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Good spies were hard to find.
Of course, that was why you couldn’t tell anyone about them, even your revolutionary colleagues. The fewer people knew about a mole, the safer their cover.
Still, keeping secrets was always complicated.
Luthen didn’t regret what he’d done to keep his inside woman from becoming collateral damage in Saw Gerrera’s righteous rampage. Better Saw lose a few squads than Luthen lose one of his most valuable informants. But if Saw had only listened to him, nobody would’ve had to have lost anything at all.
“Eufornis Minor.” Saw jabbed an accusing finger at him. “Was that you?”
“You know damn well it wasn’t,” Luthen growled back. “I was the one who told you it wasn’t worth it.”
“They knew.” Saw trembled, wild-eyed. “Somebody tipped them off.”
Luthen shrugged. “I told you not to do it.”
“Why?” Saw challenged. “You never gave me a reason.”
Luthen scoffed under his breath. “Come now, Saw. I thought we trusted each other’s judgment.”
“You’ve never trusted me!” Saw barked. “I see how you look at me. The secrets you keep behind your lips.”
“You know the importance of operational security as well as I do.”
“Are we allies, Luthen?” Saw demanded. “Are we truly on the same side? I’ve grown tired of wondering.”
“If you’re going to second-guess your allies at every turn,” Luthen replied evenly, “then there’s no point in having them.”
“Is that a threat, Luthen?” he grinned. “Are you going to cut me off?”
“Not everything is a threat, Saw. Sometimes it’s just stating reality.”
“Go on, do it!” Saw’s eyes burned. “You need me, Luthen. You’d never have gotten this far without me.”
“And you need me,” Luthen retorted. “So let’s not pretend either of us is going to terminate our partnership.”
“We are not partners, Luthen,” Saw shot back. “Partners trust each other with vital information.”
“I know you don’t tell me everything,” said Luthen, “and I’ve never asked you to. Why expect of me what I don’t expect of you?”
“I don’t ask you to tell me everything. Just what I need to know.”
“And that’s what I tell you.”
Saw was quiet for a moment. “You think I’m simple.”
“I know you’re not.”
“You think I won’t understand if you try to explain things to me,” Saw continued defiantly. “All your reading, all your theory— you don’t think the fact that I’ve lived it is good enough.”
“It’s not about that, Saw.”
“You think my mind is too wild for me to think on my own!” Saw pressed. “You think I can just be your puppet, blindly taking directions.”
“When have you ever taken directions from me?”
“Tell me!” Saw roared. “Tell me why a guaranteed successful operation went up in smoke!”
“You’re angry and you’re taking it out on me.”
“Why shouldn’t I be angry?”
“You should be angry. You have every right to be. But you’re not directing it anywhere useful.”
Saw snorted. “I see how it is. You only want me to feel anger when you can use it.”
“Don’t you get tired of assuming the worst in people?”
“You won’t put me on a leash, Luthen!” Saw declared, jabbing his finger in the air. “My fire makes me strong. No one else can fight the Empire like I can.”
“I know.”
Saw’s lips curled into a smirk. “You’re jealous.”
“I admire you, Saw.”
“You want all the glory for yourself.” Saw’s grin grew even wider. “That’s why you told me not to do it.”
“I don’t do this for glory. You know that.”
“You couldn’t stand to see me succeed.”
“I want you to succeed, Saw. That’s why I choose to help you.”
“That’s a funny thing to call what you did at Eufornis.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“I lost a lot of good men, Luthen. Don’t play stupid with me.”
Luthen looked him straight in the eye. “Whatever you’re going to accuse me of, just say it.”
Saw grew quiet. “I want you to admit it.”
Luthen crossed his arms. “Tell me why you’re angry with me and maybe we can both apologize.”
“You know why I’m angry with you.”
“I know that you’re blaming me for your own mistakes.”
“Mistakes!” Saw exploded. “An Imperial shipyard with their guard down, ripe for destruction, and my people are the sitting ducks? That mission would have been a success if the Empire hadn’t known we were coming!”
“But they did.”
“And you knew they would.”
Luthen thinned his lips. “I told you not to.”
Saw’s nostrils flared silently.
“Saw.” Luthen sighed. “You know I have ears everywhere. You don’t think maybe it’s possible I told you to hold off because I knew Eufornis was no good?”
“If you had that kind of intel,” Saw replied coldly, “you would’ve shared it with me.”
“I will next time.” Luthen had no intention of keeping that promise, but he needed Saw to calm down. “If it means that much to you, I’ll tell you why next time I say not to attack an Imperial installation.”
“Why don’t you tell me why I shouldn’t have attacked Eufornis?”
“There’s no point to it,” Luthen replied tersely. “What’s done is done. We’ve learned our lesson. Let’s move forward.”
Saw’s expression remained unchanged.
“For what it’s worth,” Luthen added, truthfully, “I am sorry about your men.”
Saw was silent for another moment. “Can you make it up to me?”
Luthen nodded. “I’m sure I can think of something.”
“It’d better be good.” Saw crossed his arms.
“I’ll see what I can do.”