A shadow fell across the tiles, and Darth Vader appeared next to Ferus.
“You had a long conversation,” Vader calmly observed.
“He’s a chatty guy.”
“Do not forget who you are working for. Larker is not to be trusted.”
“The way I see it, nobody is to be trusted around here. But thanks for the warning.”
“The Emperor gave you an assignment. I expect a full briefing.”
“You can expect it, but you won’t be getting it.” Ferus was beginning to enjoy himself. “The Emperor’s instruction was to report to him directly on my progress. No one else. And that would include you.”
Vader said nothing for a moment. Ferus only heard the rasp of his automated, eerie breathing.
Then Darth Vader abruptly turned and strode away. His meaning was all too clear to Ferus: I’m going to enjoy destroying you.
Chapter Five
Oops. Ferus had tried to keep out of Vader’s way. He really had. But apparently he hadn’t succeeded.
Ferus waited outside the Hall of Ministers. He rested against the platform of a large sculpture, slabs of stone and chunks of plastoid and quadrillum that were supposed to represent a gigantic version of a droid’s sensor suite. More than anything, the Samarians worshipped technology. He didn’t think much of the sculpture, but it hid him from notice and gave him a clear view of the huge double doors of the exit.
After only a moment or two, Larker’s aide, Dahl, walked out the door and briskly through the front gates. Air taxis patrolled this area of Sath, busily whisking ministers from one government building to another. Dahl activated the blinking search signal on his personal droid, the method Sathans used to hail air taxis. A vehicle pulled up immediately.
Ferus hailed his own taxi the old-fashioned way he held up his hand.
His driver followed the taxi in front without a question. The taxi ahead soared through the traffic lanes in no hurry and with no attempt to lose a tail. Obviously Dahl had no idea he was being followed and took no precautions. That was odd. Perhaps Ferus had read the situation wrong. He had assumed that Dahl was Larker’s liaison to the resistance, but if that were so, Ferus would have expected him to take evasive action routinely.
The air taxi stopped at a cafe and Dahl hopped out.
Well. Ferus would either get a lead on the resistance, or lunch.
Ferus had his own taxi pull up a block ahead. He followed the ramp back to the café. He tracked Dahl as he moved through the crowd. Dahl headed toward the back, where Sathans were ordering food and drinks at a service bar. Keeping out of sight in case Dahl looked back, Ferus drifted off to the right. Dahl joined the line.
Suddenly a young woman behind Ferus stepped back into a waiter, who dropped the tray full of empty glasses he was holding. The glasses crashed to the floor. Ferus quickly melted back in case Dahl turned, as everyone else in the café did.
But Dahl didn’t turn. He slipped through the crowd and disappeared.
Swiftly Ferus turned back and headed for the front entrance. He had no doubt that Dahl had gone out a back exit.
A classic move. Use the distraction to lose the tail, if it was there. Dahl was just being careful. Ferus exited, making sure there was no one behind him. He turned down a side street and Force-leaped up to the roof of the building, landing without a sound. He ran lightly across the roof. Looking down, he could see Dahl quickly heading down a back street, checking behind him to make sure no one was there.
Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Ferus was able to keep Dahl in sight as he moved through the climate-controlled walkways that crisscrossed all the city levels in Sath. At last he turned into a Speeder Exchange, a large lot where used airspeeders were for sale. Dahl moved from one speeder to the next, appearing to consider them.
Ferus leaped down into an alley that connected to the lot. From here he had a perfect vantage point.
A salesman drifted over, but Dahl shook his head and walked away. Dahl slipped into a yellow speeder, checking out the controls casually. Then he jumped out again, checked out a few more speeders, and left.
Ferus had seen what he’d come to see. He’d just witnessed a drop. He let Dahl disappear down the street. He waited.
In another moment, the curly-haired young woman who’d caused the distraction at the café entered the lot. She smiled at the salesman, walked through the lot examining different vehicles, and climbed into the yellow speeder. She put her hands on the controls and examined the dashboard.
She got out, shrugged at the salesman, waved, and continued down the street. Her personal droid was a metallic red, and her tunic was snug-fitting and reached down to her black boots. She was dressed as a typical stylish young Sathan.