.” He gave her a
short bark of gibberish that might have been “You're welcome.”
“You take your friend in the Packard. Tell Artie we're going to the
nearest airport. We have to catch a flight to Coruscant.”
“Are
you crazy?” Harry leaned out of the Packard's passenger side
window, still shooting goons with his ancient, heavy black gun. “You
can't go to Coruscant, sweetheart! They're a military zone! They're
practicing for doomsday out there!”
“I
don't care if they're practicing for the Coruscant Blue Cheese
Festival.” She jumped in the back seat. “Mr. Kenobi, step on it.
We have to get that Sword.”
“Hello
to you too, Leia.” Benton chuckled as he started the car. “You
always were so impetuous. Just like your father.”
Leia
pulled away from the window in surprise. “You knew our father?”
Benton
nodded. “Yes. I joined him and your mother on many digs. He and I
were in the same unit together during the Great War. ” He closed
his eyes. “Now, to get that gate open. I clipped the wires, so it
shouldn't be any trouble.”
The
older man held out his hand and closed his eyes, his face screwed up
in concentration. Luke's eyes fluttered open just in time to see a
faint reddish light surround the fence. It swung open with a slight
creak.
Leia
and Luke exchanged similar flabbergasted expressions. “Wow,” Luke
breathed. “How did you do that, Ben? You never told me you were
Superman!”
Ben
chuckled. “Not Superman, young Luke. Just a newspaper man with some
abilities that stuck to him.” He leaned out the window. “Arthur,
follow me. I know a few tricks that will shake them.”
Artie
grinned and saluted him. “Yes sir, General!”
“Better
do it fast, old man.” Harry looked out the window as the cars took
off through the gate. “There's already three of them on our tail.”
Benton
took off down the dusty hillside road just as a hulking black
Duesenberg blasted out of the gates. Leia grabbed Luke, pulling him
away from the bullets. “Damn it, I think that's Vader. Can you
shake him, Ben?”
Ben
was already looking pale. “He still has them,” Leia heard him
murmur. “He can sense my presence. This is not good.”
Leia
grabbed her pistol. “What's not good?”
“Vader
knows where we are.” He sighed. “If I'm Superman, let's just say
he's a very, very powerful and strong mad scientist...or mad
archaeologist, as the case may be.”
Luke
was writing furiously in his battered old notebook. “I thought he
was discredited...whoa!”
The
young reporter was flung into his sister as the Ford swung around a
series of sharp curves. He made the mistake of peering out the
window. When he saw nothing but and endless stretch of steep gorge,
he pulled his head back inside, his face looking a little green under
its tan.
“He
was discredited.” Ben turned down a narrow lane that was little
more than a path. “Not only did a few too many of his theories tend
to come off as pure science fiction, but it's rumored that he killed
men at his final digs who got in the way of his plans...including
most of the remaining Jedi.”
Leia
leaned back in. “Aren't the Jedi a myth?”
“Hardly.
While they weren't as numerous as they had been in Alderaan even in
recent times, there were always at least fifty of them scattered
around the globe, protecting the Swords and their powers. Now,
they're all but extinct.” The older reporter turned another tight
curve, Artie barely following. “I'll explain more when we arrive at
the air field and are on our way to Coruscant.”
Leia
wanted to ask more questions, but she was distracted by screams and
the sound of an explosion. The three cars with Vader's goons had gone
off the hill and into the gorge, going too fast to take the tight
turns. Vader had rolled down with them. While he hadn't gone up in
flames, he had two flat tires. She snickered when he climbed down,
threw down his hat, and start stamping his foot like a spoiled child.
“That should keep him occupied.”
Ben
returned to the main road. “It should give us just enough time to
get to the air field. Luke, I've only been in the air a few times,
and then only on commercial flights. I'll need directions.”
Luke
nodded. “Right.” He leaned out the window, waving to Artie.
“We're going to the air field! Follow us!”
Leia
thought it was a bit of a disappointment. It consisted of one very
long, wide stretch of road, two rusted hangars that had seen better
days, a control tower that looked more like the Leaning Tower of
Pisa, and a few small buildings that seemed to have been built from
old airplane scraps.
The
airplane in the hangar also appeared to have been cobbled together
from scraps. Even five years or so before, she might have been a
worthy vehicle. Maybe. Now, the silvery outer shell was covered in
more patches than the quilt on her bed at the apartment, there was a
patch of something black and greasy under one worn wheel, and the
propeller was bent.
The
cars finally rolled to a stop next to an equally dilapidated truck
whose red color now more resembled rust than paint. “You work in
that thing, Harry?” Leia pointed to the silver mess in front of
her. “You're braver than I thought.”
Luke
smirked. “I've told him for ages that it's a piece of junk.”
“Funny,
you two.” Harry patted the door of the heavily patched vehicle.
“She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts. I
made a lot of special modifications myself.”
“Harry,”
Leia said quickly, “we need you to get us to Coruscant.”
“Nothin'
doin'.” The lanky pilot leaned against a wing. “I look out for
number one, sweetheart. I don't care about your swords or guns or
whatever. I have my own problems right now.” Charel's long stream
of gibberish sounded like a disagreement. “No, we don't have time
for this! Remember who's neck is on the line here. If I don't pay
that money to the Hutt, I'm a dead man.”
Leia
stood her ground. “I'll pay you. I could call UCLA right now.”
Harry
and Charel looked up at her as one, now very interested. “I want
ten thousand, doll.”
“Harry,”
Luke protested, “we could buy our own ship for that!”
“But
who's gonna fly it, kid?” Harry smirked at him. “You?”
“You
bet I could!” Luke's blue eyes snapped. “I'm not such a bad pilot
myself.”
Benton
Kenobi put up a hand to quiet both Skylarks. “We can pay you two
thousand now, plus five thousand more after we've found the Swords.”
“Seven
thousand, huh?” Harry leaned against the wing, looking like he was
thinking it over. “Ok, you got yourself a deal. Meet us back here
in about an hour.”
“What
are we going to do?” Luke frowned as he and Leia gathered with Ben
in a corner. “None of us have that kind of money.”
Benton's
blue eyes slid to Leia. “UCLA does.”
Leia
nodded firmly. “Dr. Mothma should be able to wire us most of it.
Luke, is there a pay phone anywhere?”
Her
brother waved a hand towards the collection of buildings near the
hangar. “There's one at Maz's Bar. I don't know if you should go in
there alone, though. It gets kind of rough.”
Leia
squared her shoulders. “I can take care of myself.”
The
bar was easy enough to find. It was the largest of the buildings that
leaned against each other on the road. It looked like it had been a
train dining car at one time. Now, it was a slightly rusted
Army-green with a weathered sign flapping in the wind that simply
said “Maz's.”
The
bar wasn't much prettier on the inside. Most of the furnishings must
have come from the train – they were battered and scarred. She
quickly asked a spry elderly negro lady with wild gray curls and
thick glasses where her phone was. “Over there, hon,” she said in
a no-nonsense tone, before returning to the narrow bar to throw out
two drunk pilots who were starting to get fresh with a waitress.
“Leia,”
Dr. Mothma said the moment she got through, “where are you? What
happened? Your brother called me and said you'd vanished, but they
had Bail's research.”
“I
did vanish. I'm fine now. It's a long story. And we do have Papa
Bail's research.” She plunked two more nickels in, ignoring the big
man in the orange flight jacket who was pointing to his cheap watch.
“I'm calling you because we need two thousand dollars to pay for a
flight to Coruscant.”
“Coruscant?”
Dr. Mothma sounded more frustrated than anything. “I thought the
Swords were in Guatemala. And why would you need two thousand to go
there? I know commercial flights can be expensive, but that's
absurd!”
“We're
not taking a commercial flight.” She now had a two-pilot line
behind her. “A friend of Luke's who runs a charter service is
flying us there.”
“I
don't know, Leia.” Dr. Mothma sounded hesitant. “Some of those
smaller charter services can be awfully dicey.”
“We
don't have a choice. He's the only one who'll take us there today.
We're leaving in an hour.” There were now three men glaring at her
behind the glass. She could have sworn one was the man in the green
and black suit and the dark sunglasses who was following her and Luke
earlier. She didn't like how he fingered something on his belt under
his jacket. “I'll pick up the money here. Look, I have to get off.
Not only is there a bunch of very impatient pilots behind me, but I
think I'm being followed.”
“Followed?”
“I
keep seeing the same man in the green suit and sunglasses. He was at
the party today, remember?”
“Oh,
him. He did seem to be a bit forbidding, with the glasses and all.”
The professor finally gave her a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. You'll
get all the money I can round up in an hour....as long as you call us
as soon as you've found the Swords.”
“Vader
has them,” Leia explained quickly. “He's using them for some kind
of cannon. I know it sounds crazy, but he's selling it to the Empire.
One sword is already in Coruscant.” She frowned as one of the men
tapped the glass. “I have to go. I'll see you in a few months, as
soon as we find those Swords.”
“I
don't like this, Leia. I really think you should...” Leia hung up
before she could chastise her further. She was going to find those
swords and stop whatever insane plot Vader was planning, whatever it
took.
Since
she still had time and she had to wait for her cable anyway, she sat
at a booth in the back and ordered a soda, burger and fries. As she
was finishing her burger, she heard a familiar voice.
“Yeah,
I was just about to go see your boss. I swear Gredoni, this time, I
have the money.” It was Harry Solomon. She'd know his gruff
mid-western accent anywhere. “I don't have it with me. Tell
Yasmin...”
Someone
said something very quickly in heavily accented Italian. Leia peered
over the back of the booth. She could only see the back of a man with
spiky black hair and a slightly greenish cast to his skin. Harry, now
wearing a brown leather jacket with his Air Corps cap, had his booted
feet on the table. “There's no way I'm goin' back with her. That's
over.”
More
rapid Italian, this time rather smug. Harry's voice darkened
noticeably. “You're touchin' the Falcon over my dead body.” Leia
ducked down in the booth, peering around the side. Her brown eyes
widened when she saw Harry holding a gun under the table. Gredoni was
starting to stand, his gun trained directly on Harry's chest. Harry
was still smirking. “I'll bet you've been lookin' forward to this.”
Leia
couldn't have said what happened next. The moment both men fired, she
withdrew, pulling herself into the back of the booth, her heart
pounding. Smoke drifted over the table. When she looked again,
Gredoni was slumped over the table and Harry was heading towards the
bar. “Sorry about the mess, Maz.” He tossed the old woman a coin.
“Solo,”
she said, catching the coin easily, “one of these days, you're
going to get into trouble you can't automatically talk or shoot
yourself out of.”
The tall pilot laughed. “Oh come on, Maz. I can talk my way out of anything.” He held up the still-smoking gun. “And when talkin' doesn't work, this does.”
Leia
jumped out of the booth. “You killed him?”
Harry
smirked. “Sweetheart, in my business, it's kill or be killed. I owe
his boss a little money. He came to collect. I wasn't ready to give
it to her yet.”
She
put her hand on her hips. “Is that why you asked for so much?”
“It's
my business, doll face.” He lowered his gun back in his holster.
“I'm gonna go talk to Charel. You still wanna do this?”
Leia
straightened her shoulders and tried not to look as shocked as she
felt. “Of course.”
“Then
I'll see you in a half-hour.” Her eyes followed him as he sauntered
out. Maz directed two men to drag Gredoni's body into the back.
Leia
grabbed her soda and remaining fries and sat at the bar. “How long
have you known Harry Solomon?”
Maz
laughed, a short, infectious bray. “Him? Since he was a snot-nosed
kid with a big mouth who hung around the pilots, asking them
questions about how the planes worked.”
“Is
he...trustworthy?”
Maz
adjusted her glasses. “No...but he's a better man than he thinks.”
The elderly woman squinted at Leia. “You know...I've owned this bar
for years, and I've seen a lot of eyes. When you live as long as I
have, you start to see the same eyes in people.” She squinted at
the young woman's large, dark brown eyes. “Your eyes are familiar.
Did you know any pilots?”
She
nodded. “My father flew in the war.”
“I
saw a lot of young men ship out to the war.” She squinted further.
“Many of them didn't come back...and others weren't in their right
minds. Didn't recognize their sweethearts, couldn't settle down. Got
violent. Wanted more than just ordinary work. They wanted power, the
power to change the world. To own the world.”
Leia
squirmed, not liking where this conversation was going. She downed
the soda and handed Maz twenty cents. “It was nice meeting you,
ma'am. Thank you for your hospitality.”
The
older woman took the coins gently. “Please. Call me Maz” She
nodded at the door. “Go talk to Harry. He needs to find home.”
“I'll
tell him that.” There was something about the way that old lady
just...stared...at her that made her uncomfortable. Matter of fact,
the entire afternoon had ranged from horrifying to unsettling. She
hurried out, Maz still watching her.
