How Much I Know - a Renegades | Marissa Meyer fan fiction

Chapter 35

"I don't think Ingrid will be very complying," Mara said as she and Kahless were leaving the training facility. "We need to do something."

Kahless nodded. "I've been avoiding this for a while, but I suppose we don't have a choice. Let's visit Nitrana."

Mara frowned. "Yes, I suppose we don't have one. Are you sure you can hold up against her persuasion?"

Kahless pursed her lips. "I don't know. You'll know if she does anything to me, right? Then you can lock me to a pole to make sure I don't do anything stupid."

Mara was worried about what exactly Nitrana could do to Kahless, but she could see that Kahless wanted to visit her 'friend' along with Mara. There was nothing Mara could do. She nodded.

"All right. Let's get this over with." Kahless wrinkled her nose, heading to the stairs, not the elevator.

"Why the stairs?" Mara wondered.

"If I'm out of breath I don't think of as many insults."

Mara shrugged. Why not?

After what seemed like an infinite continuity of stairs, the two made it to Nitrana's floor. Her door was plain as ever, with only the scripted N-I-T-R-A-N-A.

Kahless stepped forward and knocked three times without hesitation. "Come in," Nitrana's voice said.

Kahless turned the knob and stepped over the threshold. Mara followed close behind. "Nitrana, we need a note that says, 'Keep your word,'" Kahless said.

"Why?" Nitrana asked suspiciously.

"We've gotten word that a Renegade has deviated from loyalty. We need this to -" 

Nitrana turned around and started scribbling on a pad of paper. She brought the page to Kahless's line of sight. Mara didn't realize what was happening until too late. 

'Tell the truth. Now.'

Mara reacted by slapping her hand over her friend's mouth before she could spill their secrets. "No."

Nitrana smirked, her sharp teeth just peeking out of her lips. "Well, you can't do that forever, Mara. I've been training for the past ten years. How long have you? Oh, at the most a week?" She raised her eyebrows, daring Mara to question her.

Mara reluctantly saw the logic in that statement and released her hold on Kahless's mouth, but not before whispering, "Not the whole truth." 

Kahless immediately started talking. "We know that Nightmare and the Detonator are facing off today at Cosmopolis Park. We are afraid that the Detonator won't keep her promise."

Nitrana nodded before smiling maliciously. "Villains, are you?" Kahless nodded. Nitrana laughed aloud. "Well, then, welcome to the club."

"You're a villain?" Mara asked.

"Of course. You can't live for ten years in solitary confinement and not hate your jailers. But I'm not an Anarchist if that's what you're asking. I'm my own solitary villain." She smirked again. "By the way, who is Nightmare really?"

Kahless was about to answer, but Mara couldn't let Nova down. She leapt forward and pinned Nitrana's shoulders to the wall. "Kahless, leave the room," she ordered without looking away from Nitrana. Mara took out her handcuffs and attached them to Nitrana's wrists.

Mara stood and hurried out of the room, not looking back, and slammed the door. "Phew," she exclaimed.

"I agree. Let's get out of here," Kahless advised before hurrying to the elevator bank, not the stairs. Mara followed.

Once inside the elevator, knowing they were being recorded, Mara said, "Well, that didn't work out the way we planned."

"Yes, I definitely needed a reminder." Kahless sighed.

----------

Kahless, Mara, and Narcissa set up camp early the morning of the 'death,' as they had started calling it. Their camp included three large black trash bags with see-through panels perched against the fence. Each girl had their own bag, radio, snacks, and entertainment (Kahless had her memorized virtual library, Narcissa her ability to leave with a mirror, and Mara a notebook to write in), and were situated in there different outposts in Cosmopolis Park.

The plan was to use the radios to communicate with each other, and intervene if necessary. If not, they were going to have a big show to watch.

"Hello, fellow eavesdroppers!" Mara said over radio. She needed someway to break the silence.

"Hey Mara," Kahless replied, quickly followed by Narcissa, who said the same.

"Well, this is a trashy way to stake out," Narcissa punned.

"Yeah," Mara shot back, smiling, "my hair looks like a rat's nest. Oh, hello!"

The three girls giggled quietly to themselves until Nova and Adrian entered.

The entrance was in Narcissa's range, so she translated the action: "Nova sees him and walks up. They make some - ugh - flirty comment about uniforms (I didn't even know that was possible...) Anyway, Nova doesn't look half-bad with the acting. They're talking. I can't hear the words, but they look like they're flirting. Flirting will be the death of me, that's for sure."

Narcissa paused long enough for Kahless to say, "Aren't you the one who reads romance novels? Willingly?"

There was a second of silence before Narcissa said, "Tough crowd." She clicked her tongue in disapproval. "Besides, they're just so nice together. And then they smile. Don't get me started on that gesture. Well, the couple - yes, I'm calling them that, because it's what they are - is buying tickets and discussing playing games. Why," Narcissa moaned, "do you make me watch this? If they so much as mention the Ferris wheel..." The threat hung in the air for hours in which no one spoke, too engaged in watching the couple when they could and silently screaming.

It was only when they were in Mara's domain did they mention the Ferris wheel, and Mara just about quit. It was so cliche. The epitome of overused. The zenith of cringe. It was hard to watch.

"Um, Narcissa?" Mara started, struggling not to scream at the top of her lungs, "They... mentioned... a Ferris... wheel."

The silence that could be interpreted as gagging, vomiting, and fist-pounding came from Narcissa's end of the line. Mara buried a laugh.

"And that, my friends, is how to annoy the prodigy out of someone. Namely, Narcissa," Kahless observed.