'There always is,' Obi-Wan said. 'We just walk in the front door.'
Chapter Five
The Jedi arrived at their villa. It was modest, considering the neighborhood, but it was still several cuts above the places Obi-Wan and Anakin usually stayed on a mission. The sleep couches were deep and piled with luxurious coverlets. The reception rooms were large and sunny. A garden off the kitchen held flowering plants and flourishing vegetables and herbs.
'Are you sure we have to leave here in two days?' Anakin asked wonderingly.
Siri was completely uninterested in her surroundings. 'They've created a paradise within the city walls, but it's an empty one. There is no economy to speak of. Did you see those stores? Expensive things to buy, but nobody except Teda and his confederates can afford them. And the workers live in misery right outside the walls.' She shook her head. 'How can anyone enjoy all this, knowing that?'
'It doesn't surprise me,' Obi-Wan said. 'They are glad they are inside the city walls, not outside. Now, we'd better get started.' He turned to Anakin and Ferus. 'Siri and I will make the first visit to Zan Arbor to gather information. In the meantime, you two should do some basic reconnaissance. Walk the streets. Have conversations. Note security, traffic patterns, and escape routes.'
'Any specific objectives in mind?' Ferus asked. 'No,' Obi-Wan said.
'You never know what will turn out to be useful later.'
'I've studied the maps of the city,' Ferus said. 'I'm sure I can plot possible escape routes or — '
Obi-Wan interrupted him curtly. 'Maps are useful, but I learned something else from Qui-Gon. A map is not the territory. Go.'
The two Padawans hurried off. Siri adjusted her utility belt. 'I'm assuming you have a plan.'
'Almost,' Obi-Wan said. 'Just follow my lead. Unless…'
'Unless?'
'Unless you'd rather stop off at Teda's for that lunch,' Obi-Wan teased. He ducked as an overstuffed pillow, lifted by the Force, flew straight at his head.
It was easy to get an audience with Jenna Zan Arbor. Obi-Wan merely announced at 'the front gate that Slam and Valadon wished to see her.
Apparently, egomaniacal evil scientists and master thieves needed no introduction, for they were ushered inside immediately.
They were led to a room overlooking the gardens by a tall, hulking Phlog who was obviously a bodyguard. His gigantic hands pushed open a pair of double doors. As he walked through, his head barely cleared the doorway.
Zan Arbor sat in a chair perfectly positioned to backlight her bright hair and soften her features. She wore a simple silver gown with an azure belt.
Obi-Wan hadn't seen her in eighteen years. During that time he had changed much. He was taller. Older. Less surprised at the galaxy, and more rueful. Maybe sadder. On his occasional glimpses in a mirror, he saw the years on his face. It did not concern him; the fact that the years marked him was inevitable and right. Yet Zan Arbor looked almost unchanged from when he had known her. No doubt she consulted the best medical data in the galaxy to keep herself looking so well-preserved.
Obi-Wan bowed. 'Thank you for seeing us.'
Even while she smiled a greeting, Zan Arbor's green eyes ticked over him and Siri. 'We new arrivals on Romin should stick together,' she said.
'Great Leader Teda has told me of your accomplishments. I was eager to make your acquaintance. Your reputation precedes you.'
'As does yours,' Obi-Wan complimented.
Zan Arbor waved at two ornate chairs placed in front of her. As Obi- Wan and Siri sat, she began to pour tea from a silver pot. The cups were made of translucent porcelain that Obi-Wan could see was among the finest the galaxy had to offer. Lovely urns and bowls were placed in a cabinet made of gleaming wood with fittings carved from rare stones. He looked around the beautifully appointed room. How had Zan Arbor managed to set herself up in such luxury so soon?
'And how are you finding Romin so far?' she asked, handing Siri a cup while seeming to notice every detail of her dress, down to her bare legs and her soft gold boots. Zan Arbor's lips pressed together in some kind of disapproval.
'We've only just arrived,' Siri said. 'But we are delighted to find it so pleasant and luxurious. Not to mention safe.'
'Yes, you will not have to worry here,' Zan Arbor said, handing a cup to Obi-Wan. 'Great Leader Teda protects his friends. Romin is a perfect place to retire.' She took a sip of tea, lowering her eyelids.
'Or not,' Obi-Wan said.
Zan Arbor looked up.
'It is also,' Obi-Wan said loudly, 'a perfect place from which to do business.'
Zan Arbor inclined her head. 'That, too. Or so I hear.'
'And we are far too young to retire,' Siri said, following Obi-Wan's lead.
'As are you, I am sure,' Obi-Wan said.
Carefully, Zan Arbor put her teacup down on a polished stone table.
