Part I
1
Seneca Crane. What an ass. Plutarch had known him since school days. Seneca had always been full of himself. Wreathed in the Crane name, his position in the Capitol had been assured from the day of his birth. Plutarch didn't mind. Seneca was a very small ember in Plutarch's slow burn.
Plutarch Heavensbee, son of Marcus Heavensbee. The Heavensbees had once been ascendant in the capitol, major players with eyes on the Presidency. That was back in the days when Valentine Prius was President, but Prius was old and increasingly feeble. His nephew, Coriolanus Snow, had arrived at the presidential mansion to aid the failing President. Snow was in his prime: young, handsome, charming, urbane, ambitious, clever, and in the mansion. Almost immediately, tragedy was in the air.
Despite the best efforts of Panem's leading physicians, the President's health took a turn for the worse. Under intense medical supervision, he would show signs of recovery, but then, once the crises was past and he had returned to his mansion, his health would begin to slide again. It was clear he could not long continue.
There were rumors. Some people wondered how it was that the President's health seemed to go into steep decline whenever he was in the care of his nephew. No one dared to speak such things aloud, but there were those who felt that Snow should be kept at a distance. Marcus Heavensbee was one of them.
Marcus campaigned heavily among the Panem 23. These were the families that ruled the nation. When the time came, they were the select few, rich and powerful, who would confer the Presidency on the candidate of their choice. Lavish parties were held, lavish gifts bestowed. In quiet spaces, private views were shared, promises made, positions secured, money changed hands.
Snow, of course was doing all the same things, and factions were evolving.
The position of Marcus was strong. His views were considered sound, and his management of the family fortune exemplary, but then things started to go awry. A chief ally died suddenly from massive renal failure only a day or two after attending one of Snow's functions. Another died shortly after from an allergic reaction to a gift of exotic sea food supposedly sent by Marcus, though he denied any knowledge of it. He began to find it difficult to contact some of his supporters. They seemed always otherwise occupied. Then came the final blow.
While traveling to a banquet at the Presidential Mansion, his car was broadsided by an armored Peacekeeper vehicle and he died shortly thereafter. An investigation was held and the Peacekeeper driver was found negligent. He was removed from the Peacekeeper service but mysteriously managed to land on his feet in an advanced civilian position with the government procurement service, where such a thing could never happen again.
In a few months, Prius was gone as well, and Coriolanus Snow became the new President of Panem.
At age 21, Plutarch found himself the head of a much reduced family. Significant assets were lost through deals that Marcus had brokered, deals that seemed entirely out of character. More was lost to government appropriations for previously unannounced projects. At the funeral of Marcus, Snow himself assured Plutarch that the family's contribution to the welfare of Panem would not be forgotten. He granted Plutarch a position as undersecretary in a minor government department. Plutarch's hatred was difficult to conceal. He believed Snow to be complicit in the death of Marcus and blamed him entirely for the Heavensbee family setbacks. He found everything about Snow repellent, but forced a smile and shook the President's hand. His slow burn had begun.