Longnose’s shiny eyes widened in surprise, then grew squinty and hard. “It don’t matter what you do to me, girlie. You’re-“
“If you had any brains, you’d watch who you called girlie,” Jaina said. She dumped the Squib into the muddy water, then held the tip of her lightsaber so close to his nose that it melted his whiskers off. “Don’t move-don’t even breathe.”
Longnose’s eyes crossed as he focused on the tip of Jaina’s blade, and she slowly let him sink.
“C-c-can I t-t-tread water?”
“If you can do it with your hands over your head,” Jaina said.
Longnose’s hands went over his head, then he sank so far into the stream that he had to tip his head back to keep his chin above water. Satisfied, Jaina turned her attention back to Scarcheek and was relieved to find him firmly in the grasp of a handful of Mollom, threatening and flailing as he tried to free himself.
Jaina turned to tell Wuluw to have the Squib brought over-and found the little Killik floating a few meters downstream, bobbing lifelessly in a slick of gore and shattered chitin.
Longnose tipped his head. “Sorry.”
Jaina eyed the Squib sternly. “Jedi can sense when you’re lying, you know.”
Longnose’s ears went flat. “Hey, it’s not our fault!” he protested. “We were aiming for you.”
Jaina risked sticking her head above the streambank long enough to call the Mollom over with the second Squib. As the Killiks dashed from tree to tree, dodging laser beams, she pushed Longnose up onto the bank. She unbuckled his utility harness and tossed it-and the holdout blaster and vibroknives hidden on the underside-back into the water.
“Hey!” he demanded. “Those are my clothes!”
“It’s warm,” Jaina retorted. “We’re on a jungle planet.”
She studied Longnose for a minute, touching him through the Force to make him uneasy, then deactivated her lightsaber and leaned in close.
“Why are you trying to kill me?” she demanded.
“I’m not talking,” Longnose retorted.
“Are you sure about that?” Jaina asked. She used the Force to press him into the muddy bank. “Because you and your friend get to live if you answer my questions.”
“You’re bluffing,” Longnose said. “You can’t kill us in cold blood. You’re a Jedi!”
“You’re right-but there’s no time to watch you, either.” Jaina cast a meaningful glance toward the approaching Killiks. “So your fate will rest in Mollom’s hands. What do you want me to tell them?”
Longnose’s lip curled into a sneer. “You wouldn’t dare. I know about the dark side. If you …”
Jaina made a pinching motion with her fingers. Longnose’s mouth continued to work, but his voice fell silent.
“If you’re not going to say anything useful, there’s no use in your talking.”
Jaina turned her attention to Scarcheek, whom the Mollom were bringing down into the stream. The Killiks had been none too gentle with their prisoner, tearing off an ear and leaving him half bald. They deposited him in the mud next to Longnose, then took up encircling positions and stood there clacking their huge mandibles.
Jaina snatched Scarcheek’s utility belt off him and tossed it into the water with Longnose’s. “How about you?” she asked. “Feel like answering a few questions?”
“No.”
“Too bad,” Jaina said. “Because if you do, you leave here alive. Otherwise, I’ll let Mollom deal with you.”
Scarcheek glanced at his Killik tormenters and could not suppress a little shudder. Then he shrugged and tried to appear unintimidated. “Depends on the questions, I guess.”
“Fair enough,” Jaina said. “Why are you trying to kill me?”
“Dumb question,” Scarcheek retorted. ” ‘Cause we took a contract. What do you think?”
Longnose rolled his eyes and began to shake his head. “Don’t listen to your buddy,” Jaina said. “He’s got a death wish.”
Scarcheek nodded. “Goes with the business.”
“Who put out the contract?” Jaina asked.
Longnose continued to shake his head, now drawing his finger across his throat.
“Why not?” Scarcheek demanded of her. “Nobody said nothing about keeping quiet. They just want her dead.”
“You see?” Jaina gave them both a little Force-nudge, then locked eyes with Scarcheek. “Who wants us dead?”
“The Directors,” Scarcheek said. “And it’s just you. They said to leave your boyfriend out of it, unless he got in the way.”