"No. I don"t have time," Lena said with her familiar resolve.
"We"ll sneak in, and I"ll find a way to get Zanita alone. Or maybe I"ll find what I need on my own and we won"t need her help after all. We might be able to get additional information. Having several of the Cobrals present could turn out to be a good thing. "
Or a deadly one, Qui-Gon thought.
Lena parked her speeder at the far end of the row, next to a metal statue.
"We can get in through the galley," she said, motioning with her head toward a small entrance.
Qui-Gon watched as Lena and Obi-Wan moved silently into position by the galley door. Moments later a cooking servant emerged. He did not notice as Lena slipped her foot into the door, preventing it from closing. When the servant rounded the edge of the building, Qui-Gon slipped into the galley after Lena and Obi-Wan.
The entrance had been too easy.
The cooking quarters were vast, with rows of gleaming countertops and food storage units. Servants bustled about, busily preparing a large meal.
Lena waited until most of the servants had their backs to the door, then pulled up her hood and walked through the quarters. She carried herself with such authority that n.o.body bothered to ask who she was or where she was going.
Soon after entering a spectacularly long hallway covered in lush, thick carpet, she ducked into a small room and pulled Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon in after her. The room held several holoscreens.
"This used to be a guard station," Lena explained. "But when her husband died Zanita didn"t think she needed as much protection, so it"s no longer used."
Qui-Gon felt slightly relieved. At least there was an explanation for the easy entrance.
Lena adjusted one of the holoscreens until it showed a large dining room filled with people.
"It"s Bard"s birthday," Lena said with relief. A large Fregan birth celebration banner lay across the dining table. "I should have remembered."
The crowd milled about the room, smiling and carrying gla.s.ses filled with red liquid. At first glance it looked like any other party.
Qui-Gon looked harder.
"There"s Zanita," Lena said, pointing to a tall older woman dressed in a black gown covered in tiny smokats. A large scarf was wrapped attractively around her head like a turban. In spite of her age she was easily the most striking person in the room. Qui-Gon was surprised by her commanding presence and the way she set people around her at ease - laughing, smiling, and making sure they were taken care of. Then something else caught his eye.
"Is that Solan?" he asked quietly, pointing at a scowling man in the corner.
"Yes, how did you know?" Lena asked. Qui-Gon raised his eyebrows but said nothing. His eyes stayed trained on Solan. Like Zanita, the frowning man was surrounded by a large group of people. But none of the people near Solan seemed to be enjoying his company. They simply stood nervously by.
Suddenly Solan stood. A woman next to him rushed to take his empty cup and napkin. Someone else asked if they could get anything for him, but he brushed them off with a wave of his hand. Solan approached the guest of honor, a man shorter than him but who otherwise bore a striking resemblance to him. It was the middle brother, Bard.
Casually tossing an arm over Bard"s shoulder, Solan interrupted the conversation and steered him toward the outer edges of the party. He spoke in hushed tones.
"They"re all afraid of him," Obi-Wan remarked.
Qui-Gon was glad to see the stiffening shoulders of the younger brother had not escaped the attention of his apprentice. "Exactly," said Qui-Gon. "Even his family is fearful."
Lena held up a hand to silence the Jedi. "Zanita"s leaving the party, " she whispered. "This is my chance."
Without another word Lena slipped out the door, leaving the Jedi to watch her on the holoscreen. She made her way down the long hallway toward the library. It was a large room, with towering shelves of important- looking books and polished furniture. Zanita was inside, apparently taking a moment to relax.
Qui-Con felt a strange unease. In spite of Zanita"s pleasing manner he did not think the meeting would go well.
Obi-Wan leaned close to the screen. Lena entered the library unseen by the other guests.
The look on Zanita"s face when she saw her daughter-in-law was one of sheer pleasure. The older woman stood and embraced Lena, holding her close for a long time.
Obi-Wan fiddled with the projection controls beneath the screen, tuning out the party guests until all they heard were the voices of Lena and Zanita in the library.
"But, my dear, why would you hide from your family?" Zanita asked, her voice filled with concern.
"I was afraid," Lena explained. "And without Rutin, I didn"t know what you would think of me.
"You will always be a Cobral," Zanita said solemnly, looking thoughtfully at her daughter-in-law. "But why were you afraid?"
Lena hesitated, then lowered her voice. "I am afraid because I think Solan had Rutin Killed."
Zanita staggered back before sinking onto a large, comfortable-looking sofa. Her skin paled and she reached a shaking hand toward Lena.
"It was my greatest fear," Zanita whispered as tears sprang to her eyes. "I did not want it to be true. And yet, when I look into my heart, I know you are not lying."
She pulled a piece of embroidered cloth from her pocket and wiped her eyes before going on. "I tried to stop Solan, to make him see reason, but it was too late," she sobbed again. "And now Rutin is gone."
Kneeling beside her, Lena comforted Zanita as best she could. She also told Zanita all she knew of Rutin"s plan to end the crime ring. "I know it will not be easy for you to hear, but now I am planning to testify against the family. Rutin"s dearest wish has become mine as well.
I want to stop the violence," Lena explained, looking into her mother-in-law"s eyes. "And I need your help."
In the guard room, Qui-Gon detected a slight quaver in Lena"s voice. He could not fault her, of course. She was asking Zanita to join her in betraying her own family - her own children.
Zanita kept her eyes on her lap, but let go of Lena"s hand. Her commanding presence seemed somehow diminished as she sat unmoving on the sofa. At last she looked up at the portrait hanging on the library wall.
It was a picture of three men, the Cobral brothers. Rutin stood proudly in the center.
"Yes," she breathed. "It must stop."
CHAPTER 5.
Zanita sat quietly for another long moment. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. "There is a set of doc.u.ments," she said slowly. "I think I can get them for you. But you must promise me that you will not link my name to the testimony in any way."
"Of course not, Zanita," Lena a.s.sured her. She squeezed her mother-in-law"s shoulder. "I know the violence and corruption are not your doing."
Zanita seemed to become empowered while her mind worked. It reminded Qui-Gon of Lena. "It will take me some time to get the doc.u.ments. Perhaps by tomorrow night," she said. "I must be very, very careful. If Solan were to suspect - "
Suddenly a loud voice boomed just outside the library door. Qui-Gon"s face registered concern. It was a man"s voice, and it sounded angry.
Lena let go of her mother-in-law"s arm and put a finger to her lips. Without wasting a second she got to her feet and ducked behind a heavy curtain covering the library"s transparisteel portal.
A moment later the door slid open and Solan thundered into the room. "Mother," he said sternly, looking at her as if she were a child who needed scolding. "What are you doing in here?"
Zanita looked evenly at her son. She was not a child, and it appeared that she did not appreciate being treated like one. "I was just having a moment to myself," she replied simply. Her face showed no sign of fear.
Solan tapped his foot on the floor impatiently. "You are the hostess of your son"s birthday celebration," he stated. "It is not appropriate for you to slip away to have a moment to yourself. If necessary you can do that when the party is over."
"Stop bullying me, Solan. This is my house, and I"ll do as I like."
She looked her son in the face.
Solan blinked and stepped backward. "Juno needs you in the kitchen," he said more quietly. "He is not clear about which service platters you would like to use for dinner."
"Fine. I will go and discuss it with him," Zanita replied.
"Good. Then come back to the party."
Zanita did not acknowledge the fact that her son had just given her an order. Instead she followed him easily out of the library. She did not turn around as the door quietly closed behind her.
After waiting a few moments, Lena left the room as well. Minutes later she met up with the Jedi in the guard station.
"I a.s.sume you heard all of that," she said. "He infuriates me, talking to his own mother like that. Sometimes I wish she"d really put him in his place." Her voice quieted. "But I suppose that might get her killed. "
Lena paused while her quick mind moved on to the next thought. Her eyes were suddenly lit with excitement. Qui-Gon wasn"t sure if it was the thrill of escape or the result of the meeting with her mother-in-law.
"Isn"t it great?" she asked, perhaps a little too brightly. "Zanita is going to help us. I knew she would. Leave it to a woman to understand that the violent ways of the crime world can only lead to destruction and hate."
Qui-Gon could not help but think of Jenna Zan Arbor, a mad female scientist who had conducted horrible experiments on live human subjects - including him. He knew many women who lived lives of crime and violence.
But he didn"t say anything.
"Anyway, I"m very relieved. The meeting couldn"t have gone better."
"It does look as though your mother-in-law is willing to help you get testimony," Qui-Gon agreed. "Let"s just hope she keeps her word."
Lena nodded as she turned back to the security screens. "We still have to get out of here without being discovered," she said. She looked at each screen in turn, noting the whereabouts of everyone in the house.
Qui- Gon knew she was trying to figure out the best time to leave.
"Follow me," Lena said after a moment. She slid open the guard station door and peered into the hallway. She motioned to the Jedi, and they all stepped out of the room. Zanita was still in the cooking quarters with Juno, so they left through another, rarely used entrance at the side of the mansion.
As they made their way outside, Qui-Gon considered the Cobral family. On the surface they appeared like any other family - close and loving, but not without tension. Beneath the surface, however, lay dark ties. There was fear there, and possibly hatred as well.
Of course, this did not entirely surprise Qui-Gon. A family that ruled a planet with corruption and violence was bound to have a sinister web woven within it.
Distracted by his own thoughts, Qui-Gon did not sense any nearby danger. It was Obi-Wan who cried out first.
"Look out!" he shouted, pushing Qui-Gon and Lena away from their landspeeder.
As the three of them tumbled to the ground, a huge metal statue thundered down where they had been standing. It crashed into the front end of their landspeeder, missing them by mere centimeters.
Their vehicle was destroyed. And if not for a few seconds of warning, they might have been killed, too.
CHAPTER 6.
The Jedi and Lena were still on the ground when Zanita and Juno came rushing out the cooking quarters door. Qui-Gon felt Lena tense at the sight of the servant, and for a brief moment Juno glared at her. But his face shifted quickly into a look of concern.
"Are you all right?" he asked, holding out a hand to help her up.
Lena got to her feet on her own and brushed herself off. "Fine,"
she replied briskly. She casually scanned the area to see if anyone else was coming. It was a good thing they had parked their vehicle on the opposite side of the mansion from the entertaining quarters.
Qui-Gon was impressed with Lena"s composure. And he didn"t need to glance at his Padawan to know that Obi-Wan was as well.
Zanita"s turban was askew, and the older woman seemed slightly out of breath. But she did not show any surprise at the fact that Lena had come to her home with two companions she had never met.
"We really must strengthen the base of that statue," Juno said, eyeing the giant metal sculpture on the ground. "It"s quite unsafe."
"Quite," Qui-Gon agreed dryly.
"Zanita, do you remember Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi and Qui-Gon Jinn?" Lena asked, raising her eyebrows slightly at her mother-in-law. "They are friends of mine."
Qui-Gon knew instinctively that Lena was trying to lead her late husband"s mother away from saying out loud, or even somehow suggesting, that she had never met them before. He guessed that this was because of Juno"s presence.
"Of course," Zanita replied easily. "How nice to see you again."
Qui-Gon smiled with a graciousness he didn"t feel. "And you as well," he said, taking her hand for a moment in the Fregan custom.
Juno appeared annoyed that he hadn"t been introduced to the Jedi.
Clearing his throat loudly, he stepped toward the group. "You must come inside and rest," he declared. "We have a medical droid who can examine you for injuries."
Qui-Gon tried not to grimace as he realized that a family like the Cobrals probably needed its own medical droid. But there was something odd about Juno"s offer. Qui-Gon was quite sure that in spite of the look of concern he wore, the servant was not truly worried about their welfare. Perhaps he had other motives for wanting to get the group back inside the house.
"I"m sure that won"t be necessary, Juno," Zanita said pointedly.
"Lena and her friends were just leaving." She looked around furtively.
After the exchange with her son in the library, Qui-Gon guessed that the mention of going inside - or the possibility of someone coming out - made her nervous.
"You can borrow a landspeeder, Lena," she added. "It"s the least I can do."