[Jedi Apprentice] - 17(6)

Qui-Gon did not reply as Lena turned and made her way down a narrow alley to a back entrance. Luckily this one was not guarded. Lena punched a code into a small panel and the door slid open. But there was no turbolift on this side of the building. They had to walk up thirty-seven flights of stairs.

By the time they reached the top floor, all of them were out of breath. But Lena did not pause to rest. Instead she led them around a corner to what looked like a duracrete wall. It wasn’t until he got up close that Obi-Wan realized it was actually a concealed door. Lena pressed a small button concealed inside a panel, and the door slid open.

Before Obi-Wan could even get a look inside, Lena gasped and put a hand to her mouth. They were standing in what had once been a beautiful parlor. But the apartment had been ransacked, and piles of debris littered the floor. Everything was ruined.

The rich fabrics that had covered the furniture were torn to shreds and strewn across the rooms. Tables and bureaus were smashed. Drawers were overturned and shelves cleared, their ripped and broken contents randomly spread across every surface.

The apartment had been lavishly decorated, but now it looked like the inside of a garbage scow. Whoever was responsible for the ransacking had done a thorough job. Even the carpets had been pulled up and hacked to pieces.

Beside him, Lena leaned heavily on Obi-Wan’s arm. “I should have guessed that they would search,” she said, forlorn. She leaned down and picked up the pieces of a small stone carving. She turned them over in her hand, and her eyes welled with tears.

Obi-Wan wanted to comfort her, but wasn’t sure what to say. He squeezed her arm gently.

“I suppose you should be glad you weren’t at home,” Qui-Gon replied dryly. He obviously hadn’t noticed Lena’s expression, and Obi-Wan felt a flash of annoyance. How could his Master be so insensitive?

Lena drew a deep breath and let go of Obi-Wan before picking her way carefully through the mess toward the back of the apartment. Qui-Gon stayed near the lift doors. Obi-Wan followed close behind Lena, in case she needed his support again. The apartment did not look like it had been searched so much as destroyed.

Her face full of sadness, Lena surveyed the damage. She paused once to pick up a trinket that was not entirely shattered, then placed it on a shelf still barely attached to the wall. Obi-Wan wondered how long it would stay there before sliding off.

“How strange!” Lena exclaimed as she walked into her bedroom, at the end of a long hall. Nothing in this room had been touched. The furnishings stood upright. The bed was made. Even the portrait on the wall was straight.

Obi-Wan stepped closer to the portrait. It was a picture of Lena and Rutin. They stood together in front of a waterfall, their eyes locked on each other. Something about the portrait disturbed Obi-Wan, but before he could place the feeling, the portrait and the wall it was on swung aside to reveal a small office.

“It’s where Rutin worked in the evenings,” Lena explained, walking through the secret door. “All of his family files are stored here. I just can’t believe that whoever searched the house didn’t - ” Lena trailed off as she activated the computer screen.

Blue light and horror shone on Lena’s face as a message flashed on the screen:

YOU CANNOT STOP US. YOU CAN ONLY DIE TRYING.





CHAPTER 4


Qui-Gon entered the back room just in time to see the message flash a final time. Then the computer went dead.

Lena sank into a chair. “They’ve erased the evidence,” she said. “They’ve erased everything.”

For a moment Lena’s determination was replaced by desperation. Qui-Gon was surprised to feel a similar desperation coming from Obi-Wan. He gazed at him thoughtfully. This was unusual behavior for his Padawan.

Qui-Gon turned his attention to the matter at hand. “Was the computer connected to a network of some kind?” he asked.

“I don’t think so,” Lena said. Then she shook her head firmly. “No. Rutin would not have kept the information here if it was.”

“And no one else had access to the information?” Qui-Gon questioned.

“Well, the information was no secret within the family. They all know what’s going on, but they are careful not to leave a trail. Solan makes sure of that.” Lena stood up and walked back into her bedroom, talking more to herself than the Jedi. “Still, Rutin managed to construct a trail. Any of them could, but Solan…”

Qui-Gon could see that Lena was already recovering from the setback. She was formulating a new plan. Qui-Gon could not help but admire her resolve. And yet, if she loved her husband as she claimed, she was remarkably strong in the aftermath of his death. He thought perhaps she was deceiving them.