As was her plan, Helena is the last tribute to step into the Training Room. Yesterday she wanted to be early, so she could scope out the training stations without any other tributes in the way. Today, though, she's much more interested in seeing which stations the other tributes visit first.
Well, more accurately, which stations the Capitol girl visits first.
After a moment or two of scanning the room, Helena spots the Capitol girl at a station for throwable weapons, like bolos and throwing stars. Helena can't help but notice that, though she still chose a weapon station, the Capitol girl chose the station furthest from the sparring ring, where the Ones and Twos continue to showboat - and to seethe.
Interesting. She's close to the Careers, but she's still putting distance between herself and them - she's still interested in allying with them, but not committed to it.
A perfect position, as far as Helena's concerned.
Helena strides carefully up to the throwable weapons station - loudly enough, she hopes, that the Capitol girl hears her coming, but quietly enough, she's sure, that the Careers won't notice her drawing closer. Sure enough, the Capitol girl turns around just as Helena steps up beside her.
"Mind if I work here for a bit?" Helena asks.
The Capitolite doesn't hesitate to nod. "Sure thing."
A good response, as Helena was already stepping into a throwing lane.
The two train in adjacent lanes, separated by wooden paneling that obscures them from each other. Silence resides on the station for about ten minutes before Helena pipes up. "So, have you been training with the Careers at all?"
There's a pause before Helena hears, "A little bit. I've been splitting my time between them and my District Partner."
"They're only interested in one of you?"
"I don't know," the girl replies. "It's too much to think about." But Helena can hear the shadows on the edge of her voice; there's more there.
"Sometimes it helps to talk things through," Helena encourages her. "What's your name?"
"Miraz."
"Miraz. I'm Helena. There; now we know each other a bit better. Less scary than talking to a stranger."
She makes a grateful sound, but her reply still sounds somewhat rigid. "They said they're worried about us conspiring against them - at least that's what one of the Ones said to me."
"The one that had to be removed yesterday?"
"No, the other one." The girl pauses again, then continues, "Which honestly feels weirder to me."
"Why do you say that?" Helena nudges, trying to keep her tone as level as she can. She gets the sense that this Capitol girl has been holding things close to her chest, things she hasn't been able to share with many people so far. Of course, Helena's happy to be a listening ear, but she has to be careful; the last thing she needs is to tip this girl off as to how much information she's revealing. But as long as Helena's careful, the Capitolite should be comfortable enough to keep sharing.
This is what Helena's best at, after all.
"I think the One who blew up yesterday is already paranoid as all hell and thinks everyone's out to get them because One's had two sets of double Victors already. I think zir District Partner is far more level-headed, and I don't think she's as concerned about what other people think of the Ones. I think she's using it as a front for something."
"Something about you, or your Partner?"
"Have you seen my partner?"
Helena has. "He's kind of nerdy, right?"
"Yeah. If I were in the Ones' shoes, I'd view him as a liability. I don't think I blame them for not wanting to ally with him; I would definitely rather be with people that I knew would keep me safe, not someone who could put me at risk."
Helena allows the conversation to lull for a moment - to hopefully allow whatever the Capitolite is holding back to bubble up inside of her - before she says, simply, "And?"
"And I don't want to leave Blitz out to dry!" she exclaims.
"That's a very noble thought," Helena commends the girl. "But even though you can both win, it's not so easy to do. That's what my mentor said, at least."
"So did mine," the Capitolite admits. "But that's easier said than done for me."
Helena nods sagely. "You know him from home," she replies, balancing her tone on the line between question and comment.
"How did you know that?"
"Lucky guess," Helena decides to say. Really, she knows that nobody would put their own well-being or best interest at risk for a complete stranger. Even if they did share a birthplace.
"Anyway. Since you guessed it, yes. My dad and his dad work together. So we don't know each other so well but I've known who he was - is, I guess - since he was born. I don't want to leave him in the lurch."
Helena phrases her next question carefully. "If you knew that he would be out of danger, would you stick with the Careers?"
The Capitol girl peeks around the wall separating their two lanes, eyes narrowed. "What's your game, Helena?"
"What do you mean?"
"I think someone who can make that good of a guess about Blitz and my connection would be smart enough to realize that there is only one way to know for sure that another tribute remains safe in the Games."
"Even though you admitted yourself that allying with him is risky. That he would be a liability."
"I did, yes. So I repeat. What's your game?"
Well, Helena's playing a lot of games here. She's trying to secure the financial boon of allying with a Capitolite in a way that both keeps the Careers off of her tail and keeps Helena in her alliance's driver's seat. It's the last part that her district team doesn't know about - because of fucking course not, Helena's not an idiot - and that is making Helena more and more hesitant about allying with the Capitol girl. Because she has at least one brain cell, and that is one too many for Helena's liking.
But striking a deal with Miraz, using Miraz as the right kind of buffer between herself and the Careers… that could take Helena much, much farther. She could gain safety thanks to Miraz without risking an ally who might even come close to seeing through her. And though Blitz's purse might be less than Miraz's, it'll still be sizeable, with the added bonus of a bearer who probably wouldn't read into anything Helena might do or say.
The trick is convincing Miraz that Blitz will be safe in Helena's care. And Helena already knows what tidbit of information to use to seal that deal.
Helena drops her voice to a whisper. "Look over there. See that station in the corner?"
Miraz looks. "How long has that been there?"
"All of training. I think it's meant not to be noticed, because it blends in so effortlessly with the stations around it. Because that station is all about long-distance communication. Handhelds, tabletops, Morse code, semaphore - if you can communicate a long way with it, it's there. And the Gamemakers would not put something like that in the training gym for no reason."
"Who - or what, I guess, do you think it's meant for?"
"I mean, I don't know for sure. But rarely is there something that the Gamemakers put in the Arena that they don't want the Careers - or, more accurately, the Cores - to have access to."
Helena sees a look of recognition cross Miraz's face. But she doesn't give the Capitol girl even a moment to make the connection herself. "I can be with Blitz. You can stay with the Careers. If one of the two of you can get your hands on whatever communication device the Gamemakers are thinking about, I have a feeling there will be a way for that tribute to get in touch with their DP. And whether you want me in control of that device or Blitz, I can help ensure that Blitz will be safe for as long as I can."
"And what's in it for you?" Miraz replies. "This sounds like a lot of benefit for me and me alone. What motivates you to uphold your side?"
"Simple," Helena says. "I do my best to keep Blitz away from everyone else, you do your best to keep the Careers away from me and Blitz. Then if I don't keep my end of the deal, there's nothing preventing you from siccing the Careers on me."
Miraz chews on this for a moment. "I have to talk to Blitz. But if we're careful about this… well, your plan might just work."
.○◔◑◕●.
"You know," Miraz says, as she leads Helena and Blitz through the dim, winding tunnel. "I was skeptical. But I'm glad I went with your plan."
"I didn't think it would work out quite like this," Helena admits, only half paying attention; she's more interested in scanning the walls of the tunnel, to see if she can notice anything that Miraz maybe hasn't. After all, the Capitol girl has a leg up on Helena now; Helena needs something to get the upper hand in return.
(Her eyes do notice something interesting, something Helena would love to investigate another time. But she keeps it to herself for now.)
"You were more right than you realize. Just wait 'til we get to the control room."
Helena's ears perk up. "Control room?"
"Yes. And as far as I know, I'm the only one who's gotten in so far."
Incredible. "Well, I'm very glad you of all people got in."
"Honestly, me too," Miraz echoes. "Because I did it without the Careers knowing."
"How'd you manage that?"
"I'll explain later; we don't have much time right now. Let me let you in."
"Let me in where?"
Miraz stops. "There."
Helena looks up, and immediately feels a little foolish. In front of her now stands a curved stone wall, into which a steel door has been inlaid. Miraz steps up just next to the door and places her finger on the wall; a moment later, the door swings open soundlessly.
Odd that this door is silent, but the door outside was so loud.
As the door opens, Helena finds herself blinking from the onslaught of light that bursts out towards her. It takes a moment for her to find the source of the light - or, rather, sources. Because the walls of the room seem to be lined with computer monitors.
Once her eyes adjust, Helena realizes that the monitors are clustered together and mounted atop security desks. There are four such stations in the room, each of which sits between two colored doors. From where she stands, Helena can only see three of the doors: one pink, one orange, and one purple. But Helena feels confident guessing that the door she entered through is blue. After all, she got to this room via the blue-colored basin.
(If she's right, it means two things. First: the entire Arena is now at Helena's fingertips, easy to traverse - and easy to manipulate.
And second, there's probably also a way to get in here from the Cornucopia.
The only question is where.)
"OK," Miraz crows, breaking into Helena's thoughts. "I need to get back to my allies before they realize that I'm gone. I'm taking a radio pack with me. You'll find them once you have a chance to look over by the desks. I'll be back when I can."
Helena opens her mouth to ask another question. But before she can even get a word out, Miraz has already scampered up a ladder that dangles between the pink and orange doors. Once she reaches the top, she presses somewhere on the ceiling, causing a panel to swing down. Miraz pulls herself up into the void behind it; a moment later, a hand reaches out, pulling the panel closed with an audible click.
And just like that, Helena is alone.
Well, almost alone. Blitz is still here, though he's surprisingly quiet at the moment; Helena has to turn all the way around to make sure that he's actually in the room with her. She spots him sitting at one of the security desks, eyes glued to the cluster of screens mounted atop it.
Honestly, that's exactly where Helena wants Blitz. He almost definitely won't notice everything that those monitors show, but he'll hopefully notice enough that he can spit at least one or two useful things back to Helena once she's ready.
Because Helena's eyes have found something far more interesting than the monitors.
In the center of the room sits a sleek, round table. Even with the brightness from the monitors assaulting her periphery, Helena can somehow make out a faint glow emanating from the table's top. She beelines towards it without hesitation; surely a glowing table in a room like this wouldn't just be a decoration piece, right?
It's not until Helena's standing right next to the table that the source of the glow becomes clear. The tabletop looks like it's one giant television screen, displaying an intricate pattern of lines that borders on incomprehensible. Helena has no idea how long it will take her to decipher the pattern, but she's willing to invest as much time as she needs to figure it out.
She can't shake the feeling that this table holds a secret - and that whatever it is will absolutely be worth her investment.
Helena starts by taking stock of what feels obvious to her. The screen seems to be divided into four quadrants, indicated by the color of the lines in that area: blue in the top left, pink in the top right, purple in the bottom right, and orange in the bottom left. She also notices that the color of the line changes abruptly as soon as it crosses over into a new quadrant.
One might think that the color of the lines is dictated by the screen's pixels - in other words, that each pixel can only display one color. But Helena notices two things that poke holes in that theory. First, scattered across the screen are blinking red dots, some of which move gradually along one line or another. And second, there is one line that overlaps all four quadrants but is in a color all its own: a yellow circle, dead in the center of the screen.
Wait a minute. A yellow circle in the center…
Helena's eyes scan the screen once again. It takes her a moment to pick them out of the crossing, weaving web of lines, but sure enough, she finds four more circles, one in each quadrant - and therefore one in each color.
Just like there are four doors in this room, each leading to one of the basins outside.
Holy shit. This is a map of the Arena.
And if this is a map of the Arena, then the moving, blinking red dots…
Helena looks more closely at the yellow circle. It's hard to make out with all of the lines crossing over it, but there, dead in the center, she spots a smallish, gray square, the only area of the map that's shaded in. Sure enough, inside the square are two red dots.
Two dots for the two tributes in the control room.
It's interesting, Helena thinks, that Miraz described this place as a control room. If anything, this is a surveillance room.
If that's the case…
Helena moves over to one of the stations, the one sitting between the orange and purple doors. She's not particularly surprised to find that the monitors mounted on the desk display scenes of the Arena. But it's only now that she's close that Helena realizes that the frames of the monitors are colored, too; these happen to be purple, like the door to the desk's right, implying to Helena that they display scenes from the purple quadrant.
As she scans the monitors, Helena notices movement out of the corner of her eye. She focuses in on that monitor just as four tributes enter the frame.
Instantly, she recognizes one of them: Helena's District Partner, Kedara Lumot.
Helena thinks back to her apartment in the Tribute Tower, where she, Kedara, and Chenille spent so much time analyzing their competition and developing a strategy. And things seem to be going according to plan: Helena is working with the Capitolites for the sake of their purses, while Kedara is using her purse to keep herself protected by the strongest Outer District tributes. So far, so good. But in this moment, Helena finds herself thinking about one concept of a plan that the Five team had floated a few times back in the Capitol: finding a way for Helena and Kedara to communicate without leaving their own alliances.
A good idea in theory, but all three teammates quickly dismissed it as impractical and infeasible. Both girls would either have to get their hands on the same sort of communication device - which would either require a ton of luck and a ton of money - or they would need some sort of map of the Arena and a way to tell each other when and where they would meet up. All in all, it was about as unrealistic an idea as anyone could have in the Games.
But Helena knew about one thing that Kedara and Chenille didn't: the long-distance communication station. Helena had kept a close eye on that station during training, and not once did Kedara venture even close to it; if she had at least noticed it, Helena figured it would have come up in conversation with their team, but it never did.
Helena could have let her teammates in on that secret. It would have been a great way to build trust with both of them. But Helena didn't want to do that. The entire time of training, Helena had shown the bare minimum level of interest in working closely with Kedara. To become suddenly interested could be to betray the true reason Helena wanted a way to communicate with Kedara.
Helena needed a puppet.
See, in Helena's ideal Games, she'd find herself a nice little hiding spot out of view of basically everyone else. She would have some sort of ally or group of allies, strong enough physically to take out any competition but weak enough mentally not to think too hard about what Helena might be doing. They'd go out to battle, take out all the other tributes, then either take each other down because of conflict sowed by Helena or be worn down enough from their other fights for Helena to take them down herself.
Helena knew - or thought - that such a plan was ludicrous. That it could never happen, that the best she could do was use whatever long-distance communication wound up in the Arena to find a way to access more than one perspective on the action of the Games.
And yet, by some stroke of insane luck, that's the only part of her ideal that hasn't happened. She is in a hiding spot away from everyone else. Her allies aren't exactly powerful, but one of them - yes, Helena figures she should count Miraz as an ally now - is directly connected to the most powerful tributes in the Games. Only the communication piece, the one part of this plan that the Gamemakers teased for Helena, hasn't fallen into place.
At least, not yet.
Because there's one more thought, one offhand comment from Miraz, that barrels into Helena's mind.
"I'm taking a radio pack with me. You'll find them once you have a chance to look over by the desks."
Adrenaline courses through Helena's veins. Her heart beats quickly with excitement, but Helena does her best to remain calm on the outside, so as not to tip off Blitz. Carefully, she investigates the desk, and it's not long before she spots a drawer on its right side. As quietly as she can, Helena opens the desk, revealing a small, black piece of technology. There's a little antenna on one side, as well as various dials and LCD displays on the front.
Presumably, a radio pack. A long-distance communication device.
Helena grins. For the first time since these Games started, she can see her path to the end crystallizing in front of her. And having a plan that's bound to work feels so goddamn good.
After all, not every Outer District tribute has the opportunity to take the Careers down from the inside.
If there's one thing this Arena doesn't provide, it's any sense of the passage of time. it's any sense of the passage of time. There are no clocks nor any watches, and none of the lighting has changed at all since the Bloodbath. There are no windows on the walls of the Arena nor cracks in the ceiling, no way for the natural light from outside to come in. It's almost as if no time passes at all.
But that's silly. Time passes, of course; the periodic playing of the anthem must be proof of that, even if Helena isn't fully convinced that it plays once a day.
Helena's not sure what the point is of sealing the Arena in like this. The Gamemakers already control the weather; surely it wouldn't be much more effort for them to just manufacture stopped time if they wanted to. But the Gamemakers don't do anything without reason, and either they'll show why the Arena is like this or they won't. It's not worth putting mental energy into.
All of that is to say, Helena has no idea how much time passes before the ceiling panel opens and Miraz's head pokes in. "I don't have much time. Did you find a radio pack, Helena?"
"Yes, I did," Helena replies.
"The what?" Blitz exclaims.
"Great," Miraz says, completely ignoring Blitz. "I have mine too. Here's the deal. I don't think I'm going to be able to sneak down here again. My pack is on channel 3. Not sure why there are multiple channels. But that's besides the point. The radio pack goes in that little pouch on your hip, and once it's in there, it'll work automatically through your earpiece. Get your pack on the right channel and listen for my voice. Then I can fill you in and then we can strategize about where to go from here. OK?"
"I'm with you," Helena assures Miraz, feeling good about just how much this Capitolite trusts her already. "Don't get yourself killed first."
"Oh, I'll do my best."
And with that, Miraz is gone again.
"What was she talking about with the radio packs?" Blitz asks, attention finally pulled away from the monitors.
"Oh, they're these little packs that look like this," Helena explains, showing her own pack to Blitz very briefly. "I only found the one, so I'm not sure if there are any others. But since I have one you don't need to worry about it; Miraz will be able to talk to us, and we'll be able to talk to her."
(That's a lie. Helena's found two other radio packs, as well as a few other portable surveillance devices - and for all she knows, there's still more down here for her to find. Blitz has just been too distracted by the Games footage to notice anything Helena's doing.)
(Good.)
Blitz ponders this for a moment, then turns his attention back to his monitors - thankfully - leaving Helena to get her pack set up for Miraz. She turns it over in her hand, fiddling with the dials until its volume and channel settings are the way she wants them. Then, she slides it into the pack on her hip and zips the pack up.
There's a brief crackling noise, like the one she heard in her ear just before launch. Then there's silence, but for just a moment, before Miraz's voice comes through. "You there, Helena?"
"Yeah," Helena replies. "Let me get to the other side of the room from Blitz and then we can talk." She slips over to the purple security station once more, making sure that Blitz can't hear her from where she stands. Helena scans the screens for the visage of Kedara; once she spots her District Partner, she says to Miraz, "OK. I'm good. Lay what you can on me."
Miraz sighs. "Honestly, I'm so glad I have you in my corner. Or at least, I think I do."
"You do," Helena reiterates. "All the way."
(Of course, in Helena's head, it's a conditional trust. But Miraz doesn't need to know that.)
"Good. Because I do not feel safe in the slightest with my position right now."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You were right about keeping Blitz away from the Careers. It's a disaster."
"A disaster we can work with," Helena reassures Miraz. "Let me hear what's going on."
"Well. I don't know if you've noticed, but there hasn't been a single death since the bloodbath. And it's not for lack of trying. Both the Ones and the Twos have been going out every single day, and they keep coming back empty-handed, weapons clean."
Helena chews on her question for the briefest of seconds; asking it may reveal too much about just how perceptive she is, and Helena's not sure how many of her cards she wants to show Miraz just yet. But in this moment, it is far more important to Helena to get the clearest sense possible of the internal dynamic of the Careers. And if she has to reveal something about herself to do that, so be it.
"The Ones and the Twos, you said?"
"Yes."
"That's a weird way of phrasing it."
"Well, that's because they've only been going out in District Pairs."
"That's not usually how this goes," Helena points out.
"I know," Miraz emphasizes. "That tension between the One pair and Two pair from training hasn't gone away. Neither pair trusts the other pair a lick. And the opinion of both pairs is that if District Partners split up… well, let's just say the death drought would be over."
"How many of them are going out to hunt each day?"
"Both pairs."
"They're leaving you alone at the Cornucopia?"
"Neither wants the other pair to be at the Cornucopia alone, either," explains Miraz. "The paranoia runs deep; what if the supplies are sabotaged, or the pair that's supposed to be guarding leaves the Cornucopia alone? But of course, they have to hunt. There need to be deaths. So the agreement was they'd both go out and I'd stay back."
"Doesn't that protect you, in a way?"
"In a way, yes. But I just can't shake the feeling that I'm going to get caught in the crossfire at some point, if tensions get too high or if something happens while I'm on guard. And I don't like that."
"Do any of the Careers know about the control room?"
"No," Miraz asserts strongly. "In part because I don't trust them, and in part because I don't think there's a way to do it that could move these Games along in the right way. If both pairs knew about this room, then neither would actually use its power for anything; they'd be too worried about keeping an eye on what the other pair was doing. But if I let only one pair in, it would be playing clear favoritism, which feels like a stupid thing to do."
"Unless you make it look like they convinced you to reveal that information."
"That would require them to have an inkling that it might exist. And the clues aren't hard to find! That trapdoor I left out of yesterday? It's obvious if you look for more than a second at the inside of the Cornucopia. The Gamemakers so clearly wanted them to find it, and they haven't even been able to do that."
Helena smirks; Miraz just confirmed her suspicion that the Capitol was trying to play in the Core tributes' hands. Clearly, Helena is reading the Gamemakers well.
"And I'm sure you know," Helena volleys, "just how impossible it is to navigate the Arena."
"Less impossible if you have someone doing surveillance."
"But the Careers don't. Or, at least, don't realize they do."
"Correct," Miraz confirms.
"They'd probably be kicking themselves if they knew."
"Or kicking me - or worse. And I don't want that to happen."
"Well, of course not."
"Yeah. It's a tricky position to be in. I feel it so strongly; one wrong move and I'm gone."
Helena thinks carefully about what to say next. "So… I'm getting the sense that you see the potential of the control room, but you don't see a way to use it alongside the Careers."
"Yes. I think it would be a strategic misplay to reveal the control room in its entirety to either pair. But I feel like I'm sitting on a massive weapon that I just haven't figured out how to use."
"What if there was a way to use this room against the Careers?"
"I…" Miraz falters. "I don't know."
Helena's brow furrows. "What do you mean?"
"I just feel iffy about it is all."
"Let me get this straight. You're caught in the middle of the four deadliest tributes in these Games. You even said it yourself: you don't want to be caught in the crossfire between them, one wrong move and you're gone. And you have access to something that could very, very easily put you in the most powerful position, and maybe even keep you safe from any of their wrath. And you feel iffy about it?"
There's a pause before Miraz replies. "I worry about what impact that'd have, not just on my Games but also on future Capitolites in the Games. Do you remember the 81st Games? The Capitolites in those Games are the reason that our spot in the Career pack isn't a guarantee. I don't want to do that to anyone after me."
"These are the Hunger Games, Miraz. Are you seriously more worried about what might happen to some kids you don't know than about your own life?"
"Well, I wouldn't put it exactly like that, but…"
Helena groans internally. If she was in Miraz's shoes and the opportunity to take the Careers out arose, Helena would not hesitate for even a second before doing it. Everyone's odds, her own especially, improve with the Careers taken out, and for them to cannibalize themselves would just be the icing on the cake.
Of course, Helena would never find herself in the position Miraz is in; it's far too risky to be that close to four trained killers. But Helena can't help but think that Miraz doesn't realize just how precarious her situation is. What sort of life has Miraz led to have this low a sense of self-preservation, to think so much more of others' lives than her own?
(The life of a Capitolite, of course.)
OK, Helena. Regroup. Sure, Miraz isn't going to be helpful in the "get rid of the Careers" department, but she's still a source on the internal dynamics of the Careers - and a perceptive one at that. Obviously, Helena would be foolish to cut Miraz off now. She just needs to find a different way to use Miraz's insight and connections to eliminate her biggest competition.
"If you don't want to take that risk," Helena deflects, "because it is risky, then you need to take the other approach. You need to get both pairs of Careers to not just tolerate you, but to trust you. At least as much as anyone can in the Games."
"But how will I do that?"
"It's simple: buy their trust with information."
"But if they both know about the control room-"
Helena interrupts, "I didn't say that. You didn't think it was a good idea, and I agree; when trading information, you have to keep some cards close to your chest. And besides, you staying in control of who comes into this room means it can be a place where you can keep Blitz safe."
"Yes," Miraz gushes. "That would be great. But wouldn't they see through me if I don't tell them everything?"
Helena shakes her head, even though she knows Miraz can't see it. "When you're dealing in information," she explains, "remember that the other party only knows what you tell them. If, as you said, the Careers truly have zero inkling that this room might exist, then they would have no way to verify what we're telling them. And if each pair is as focused and as paranoid as you say about what the other might do, I don't think they're going to be nearly as tuned in to the holes in what you're saying."
"So then what exactly do I tell them?"
God, what happened to Miraz? She was so good at picking up what Helena was putting down when they talked during training. Now, though, it's as if the girl has never thought for herself for a day in her life. Helena is going to have to walk Miraz through every step of this one by one.
Great. Just great.
"Here's what we're gonna do. I found down here this little tablet that can tap into the monitors' feeds that I can run up to you secretly, along with some extra radio packs. You can talk to each pair of Careers one by one and show them your radio pack, one other pack, and the tablet. You tell them that the sponsor gift was sent to you to help navigate the Arena and move the Games along, but that it only works in this basin in the center. And then, you can make the offer that since you're staying at the Cornucopia anyway, you're happy to help them make a kill so that the Gamemakers don't interfere and take control of the Games out of your hands."
"I like the sound of that," Miraz says, clearly still processing a bit. "But then I'd be talking to both pairs of Careers at the same time over the radio, wouldn't I? Sorta goes against the whole 'get each pair to trust me' thing."
"You wouldn't be talking to them at the same time if you put them on separate radio channels."
"OK. But then if I only have the one monitor, and it only showed me one feed, how would I be able to track both pairs of Careers and guide them both at the same time?"
"Well, you won't. But I can."
"With those packs..." Miraz murmurs.
"That's right," Helena says, her tone perhaps a bit too patronizing. What can she say? For once, the Capitolite has chosen to use the brain she's never had to think with. "So I can stay in the control room and give you updates using the monitors and the map down here, and you can bounce between output channels depending on who you need to talk to."
Miraz nods sagely. "That is smart."
"Thank you."
"But… it does still feel risky to play both sides."
"Thing is, you're not really playing both sides because you're not pitting them against each other. You're just helping move the Games along, which will benefit everyone in the long term, and you're doing it in the best way you can when your allies won't talk to each other."
"True."
"So are you down to try it?"
Helena is almost surprised that Miraz doesn't hesitate. "I think it's the best chance I've got."
"I think so, too. Just let me know when it's safe to run the equipment up to you and I can help you get set up then."
"That sounds good. I'll talk to you later, then."
"Talk to you then."
Helena switches off her radio pack and sighs deeply. As relieved as she is that she got Miraz to agree to a plan, it's not even close to what Helena was hoping for. In fact, Helena only feels more determined now to find a way to take the Careers out.
And if she can't do it from the inside, Helena will just have to do it from the outside instead.
Later that night - or day, for all Helena knows - Miraz lets Helena know over the radio that it's safe to slip upstairs. Helena, having already gathered the equipment she needs to pass over to Miraz, scrambles up the ladder and slips through the trapdoor, emerging inside the Cornucopia.
As quickly as she can, Helena shows Miraz how to use the multi-input radio pack and the surveillance tablet. The girls set up the pack so that it receives input from channels 1, 2, and 5, with the plan that each channel will represent the district number of its speaker. Once the other radio packs - Miraz's original one, the one Helena wears, and an extra Helena brought - are on the correct channels, the girls set up the tablet and turn Miraz's input to channel 5. With the first steps of their plan in place, Helena bids Miraz farewell and shimmies back down the ladder once again.
Once the trapdoor is closed, Helena manages to pull Blitz away from the monitors for five seconds so that they can send two inputs to Miraz's pack, not just one. Fortunately, he's willing to help, and it doesn't take long before they receive the signal that Miraz's pack is working as intended. Task complete, Blitz goes right back to his live feed viewing. Helena even lets Blitz keep his radio pack as a treat - set to a channel she and Miraz aren't planning on using, of course.
With Blitz content, Helena selects a station of her own to monitor, one with a camera that points right at the Cornucopia. She's not worried about Miraz following their plan, but Helena is worried about Miraz freezing or panicking, nipping their plan in the bud. So Helena keeps a close eye and ear on Miraz, doing her best to make out what the Careers are saying as she watches and listens into their conversation.
It's only once Miraz succeeds, once both pairs are on board with their radio packs and willing to follow Miraz, that Helena allows herself to breathe.
Not to relax, though. Her real hard work is about to begin.
Empowered by the leads and openings teased by Miraz, the Careers choose to take a short rest and set out right away on another hunt. Assisted by Helena's view of the Arena map, Miraz sends the Ones into the blue sector of the Arena and the Twos to the orange sector. At first, it's rocky; even with their maps and monitors, guiding the Careers in both horizontal directions as well as vertically is challenging at best in this maze-like Arena. But sure enough, with patience and teamwork, Helena and Miraz help both pairs of Careers secure the first kill of the Games since the bloodbath.
Even through the security cameras, Helena can see how much better the Careers feel when they get back to camp. The two pairs greet each other cordially - which seems like a step forward, from what Helena's heard - and, somehow, they manage to share information with each other. They even manage to agree on a similar plan for tomorrow! Even though the Careers then split into their respective pairs, Helena considers her and Miraz's plan a success so far.
Hopefully, Miraz can hold out at least one more day.
See, what Helena knows - that Miraz doesn't - is that today's two deaths were the only two remaining loner tributes. Everyone else alive is in one of just three alliances left. There's five in the formal Core alliance, the pair of Helena and Blitz, and another alliance of four.
Kedara's alliance of four.
An alliance that Helena had no confirmation was still together until she got access to this room.
And an alliance that Helena has a feeling that she can use as a weapon.
So when she sees on the screen that the Careers have settled in for the night, Helena knows it's time for her next steps. She carefully double-checks her bag to make sure she has everything she needs, then turns towards Blitz - who still hasn't left the monitors.
What a fucking Capitolite.
"Hey, Blitz?" Helena calls.
"Yeah?" Blitz replies, not turning around in the slightest.
"I have to go scope something out for Miraz. I'll be back in a bit - if you need anything, I have a radio pack set to channel 10. And if you spot anything coming my way, lemme know."
"Sounds good. See you later."
"See ya."
And without missing a beat, Helena slips out of the control room.
(If Helena had turned around for even a moment before disappearing into the blue tunnel, she would have seen Blitz scramble up the ladder. Helena would have been confused, but she wouldn't have been alarmed. Blitz probably just wanted to say hi to Miraz - as risky a move as anything, as far as Helena was concerned.
She certainly wouldn't have stayed around long enough to hear Blitz tell Miraz that he had his pack set to channel 10.)
Helena's eyes scan the walls of the blue tunnel carefully. She's so used to the cold, bright light of the monitors that it's proving difficult to make out the small details she's looking for - if they're even still here in the first place.
They have to be. Helena can't see a way that, in this Arena, the Gamemakers would be able to change its structure without it tumbling down.
Sure enough, her eyes eventually land on their target: a narrow crack in the wall, not unlike one Helena's seen before. Helena reaches into her hip pouch and extracts a small white key card - one she found in the same drawer as the radio packs - then gently taps it against the wall on both sides of the crack.
The first time, nothing happens. But the second time, Helena feels the card land on something before it makes contact with the wall.
And another hidden door pops open.
Helena grins. So she was right - there are other pathways under here.
Helena barely has a second to wonder whether this tunnel goes where she wants it to go before she spots a giant purple arrow pointing into the tunnel. Without missing a beat, Helena plunges forward, running until she emerges into yet another passageway, this one with purple walls. Then, she turns left, moving as quickly and quietly as possible away from the control room.
Once Helena arrives at the end of the hallway, she reaches into her backpack and pulls another radio pack out of her bag. She knows that what she's about to do is risky, that the size and weight of the door she's about to open will make it near impossible to do this stealthily. But to win, she has to take out the Careers - and there's only one way to do this without putting herself in their way.
So before she can have a second thought, Helena finds the crack in the wall and taps her key card on either side of it. The ground beneath her feet rumbles, and Helena slides out of the way just before the door opens into exactly the place where she was just standing.
And there's nobody on the other side.
Helena's brow furrows. Kedara's alliance was just here.
Weren't they?
She vaguely registers that her hands are shaking as she reaches into her backpack again and pulls out a tablet. (Of course she didn't give the only one she found to Miraz, what do you take her for?) As quickly as she can, she flips through the feeds until she spots Kedara and her allies climbing through the scaffolding.
Where are they? And which way are they going?
There's no time to lose. Helena turns around and runs straight back to the control room, barely remembering to use her key card to open the door before running right into the wall. Once the door opens, she beelines for the central table, searching as quickly as she can for four dots, moving together away from the purple basin.
"Whatcha lookin' for?"
Helena's eyes jerk up to find Miraz standing across the table from her. Her heart rate spikes. "There's at least one tribute on the move. I'm trying to see where they're going."
"And you thought the best way to do that was to leave the control room? The room you're supposed to stay in to guide me and to keep Blitz safe? That was our plan!"
"I thought it wouldn't take as long to get out there and back as it did." Helena has no idea if Miraz is going to buy this excuse, but with her heart beating as hard and fast as it is, she's just glad she found something.
"With all of the monitors here? Be fucking for real. Where did you go?"
"I just wanted to check something," Helena volleys. As subtly as she can, she slides her pack around to her front, slipping the tablet and key card she holds into it. "In the tunnels. Which aren't on the monitors."
"Then why did you try to leave the tunnel? What were you doing?"
Helena's stomach drops. She knows that no answer she gives will be satisfactory to Miraz - and that her hesitation speaks volumes. The only thing she can think to do is deflect, but even that would be suspicious.
(In her mind's eye, she can start to make out a set of walls closing in on her, a dark shadow backing her closer and closer to the wall without a clear way out.)
(This is not a feeling Helena is used to.
And she absolutely hates it.)
"I…"
"Get out."
"What?" Helena exclaims.
Miraz starts stalking towards Helena. "Anything could have happened in here while you were gone. Blitz could have been hurt, or someone could have gotten in through the door you left open! I didn't let you into this space for you to take advantage of my generosity or status. Get out."
"I…"
"Get OUT!"
Something in Helena snaps. She turns around and bolts, the barest seed of an idea sprouting in her mind. Helena is the opposite of confident in this idea, and even less confident that it might be a good plan, but right now, something is at least better than nothing.
So Helena follows her first thought. And rather than running to one of the tunnels, she heads straight to the ladder that dangles from the ceiling and scampers straight up.
"What are you doing!" Miraz exclaims.
"You told me to get out!" Helena replies, trying to keep her voice as matter-of-fact as she can. In truth, for the first time, she doesn't know what she's doing. All she can hang her hat on is that maybe, if she plays her cards right, she can turn the Careers against Miraz.
The Capitol audiences surely won't love her for doing this, for putting their beloved daughter in danger. But right now, all Helena cares about is moving the Games along. Without Miraz's protection, Helena's vulnerable as hell - and now that Miraz clearly has Blitz's help, if she goes off on her own, she'd be a target. Heading right into the storm might be the only way to get out of this jam alive.
As she reaches the top of the ladder, head just a few inches from the ceiling, Helena hears the sound of someone climbing up behind her. She can't waste another second; Helena pushes upwards on the ceiling, over and over until she feels something move beneath (above?) her palm. With one last push, Helena manages to shove the trapdoor above her head open, then scrambles through the opening, finding herself inside the Cornucopia once more.
She gives herself just a moment to catch her breath. Helena knows she doesn't have long; she's caught between Miraz, who will surely come after her any minute, and the Careers, who will come after her as soon as they spot her. She needs to find a way out of this basin, and she needs to do it fast.
On instinct - god, it's so weird to act on instinct - Helena peeks her head out of the Cornucopia, just to see the lay of the land. She barely scans the area before she jerks her head back in, eyes wide.
How the fuck did Kedara and her crew find their way here?
Helena's heartbeat picks up again as she realizes the situation she's found herself in. She laid eyes on Kedara herself, and the other girl was beelining towards the Cornucopia; from the clashing sounds Helena hears, she assumes her other allies are not too far off. But the safest place for Helena to go from here - back down again - is not safe either.
Even through the closed trapdoor, Helena can hear the clanking sound of Miraz clambering up the ladder.
Helena shifts back to stand on top of the trap door, hoping she can buy herself even a moment more time. But the closer the sounds get to her, clangs and bangs all radiating in her ears, the more crowded her brain gets. And then she feels the slams from below her feet, harder than she thought anyone could push, and she feels her breathing pick up and her whole body shake and she realizes that she's fucked she's fucked she's fucked because there is no way in hell she can think her way out of this one.
But there is one thing Helena can do.
She can fucking run.