Chapter 8:
Luciana Kilroy, 18, District Eight
Five months before the Reaping
Despite the stress and high stakes of what needs to get done, Kilroy just has a good feeling about tonight. How can she not have a little fun when she gets to go to a party with her best friend, maybe flirt a little with some other people, and end the night with putting a black mark in Blaise Janek's reputation? A totally normal night for a teenage girl, right? Well…one of those things isn't quite like the others. But it sounds like her perfect Friday night.
Kilroy shifts into a different yoga position, stretching out her stomach and pausing to take a bite of her apple. She watches the gang sit at a table, playing a round of poker and laughing at each other. She shakes her head at them before tossing her apple core at Faustus's head. The man stands up, towering over the other people there. He crosses his arms at Kilroy, the action making his tattooed muscles more prominent. "Did you just…throw an apple core at my head?"
Kilroy shrugs before shifting into downward dog, hiding the smirk on her face as Faustus tries to pretend he's angry. "Maybe," she mutters before trying to hold back some laughter. "We're supposed to be preparing for tonight, not playing cards."
Faustus roars in laughter at this as Kilroy stands up, brushing off her clothes before looking over at the table. Faustus is grinning at her, trying to get her to crack a smile. And it's almost working, so she narrows her eyes at him, fighting to stay cool and collected. "Just because you don't know how to have some fun doesn't mean the rest of us can't have some to relax."
"I do know how to have fun!" Kilroy crosses her arms at him, still struggling to fight off a smile, especially when he just raises an eyebrow at her. It's clear he doesn't believe her – and he's right not to – but she isn't giving him the satisfaction of knowing he's right. So she turns her attention to the table and gives her second in command a slightly pleading look. "Drusa, help me out here."
The girl gives a shrug and a small smile at Kilroy before glancing back down at her cards. "I don't know, Luciana. I guess you do have fun punching people. But that's about it for what you do for fun."
Kilroy groans at the use of her real name – even if Drusa is the only one she would allow to call her it – and heads over to the table, taking the empty chair and spinning it around before sitting so she can rest her elbows on the back of it. She's about to start teasing them before she takes a good long look at the group around her, growing serious as she thinks about what they're doing tonight. As always, she's silently hoping that nothing will happen to them tonight. She'll never tell them that – Faustus would never let her hear the end of it – but she is too concerned about them, against her will. She wasn't supposed to care for them.
She wasn't supposed to care about resentful Vex, who sits with her feet propped up on the table as she uses a knife to pick dirt out from under her nails. She wasn't supposed to care about the big and tough goofball Faustus, who tries to use the distraction to peek at Sabina's card, earning a slap on the wrist that only makes him laugh. She wasn't supposed to care about Sabina either, the youngest addition to their group, but an essential member, who looks over her notes now that Faustus is done trying to cheat. And she especially wasn't supposed to care about Drusa, her second in command, who smiles over, looking cute as she waits for her word.
And yet she does. But they'll never know that. No one wants to follow a leader who gets sappy and emotional. Kilroy certainly wouldn't want to.
"Alright Drusa," Kilroy finally says once she knows she has everyone's attention. "Go over the plan again. I don't want anything going wrong."
"Right away, boss lady!" Drusa nods her head and Kilroy tries to ignore the way it makes her long hair fall into her face, but she still cracks a grin at being called boss lady. "Everyone obviously knows that Blaise Janek is hosting a party tonight. Our mission is to plant this incriminating letter into the coat pocket of Theordore Clarson. The note," Drusa pulls the carefully created letter out of her own jacket, "Is going to be the evidence needed to bring in Blaise's cousin to jail, taking out another of important member of his campaign and damaging his appearance."
"Don't forget who is doing what," Kilroy says quietly, getting an eye roll from Drusa that she answers with a wink, making the girl get the faintest flush on her face that Kilroy starts smirking about. If she wasn't stressed about the plan for tonight, she would have gladly spent more time trying to get similar flushes from Drusa.
"I was about to get to that, you're so impatient," Drusa teases her and Kilroy simply shrugs, knowing it's true. Drusa pulls out a different piece of paper, this time a detailed map of Blaise's mansion. "Alright, Vex and Faustus are backup outside but more importantly, our getaway people. Vex will be there on foot, mainly as lookout. Faustus, my man," Drusa pauses to give the large man a fist bump, grinning at him before continuing, "You are our main getaway, waiting out in this side alley here for us."
Drusa starts pointing at the map, but Kilroy finds herself staring at the girl instead, watching the way her eyes light up in excitement at explaining her plans. Hard not to watch her get all happy when she starts talking faster or points wildly at all the places, all while grinning about the crazy and elaborate plan that she came up with. Man, Kilroy has it so bad. Drusa just has that effect on her, despite Kilroy swearing off ever dating to avoid that person getting used against her.
"Are you even paying attention, Kilroy?"
"Of course I am," Kilroy says quickly, fighting to keep a straight face on as Drusa stares at her, clearly not believing a single word she just said. When Drusa slowly raises an eyebrow at her, silently accusing her of not paying attention, Kilroy can't help the smile forming. "I promise I'm paying attention."
She's not lying. She is paying attention to Drusa. Just not in the way her second in command assumes. At least, Kilroy really hopes Drusa doesn't know. God that would mess up so many things in the gang. Just look at Vex and how messed up she still is, and Corvo's been gone for years.
Drusa watches her for a few more seconds, her lips just barely turning up in a smile before she shakes her head and turns back to the others. Kilroy holds back a chuckle as she puts her hands behind her head, watching her second go over the remainder of the plans. "One last thing we need to do before we head over. This is a black tie affair so you know what that means."
Vex rolls her eyes at this and starts shaking her head at them, "I'm so fucking glad I'm on backup and don't have to get all dolled up."
"Oh come on, Vex," Faustus tries to teasingly grab on to Vex's hair but quickly gets smacked away by her. "You might even look pretty for once if you tried."
"Fuck off," Vex punches him in the arm and tries to hide the fact that punching him hurt by keeping her fist under the table, but Kilroy can still see her rubbing her knuckles. Faustus couldn't be less bothered by getting punched, starting to laugh loudly at her reaction.
Kilroy just shakes her head at them before looking over at Drusa, finding her second starting to look nervous about tonight. "Hey, no stressing. You came up with an awesome plan. We're going to be fine."
"I sure hope so," Drusa answers as she starts folding up her papers, occasionally flicking her gaze back up to Kilroy. "I worry, okay? One of us needs to be worried about our plans."
"And I appreciate that," Kilroy says, being genuine towards Drusa. But she then looks around at the others and starts to get a shit grin in excitement about tonight. Hard not to when they've been planning this out for weeks. "Let's go get fancy at Rami's shop and then fuck up Blaise."
Kilroy adjusts her long brown wig as they enter Rami's shop, the little bell at the door tinkling at their entrance. Maybe the wig wasn't necessary for now, but Kilroy didn't want to take chances of being recognized.
She grins over at Drusa, wearing a cute blonde bob, as footsteps approach them as they begin looking among the designer clothes. "Ladies, I hate to disappoint you but it is almost closing time. And I cannot stay late as I have plans for tonight that I'm unable to cancel."
"Oh we're just picking up an order," Drusa says to the victor, giving them a smile when they raise an eyebrow at this, no doubt questioning how these three young girls have managed to purchase clothes from them.
"In that case, follow me," Rami motions for the three girls to follow them further into the shop. "What's the last name on the order? I recognize you from being here before, but I can't remember the name."
Kilroy glances over at Drusa, knowing she was in charge of this. Not because she couldn't handle it, but she'd much rather Drusa handle it, being the more organized of the two. "O'Connor."
Kilroy, Drusa, and a slightly awestruck Sabina stop in front of the counter as Rami slips behind it, starting to rummage through the rack with their designer clothes hanging from it in plastic bags. "O'Connor…O'Connor," they mutter to themself until they finally reach the three bags tied together for them. "Ah! Here we are," they turn around, gently draping the clothes over the counter. Rami takes a moment to study them and the clothes they're buying, seemingly in disbelief that these three girls are buying some of their most expensive designs. "I've been having quite a few pickups today for that big party happening tonight." They shake their head and roll their eyes as they prop their elbow up on the counter and start resting their chin on their fist. "I can't even tell you how many people tried to convince me to go."
"Are you going?" Sabina asks timidly and Kilroy spares a quick glance over at her, wondering how the girl could even think that Rami wants to go to the party. It's obvious from their tone that they want nothing to do with it.
Rami scoffs at this loudly, even letting out a chuckle to show just how ridiculous they think the question is. "My dear, I have way better things to do in my spare time than go to a party and get dragged around by people wanting to show off that they 'know' the victor Rami Grant." Rami shakes their head once more and rolls their eyes, "No thank you, I have enough of that in the Capitol. Now," they glance at the girls' appearance, once again seemingly not believing that they have the money to afford their designs.
Kilroy slaps a hefty bags of coins on the counter, watching Rami raise a single eyebrow at her. Thank you Uncle Cassio for the money. "Here's the payment for the three outfits. Now, can we use the changing rooms?"
Rami opens the bag and starts counting the coins, absentmindedly nodding their head, "Sure, sure, it's in the back…" The girls start taking the bags before Rami looks up at them suddenly in disbelief, "Wait, I heard motorcycles before you arrived…You cannot seriously be about to wear my clothes to a party on a motorcycle."
"Oh we are," Kilroy responds casually as she finds her pant suit easily among the two dresses for Drusa and Sabina. She starts making her way to the dressing room, sparing a glance back at the stressed out victor, even letting out a short laugh at their reaction. "It will be proof that your clothes are superior to everyone else's if they hold up."
"Sabina, can you please hurry up?" Kilroy harshly whispers, glancing around the doorway into the hallway, growing more anxious with each minute. She couldn't shake the gut feeling that something was going to go wrong tonight from the moment they arrived at the party. There had been way more security than normal at one of Blaise Janek's parties. Because of that, it had taken a lot longer than usual for them to be able to slip away from the crowd and make their way to their target, something that has only been adding to Kilroy's concern. "I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe we should have just bailed and tried again another day."
"I'm trying!" Sabina says back, her own frustration growing just as quickly as Kilroy's as she tries to pick the lock on Clarson's briefcase. "Stop rushing me and I'll get it!"
"Hey," Drusa says quietly, approaching Kilroy and placing a hand on her back in an attempt to calm her down. And it does for a brief moment when Kilroy looks at Drusa. "We're going to be fine."
"I keep having this feeling that something's going to go wrong," Kilroy whispers back to her, hearing her fear start slipping into her voice against her will. God, why does she care about them so much? She can't handle the thought of something happening to one of them.
"Stop worrying," Drusa gets a wicked smile on her face and hikes up the skirt on her dress, revealing the pistol strapped onto her thigh. "If something happens, I got us."
Kilroy raises an eyebrow, impressed that Drusa managed to get the gun inside, despite all the security checks. And seeing her all dressed up and still carrying a gun…damn, if Kilroy wasn't supposed to be keeping watch right now, she would have kissed the girl. Maybe later.
"Got it!" Sabina says triumphantly as Kilroy starts to feel her face heating up at her thoughts towards Drusa, leaving her grateful for the distraction from Sabina. She needs to be focused on this mission, not her crush on Drusa that's just a very bad idea. Her and Drusa both look over in time to see Sabina slip in the letter and shut the briefcase quickly. "Let's go."
Kilroy holds out her arm to stop the two from running out into the hallway, taking the time to slowly glance out. Once she confirms it's clear, she leads them out, not letting one of them take the fall if someone were to see them here. "You know the plan," she whispers to them, putting her arm around Drusa as part of the 'act'. Well…it wasn't too hard for Kilroy to act as if she's Drusa's date. "Sabina, you slip out through the kitchens and meet Vex in the alley. We're slipping out the front, claiming Drusa had a bit too much to drink and needs to get home."
Sabina nods her head obediently and starts to turn away, before glancing back at them. "Be safe."
"You too," Kilroy answers quietly before Sabina slips away from them, easily blending into the crowd. She should be more concerned for sending the youngest of their group off on her own, but her innocent face will keep her out of trouble. That and being smart enough to talk her way out of anything. "Alright dear," Kilroy says to Drusa, getting a little bit of a scoff from her at the nickname, "Let's get you home since you're not feeling well."
They make their way into the crowd easily, blending in with the other party guests. Drusa does her best to act out the part of a person not feeling well as Kilroy scans the crowd nervously. As they get halfway through the main foyer, she can see the large amount of security gathered at the front door, searching each guest leaving thoroughly. "They're on to us," she whispers nervously, almost stopping walking in the middle of the room. She has no doubt in her mind that they somehow know about them and they're searching for them.
"Can we use the restroom? I'm really not feeling well," Drusa says to her tugging her slightly in the direction of the bathroom. Kilroy glances down at her, feeling her nerves calm just a little at Drusa's face. She has a plan.
"Of course," Kilroy says quietly as they begin making their way to the side of the foyer, Kilroy still anxiously watching the security in the room. As they get closer to the bathroom, she catches sight of a few people looking their way and starting to walk quickly towards them. "Go!" She shouts at Drusa and pushes her to start running the remaining few yards into the bathroom.
They make it inside and Kilroy slams the door behind them, just as people start banging on the door. Drusa quickly locks the door and Kilroy moves away, just to grab a chair – seriously, who has chairs in a bathroom? She'll never understand rich people – to stick under the handle and keep them away a bit longer. "I really hope you have a plan," she says to Drusa as she watches the door as people start slamming their body against it, hoping that the chair will hold them off long enough for them to get out.
"Of course I do," Drusa answers confidently and Kilroy turns around to find her at the window. She takes off one of her shoes and smashes open the window, quickly clearing the remaining glass. "It's going to be a tight fit but it will do."
Kilroy stares at the open window, trying to figure out what would be the worse danger for Drusa: remaining in the bathroom or going into the alley first. She quickly makes up her mind and races to the window, barely taking the time to glance out before hoisting herself through it. She lands on the broken glass, quickly glancing around to see if there's anyone out here. At the end of the alley, she can see Faustus waiting by the motorcycles, grabbing on to his gun and getting ready to protect them. "Let's go, Drusa," she turns back to help her friend through the window, her stupid dress getting caught on the broken glass.
Kilroy yanks Drusa through, both of them letting out a sigh of relief at getting out of there, just before a loud bang pierces the air. Drusa gasps and falls into Kilroy, desperately clutching on to her. Kilroy frantically grabs on to her, her hands getting covered in blood pouring out of the gunshot wound on Drusa's back. "No!"
Drusa nearly collapses, only held up by Kilroy as she hears footsteps starting to run through the alley. "No, don't you dare die on me!" She shouts as her eyes start blurring with tears. Damn it, she can't lose the one person she cares about. "Drusa, please!"
"There they are!"
"Go," Drusa whispers, falling to her knees as Kilroy starts shaking in fear and can no longer hold her up. "You have to go or they'll get you too."
"I can't leave you," Kilroy answers as Drusa presses something into her hand before feebly trying to shove her away. "I'm not leaving you!"
"Kilroy, we have to go!" Faustus shouts as he starts running towards them, firing off his own gun towards the security racing towards them from the other end. A few scream out in pain from his shots, but Kilroy can't focus on that. She should be running away, protecting herself from also getting killed.
But all she can do is stare down at her best friend and the love of her life dying in her arms.
"Please go," Drusa whispers to her, voice shaking as tears slip down her cheeks from the pain of the wound, matching the ones Kilroy feels falling down her face from the pain of watching Drusa dying. "I don't want you to die too."
"You can't die on me. I can't lose you," Kilroy whispers futilely as Faustus reaches her, grabbing her arm and yanking her away from Drusa. "No! Let me go!" She shouts at him, trying to fight against him to run back to Drusa and save her.
"Shut up or we're all going to die tonight," Faustus roughly picks up Kilroy and throws her over his shoulder, done with her trying to run back to Drusa. Gone is the man who was joking around earlier, leaving behind a man who will do whatever it takes to protect those he cares about, except for letting Kilroy run back to Drusa. Faustus keeps firing shots back at the security as he starts running back to the motorcycles.
Kilroy finally gives up at resisting him and finds herself going numb as she opens up her fist and stares down at the bracelet in her hand, containing the small little black pendant. She chokes out a sob at it, hating that Drusa gave it to her and gave up on living. Drusa's sign of being part of their gang.
Faustus unceremoniously dumps her onto the motorcycle, sitting behind her to keep her from falling off. He quickly gets it started and Kilroy glances back down the alley, finding Drusa on the ground, staring over at them with the faintest hint of a smile on her face.
But standing over her is a man who is going to pay for taking away the only person Kilroy ever cared about. Martinus Dorvin, the head of Blaise's security, watches them as they starting driving away, glaring over at them until he can no longer see them.
The alley quickly slips away and Kilroy wraps her arms around herself, choking out a sob at the gaping hole in her chest left by leaving Drusa behind. Everything in her is screaming to go back and kill all of them, do anything to bring back Drusa. But she's gone. There's nothing Kilroy can do to change that fact.
But she won't stop until she gets her revenge.
Morning of the Reaping
One more day. Only one more day until Kilroy is finally going to beat the shit out of Martinus Dorvin. God, she can't wait for that moment after months of planning and holding in all this rage. Holding in all the guilt that she could have done more to save Drusa.
But first, one more day of standing and waiting around through one more stupid Reaping. What a waste of her fucking time. She had much better things she could be working on.
Like making sure that the literal biggest piece of trash Martinus Dorvin gets beaten within an inch of life by her and then rots in a jail cell for the rest of his pitiful life.
Soon.
Kilroy taps her fingers on her thigh as she reaches the back of the surprisingly short line to check into the Reaping with Sabina, trying not to feel worried for the younger girl's fate. She doesn't want to even start thinking about what she would do if Sabina was picked today. She couldn't bear to lose another member of the gang, especially now that Sabina has stepped up as second in command. Would Kilroy volunteer for her? Probably. She doesn't think she could handle the guilt if she didn't and knew she could.
But that's if the unlikely thing happens and Sabina is picked. Cassio has enough weight in the District to stop them from being picked.
"You're scaring everyone with your face," Sabina whispers to her, letting out a small laugh, but Kilroy can't bring herself to laugh. She hasn't been able to laugh in five months…
"Good," Kilroy answers as they take a few steps forward, glaring around at the crowd around them, scoping out for any threats like always. "I enjoy my resting bitch face."
Kilroy can just see out of the corner of her eye Sabina shaking her head at her as they get closer to the front of the line. "I don't understand why you're as cold as ice."
Kilroy glances over at her, raising an eyebrow slightly as the only show of emotion that she'll allow. Maybe if she doesn't show anything, she won't actually get the feelings that will wreck her again if something happens to her. "Thank you."
"Thank you?" Sabina starts laughing as there's commotion by the boy in front of them arguing with the Peacekeepers. "It wasn't a compliment."
Kilroy glares at the boy's back – hard not to when that's right at eye level for her – at him holding things up as he points over to the side, waving his other hand in excitement. "I can't go through yet! Don't you see the stripy winged tiger that just came through the portal?"
"Fucking hell," Kilroy mutters under her breath, almost ready to push this kid out of her way. "I hate children."
"Iannis Lyam, get moving or we will force you to your spot," the Peacekeeper sitting at the check in desk says to him, somehow stay calm in the face of the kid possibly going off the rails.
"Beat it, kid," Kilroy says and pushes him out of her way, holding her hand out to the Peacekeeper so she can get this stupid thing over with. She just wants to be done with the Reapings forever and spend her days focused purely on the gang.
Iannis stumbles forward at her push, turning back with a concerned look on his face. "This person is very bad! I must leave before the bad person opens a portal to summon the demons!" He starts racing off towards his section, still yelling back and laughing as he joins his two friends waiting for him. "The demons will never get me!"
"Weird ass kid," Kilroy mutters as the Peacekeeper pricks her finger to check her identity. She gets a brief bit of anxiety at it, hating that they have this information about her. If someone were to get their hands on the information, they could use it to track her down. No amount of disguises will stop them from figuring out who she is if they get ahold of the biometrics held in that small device in the Peacekeepers hand.
"Luciana Kilroy?"
Sabina snickers at Kilroy's first name and she sends a small glare back at her, only making her snickers worse. "Yes."
"Go ahead," the Peacekeeper motions her ahead and Kilroy takes a few steps into the roped off area before waiting, wanting to stay with Sabina. With such a large crowd, anyone could be watching them and she'd rather have someone else with her. It should have been Drusa watching her back.
But Kilroy is never getting her back and she'll always regret her mistakes.
Maeryn Callahan, Escort for District Eight
Maeryn storms out onto the stage, ready to get this Reaping moving, her black combat boots stomping loudly on the stage. She can see a few people in the crowd grow fearful of her appearance so she straightens out her pristinely pressed white shirt. "District Eight, I hope that this will be the year you finally get your shit together and actually give me a victor. Your children need some discipline, but do not fear. Chef Mae is here to deliver that."
"Let's start with whatever piss poor female tribute will be picked, eh?" Maeryn storms over to the glass ball, hoping that whatever she's about to pick will have a spine to stand up to her. Maybe if they can stand up to her, they'll actually stand a chance of helping out this shithole District turn around so she can move on. Unlikely as that may be.
Maeryn selects one of the top slips, never one to waste her time with frivolous and wasteful things – not now and certainly not back in her Terror Kitchen days. "Let's get moving, Luciana Kilroy. Don't be a fucking disgrace to your District."
Maeryn glares out into the crowd of girls, putting her hands on her hips as she waits. "Well? I don't have all fucking day!"
At her yelling, a girl steps out of the closest section, fists bailed in anger as she storms towards the stage, glaring at any Peacekeeper that comes even remotely close to her. As she gets closer to the stage, Maeryn can see bruises lining her muscled arms and a bitch face that could rival even her own.
"It's just Kilroy," the girl says bitterly as she reaches the top of the stage. She crosses her arms, glaring at Maeryn and anyone else in her vicinity.
"Well you're not special for going by Kilroy," Maeryn retorts back at her, even if she's pleased to see the fiery and short girl next to her. She just might have a shot. But she can't just go and tell her that now when there's an act to keep up. "I go by Chef Mae, your nickname doesn't make you fucking special."
"Why don't you go fuck off?" Kilroy says with a huff, staring up at the tall escort.
"You can do the same, mate," Maeryn responds before turning back to the crowd, shaking her head at the pitiful group. "I'm assuming none of you spineless cowards are going to volunteer for Luciana here?" She ignores the grunt of anger at using Kilroy's first name, instead just shaking her head once more when no one volunteers. "You surprise me."
Maeryn starts walking over to pick the boy, pausing to point out at the crowd. "You surprise me by how shit you are." Maeryn is still shaking her head as she quickly picks another slip of paper and returns to the microphone, almost ignoring Kilroy's glares at her. Almost. "My Gran can look more intimidating than you and she's dead. Now, get the fuck up here, Iannis Lyam."
"What?" A boy yells out in surprise and Maeryn searches the pitiful crowd, finding people backing away from a boy among the fifteen-year-olds. "The portal demons are taking me! I will be back to defend Eight, I promise!"
The boy starts running to the stage at that, leaving Maeryn just completely bewildered by him. "Are you out of your fucking mind?" She asks when Iannis races up the stairs, coming to a stop next to her. "I wish I had two pieces of bread right now," Chef Mae shakes her head at the boy standing beside her, feeling what little hope she had for Eight by Kilroy slipping away.
"Why is that? Are you going to make us sandwiches?" Iannis' face lights up in excitement at this. "I've always wanted to have a meal made by you, Chef Mae!"
"No," Maeryn answers, watching the disappointment fill his face. "I would hold them up on both sides of your head so that you can be an idiot sandwich."
Iannis' almost looks as if he might cry at that, but Maeryn has turned her attention back to the crowd. "Any volunteers for the idiot sandwich?" Much to Maeryn's disappointment – but not really a surprise at all – no one is volunteering for Iannis. "No? The whole lot of you are spineless. Well don't be surprised then when I'm back here next year."
"Let's go, you fucking donkeys!" Maeryn yells at the two tributes, pointing at the Justice Building behind her. "We have a lot of work to do if you're to even have the tiniest of chances."
Goodbyes
Kilroy isn't quite sure how it happened, but Blaise Janek did it. He must have had someone rig the Reaping. Someone must have figured out who she is working for and doing against him, and he pulled the strings with his slimy accomplices and made her get picked in her final year of being eligible. "Fuck!"
Kilroy punches the wall in anger, leaving a bit of a dent in it. She shakes her hand at the pain, staring at the spot before trying to get her rage under control. She takes a few deep breaths, struggling to get her breathing to slow. She even tries to start doing some yoga, anything to keep calm, but nothing is working. Nothing will stop the rage inside of her because she knows the Reaping was fucking rigged. Just before she was about to get her revenge on the snake that took away the only person she cares about.
The door opens and Kilroy is about to start screaming at them to leave, but stops when she sees her uncle entering the room, his face matching her own rage. "Hi Cassio."
"Kilroy," Cassio says carefully, looking around the room before turning his gaze back to her. "Corvo couldn't come and visit but he was watching."
Kilroy grimaces at the phrase, knowing they must be careful with everything they're saying. Because Corvo couldn't possibly be watching when he's been dead for years. No, there are people watching them now, surely just waiting to catch them saying something illegal. Luckily, they had developed a system for just this situation.
"Did Corvo remember to take the food out of the oven?" Kilroy asks her uncle, watching the pain on his face as they have to talk about his dead son.
'Did they do this?'
Cassio takes his time answer and when he finally does, Kilroy hates his answer, even if she was expecting it. "Yes."
Kilroy takes in a long breath, trying to get the rage of fire inside of her controlled. The worst thing she could do now is to blurt something out in anger. "Is he inviting his friend over for dinner?"
'Was it Blaise fucking Janek?' Well…maybe the 'fucking' part is only in Kilroy's mind.
"Possibly," Cassio answers and Kilroy watches the anger in his eyes before it slips away, replaced with sadness as he lets out a sigh and steps forward to hug Kilroy. "Please be safe."
"I'll do my best," Kilroy responds, holding on to the man that has been a second father to her over all of these years. The man who has taken her from a pitiful life of nothing and trained her to be the greatest badass she could have ever imagined.
"Listen to me carefully," Cassio starts whispering to her, so softly that she can barely even hear him. So softly that there's no chance any cameras will pick up what he says. "You do everything you can to fight in that arena and win. I'm going to do everything in my power here to figure out who did this and they are going to pay. Faustus has already sworn to do that, after they finish tomorrow's plan."
Kilroy nods her head at this, gripping him tightly. Thank god the gang is going to take care of one snake. It's what she would have told them to do. But as she's hugging him, a terrible thought starts creeping in to her mind. A thought that terrifies her because despite putting herself on the line time after time, all the situations have had many chances of getting out alive. But this…? If she was rigged in, surely she's not going to be allowed to win… "Do I even have a chance?"
"I don't know," Cassio answers honestly, stepping back from her to stare into her eyes. He shakes his head at her as determination fills his eyes, "The best thing you can do is make sure you try. Give them all hell in that arena."
"Of course," Kilroy answers, starting to smile despite the fear slowly filling her that she might be guaranteed to die in the arena. "It's what I do best."
Cassio nods his head and starts smiling proudly, making Kilroy stand even taller. "I'm proud of you, Kilroy, honestly. You're the daughter I never had… Do you have a token to take with you? Something to make sure you remember all of us rooting for you?"
Kilroy nods her head as she reaches up, slowly taking the necklace off and holding it out to Cassio. "Here, make sure you hold on to this. If I don't come back, well…give it to Sabina." Give it to Sabina to lead them if she dies in the arena.
"But don't you want this as your token?" Cassio asks as he takes the necklace, staring down at the black pendant. The pendant showing Kilroy as the leader of his gang.
Kilroy just shakes her head at him and pulls up her sleeve, revealing the bracelet on her wrist that she hasn't taken off in five months. "I have this. Drusa's going to be with me there and you bet I'm fighting my ass off to get home for her."
And she damn means it. She's not going to let Blaise Janek win and take her out by pulling a snake move and sending her into the Hunger Games. And when she gets out, she's going to destroy him.
Ayyy here we go, another intro done! Big thanks as always for Iannis and Maeryn to Winter's Writing and Little Knight Mik respectively! I had fun with them (especially Chef Mae because she was *chef kiss* spicy lol)! And Kilroy was one of my kiddos! So she was actually a submission I originally made for David and set out to make the spiciest, craziest tribute possible and Kilroy was the result. Now obviously she didn't make it in because of the twist but I'm totally cool with that because it means I get to write her! In fact, she's the reason that you have this partial to read. I was determined to see her be written so I decided that I was going to write her. So blame David for all the angst of this story lol ;)
Of course, I always love to hear your thoughts about this chapter!
RQ #Whatever (lol I'll have a number for next time, I'm just too lazy to check right now): What would you have your disguise be if you were sneaking into a party?
Alright, I'll hopefully see you soon with the District Five intro! And in the meantime, *shameless plug time* please check out my new full SYOT Senseless! It's a Quarter Quell and submissions are still open right now. Guarantee it's going to be crazy and update faster than this story lol. Alright, peace!
