Death for Another Day

"Life makes love look hard" – T. Swift

Chapter 1

District 2

It started out as any other month does. Midnight, February 1st, a thick file is deposited outside my door. I grab it after the mandatory five minute waiting period is over. This month I have to be on top of my game and actually make some money or I'll be back in the woods hunting for my dinner.

Last month, the anniversary of the bombing at the Capitol, I was completely off. I let my target get away three times before someone else made a move. This month I would start immediately. If my competition was even a few hours behind me I could get in two kills, three if they were lazy. Plus, my bag was already packed, sitting by the door. I would only have to prepare any specialty items needed for unique targets.

The file weight made me frown; it was very light. Not many targets to choose from this month. Five teams including myself would get this same file. I would be surprised if there were more than three or four targets. I sat at my desk and casually flipped it open.

My blood went cold. The first emotion I'd felt in years raced through me, igniting many more I'd forgotten I had. Terror. Dread. Nausea. Disbelief. Anger. Before the last emotion could be placed I had picked up my bag, the file, and rushed out the door.

I paced back and forth at the train station in District 2. The next train to District 12 was in a half an hour. And even after boarding the train it would be hours before the arrival to the land I avoided at all costs.

I called my housekeeper, Berta, and told her not to expect me for a few days and to make the guest room up.

Once the train finally started rolling toward my home land I opened the file and read it, becoming sick in my stomach again at seeing the picture on the first page. I read all the information, except for the name. I still wouldn't let my mind think it after all those years.

Last known residence was District Twelve in Victor's Village. Married, no children. Moderate to Excellent self defense skills, especially when threatened… Blah, blah, blah all things I knew better than anyone. Finally, I let my eyes rest on the name. Katniss Everdeen Mellark. I've spent my whole life since the rebellion trying to forget that name, that girl.

My final thought before my sleeping pill took affect was that I hope I am not too late.

Half an hour before the train arrived the sleeping pill wore off. I made a plan, probably the worst plan in the history of assassin plan making. The plan came down to rescuing the intended target which would have all kinds of nasty consequences not limited to loosing my job, being on the run for the rest of my miserable life if I wasn't killed by one of my 'coworkers', having to relive the painful memories that destroyed my life once already, and of course being in the same room as Katniss. There was no other choice; no one could protect her but me. Even that was a stretch against four other merchants of death. I did have the home court advantage so it might be possible.

District 12

The train station wasn't crowded; District 12 still wasn't a hot spot for business or tourism. The first place I would look for the target would have to be at her house, then the bakery, then family….and last the woods. She was safest there. I walked down the familiar streets with the unfamiliar new buildings. My long winter coat with the high collar helped me blend in. No one recognized me as I walked on, not even the ones I had rescued from a fiery death so many years ago. I just had to make sure not to run into my mother or siblings. I cringed inwardly at the thought of my family. I did miss them but this was not a social visit.

My heart pounded in fear as I reached her house. She could already be dead, laying in a pool of her own blood. A gravel path lead up to the big house with clean lines, a front porch, and a garden peaked around from the side of the house. The flowers in the front, primroses, made my heart sink. They looked so innocent against the tender yellow clapboard. Prim. I almost turned around right then but reality was too grave.

Standing on the porch I heard laughter. Katniss. She was still alive. Relief flooded through me, and I knocked on the door.

Peeta opened the door and stared at me with an open mouth. Not much about him had changed, still blonde and in my opinion useless.

"You are not welcome here," he said in his politic way.

"Too bad. Let me in." I never had his way with words.

"Peeta, who is that? You didn't tell me anyone was coming," Katniss called from some room behind him.

"No one dear, just a visitor that lost his way," he turned and replied to her.

"Good bye," he looked me straight in the eyes with a fierceness that I had never seen before from him. Then he calmly shut the door.

I sighed because nothing with Katniss and Peeta is ever easy. I inspected the door frame, buying time for Peeta to walk away, and then kicked in the door.

Surprise and startled screams came from inside. I let myself in and wandered into the living room where Katniss stood wide eyed and bless his heart, Peeta had a shot gun. They must being doing well to have such a luxury.

"Put it down, Peeta. I don't want to waste my energy on you." Wary is the only emotion that I am accustomed to feeling in the past five years.

"Gale Hawthorne," she whispered and sank into the carpet.

Peeta just kept the gun pointed level at my chest. "This is your last warning. Leave."

Rather than gracing him with an answer I swiftly cut around Katniss sitting on the floor and grabbed the gun out of his hands. Per typical of the inexperienced hand, he wasn't holding it very tightly.

I went to take the rounds out but laughed out loud when the gun wasn't even loaded. "You really expect to protect anything with a gun that isn't loaded?"

That apparently upset Katniss into action. She leaped up and smacked me. Katniss always was a better fighter than Peeta. "How dare you show yourself here!"

"You are lucky I am here Katniss." I took time to look at her. Still wearing a braid and still wearing boots that had mud all over them, but somehow older and stronger. She also had those beautiful gray eyes that I see in my dreams even now.

"Oh really? Because I can think of plenty of reasons that this will be the low light of my year." Bitter had apparently come with the age.

"There really isn't time to explain. We have to leave now."

Her face contorted. Repulsed, she spat, "I am not going anywhere with you. Ever."

Somewhere off in the distance I heard a hovercraft coming. That only meant one thing. Team Raiz. They were the only ones that made a public display of what they did with something as ostentatious as hovercraft. It was meant to be a symbol of fear, that they were coming and there was nothing you could do. Why the government let them do this was something I wasn't privy to knowing. In all my dealings with my "boss" discreet was the key word. Katniss had a pretty high price on her head something that would interest Team Raiz into quick action.

Great. Team Raiz had five members. One to drive, two to enter and two to guard the exits. There was only one of me.

A soft rumble came from the roof as two men dropped down. It was too late to evacuate.

"What was that?" Peeta questioned.

"That is death. The death that has come for Katniss. Katniss, please get in the closet and do not come out. This isn't an insult to your abilities. This just makes it harder for them to succeed. Peeta, do you have bullets for this?" I motioned to the gun on the floor.

He reached into a box on the floor and got them out. The team was inside the house now. Their footsteps echoed on the tile upstairs. Katniss was still not in the closet so I shoved her in. She banged on the door once but then stilled as she could hear the intruders coming down the stairs over her head.

"Don't shoot until you can see their eyes. We want them as casual as possible. Laugh if you can."

Peeta faked a laugh. In a loud voice he said ", Oh dear, you are the best story teller ever. I have one for you though…just let me get a drink from the kitchen first."

That was actually highly intelligent of him. They would think she was alone in the living room.

The first masked man came around the stairs and stared straight into the barrel of Peeta's gun. He fired once but missed as the man ducked and rolled. Plenty of opportunity for me to take care of him. I stepped from behind the couch and dug my knife into the back of his neck as he stood up facing Peeta. The second man, wisely following several paces behind was prepared for Peeta and fired his energy rounds as he came down. Peeta was smart enough to move out of his range.

The man retreated surprisingly. Then shots went off all around us as the goons guarding the exits fired into the house. Windows crashed into a million pieces, light fixtures exploded around us. "Get down," I yelled.

The shots ceased momentarily and the man in the stairs bounded down. I took the gun from Peeta and put a bullet through the intruder's neck. The only part not really covered by body armor.

The silence inside the house must have cued the guards that it was their turn to have a shot at the kill. Both came in simultaneously. I really had no plan on how to take them out. The element of surprise was my only advantage. As one entered the living room through kitchen the closet door peaked open and an arrow flew out, nailing the guard in the neck. The guard went down and the closet door shut softly. That was my Katniss.

With no back up the last guard should not be a problem but he seemed to have disappeared. I motioned to Peeta to stay put and whispered to Katniss in the closet to stay inside as cleared the kitchen, the entry, and the study. That left only the bathroom and the door that lead into an unknown room at the end of the hall. I cleared the bathroom just be sure but the man wasn't hiding in the tub. I heard the man reporting to the driver from behind the door.

"No one even reported seeing her. Maten, Gregor, and Frieda are all dead. This might sound crazy but I think they were-"

I burst into the spare bedroom as it turned out just in time to find the man setting fire to the bed. Good choice on his part but I shot him as I entered. He had no chance. I put the fire out with my jacket and returned to the living room. Katniss was out of the closet and clutching Peeta. She never could listen for long.

"Could you take Katniss to the nearest neighbor's house and ask them to clothe her? Something she would never wear." I looked Peeta directly in the eye. He would do as I requested because I had just saved them both.

"Why?" Katniss looked at me with an expression that only reflected hurt.

"Because you need to not look like yourself. Go, now. I will explain later. There just isn't time now." I told her softly.

They left and I looked around at the ruins. The clock was still ticking so I gave myself three minutes to think.

"We have to go somewhere safe. District Four. We have to lead them to believe something might have already happened to her so the other teams will focus on the other targets. No one above me knows I've gone rogue, yet," I said to myself. I looked around the room the table in the corner was the family apothecary book that Katniss had worked on so many years ago another volume appeared to be below it. I picked both up and looked at the mantel two framed pictures sat up there one of a wedding day and one of Primrose. She was sparkling in a blue dress after Katniss won the Hunger Games the first time. I took the one of Prim down, broke the frame and slid the still in the book. Then I walked to the closet and pulled out her bow and arrows which had been stored there along with her father's hunting jacket.

I put most of it in my bag and walked to the kitchen. I turned on the gas stove so that no fire would light and let the propane escape into the room. I reached up, shut the air vents and put a towel under the closed door to the outside. Once the other door to the kitchen was shut I placed towel under there too. I lit another towel next to the one blocking in the gas and left the room. That would give just enough time for everything to fill up. I walked out without turning back.

At the nearest neighbor I found Katniss in a flowing green dress with white lace trimmings, long coat, and tan scarf around her neck. White lace gloves and dark brown short boots covered her to keep her warm. Her hair was down, gently flowing in many directions. She was more feminine than I had ever seen her. Great, I am sure this Katniss will show up in my dreams to haunt me until the grave. Peeta was also at a lost for words as he just stared at her from across the room.

"Is this good?" she asked me.

"Great." I muttered turning away. "Time to go."

"Not until I get some answers."

"Later Katniss, I promise. We just have to get out of district twelve alive." I tried looking at her forcefully but she just held her ground. It seems that five years has not ebbed her hatred. Forgiveness is completely out of the question.

I turned to Peeta. "Tell her it's a good idea to leave now. We can talk on the train."

Peeta paused then took Katniss' hand. "Let's go with him. He did save our lives today."

She glared at him but I could tell she would give into Peeta, the dear husband. So Katniss thanked the neighbors for the clothes and we left just as the sun was setting into a fiery red mess.

Of course one of the reasons I wanted to leave so quickly is to avoid the explosion. Right as we were making our way out of the neighbor's abode Katniss' house went up in flames with a loud rumbling boom.

Katniss' face showed pure terror as she raced toward the house that had once been her home. I grabbed her by the waist and her fists slammed into my chest repeatedly until Peeta guided her into his arms.

"How could you? Those people…" The accusation in her voice reminded me of the day after the bombing. "How could you?" she repeated over and over.

I thought she would weep but not a tear rolled down her cheek. Peeta dragged her after me and we went silently into the night hoping to catch the last train.

Author's Note:

Hello! I'm back with my new story. It is much more serious than my whim of a one-shot. I told myself I wouldn't post anything until I finished writing the story completely. Well, I haven't quite finished but I have over half so I thought I would post the first chapter. I need a little encouragement so please review. As for updates….I am not sure yet. Feel free to voice your opinion. Thank you for taking time to read.

I also have a wonderful beta. Thank you MiaCara.