Margaret Haddix - Among the Betrayed

But now if Nina Idi was about to die, wouldn't she rather die as Elodie?

It was so tempting.

"That's not a tough question," the man chided her. "Are you Nina Idi or not?"

"You're the one who arrested me," Nina snapped, just to buy some time. "Don't you know my name? Maybe you didn't even arrest the right person!"

The man turned around.

"Guard?" he called toward the door. "A chair?"

Minutes later a guard appeared with a solid wood chair that the man slid into. He leaned back in it, obviously enjoying the greater comfort. Nina still huddled on the cold concrete floor. The guard left, locking the door behind him.

"I decided this conversation might be worth continuing longer than I wanted to spend squatting on your putrid floor," the hating man said, as if it were Nina's fault her jail cell was dirty. He leaned toward her, resting his chin on his hands, his elbows on his knees. "Now. Surely you real' ize my question wasn't as stupid as you imply. After all, the other criminal we arrested yesterday morning, Scott Renault, was masquerading as Jason Barstow, pretending to be an illegal third child who'd gotten ahold of a fake I.D.

Supposedly he was trying to trick other illegals with fake I.D.'s into revealing their true identity so he could report them to the Population Police. Got all that? His story, of course, is ludicrous. Everyone knows that in this great country of ours it's impossible for an illegal to get a fake I.D. No law-abiding citizen would defy our beloved Government so flagrantly."

Nina stared back at the man in confusion.

"What. . what was I arrested for?" she asked quietly.

"Treason, of course," the man said, almost cheerfully. "You betrayed your country."

"How?" Nina asked again.

"Hey, who's supposed to be asking the questions here?" the man protested. He answered her anyway: "You and this Jason — Scott? — what should I call him?"

"Jason," Nina whispered. "He's Jason."

"Okay. Whatever. You and this Jason tried to trick the Population Police into paying you for turning in a bunch of so-called exnays — illegals trying to pass themselves off as legitimate citizens. Just what I said before. Except all the supposed 'exnays' actually were legitimate citizens, some of them with very powerful and well-connected families. Just think if the Population Police had fallen for your little ploy.."

Nina stopped listening. She had never felt so thickheaded and stupid before in her life. None of this made sense.

"You don't think I'm an illegal third child with a fake I.D.?" she asked cautiously.

"Of course not," the man said. "There's no evidence of that. And if you were an exnay yourself, why would you betray your own comrades?"

Nina closed her eyes, afraid the man might see how relieved she was. She felt like turning cartwheels right there in her jail cell.

They don't know! she wanted to scream. They wouldn't be tracking down Gran and the aunties, and her mother, to arrest all of them for hiding her. No one at Harlow School would get in trouble for harboring a fugitive. The Population Police wouldn't kill Nina for being illegal.

No. They'd just kill her for something she hadn't done. Treason? Turning in exnays?

Nina opened her eyes, gave the hating man her most indignant stare.

"There's been a mistake," she said firmly. "I never tried to turn in any exnays. I never tried to get the Population Police to pay me."

The man whipped out a little notebook and began to write.

'Ah, now you're talking," he murmured. "I knew you'd come to your senses and try to blame Jason, just like he tried to blame you. No honor among thieves, I suppose." He stopped writing but kept his pen poised over the paper. "So, what's your story? You gonna be the poor, innocent little girl who just did what Jason told you? It always helps if you cry during that one."

Nina felt like he'd slapped her.

"No, really," she protested. "I didn't do anything. And Jason didn't, either. I'm sure of it."

"So you can vouch for Jason?" the man asked. "His whereabouts and his actions, every minute of every day?"

"No, but—"

"But what?" The man was smirking now.

"But I know Jason. I know he'd never do anything like that."

"Just like you know he'd never betray you," the man said.

"Right! Exactly!" Nina said eagerly. The man pulled a rectangular plastic case out of the inside pocket of his jacket. He twisted around again and yelled, "Guard?" Moments later the guard appeared and passed a metal box through the bars.

"Ever seen a tape recorder before?" the man asked Nina.

"No," Nina said.

"Well, that's what this is. We can record anything any' one says. On a tape." He held up the plastic case he'd taken out of his pocket. He slipped the tape into the recorder. "And once we've recorded something, we can play it back as many times as we want." He pushed a button.

Nina heard a whirring sound, then a voice. The tape was a little crackly and hard to hear, like TV on brownout days. But Nina still recognized the voice: Jason's. She leaned forward eagerly, as if Jason were really there and she could throw herself in his arms.

'And Nina said to me, 'Did you ever see those commer' cials on TV? About third kids and how the Population Police want to hunt them down?' She said, 'I bet they'd pay good money if we turned somebody in.' And I said, 'I don't know any third kids.' And she laughed and said, 'So what? All we have to do is pretend. We can turn in any-body we want. And we'll get a reward.' And I said, 'But that's lying!

That's wrong! We can't do that.' But then she made me — you know how girls are."

Nina reached out and grabbed the tape recorder. She hurled it at the opposite wall as hard as she could. It cracked hitting the concrete; the tape crashed out when it fell to the floor. Nina strained to reach for the tape because she wanted to destroy it, too. But the man was quicker than she was. His hand closed around the tape as Nina's handcuffs bit into her wrists, holding her back. He put the tape back in his pocket.

"Now, now," he said. "What a temper." He pulled his notebook out again. "So can I put you on record as saying exactly what Jason said, only with the names reversed? And Jason said to me, "I bet they'd pay good money if we turned somebody in.". . And I said, "But that's lying!

It's wrong! We can't do that!" ' " He made his imitation of Nina's voice prissy and falsetto and incredibly childish.

Nina didn't answer. She turned her face toward the wall so the man couldn't see that she was crying. Vaguely a thought flickered in her mind,

This isn't a nightmare. Even nightmares are never this bad.

"Do I take your silence for agreement?" the man goaded her. "But what are you agreeing to? That you want to betray this Jason you knew so well, the way he betrayed you? Or that what he said was right, and you're to blame for everything? Which is it?"

Nina forced herself to look back at the man.

"I," she said fiercely, "will never agree with anything you say."

"Hmm," the man said. "That's interesting. Because I was about to make you an offer that could save your life. But it appears you're not in the greatest of moods at the moment. Guess my offer will have to wait."

He stood up and took his chair and the pieces of the broken tape recorder and let himself out of her cell. Nina kept her head turned away from him so she could sob fac-ing the wall.

But when Nina was sure he was gone, she looked back and saw that he'd left behind a white handkerchief, neatly folded, perfectly pressed. Nina grabbed the handkerchief and crumpled it into a ball, ready to hurl it at the wall as well. But a handkerchief wouldn't hit with as much satis-fying force as the tape recorder had. A handkerchief would only float gently to the ground, like a bird finding a safe perch.