Turning Point

Chapter Eight

The warehouse is bigger than I expected, but the "extreme" security is more of an exaggeration.

"I'm really tempted to go in there without permission just to see how "extreme" this security really is," I grin at Anikan.

"If this were a Separatist building, I would probably join you, but seeing as it's one of our own, breaking into our own warehouse isn't going to look good - even if it was just for fun," he tells me, "So I'm going to say no to that,"

"You're no fun," I joke. He smiles at me.

"Fine, next time we run into droids, we'll have a race shall we, who can destroy the most?" He grins confidently.

"Agreed,"

***

The security guard looks at us curiously.

"Can I help you?" He asks.

"We're here for the questioning of several workers," Anikan tells him. The security guard frowns.

"They've been questioned," he says slowly.

"Not all of them," Anikan states, crossing his arms.

"All of them were questioned yesterday by Jedi and the republic police droids," he says stubbornly. I decide to speed things up a bit.

"So, you're saying, that every single worker who works here has been questioned, even if there weren't there at the time?" I ask him.

"Well...no. The workers who were not here were not questioned; they do not need to be. The Jedi said they needn't be questioned," he argued.

"How do you know it hasn't changed?" I argue, because it has.

"They said so," he said stubbornly. Anikan rolled his eyes and waved his hand over the security guards eyes.

"You will let us in,"he told the man. His eyes glazed over and he repeated what Anikan told him; and let us in.

"I thought you said we weren't breaking in," I say once we're out of earshot.

"We aren't. We're just...um...going in without them knowing - and being let in against the guard's will," he denies.

"You're saying it isn't the same thing Master? If they don't know we're here than isn't that breaking in?" I ask him, amused, as we step into an empty corridor, supposedly leading to storage and offices.

"I don't intend to stay hidden Snips. After all, what do I have to hide?" He asks me innocently.

"Well, maybe the why you got in without anyone's permission and the fact you got past the security guard, who "just let you in", I laugh.

"Hey, how did you know I was planning to say that anyway?" he asks me jokingly.

"Because you always act like it's no bid deal maybe?"

"It wasn't. He was taking to long - it's not like it was hard to do, he had such a weak mind," Anikan says, fairly enough.

"That's true," I say.

"Not intruding on anything private am I?" I look up to see a tall man, around the same age as my master, he was obviously in charge around here.

"Not at all, Sir," says Anikan, throwing a glance in my direction which clearly said "be quiet and don't give out hints about what I just did" which ment Anakin knew he wasn't supposed to do it.

"This is about the crime, I assume," The owner asks Anakin, ignoring me.

"It would be," replies Anikan. I smile to myself. The owner hasn't realised yet, but I have. Anikan is mocking him!

"I am Marcus Forewald. I own and manage the warehouse. I was extremely disappointed with the bombing, which caused many injuries, but thankfully no deaths. On the other hand, we lost many new weapons being stored for the clones. Which, I regret to say, could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands," he tells us, waving his hands about to make an "impression".

"So I've heard," Anikan replies dropping the mock slightly.

"So, how can help you, Master Jedi?" I stare at Marcus. Anikan isn't the only one dropping it.

"We're looking to question the workers who weren't here at the time. We, or my padawan, who thought of it first, thought that one of them could be behind it," Anakin places his hand on my shoulder, forcing Marcus to take notice of me. I look into his eyes and he shifts uncomfortably.

"Of course sir. My workers are most trustworthy though. I very much doubt this "suspicion"," he glances at me, as if he were blaming me for wasting his time. But Anakin doesn't call me Snips for nothing.

"It isn't a suspicion. It's part of the investigation. If we don't question everyone who has something to do with this crime, then why is there any point asking anyone at all? We're only asking them what they were doing that day, not taking them into custody because they weren't at work that day," I tell him knowledgeably.

"I only said I doubted it was them," he responds stiffly.

"Then you won't mind us asking them, will you?" Anikan points out, steering me away before I can say anything,"Goodbye!"

"Master...was that, the um...most polite way of speeding things up?" I ask him.

"I wouldn't have needed to if you'd done as I told you and kept quiet," he says, letting go of me. I don't respond, because he made a fair point.