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“What are you doing here?” Fox said tersely. “More importantly, how did you get in here?”
It wasn’t as if they exactly advertised when and where the Guard command staff had their meetings, after all. Especially not to a member of the GAR, of all people.
Cody, head held high and his bucket under one arm, didn’t rise to the bait. Of course not – fucking Cody always had to be the bigger person.
“You were ignoring my requests for a meeting,” Cody said evenly, as if Fox’s subordinates weren’t right there. “I had to take drastic measures. I hope I’m not interrupting.”
Fox saw Thire and Stone exchange a look out of the corner of his eye, and he barely resisted the urge to snarl.
“You are,” he said bluntly. “Get out. I’ll make an appointment with you later.”
Sometime in the next decade, perhaps, if he was feeling generous.
But Cody shook his head, pointedly not removing himself from the premises, regardless of Fox’s very polite request.
“This is urgent,” he claimed. “I need to talk to you about the numbers, vod, and the Guard clearly can’t afford for you to avoid me any longer.”
A dark, ugly emotion rose inside of Fox, and he slowly got to his feet, ignoring the way Thorn was biting his lip like he wanted to say something.
“Oh, you’re an expert now, are you?” he said softly. Like the hiss of a snake right before it struck, fangs flashing deep into the vein. “You know all about what the Guard can and can’t avoid, Commander Cody?”
Cody grimaced, and for the first time, he seemed to take note of the other vod’e in the room – all looking deeply uncomfortable at the confrontation they were witnessing.
“Look, can we just speak in your office?” he said. “We need to discuss this. Now.”
Fox clucked his tongue, and came around the other side of the meeting table. His eyes, when they met Silver’s, were nearly calm. He’d passed the point of being angry, and was now floating on that kind of serene grace that the Jedi must experience.
May the force be with you or whatever. Fox would show Cody the force – up close and personal.
“Let’s go,” he said. “Silver, please continue with the points we’ve discussed and hand over a summary to me later. I’ll be stepping out now.”
Silver nodded, and soon Fox was out the door and striding down the long hallways, Cody following at his heels.
“I do apologize for the lack of warning, Fox, but we received some rather disturbing intel on the results of the last Guard investigation – ”
And that was about the point where Fox stopped listening. The very last thing he needed was for a frontie, no matter how well he knew them, to come in here and start telling him how to do his own damn job.
“In here,” he said gruffly, and ushered them into his tiny, shitty office, closing the door from any nosy onlookers behind them.
“Well, to put it plainly, I’d like to offer my assistance with this,” Cody was saying, oblivious to the rage building to a boiling point inside of Fox. “Between the two of us, we should be able to – ”
“Cody, let me make this clear; you are not going to do anything with my Guard,” Fox interrupted, cutting off this ignorant facade before it could go any further. “This is my planet, and my men. I will handle it on my own.”
As he had been for the past two years, thank you very much.
Cody let out a tiny sigh, like Fox was the one being unreasonable here.
“Don’t you trust me, Fox?” Cody said, a quiet frustration in his voice.
Fox laughed, the sound bitterly cold.
“It’s not about trust,” he said, even though it was. It always was, even when it wasn't. “It’s about whether I think you’re up for the job. And no offense, vod, but I don’t think you fit the bill.”
It was a cruel jab, but it hit the mark – Cody flinched backwards, mouth tightening to a thin line.
To his credit, he squared his shoulders and stepped forward once more, nearly nose-to-nose with Fox.
“I know you,” Cody said, deadly quiet. “And you only act like this much of a shithead when you have something to hide. Don’t try this with me, Fox. I’m here to help.”
Fox resisted the urge to bear his teeth – the last thing he wanted was to prove Cody right.
“Let me try speaking slow enough for you to understand,” Fox said, enunciating his words clearly. “I. Don’t. Need. Your. Help.”
“Clearly you do, or you wouldn’t be in this situation,” Cody argued, before his eyes fluttered shut with a pained look, realizing too late what he’d said.
Fox nearly crowed with delight.
“This situation?” he repeated, bumping his chest plate against Cody’s, aggressively pushing him back. “What situation is that, Cody? Huh?”
“You’re dealing with way too much,” Cody tried to argue, though the resigned look in his eyes showed he was already aware of his loss. The second he’d struck back, he’d lost. “I’m not trying to – fuck, I’m not here to fight, Fox. I’m concerned about you. The reports coming out of the Guard… They’re incredibly worrying, vod. I just wanted to make sure – ”
“Make sure of what?” Fox spat out, bristling. “Make sure my leadership is up to standard? That I’m not fucking everything up, just like I always do? Oh, poor, perfect Cody, always having to clean up the rest of the squad’s mistakes. Aren’t you fucking tired of it by now?”
Cody’s eyes widened and he almost visibly floundered.
“Fox, you know that’s not what I meant, I was only – ”
“Only coming into my base, disrespecting me in front of all of my men, acting like you’re some big fucking hotshot,” Fox sneered. “What, has being around that nattie of yours finally given you some self-respect?”
Cody went still.
“Fox,” he said, near-silent. “Don’t do this.”
“I’m not the one who started it,” Fox shot back, and slammed his hand against the door panel. “You’re free to get the hell out, now. Don’t come back.”
Cody’s eyes widened, and he looked truly lost for the first time since he had barged into Fox’s base.
“Well?” Fox barked out, nearly shaking with it all. He shoved his hands behind his back, trying to hide the trembling in his fingers. “What’s wrong? Gone deaf? I said to get out!”
Cody took one step back, then another. By the time he reached the doorframe, he seemed to settle back into his skin, shoulders straightening.
“I won’t interfere in your work,” Cody informed him, giving him a shallow nod of acknowledgement. “And I shouldn’t have questioned you in front of your men. I can admit that. But your reaction is entirely out of line, and out of character besides that. I’ll be back, Fox. I hope we can have a more civil conversation then.”
Cody turned, leaving the room with the same grace and confidence as always.
For just one moment, Fox really, really hated him for it.
Then that moment passed, and he let out a trembling breath, leaning back to sit on top of his desk.
Fuck. When Cody got curious like that, he wouldn’t let go until he’d neatly plucked out every bit of available intel. Whatever Fox had desired with this outburst, it certainly wouldn’t have the intended effect now…
Damn it. So much for scaring him off.