General Hux checked the time. He had sent his message to Lori nearly half an hour ago. He tapped a finger against the table, the sound of it giving voice to annoyance and worry both. It wasn't like her to take so long.
Armitage told himself that she just hadn't checked her data pad. The possibility that she had found, and then gotten in over her head with, the Resistance cell on the Absolution picked at him. He checked the time again.
The data disk sat on the bar. Hux picked it up, looking for anything to focus on besides the time. It was a little thing. It annoyed him that something so small could hold a secret big enough to be his undoing. Having no need for it, he snapped it in half against the counter top. It didn't take much pressure to pop the plastic circuit board against the table, but the little bit of force was just enough to cut his thumb where it slid against a jagged edge.
Cursing his luck, the general held his thumb to slow the bleeding.
He considered grabbing the little med kit from the cupboard. Before he got the chance, the front door finally slid open. Sitting up straight in his seat, Hux waited until Lori was in the room and the door was firmly shut before saying anything.
He spoke first, "Cardinal is a dead man walking."
Lori had her own news, but the look on Hux's face told her it could wait, "I take it ya'll's chat went well."
Hux knew he couldn't murder the captain outright. He also knew that Lori was aware of that fact too, but it still felt nice to have someone play along.
He glanced at the broken data chip on the table, "He knows, and in his mind I'm going to be the one to tell the rest of high command about it."
"That's brazen of him," Lori followed Hux's line of sight to the broken disk, "wait. Is that…"
"A copy of the report." Hux finished her thought, "Cardinal thought leaving it here would weigh on my conscience."
He rolled his eyes and scoffed at the thought. The comment brought a small grin to Lori's lips. The general saw the shift, and it would have been impossible for him to miss the roguish glint in her eye.
"Cardinal's an idiot." Lori said.
The display and her words piqued the general's interest and almost lifted is mood, "I certainly told him as much."
Lori took a seat on the other stool at the bar. She idly picked at the remains of the chip on the table.
"Do you want the good news first, or the even better news?"
There was something Hux wasn't used to hearing. He hadn't seen Lori this sure of herself since she came to him with the names of the traitor ring in the Finalizer.
With anyone else he would have demanded they stop playing games and get on with it, but with Lori the little struggle for information was part of the appeal.
"Surprise me." he went with a non-answer.
Lori noticed. As much as she would have liked to draw the moment out, she wanted to see how quickly she could make the generals bad mood disappear.
"Control room 285-C. Ten minutes before your meeting I'll be meeting two Resistance agents," she held a piece of the broken data chip between her fingers, it had a tinge of red along one edge, "They think that Cardinal still has his copy on him, and they have the only remaining back up of the report with them."
Hux was almost speechless. He hadn't a clue how Lori had come by that information so quickly. How she found the Resistance, let alone get them to trust her enough to agree to a meeting was a mystery to him.
Lori went on telling him about their plan.
"A squad leader named Orin and a man named Mako will be waiting in the control room. They don't expect Cardinal to call them, but if he does then they'll send him their copy of the report."
One detail of the plan stuck out to Hux, "That would be suicide."
Lori shrugged, "They know that, but they're playing for keeps. Now that Cardinal threw away his copy, all you need to do is back him far enough into a corner that he calls out for help. I'll take care of the rest."
Hux mirrored the dangerous look in Loris eyes. Leaning into the moment he rested against the bar, laying one hand across its surface, "I don't suppose you'll tell me what exactly you plan to do."
She felt the conversation slipping away from business and back into one of their old games, "Ah-ah. I have to keep a few secrets up my sleeve. I can't risk you turning around and replacing me."
The general heard an echo of an old conversation. This time he was free to say what he really thought.
"I could never replace you."
Lori took comfort at the words. She had always been temporary, expendable, and easily forgotten. She assumed that she would live and die with no one suggesting otherwise. Taking a moment in the comfortable silence, Lori slid her hand over Armitage's.
Like the rest of the ship, he was cold. Hux didn't even try to keep himself from melting against Lori's touch. Physical and emotional warmth had always been a distance concept, but he was quickly realizing his craving for both.
"I guess I could give you a hint," she looked at him while she spoke.
"If you would be so kind," Hux didn't move away.
Keeping one hand firmly wrapped around his, Lori slipped her free hand between the fasteners of her tunic. Hux debated making a comment, but thought better of it. Besides, before he had one in mind, Lori's hand reappeared clutching a small blaster.
He hadn't noticed any difference in the fit of her uniform from the outside.
"That's a rather dirty trick, Lori."
She smirked a little before tucking the blaster back out of sight, "I suppose it is."
Still not used to being worried for another, and unsure of how to show it, Hux worked out what he was trying to say. Lori noticed the struggle, and let the general take his time.
He settled on a simple request, "Please, be careful."
She tightened her grip on the man's hand, "I will be as long as you are."
"Don't worry about me, I'm not the one bringing a blaster to a secret meeting."
Lori gave a half laugh at the situation, "you got me there. But still, try and keep yourself in one piece until after the meeting. It might be touch and go for a second."
The possibility of failure wasn't lost on the general, "I trust that you'll see us through."
There he went, giving Lori the benefit of the doubt again. She leaned against the words, savoring them for as long as she could.
"I better not let you down then."
"You won't."
With that, the two of them sat in silence for a few long moments. The bounty hunter had yet to have failed the general; he wasn't sure if he could say that for anyone else. Hux had given Lori a sympathetic ear and his complete trust; she wasn't sure if anyone else had even considered doing that.
The clock ticked on and their respective meetings came closer. A few small words made their way between the two, but nothing deeper grew from them. The weight of the future hung over them, and the darkness of the past clung to the walls of Brendol's suite. Both were content to wait until the perfect moment for their next move.
