Jango continued to stare at him, to try to see the intent behind his words, Obi-Wan knew. And then, as if it hardly mattered, the bounty hunter gave a toothy smile. 'They'll do their job well. I'll guarantee that.' 'Like their source?'
Jango Fett continued to smile.
'Thanks for your time, Jango,' Obi-Wan said against that uncompromising stare. Then he turned to Taun We and started for the door.
'Always a pleasure to meet a Jedi,' came the reply. It was heavy with double meaning, almost like a veiled threat.
But Obi-Wan wasn't about to call him on it. Jango Fett was clearly a dangerous man, streetwise and cunning, and likely better than most with any weapon handy. Before he pushed things any further, Obi-Wan realized that he should relay all that he had learned thus far back to Coruscant and the Jedi Council. This discovery of a clone army was nothing short of amazing, and more than a little unsettling, and none of it made much sense. And was Jango the rocket-man Obi-Wan had seen in Coruscant that night when Padme Amidala had been attacked?
Obi-Wan's gut told him that Jango was, but how did that jibe with the man also being the host for a clone army supposedly commissioned by a former Jedi Master?
With Taun We beside him, the Jedi left the apartment, and the door slid closed behind him. Obi-Wan paused and focused his senses back, even reaching out with the Force. The door lock quietly secured.
'It was his starfighter, wasn't it, Dad?' Boba Fett asked. 'He's a Jedi Knight, so he can use the Arfour-Pea.' Jango gave his son an absent nod.
'I knew it!' Boba squealed, but then Jango abruptly stole the moment. Jango fixed Boba with a no-nonsense look that the young boy had learned well not to ignore.
'What is it, Dad?'
'Pack your things. We're leaving.'
Boba started to reply, but-
'Now,' the bounty hunter said, and Boba practically tripped over himself, scrambling for his bedroom.
Jango Fett shook his head. He didn't need this aggravation. Not at this time. Not for the first time, the bounty hunter questioned his decision to take the contract against Padme Amidala. He had been surprised when the Trade Federation had approached him with the offer. They had been adamant, explaining only that the death of the Senator was critical to securing necessary allies, and they had made an offer too lucrative for Jango to refuse, one that would set him and Boba up forever on a planet of their choosing.
Little had Jango known, though, that taking the contract on Senator Amidala would put him in the crosshairs of the Jedi Knights.
He looked across the way to Boba.
That was not a place he wanted to be at this time. Not at all.
Chapter Seventeen
Padme awoke suddenly, her senses immediately tuning in to her surroundings. Something was wrong, she knew instinctively, and she jumped up, scrambling about out of fear that another of those centipede creatures was upon her. But her room was quiet, with nothing out of place. Something had awakened her, but not something in here. 'No!' came a cry from the adjoining bedroom, where Anakin was sleeping. 'No! Mom! No, don't!'
Padme slipped out of bed and ran to the door, not even bothering to grab a robe, not even caring or noticing that she was wearing a revealing silken shift. At the door, she paused and listened. Hearing cries from within, followed by more jumbled yelling, she realized that there was no immediate danger, that this was another of Anakin's nightmares, like the one that had gripped him on the shuttle ride to Naboo. She opened the door and looked in on him.
He was thrashing about on the bed, yelling 'Mom!' repeatedly. Unsure, Padm started in.
But then Anakin calmed and rolled back over, the dream, the vision, apparently past.
Then Padme did become aware of her revealing dress. She moved back through the door, shutting it gently, then waited for a long while. When she heard no further screaming or tossing, she went back to her bed.
She lay awake in the dark for a long, long while, thinking of Anakin, thinking that she wanted to be in there beside him, holding him, helping him through his troubled dreams. She tried to dismiss the notion-they had already covered this dangerous ground and had come to an understanding of what must be. And that agreement did not include her climbing into bed beside Anakin.
The next morning, she found him on the east balcony of the lodge, overlooking the lake and the budding sunrise. He was standing by the balustrade, so deep in thought that he did not notice her approach. She moved up slowly, not wanting to disturb him, for as she neared, she realized that he was doing more than thinking here, that he was actually deep in meditation. Recognizing this as a private time for Anakin, she turned and started away, as quietly as she could.
'Don't go,' Anakin said to her.
'I don't want to disturb you,' she told him, surprised.
'Your presence is soothing.'
Padme considered those words for a bit, taking pleasure in hearing them, then scolding herself for taking that pleasure. But still, as she stood there looking upon him, his face now serene, she couldn't deny the attraction. He seemed to her like a young hero, a budding Jedi-and she had no doubt that he would be among the greatest that great Order had ever known. And at the same time, he seemed to her to be the same little kid she had known during the war with the Trade Federation, inquisitive and impetuous, aggravating and charming all at once.
