Bounty (Alex Rider/Star Wars Crossover) (BOOK 2)

Chapter Twelve

The "bounty hunters" that were fighting had been the Jedi, and it was all part of the plan. Damar had found it almost fun to fly around with a jetpack and fire blanks at Ferus. Almost like target practice. After they had gotten word that Alex was safely away from the market, they moved their fight, and ended it when the crowd was out of sight. Using their jetpacks, they flew over to the spot that had been chosen where they would meet up to finish the plan. They descended in a back alley, where Ahsoka had taken Alex. Ahsoka was just now explaining their plan to Alex as the rest of them approached. Nixa and Helu were there as well, having followed Alex through the door, knowing full well what was happening.

"Did you tell Alex what we are going to do?" Obi-Wan asked Ahsoka when they approached.

"Yes, but they boys were just telling me about the collar he is wearing."

"If Alex goes too far from my house, it will blow up," Nixa said grimly. "There is only one way to release it, and that is with a key that my father has."

"That significantly changes things," Ferus remarked. They would now have to go back to Lunar Zendu's house to make him unlock it, or face being blown to bits, along with Alex.

Obi-Wan thought carefully. "Helu, Nixa," he asked them, "Do you think you can pretend to be scared. I mean really scared?"

The boys nodded.

"Well, for this part, I will need you do just that if we are to make sure Alex is safe. Act very scared. You know that we will not hurt you, but I need you to make your father believe that we would," Obi-Wan explained. "Do you think you can do it?" He received an emphatic nod from each of the boys. He turned to Alex, who looked more relieved than anything.

"I thought I would never see you again," he said, more relieved than anything else. He was sitting on the front of a speeder that was parked in the alley.

The Jedi Master smiled at him. "I will always come for you. How can I forget about my apprentice? Now, I have a plan, but it requires a little more unpleasant cooperation on your part. Are you ready?"

Alex nodded. He trusted Obi-Wan, no matter what it was.

The group began to ready themselves for part two of their plan. Using the speeder that was parked in the alley, which conveniently was big enough for what they had in mind, they made their way back to Lunar Zendu's house. Alex was back to a bound position, since the reality of it all had to be preserved, and was lying in the cargo area of the large speeder, with the boys up front in the passenger area.

They arrived at the house presently, and Ferus got out of the speeder. "Zendu!" he called.

Lunar appeared in the doorway of his home, peering outside to see who was calling him. When he saw the bounty hunters from a few days ago, he grabbed a blaster rifle from the shelf by the door. It was loaded. "I told you bounty hunters to get off my land!" He raised the rifle, showing his unwelcome guests that he meant business.

For once, Ferus was very glad for the thick Mandalorian armor he was wearing. "Put it down, Zendu," he called. "Unless you want to lose something very valuable."

"You have nothing of mine that I would not mind losing!" Zendu yelled back.

Ferus took that as the cue to reveal their plan. He nodded at his two companions, and they both exited the speeder holding onto one of the boys. Ferus went to the back and helped Alex out, who had his hands tied loosely behind his back. "Are you sure about that?" he asked, Obi-Wan and Damar holding unloaded blasters to the boys' heads. They had taken every precaution so that no one would be hurt.

Lunar's face went white. "What do you want from me?" He was obviously terrified.

Ferus gave him instructions. "You are to go inside your home and get the keys to unlock the binder collar around your slave's neck. We would very much not like to be blown up when we take him with us," he added on a whim.

The farmer nodded in understanding and quickly disappeared inside, then reappeared a few seconds later with the key. "Now what?" he asked.

"Come over her and unlock it," Ferus said coolly.

Zendu hesitated. "And if I don't?"

"Think about your options," Damar told him. "Do you really want to refuse?"

"Yeah," Ferus said. "Would you rather lose a slave or a son?"

"Or maybe two sons?" Obi-Wan added, pulling Nixa close to him and the blaster even closer.

Lunar hesitated no more. He walked to where Ferus had Alex in front of him. He entered the key into the small hole in the back and unlocked the collar, taking it with him when he retreated.

"You made a wise decision, Zendu," Ferus said, climbing back into the speeder. "Let the kids go," he told Obi-Wan and Damar. "We have nothing more to do here. We've got a bounty to collect."

As soon as they were out of sight of the house, the speeder stopped and they released Alex from his bonds and helped him into a seat.

Ahsoka crawled out of the cargo area where she had been hiding. "Ferus, I had no idea you could be so threatening. Maybe that's why my master never liked you."

Just then, Alex paled. "We forgot something."

Obi-Wan looked at him, seeing his distress. "What is it?"

"Somewhere underneath my skin is a tracker that will release a toxin into my bloodstream that will kill me unless I get the antidote within two hours."

"What releases the poison?" Obi-Wan asked him.

"Leaving the planet, I think."

"We will deal with it when we get back to the ship," Obi-Wan assured him. "We've gone through too much to lose you now."

The speeder sped toward the ship and everyone got out. Alex, Obi-Wan, and Ferus all went straight to the back of the hold and into the medical room. Obi-Wan found a small vibroblade and sterilized it. He told Alex to take off his shirt and lie on the table so they would be able to work more freely. After the shirt was removed, Obi-Wan and Ferus saw the extent of the damage to their friend. His chest and back were covered in bruises, dark purple and blue. His ribs were beginning to show through his skin, after having just one meal a day for the last three weeks.

"It's in my left shoulder," Alex told them, putting his hand up to show them.

Obi-Wan looked at the gash. It was almost healed from when he had hurt it almost three weeks prior. The skin around would still be very tender. He looked at Alex as if to ask his approval before he made his incision.

Alex gritted his teeth and nodded. Obi-Wan cut. The pain was almost unbearable, but Alex tried to ignore it, because it got him closer to freedom. He cried out, as if trying to release some of the pain through his scream.

Obi-Wan quickly found the capsule and removed it carefully, then Ferus bandaged Alex's arm tightly so the bleeding would stop. Alex sat up on the table, breathing heavily. Obi-Wan helped him off and then led him over to the bed in the corner.

"You'll probably want to get some rest after everything that has happened. We'll leave you alone for a while."

Alex nodded. He hadn't realized how tired he was until now. The events of the last three weeks had been very telling, and he looked forward to a good rest. He lay down and closed his eyes, for the first time in a long time, feeling safe.