Free Star Wars: Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn

enough time for a snack,” Lando concluded. “Do I smell carni chips and glaze sauce coming from somewhere?”
    “Yes,” Eanjer said, sounding a bit taken aback by the sudden change in subject. “And also some kamtro grassticks. But shouldn’t we be watching Marblewood?”
    “I’m watching it,” Lando assured him, turning back to the window. “Winter, tell me when you see a likely landspeeder. Bink, would you do me a favor and get me a small plate of those carni chips?”
    Bink sent Tavia a wry smile. They knew Lando all too well. “Sure,” she said, and headed toward the kitchen.
    Han started to turn away, stopping as a hand caught his arm. “A word?” Dozer said quietly.
    They stepped a few meters away from the others. “Problem?” Han asked.
    “More of a question.” Dozer nodded toward Lando, who had pulled a chair over to the window and settled himself in it. “You told me that I was going to be front man on this scheme. Now that Calrissian’s here, I assume that’s changed?”
    “Probably,” Han said. “But don’t worry—there’ll be other stuff for you to do.”
    “Uh-huh,” Dozer said. “And the split?”
    “Same as before,” Han assured him. “Everyone gets the same share.”
    Dozer pursed his lips, and it wasn’t hard to read the calculation going on behind his eyes. The shares might be passed out equally, but an even split among eleven was still smaller than an even split among ten.
    “That going to be a problem?” Han pressed.
    Dozer’s expression cleared. “No,” he said. “Just wondering.” With a little nod, he turned and headed over to where Tavia and Rachele were standing.
    There was a rumble from behind him, and Han turned to see Chewbacca standing there. “You heard?”
    The Wookiee rumbled again.
    “He’ll be all right,” Han assured him. “Dozer wouldn’t let hurt pride get in the way of a paying job. Besides, I’m pretty sure he knows Lando will do better as a front man than he will.”
    Chewbacca warbled one final time and moved away.
    “He’ll be fine,” Han murmured to himself as he turned back toward Dozer. “Trust me.”
    Ten minutes later and halfway through Lando’s first helping of chips, the expected visitor cruised through the gate and onto Marblewood’s grounds. Han, having already turned his electrobinoculars back over to Winter, watched from the side as he munched mechanically on a plate of kamtro grassticks. Something big was going on here, something way bigger than Eanjer and a stash of stolen credit tabs.
    The two big questions were whether they could figure out what Villachor was up to and whether it was going to affect their own operation.
    He’d left the window and was off in the corner, discussing the finer points of lock-picking with Bink, when Lando gave a warning whistle. “He’s coming out,” he called.
    Once again, there was a brief scramble as the group reassembled by the windows. Han strained his eyes, but at this distance all he could see was a human male stalking down the steps to the waiting landspeeder. The man climbed in, the door closed, and the vehicle turned and headed back down the pathway.
    “Interesting,” Lando murmured, lowering his electrobinoculars. “That man just lost something.”
    “What did he lose?” Dozer asked.
    “I don’t know,” Lando said. “It could have been credits, prestige, or power. But the changes in his expression and body language were very clear. Whatever he lost, it was something he wanted to keep.”
    “Wasn’t enough time for a high-stakes sabacc game,” Zerba said thoughtfully.
    “But plenty of time for a serious conversation,” Han pointed out. “Especially if one side was doing most of the talking.”
    “You think Villachor threatened him?” Tavia asked.
    “Or blackmailed or extorted,” Dozer said. “Those are the main three ways of controlling someone without having to fork over credits to pay them off.”
    Chewbacca warbled a question.
    “No idea,” Winter