[Legacy Of The Force] - 02(22)

Ah, Gejjen. No, play it cool. You have no idea who this guy is at all. “Prove it.” Han saw familiar movement outside the window and Leia, the hood of her tunic pulled up against light rain. “How did you find us?”

Gejjen-if that was who he was-dropped his voice almost to a whisper. “When you rented the apartment, you paid in untrackable credits. That’s a lot of hard currency-unusual enough to draw attention right now.”

“From who?”

“From our own security forces.”

“So CorSec knows we’re here and Thrackan doesn’t?” Han nearly spat out the name. Luckily it was a common enough first name not to draw the same attention that snarling Sal-Solo would have done. “Right. Try again.”

“You’re assuming that everyone in CorSec would want to tell Thrackan.”

Han shook his head slowly. “Why do I get the feeling that I don’t want to know that?”

“Well, there’s Corellia, and there’s Thrackan, and they’re not the same thing in many people’s eyes. People who’d like to do something about it.”

“Call me cynical, but I think you’re talking about a change of administration without an election. I’m trying to remember the word for that.”

Gejjen-he could be nobody else-sat down next to him. As Leia came into the tapcaf, she stared at Han, and then at Gejjen, and her lips parted as if she had realized something that quite pleased her.

“You’re the image of your father,” she said.

“Dur Gejjen,” said the young man very quietly. He held out his hand for shaking, and their voices were lost in the chatter that had swamped the tapcaf again. “At your service, ma’am.”

“Hi, honey,” said Han. “This nice young man is about to ask me to take part in a coup.” He smiled theatrically at Gejjen. “Did I get the right word?”

“I asked him to meet us here,” Leia said quietly. “But he’s early …”

“Apologies. It’s a habit, just in case messages are ever intercepted. Shall we move on?” Gejjen indicated the door. “You can choose the location. Just to reassure you in case you think I’m setting you up.”

“Good idea,” said Leia. “I know just the place.”

She beckoned to Han. He rolled his eyes, but gulped down the remains of his caf and followed her out into the rain, staying to one side of Gejjen so he could keep an eye on him. Leia led them to a women’s fashion store.

“There goes my tough-guy image,” said Han, hesitating at the ornately gilded doors.

“Turbolift,” said Leia, gesturing both men inside with an expression of narrow-eyed mock impatience. Under the circumstances, she seemed in a good mood. “There’s a caf bar on the top floor. Nice and public with several exits if anything happens that we’re not expecting.”

Gejjen took the suspicion aimed at him pretty well. “Sensible precaution,” he said.

Han knew he’d never enjoy caf again in quite the same way, because the taste was starting to become inextricably linked in his subconscious with bad news. They huddled around a table, surrounded by chattering shoppers and noisy children, and tried to look unremarkable. The ubiquitous holoscreen murmured away on one wall: Corellians were addicted to news. There was no getting away from that bomb blast.

“Okay, where were we?” said Han. “Ah, I remember. Removing the elected government. Go ahead and amaze me, kid.” He offered Gejjen a small jug. “Cream? Sugar?”

“Han …” Leia fixed him with a stare.

“Sorry, honey.” He leaned back and folded his arms. “Go on, Gejjen.”

The young man was still totally unperturbed. “You’re at risk, and so is Corellia. From the same source.”

“Power-crazed galactic government?”

“Power-crazed individuals.”

“That’s half the galaxy on a good day”

“Sir, your cousin isn’t doing anybody any favors.”

“I didn’t choose my family.”

“Well, he’s going to kill yours, because he’s put out a contract on you, your wife, and your children. And if he carries on the way he’s going, he’s also going to get a lot of Corellians killed in a war we can’t win.”

Han still didn’t know what use they were to Gejjen, but he took an instant dislike to phrases like can’t win. “So you want us to do something? See, I have this hunch that you do.”

“If Thrackan is removed, would you consider taking his place?”

Oh boy. “No.”

Even Leia looked taken aback. “Absolutely not,” she said.