“A shortcut,” said the vice-chair. He allowed himself a smile. “This ventilation shaft opens directly onto Level Two. And - lucky for you! - the Kuat vaults are not far at all.”
Without warning he grabbed the controls. The power generator roared to life. With a shudder the airspeeder bucked forward. Then, as Kos hit the throttle, the craft zoomed straight up.
Boba grabbed hold of his seat. This was more like it! He eyed the airspeeder’s controls longingly. The craft rocked back and forth. It rose so quickly Boba’s ears hurt from the abrupt change in air pressure. He looked aside at Kos piloting the craft.
I could fly this thing better than he can, Boba thought disdainfully.
Still, he had to admit, the vice-chair did go fast. Mere minutes passed, as they flew up, up, up.
Sooner than Boba could have imagined, the speeder came to a halt.
“Well then,” said Kos. The speeder hovered in the air of the shaft. A few feet away was a wall, and a door with a sign on it.
LEVEL TWO, it read in glowing green letters.
A small metal platform extended from the door, hanging out over empty space. Boba turned and looked behind him. More emptiness. He looked up, squinting in the darkness.
He could barely make it out, but there it was. Far above him was a faint red shimmer: Level One. He looked down. He gulped. They must be miles and miles above the Undercity.
“Now.” Kos turned to Boba. His eyes had grown even more intent, even more menacing. “You see that door there? I will open it, and allow you to enter Level Two - but not until you tell me what you know.”
Boba’s gaze shifted from the man to the platform. If he jumped from the airspeeder, he might be able to make it. But even if he succeeded, the door was locked.
And if he fell
Boba swallowed. He thought of his father: No matter how Jango felt, he would always appear brave.
A lot of the time I’m scared, Boba, he had once said. But if an enemy ever knows you’re afraid, you’re finished.
Boba imagined he was as strong and powerful as his father. He imagined himself looking unafraid - even though that was not how he felt.
He said, “San Hill is raising money for the Separatist cause. The Separatists are united behind Count Dooku - “
The vice-chairs’s face twisted angrily. “That’s not news! Everyone knows that - “
“I’m not finished,” said Boba coolly. “Did you know that a man named Tyranus recruited a bounty hunter named Jango Fett for the Kaminoans to use to create a clone army for the Republic.”
“I’d heard things like that,” Kos admitted, growing more interested.
“Well, I know this: Dooku and Tyranus are the same person.”
The official stared at him in disbelief. After a moment he started to laugh. “You really had me going for a minute,” he said. Then his face darkened. “But I have no time to waste - tell me the truth! What do you know?”
Boba hesitated. He knew he was putting his own life in danger by sharing this secret. But it was the only weapon he had.
“He is helping to build two armies,” Boba went on slowly. “He has spent millions - billions - on both the droids and the clones. And in the end, only he will benefit from a war.”
Boba thought how foolish his own words sounded. But, strangely, the vice-chair seemed to hear them differently.
“Tyranus… is Dooku?” he said in a low voice. “But - “
He shook his head. He looked stunned and disbelieving, but Boba could tell that the seeds of doubt had been sown.
“Are you certain of this?” Kos asked after a minute. “This is treason. The highest kind of treason.”
Boba nodded. Kos stared, thinking, at the control panel. Finally he said, almost to himself, “I must tell San Hill.”
Without another word he steered the airspeeder over to the platform. The craft rocked gently back and forth in the air. The official reached forward and pressed a button. The door onto Level Two slid open.
“Get out,” he said curtly. “Before I change my mind and kill you.”
Boba jumped out, his heart pounding. It took him a second to get his balance. Then he raced toward the open door.
“Wait - ” the vice-chair called from behind him. Boba turned. The man half-stood in his airspeeder, his blaster drawn.
“You took too long,” Kos said in a low voice. “I changed my mind.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
With a gasp Boba turned an sprinted for the door. But before he reach it, an explosion sounded behind him. He looked back and saw Kos turning to stare at something below his airspeeder. There was the drone of a hoverbike and another explosive burst that shook the speeder. An instant later, the hoverbike itself came into view. Riding it was a familiar, red-haired figure.