Boba Fett watched as the hunt saboteur started down the ladder. "If you think you're going to get the cut we agreed on, you're wrong."
"Chances are good that there won't be anything to get a share of once that KDY cruiser finishes with you." Suh-lak's head and the upraised blaster were just visible above the lower rim of the hatchway. "I'd rather cut my losses and keep my skin intact, if you know what I mean."
A few moments after Suhlak had made his exit, they heard the noises through the hull, of the Headhunter dis-engaging from the transfer hatch. In the forward view-port, the smaller ship could be seen, speeding away from the Hound's Tooth and then disappearing among the stars.
"That's one person who's managed to save himself." Dengar slowly shook his head. "Now what happens to the rest of us?"
"We're about to discover that," said Boba Fett. "The KDY cruiser has already come within targeting range, and it didn't fire on us. So they must have something else in mind, other than just blowing us away."
"Somebody must want to talk, then." Dengar pointed to the viewport. "We're moving; they've got a tractor beam locked on us."
A voice came over the comm unit speaker: "This is Kodir of Kuhlvult, head of security for Kuat Drive Yards." A female's voice, crisply articulating. "Am I cor-rect in assuming that the bounty hunter Boba Fett is aboard this ship?"
He hit the transmit button on the panel. "You're speaking to him now."
"Then I'll be transferring over with a couple of my people. I want to have a meeting with you. And I don't want any funny stuff."
"What do you think I'm likely to try," said Fett, "with a cruiser sitting on top of me?"
"Just keep that in mind." The comm unit connection broke off.
"What do you think she wants?" Neelah glanced from the overhead speaker toward Fett.
"Could be anything. But given that I've returned here from Tatooine with exactly what her boss Kuat of Kuat has been looking for, the chances are slim that it has much to do with anything other than that."
There wasn't time for Neelah to question Boba Fett about what he'd brought back with him. The hull of the Hound's Tooth had already come up against the larger ship's grappling mechanisms and been seized by them. "Let's get down to the cargo area." Boba Fett pushed himself up from the pilot's chair. "We all might as well hear what this person's got to say."
Kodir of Kuhlvult, flanked by two KDY security operatives, proved to be an arrogantly impressive figure, with a full cape falling back from her shoul-ders and brushing the heels of her outspread boots. Neelah found herself gazing intently at the woman's face, searching for any clue that might be revealed there.
"So you're the bounty hunter that I've heard so much about." Kodir's gaze had swept across all three of them and then locked upon Boba Fett's dark-visored helmet. "You have a considerable reputation for surviving in situations where others would have died. Is that luck or intelligence, Fett?"
"Creatures who depend upon luck," replied Boba Fett, "don't survive."
"Well spoken." Kodir nodded in appreciation. "Be-lieve me, I bear you no ill intent; I would just as soon have you alive as not. So whether it's luck or brains, your string doesn't have to be broken now—if you don't want it to."
"All right." Boba Fett folded his arms across his chest. "So what is it that you do want?"
"Please." A smile lifted one corner of Kodir's mouth. "Let's not make this any more difficult than necessary. You're aware, I imagine, that Kuat of Kuat seeks certain things—"
"Including my death."
"Only as an incidental matter. And that merely as a way of preventing a certain item from falling into the wrong hands." Kodir's gaze narrowed, the smile turn-ing cruder and more knowing. "Now, if that certain item were to be placed in Kuat's hands, then I can as-sure you that he would have no interest in your death at all."
"And what makes you believe I have this . . . 'cer-tain item,' as you put it?" The gaze from the darkvisored helmet remained level with hers. "If you're referring to the fabricated evidence purportedly linking the late Prince Xizor with Imperial stormtrooper raids on Tatooine, then I can give you equal assurance that at the time Kuat of Kuat tried to kill me before, it wasn't in my possession."
"Ah ... but that was then, and this is now. It doesn't matter what the situation used to be; it only matters if you have that fabricated evidence with you now." The smile disappeared from Kodir's face. "And don't bother saying that you don't have it. You were brought to this rendezvous point by a ship that was re-ported having been seen recently at the planet Tatoo-ine; we've also just heard that your fellow bounty hunter Bossk was seeking to find a buyer for exactly that item we've been seeking. It'd be too much of a coincidence for your journey to Tatooine to be un-related to what Bossk had for sale. And in fact"her smile reappeared, more unpleasantly—"I'm some-what grateful to you for having gone to Tatooine and acquired the item for us; you've saved me the journey and the potential unpleasantness of dealing with a creature like Bossk. He doesn't have the same reputa-tion for being a levelheaded businessman that you do, Boba Fett."
"I'm enough of a businessman," replied Fett, "to lis-ten to a good offer."
"Then I'll make you an excellent one." Kodir of Kuhlvult signaled with one hand to her accompany-ing KDY security operatives; they immediately drew blaster pistols from the holsters on the belts and covered the two bounty hunters and Neelah with them. "And it's an offer open to everyone: hand over this fab-ricated evidence and you won't be killed." She spread both her hands apart. "What could be a better offer than that?"
Dengar broke the resulting silence. "It's up in the cockpit. Stashed by the pilot's chair."
"You idiot." Neelah glared at him. "Now we'll never "Don't be too hard on him," said Kodir. "Your associ-ate's acceptance of my offer, while appreciated, merely saves me time and effort. Even if you had gone to some effort to hide the desired item, we would have found it soon enough after you were all... gotten out of the way, so to speak. Even if we'd had to take this ship apart bolt by bolt; I haven't gone to this much effort not to get my hands on it."
One of the KDY security operatives had already climbed up the ladder to the cockpit. He returned carrying in one hand the object Boba Fett had brought back from Tatooine. Pulling his blaster from its hol-ster again, the operative resumed his position flanking Kodir.
"Perfect." Kodir looked at the object that the opera-tive had just given her. She turned it over and examined the code marks on the underside. "Exactly what I came for." Kodir looked up at Boba Fett.
"It's been a plea-sure doing business with you. I've enjoyed it so much that I'm actually going to keep my end of our bargain. After all ... you've been useful to Kuat Drive Yards in the past; there's no saying when we might find you handy to have around again. Plus, you're not going anywhere soon in this ship—are you? So that should keep you from interfering with any of my immediate plans."
Kodir signaled to the KDY operatives. They began backing toward the transfer hatch, while still keeping their blasters pointed at the Hound's occupants.
"Sorry things didn't go as well for you as you might have hoped." Holding the black data recording unit in the crook of one arm, Kodir smiled even less humorously than before. "But I've had a very good day—surprisingly so. I not only got what I originally wanted, but I found an unexpected bonus as well." She gestured to Neelah. "You—you're coming with us."
Neelah stiffened, regarding the other woman with suspicion. "Why should I?"
"Oh, I could give you all sorts of reasons. But there's really just one important one, as far as you're con-cerned." Kodir of Kuhlvult tilted her head to one side, studying Neelah's reactions. "You've got questions, don't you? Questions that you want answers for—I know you do. Well, I've got the answers to them. That should make it a simple decision for you."