The White Twi'lek/Chapter 9

But Fenn wasn't there, either at work or at his apartment when they managed to get the address out of his receptionist. So there was little choice but to return to the office and consider their options. Yet to Jali’s surprise, there was someone waiting for them, a tall blonde-haired young woman wearing a belted blue coat. Xhen quietly excused himself as she walked up to Jali.

“Well, well,” Jali teased, crossing his arms over his chest and giving her a long look, “if it isn’t the lovely Master Laras.”

Antiene folded her arms and stared right back at him. “Nice try to be suave, Dawler, but that sort of thing doesn’t work on me.”

“Well, that,” he waved his right hand about as he spoke, “sort of thing doesn’t work on me.” She gave him half a smile. “When did you figure it out that I was trying to mind-trick you?”

Jali shrugged. “Oh, about five seconds ago,” he admitted. “So, why have you come here? Didn’t Vantel tell you the latest?”

The Jedi’s face was expressionless. “I heard what happened this morning.”

Jali tilted his head to one side. “But why come here after you officially told me to keep my hands off the case?”

“New developments,” she answered. “There’s some things I need to talk to you about.”

Jali gestured to the door behind them. “Well, we’ll go into my office then.”

She shook her head. “No, not here.”

For a moment Jali said nothing. “Fine, we’ll get something to eat then, I was hungry.”

-

Normally, Jali would consider taking a woman to a restaurant qualified as a date. Yet this was clearly an exception. Jali didn’t know much about the Jedi more than what was generally known. He knew about the lightsabers, about the mysterious power they called the Force that made them do impossible things, and the fact they pretty much kept to themselves. In his time at the Security Force he had seen them once or twice, but that was about it. Jali always imagined they would be have far more showy and exciting ways of dispensing justice than the far more pedestrian mechanics of the law.

He told this to Antiene as they passed the Column Commons. She smiled and shook her head.

“They would like you to think that,” she said, nodding to the media offices they passed. “Somehow more regular things don’t grab the headlines. Like searching through a garbage scow in the dead of night, or taking the droid’s entrance to a collapsed building.”

“But I’ve still gotta say,” Jali admitted, “what you do, it is rather impressive.”

“These days it’s little different to what you do, Dawler,” Antiene replied.

“I've noticed,” Jali said, “and I’m still waiting to hear that story.”

“Keep waiting then,” she told him.

They went to Blackbird’s, a modest establishment that Jali had found almost by accident. It was small, rather stuffy inside but the food was good, didn’t mind if you smoked and the staff didn’t ask any questions. Which was why Jali had chosen it.

All the same, Antiene looked around for a few minutes after they sat down.

“I know it’s not the Manarai,” he said, feeling kind of anxious how she seemed to be always on alert, “but it isn’t bad here.”

Antiene picked up the menu. “I’ve been to the Manarai, it’s overrated.”

Jali swallowed uncomfortably. “Well, if you’ve been there.”

The conversation didn’t really start until they had ordered, when the droid waiter had gone back to the kitchen Antiene removed a print out from her pocket and placed it in front of Jali.

“There,” she said, “that’s pretty much why I came to see you.”

It was taken from a HoloNet news broadcast detailing the incident last night at Eastport where Nobu Djuren had been shot. A lump of guilt appeared in Jali’s throat as he read, then reread the article. He put it down and frowned at Antiene.

“I don’t see anything here that I don’t know already,” Jali told her, lighting up a cigarette, “unless you mean those politicians who complain about the so-called lack of security.”

“Like Senator Stoll of Vergoda?” Antiene asked.

The name was familiar. “What about him?”

She glanced at a chrono on the wall. “This morning, he complained to the Senate about the Jedi investigating minor security issues that were better suited to those more…dispensable.” She shrugged. “An hour later, I was taken off the case indefinitely.”

“By who?” Jali asked, drawing on the cigarette.

“The Jedi Council,” Antiene replied. “It’s just until this whole thing cools down. And that’s where you can help me out.”

Jali stared at her, the cigarette almost falling from his hand. “Excuse me?”

Antiene spoke in a low voice. “I want you to continue this for me, I got to a critical point and if I stop now it will all have been for nothing.”

Jali wasn't sure if he could believe this, he rested the cigarette on the ashtray. “You want me to pick up where you left off? Me have you as my client?”

The Jedi didn’t bat an eye. “You’ll be well-paid,” she assured.

“I wasn't doubting that,” Jali said, shaking his head. “It just strikes me as very strange that a Jedi would ask for help.”

“Jedi ask for help,” Antiene assured him, “just not as often as everyone else. So what do you say?”

Jali considered this, picking up the cigarette. “You are going to tell me the whole story, aren’t you? From the beginning?”

“Once you agree to it, yes,” Antiene replied.

“And what’s your level of involvement going to be?” Jali asked. “You already know I don’t take kindly to being bossed around.”

“I realise that,” Antiene admitted. “And my role will be minimal, unless you want my help?”

This amused Jali, how many people did he know could call on their own personal Jedi?

“All right, I’ll take it,” he said, he put the cigarette down and offered his hand to her; the agreement was made. “Now, start talking,” picking up the cigarette again and inhaling deeply. “We can start with Elya Vertey’s death, as I don’t know anything about that.”

“It wasn’t a suicide, as you may have suspected,” Antiene answered, “she had a toxic gas thrust under her nose and she died instantly.” She looked up at Jali. “The whole out-the-window thing was just a ruse to make it look like she killed herself.”

“It wasn’t very well-done, then,” Jali noted.

“No, it wasn’t,” Antiene agreed, “whoever carried it out wasn’t some professional, not someone used to killing, anyway. In fact,” she added, “the only foresight they did have was making that recorded call to get you over there. Elya couldn’t have made that call, she was dead by then.

“I should have warned her, though,” Jali said, more to himself that to Antiene. “I should have expected it.” He went over the details in his mind, finishing off the cigarette. “Have you seen security records from the time?”

“The cameras were playing up and the images blurry and distorted,” Antiene answered with a dry smile. “It’s hard to tell if someone is Hutt or Human, so there’s no help there.”

“And what was it that killed her?” Jali asked. “Is it hard to get?”

Antiene smiled grimly. “Not really,” she said. “It’s just Tolium gas, the same kind used in blasters, they just had an open cartridge of it and thrust it right under her nose. Death only took a few seconds.”

Jali took a breath, trying to forget about Elya’s death for the moment. “So,” he said at last, “where do you fit in with all of this?”

“It started about a year ago,” she said. “I was investigating a pirate gang called the Alects operating out of the Mid-Rim,” she explained, “once they were gone, I started tracking their weapons-suppliers and traced them to the Prackla Sector, but the shipments were coming from Coruscant.” She looked at him. “When I finally found the source of the shipments, they had a diplomatic immunity stamped on them, so instead of wasting time trying to get them searched I looked for the where the gas was coming in.”

“Did you find them?” Jali asked.

“No, and I was about to when you came blustering in and fragged up everything,” she said, giving Jali a smile as she spoke. “Nobu told me about the blaster gas shipments coming in through Eastport, and I wanted to track them to the actual factory.” She smiled. “I knew from there I could get the supplier.

“So,” Jali said after a moment’s thought, remembering that receipt he had found, “that was what Vertey stumbled on.”

Antiene nodded. “Here’s something else you might be interested in.” She passed him a flimsy, it was a picture of a cocktail napkin. In the corner there was the name and the address of the Idobal. But on the napkin, were two lines of writing. The first line read, ‘Black Prince, Eastport, Level 4, Bay 321-F75, 17:30’ and a date of a few days previously. On the next line were the words, ‘Shadowfire, Eastport, Level 4, Bay 28-E71, 17:04’ and a date of a few days later.

Jali looked at her. “This was in Vertey’s pocket, wasn't it?”

She nodded again.

Jali frowned. “But I didn’t see any writing on it.”

Antiene raised her eyebrows. “You didn’t look at it under ultraviolet light, did you now? Didn’t you notice that in the Idobal?”

Jali laughed. “I should have,” he said. “So Vertey was planning to do something? To go there or go to the authorities. Hang on,” he looked at the picture. “That date, it’s the same, and the time, seventeen-thirty twenty minutes after he’s been confirmed seeing leaving the Idobal, I’d like to think Vertey was planning to go there that night.”

“But did he get there?” Antiene asked. “That’s the question I’ve been trying to answer.”

“Either, he was seen at Eastport and that’s where it happened,” said Jali, thinking aloud. “Or, more likely, he was stopped on the way there. And if Nobu and Trevali put out the word that he knew…” Jali knew he hadn't needed to continue the sentence, Nuada’s people could move very swiftly if there was a need.

“I hardly think it happened at Eastport,” Antiene said gently. “It’s too crowded, far too many people.”

“You’re assuming it happened out in the open,” Jali reminded her. “I’d still like to know how he found out about those particular shipments.”

“It’s hardly likely,” said the Jedi Knight. “Anyway, Vertey couldn’t have told anyone else or the second shipment wouldn’t have gone ahead.” She paused for a moment, reflecting. “But I'm not surprised at him wanting to stop them. Some of that stuff they were getting is pretty bad.”

“But it’s just blaster gas,” Jali objected, “it’s bad, bad that weapons are being made illegally, but nothing to make you get up and dance with a Hutt.”

Antiene smiled wryly. “Have you heard of sig?”

Jali cockily raised an eyebrow. “Should I have?”

She ignored his sarcasm. “Sig is a gas that the Republic has been trying to ban ever since it came on the market,” she explained. “The Alects had it, and that was why they were such a problem. I reckon it could even burn through Mandalorian iron.”

Jali had no idea what Mandalorian iron was, but didn’t bother to ask. “So, if they’re still shipping the gas in, they’re still making weapons, and they’re still supplying pirate groups.”

“More than pirate groups,” Antiene said. “Quite a lot of planetary security bodies are getting them. There’s probably more, but I didn’t have time to look further. And that’s not everything,” she added, “there’s someone else behind the whole operation I haven’t been able to find yet.”

“Let me guess,” Jali broke in, “the Silver Ring.”

“You know more than I gave you credit for,” Antiene said.

“It’s not much, I’ve had dealings with them before,” Jali told her.

“I heard,” Antiene replied just as the waiter came back with their food.

“So how much do you know that I don’t?” Jali asked when he had left.. “All I've met is Nuada Vekstar, unless you count the people he hires.”

“I don’t consider them part of the organisation,” Antiene said dismissively, “but that’s how he operates, and it’s so no one finds out who really is controlling things at the centre.”

“That’s a bit unusual,” Jali said as he applied a liberal coating of pepper to his meal. He knew from his experiences that while crime bosses didn’t exactly dine on their reputations, they were well-known even if only for their notoriety.

“And that’s why it works so well,” Antiene said, “with someone like Vekstar as the front man, whoever’s is behind him must be pretty bad.”

“But you’ve found that out, haven’t you?” Jali smiled, cutting in to his manatee steak.

Antiene looked at him, annoyed. “How did you know that?”

Jali shrugged. “You wouldn’t be talking about it if you didn’t already know.”

Antiene rolled her eyes. “All right, I did find out.” She speared some of her salad with her fork. “I got a name, not that it means anything.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Jali agreed. “So what is the name?” He put a small portion of the steak in his mouth.

She made a face that had nothing to do with the salad she had just consumed. “Aurek.”

Jali blinked. “What sort of name is that?” He asked between mouthfuls. “I could have come up with a better one in ten seconds.”

“I’ll bet,” she answered skeptically, picking up some more of he salad, “and the only thing that the name tells me is that it’s another front, someone who doesn’t want to be known for one reason or another.”

“Such as a well-known person?” Jali suggested, cutting another piece of his steak off.

“Trust me, a well-known person would be much easier to imitate, providing of course you could find a way to scam the voiceprint and biometric recognitions,” she answered dryly. “This ‘Aurek’, whoever he is, is probably someone who no one knows at all.”

“They may not even exist,” Jali pointed out, when the Jedi gave him a confused look Jali hastened to explain. “Listen,” he said, putting down his knife and fork, “it’s the perfect scenario, a leader who no one sees but everyone gets orders from. They never die, but because they’re never really there, the front is all there is.”

Antiene considered this, chewing thoughtfully. “That’s an interesting proposition,” she said finally. “But it doesn’t help at the moment when all we have is a name.”

“True,” agreed Jali, picking up his knife and fork and attacking his steak again. “You were talking about the weapons shipments, weren’t you?” He put another forkful of manatee in his mouth.

“I was still looking for a way to track the gas to where the weapons were made,” she continued, playing with the food on her plate, “and then Vertey was killed. Following that, one by one the contacts I tried to make were eliminated.”

“What about Fenn?” Jali asked. “I asked about him right after I left Vantel this morning, but no one had seen him.”

“Well I don’t know where he is either,” Antiene replied. “Maybe his absence tells us a lot more than when he’s actually there. So really,” she finished, “you either have to find the factory yourself, or someone who can lead you to it. I've exhausted all my contacts, do you know anyone?” So that’s why she came to me, Jali realised, she simply didn’t know who to turn to next. But then again, neither did he. However…

“There is someone else I’d like to find,” Jali said, pushing a bit of steak around his plate to soak up the creamy sauce, “a white Twi’lek named Trevali. Apparently, she had something to do with the payments to Fenn.”

“You know how to find her?” Antiene asked, a portion of green and red half-way to her mouth.

“No,” Jali admitted, wondering why he hadn’t considered it before, “but I do know someone who does.”