Chapter Four

Poe can't wait to get his hands on Soro Bulut for ruining their big day. He half wonders if he should let Finn ask the questions, but Poe has met the guy before, knows Terex and the Ranc gang, and Finn can do the imposing thing much better than Poe ever could, silently staring with a frown and arms crossed over his chest. So, Poe will rankle, and Finn will intimidate. He's not worried about Chandrila security protocol; he's worried about the fate of Chandrila.

Bulut has his hands handcuffed in front of him to a metal table in a dark questioning room. Two guards flank him, while Poe sits opposite with Finn next to him. Poe pretends to look at a datapad, takes his time reading, and then leans back, studying the Keshian before him. He's clearly starting to sweat.

"Well," says Poe. "You said you'd only talk to me, so here I am." He pauses and cocks his head sideways. "How are you, Soro?"

The Keshian narrows his eyes. "Been better, but at least they bandaged the hole in my leg."

Poe nods slowly. "Hope you don't limp since they didn't give you a proper bacta treatment."

"Badge of honor," Bulut replies, but it's all bravado. Poe crosses his leg, throws one arm over the back of his chair.

"Let's talk about this badge of honor," he says. "What exactly are you receiving it for? A failed attack on New Republic forces in which your entire team was captured or killed? Shouldn't you be looking at a demotion, at the very least? Never mind that you'll be in prison, most likely awaiting execution."

"Chandrila doesn't execute political prisoners," Bulut replies too quickly.

"You're not a political prisoner," Poe points out. "You're a gangster and a terrorist who attacked a New Republic building during an official New Republic function. So tell me, Soro, what was in it for you, when the chances of making it out alive were so low as to barely exist?"

Bulut leans forward and grins. "It was fun. I've never shot up a wedding before."

That makes Poe's blood boil, but he feels a wave of calm wash over him, and knows it's from Finn, making sure he takes his time, at least builds to his big moment, the explosion of anger he knows is inevitable. A deep breath settles his furious retort.

"Well, it's not like we can't do it another day," Poe says. "All of my people survived, we've got all the food we could possibly eat, and I think the weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow, right, Finn?" Finn nods silently, as expected. "Sorted. We'll do it tomorrow."

"No, you won't." Bulut sneers, but there is little venom behind it, and more fear than anything.

"No, we probably won't," Poe says, shaking his head with mock sadness. "Because I'm going to stop whatever your boss has planned for that axial superlaser he stole from the academy this morning."

The flash of panic in Bulut's eyes confirms Poe's worst suspicions: someone else is indeed behind the attacks, and Poe would bet his X-wing it's Terex.

"Now we're getting somewhere," he murmurs. Sulut glances at Finn, who must be glowering even more because the Keshian quickly looks away. Poe checks his datapad, thinks about how to approach this, and goes with his gut.

"Look, you don't have to tell us anything," he begins. "Although you said you'd only talk to me and I did come all the way down here. But I get it. You wanted to ruin our day, have some fun, help out your boss. Easy job given the lax security around here, and probably for quite a bit of money." Poe stares him in the eye. "But it didn't work out that way. You didn't ruin our day. Your entire team is dead or in jail. That doesn't sound like fun to me, especially when your boss got away with the money and the weapon. You're not going to see any fame, any glory, any credits. You're stuck here now. Forever."

Poe leans back again, trying to look as casual as he can. "But you tell me what your boss is going to do with that laser, and I'll help you out. Put in a good word, make sure the Chandrilans treat you fairly, that sort of thing. You got family?

Bulut snorts. "I'm a gangster, of course I don't."

"Of course," Poe murmurs. "Still, it'd be nice if someone knew what happened. I'll let the gang on Kaddak know. Hell, I'll even play it up, tell them you shot up my wedding and ruined the big day. You'll be a fragging hero, won't you?"

"They'll know," Bulut sneers. "Everyone will know what I did."

Poe snaps forward. "Everyone will know how you failed, Soro. How you waltzed in and were taken out in twenty minutes. How you got shot in the leg and lost your team. How I still got married and had the biggest party in Hannah City to celebrate." Bulut looks more and more annoyed with each sentence, but Poe senses it's still not quite working. Time to switch tactics.

He stands. "Well, I can see you're not interested in your legacy. I'm going to go see what the others have to say." He turns and gestures to Finn, who simply nods and follows, though Poe can tell Finn is not exactly sure what Poe is playing at. Before they get to the door, Bulut calls from behind them.

"Wait!" he says. "No one else is gonna talk. They don't know what's going on here."

Poe turns slowly. "And you do? You're that close with Terex?" He makes sure his skepticism is clear.

"I'm his second," Bulut says proudly, and now Poe knows for sure the former First Order agent is behind it all. "He told me everything, personally gave me the Dameron job because he trusted me to get it done."

This time Poe can feel a wave of anger from Finn. Dameron job? Is that what bothers him? Poe walks back to the table, putting some saunter to it, and leans over.

"He trusted the wrong guy," Poe says softly, almost seductively. "Or maybe you did. I think he set you up. He and I go way back, you know. If he really wanted me dead, he'd have done it himself."

"No," says Bulut, but he's already cracking with the smallest flicker of doubt. "He said I was the only one who could do this for him."

"And you tried," Poe says, patting his hand in the cuffs. "You did, but he knew you wouldn't make it out. He used you as a distraction, that's all. Gave you the job that was the least important."

"No!" Bulut shouts this time. "Your place was the most important hit of all! He gave me the best team, weapons, plans, everything. He hates you, and now I know why. I will take you down one day!" He is struggling against the cuffs now, riled up like Poe needs him.

"One day." Poe nods, then leans closer and whispers. "But not today." He stands back, all business. "Today your boss got away with several million credits and a superlaser that he could probably sell for twice that. And he left you behind to take the fall. Tell me what he's going to do with it, and I'll make sure you don't fall too hard."

"No," says Bulut, but it's more of a sob than a protest. "They'll kill me."

"You have nothing to lose." Poe shrugs. "You're a dead man either way. Because the New Republic will execute you for war crimes, Bulut. You helped steal a weapon capable of destroying an entire planet. One of these things took out Kijimi. You'll be held accountable for that."

"I didn't blow up Kijimi!" he wails.

"You will be held accountable for the next Kijimi," Poe hisses. "Unless you tell me where he is and what he's going to do with it."

Bulut's eyes are wide, his face twisted in fear. For some reason he looks to Finn, as if looking for mercy somewhere in the room. Finn stares him down, then raises an eyebrow. "I suggest you tell the man. Before he gets really serious." The Keshian sucks in a frightened breath as he looks back to Poe.

"Or before I leave," Poe tells him. "And rip it out of one of your other men. The hard way." He grins, the mean one he hates using except in these situations. "Something else they can blame you for, before they kill you slowly in your bed when you least expect it."

"Fine!" Bulut shouts, shaking in his chair. "I'll tell you what I know! Just make sure I get out of this alive."

Poe nods once. "Deal. Why does Terex want a superlaser?"

Sulut is breathing heavily and takes a deep breath to settle himself. Poe half wonders if the guy wet his pants. "Same thing he always wants: power."

"Does he want to bring back the First Order?" Poe demands. "Because that ship has crashed and burned."

"No, he's done with them, has been for years." Sulut pauses. "He wants to rebuild himself, bring back the might of the Empire because they got it right. He says he'll do it system by system, no matter how many he has to destroy."

Poe nods, senses that Finn needs to say anything and steps aside. "Are you telling me this guy actually believes he can build a new galactic empire with one superlaser?" Finn asks. "Because he can't."

"You don't know him," snaps Bulut. "If he says he can do it, he can do it. He's willing to play the long game."

"So what, he's going to start collecting superlasers and set himself up as the next emperor?" Poe asks, letting the sarcasm drip heavily. "Because I'm with Finn, he doesn't stand a chance. Tell us where he is before he can embarrass himself too much."

Bulut shakes his head stubbornly. "He won't. Terex is brilliant, he knows exactly what he's doing. He's been planning this for years, waiting for the First Order to fall. And he's going to start with something that everyone will remember."

Poe rubs his chin, trying to puzzle it out. It sounds like the kind of thing the former First Order agent would do, and yet, something is still missing. "Does he have any ships?" he asks. "To use this thing? Because he needs a specially fitted Star Destroyer to power it, you know. Has he got himself one?"

Bulut does not answer, but the look on his face tells Poe everything. There is no Star Destroyer.

"Who's he going to sell it to then?" Finn demands. "He can't use it, so who's he working with?"

"No one," Bulut mutters. "He works alone."

"Without a big ship, right," Poe murmurs. "You're not earning your keep, Soro, so keep talking. Where's he going with it? And you lie to us, I will make your life a living hell."

Bulut stares at him, and then a sneer crosses his face. "Fine. I'll tell you the rest, but you'll have to figure it out yourself, because all he told me was that he's going back to the beginning of the end, to end the new beginning." He sits back and nods his head once. "That's all I know. And it's something big."

Poe stares at him, and Bulut holds his gaze. He glances at Finn, who nods discreetly, so Poe steps back.

"All right," he says. "I guess that's all you know. Thank you, Soro. I hope you make it out of this alive so you can see him go down for it."

"You said you'd protect me!" Bulut shouts.

"And I keep my word," Poe tells him as they turn to leave. "I'll leave instructions on my way out. Nice to see you again."

Bulut mindlessly shouts his name, cursing a blue streak. Poe steps out and as soon as the door shuts, he lets his shoulders sag.

"Damn," he says. "I hate doing that."

"Why?" asks Finn. "You're pretty good at it. Maybe you should join the security force here."

"No way," says Poe. "That's hard work. Too many mind games."

"Like trying to figure out what the hell 'go back to the beginning of the end to end the new beginning' means?"

Poe sighs. It's a riddle if there ever was one, and he's not fond of riddles. He's not fond of interrogations, of politics, of the mind games. He wants to be back in his ship fighting the bad guys, not trying to figure out what the hell they're going to do next to outsmart a madman.

"Come on, let's run it by the others, see if they can figure it out."

They stop by the commander's office with instructions for Bulut; Poe keeps his word and can only hope his name and rank is enough to ensure decent treatment. They find Captain Gira, who drives them back to the Resistance headquarters, where they were supposed to be married only a few hours ago.

But Poe is all right with it, because they can do it another day. It would have been far worse had Bulut attacked during the ceremony, or after. He's grateful their day wasn't ruined, because that's not how he wants to remember his wedding. They can plan another, and make a better memory. And he already knows exactly where he wants to do it.

Author's Note:

I should probably start adding my usual disclaimers. I am not a trained law enforcement officer familiar with interrogation techniques, nor am I a supervillain well versed with insane plots of destruction and revenge. I'm just a girl who likes to use her imagination to write stories. Which I hope people are reading and enjoying. Let a girl know what you think is going on? Thank you!