"Master--"

Payter held up a hand, a sharp glance accompanied the gesture. They didn't have time for the boy's concerns, and even a whisper under shielding could carry to the wrong ears. It was a lesson he'd only had to learn once and they didn't have the time to deal with those kind of repercussions.

/Master, are you sure this is the best method?/

With a low growl, Payter turned to Kerge, flashing his teeth. /There are times when I require your obedience, Padawan, not questions. This is one of those times. Stay silent and be watchful./

Kerge blinked at him as though he would argue, but thankfully the boy kept his mouth shut-for once-and turned his eyes back to their target.

After weeks of tracking half gone leads, mislaid trails, misinformation and dead ends, Payter believed they had finally found one of those who had had a part in Slade's kidnapping. Though he wasn't certain the man currently seated at the bar was the mastermind behind the plot, he definitely had a part in it, and if Payter's suspicions were correct, a part in a much larger and more disturbing scheme that had been going on for at least a year, maybe longer. Trying not to dwell on the other Jedi children who had been taken, and the fact that he had missed the pattern for far too long, Payter gazed indirectly at the man seated a the bar, waiting for him to take his leave.

While he could have taken the man in the crowded bar, the less attention they attracted, the better. He wanted none of the patrons to remember anything of his own presence or that of his Padawan. They'd already been tucked in the corner of the bar for the better part of the day, and Payter wasn't' sure how much longer Kerge would be able to keep up his Force suggestion of unimportance. The boy had already done an admirable job; there weren't many padawans Kerge's age who would be able to bluff their way into a bar, even in this part of town on this type of planet.

He'd have to keep a close watch on this one.

/Master./ Kerge whispered across their bond as Bronvij began to move.

Even if they hadn't been able to track down one of the assailants successfully, Payter was grateful for the time he and his Padawan had been able to spend with each other, strengthening their relationship and their bond. Over the past weeks he felt that they had both grown into the roles that had been thrust upon them so suddenly, to a point where they were comfortable at last.

/I see him. Wait until he's out the door, then we move./ His eyes drifted back out over the room, a casual glance for anyone who might be able to see past his mass Force misdirection.

Bronjiv paid his tab, shouting something foul to the barkeep and shambled his way to the door, haphazardly knocking into various other patrons on his way.

Tagging the man with the Force, so that he would be able to find him in a large crowd anywhere on the planet, Payter waited while Kerge shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The boy would have to learn to be still if he was at all interested in continuing in this particular line of Jedi work. It drew unwanted attention and let others know that you were either nervous or expecting something, neither of which were good hands to deal to your potentially deadly opponents.

/Kerge./ He shot the boy a hard look, satisfied that he seemed to center and calm himself without further word from him. Sometimes it was difficult to remember that he was only fourteen years old, far too young to be doing this kind of thing, really. /Now we can go./ He pushed himself up from the table, trusting the boy to follow him. /Watch yourself, something about this doesn't feel right./

He felt Kerge's mental nod as the boy trailed him by no more than a step as they worked their way to the door. Payter could sense Bronjiv moving steadily away from the bar, but something about his aura was odd, something Payter couldn't pin down from this distance and due to his general lack of knowledge about the man. Pausing at the door, Payter pretended to be overcome with dizziness, steadying himself against the wall as he quickly scanned the area outside the bar with the Force. When his search turned up two men, paid by Bronjiv to take them out when he and Kerge left the bar, Kerge frowned in grim satisfaction. He shared what he'd found with Kerge, knowing they didn't have much time to come up with an alternative plan.

"Should I take you to the restroom?" Kerge asked, loud enough to be overhead by only those closest to them, as though he spoke in regular conversation.

Payter nodded, heartened by the boy's quick thinking, and let Kerge lead him back through the crowd. He kept his head down, though his eyes searched the crowd, looking for those who were potentially watching them, recording their movements. Either they had not been as careful as Payter had thought, or something else was going on, something he was sure he didn't' like at all. Only another Force sensitive should have been able to see through their shielding, and he had no care for the thought of another Jedi involved in taking Jedi children from the Temple. It was unthinkable.

When they reached the back, Payter blew out a sigh of relief that the restroom lived up to the standards of any good third rate bar in the rough section of any spaceport, meaning it had large windows and more than one means of escape. He imagined that any owner only had to have their back wall knocked out once or twice by someone who didn't want to face the front door to make sure there was a viable means of escape at the back.

"I'll go first, it seems clear, but there's no need to take the chance, and I don't think we were followed. But be ready in any case. We may have to run." He grinned as the boy rolled his eyes; Kerge had more than once complained that he and his master seemed to do an exorbitant amount of running for a pair that were supposed to be sneaky.

"Yes, Master."

"Good answer." He popped out the window, checked the back alley he was greeted with and lightly vaulted through the opening, his lightsaber at the ready should he need it to deflect shots from a distance. When none came, he signaled Kerge to come through before he used a little Force to manipulate the window back into place.

"This way." Bronjiv hadn't gone far, thinking his hired thugs would be able to take care of them. Payter never could understand that facet of the criminal mind, why they always stopped and assumed others would get the job done. In Payter's experience, it almost never ran that way, which was why he spent ninety-five percent of his time off Coruscant and doing his job and the other five, usually recovering.

As they moved through the streets of the spaceport, blending in with the other various species who always seemed to be crawling over places like this, Payter kept their pace slow enough not to attract the wrong kind of attention and fast enough that they would be able to overtake their quarry in a short amount of time. He knew Kerge was watching all he did with a sharp eye, and it was good the boy could learn by example, Payter simply didn't think he had the patience to try and explain why he did all the things he did to the boy while they were on their missions. Too many other things had to be considered, though he did make it a point to talk about his reasoning in depth when they were safely aboard his transport.

When he finally centered on Bronjiv's location, Payter almost laughed. The man had gone back to his hotel, and was probably checked in under his own name. If he'd known the man was going to be that stupid about his own safety, Payter could have saved them both the time and trouble of sitting in the rank bar most of the day.

He straightened as he walked to the entrance of the hotel, it wasn't the most expensive one in the port, but it was close. With an air of purpose, he approached the doors and with little more than a glance, the doorman slid the door open for him. Payter imagined that they catered to many different types of people and species here, and didn't doubt it would be more difficult to get past the front desk.

Or at least to would be for anyone who wasn't a Jedi.

"Excuse me, sir, but this area is for guests only." A man with extremely elongated appendages held up a wavery finger.

"I am a guest." He weighted his words with the Force, without the ridiculous hand gesture Qui-Gon always insisted on using.

"My mistake. You are a guest." The desk clerk blinked at him dreamily.

"Thank you." Payter nodded and moved to the row of lifts against the far wall, Kerge at his heels. Once they were in the lift and headed for the top floor, he turned to his padawan. "I want you to stay close and stay out of the way. We have no idea how many others he might have with him, or what his armament might be. If I tell you to do something, I expect it to be done. You can ask questions later. Understood?"

"Yes, Master."

The lift opened to an empty hallway and Payter started down, a blaster in one hand and his lightsaber in the other. Many of those who knew what his field within the Jedi Order was felt the use of any weapon other than a lightsaber was going too far, but whenever the comment was spoken, Payter challenged that individual, be it a member of the council or another Knight, to do what he did. Few continued to argue after that point.

Bronjiv's room was at the far end of the hall and Payter could sense no other life forms with him in the room, though he thought it better to take precautions. He glanced briefly at Kerge to make certain the boy was ready before he moved to the door and kicked the heavy wooden door in. Blaster at the ready and lightsaber ignited in his hand, he stepped into the room to face Bronjiv who was cowering in a corner, his yellow eyes wide with terror and the smell of fear as thick in the room.

"Whatever you want, take it, it's yours, just don't hurt me." Bronjiv practically squeaked out his words as Payter advanced on him, his eyes intent on the man while he stretched out with the Force to ascertain the state of the rest of the rooms. He could detect no other occupant nor hidden devices that might be used as weapons.

"Watch the door," he directed Kerge over his shoulder. "You and I need to have a little chat." He dropped to a crouch before Bronjiv, his blaster pointed at the man's head and his lightsaber resting at the side of his throat. "I believe you've been in the business of taking things that don't belong to you, isn't that right, Bronjiv?"

He started visibly at the use of his name before shaking his head. "No, not me, I never-"

Payter flicked his wrist and cut off a wisp of the man's long black hair with his lightsaber. "Imagine if that'd been your arm. It'd go through just as easy."

Bronjiv swallowed heavily, his eyes seemingly fixed on the glow of Payter's lightsaber. "I might know what you're talking about."

"I hope for your sake that you more than might know. See, because the way I see it, you have two choices. You can help me, which really will help you, or," Payter sighed as he waved the lightsaber back and forth. "You get the idea."

"It wasn't me. No, no wait, I mean I wasn't the one who wanted them, the Jedi kids. I was just providing the ship, that's all."

Payter bared his teeth as he struggled to release his anger to the Force. "But you knew they were Jedi and you knew they were being taken against their will and you did it anyway. Didn't you think we'd come after you?"

"I thought I could run-"

"Not fast enough to outrun me." He stood suddenly. "Get up. You're coming with us."

Bronjiv lurched to his feet. "Where are you taking me?"

"I'm sure there are some others who will be very interested in what you have to say." He flicked off his lightsaber and tucked it back to its hiding place, though kept his blaster trained on the man. "Now you're going to follow us, real quiet-like and not make any trouble as we leave. I'll be able to deal with any fuss you happen to make, but you," Payter shook his head. "You on the other hand, probably won't. I imagine it's hard to walk when you're missing a leg."

Bronjiv paled.

"Now follow me. Padawan, fix the door if you would."

"Yes, Master." He waited in the hallway as Kerge used the Force to pick up the door and reset it in its frame and bind the broken fragments back together as though they hadn't been kicked in.

"Very good. Let's go."

/I don't mean to question you, Master./

Payter sighed along their bond. /I hear a qualifying statement to that, Padawan./ /Don't you think what you're doing. . .isn't it wrong?/

/Now is not the time for this conversation. I will answer your question, because it is a good one, but just not right now. Wait till we're safely back on the ship and headed to Coruscant. I'll answer any questions you have then./

Kerge nodded next to him and Payter turned his attention back to their captive. Tucking the blaster under his coat as they entered the lobby, Payter kept a tight grip on the man's arm, his claws a warning against the man's vulnerable skin.

The trip back his ship was uneventful, though Payter was hyper aware of the eyes that touched them as they passed. While he was certain Bronjiv didn't have many friends, he couldn't be certain the same could be said about the people he worked for. After all the tracking he and Kerge had done and all the leads they'd followed, they were still no closer to knowing the identity of those who had orchestrated the kidnappings in the first place.

It was his hope that even if Bronjiv couldn't give them the names of those at the top, he could be persuaded to part with other names. Frankly, Payter didn't care if he spent the next five years tracking down people, each consecutively higher in the ring than the last as long as it was put to rest, authoritatively. He did not take kindly to others taking his children and only the fact that he walked the light path kept the perpetrators alive, if not safe.

"Strap in, and do a pre-flight. As soon as our charge here is locked down we're taking off." Kerge nodded and headed to the front of the ship and as he walked to the storage area of the small ship, Payter could feel the hum of the engines under his feet as Kerge followed his instruction.

He paused only long enough to dig out the equipment he needed from their med-kit before shoving Bronjiv into the supply closet. "Stay here." He pressed the sedative against Bronjiv's skin, knowing it was enough to knock the small man out for hours, long enough to get them home. He slid the door shut, ignoring the stunned expression on Bronjiv's face and turned back to the cockpit. He wasn't worried that the man might be able to find something in the closet to aid in his escape, Payter didn't keep anything of much use in there in the first place, and when he'd known they were getting close to taking one of those responsible, he'd cleaned it out of everything potentially dangerous, leaving it filled with only those things that would be uncomfortable and take up space.

It was obvious from the feel of the engines through the ship that it was ready for takeoff and as he entered the cockpit, Kerge's voice greeted him. "Thank you, air control." The boy flipped off the intercom and nodded to him. "We're cleared for takeoff and all systems are go. Ship scan turned up no foreign objects, nor did your personal scanner."

Payter slid into the pilot's seat and took a moment to rest his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Well done. Let's go home."