She didn’t smile when she saw us on the screen, but instead flicked her gaze between the two of us. I realized this was the first time she’d seen us, though she’d probably heard about us plenty. We probably were not what she expected, either.
For some reason, I didn’t think that speaking first was going to be right for Joe and me. Joe must have thought the same thing, because we both waited.
“You won’t remember me, Alpha Bennett,” she said, voice even. “You were probably only five or six the first time we met. But I remember you. Your father was…. Well. He was a good man. My condolences.”
“Thank you,” Joe said, rather stiffly. “That’s kind of you to say.”
She nodded at him, then looked back at me. I refused to be intimidated by her. I don’t know how much I succeeded in that. “Alpha Matheson,” she said. “Curious thing.”
I didn’t know if I should be offended or not. “How so?”
“I’ve never met someone quite like you before,” she said. “For all intents and purposes, you appear to be one of a kind.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said honestly. “And you don’t have to call me Alpha. It’s just Ox.”
“Really.” She sounded amused. “Just Ox.”
“It’s a sign of respect,” Joe said to me.
“I know,” I said. “But nobody else calls me that. I don’t need her to either.”
“Curious,” she said again. “We could dispense with the pleasantries, I suppose. I was never one to stand on ceremony.”
“What did you want, Michelle?” Joe asked.
She smiled at him, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “That list is a mile long.”
“Why don’t we just start with the things you want from us,” Joe said. “Seems like it’d be easier that way.”
“I don’t recall saying I wanted anything from you.”
“You didn’t have to,” Joe said. “It was implied.”
“Fair,” she said. The smile dropped off her face. “Where have you been the last three years?”
Joe tensed next to me. “You know where we were.”
“Not the specifics.”
“Specifically, we were everywhere. We didn’t stay in one place. Funny how that worked.”
Her fingers tapped on the desk as she leaned back in her chair. “But you never caught up with him. Richard, I mean.”
“No,” Joe said stonily.
“And Robert Livingstone? Osmond? Anything from them?”
“No.”
“Why is that?”
“I couldn’t tell you,” Joe said. “Why don’t you ask the teams you sent out? They didn’t seem to have any better luck.”
“Yes.” She frowned. “That. That… was disappointing, to say the least. Why do you think that was?”
“Because he’s smart,” Joe said. “And ruthless. Something your people could never be.”
“And you could?” she asked, and I squeezed Joe’s hand out of sight, because careful, careful.