[Boba Fett] - 4(10)
Ygabba shrugged. “I guess so. All I know is that he takes whatever we steal for him. He gets the fortune, and we get scraps. If we’re lucky.”
“Does he work alone?”
“No,” said Ygabba. “He has soldiers. Mercenaries. And droids.”
She began to walk down the alley. She picked her way carefully among dead weeds and heaps of burned-out circuitry. Boba stayed at her side. He didn’t put the helmet on yet. He had a feeling that he might attract more attention if he did.
A Mandalorian warrior, followed by a bunch of ragged children?
The thought made him smile a little. It also made him sad.
If I was a real warrior, I would free them, he thought. I’d bring them back to their families and make sure the Master paid for this!
Behind him trailed the children. They pushed at one another, laughing and talking quietly.
Now and then one of them would stop and poke at a heap of rubbish. Once Boba looked back. He saw a boy pull something long and squirming from the ground and pop it into his mouth.
After that, Boba kept his eyes straight ahead.
“Can I ask what you’re doing here on Tatooine?” Ygabba asked after they had been walking for a while.
Boba hesitated. “I’m here to find Jabba the Hutt,” he said at last.
“Jabba?” Ygabba’s blue eyes widened. “You’ve got a long way to go, then. His palace is at the edge of the Western Dune Sea. That’s hundreds of klics from here.”
Boba felt a pang of dismay. “Then I’ll just have to find a way across the Dune Sea,” he said.
“Wait.” Ygabba stopped. She put a hand on his arm. “Let me think.”
Her brow furrowed. After a second she nodded excitedly. “Yes! I bet I’m right!”
“What?” asked Boba. “Tell me!”
She began walking faster. “There are night Podraces this evening - they’re being sponsored by Jabba,” she said. “And this shipment of weapons that we’re supposed to go after - it’s probably for Jabba, too. I’ll bet you dinner at KiLargo’s Cantina that Jabba will be at the arena.”
She snapped her fingers, laughing.
Boba looked at her doubtfully. “Are you sure? How do you know all this stuff?”
“It’s my job to know. You’d be surprised what people will say in front of someone our age.”
Boba nodded. He thought of how stupid grownups could be, and how oblivious they were of what kids really knew.
Ahead of them the alley branched into a wide street. On the far side of the street loomed an immense structure.
The Arena Citadel. It was big enough to be a mountain, though Boba had never seen a mountain so alive. Throngs of beings were everywhere, along with carts and speeders and swoopbikes, braying banthas and armed guards, who shouted at people to keep moving.
“The main gate’s there,” said Ygabba. ” And the northwest gate is that way.”
She pointed to the far side of the arena. “But if you want to find Jabba the Hutt, your best bet would be around back, at the southeast gate. That’s where the aristos go.”
Boba frowned. “Aristos?”
“You know - rich people. The Hutts have their own private entrance. Their own private box. Of course, I have no idea how you’ll get in,” she added loftily.
Boba scowled. Then, unexpectedly, he laughed. “Me neither.”
Ygabba smiled. The other children crowded behind them, laughing excitedly and hushing one another.
“I have to leave you now,” Ygabba said.
She gestured at the children. They nodded. Then, breaking into groups of twos and threes, they ran across the crowded street. In seconds they had all disappeared, like ants into an ant hill.
Only Boba and Ygabba remained.
“Well,” Ygabba said. She stuck out a dirty hand.
Boba hesitated. He looked down to see if there was an eye in her palm. There wasn’t. He grinned and took her hand.
“Good luck,” said Ygabba.
“Thanks,” said Boba. “I’ll need it.”
With a smile, Ygabba turned and began to spring across the road. Halfway across she stopped.
“Hey - I never asked,” she called back to him. “What’s your name?”
“Boba,” he said. “Boba Fett.”
“Boba Fett,” the girl repeated. She smiled broadly. “That’s a name I’ll remember!”
“I sure hope so,” said Boba. He slipped the helmet over his head and watched as Ygabba was swallowed by the crowd.
CHAPTER NINE
It was almost dark by the time he found his way to the southeast gate. The arena was vast, nearly a small city in itself. It seemed like Boba was on his own again.
He passed encampments of beggars, and bright-colored tents where gamblers sat and beckoned him to come inside. He saw a troop of fire-talkers, and a trio of Gamorrean guards who took turns bashing each other with a club. Weather-beaten water prospectors pushed their way to the arena, eager to gamble away what little wealth they had. Vendors sold water in small containers.