Chapter Five

Anakin sprinted down the hallway, followed closely by Obi-Wan, shoving past Senators who had unfortunately been in their way. The Jedi were breathing heavily, not just from exhaustion. But from pure terror as well. Obi-Wan was aware that he hadn't spoken with his wife in a week, and he truly regretted it now. 

"You cannot tell Denali about this." Master Luminara had said when they had met up with the council previously that week. "It will only worry her. We have the situation under control and the assassin nearly in our grasps. As long as she does not leave the planet, she is safe from danger." 

Yeah, right.

The two had spent those whole seven days searching for the assassin that the Council had discovered lurking in the Underworld in persuit of Denali. Obi knew that she would be upset with him for not checking in with her and informing her of the situation, but she'd forgive him as soon as they caught the threat. Those had been his thoughts a few days ago...

...before the assassin had made its way into the sewers beneath the Senate building.

Anakin held the small device in his hand, glancing at it once every few seconds to make he was on the right track. The tracking beacon they had managed to attach to the assassin's clothing the last time they had encountered each other had thankfully stayed stuck. That was what they were using to follow the sleamo. And at that time, he was really regretting not telling Denali about the danger she was in. If she knew, then she'd be more alert to impending attacks. He slid to a stop and quickly turned to his left, where Padme's office door stood. The device beeped louder than it had before. The assassin was inside.

He pushed the button and burst into the office, Obi-Wan doing his best to keep up with the younger Jedi knight. The two men stood there as the doors slid closed behind them with a sublte HISS sound. The office was dark, and when Obi-Wan pressed the button on the wall to turn the lights on, all that changed was an electric snapping sound filling the room. Someone had shattered the lights. Obi-Wan and Anakin ignited their lightsabers, casting a blue glow that bounced off the walls. The tracking device was going crazy, but there was no assassin to be seen.

"Where is he?" Anakin muttered under his breath as he and his previous master looked around. The device said that they were practically ontop of him, but he wasn't there. The guy couldn't have disappeared into thin air. 

Then the body fell from the ceiling.

Anakin and Obi-Wan quickly jumped back at the sudden appearance and aimed their lightsaber blades at the dead body on the floor. It was a human woman from the looks of it. They looked up, but didn't see the assassin above. Just crimson liquid smeared across the ceiling where he must've put the body after killing her. It was definitely a gruesome sight to behold.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Obi-Wan told him as they examined the corpse.

"Isn't this Padme's assistant?" Anakin asked. From the heavy blood-flow coming from multiple stab wounds over the body, the two Jedi could tell that the woman had been killed quite recently, maybe even seconds before they entered the door. Anakin waved the tracking device over the body and realized that it was no longer with the assassin, but imbedded somewhere inside the corpse.

"Lookin' for someone?"  

Anakin and Obi-Wan looked up and across the room to the window that over-looked the busy streets of Corosaunt. Standing there, eyes glowing brightly in the darkness, was the assassin. Their head was hidden by a white hood and long jacket that nearly dragged on the floor, their face just an unrecognizable shadow in the light of the city. The assassin's voice was masked by a robotic device that made his words sound low and menacing. 

A blood-covered blade rested in his right gloved hand.

Before either Jedi could yell 'Stop!', the assassin jabbed the knife in the window with a strength almost unhuman and the glass shattered. A burst of sound slammed into the office of shuttles squealing by, wind zipping past speeder-bikes, and sirens wailing in the distance. The assassin gave the Jedi a mock-salute with two of his fingers, then fell backwards, down into the city below.

"No!" Obi-Wan yelled and ran after him, but was stopped by Anakin's hand.

"Obi-Wan! Wait." Anakin told him and gestured over to the body. His eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when they heard the gurgling sound of someone speaking.

"Help....me..." 

Padme's assistant was still alive.

They quickly ran to her side and kneeled down next to her. The wounds she had taken from the assassin were definitely fatal, which meant they didn't have much time before their opportunity to get some information out of her vanished. The young woman's eyes were closed and she coughed a gross, liquidy cough. Red droplets dripped across her lips as her face paled.

"Can you hear us?" Obi-Wan asked her. She gave a limp nod.

"Did the assassin say anything to you before he left? Ask any questions?" Anakin asked her, getting to the more serious and important things. Obi-Wan gave him a disapproving look, but Anakin didn't care. The assistant let out another throaty cough, splattering crimson drops down her chin. She nodded again.

"H...he...He ask....asked..." She told them. "W...where the Sen...senator...and h...her guard....wen...went." The woman choked out through her dying pain.

"Did they leave the planet?" Anakin asked her, praying that he wouldn't get the answer he and his master were dreading. She nodded.

"Did you tell the assassin?" He asked her again. A tear rolled down her cheek and she nodded, her face contorted in grief and guilt.

"Where did they go?" Obi-Wan asked. Maybe if he and Anakin were quick enough, they'd be able to beat the assassin to their location. She coughed again and her breathing started becoming more and more shallow. She wasn't going to make it much longer.

"Miss, do you know where they went?" Anakin asked her again, his voice growing more desperate and urgent as the seconds rolled by.

"Th...they...w...w...went...to....to A..Al-" The life left the woman's eyes and she stopped breathing. 

"Blast it!" Anakin growled in anger as he got to his feet and looked down at the woman's corpse. Not only had the assassin gotten away, but now they knew he had information they didn't, important information that meant the difference between life and death. "What are we going to do now? That sleamo's after Denali and we don't know where's he's headed! We should've never listened to the Council!" He turned around and ran to the door.

"Anakin! Where are you going?!" Obi-Wan shouted after him, just as frustrated as his former apprentice.

"The Temple! I have some words for the people in charge!" He yelled, then left.