Summary: A/U SQUAD 451 is an elite tactical unit put together in secret to eliminate Coriolanus Snow, who plans to purify the world by eliminating the weaker races of the districts. After Beete get's shot in the spine, Sergeant Everdeen is recruited to the team. With Captain Gale Hawthorne of the Capitol Special Forces, SEAL Lieutenant Finnick Odair, Sergeant Johanna Mason of the District Special Forces and General Boggs, the team regroups to continue their first mission: extract and interrogate one of Snow's right hand man , Peeta Mellark. But they quickly realize that Coriolanus Snow has far more sinister plans than the Hunger Games. Only the strong, the worthy, shall survive.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. This is purely for my enjoyment, and because once an idea pops into my head I go crazy unless I write about it.

Chapter 1

New Recruit

Katniss Everdeen was in over her head.

Just yesterday she was being debriefed after a successful drug raid with her team against the Madison Drug Cartel, the largest drug cartel in the Capitol. They managed to infiltrate and control the drug markets in the city and all thirteen districts, using children as leverage and bribing officials to facilitate the flow of Morphate (their new hallucinogenic drug) from one district to the next. How they were able to produce so much so quickly and simultaneously distribute it to every district remains a mystery; one they hope to figure out with their newly acquired intel. Now she was sitting in a small interrogation room in an undisclosed location, in front of a one-way mirror enclosed by three walls of thick concrete, and the only way out is being guarded by a menacing looking armed soldier.

There was a melodic knock on the door, probably coded, before a middle aged man dressed in an all black suit entered the room, a silver briefcase in his hand. He smiled warmly at Katniss as she got to her feet.

"Sergeant Katniss Everdeen, sorry to have kept you waiting," he said softly, waving his hand to her chair. "Please."

They sat in unison, and for a moment they merely stared at each other in silence. He was the first to break it. "I don't want to waste anymore of your time Ms. Everdeen so I'll get straight to the point." He popped open the briefcase and retrieved a single sheet of paper, sliding it across the table towards her. It read Growing unrest in Capitol, Call for Eugenics movement in big, bold letters. Underneath the title was a picture of a man in a protest rally, holding a sign that said 'Purification is NOW.'

"Do you know what this is about, Ms. Everdeen?"

Katniss nodded firmly. How could she not? It's been all over the news the past month or so. "The idea of having a Master Race of humans, and getting rid of the weak, decrepit, or 'unfit' groups of people." She frowned. "It's vile."

The man seemed to smile at her comment, a little. "We'd like to think so as well." He pulled out another sheet of paper, this time a picture of a well dressed old man with striking white hair. "This is Coriolanus Snow, the mastermind behind the movement. We believe he is mobilizing an army with the intention to usurp government so he can act on his eugenic ideologies."

Katniss looked up from the picture as the man's face turned grim. "If Coriolanus Snow overthrows our government, he will bring forth an age of games much like the Romans of old, where armed men and slaves are thrown into an arena and forced to kill each other in front of a roaring crowd. Except this time, we'll be forcing swords in the hands of children."

Katniss barely had time to digest the terrifying information before another stack of pictures was presented to her; a satellite image of a large underground network of tunnels was on top. "For the last year our government kept a close eye on Mr. Snow to make sure his ideas were kept in check. Regrettably, he was initially classified as a level 1 threat; unimportant, dismissible, bottom of priority, allowing him to operate under our radar. Until two months ago, when recent intelligence informed us of a massive military base he's managed to build underground in District 13. We've mobilized troops to investigate the base and arrest Snow but they were – killed, and sent back to us in boxes."

Katniss flipped through the pictures and felt her stomach clench; they were graphic images of Capitol Soldiers shot in the head or decapitated, then chopped up and placed in small wooden crates. Bile formed in her throat. A folder was placed in front of her with the words TOP SECRET stamped in red on the cover.

"Three weeks ago our government put together an elite team of soldiers to capture Coriolanus Snow called SQUAD 451," his fingers intertwined together and a small, proud smile tugged on his lips. "They're the best of the best. Unfortunately one of our soldiers was badly injured last week, leaving him incapacitated and unfit for the field. This is why you are here, Sergeant Everdeen." He pointed at the folder in her hands, leaning back in his chair. "In that folder is the details of the mission, including profiles of the soldiers you will be working with should you choose to accept my offer."

He slid the last paper from his briefcase across the table towards Katniss. It was her profile, with the picture she took when she first joined District Special Forces Academy four years ago on the top right hand corner of the page. She looked so young. "This offer will last one minute, and one minute only. Should you choose to accept, you will be taken immediately by a government car to our facility and where you are to await further instructions. You can provide me a list of everything you'll need from your house and my team will extract it for you. Should you refuse my offer, you will be tranquilized and taken by a government car to your home, where you will wake up the next day perfectly fine and healthy. Understandably, everything that we've discussed in this room is strictly confidential, and must not be relayed or communicated to anyone else. Are we clear, Sergeant Everdeen?"

Katniss nodded, feeling completely numb. Was this really happening? Was she really getting recruited to a top secret elite group organized by the government to capture Coriolanus Snow? Why her? Sure she had pretty high commendations from her superiors and she was an excellent shot with almost any gun, but was that enough? She had no time to process it. He clicked a small black pen and passed it to her.

"Sergeant Katniss Everdeen of District 12, you are hereby offered a position in SQUAD 451 by the Government of the United Districts of Panem, and are entrusted to withhold and serve to the best of your abilities, the mission to which you are appointed, until such time of which you are discharged, killed, formally relieved of your duties or otherwise. Sign your name if you accept. Your minute starts now."

The red digital clock on top of the one-way mirror came to life, counting down from a minute. Katniss Everdeen signed her name on the paper before it reached 50 seconds.

It must have been hours before the blind fold was taken from her eyes. Katniss squinted under the bright light, raising her hand to block out the intrusion. "Where am I?" She asked to no one in particular.

"You're safe," was the response of a gentle voice. It took a while for her eyes to adjust, but when it finally did, a tall man with cropped gray hair, blue eyes and incredible posture greeted her. Beside him was an older man in a wheelchair wearing thick rimmed glasses that were entirely too large for his face.

"Sergeant Everdeen, welcome to Head Quarters. I'm General Boggs, and this," the tall man waved towards the man in the wheelchair, "is Corporal Beete. He'll be showing you around the compound and into your quarters where you will change to your uniform and then proceed to the mess hall for lunch. Do you have any questions?"

Yes. Plenty. "No."

Boggs frowned.

"No, sir," Katniss quickly croaked, her throat dry from the lack of use. Come to think of it, she could use a glass of water.

General Boggs gave her a curt nod, and then disappeared behind the doors. Beete gave her a bright smile and extended his hand. "Hello Sergeant Katniss, nice to meet you."

Katniss took it without reluctance and returned the gesture. "Likewise Corporal Beete."

"We should proceed with the tour, before the others finish all the food," he said earnestly, swiveling in his chair and heading out the room with Katniss trailing behind him.

According to Beete the compound was above ground, but the few windows they passed by were all tinted a solid black so it was hard to confirm. The layout was simple enough; the main hallway that they were currently in was the widest, which branched off to different marked areas to its left or right. The training facilities were to the left, divided into smaller hallways that lead to rooms for specific training purposes like the Shooting Range, the gym, combat room, weapons bay, etc. Living quarters and anything related was to the right, including the mess hall, showers, and the entertainment room. Down the farthest end of the main hall were the elevators, which could take you to the Garage on the first floor, the Operations room on the third, or the helipad.

"Every room requires a key and a code, and unless given direct permission, we are confined to the second floor," Beete says with a smile, wheeling to a stop in front of a door with her name on a plaque right beside it. He flashed a small card against a scanner and entered a code. The door slid open. "This is your room."

It was a small box with white walls and no windows, a twin size bed on the corner with a black duffle bag on top, a closet and a desk. It reminded Katniss of her old dormitory at the Academy. Katniss grimaced. "This place is already starting to feel like a prison to me."

Beete laughed lightly. "It can feel that way. But the people here are nice, so it feels like a home."

Katniss nodded at him, stepping into the room to inspect the closet. There were about 20 dark blue cotton shirts hanging on a rack, 20 dark blue cotton shorts, and 20 dark blue pants. To the side were five pairs of black, form-fitting full body suits, along with a thick, padded vest, black collared shirts, dark grey camouflage pants and hooded sweatshirts, all of which had a symbol of golden bird with a ring around it on the crest. Mockingjays?

Beete's little device beeped in his hands and suddenly his entire demeanor changed. "Change of plans, we'll have to skip lunch and head straight to Operations. You'll need to get dressed." He shuffled in his pocket for a second then threw something small and rectangular at Katniss. "Energy bar. I was going to save it for later but I guess you need it more than I do. I'll wait outside while you change."

The door hissed and closed.

Katniss stood for a moment in silence to collect herself. Everything felt like a dream, like she was floating outside her body and could do nothing but watch as she walked around this strange new place and followed orders. What did she get herself into, exactly? When would she get out? Could she even get out?

She fingered the material of her uniform; the fabric was different. It was soft to the touch and breathable, but when she tried to claw her fingers through it was surprisingly durable.

"Is everything okay, Sergeant Everdeen?" Beete's voice echoed from outside, snapping her from her thoughts.

With a resigned sigh, she started undressing. Her questions would have to wait.

The uniform fit her very well, and if she didn't feel so lost she probably would've appreciated how good it looked on her. It was tight in all the right places, and the vest was a lot lighter than she thought it would be. The vest she wore at work was five times as heavy, and was probably not as effective as the one she currently had on.

"Have you read through the profiles yet?" Beete asked curiously as they made their way to the elevator.

Katniss shook her head slightly embarrassed, opening the folder in her hand. When did they expect her to read through this? When she was blindfolded? Quickly, she skimmed through the important points of the profiles, remembering to put a name to the picture of the face. Luckily for her, there were only four.

Captain Gale Hawthorne of the Capitol Special Forces. Unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance and counter-terrorism. Recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross and Special Forces Medal of Command. Youngest Capitol Special Forces Captain in position.

Katniss bit her lip, staring at his picture. Gale is really good looking. He had dark black hair, high cheekbones and confident grey eyes. 'Okay, so I'm a little excited,' she thought to herself. 'Sue me.'

She turned the page.

SEAL Capitol Lieutenant Finnick Odair. Unconventional warfare, covert operations and counter-guerilla. Recipient of the Capital Fleet Cross and SEAL Medal of Valor. Delta Trained Classified.

Katniss almost pulled her hair out in frustration when she looked at Finnick's picture. He too is incredibly attractive, with short bronze hair and the most beautiful sea green eyes. And his smile. 'They expect me to live with these boys? Without adult supervision?'

She turned the page.

Sergeant Johanna Mason of the District Special Forces. Unconventional warfare, counter-terrorism and district intelligence. Thank god she wasn't the only girl. Johanna had brown eyes and short spiky hair.

She turned the page.

Corporal Beete of the Capitol Special Forces. Tech. Engineer specializing in weapons and communications.

"That's not a very flattering picture of me," Beete piped up, flashing his card and punching in some keys to open the elevator.

Katniss laughed softly, stepping in after him. "I think you're the best looking of the bunch."

"It would be difficult to argue with that." Beete grinned and pressed the "3" button. "You're probably going to get briefed on our current mission, before I got into the accident."

Katniss' eyes widened at that. She didn't even think... "I didn't realize-

"That I was the one you're replacing?" Beete cut in, waving his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Personally, I don't think I should have been in the field in the first place. I'm too old, and I could hardly keep up with those guys. I was slowing everybody down."

Not knowing what to say, Katniss nodded and tried to change the subject instead. "What was the mission?"

"Extraction. We just found the location of one of Snow's most trusted men. They're very well hidden you see, and Snow rarely stays in one place for too long. We were supposed to extract him and get Snow's location from him, but I was shot below the spine and had to be brought back."

"What's his name?" Katniss asked absently just as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open.

"It's the boy who rescued that family from the burning building, the one from a year ago? It was highly publicized for weeks, he was even named a local hero," Beete quipped and rolled out into the hallway. "Hard to imagine Peeta Mellark working with someone like Snow. Such a shame."

"Yeah," Katniss whispered, remembering Peeta's face well from his many interviews about the rescue. All of Panem seemed to love him. "Hard to imagine."

Author's note: So my mind has spontaneously written a pretty kick-ass outline for this fic as I'm writing it, and I'm kind of excited. But please REVIEW and let me know what you think so far! It's a strong motivator.