Test of Time Book 1: A Father's Son

Chapter 21: The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

"You know you owe me, right?"

Anakin had his feet propped up on the arm of the couch he was stretched out on, head leaning back and eyes closed. He'd been up all night poking around to see if there had been any sign of The Hunter returning without any luck, and by now he was utterly exhausted.

Luke chuckled at him from the hospital bed he was still stuck in. "Yes, I'm sure I do, though not for the reason you're thinking."

Anakin snorted softly. "I hate being in the medical wing; it bores me to no end."

"Well, you can just leave me all defenseless by myself to get your adrenaline rush, don't worry."

Anakin lolled his head towards the other man. "Now that's a low blow."

Luke chuckled. "You're the one going off about how much you don't want to be here."

"I never said I didn't want to be here with you, I just said that I hate being in the medical wing...there's a difference."

"Sure."

Anakin's datapad went off, and he suddenly sat up straight, his rapt attention on the device sitting on the table.

He only had that set to go off if a certain assassin was spotted.

Luke straightened as well, his eyes zooming in on the pad as Anakin crossed the room to retrieve it. He was silent for a few moments before he finally spoke. "He's back?"

Anakin nodded, tapping the pad a few times, zooming in, and clearing the picture. "He's just landed."

"Do you mind telling me how you know this?"

Anakin smiled mischievously, adrenaline pumping through his veins at the thought of finally getting his hands on The Hunter. "Oh...I used my knack for machines to tap into security cameras around Coruscant...at least at all the points I deemed necessary."

"Isn't that a little...oh, I don't know...illegal?"

Anakin snickered. "Only if you're caught; and I tend on waiting long enough so that I can say I heard a rumor while I was asking around."

Luke sighed. "Wow Anakin...just...wow..."

Anakin didn't reply, studying the figure on his datapad. A sudden rush of maliciousness flashed through him for a moment, though Anakin buried it deep; he didn't need those feelings right now. Right now he needed focus. The security camera's he'd tapped into were following The Hunter's path, and Anakin sat on the couch, watching closely as The Hunter came closer and closer to the center of Coruscant. The closer he got to the Temple, the more uncomfortable Anakin began to feel. Palpatine had probably been onto something when he said The Hunter would come to finish off the job. Anakin glanced at Luke over on the bed, yet said nothing. Though from the feelings he could sense from Luke, Anakin knew that he didn't need to say anything.

"How close is he?" Luke asked evenly.

"Too close," Anakin mumbled.

Luke rested his head on the wall next to his bed. "Do you think I could have my lightsaber back now...just to be safe?"

Anakin smiled ever so slightly. "No problem, but not at the moment since I don't have it; maybe after I go back to Padmé's."

"Oh, of course, I'll just stay defenseless until then."

Anakin shot him a look. "Sure, keep up the humor while the highly trained assassin gets steadily closer."

"You're the one who hacked all those security cameras to keep track of him. Truth be told, I actually feel rather safe right now."