A short while later the deal was done. The Twi’lek materialized again, this time accompanied by a shifty-looking Bothan carrying the weapons. Boba examined them all carefully, then nodded.
“These will do.”
Hat Lo dismissed his lackeys. Boba began arming himself, being careful to keep the weapons concealed on his body armor. After a few minutes, Hat Lo discreetly cleared his throat.
“Ahem. A small matter, of course - but how do you intend to pay for these?”
Behind his helmet, Boba’s eyes glittered dangerously. He looked around at the interior of the seedy club.
“I don’t recall seeing the Sign of the TriForked Tongue listed among Jabba’s holdings here on Coruscant,” he said. “I wonder what Jabba would say if he knew you owned it, and were skimming off the profits, rather than giving them to him?”
Hat Lo began to splutter. “That’s - that’s not true! This is a mere sideline for me! Something for my old age - “
Boba made as though to leave.
“Wait!” cried Hat Lo. Boba stared at him, then slowly sat back down. “Of course, I had no intention of charging you for these weapons! Consider them a gift, to you - and to Jabba.”
Boba nodded. “Very well.”
“And please, tell Jabba where you got them! And assure him of my devotion, and my undying loyalty!”
“Undying sleaziness is more like it,” said Boba.
He got to his feet. This time he really was ready to go. He saw Hat Lo’s many-armed bodyguards watching him from across the room. But not even a bunch of angry Codru-Ji would dare mess with Boba Fett, now that he was fully armed.
Which reminded him of something. He turned back to Hat Lo.
“One last thing,” Boba said. “Do you know where I could get my hands on a saberdart?”
“A saberdart?” Hat Lo’s eyes narrowed. He pursed his lips, then shook his head. “They’re outlawed here on Coruscant these days. Everyone’s too worried about attacks on the Senators.”
“Right.” Boba nodded and turned away. “I’ll give Jabba a decent report, Hat Lo - unless you give me reason to do otherwise.”
The petty crime boss watched him go. “A pleasure doing business with you, Boba Fett,” he croaked, then laughed hoarsely. “I’m sure our paths will cross again!”
“Maybe,” said Boba under his breath.
He swaggered past the Codru-Ji, back out onto the streets of Coruscant’s underworld.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Boba hadn’t thought about how he was going to get back up to the Jedi Temple to track down Mace Windu.
But as soon as he walked out of the Sign of the TriForked Tongue, a familiar sight greeted him.
A shining red airspeeder hovered near the club’s entrance.
“Yo! Wassup!” Elan Sleazebaggano gestured for Boba to hop in beside him. “Come on, I’ll take you back!”
Dismayed, Boba looked around. He saw the corridor ghoul nosing at what looked unpleasantly like a body. He saw two Mantellian savrips fighting over what looked like another body. He saw a group of space pirates exchanging greetings near a darkened doorway.
What he didn’t see was another vehicle of any kind.
“Come on!” urged Elan. “I’ll get you there faster than anyone can!”
“All right,” Boba said, resigned. He climbed into the airspeeder, glowering at Elan. “But if you try to sell me something, Sleazebaggano, you’re dead!”
“Sell you something?” Elan yanked at the controls. With a squeal, the airspeeder shot up through the high-rise canyons of Coruscant. “I wouldn’t dream of selling you something! Especially not something highly illegal and fatally toxic, like a saberdart.”
“A saberdart?” Boba held tight to his seat, as the airspeeder narrowly avoided slamming into a building. “You have a saberdart?”
“I never said that,” Elan replied. The airspeeder shot past another speeder full of willowy young Dathomir witches. Elan waved at them. “Girls! Hell00000!”
The witches stared back in ill-disguised disgust. The red airspeeder rocketed upward, as Elan continued.
“I never said that, because to possess a saberdart is a criminal offense. And I, of course, am a respected member of Coruscant’s business community. But yes, I do have one.”
Elan took one hand from the controls. The airspeeder wobbled dangerously as he seemed to pluck something from thin air. The object glittered, as Elan turned and handed it to Boba.
“One saberdart, no waiting. No payment, either-consider it a gift, a token of my great admiration for your bounty-hunting skills. Oh, you might mention it to Jabba, if you feel inclined,” said Elan. “Put in a good word for me. A word to the wise, as they say.”