HIM 20. She needs protection
"You gonna let her leave tomorrow?" Mera asks, sitting down immediately after the Communicator left.
"Yes, I will."
"Wow, didn't think you would actually do it." She smiles, but there's something knowing in her expression.
"Didn't think I would do it either," I reply, still trying to process my own decision. The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them, and now I'm stuck with the consequences.
"You do know she will not be safe with Miller still around, right?"
"She wanted to go, she begged for it, I said yes. End of discussion." The words come out sharper than I intended, and I can hear the defensiveness in my own voice. Damn it, why am I explaining myself to Mera?
"Wow." Mera holds up her hands with a little smile. "Calm down."
"I'm sorry," I say, meaning it. "It's just-what else should I have done? Keeping her here unwillingly isn't an option. Also, weren't you the one who said I should let her go?"
"Yes, I did. I just didn't think you would let her go unprotected. Our communicator is a very vulnerable human being."
"All humans are vulnerable," I say, because compared to us they are.
"Yes, but she is..." Mera holds up her hand, showing me an exaggerated gesture with her fingers of a few centimeters. "Small."
"She's not that small."
"You know what I mean. She's tiny. She needs protection," Mera says, her tone becoming more serious.
"She survived more than one night with wolves. She'll be okay." Although I'm not actually sure about that.
"You know the reason she survived that."
Yes. Me.
"I can't protect her for her whole-" I stop mid-sentence, realizing what I almost said.
"-life?" Mera looks at me, with a hint of amusement.
"I didn't mean-"
"I mean just until Miller's gone," she interrupts.
"Until Miller's gone?" I repeat, laughing now because what is she even thinking? I've got responsibilities here. How the hell am I supposed to protect the pack if I'm not here? I'm in the middle of a strategic plan. I need to keep-
"Exactly," Mera says, totally serious now.
"You're joking."
"I am not."
"Well, it's not happening."
"Why not?"
"Because I need to be here." What is she even saying?
"We don't need you here twenty-four hours a day. You can leave for some time. You have representatives for a reason-they're more than able to do the job."
"You know I can't do that. And leaving is her decision."
Mera stays quiet, but I can tell she wants to say something. There's that look she gets when she's working up to making a point I won't like.
"What? Say it."
"Nothing."
"Mera, please just get it out."
"It's just that if Miller really wants to get rid of the Communicator, at some point he or someone from his people will come and get her. Wouldn't it be helpful if there was a wolf to track those movements, which eventually will lead us to Miller?"
She says this while walking away, leaving me no time to respond.
"Mera!" I try to call after her, but she doesn't stop.
I sit there for a moment, her words echoing in my head. Damn her for making sense. Damn her for planting ideas that I know are logical but feel impossible.
Maybe I won't have to deal with any of this if Senna Miller finally starts talking to Maz. Maybe we could get the information we need without having to use her as bait. Again.
I make my way through the tunnels to check on their progress. I can hear voices through the door before I reach it-one deep and growling, the other crisp and cold.
"I've told you everything I'm going to tell you."
"You've told me nothing useful," comes the growled response.
Apparently Maz is still trying to get answers out of her. Great. And the sound of his reaction tells me he hasn't gotten far.
"I've answered every question you've asked. Not my fault if the answers don't satisfy you."
"You're being deliberately obtuse."
"I'm being precise. There's a difference."
I push open the door and take in the scene. Senna Miller sits in an armchair, looking completely composed while Maz paces up and down looking extremely frustrated.
"Still having trouble with our guest, Maz?" I ask.
"She's not cooperating," he mutters.
"I'm cooperating perfectly," Senna says calmly. "I've answered every question you've asked me. Multiple times, in fact."
"You're giving me useless answers."
"I'm giving you accurate answers. The fact that they're useless to you isn't my concern."
Maz's hands clench into fists. "Look, we know your father sent you here-"
"Correct."
"-to capture the Communicator-"
"Also correct."
"-so what was the attack plan on us?"
"There wasn't one."
"Bullshit."
"Language." Senna's voice carries a hint of amusement. "And it's not bullshit, it's fact. There was no attack plan because attack wasn't the objective. Defense was."
"You're lying."
"I am not. I've already told you. Multiple times."
Maz turns to me. "See what I mean? She just goes in circles."
"Maybe you're asking the wrong questions," Senna suggests helpfully.
"I'm asking perfectly reasonable questions!"
"You're asking the same questions over and over, expecting different answers. That's not reasonable, that's hopeful."
Maz looks ready to explode. "You're impossible."
"I'm thorough. There's a difference."
"Thorough would be giving me information I can actually use."
"Information you can use for what, exactly?" Senna leans forward slightly. "To attack my father? To justify whatever you're planning next? Why would I help you do that?"
"Because your father is a murderer."
"According to you."
"According to the evidence."
"What evidence? You haven't shown me any evidence."
He looks to me again. "Maz, let's take a break," I say.
"But I'm getting somewhere-"
"You're getting nowhere. Let's take a break."
Maz stomps out, muttering under his breath. I look at Senna for a moment, taking in how she sits proudly in her chair. If I didn't know she's human, she could've been a wolf with that attitude and confidence of hers.
I follow Maz out and close the door behind me.
I find him in the corridor, pacing back and forth like a caged animal.
"Well?" I ask. "What does she say?"
"Nothing," he snaps, running both hands through his hair. "Absolutely nothing useful."
"She's not talking at all?"
"Oh, she's talking plenty. You heard that. Just not about anything that matters." He stops pacing and faces me. "She answers every question I ask, but it's all bullshit responses that tell us nothing."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean she's playing games. Technical answers that are completely useless. Like when I ask about attack plans, she says there weren't any. When I ask about her father's location, she says she doesn't know current positions of personnel."
"Maybe she really doesn't know."
Maz shakes his head. "That's not even the worst part. She told me earlier that she and her father had some kind of falling out. They're not on speaking terms anymore."
I feel my stomach sink. "What kind of falling out?"
"She wouldn't say exactly, but apparently it happened when she took this job.
Something about professional disagreements.
" He kicks at the stone floor. "Point is, even if we wanted to use her to get to Miller, we can't. He's not going to come running if his own daughter's in danger-he doesn't give a damn about her anymore. "
Perfect. Just perfect. Senna Miller is useless as leverage, which means Mera's crazy plan might actually be our only option. And we really need the Communicator again.
This fucking mess.
"How sure are you about this?" I ask.
"Pretty sure. She seemed genuinely bitter about it, not like she was lying to throw us off." Maz leans against the wall. "She's basically a dead end. We've got Miller's daughter, but Miller doesn't care."
I close my eyes and lean back against the opposite wall. This day just keeps getting better.
"So what now?" Maz asks.
"Well, tomorrow, I'll just have to find a very hurt Communicator, let her go, and somehow convince her that I'll be going with her."
"Should be a fun conversation," Maz says, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Nothing says 'please trust me again' like 'I'm going to use you as bait and follow you around like a...'" He glances at me, then adds with deliberate emphasis, "dog."