chapter five: beware the stranger in the dark

Jannah is right. Poe and Zorri are nice. They're charismatic and charming, and both so incredibly beautiful that Rey half-wonders if they're movie stars. Poe has dark curls and olive skin, a strong masculine profile. Zorri is elegant and feminine, with soft dark-gold curls and eyes that seem to know a secret before anyone else does. Their apartment certainly adds to the perception that they're famous. It's an airy, light-filled penthouse at the top of one of Seattle's newest complexes. It has five bedrooms, theirs, Finn's, the one they're renting out to Jannah and Rey, and two others they use as their offices.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Jannah says softly to Rey as they take a tour.

Rey nods wordlessly, trying to take everything it at once. She's never been anywhere as nice as this. It renders her intimidated and speechless that real people live this way.

Poe and Zorri breeze around like it's no big deal. Like living in a virtual palace in the sky isn't the most mind-boggling way to exist.

Jannah turns to them. "Is it rude of me to ask what you guys do to afford a place like this?"

Poe explains that they run an extremely successful outdoor outfitting company, competing with top brands like NorthFace and Patagonia. Zorri laughs and says they weren't always this aboveboard, and they used to be into sketchy stuff, but ever since they went legit they've been raking in the money.

"We don't usually take in complete strangers," she adds, "But Finn said he got a good vibe from you yesterday, and he told us a little about your situation. We'd love to help you out."

Poe nods. "It's a crazy brave thing you did, Jannah. If we can help you get back on your feet, we'd consider it an honor."

Jannah is grateful and a little emotional at this, and Rey takes over the conversation for a bit while her friend recovers.

Someone else arrives a half hour into their visit, and he and Poe greet each other with a hug and enthusiastic back-pats.

"Rey, this is Finn," Poe introduces. "Jannah, you already know him."

"Hi again," Jannah says warmly.

Finn grins a big, boyish grin. "Good to see you again. Glad you made it."

His skin is a shade deeper than Jannah's, his hair faded expertly on the side and his eyes bright with friendliness. He greets Rey with a grin that is just as big.

"Hi Rey, it's good to meet you too."

She shakes his hand, his smile coaxing one of her own. "This is a beautiful place."

"Yeah," his eyes widen. "Isn't it? Poe and Zorri have got good taste."

"Finn here is like my brother," Poe says. "He saved me from a bad situation and we've been best friends ever since."

Zorri shakes her head and rolls her green eyes good-naturedly. "They're like children together, these two. But you'll get used to them."

Rey smiles. She gets good vibes from all of them. She approves of Jannah's taste in people.

They drift over to the couch where they talk a little about Jannah's new job and what it will entail. She has to be there soon, they don't have a lot of time to hang around the apartment this morning. Poe says they will figure out furniture for her room, since they know she doesn't have any.

"So Jannah told me yesterday that you're a bounty hunter," Finn says conversationally to Rey when there is a lull in the conversation. "That's kind of badass."

"Except it sounds like she could use backup, because I think she's in over her head here," Jannah jumps in, referencing their conversation last night before they'd gone to sleep.

Rey had explained what she'd found out that day, and the existence of Chuy made Jannah get all nervous, telling Rey she should call it off, it's too risky, she can't mess around with a giant bodyguard like that. Rey didn't let it get to her. She reassured Jannah that she would be safe, it was all fine.

As she does now. "It's okay, I know what I'm doing."

Finn leans forward eagerly. "Do you need backup? I was at the police academy back home before I dropped out and moved here. I still know some things. I could totally be your backup."

Rey laughs. "No, thanks. I'm good. Why did you quit, though, if you're so eager?"

He makes a dismissive sound, sitting back in his seat. "We were gonna have to fill arrest and ticket quotas. That's not for me. I got into the University of Washington instead."

"What are you going to study?" Rey asks.

He shrugs. "I don't know yet. Hey, you're probably packing some heat, huh? What you got?"

His grin is mischievous. Rey grins. "Just rubbers. I'm not looking to kill anyone."

"Lame," sighs Finn.

"Smart," cuts in Zorri. "Friend of mine knows this lady who sued some bail bond agents for hurting her husband during recovery."

Rey nods. "It can happen. We prefer to use force as a last resort for that reason."

Poe sinks into a leather armchair, and Zorri perches herself on the arm of it. His hand slides around her waist. "So who are you here hunting?"

"He's a smuggler. I can't tell you his name in case you know him and warn him," she replies easily.

"I don't know any smugglers," Zorri says in a playful tone that indicates she plainly does know smugglers. She glances at her husband. "Do you?"

Poe grins and shakes his head. "We don't affiliate with those types...anymore."

Jannah motions to Rey, who gives her a nod. She stands up with an apologetic look. "We really gotta run if I'm gonna make it to work on time."

"We can bring our things over later today," Rey adds.

Poe nods. "I'll draw up a contract for you, Jannah. Rey, just don't be a butthole and we won't make you sign anything, since you'll only be here for a few days."

Rey laughs. "Deal."

"Are you gonna try to catch your guy today?" Finn asks.

Jannah looks at her, brow creasing with worry.

Rey shrugs. "Probably not, but I always watch for an opening."

"Don't be offended, but I hope you don't, because I still have all kinds of questions," he says.

She grins. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know if I come back empty-handed. Actually, if I'm not empty-handed I won't come back at all, I'll just hit the road, in which case, it was nice meeting all of you."

Zorri smiles and gives her a light handshake. "It was nice meeting you too. I hope we'll see you again tonight."

Poe and Finn wave from their seats. They say goodbye to Jannah next and then the two women are out the door. They go back by the hotel and check out, putting their things in Rey's car. Then she drives Jannah to work. Jannah hesitates getting out right away, though. She gives Rey a pained look.

"You promise to be careful, right? Because you may not think it's a big deal but you're my first friend in this new life and I'm kind of invested in your wellbeing now, got it?"

Rey nods, giving her a reassuring smile. "You be careful too. I remember what some of those foster home situations are like."

"Yeah," Jannah says gravely. "Me too. I'll be safe, and you'll be safe, and we'll see each other tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah," Rey promises.

Finally assuaged, Jannah gets out and heads into work.

It's nice to have someone care about her wellbeing, Rey muses as she pulls away. Nice, but also complicated.

Time for a little more information-gathering. Back to the chop-shop then. She manages to snag a parking spot on the curb only a block away and is grateful she doesn't have to pay for a parking structure. Besides, if she does manage to nab Solo today, she needs to be able to access her car quickly.

She monitors Chuy and Han from a distance for several hours, watching their comings and goings, noting how they go everywhere together. Late in the evening, just before she knows they will leave for the night, she decides to investigate closer. They're both inside the garage, so she isn't shy about approaching the Westfalia. She pokes around, investigating the rust on the wheel well, rubbing her thumb against the dingy little VW badge on the nose. It's a really cute car, she can't deny. Her imagination starts to run away with her, on how convenient it would be to have a van like this to turn into her own miniature camper. Then she wouldn't have to get hotel rooms if she had to chase a skip across state lines. But then, how would she transport them? She wouldn't want any angry fugitive banging around her living space.

She's amusing herself with the idea of a jailed trailer to pull behind this imaginary van when the door to the shop opens and Han Solo himself steps out. She can feel his gaze watching her, but it doesn't interrupt her examination of his van. She's not trying to hide today.

"Pretty little car, isn't she?" he remarks, leaning against the wall of the shop and folding his arms. He looks supremely comfortable.

Rey glances at him, shrugging. "I mean, she could be, if she had a better owner."

Han expelled a short, gruff laugh. "Don't kid yourself, kid, she's too much machine for you to handle."

"Doubt it," Rey retorts, inspecting the rust on the joins where the mirrors meet the body. "What'd you do, put a new Soob engine in her?"

A beat, and then Han's brow furrows. "Lucky guess."

Rey laughs. "Luck has nothing to do with it, old timer. That's just standard now for anyone looking to give these buses a little more juice."

"Hey, who you calling old, kiddo?" Han growls, but there is amusement in it. He finally comes down the steps and stuffs his hands in his pockets, giving her a chin thrust. "And anyway how do you know about these ancient relics? You some kinda hipster, or whatever they're called these days? Those kids who are ironically into old things."

Rey grins. "Definitely not a hipster. I'm a mechanic with a fine appreciation for the classics."

Hearing it aloud, her own answer gives her pause. She's not really a mechanic. She quit the auto shop. And she isn't supposed to lie about her purpose — she's supposed to identify herself as fugitive recovery and tell Han what this visit is about. But she's not ready to arrest him yet. Chuy is right inside, she can hear him belting along to some Juanes song over the sound of a table saw. He's so loud and distracted she might be able to snatch Han without his notice, but the thought still makes her uneasy.

Han smirks, leaning against his car. "Fine appreciation for the classics. Uh-huh. What do you drive?"

"Nothing exciting," she laments. "It's a Daihatsu Rocky."

Han visibly winces. "Oof. Are those things still street legal?"

Something in Rey's chest warms at this interaction, and she finds her grin growing. "It's a piece of work, for sure, but it's all I could afford. I keep it running. Someday I'll get myself something with a real story."

Han's eyes glitter with amusement. "You know, somehow I believe you."

"You're not selling this one, are you?" She cocks her head at the Westfalia.

Han laughs. "Not for all the money in the world."

"Then you really should take better care of her. The rust alone is gonna be the killing blow."

Han pats the car affectionately. "Ah, don't worry about her. She's a tough old bird." He considers her for a second, then stands up straighter. "Hey, c'mere for a second."

He motions for her to follow, and she does. They hop up the steps and enter the garage. Chuy is still singing, even though his saw is off and he's currently testing different sized screws to see which one he wants. Han shuts off the radio and Chuy's deep voice boldly delivers half of a refrain which cuts off the moment he realizes he's singing alone. He looks up, a deep frown settling in his lush beard.

"What did you do?" He demands of Han. "And why did you do it?"

Han motions to Rey. "We have a guest, I didn't think it would be polite to subject her to your warbling."

Chuy straightens, wiping his greasy hands on a greasy cloth. He comes over and bends down to take a look at her. "This the kid poking around your van yesterday?"

"Yeah. Turns out she's an admirer."

"Of us?"

"Of the bird," Han laughs.

Rey extends her hand, giving Chuy a sunny smile. "Hi, I'm Rey."

He takes it. His entire hand engulfs hers as if she were a small child. "It is nice to meet you, Rey. My friends call me Chuy."

"And I'm Han," says Han. "Sorry I didn't introduce myself already. Sometimes my manners are a little rusty."

"Like your van," Rey teases.

Han laughs, Chewie laughs, and the room feels like its bathed in sunlight. There's something in Han's grin that makes Rey feel excited and childlike inside, like she's been waiting all her life to get that same smile from Mando, and never has.

It's probably not a good thought to dwell on, given her actual purpose in contacting Han. She shouldn't try to make more of him than what he is — a bounty to be hunted.

"Rey here is a mechanic," Han explains to Chuy. "She seems to know her stuff."

Chuy motions around at the metal clutter filling the shop. "Did you come to apply for a job?"

Warmth rises Rey's cheeks and she shakes her head. "No. I — I already have a job. I just liked the bus and needed to come back to take a closer look."

"Too bad," says Han. "We could use the help."

"You don't even know me. Why would you hire me?"

"I got a hunch about you." Han shrugs. "If you can appreciate my van, you're our kind of person."

This makes Rey's stomach drop with guilt even as something else inside her clings to the words like water in the desert. She should go before either of them is any nicer to her. She is lying to them both, and the disappointment he'll feel at the reveal of her betrayal will be her fault. She backs up towards the door.

"I wish I could work here. You don't know how bad. But…like I said, I have a job. And…I gotta follow through. You know?" She's stumbling over her excuse, surprised at how a tone of apology tries to crowd the words as she finds them. "Anyway, I should go."

Han gives her a crooked half-smile. "Sure, kiddo, don't worry about it. Come by whenever you want to take a look at the bird. Who knows, maybe one of these days I'll let you take her for a test drive."

Rey's eyes light up momentarily, but she immediately tamps down that flare of hope. There won't be one of those days. Because Han will be in jail. Because Rey is going to arrest him.

She musters a smile and gives Chuy a little wave. "It was great to meet you, Chuy. And you, Han. Thanks for letting me take a look. I'll be back, I promise."

Han nods and Chuy waves back, and Rey escapes out the door once again. Outside she starts sucking air like it's the antidote to whatever spell they put her under.

She starts to walk, her mind clearing. Han exudes paternal affection, that is the problem. Everything about him is the warm glow of what she imagines having a father would feel like. It is intoxicating. Something she has hungered for all her life. Han's energy drew her in and bewitched her. She'd have to be careful, she warns herself. Griff said he was charismatic and wiley. He might be able to use that very same fatherly charm to persuade her into letting him go.

And Chuy, though extremely friendly, did not at all strike her as a harmless giant today. He looked like he could tear someone's arms off.

Rey has walked back to the entrance of the tunnel they visited yesterday. She checks behind her — no one is there. She doesn't know if Han and Chuy will be coming this way at all, so she needs to be quick. She examines the building and the door, and tests it again.

This time, it isn't locked.

This time, it swings open.

Rey stares, heart accelerating a little faster. The tunnel is an access point to one of Seattle's old city streets and one-time underground market. From the tour she took, she knows there are many of these tunnels, and that bootleggers and mobsters in the 20's found ways to connect some of these tunnels during prohibition. She shouldn't go in — it's dangerous and stupid. She could get lost, or trapped, or worse, found out.

But she can't help herself.

She steps into the dimly lit gloom of the tunnel.

Possibly this is the dumbest thing she's ever done. Actually, she's certain it is. But Rey has this tingling feeling in her fingers the she's onto something here. It's like a little bird is fluttering around her chest, the same way it felt when she snuck into Mando's RV and waited for him to take them far away from that little town. Like this decision, however risky, is the right one.

The tunnel opens into an older, wider passageway. This one is crossed with heavy I-beams and old wooden supports. A cracked wooden walkway composes the floor. There are archways and bricked off thresholds, the vestiges of an old market long forgotten. She wanders deeper into it, following the least dusty trail, until eventually she comes to a room stuffed with boxes like the ones Han and Chuy brought the day before.

She runs to one of them and pulls it open. New electronics, still in their packaging, still bundled together in cellophane. There are Empire branded devices and SI branded devices alike. All the latest, shiniest gadgets. She goes to another box to see what's inside it when a sudden chill sweeps over her and her hands freeze over the cardboard. Everything inside her stills.

She isn't alone here.

In a flash she has her taser drawn, whirling and pointing it directly at the person who had materialized behind her.

Her breath catches in her throat.

It isn't Han, or Chuy. It's a much younger man - tall, but not lanky. The black rain coat he is wearing seems to disguise the broad, built frame of his chest, but his presence in this passage is so imposing that Rey doesn't mistake how strong he looks. His thick black hair is wavy and well-groomed, if a little long for the professional business-man vibe he's got going on with his nice pants and nicer shoes. He is gorgeous, and absolutely terrifying.

His pitch-dark eyes reflect the weak yellow light of the incandescent bulbs strewn through the tunnel, and they hold nothing but malice for her.

"Don't—" she starts, her voice catching on the word before she finds the commanding presence she needs. "Don't take another step or I'll tase you, I swear to God."

The man's eyes narrow. "Who are you?"

"My name is Rey," she answers carefully and clearly. "Who are you?"

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" she demands.

"I followed you."

Damn it. Rey doesn't have time to kick herself now, she'll have to do it later. She hasn't been as careful as she thought. But then, she wasn't watching for young men in fancy raincoats, she was watching for Han or Chuy. What did this creep want with her?

"Why?" she asks sharply.

He takes another step towards her, and his presence looms even larger. Her hand tightens around her taser but she doesn't fire yet, and she can't explain it.

"You've been following my father since yesterday," he says coolly. "What are you, some kind of P.I.?"

"How do you—" she catches herself, surprise launching another realization in the midst of her question. "Your father?"

He steps towards her again. Her back bumps up against the wall, but still she doesn't fire the damn taser. Why doesn't she light him up already? He's close enough now that one reach with those long arms of his and he could get to her. She's in real danger, but she is frozen. Or mesmerized. Or...something.

"My father, yes. Han Solo," he confirms. "I can't have you tailing him."

"How did you know I was—"

"Because I've been tailing him too. Keeping tabs. You followed him around yesterday and you were at his shop again today. But you still haven't answer my question. What do you want from him?"

"Stop," Rey snaps as he advances closer again. "Stop moving."

"Or what? You'll use this?" Before she can blink he snatches the taser right out of her hand.

She gasps, her mouth immediately desert-dry. But he doesn't turn it on her, letting it drop to the ground instead and nudging it away with his foot.

"You don't need that."

Her hand twitches, trying to remember if she put her pepper spray on the left or the right.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you," he says, soft and low, and she absolutely does not believe him. "I just need to know what you want with him."

"I—" Rey can't remember how to speak. The danger she's in has paralyzed her. She hates herself for it, but she doesn't know how to break this spell. Her heart is beating so hard in her chest, and she feels trapped by those inky dark eyes glaring daggers at her.

In another flash of movement so quick she almost misses it, his hand flicks out and slides the buttons of her jacket through their loops, smooth as butter. Her jacket falls open to reveal the bulletproof vest underneath. He nods, as if confirming his suspicion, his eyes narrowing as he read the words.

Finally he takes a step back, and there is more ice in his voice than before. "Fugitive recovery. So, he's skipped bail again, has he?"

"Yes," Rey fires back, finally finding her footing again at the reminder of who she was. She's not some inexperienced child in the face of a predator. She has taken out thugs before - she can do it again now. She straightens, trying to be as imposing as possible herself. "Or, at least, he's about to. His bail has been revoked. I'm taking him with me back to Colorado."

The man lifts a single skeptical brow, dry amusement playing with his full lips. "You?"

"Yes, me." A flare of petulance makes Rey hiss the words.

"You're tiny."

"People underestimate me," she says, and her confidence surges. "It's always their downfall."

She steps towards him this time.

He smirks, and she can see it — that glimpse of his father. She couldn't find any resemblance between them before, but its unmistakable in that expression. "No. I don't think so. You can't be very good at your job."

"I am."

This a bit of a generous assessment, perhaps, considering this is her first real assignment where she's not tailing Mando. But it doesn't matter.

"You need to forget this job," he says icily. "My father is a criminal, yes, but I won't let you take him."

"You know I can arrest you for that, right?" She doesn't look at it directly, but locates the taser out of the corner of her eye. If she moves quickly enough, she could get to it and get him on the ground before he has a chance to react. A few prongs in the chest and he'll be wetting himself like everyone else.

"You could try," he says, and there's so much arrogance in it she wants to punch him in that distracting mouth.

"I've taken out perps bigger than you, string bean," she growls.

That smirk again. "I doubt it."

Okay, so he called her bluff. She hasn't. She's talked down bigger skips than him, but Mando is the one to actually fell them if they get aggressive. But this only fuels her annoyance.

"You could be charged with aiding and abetting."

"I have very good attorneys. I'm not afraid of a scrawny little bounty hunter."

Ugh. Attorneys. Rey needs to proceed carefully now, irritating as it is. Many a bail bond agent's whole life has been ruined by an angry family member with lawyers.

"Look, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here. I'm sure you're just a dutiful son looking out for his great father," she says, "But I'm not just gonna let him skip bail because some asshole corners me in a tunnel and gets handsy."

Something about what she says catches the man off guard. She sees a flicker in his face — something wavering there. He frowns and his eyes are still hard, but for once he seem to have an immediate reply.

She snatches her taser back up again and points it at him. This time she will not hesitate to use it.

Maybe he knows it too because he doesn't make a move towards her, even as she carefully edges her way back in the direction she came from.

He watches her, and before she can leave he says quietly, "He isn't, you know."

And even though it's stupid to linger even a single second longer than she has to, Rey pauses. "He isn't what?"

"He isn't a great father. He's not even a good father."

There are ringing notes of bitterness in those words and Rey feels them reverberate down into the very heart of her. They ring with accusation, and Mando's memory is caught in the flare.

She turns and gets out of there as quickly as she can.

She is admittedly rattled that evening when she makes her way back to Poe and Zorri's apartment, her head in a daze. She was in such a dangerous situation, and she'd never felt so powerless. Not ever. Not even when she was starving, because then at least she could control her own actions in the face of certain death.

But that...that encounter. She froze. She could only stare into those onyx eyes and feel his imposing presence all around her. When had she become so weak?

And who the hell is he?

And why did that tiny flash of vulnerability in his face burrow so very deep into her psyche?

Ugh. She needs to figure this out. Han's file didn't mention a son, but she's going to find out who he is anyway, because she will be fulfilling her mandate, especially now after that menacing confrontation.

Zorri and Jannah are home when Rey arrives. Jannah greets her with enormous relief.

"Is it selfish that I'm happy you didn't succeed today? Because I am," says Jannah.

Despite the lingering feelings of fear coursing through her veins, Rey manages to produce a convincing laugh. "I didn't even almost succeed. I talked to him, though, and his partner. Also apparently he had a son."

Zorri is perched like a bird on one of the barstools at her kitchen island. She cocks her head and looks at Rey curiously. "You're gonna take a dad away from his little dude, and that's okay with you?"

"No, no, no. He is not little," Rey replies, thinking of his broad chest and huge, scary-nimble hands. "He's probably in his late twenties. And anyway, I'm not taking him away, he's the one who keeps insisting on jumping bail wherever he goes."

Zorri turns now, fully interested. "Oh, okay! Go back to the part about the son. Is he part of his dad's business?"

"I don't know." It's a good question. He knew about the tunnel, but he'd also admitted his father is a criminal. "I...don't think so."

"You talked to this guy?" Jannah asks.

Rey nods. "He uh...yeah. I ran into him after I left his dad's business. He figured out what I am. Sounds like he's pretty familiar with his dad getting in trouble. It wasn't a surprise to him."

She's not about to tell them that she was cornered in an underground smuggler's den by this frightening stranger who seemed to wield some otherworldly hold over her.

Jannah's eyes widen. "He figured you out? What did he do? Did he get mad?"

"Not — not mad, really, but he did tell me to go home and forget him. He also said he didn't think I could do it, physically. Like I was too small to actually gain an advantage over H-his dad."

Zorri makes a scoffing sound from her perch. "Well now you gotta follow through, or else you'll let that arrogant prick think he's won."

This draws a small grin from Rey, who nods once. "My thoughts exactly."

Jannah frowns. "Except now you know that your mark has got two people looking out for him."

"I can handle it," Rey assures her. She smiles and grabs Jannah's hand. "Tell me about your first day."

There isn't much to tell, Jannah admits. She had to go in to fill out a bunch of paperwork and authorize a background check.

Still, she finds things to talk about and the tightness in Rey's chest that has been a vice around her lungs since she got out of that tunnel finally begins to ease.

Poe and Finn return that night with two twin beds to put in the room Jannah and Rey will be using. Rey helps Finn build them while they others make dinner. They all sit around and talk late into the night, and when everyone finally goes to bed, Rey has a moment to run a search.

Han Solo has a son.

There's only one other Solo in the Seattle area — it's not a common last name, she's surprised to discover. There is a listing for a Ben Solo, aged twenty-nine. That seems about right. She checks and doesn't find any social media presence for him, until she discovers a LinkedIn hit and sees the face of the man who accosted her in the tunnel staring back at her from his profile picture.

She sets her phone down for a minute, blinking at the wall a few times to clear the image from her mind, and then checks it again.

Yep, he is beautiful.

His angular face, his lush dark waves, his plump lips and cosmic dark eyes. He is way less scary in his profile picture than he was in the tunnel. On the surface, this picture is neutral and professional. He isn't smiling, though, and there's a tension in his brow, a firmness to his mouth that Rey interprets as someone either deeply serious, or deeply unhappy.

Tearing her eyes away from the picture, she checks his info. He works for Empire Analytics, and this surprises her. Empire is one of the biggest tech giants in the entire world. They produce cellphones and computers and wearable personal tech, hugely popular and hugely profitable. They've faced a lot of public backlash for exploiting privacy loopholes, overworking their employees, and selling user data, but they continue to dominate despite the bad public image.

Ben Solo is listed as top level management, just under executive status, which seems so bizarre to Rey. How did the son of a smuggler end up all the way at the top of one of the biggest tech companies in the world? And did he know his dad was smuggling Empire's own products?

There's not much more she can find out about Ben at the moment, and it yields absolutely no information about his family, so she stops trying.

Griff said Han was married, but there are no other Solo's she can find, and Ben doesn't have any family associates on LinkedIn, so she can't immediately discover the identity of his mother.

But at least the has a name to put to the creature in the tunnel. Ben Solo.

She tests out the syllables, silently shaping them on the dark so as not to disturb Jannah. She says them and envisions the promise she makes as she names him, the promise that she will follow through with her mandate, and nothing he can do will scare her off.