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THE FALIA CLUB, NAR SHADDAA, 22BBY
MARGO GLARES AT HONDO WITH every ounce of vitriol she can muster, incredibly aware of the blaster pressed into Anakin's jaw. "You're working with him."
Hondo stares at her impassively, but his brow furrows slightly. The Force around them stirs, threatening yet not Dark. Not exactly. "With who?"
"Kenobi," she bites out. Her right hand darts low, brushing the hilt of one of her lightsabers, but Hondo jerks Anakin back at the movement.
"Ah, ah, ah," he says, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "None of that."
"Margo—" Anakin tries, but Hondo tightens the grip around his throat and the boy chokes on the word, gasping.
"What do you want?" Margo demands. She meets Anakin's panicked gaze; a moment passes, filled with words unspoken and cold calculation. "Let him go."
"I'm not working with Kenobi," Ohnaka says angrily. He sounds just indignant enough not to be lying. "I was telling the truth. I have no idea who sent those holos."
"So it's a coincidence that the one holo you didn't send to the Council was the only one with sound," Margo bites out. Her eyes flick from Anakin's face to the blaster at his throat.
"Exactly."
"I'm not stupid, Hondo," she hisses, affronted. "It's clear that you wanted to draw us out from the Core. How much money did he offer you?"
"I didn't want to do anything," Hondo tells her, sounding long-suffering. "And he didn't pay me! I'm not working for him! All I want is amnesty."
Margo snorts, her mind going into overdrive. "Never going to fucking happen. Do you really think the Council values the life of a single Knight—not even a knight, really, a mere Padawan—over that of a possible killer?"
She sees the moment that the words hit Anakin. He looks like he's been slapped, the blood draining out of his face, and he stares at her in outright horror. Please, Skywalker, she thinks desperately. Hang in there. Just a minute more.
"I find that hard to believe," Hondo remarks dryly.
"Oh, you'd better believe it," Margo orders, still scrabbling for a solution. Just a minute more. "The Order is never going to offer you amnesty, Hondo. Not even if you kill Anakin Skywalker."
"I don't want to kill him," Hondo says, almost biting out the words. He eyes the blaster in his own hand with distaste. "But I will."
"What kind of psychopath are you?" Margo challenges. "Either kill him or don't. I've told you, the Jedi Order won't let this chance slip through their fingers. Who are you working for, Hondo?"
