[Bounty Hunter Wars] - 03(89)

“And then he must have shoved it inside the emergency escape pod.” Dengar had managed to keep up with the others’ explanations. “Right when you were coming down on him. Either he got lucky with what he decided to grab and take with him, or he’s gotten a lot smarter than any of us would’ve ever have taken him for.”

“What does it matter?” With growing exasperation, Neelah looked from one bounty hunter to the other. “The only thing that’s important is that this fabricated evidence still exists. And if we can get our hands on it-” The possibilities had already leapt up in her mind, of finding the answers to the remaining questions about her own past. “Then we might be able to figure out who created it in the first place, and why they did it, and …”

“And that person’s connection to you, of course.” Boba Fett glanced over at her. “Don’t worry; that mystery might not have the same personal significance for me that it does for you, but it still represents a potential source of profit. That makes it important enough to me.”

“So it’s back to Tatooine,” said Dengar. The notion seemed to cheer him; Neelah figured that was because he would be able to see his betrothed, Manaroo, once again.

“If only it were as easy as all that.” The jagged smile had vanished from Balancesheet’s face. “But I’m afraid it’s not. My poor lumbering freighter, as comfortable a home and place of business as it provides for me, would never reach Tatooine before Bossk found a buyer for the item he’s trying to sell.”

“So what’s the problem? The Hound’s Tooth is plenty fast enough-“

“Yes,” interrupted Balancesheet, “and it’s a marked ship. It’s the one vessel in which it would be a dead certainty you’d never be able to reach Tatooine. Or, at least, not alive. Bossk has apparently kept silent about losing his ship to his enemy Boba Fett, but Kuat of Kuat hasn’t. After the bombing raid he ordered didn’t succeed at killing you off, and after his information sources had let him know that the Rebel Alliance had confiscated the abandoned Slave I, Kuat was able to figure out that you must be aboard the Hound. So Kuat has put out the word that he wants the Hound’s Tooth found and intercepted-and if that means killing whoever’s aboard it, so much the better. Which means that there are a lot of bounty hunters looking for it. Given that a great many of them still bear a grudge against you, for what you did to break up the old Bounty Hunters Guild, this is their perfect opportunity to get paid a substantial pile of credits and get their revenge, all at the same time.” The assembler’s triangular head tilted to one side, regarding Fett. “Ironic, isn’t it? You’ve been the hunter for so long … and now you’re the hunted.”

“If I still had Slave I,” said Boba Fett, “none of them would have a chance of stopping me.”

“But you don’t. And Bossk’s ship is nowhere near the equivalent of your own, even if you were completely at ease with its weapons systems. The other bounty hunters would pick you off long before you got anywhere near Tatooine. There’s probably not much time remaining before one of them finds you here in this remote sector. So it’s no longer just a matter of realizing profits, or discovering the secrets of some stolen past.” Balancesheet’s glittering eyes took in the others, one by one. “For all of you, it’s a matter of survival now.”

“Great,” muttered Dengar. The lifted spirits he had shown just minutes before had now evaporated. “We’re dead. I knew this was going to happen …”

“Come, come.” Balancesheet sounded almost pitying. “Would I have thrown my lot in with yours if I had thought you were all doomed? I’m a better business-creature than that.”

“Then you’ve got a plan,” said Boba Fett. “What is it?”

“Very simple. You just need to find another way to get to Tatooine. That’s all.”

“Easier said than done. It’s a long walk from here.”

“No need to, even if that were possible.” The jagged smile returned to Balancesheet’s narrow face. “I took the liberty of making other arrangements while you were on your way here to my ship. I’ve been in contact with a certain individual, with whom you’ve done business before-in a manner of speaking-and his ship is close enough to this sector, so that he can be here shortly.”

Boba Fett regarded the assembler with suspicion evident even through the helmet’s dark visor. “Who is it?”

“Oh …” The assembler’s smile widened even further than before. “You’ll see soon enough …”