Fairie Junction

Elroy slumped back in his seat, and sighed. A finger flicked at the peak of his cap, knocking it far enough clear of his hairline for him to mob a hand across his brow. He'd exaggerated slightly concerning the lengths that he'd gone to in order to track Vittore down on Tatooine, but not by much. He'd known that the boy was there hunting a Krayt Dragon, and he'd had all the same information that Vittore did thanks to the idget boy treating him like some sort of walking, talking encyclopedia. He'd narrowed down their probable location to three starports, and from there to a list of thirteen cantinas, and seven inns. He'd started with the bars, and had scored lucky with number five. But number four had presented difficulties, and it had taken a lot of effort to convince the Twi'lek on the other end that he wasn't in fact in the market to purchase one of the man's daughters.

He grunted, hauling himself to his feet and vacating the communications booth. He could have managed the search for the boys from home - finding Cambrio had been a stroke of luck; the boy had been off the grid ever since he'd left Coruscant, and Elroy hadn't been particularly looking forward to trying to hunt him down via holonet - but he'd decided that Nora's cantina was a somewhat more hospitable venue. She'd been kind enough to loan him her office for the afternoon, and young Jo had been keeping him supplied with various snacks and beverages from the bar; he doubted that Nora would have been quite so helpful if she knew what he was doing and why, of course. But some things were better left secret.

His heart almost lept out of his skin as he spotted Jo, leaning idly against the wall a few paces to the left of the door. He rearranged his features into the same scowl that he reserved for the neighbour's kids when they let that damn dog of theirs get loose on his lawn. "What're you doing, lurking around like that? Nearly gave me a heart-attack."

Jo blinked, her face an unchanging incredulous mask. "Who were you talking to?" she asked, managing to stamp all but a shred of her genuine curiousity from her tone, so that it sounded like she really was just asking a casual question.

"Oh, no one important," Elroy muttered, with a frown and a shrug.

The girl cocked her head to one side. "Really? Because it sounded a lot like Hugo Montegue's boys. Well, unless you know another 'Vittore Montegue' who is notably incompetant, and has a brother called Cambrio."

Elroy scowled. "You need to be careful where you're dropping those eaves, young lady," he threatened. "Most folk don't take too kindly to being spied upon."

She flashed him the sweet and innocent smile that she'd mastered a decade ago, when all she'd wanted from 'Uncle Elroy' was a few extra credits to buy sweets that her mother refused to let her have. "I brought you a sandwich," she offered, brandishing the tray in her hands. "You sounded busy, so I didn't want to interrupt."

Elroy rolled his eyes, but notably didn't decline the sandwich. "Don't tell your mother. You know how she feels about Hugo Montegue, and what he gets up to."

Her features rearranged into mock concern this time. "Hugo Montegue? But I thought he was missing. You haven't found a lead, have you?"

If looks could be translated into words, Elroy's would likely have suggested a possible recreational activity that involved the anatomical insertion of Jo's questions into an uncomfortable location. He knew he'd lost the battle though; damage limitation was his best avenue at this point. "He's alive. Recently released from Imperial custody. And he wants to see his sons."

"But you neglected to mention those facts to said sons, and instead ordered them blindly to - where was it? Cularin?"

Frustration competed with pride for purchase on his face. He managed to hold both mostly at bay, but couldn't help a slight curling at the corners of his mouth. "Your dad would have been proud of you, you know. Annoyed as hell with the unending tirade of questions, but still proud."

Jo positively beamed. "I suppose it isn't fair that I know things that Hugo's own sons don't know," she admitted, smile subsiding to allow a pondering frown to form instead. "I suppose I'll just have to wait until we get there to find out."

The beast of caution in the pit of Elroy's stomach stirred from its slumber. "We?"

She shrugged. "I could just tell my mother what you've been up to -"

Elroy held his hands up in surrender. "I'm not going to Cularin. Not yet" He winced, and sighed. "Apparently we are going to Taanab first."

"What's on Taanab?"

His mouth drawing into a thin line, Elroy's brow twitched in a mal-formed frown. "Hopefully," he said slowly, pensive, "A little extra help."