"Ann Crispin "Han Solo. Rebel Dawn"" - читать интересную книгу автора

Lando tried painfully to straighten up. He wanted to wave, but of course his arms were .bound. Besides, Boba Fett would probably blast him for his temerity. Renthal surveyed them, and said, "Lando, you never told me you had a bounty on your head."
Actually, Lando knew of several bounties on his head, in the Centrality, but this was Imperial space. "No bounty, Drea," he called, his voice harsh and breathless. "I was just... in the wrong place... at the wrong time."
Renth,M looked back at the bounty hunter. "Fett, that true? No bounty on C,Mrissian?"
The hunter hesitated, then responded, "True. I have an old score with C,Mrissian, but it is... personal."
Drea Renth'M considered for a long moment. "In that case, Fett, you ought to be willing to let him go. Lando's kind of... speci'M... to me. I might lose a little sleep if I let you take him. Tell you what... let him go, and I'll let you have the shuttle, free and clear."
Boba Fett nodded. "Very well." Without turning his head, he said, "C'Mrissian... go. We will meet again... someday."
Lando felt Bria move away from him, giving him room to edge around her and leave. The gambler wanted more than anything to head for safety-Drea and her mob of cutthroats-but instead, he heard his own voice saying, "No. Drea, I can't go without Lady Lavv,M. You can't let Fett take her."
Boba Fett wasn't often taken aback, but he heard Lando Calrissian's words with surprise-almost aston-ishment. He'd never figured Calrissian for anytiring more than a dandified coward. The bounty hunter glanced at the gambler, wondering if C'Mrissian was just blowing Tibanna gas, making an empty statement, but he could tell from the man's set expression that he meant it he wouldn't go without Bria.
Fett's gaze returned to Drea Renthal. How much did she care for Calrissian? It was obvious that the gambler was an old lover. But Renthal was a practical woman. One did not rise to the leadership of one of the largest pirate and mercenary fleets without being both prag-matic and ruthless. Perhaps Renthal would just cut Cal-rissian loose for his foolish stand-and over another woman, yet!
Renthal locked gazes with C'Mrissian and sighed. "Lando, honey, you're cute and a good dancer, but you're pushing me, here. Why should I give a regnuff's patootie about this floozy? She your current girlfriend?"
"No," Calrissian said. "There's nothing between us,
Drea. But Bria here is Han Solo's girlfriend. He risked his life to save your Y-wings and Renthal's Fist from be-ing blasted by Peacekeeper during the Battle of Nar Shaddaa. Seems to me you owe him."
Again Fett was surprised. Bria Tharen and Hah Solo? That was obviously in the far past, since Fett had been monitoring her actions for over a year, and she'd had no contact with Solo.
Renthal blinked. "Bria? Her name is Bria? Like Solo's ship? This is that Bria?"
C'Mrissian nodded. "Yes. She's that Bria."
Drea Renth,M grimaced and swore. "Lando . . . you just love to make my life complicated, don't you? I'm gonna take this out of your hide, baby? Okay... you're right, a debt is a debt." Reaching beneath her armored vest, she pulled out a heavy pouch. "Jewelry and credit vouchers, Fett," she said. "Should be over fifty thou-sand credits worth in here. Let ‘em both go, and you can have your shuttle. I don't want a fight ... but I'm not letting you leave with them."
Boba Fett surveyed the assembled ranks of pirates, assessing his chances for fighting his way out. There were thirty-two pirates-hardly good odds. Boba Fett's armor would protect him, possibly enough to allow him to escape, but Bria Tharen was wearing a strapless eve-ning gown. She was certain to be hurt, perhaps killed, in any fire fight. And her bounty called for a live, un-harmed, delivery.
Boba Fett looked at the heavily armed pirates, then at Bria Tharen, and experienced a tiny flare of some-thing that he recognized, with dismay, as relief. Bria Tharen would not die today, or tomorrow, in agony, while the depraved High Priest of Ylesia rubbed his tiny hands and chortled with glee.
Fett took a deep breath. "The bounty on her is one hundred thousand," he said.
"Whoo!" Renthal looked over at Bria. "Honey, what in the name of Kashyyyk's night demons have you been doing? All right, Fett, you bloodsucker." Turning to her crew, she opened the pouch and held it out. "C'mon, gentles. I'm collecting fifty percent of my share of the Queen right now. Put it here."
It was a measure of Renthal's reputation that there was scarcely any grumbling. Pirates dug into their pockets, their pouches, and soon Renthal's pouch was bulging.
Turning, she tossed it to the bounty hunter. Fett caught it, weighing it, then surrendered to the in-evitable. Renthal's ransom for Bria Tharen was indeed a handsome one.
The bounty hunter inclined his head to Lando, and said, "Some other time, Calrissian."
The gambler's teeth flashed in a fierce grin. "I'll look forward to it."
Then Boba Fett nodded to Bria. "Later, my lady." She drew herself up, and the bounty hunter had to admire her composure. "I hope not. I'll be watching my back."
Boba Fett turned to Renthal, and said, "The shuttle deck is that way."
"Right," the pirate captain said. "Gentles, let's give Master Fett here a nice unobstructed passage to that shuttle deck. We don't want any trouble with him, now do we?"
Respectfully, they parted, leaving the bounty hunter a wide aisle.
With grave dignity, Boba Fett walked between the ranks of pirates. The pirates on the shuttle deck also gave him a wide berth. Selecting a ship, Boba Fett climbed in, checked the controls, signaled for departure and watched the entrance to the ship's docking facility clear. Moments later, the bounty hunter was streaking through the blackness of space.
Alone...
Bria's head spun at the sudden turn of events. One moment she was giving herself up for dead, and the next she was safe aboard the pirate queen's flagship, Ren-thal's Vigilance. The Vigilance was a huge vessel, twice the size of Bria's Marauder corvette. Drea Renthal had salvaged the Imperial Carrack light cruiser following. the Battle of Nar Shaddaa. With her Corellian corvette, Renthal's Fist, and her squadrons of Y-wings, the pirate captain's fleet was indeed impressive.
"The minute I knew it was pirates boarding us, I knew it had to be Drea's gang," Lando told her, as sev-eral pirates shuttled them over to the flagship while Renthal finished her boarding operation on the Queen. "I've seen her pull that trick with the asteroid's gravity shadow before. Only Drea would have had the fire-power to tackle something as big as the Queen."
Bria looked at the gambler. "Lando, I'm very grateful to you .... You stood up for me, and you didn't have to. That took real guts."
Lando smiled charmingly. "What else could I do?
You're far too lovely to let Boba Fett have you."
Bria laughed. "It wasn't Boba Fett I was worried about, actually. It was . .'. the people who wanted me. They're a nasty bunch. Compared to them, Boba Fett is a gentleman and a scholar."
She sobered, then jerked a thumb back at the Queen of Empire's approximate location. "What will happen to the passengers? Is Renthal . . ." she hesitated, "... a slaver?"
Lando shook his head. "Drea? No. She's in it for the quick credits. Slavery is too much work for her. She'll take the valuables, loot the ship, and maybe take a few prisoners for ransom. Once the ransom is paid, she re-turns them, unharmed. Drea is a businessperson. She's ruthless when the situation warrants, don't get me wrong, but she's not a slaver."
She eyed him, and Lando reached over and took her hand. "Trust me, Lady Bria. I wouldn't lie to you."
Bria nodded, then visibly relaxed. "I do trust you, Lando," she said. "How could I not after you stood up to Boba Fett for me? I couldn't believe you did that."
Lando shook his head, smiling wryly. "Sometimes I surprise even myself."
And Drea Renthal will take us to Nar Shaddaa?"
"Oh, yes," Lando said. "Your booking's at the Chance Castle, right?"
She hesitated, gave him a Sidelong look, then said, "Well . . . actually, thatg not what I'm worried about. I'm taking a shuttle from Nar Shaddaa to Nal Hutta. I need to keep a very important appointment."
Lando raised his eyebrows. "What in the galaxy is a lovely lady like you doing going to visit a bunch of smelly gangsters like the Hutts?"
She smiled wryly. "Well..."
Lando waited, and when she didn't say any more, prompted, "Bria . . . you really can trust me. I want to be your friend."
She took a deep breath. "I have an appointment to talk to Jiliac the Hutt. It took me a while to get him to agree to see me, but finally he did. I have a... business proposition to offer him."
Lando frowned. "Then you'll have to take a shuttle to Nal Hutta. Jiliac became a mommy Hurt last year, and she hasn't been on Nar Shaddaa since, I think."
Bria nodded. "I'll go wherever it takes, talk to who-ever I have to." She glanced up at Lando. "I understand that Hah lives on Nar Shaddaa?" She couldn't conceal the note of hope in her voice.