Irini looked blank. "Are you saying I did this?"

"We found your insignia on the ammunition," Obi-Wan said. He pointed to her necklace, which was swinging outside her tunic.

"This is the insignia of the Workers," Irini said. "It is not mine alone. I didn't shoot at you, Jedi. I admit, I wasn't happy to learn you were on our planet, but violence is not my path. Neither is it the path of the Workers. I do not think it was any of us who tried to harm you.

Perhaps it was someone who wanted you to think so."

"Perhaps," Obi-Wan said. He did not know what to believe.

Qui-Gon gestured at her to sit down. "What brings you here, Irini?"

"I am concerned about the unrest on New Apsolon," Irini said. "We wanted change, but not like this. Not with another a.s.sa.s.sination and the kidnapping of children. I have some information that might be useful to you - if you really are here to guard the peace. Since we do not know who in the government to trust, we took a vote and decided to trust the Jedi." She frowned at them. "I hope you will prove worthy of our confidence."

"If you do not trust us, you will not be convinced by our a.s.surance," Qui-Gon said. "It is up to you to make that choice."

She gave both of them a hard stare. "That choice has already been made by committee. I am the emissary. I must tell you that the Workers have been blamed by the Civilized for both the murder of Roan and the kidnapping of the twins. I am here to tell you that the Workers were not involved in either."

"You can speak for the Workers as a whole?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Yes," she said. "We are highly organized and speak as one bloc. If there were violent factions, we would know it."

"And would you admit it?" Obi-Wan asked.

Irini sighed. "It has come to this. We know we are on the brink of civil war again. No one wants this. So, yes, we would be frank if we thought there were outlaw Workers who were willing to kidnap young girls and murder a governor to get what they wanted. But we do not believe this."

"You said you had information," Qui-Gon said.

She leaned forward. "We know that someone in Roan's inner circle was behind both the kidnapping and his death. Someone important. Someone who wants more power."

"Who?" Obi-Wan asked.

"This we do not know."

"How can you be so certain that this information is correct?" Qui-Gon asked.

Irini hesitated. "Because we have a spy in this house. Someone to watch the twins, to protect them."

"They did not do such a good job," Obi-Wan pointed out.

"No," Irini admitted. "That is because the security procedures were violated at the highest level. As you know, this place uses top security.

It could only be infiltrated by someone who knew it intimately. Someone who had the key to the code. Someone who knew exactly how to overpower the guards, and exactly how long it would take the second force to arrive."

"Who is your spy?" Qui-Gon asked.

"One of the security guards. That is why we know so much about Roan's security."

"If the Workers know the security, they could have kidnapped the twins," Obi-Wan pointed out.

"No. We know the procedures, but not the code," Irini explained.

"Only a handful of people have that information."

"Who?"

She shook her head, frustrated. "We don't know that for sure. We just know they are close to Roan."

Obi-Wan turned to Qui-Con. "That first day, when we saw the twins..."

Qui-Gon suddenly looked pale. "Our security is in the hands of the top security officer, Balog himself..."

"Could it be Balog?" Obi-Wan asked. "If so, sending him to the meeting was not wise. He has a hidden agenda. He is not for Roan, but against him."

"So the chance for peace may be compromised," Qui-Gon said grimly.

He turned to Irini. "You must be aware that Balog may be playing false in peace negotiations. We do not know for sure, but we need to consider this. This meeting is too important to risk."

"By the way, shouldn't you be there?" Obi-Wan asked. "It starts at dawn."

Irini looked puzzled. "What meeting?" she asked.

CHAPTER 19.

The look on Irini's face made him act faster than he had ever moved in his life. Qui-Gon was out in the hall before he was even conscious of rising from his chair. But even as fast as he moved, he knew Obi-Wan was behind him.

He had sent Tahl off with Balog. There was no meeting. Balog had separated her from them for a reason. He did not know the reason, but he feared the worst.

He had failed her. With all his reliance on his vision, he had not trusted it far enough. He had let her go.

Balog had told them that the meeting was to be held in a secret meeting room in the nearby Inst.i.tute for Government Service building.

Qui- Gon and Obi-Wan raced there through the empty streets. The rising suns stained the pavement with red. The world was beginning to stir.

"We could be wrong," Obi-Wan said as they ran. "There are others who could have been behind the kidnapping. Irini thinks that several know the security code."

"Yes, we could be wrong," Qui-Gon agreed. But he did not think so.

He knew the secret meeting room was off Roan's office. They pounded down the hall. Roan's a.s.sistant was just opening up the office. He looked shocked as the Jedi burst in.

"What are you doing here?"

"The secret meeting room," Qui-Gon said. "Take us there."

"I... I don't know," the a.s.sistant stammered. Qui-Gon took three steps toward him. He said only one word. "Now."

The a.s.sistant nodded nervously. He accessed a hidden door in the paneling, then led them down a short corridor. Another durasteel door was at the end of it.

Qui-Gon's footsteps slowed at the sight of what lay outside the door. A voice cried out inside his chest.

No!

Tahl's lightsaber lay in a small bin. With it were several blasters.

She would never have been separated from her lightsaber if she hadn't been convinced that without it the meeting would not take place.

"Access the door," Qui-Gon ordered the a.s.sistant.

The door slid open. There was an empty table. Empty chairs. There was no sign of Balog or Tahl.

In an agony of frustration, Qui-Gon raised the hilt of his lightsaber and brought it down on the table. The table cracked and a long jagged split appeared.

Obi-Wan looked at him, astonished. He had never seen Qui-Gon lose control before.

Qui-Gon closed his eyes and weaved with the intensity of emotion inside him. He saw her dull eyes, felt her weak touch, heard her voice in his ear.

"It is too late for me, dear friend."

His Padawan spoke at his elbow. "We will find them, Qui-Gon."

He swallowed against his anguish and guilt, pus.h.i.+ng them down, down deep where they would not interfere with his reason, his judgment, his purpose.

He opened his eyes and met the resolute gaze of his Padawan. He wanted to tell Obi-Wan that if they did not find her in time, if his vision came true, he knew one thing: He would be forever changed. Forever half of what he was. What he could have been.

"We must," he said.