Chapter 52: Limelight
Disclaimer: I don't own THG.
Cato:
There were people seated in every corner of the room, with a round table placed right at the center. That's where the Council sat; President Paylor was terribly outnumbered. With the screen being the size of a wall, it was like Cato was part of the audience.
"I almost want to feel bad for Everdeen." Enobaria joked. "There's no jury, only the Council. I mean, there gonna want an execution for sure."
"Why?" Clove asked pointedly. "Why not just lock her up? I don't think everyone in Panem wants to see her dead. She was the Mockinjay, you'd think it'd mean something."
"To them, but the Council had a lot to gain from having Coin as President." Cato added. "They're out for revenge."
It was kind of pathetic, how a bunch of grown men and women saw a crazed teenage girl as their greatest enemy. On screen, the group managed to come up with at least 50 different ways to express Katniss' guilt. Witness weren't even needed.
"Isn't Max going to be up right about now?" Cato wondered. It was still early in the morning, but the boy had a lot of energy to use up. He liked getting early starts.
Enobaria couldn't tear her gaze away from the screen, the trial was all too enjoyable for her. "I think so. Clove, do you want to go check or should I?"
No reply.
"Clove?" Enobaria repeated. "Clove!"
"What! What is it?" Clove exuded annoyance.
"You're so distracted today, I thought you wanted to watch the trial." Enobaria complained.
Cato was more interested in knowing what exactly it was that occupied Clove's thoughts. There were a few options. "Stop worrying. Abernathy isn't known to be the most rational thinker."
"I know that. But it's like he wanted me to feel bad for letting a girl go on trial while I get away with the same crime. He accused me of murder, all because it wasn't my place to play executioner." Her tone was mocking.
"Technically it's a crime." Cato agreed. "But anyone would have taken the shot. No one out there would hold it against you if they knew."
"I don't hold it against you, Clove. I would have done the same thing, only better." Enobaria passed her tongue over her fangs.
"Good to know." Clove's eyes shifted over to the screen for a second before she turned back to Cato, a determined look taking over her features. "It seems stupid to think I would feel guilty, though. I don't regret killing the guy."
"That's not what he thought you'd feel guilty about..."
Enobaria shushed them, hoping to hear more of the trial. Clove rolled her eyes at the older woman's behavior and Cato finished his statement.
"You think it isn't unfair, that they're trying her."
Clove sighed. "It's not that. She earned that trial, I'm not gonna say it's wrong. But I'm a cover-up. Those people on the Council, they know full well what happened. They're keeping it secret and going on like it's nothing."
She sounded disappointed;Cato couldn't understand why it would be a bad thing to be overlooked.
Clove picked up on his confusion. "Think about it. If they can get away with executing a girl who's supposed to be a hero, they'll get away with denying what I did. They'll get away with anything."
It hadn't occurred to him before that an event so apparently insignificant could lead to a regression. The districts, the Capitol, they had no idea what would become of their new freedom. It was something foreign; they wouldn't notice is they never had it. Because that's what Coin's Council would do. They'd become the sole authority.
What does it take? How can someone prove corruption, when there is no proof?
"Both of you, be quiet and watch! Look who just showed up!" Enobaria pointed at the screen, grinning wildly.
"Damn it!" Clove breathed.
Without another word, she ran. It was at that moment, that Cato heard the words being recited on screen:
"I killed Snow. Stabbed him through the heart and didn't look back."
Clove:
Leave it to Johanna Mason to create a scene. The second Clove saw her on screen, she knew exactly what her purpose was. She had forgotten that Johanna did in fact consider Katniss her friend. Of course she'd want to do something about the trial.
She doesn't bother to think anything through! Why does she have to use me as a distraction?
The halls were endless when in a hurry; Clove's lungs burned for oxygen. She forced her legs to carry her at full speed, all the way down the grand staircase and toward the double doors that would lead her into the ground floor meeting room.
Clove burst into a room that was alive with whispers and bewilderment. The bright lights from the cameras created a disorienting environment. At the front of the room, Johanna Mason was being apprehended by a set of grey clad soldiers; all the while, President Paylor stood by and watched. The cameras were rolling. There wasn't a person alive that'd miss the Mockinghay trial; now they'd be treated to a side show.
"Stop! Let her go!" Clove rushed forward toward them. "She didn't kill anyone!"
Johanna shot her a glare. "A little late, don't you think?"
Clove frowned, unable to make sense of the words. Moving on, she proceeded to talk to Paylor. "Snow wasn't trampled, but I doubt you were told otherwise." The look of disbelief told Clove she was correct in her assumption. "He was stabbed."
"By her." Paylor motioned to the girl who was still being held back by the soldiers. "We've got a confession, we don't need anyone else interfering."
Clove could feel the cameras on her; the noise level in the room didn't get any lower. Her head was beginning to ache because she knew this would only end badly.
"No." Clove raised her voice to be heard. "Johanna knows how it happened because she saw it happen. So did a lot of people, but they won't come forward to say anything because they can't prove any of it."
She paused, glancing over at the Council. They were huddled together, discussing what their future actions should be. Johanna had boldly called them out on their crimes; she had exposed them as a fraud.
"They know." Clove pointed at the table. "I did it. I killed Snow because I wanted to. That's it."
Paylor grit her teeth in frustration. She didn't have to believe anything, but there were two women confessing to the same crime. On top of that, not one member of the Council had found a way to deny the accusations.
"I can prove it." Clove pulled the knife out from her sleeve, holding it up for Paylor to see. "They let it get back to me thinking I wouldn't say anything."
I have to do this. I can't let them come after me later.
The President was in shock, looking around the room, taking in the commotion. The lights were beginning to feel overly bright; the presence of cameras added to the stress. Finally, Panem's leader made a decision that would be shown live across the nation.
"Johanna Mason, you're under arrest for disrupting a trial." She stated. "Clove Kentwell, you're charged with obstruction of justice...and the murder of Coriolanus Snow."
Clove didn't put up a fight. The knife was ripped out of her hands, set aside to be used against her once more.
I don't know why, but I get the feeling that Coin's administration would have wanted Katniss' trial to be extremely short and to the point. In the book I think it goes on for a couple of weeks, and then I wonder: how was the Council persuaded to let that happen? My answer is, they weren't. They were forced to step aside and allow it. This should all make sense (I hope). Thanks for reading! :)
