The Empire was firmly entrenched. Rooting it out would require many years, and the sacrifice of countless lives. She couldn’t let herself think about what might happen in the dim, distant future. She had to concentrate on the here and now.
Resolutely, she activated her datapad again, and went back to work.
At the same moment as Bria Tharen was wondering about him, Han Solo was not thinking about her. He was, however, feeling more wounded by a woman than he had at any time since Bria Tharen had left him.
He sat on the edge of the bed in a hotel room on Velga, a luxury moon where the wealthy came to be entertained and play games of chance, scowling and reading Xaverri’s message on his datapad. It said:
Dear Solo, I can’t stand good-byes, so I’m not going to put either of us through one.
The tour is over, and I’m off for a short rest before taking to the road again. I thought about asking you to go with me, but I think it’s better that I make a clean break now.
The last six months have been wonderful, among the best I can recall.
During that time I’ve grown very fond of you, dear. Too fond. You know me by now … I can’t afford to get too fond of anyone. That would be dangerous for both of us. Caring too much about another person makes you soft, makes you vulnerable. In my line of business, I can’t afford that.
I’ve paid the hotel bill through tomorrow for you and Chewbacca.
You’ve been two of the best assistants and companions I’ve ever had.
Tell him I’m sorry I couldn’t say farewell. There is a bonus for you both in the local branch of the Imperial Bank, account code 651374, keyed to your retinal scan.
I’m going to miss you more than I can say. If you ever need to contact me, you can do so through the Galaxy of Stars booking agency. Maybe someday we can do it all again, when I’ve gotten my perspective back.
Take care of yourself, Han. And take care of your Wookiee friend.
Devotion like that is rare.
Love, Xaverri
Blast—Han thought, not sure whether what he was feeling was anger or profound regret—some mixture of both, he guessed. Why does this always happen to me?
For a moment he remembered the anguish that had engulfed him when Bria had left him with just a good-bye note, then he wrenched his mind away from that memory. That was a long time ago. I’m not a kid anymore…
He realized that he’d have to book commercial flights back to Nar Shaddaa for himself and Chewie. But that wouldn’t eat into his savings too much, especially in light of Xaverri’s bonus. She paid well, though she had high expectations.
During the past six months, they’d been more like business partners than employee and employer. Every time they’d pulled a successful scare on some puffed-up Imperial officer, or some smug, complacent Imperial bureaucrat, Xaverri had shared the proceeds equally with Han and Chewie.
Han’s mouth curved into a reminiscent smile. They’d had some exciting times. With all the experience he’d had conning civilians while part of Garris Shrike’s “family,” Han had thought he had little to learn about the art of scamming people. But a month with Xaverri had convinced him that compared to her, Garris Shrike had been a clumsy, mendacious amateur.
Xaverri’s schemes had ranged from elegantly simple to fiendishly complex.
She seldom pulled exactly the same scam twice. Instead she tailored each caper to the mark, frequently using her skills as an illusionist to trick the pompous Imperials she preyed upon.
There had been that time they’d conned the Assistant Secretary to the D’Aelgoth Sector Moff out of most of his life savings—and put him under suspicion of committing treason to the Empire. Han’s smile broadened into a grin. The guy was a venal jerk—sooner or later he would’ve betrayed the Empire anyhow.
Not that all their scams had been successful. Two had fizzled out, and one had blown up in their faces, forcing them to run from the planetary officials until Chewbacca had been able to locate them and pick them up.
Han would never forget that escape—running, dodging, pursued through the countryside by tracer droids and the local version of canoidhounds.
The only way they’d been able to hide their scent was to spend the night up to their necks in a swamp.
He’d also enjoyed his work as Xaverri’s stage assistant. It had been fun, helping to create the illusions, finding out how it was really done, and taking a bow before cheering crowds, night after night. Even Chewbacca had gotten to enjoy the public attention, and Xaverri had worked up several tricks that gave Chewie a chance to show off his Wookiee strength.
The hardest thing for Han had been getting used to the skintight, spangled stage costume he’d had to wear. He’d felt horribly selfconscious the first few times he’d gone onstage wearing it. But eventually he’d gotten used to it, and even learned to enjoy the hoots and whistles from some of the female audience members when he’d make his entrance.