Friends Like These
Part 2
The guards at the Senator�s Estate gave Obi-Wan a sceptical glance when he approached, but they had obviously been warned that he was coming, because after he had given them the codeword, they all but ushered him into the grand house. He easily managed to convince them that he did not need to be escorted to the Senator�s office. It would only attract attention. Obi-Wan preferred to use his Jedi skills to get there unnoticed by the staff that still went about their daily duties even in the Senator�s absence.He had opened the second drawer on the left and removed the holo from the back compartment, but suddenly he sensed that the door to the office was about to open. Hastily, he stuffed the holo into his tunic pocket just as Jerrup, the Senator�s Aide, came in.�Ah, Jedi, there you are. The guards informed me that you had arrived. Can I help you find whatever it is the Senator is looking for?�
Obi-Wan shut the drawer.�No, thank you, I have it already.�
"Are you sure? What was it, anyway?�
"It�s all right,�Obi-Wan said easily, drawing on the Force for emphasis as he stood up.�I�m sure you�ve got work to do, and I have to return now.�
But Jerrup remained impervious to the suggestion and Obi-Wan had to hide his dismay as the Aide fell in at his side, escorting him out of the office and down the corridor to the front exit when he�d been planning to slip out the back.
"Where are you going? Perhaps I can give you a lift part of the way?�
"No, thank you,�Obi-Wan replied as they went outside.
"No, of course not, what if somebody were following me, trying to find him?�Jerrup stopped a few steps away from the door and managed a Sullustan-type smile.�Look, I just want you to know that I appreciate everything you Jedi are doing to keep the Senator safe.�
He extended both arms, and Obi-Wan let the Sullustan take his hand in a hearty gesture of thanks, trying to diplomatically forget that he�d heard the Aide refer to him as a baby. Just then, however, he felt a sharp pinprick in the back of his hand. Jerking his arm away in surprise, he looked down at the tiny drop of blood forming on top of the skin.
A scant moment later, his vision blurred and his knees buckled, but Jerrup caught him and began to drag him towards the speeders that were parked nearby. Obi-Wan tried to resist, but found he had almost no control over his muscles--or the Force. The Sullustan plopped him into the passenger seat of the nearest speeder and pulled the safety belt over his shoulder and waist, probably more to keep him from collapsing sideways than to keep him safe in an accident. Then Jerrup walked around the front of the speeder and hopped in on the other side, starting the engine and moving the speeder without haste towards a side exit that was not guarded. It opened at the touch of Jerrup�s thumb on a reader, however.
They didn�t travel far, but ended up in a completely different neighbourhood anyway. During the short ride, Obi-Wan tried desperately to at least sit up, but could only manage to flap his hands or jerk his legs around a bit. Really like a baby, he thought morosely to himself as Jerrup picked up his arm by the wrist and laid it back in his lap with a condescending sound. He could not access the Force, either. It seemed to hover elusively some distance from him. The speeder stopped outside a building that had obviously fallen into disuse, although there were two serviceable swoops parked close to one corner, and Jerrup got out and banged his fist on a solid metal door. When it opened, he motioned two other Sullustans out.
"That�s not the Senator,�said one of them in surprise.
"No, it�s the Jedi, the young one,�Jerrup announced.�Bring him in.�
The two dragged Obi-Wan out of the speeder and dragged him by his arms and legs into the building. Obi-Wan managed to lift his head once, but it soon flopped down again of its own accord. Still, he�d seen enough to realise it had been a factory of sorts, with workbenches at intervals, and machines along the walls.
"Strip him down. He�s got something on him that the Senator was most keen to take off-planet,�Jerrup said.�And then we can ask him where the Senator is.�
They sat him on the floor against one of the machines and the taller Sullustan pulled Obi-Wan�s poncho, boots, belt, and tunics off, handing them back for the shorter one to search through them methodically. After shaking the boots out, emptying the contents of the belt pouches onto the floor, and groping through the tunics, the small Sullustan finally found the hologram and handed it over to Jerrup. The Senator�s Aide tucked it away in a pocket of his own with a very pleased expression, then glanced down as Obi-Wan struggled to keep himself from collapsing sideways.
"Give me that pair of binders,�he said to the smaller Sullustan, using one of his digits to indicate something outside Obi-Wan�s range of vision.�That shot I gave him is wearing off. He should be able to talk already.�
But to Obi-Wan�s surprise, Jerrup did not fasten the binders around his wrists. He pulled Obi-Wan onto his back and clamped the restraints around his ankles instead. Stepping back, the Sullustan pressed a button on the workbench. There was a grinding noise from above, and Obi-Wan looked up to see a small box moving along a track on the ceiling. There was a hook attached to the box, and when it was close enough to his feet, the Aide stopped the movement and pressed another button. The hook began to descend on a length of strong cable until it was only a short distance above the floor.
Making another attempt to draw on the Force, Obi-Wan concentrated on the binders, willing them to spring apart, but they did not. The Force remained distant, impervious to his efforts to bring it nearer. Picking up his legs by the binders, Jerrup looped the short chain over the hook, then straightened up. Obi-Wan expected him to reach for the controls again, but instead he reached out towards the workbench opposite. The smaller Sullustan hastily handed him a length of very rough rope, which Jerrup threaded through a piece of nearby equipment which looked like part of a speeder engine, then tied the ends to Obi-Wan�s wrists. Only then did he place his thumb on the button. The cable shortened, the hook ascended, and Obi-Wan�s feet went up with it until he was dangling completely upside down, the weight of the engine stretching him so tightly he thought his arms or legs would be pulled from their sockets.
"Tell us where the Senator is, and where he�s hidden the rest of his information,�Jerrup said.
Obi-Wan was silent, and Jerrup made a motion with one hand. The taller Sullustan, who was standing on Obi-Wan�s left hand side between two of the workbenches, picked up a long metal chain and swung it at Obi-Wan. The small but heavy links curled around his body almost twice and were then jerked away again, pulling him with them. The resulting swing increased the pain in his shoulders and he bit down a gasp.
"Where is the Senator?�Jerrup demanded again. He had begun to salivate, and it seemed to Obi-Wan as though the Sullustan were drooling over the prospect of torturing him.
The next time, it was the smaller Sullustan who hit him in the lower ribs with a crowbar, so hard that he was pushed back in the opposite direction and gasped aloud this time at the renewed agony in his shoulders.
"Where has he hidden the information? I know you can talk by now, Baby Jedi, so tell us.�
The chain wrapped itself around his torso again, bringing more pain. Jerrup repeated his question with forced calm. Then the crowbar whacked against his stomach muscles and his shoulders came dangerously close to dislocating as his body attempted to double up. He felt sick from the impact.
"Where are you hiding the Senator?�
Obi-Wan ignored him, trying not to think of Senator Yirrit at all, but an insidious thought crept inside his head anyway. He could--
The chain again.
"Where is he hiding that information?�
--take revenge on the Senator for the disparaging remarks--
The crowbar slammed against his ribs.
"Where is Senator Yirrit?�
--by telling them where the safe house was located--
Purposely kept short this time, the chain whipped across his back with bruising strength.
"Where is that information hidden?�
--and letting them torture the Senator instead of him--
The crowbar came down across the right hand side of his rib cage again and Obi-Wan thought he felt something crack under it.
"Where is he?�
--but Jedi did not seek revenge--
The chain hit his back again. He was starting to feel cold, the first sign of shock.
"Where is the information?�
--especially not for meaningless words--
The rounded end of the crowbar slammed against his solar plexus and knocked the wind from his body, leaving him gasping for air, unable to scream for several horrifying moments as he swung slowly back and forth, the pressure on his shoulders increasing and decreasing. When he was finally able to breathe again, he couldn�t help groaning at the agony.
"Where is the Senator?�
--and he�d never be able--
The Sullustan used the entire length of the chain this time, hitting him with it so that it wrapped itself twice around his body, and then pulling it away again twice as fast. Obi-Wan cried out.
"Where is the information?�
--to look Qui-Gon or himself in the eyes again.
There was a pause, and he reached out to the Force, trying to access it, but only succeeded in clenching his hands into fists. Well, that was progress, anyway. The drug really was wearing off, just as the Sullustan had said. He only had to be patient for a little while longer. It was hard to concentrate through the pain, but he was managing more coherant thoughts already. It really wasn�t worth giving in because of a few easily-forgotten insults. Qui-Gon was right. He would be called worse things in his life, he might as well get used to it, and concentrate on the bigger picture. He should focus on the fact that he was helping to eradicate corruption.
"We�ll have to try something else,�Jerrup announced. He was salivating profusely, and wiped his mouth on a handkerchief, tucking it away again just like Senator Yirrit did.
Thinking of Qui-Gon made Obi-Wan wonder exactly how much time had passed, and if his master was expecting him yet.
"What about this?�asked the taller Sullustan, wiping his mouth on his sleeve and waving something about that looked like a piece of thick plastic hose, neither completely stiff nor completely flexible, about the same circumference as Obi-Wan�s thumb.�I�ve cut a slit in it.�
"Give him ten and then we�ll see what he says,�Jerrup nodded.
Obi-Wan couldn�t help screaming as the sharp edges of the hose sliced into his back, leaving an incredibly agonising stripe of pain behind. Until now, the two Sullustans had been deliberate in their movements, almost slow, but now the taller one increased his speed until his arm was whipping back and forth as fast as it could go. Obi-Wan, who�d been keeping track of the strokes in a weak attempt to divert himself, counted eleven instead of ten. He could feel small trails of blood creeping down towards his shoulders and neck from some of the welts, and tried to focus on them instead of on the burning torment of the rest of his back.
"Where are you hiding the Senator?�Jerrup asked, reaching down slightly to grab Obi-Wan�s braid close to where it joined his head. He sounded impatient now, which surprised Obi-Wan. He�d thought that anybody who had to deal with Senator Yirrit on a daily basis would have at least as much patience as Qui-Gon, perhaps even more. But maybe Jerrup saved it all for the Senator. Now he pulled the Jedi slightly closer to his face and when he spoke, saliva sprayed out of his mouth all over Obi-Wan.�Where is he?�
When Obi-Wan did not answer, Jerrup released him, letting him swing, then nodded to the Sullustan on his left. The smaller one hit him with the crowbar again, slamming it by accident or design into his breastbone, and even as the agonised groan left his throat, Obi-Wan was mentally searching for his connection to the Force. He could feel it getting closer, but it was still too far away, and the pain made it difficult to concentrate at all. The cold of shock was more noticeable now, too.
"Another ten,�said Jerrup sharply, patting his mouth with his handkerchief.
The blows came even more rapidly than last time, and Obi-Wan lost his concentration in the midst of his screams. When they�d finished, however, and the smaller Sullustan had added a finishing whack with the crowbar, Obi-Wan closed his eyes briefly and tried again to regain his focus. He remembered a training exercise he�d often had trouble with, keeping his concentration and using the Force to levitate objects while his Master had tried to distract him, sometimes by tickling his feet with a feather. But there was no time to dwell on the past and he�d only sabotage himself by thinking of previous failures. He simply had to succeed now. The Force was definitely closer than it had been. Just a little bit further!
"Don�t you have anything to say, Jedi?�Jerrup asked impatiently, using the handkerchief yet again.�You can end this pain right now by telling us where the Senator is.�
Obi-Wan knew better than to believe they�d simply let him go. He had to escape, or he�d end up dead. Dead--the word stirred something deep inside him, the beginnings of an idea...
"Let�s use some of these other tools,�the smaller Sullustan suggested, reaching slightly across the workbench to indicate something that Obi-Wan could not see from where he hung.