The other did so. “Still nothing. He’s got a blaster, comlink, and ID, and that’s it.”
For a long moment Kampl continued staring at Han. Then, reluctantly, he turned to the sabacc dealer. “I protest!” the dealer sputtered, pushing himself to his feet. “I’m a Class Double-A citizen-you have no right to put me through this sort of totally unfounded accusation.”
“You do it here or down at the station,” Kampl snarled. “Your choice.”
The dealer threw a look at Han that was pure venom, but he stood in stiff silence while the security tech scanned him down. “He’s clean, too,” the other reported, a slight frown on his face.
“Scan around the floor,” Kampl ordered. “See if someone ditched it.”
“And count the cards still in the deck,” the Reverend spoke up.
Kampl spun to face him. “For the last time-“
“Because if all we have here are the requisite seventy-six cards,” the Reverend cut him off, his voice heavy with suspicion, “perhaps what we’re really looking at is a fixed deck.”
Kampl jerked as if he’d been stung. “We don’t fix decks in here,” he insisted.
“No?” the Reverend glared. “Not even when special people are sitting in on the game? People who might know to look for a special card when it comes up?”
“That’s ridiculous,” Kampl snarled, taking a step toward him. “The LoBue is a respectable and perfectly legal establishment. None of these players has any connection with-“
“Hey!” the pudgy dealer said suddenly. “The guy who was sitting next to mewhere’d he go?”
The Reverend snorted. “So. None of them has any connection with you, do they?”
Someone swore violently and started pushing his way through the crowd-one of the three planetary security types who’d been watching the table. Kampl watched him go, took a deep breath, and turned to glare at Han. “You want to tell me your partner’s name?”
“He wasn’t my partner,” Han said. “And I was not cheating. You want to make a formal accusation, take me down to the station and do it there. If you don’t-” he got to his feet, scooping up his remaining chips in the process “-then I’m leaving.”
For a long moment he thought Kampl was going to call his bluff. But the other had no real evidence, and he knew it; and apparently he had better things to do than indulge in what would be really nothing more than petty harassment. “Sure-get out of here,” the other snarled. “Don’t ever come back.”
“Don’t worry,” Han told him.
The crowd was starting to dissolve, and he had no trouble making his way back to his table. Lando, not surprisingly, was long gone. What was surprising was that he’d settled the bill before he had left.
“That was quick,” Lando greeted him from the top of the Falcon’s entry ramp. “I wasn’t expecting them to turn you loose for at least an hour.”
“They didn’t have much of a case,” Han said, climbing up the ramp and slapping the hatch button. “I hope Torve didn’t give you the slip.”
Lando shook his head. “He’s waiting in the lounge.” He raised his eyebrows. “And considers himself in our debt.”
“That could be useful,” Han agreed, heading down the curved corridor.
Torve was seated at the lounge holo board, three small data pads spread out in front of him. “Good to see you again, Torve,” Han said as he stepped in.
“You, too, Solo,” the other said gravely, getting to his feet and offering Han his hand. “I’ve thanked Calrissian already, but I wanted to thank you, too. Both for the warning and for helping me get out of there. I’m in your debt.”
“No problem,” Han waved the thanks away. “I take it that is your ship in pit sixty-three?”
“My employer’s ship, yes,” Torve said, grimacing. “Fortunately, there’s nothing contraband in it at the moment-I’ve already off-loaded. They obviously suspect me, though.”
“What kind of contraband were you running?” Lando asked, coming up behind Han. “If it’s not a secret, that is?”
Torve cocked an eyebrow. “No secret, but you’re not going to believe it. I was running food.”
“You’re right,” Lando said. “I don’t believe it.”
Torve nodded vaguely off to one side. “I didn’t either, at first. Seems there’s a clan of people living off in the southern hills who don’t find much about the new government to appreciate.”