Ruby's grip of the prisoner's collar was firm, harshly pushing her harshly against the cold concrete. Her white as snow hair was a mess, cascading over her shoulders and tangled.
"Go. Shoot me." The peacekeeper lifted herself, pressing her forehead into the barrel of the gun. The voice was demanding, giving force to the otherwise defenseless person.
"Fuck you." Ruby jammed the pistol against her head, pushing her head back down.
"What are you going to do then? Take me prisoner?"
Ruby's voice was vitriol. "I said. Fuck you."
Ruby got off the girl and flicked her pistol, motioning for her prisoner to flip around. Ruby withdrew a paracord from her pouch and used it to tie hands. The simple knot would have to suffice. Ruby kept the pistol on the girl's head while dragging her up by the collar. She passed by the bodies of her teammates, retreating back behind the line of control. She looked back feeling nauseous at how everything had gone wrong this mission. Ruby felt the bile as she stepped over a severed leg. She closed her eyes as her boots stepped in blood, crimson red across the entire street.
It was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance and instead it developed into a bloodbath. Ruby took the only other survivor by her collar and started dragging her forward, still holding the pistol to her temple.
The rebel encampment in the east was nothing short of pathetic. Soldiers lined for miles to get medical treatment. There weren't enough barracks to hold all of them, each had to share a bed and even then more covered the ground to sleep.
The other small rebel groups were designed to keep control of the borders and taking out hidden cells of peacekeepers. Ruby was sent here to keep up with the diminishing soldiers, trying to equalize between the number of people dying and the soldiers arriving.
Ruby marched in the first checkpoint, showing them her holo guide and identification. Weiss was forcibly pushed forward the entire time by the barrel of her pistol.
When one of the soldiers on guard noticed Weiss he radioed the commander telling her to come out.
Any rebel that was passing through had their eyes on Weiss, some cracked their knuckles while others simply stared, hate burning in their expressions.
Weiss simply ignored all of them, holding her chin up and in a straight posture. She was forced to sit down on a rusty chair. Ruby sat opposite her. She covered her face with her hands and gripped mounds of her hair. It felt like ages had passed before she looked back up. Weiss had been staring at her intently, no remorse, no sadness, no anger in those eyes.
Ruby held the temptation to land a good punch.
Instead she glanced behind. She caught the stretchers from a distance coming back from where she had just arrived from. All of them carried the bodies of her platoon. They were being carried to the makeshift graveyard by volunteer civilians.
Coming down the road was one of the rebel leaders. She marched at a furious rate, the similar irritable look that Ruby always seemed to notice.
She stopped in front of Weiss while the latter was refusing to make eye contact. Goodwitch circled the girl before addressing Ruby. "How did you find her?"
"She was defending the mercantile district with an entire company of Peacekeepers."
"I see," Goodwitch grimaced as she observed Weiss. "Do you know who this person is Ruby?" She took a silk handkerchief and cleaned her spectacles.
"Yes Ma'am."
"This is Weiss Schnee. Descendent of one of the founding families of Panem. I believe it was her great grandfather that rallied for the Hunger Games to start."
"It was one of my many great uncles actually. Who knows what my grandfathers were doing, just living their lives not in filth and disgrace like you all here."
Goodwitch gave a slap. The pale skin immediately turning hot red. The sound of it sounded like a whip cracking.
Her frigid eyes narrowed in slight pain. Weiss paid no attention to Goodwitch or anyone around, simply recovering from the slap as if the red imprint wasn't there.
"Take her to the old storage room." A couple soldiers grabbed the arms of Weiss and practically dragged her away.
Ruby opened the door, a loud creak echoing in the empty room. Weiss turned around glaring at her intruder who stopped mid step. Weiss had been in the middle of changing and she had no top on, her white bra was in clear view. Ruby could spot the smooth skin and slim torso.
The Capitol was known for their obsession with beauty. Weiss didn't miss a beat, unclipping her bra and tossing it on the pile. Ruby had her eyes locked on the pair of breasts while closing the door quickly behind her. Rude thoughts immediately penetrated Ruby's mind and she couldn't get over the idea of pulling the underwear down herself. She closed her eyes and mentally punched herself, far too much time had passed since she held intimacy.
"I suppose you people couldn't afford to spare me some undergarments." Weiss put her arms through a simple gray shirt flattening out the wrinkles afterward.
"I'll try and get you one of mine."
Her tone was cheerful, if not too sarcastic. "Thank you, I appreciate not having to wear the same pair of underwear for the next few days. I'd like to look good for the torture photos."
Weiss unbuckled the belt slipping out of her pants. Ruby turned her attention her legs, taking in the soft calves and looking up to see that she was wearing baby blue panties.
Weiss kicked them off with her feet and bent to pick up the matching gray pants. Ruby gazed as Weiss bent down, immediately Ruby felt dizzying heat fill her body. She should have looked away but her curiosity got the best of her.
Weiss turned around to notice that Ruby was shell shocked, hardly moving only gazing at her ass. Weiss had the idea of teasing Ruby but decided to simply put on the plain pants.
"Why are you here?"
"I'm supposed to take you to the interrogation room."
Weiss sighed, replacing annoyance with an all too fake smile. "Oh boy, I can't wait."
The small stroll was chilly. Ruby had no idea whether or not to lead Weiss by arm or to simply let her walk with her. She didn't have her pistol, only a small pocket knife hidden in an inner pocket of her uniform.
Goodwitch had taken residence in a small single box building. The building looked out of place stood alone in the fallow ground. It had previously served as a supply outpost before the revolution.
Ruby stood outside the door while Weiss walked in sitting at the open spot in the table adjacent to Goodwitch. From the prisoner's perspective it looked exactly as she pictured it. A lone dim light bulb hung from the ceiling and in the middle was a rusty metal table. The room was made out of some sort of wood. Watermarks made the thin walls look as if it had aged decades. The rain from last night made it smell like mold and fungus.
"Ms. Schnee, we've come to negotiate with you regarding your status in the war." Commander Goodwitch held a tablet in her hands with a stylus.
"Really? For what?" Her tone was nothing short of bored.
"Your life." Goodwitch's voice was irritated and stern swirled with the authority she was given at birth. She had the upright stature of being raised in the inner circle of District Two. She turned back against her family during the initial days of revolt and rallied support from the upper class.
Weiss on the other hand was casual and apathetic. "Sorry to say but that's not much right now."
"As an officer of Panem's military you have intelligence we desperately need. You tell us where the remaining Capitol interests are located and you'll be free to live as a citizen of the new Panem."
"'New' Panem huh? I'm assuming I have immunity for my crimes then?" Weiss was silent as Goodwitch gave a small nod. Weiss began tapping the point of her fingernail against the metal table. "Another condition."
The commander raised one of her eyebrows. She had wanted this to go as quickly as possible.
"That girl who captured me."
"Soldier Rose?"
"Is that her last name? Rose?" Weiss seemed interested for the first time. "Anyways, my condition is that she be my guardian for the remaining duration of the war. Wherever I go, she goes."
"Why?" Goodwitch was completely baffled by the request.
"Why not?"
Goodwitch tapped on her tablet opening a page, she spent a few minutes typing before handing the tablet to Weiss.
Sign at the bottom."
Weiss took the tablet in hand and read over the entire thing, she wasn't stupid, she was given the best education in the capitol. They weren't going to trick her anytime soon. After Weiss took five minutes to read over anything, she felt relieved and took the stylus and signed her name. The terms and conditions were simple enough, it was the classic quid pro quo relationship.
Weiss dropped the thin stylus on the table, creating the sharp noise as metal hit metal.. "I want a paper copy of this agreement immediately."
Ruby was daydreaming walking in on Weiss over and over again when the door opened and she sauntered out with Goodwitch. She stood up, quickly erasing her past thoughts.
"Soldier Rose," Goodwitch addressed her. "You will be in charge of Ms. Schnee until the war is over. First and foremost you will accompany her to the nineteenth block of the northern garrison tomorrow. There she will be aiding us in fishing out the rest of the Capitol peacekeepers."
Ruby took a moment to understand and looked at Weiss who happened to be smiling at the ground. "Yes Ma'am."
"Remember though, she is our prisoner, any move she makes against you or our cause is reason for an execution."
Weiss stopped grinning and finally met the silver eyes. There was no fear in her eyes just a dull angry look. Ruby kept her eyes pierced at Weiss while answering. "Yes Ma'am, I understand."