[Legacy Of The Force] - 05(88)

“Whatever happens,” he said, almost inaudible, lips barely moving, “you’re to stick with me, and follow me, unless I get grabbed—and in that case, get back to base any way you can.”

They’d war-gamed a few scenarios in briefings, including getting split up or captured, but this all felt very different now.

Lekauf was at the main doors, looking as if he were trying to check where the tourer was. Then without warning, he grabbed a woman tight around her neck, drew his blaster, and held it to her temple.

“Open the doors!” he yelled. “Open them now, or I blow her head off!”

Pandemonium broke out. People scattered, leaving a clear area around Lekauf; security officers and the Corellian cop struggled against the tide of bodies trying to get clear, blasters held high. Lekauf was suddenly doing an amazing job of looking red-faced and dangerous.

How’s he going to pull this off? We’re surrounded. Locked in.

This hadn’t been in the briefings. Lekauf was improvising. He had to be. Ben broke away from Shevu and pushed through the crowd.

“I said open the kriffing doors, or you’ll be scraping her off the ceiling.” Lekauf clicked the blaster and the woman hostage started shrieking, a thin little wail at first that rose into a full-blown panting sequence of screams and yelps. “You’re going to let me board my ship and leave here, and she gets to live. Don’t mess with me. Don’t kriffing mess with me.”

“Just let the lady go,” said the officer. He pushed through and stood at the edge of the cleared floor area. “Just put the blaster down. Let her go.”

“So you can spray my brains all over the terminal? Yeah. As if.”

“Kid, this isn’t going to do you any good. We can talk—”

“Yeah, like you’ll have a nice chat with me about Gejjen. I killed the scumbag and I’m proud of it. He was caving in to the GA. Lining his own pockets. I’m a patriot. You hear? I love Corellia. They ought to give me a medal.”

The officer gestured to the security guard at the exit, and the doors parted. Ben watched in horror, unable to move. Lekauf backed out of the doors, half dragging and half carrying the terrified hostage, and made his way laboriously to the tourer. It seemed to take forever. It was a long, long way to struggle with a woman in a headlock, edging backward, followed by a slowly moving knot of police and guards waiting for the first slip that would give them a clear shot at him. Ben wanted to run after him and help, but had no idea what to do; even if he created a diversion, they were all still trapped one way or another.

Lekauf activated the tourer’s ramp and backed up it. The woman had stopped screaming and started sobbing.

“Okay, out, now.” Shevu was right behind Ben, mouth right next to his ear, and he grabbed his collar in a slow, twisting grip to show he meant business. “Slow and calm. Don’t waste this. He’s bought us time.”

Ben wanted to yell, But what about him ? He didn’t, though. He’d already abandoned too much of his training, and this wasn’t the way soldiers did it. His legs were shaking under him. Lekauf reached the top of the ramp and shoved the woman down it; the hatch slammed behind him, leaving the hostage crying and screaming on the permacrete. Police rushed forward to grab her. Marksmen moved in to take up positions around the vessel.

Now everyone else in the terminal was forgotten, and the Corellian officer ran onto the field, met up with his buddy, and ran for the cordon.

“Ben, that’s it, come on—” Shevu jerked on his collar, pulling him bodily toward the doors at the south end of the terminal. A little bit of Ben was calculating where they would be placing troops and what their tactics would be for stopping Lekauf from taking off. If Lekauf got a move on, he could be out of orbit and jumping to lightspeed before whatever excuse Vulpter had for a fleet could get airborne.

But the tourer sat on the permacrete, silent, no haze of heat exhaust venting from its jets. He could see it through the transparisteel walls as he moved toward escape, and couldn’t feel relief.

It dawned on Ben that Lekauf wasn’t going anywhere.

Maybe the thing had failed to start.

Oh no, no, no …

The drive hadn’t stalled on him. Ben could feel Lekauf now—terrified, oddly triumphant, and with a strange sense of peace despite the dread. It was the strangest combination Ben had ever sensed in the Force.

“What’s he doing, sir? How’s he getting out?”

Shevu kept swallowing. Ben saw the lump in his throat bob up and down. “Has to be done.”

“What has to be done?”

“A good cover story.”

“I don’t—”