A couple of sleepless days pass until Octavia gets the report she's been waiting for. During those days, she learns more about the Tarnished. They're harder to find than Nickie and Tam first made it seem. Most keep low profiles and all of them don't trust Shard for a reason unknown to Octavia. Some Tarnished are believed to be leaking info to other smaller rebel groups, usually about weapon drops or Shard's location during a hit in the capital. One Tarnished, though, was caught trying to leak info to the government in order to get Shard captured. What happened to her was never explicitly stated but enough was implied she didn't make it much longer after being caught.

  A familiar beep beep beep startles Octavia out of her daze. She attempts to rub the heaviness off her eyes and hugs her pillow to her chest.

  Marcy Hunnisett takes the screen. "Three days after returning from Chromy captivity, we have gotten word on Mindy Winters."

  The feed changes to a recording of Mindy in a hospital bed. Déjà vu hits Octavia again as she sees the bandages wrapped around her head, over her eye. However, Mindy did not have to go through the misfortune of having all of her hair shaved off like Octavia - unless Mindy is in a wig. Platinum gold hair plainly brushed spreads across the pillow propping Mindy’s head up. She has more color in her complexion than she did when she left. Little, round stickers on her body send info on her vitals to machines with silently bouncing lines. An IV feeds into her arm.

  "Hi, everybody," she rasps. She wiggles a few fingers in a short wave.

  A wave of relief knocks Octavia backwards on her bunk. She sits with her back against the wall and relaxed eyes on the TV.

  Mindy continues, "I want to let everyone know that I'm okay. It'll be a bit longer before I'm one hundred percent again, but I'm getting better every day. Thank you all so much for your encouraging messages and posts throughout the Net. I can't tell you how much it means to me." The small smile on her face fades. "I can't thank you enough for your love and support. And I ask you do the same for Councilman Stickler and all of Lucy's friends and family. I want to say that I am so..." Mindy tenses. The tensing is forced down after her lip, nose, and cheek wince. Her teeth clench. "No words can describe how I feel about Lucy. It's a tragedy that the Chromies will pay for. We can't and won't allow this to happen to the rest of the hostages. And, I don't know if the other hostages will hear my message, but if they do," Mindy's gaze in the camera intensifies. "Stay strong! Don't let what happened to Lucy discourage you but encourage you to fight. Be strong and survive for her, Councilman Stickler, and all your family and friends hoping for your safe return. We will get the rest of you out alive one way or another. And Octavia..." Tears shine in Mindy's unbandaged eye. "I'm keeping my promise to you. You can survive. You're not alone. Don't let Shard win. I know you are stronger than you think you are. All of you are." She kisses her hand, holds it to the camera, and waves. "I'll see you soon, my loves."

  Mindy is replaced by Marcy Hunnisett. Octavia barely manages to hear her say Mindy is making a speedy recovery and will have an interview within a week’s time about her experience with the Chromies.

  The image on the TV sucks itself into a little spark that disappears along with the audio.

  "What?" Octavia says out loud.

  "There've been noise complaints the past couple days from your obsessive TV watching, and you're running the cable bill quite high."

  Shard's voice startles Octavia.

  He puts the remote he used to turn off the TV into his jacket. "Have I expressed enough how much I love your jumpy-ness?" Shard snickers at Octavia's scowl. "Don't worry, though, Sweet-hart, we'll watch Winters's interview together. Didn't I tell you she'd be okay?"

  "What about Lucy, though?" Octavia says.

  This is the first time she has seen Shard since the announcement of her death.

  Shard sighs. "There were some...technical difficulties that I can't quite go into detail with you yet."

  "Yet?"

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  "Yep. Yet. But if all goes according to plan, you'll learn about those difficulties well enough."

  Shard's eyes wrinkle.

  Octavia sits on her trembling hands. "I know."

  Eyebrows raise on Shard’s forehead. "Oh? You do?"

  "I know you're going to kill me, anyway," Octavia says.

  "Now, Sweet-hart, what did I say about puttin' words into my m-?"

  "I'm not." Octavia crushes her pillow. She’s doing this. "But when your guards get chummy and have mouths that go a million words a minute, it's easy to fill in the blanks."

  Tam's brown eyes cut into Octavia.

  Octavia stares Tam straight in her eyes. Exhaustion and knowledge she is going to die regardless sucks out all the fear she had of Tam. If anything, maybe Tam won't be the one to get the pleasure to kill her.

  Shard crosses his arms. His gaze moves to Tam. "I missed something, didn't I?"

  Tam says nothing. Her eyes cast to the side.

  Octavia speaks up. "I now know you were the one who took my sister from the park. You knew what was going to happen to her. It's your fault she's dead!"

  "Tam," Shards says in a neutral tone, "what did you say?"

  Tam doesn't respond to nor meet Shard's eyes.

  "Enough for me to get an idea of what's going on around here. Such as your issues with the Tarnished," Octavia says.

  Shard snaps around towards Tam. Flaming daggers would shoot out of Tam's fearful eyes into Octavia's head if it were possible.

  "It makes sense not all of your Chromies would trust a lunatic like you, especially when you're keeping secrets from your own people." Octavia lets the brazen words fall out of her mouth. She stares at the floor. Her fists repeatedly ball and flex. "Picking up an innocent little girl to send her to her death, terrorizing neighborhoods of innocent people and blowing up research facilities - killing hundreds and stopping progress on life saving research just for the hell of it." Octavia lets out an empty chuckle. "I was so stupid to think I was going to make it out of here alive. I was dead as soon as I stepped foot into that damn dockhouse. At least Mindy was lucky enough to make it back alive."

  Shard had turned around and leans his back against the cell door bars. His arms cross in front of him. "Not one for hope, I see. Not even hanging on to the small chance your precious politicians or buddy could find you. You're not as fun like this. But it's nice to hear ya voice your thoughts. We could become even better buddies if ya did more often as it leads to conversation beyond dry updates. Because that's what friends do. Communicate." Octavia can't see if Shard makes any facial expression.

  "We're not friends!" Octavia stands. "We'll never be friends!" She stomps over to Shard.

  He faces her.

  "What's wrong with you?" she continues to shout. "I don't know what kind of twisted fantasy world you live in to keep calling us friends!"

  A heavy, dark laugh bends Shard forward. The laugh sends goosebumps along Octavia's back and arms. Black lines emerge in the periwinkle of his eyes. Though Tam had lost her intimidating powers, Shard's eyes burrowing into Octavia send a shock through her chest. She steps back. He leans against the bars, towards her.

  "Fantasy world?" Shard says. "I live more in the real world than you realize. More in it than you do, Sweet-hart." He scoffs. "You think I do this for the hell of it?" He laughs more, but it returns to its normal screetchy, squealy sound like a mischievous little boy's. "Stop letting people put words in my mouth and think for yourself for once. And no. I don't plan on killing you and, which you may find surprising, never wanted your sister dead, either. Did I not tell you I wasn't in charge yet? Personally, I'm a fan of these ransom things. We get more out of it than blindly slashing around. Geez. How much more blatant do I need to be in my wording?" Reaching past the bars, he boops Octavia's nose. "I've got too much riding on your ransom to kill you, Sweet-hart, so I really don't want you dead. Why else have guards on you? You would've already been easy target practice by now if I wanted you dead."

  She swats his hand off her face.

  "Now," he says to Tam. "I am gonna have to have a talk with you and Nickie, because it doesn't take a genius to know that's who you've been talking to, about not talking near or with the hostage. I know it's hard going this long without talking to Nickie but you've got to. Remember, it's not gonna be for forever. I'll talk to you after your shift so be at my meeting room promptly. Nickie on the other hand..." Shard rubs his chin. "I wonder where I put my air horn. We're gonna talk asap." Shard giggles. "I can't wait to see his expression when he flies out of bed." He excitedly claps his fingers together. "But before I go," he speaks to Octavia, "I hope you have fun with Tam staying. I can't afford to have Hatchette watch you again. I can guarantee Tam won't kill you, but I almost know for certain she's gonna lose her temper with you as soon as I'm gone. Hopefully she won't beat the snot out of you and she'll let you eat when lunch comes around, which is what I came to talk to you about. I’m too busy to be able to eat with ya today. But Tam better let you eat without me." He glances at Tam.

  Octavia's eye winces.

  "Consequences for actions are a pain, aren't they?" Shard says with a hidden smile. "Anyway, I've got more negotiations to attend to. See ya later, buddy!"