And The Lies Continue to Crumble
An AcceleRacers Fanfiction
By: Wings of Speed
Disclaimer: Look in the first chapter, you'll find it there.
Summary: It's hard to tell the truth from the lies when you're in so thick you can't remember one from the other or what was originally a lie and what was originally the truth. Vert discovers in a rather dramatic fashion that those he considered his closest relatives are in all actuality: the enemy.
And The Lies Continue to Crumble
Chapter 2: Pardon Me If I Don't Trust Her!
It had been several days since Trinity had fallen unconscious and Lani had still not discovered a reason for the Atomic Winds leader to be in the catatonic state she was in. It was almost as if her brain had just decided to shut itself off and was showing no evidence of waking anytime soon. There were particular areas of her brain that were showing some signs of activity while others were completely dormant. It was something that had Lani completely baffled and she couldn't come up with a logical or even semi-logical reason for the catatonic state.
Between Vert, Courtney and Shirako, the leader of the Winds was never alone in the med-lab; there was always someone there with her. Always someone talking to her and filling her in on what was going on in the living world, even if she made no sign of hearing or acknowledging what was being said. She made no movement, not even a simple involuntary jerk or muscle spasm was ever seen.
The only thing that gave hope of there being life within the shell of the body was the occasional movement of eyes beneath closed lids.
Lani had been the first to witness the movements of Trinity's closed eyes, but just as quickly as they had started her eyes ceased their movements. Then the Atomic Winds leader was inert once more, no motion, no indications of life. Just an unearthly stillness.
A living body housing no soul, Courtney had whispered once she had heard about the microscopic movements of her cousin's eyes.
Now Courtney was moving through an empty hallway, her thoughts veering off in every known direction, but never focusing on any one particular thought. Her mind flitted from one thought to another, never staying in one place for longer than a couple of seconds. If she allowed any one thought to develop and grow, she feared what the outcome would be.
The imperative… the conditioning.
She shook her head, not wanting either one of those thoughts to take root. To allow that to happen would surely mean the end. To allow thoughts of either the imperative or the conditioning would bring up scenarios that would ultimately end in tragedy…would end in someone's death and it most certainly would not be the Silencerz agent that either one was active in.
Courtney continued further up the deserted hallway, her mind still roaming from one thought to the next. It wasn't until she heard a soft voice further up the hall that she paused in her forward motion, her ears straining to hear the softly spoken voices ahead of her.
"I still don't trust her, haven't since I first met her," a soft voice was heard from within one of the rooms about two doorways up from where the Atomic Winds member was now standing.
"You think she's a spy?" another voice asked.
Courtney slowly walked further up the hallway, trying not to make a sound. She allowed all her training to take over, her feet never making a sound as they slowly swept across the floorboards beneath.
Silencerz agents were well trained in the art of stealth and surveillance and all her training was now being put to the test. Certainly she was eavesdropping, but it was for good intentions and it most certainly was not for the Silencerz. She wouldn't return to them, no how no way!
She wanted to know who was talking and who they were talking about. Gut suspicion indicated it was probably Trinity and the voices heard had been female and besides herself, Trinity and Leti, Karma and Kara were the only other females. Besides Lani, who was probably in the med-lab at the moment.
She slipped further down the hallway, suddenly darting to the wall, her back flush against it as she silently moved closer to the closed door.
"She's something," the first voice answered. Courtney identified it as being Karma. "I'm just not sure what. It just strikes me as being to much of a coincidence with Vert running into her and the rest of the Atomic Winds the way he did, especially out in the middle of nowhere."
"It wasn't really out in the middle of nowhere from what I hear. The Atomic Winds territory is southwestern Wyoming, where Vert just happened to find himself. Could it be that farfetched that he'd run into his cousins and their gang? In their home territory?" the second person asked. Courtney suspected this was Kara, but she wasn't to sure. She hadn't talked to the other girl enough to get a gist of her verbal nuances and such.
"Let's look at it this way," Kara said after a moment's pause. "When we originally met, it was pure coincidence that it was your cars that my gang and I stole. It was also pure coincidence that it was Alex and mine's uncle that you worked for. You see something weird in that whole scenario?"
There was a snort that could've only come from Karma. "You're just not getting it." She bit out. "Vert was inside of the Silencerz base and he managed to escape. The Silencerz had to have been following him, but no Silencerz car shows up until after he's met up with his cousins. Then, instead of trying to force him off the road, it goes after Trinity and they have an altercation that ends with her putting the Silencerz in a ditch." There was a pause. "Doesn't that strike you as being a little odd?"
"Maybe Trinity and this Silencerz had had a run in at some point in time?"
"I highly doubt it; she acted like she had no clue who was driving or that she'd ever seen the car before." Karma growled.
"Maybe they were driving a different vehicle at the time and the person recognized Trinity's car?"
"Then explain how the same car managed to show up here during your and Trinity's race? Explain how it knew how to find us so quickly? It didn't really go after Trinity's car; it seemed dead set on taking you out."
"Not really," Kara interjected. "You weren't there; you didn't actually see what had happened." Kara paused, as if trying to gather her thoughts and trying to remember precisely what had happened that day. "That car seemed to solely be after Trinity, it bumped her a couple of times before finally putting her in the cliffside wall. Then it came after me, but I don't think I was its original target. I think it only came after me once I decided to play chicken with it…maybe if I hadn't it wouldn't have wrecked my car. Who's to tell in the end?"
"I don't know," Karma said, there were still pieces missing, things that didn't make sense or add up in the end. "It all just seems a little weird for me."
There were a few seconds of silence before a harsh laugh finally sounded followed quickly by Karma's voice, "You're just gonna have to pardon me if I don't trust her!"
Kara laughed slightly, "Don't worry about it, for some odd reason there's something I don't trust about her either."
"Maybe it's because she's Vert cousin and more than likely has his ear in most all things?" Karma suggested.
There was a rather unlady-like snort, "And what's that supposed to mean?"
Karma laughed lightly, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe there's the fact that if she don't like you she'll make no qualms about letting Vert know? Then that could ruin your chances with him."
There was a huff of indignation, "Whoever said I was interested in Vert Wheeler in the first place?"
There was the sound of Karma chuckling, "I've got eyes Kara and those eyes see the way you two look at one another. Just because the two of you are blind to your own feelings don't mean the rest of us are."
Courtney silently shook her head and slowly began walking away from the room, she'd heard more than enough. It was very apparent now that neither Karma nor Kara trusted Trinity in the slightest. If news ever got out that they had once been Silencerz agents…it was something she really didn't want to think about.
"Maybe it would just be a lot easier to tell the truth," she said softly to herself, just before bumping into the solid form of someone blocking her path down the quiet hallway. She glanced up to look into a pair of dark eyes hidden behind lightly tinted blue shades.
"Shirako," she said softly as she smiled up at him. She wondered to herself if he had heard her softly murmured words.
Soon enough she had her answer.
"Easier to tell the truth about what?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow, his dark eyes assessing the blush that quickly rose to her cheeks. He didn't miss the way she suddenly broke eye contact, her eyes suddenly looking at the floor beneath her feet.
And there we have a short but completed chapter 2.
Nothing much really happening in this chapter other than revealing the way certain characters feel towards other particular characters.
Now, to thank those that were kind enough to review…
Kara: Yes, you've already told me what you think, on both the first and second chapters, but I added a couple of different lines to the second chapter that weren't in the original of the chapter that I sent you. Nothing major so you may not really notice the changes. But if you do happen to notice the changes, then you've got a very good eye for detail, lol. I also hope to see your next chapter out soon…and maybe some more interaction between Shirako and Trin as well as Kara and Vert…subtle hint there! I guarantee things will start heating up between your beloved characters soon enough…but you basically already know everything that is to unfold.
ZachCoggin: You've read all of 'The Truth That Lies Beyond the Lies' and never reviewed! Well, I can't complain too much, you're reviewing now and that's what matters. I'll take all the reviews I can get…I'm greedy, lol. I'm just glad you liked the story enough to take a look at its sequel. Hopefully you'll enjoy this one too; I'm certainly enjoying writing it.
Firedragon: Have got to say I like your name. Glad you liked the sequel and hopefully you'll continue to like the following chapters. Thanks for the review; each and every review means a lot to me.
Dark672: Glad to know you're still on board. And it's good to know that this piece was excellent. Even though your reviews are short they mean a lot to me. Plus I get a kick out of it when you put a bit of humor in them.
Moriko: Yes, the Silencerz are a very determined little bunch of…well…I could think of a lot of words to describe them, lol. And yes, they are very evil…as for being brainless, oh God how I wish they were! I wish they were a bunch of mindless idiots that didn't have a clue what they were doing, but then if that was the case they wouldn't have all that wonderful technology that just lands Trinity and Courtney in all worlds of trouble. Hopefully you continue to like the sequel as much as the original.
KawaiiYamato: Don't worry about it, for some odd reason my computer enjoys doing the same thing to me as well. I could never understand why it would tell me I'd already reviewed when I damn well knew I hadn't! Tech maybe fun, but it's also a major pain in the arse at times. Ah yes…Serena…she is very evil. It seems that Trin and Sere are extreme twins: one's evil while the other is good. Coffee is good…as long as it's loaded with sugar and creamer. And I mean lots of sugar! The more sugar, the better!