Chapter 2

I would happily have stayed in bed that morning. District Seven was a quiet place the 98% of the year, and the shootout three days ago had covered the other 2%, so there was a very high probability that nothing interesting at all would happen that day.

But there was no time for mourning in this business, and I was going to have to make my peace with that fact as much as I would have to make my peace with Deen's death. None of those things would ever change, and both of them would be my professional hell if I left them get to deep in my mind.

There is no time for mourning in this business. That's what I repeated to myself like a mantra, all the way from home to the DSPD headquarters. I wasn't exactly expecting someone to hug me, rub my back or say something compassionate like "Hang in there, Trinket; we're here for you" or anything, but it would have been nice to get in and feel some empathy coming from my colleagues for a change. As I found nothing but routine, however, I just went with the flow.

Before I even got to my desk, I knew the going with the flow would be a lot more difficult that day.

- Not really a fan of technology, are we? –I said, smirking in a very Haymitch way, and he quit kicking the copy machine.

Something close to guilt crossed his face for a brief second.

- I prefer pen and paper, but apparently things are done differently over here… –he replied, pointing to a big pile of sheets on his desk.

- Who brought that? –I frowned.

- I wanna say Mason? Twenty-something female, pale skin, dark hair, big eyes, pain-in-the-ass attitude…

I chuckled at his accurate description of Johanna and picked up one of the sheets. It was literally written in Chinese.

- Did you read this? –I asked stupidly. Of course he didn't.

- She said "Get the copies, probie", not "Read that shit and write a fucking summary, probie" –he grunted-. What's that "probie" thing, anyway? Another way to say "You're my new secretary"?

- I only heard "shit" and "fucking" out of that whole speech. We're gonna have to work in that language, sir…

- Yeah, well, why don't you first teach me how to use this stupid thing?

- How about you first learn to read what you're copying before you waste resources?

He was about to snicker back, I knew it, but he frowned at the sheet I handed him. I couldn't help but grinned at his obvious realization.

- That bitch… -he snorted-. She's not gonna get outta this that easy, you know…

- It was a joke, Abernathy –I answered, rolling my eyes-. They make the same joke to every new guy in the Department. You can consider yourself a part of the team now. Congratulations.

- They? So there's not just Mason then…

- Well, Chaff usually does things like this too. You'll like him.

I flashed him my smuggest smile and went to my desk.

Two hours later, when I finished typing Deen's death report (it usually took me no longer than twenty minutes to write and proofread a death report, but everything concerning Deen apparently was a lot harder to do), I went to the cafeteria.

- Jesus Christ, look who's back… –Jo's voice resounded in the rather empty room.

She walked towards me smirking.

- I can't be back if I never left, Jo… -I replied, filling my mug with coffee.

- Still, we thought you'd take the day or something for… you know –She delivered the last part with much more seriousness than I expected. Internally, I thanked her for the tact.

- Who's we?

- Me and Chaff –she chewed the cookie she picked up from the table-. Well, actually just Chaff. I said you'd come but you'd be weeping all morning. Now I owe him twenty bucks, thank you.

- You two making money out of someone else's pain? I did not see that coming…

She chuckled and then narrowed her eyes in a thoughtful expression.

- Now that you mention it, none of us made anything, really –she said, chewing her cookie again.

- How's that? –I asked-. And please swallow before talking…

She just rolled her eyes.

- Well, we also betted on how long it would take Plutarch to find you another partner –she explained-. Chaff said it'd be a week or so; I said 48 hours tops. I won.

- I respectfully disagree –I said, in my perfect Capitol accent just to bug her.

- Why?

- It was 24 hours, actually.

Her eyebrows shot to her hairline.

- Now that's what I call good networking –she said, surprised-. Let me guess: he was waiting for you with Probie at your door when you got there after Deen's funeral.

I snorted.

- Worse –I declared-. He introduced Haymitch to me at the funeral.

- Wow –she swallowed the cookie-. He can be a bastard when he wants to, can't he?

- He can, indeed…

- Where did he get Probie, anyway?

- Twelve. A transfer.

- Just like Deen…

I just nodded. The conversation was rushing to a place I didn't want to reach yet. Johanna was going to ask if I believed Haymitch and I would ever be as close as I was with Deen, and I didn't quite know how to answer that. I didn't even know how to get used not to have Deen around in the first place, or if I wanted to be friends with Haymitch one day. I didn't know if I could ever trust Haymitch as I trusted Deen. I didn't know…

As if conjured, Deen's Seam eyes materialized by the cafeteria door. Except the eyes weren't Deen's.

- Katniss? –I heard myself whisper.

Jo looked back over her shoulder.

- What's she doing here? –she said, confused. Good, I thought; I'm not hallucinating.

I hurried to the girl, who was sporting a sharp frown of protest on her face, probably because of Haymitch's grip on her elbow.

- I found her rummaging on your desk –he said, releasing her arm.

- I was looking for you –she said to me, and then shot a dark look to Haymitch.

- Yeah, and you were gonna find her between her papers, weren't you, sweetheart? She's not that small…

- Well, you weren't that helpful either…

- What happened? –I asked her, before the argument could get any bigger-. Are you okay?

- Yeah… -She nodded-. Yeah, I'm fine… It's my mom.

- Meg? What's wrong with her?

I saw Haymitch getting tense at the woman's name, and made a mental note about it. I would have to dig deeper on that too.

- She's… Gone –Katniss breathed out.

- Gone? What do you mean, gone? –I frowned.

Katniss lost it right then: the tears fell down her cheeks and she jumped on me, hugging me with all her strength.

- She's gone. Literally –she sobbed against my shoulder-. I took Prim to the school this morning and then went to the bakery for some bread. When I got home, she wasn't there. I looked for her all over the place… She's gone, Effie. She's gone… I didn't know where else to go… Help me find her, Effie. Please, help me…

Her whole body was shaking, and my blouse was getting damp from her tears. I ran my hand through her hair in a soothing gesture and instinctively looked at Haymitch, who just blinked in confusion.

- Okay –I said, pulling away to look at her and cupping her cheeks in my hands-. Okay, calm down. We'll find her. Just… calm down. Have you eaten something yet?

She shook her head. Johanna handed her the plate of cookies and she took one.

- Alright –I continued-. We'll need to fill a Missing Person file first. Come on, dear…

I passed my arm over her shaking shoulders and took her to my desk, Haymitch and Jo following us closely.

- What if she's dead too? –Katniss whispered in a rough voice-. What if she couldn't handle it well and…?

- Let's not think about it, shall we? –I said, faking a smile of hope.

- You know my mom, Effie… She's not exactly a strong person. She's not like you; she can't go on with her life knowing my dad's dead…

That hurt. A lot.

I know I'm not a demonstrative person. I know most people say I don't even have a heart and that I turn everything I touch into ice. But that strong, heartless, Ice Queen image is just a façade that helps me bear with the bitter reality of the life I chose to live. I do have feelings; I just don't like to getting hurt every time I show them.

- I think I should feel a little insulted right now… –I said, putting the exact amount of sadness in my fake hopeful smile, just to make my point.

Katniss got it, and her own sadness fade away for a second, morphing into embarrassment.

- I'm sorry –she said, looking away-. I didn't mean…

- Don't worry, dear –I smiled genuinely this time-. I'm used to it. Besides, we have more important things going on right now.

Haymitch handed me the Missing Person file while I sat in front on my desk and looked for a pen.

- We'll put a searching team out there as soon as possible –I said and looked at Johanna.

- We're on it –she said, and rushed to Plutarch's office.

I started to ask Katniss questions in order to fill the form, shooting looks at Haymitch from time to time. He had stayed standing there, right behind Kat, staring at the wall with the most worried eyes I've ever seen.

- Were you planning on going to school today? –I asked Katniss at some point.

- Is this going to my permanent record? –she asked back, no expression in her face.

I couldn't help but smiled at that.

- No –I answered.

- Then no, I wasn't –she said, relaxing a little.

- But yet, you sent Prim to school. Why?

- It'll distract her. Her friends will make sure she's OK; they'll cheer her up.

- What about you? Don't you need a cheer up?

She looked at me with glossy eyes.

- I have responsibilities, you know –she started-. When Mom's not home, I'm Mom. I knew she wasn't going to be Mom for a while after all this, so I took care of stuff. That's how we work: she loses it, I take care, she comes back, barks at me for not behaving like a normal sixteen-year old, I bark back at her for not behaving like a thirty-something-year old, we fight, we make up, rinse, repeat as needed.

She looked down at her feet and a tear made its path down her cheek.

- I never thought I'd say this –she went on, smiling sadly-, but I really want the "rinse and repeat" this time.

Something shattered in my chest.

- We'll find her –I promised, taking her hand in mine.

She nodded and wiped her nose with the back of her other hand.

I looked at Haymitch again. He was staring at us now, and averted his eyes when mine stopped on him.

- I'm going to take this to Plutarch –I said to Katniss, waving the file as I got up- and we'll go pick Prim up from school.

- What? –She frowned-. No...

- She's her mom too, Kat…

- But I was hoping I'd find her before Prim came from school. That's why I came to you. Two heads think better that one…

- Katniss…

She sobbed again.

- It's too much… -She trailed off-. It's too much for her…

- I know –I replied-, but it'll be worse if she knows you tried to keep her in the dark and make as if nothing had happened…

She looked at me with a plea in her eyes.

- Come on, kid –Haymitch said, suddenly, getting closer to us-. You said it yourself: two heads think better than one. The more people we are looking for your mother, the faster we'll find her.

Katniss gave him a suspicious look, not fully trusting him yet.

- He's right, Kat –I said, teaming up with him on this.

Her eyes moved to me, then back to Haymitch and to me again.

- Fine –she gave in.

- Okay –I sighed, relieved-. I'll take this to…

- I'll do it –Haymitch said, taking the file from my hands-. Go get a car. Meet you in the parking lot.

I nodded thankfully and took Katniss outside.

My mind sorted every possibility about how this could turn out, and the more I thought about it, the more scared I got at the situation. What if we didn't find Meg that day? What if we didn't ever find Meg? Or worse: what if we found Meg dead? How were the girls going to handle that, both of their parents dead in less than a week?

I don't think I've ever wished for something more fervently than how I wished for Katniss to have her rinse and repeat.


A/N: First of all, to all the awesome people who read the first chapter: THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH! You guys are making me so happy... This is my first story ever published, and I really hope you liked it (this chapter too) :)
Also, if you haven't given yourselves that hug I sent to you last time, now go give yourselves a double one!
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X's, O's and a big, fat lot of love,
Liv :3