…
"...fucking kill the son of a bitch!"
Katniss' eyes shot open and, instinctively, her hand reached for her bow, before resting against the mattress. Trying to calm her beating heart, she sat up, letting the sheets slide down her naked body. A glance to the wall told her it was four in the morning. She heard a moan, then Enobaria calling something about medical help, and then a male voice began yelling again- she recognized Gloss.
"I swear I will, Finnick- I will kill him- that bastard Snow can try to stop me, I'll fucking kill him as well!"
That made Katniss' eyes widen and her heart pick up pace. Suddenly, she was scrambling out of bed, throwing a silk nightgown onto her bare body. She'd only been asleep for an hour, and she had no idea what was going on- only that Gloss, the pampered Career Victor, had just uttered treasonous words in a house bursting to the seams with bugs, reporting their every move to President Snow.
She flew out of her bedroom, without for one second remembering that she wasn't supposed to interact with these people.
She stopped at the door of the District Room, hand covering her mouth in shock.
The others hadn't noticed her yet. Gloss was pacing like a wild beast, running his hands through his hair, wearing nothing but a pair of silk trousers, veins straining at his forehead. Finnick and Johanna were visibly trying to calm him down, both of them occasionnally glancing at the walls around them in worry, coming to the same conclusion she had.
Her eyes briefly stopped on Peeta. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed against his chest, wearing a silk bathrobe, face thunderous, staring at the largest sofa, jaw clenching in rage.
Annie Cresta was kneeling next to the sofa, worry etched over her pretty, pale face, red hair tied in a ponytail. She was wearing a skimpy black dress, having probably only just finished work, looking far from appropriate on such an angelic person. She was Finnick's girlfriend. And a pretty Victor. A whore, alongside him. Katniss wondered how they managed that- how they accepted that their other half had to sell their body.
Or maybe they didn't. They had no choice, after all. None of them did.
Enobaria was standing behind Annie, looking out of place, as Annie ran her fingers through soft blonde curls. A woman was lying on the sofa, moaning softly. She was naked, and Katniss gasped as she took in the sight of her back.
Cashmere had had a very, very bad night.
Her back was covered in lashes that had bit through the flesh, the wounds still bleeding. As she shivered slightly- a new groan ripping from her chest- Katniss noticed with a small gasp that she could see bone in some places.
Enobaria cast an annoyed glance towards the wall, where someone had obviously dialed the Hall surgeon. His holograph hung against the wall, over a timer- he would be here in thirteen minutes. Katniss glanced at Cashmere. Without medical aid, the woman wouldn't last thirteen minutes.
She stepped forward into the room, advancing towards Cashmere, purposefully ignoring the other Victors' stares. She swore she could feel Peeta's eyes on her- something that hadn't happened in three years- but, when she glanced his direction, he was staring at Gloss, frowning, obviously trying to make sure that the man wouldn't do anything rash.
Katniss squatted by Cashmere's side, ignoring Annie's shy smile. Annie was the only one who smiled at her anymore, the only one who tried, every so often, to engage her in conversation and not just polite salutations. Katniss tried to speak softly to her, hoping that the others wouldn't hear, but flinched when she discovered that they did anyway- she realized that the room had fallen silent when she had entered it. Securing her nightgown, she muttered,
"Have someone dial the surgeon again and stress the emergency. Remind him that if she dies, his life is on the line- Snow won't like loosing her. Bring me some clean towels and warm water. Also, any strong painkillers we might have."
Annie leaped into action, her angelic face surprisingly determined, and Enobaria reached the phone to dial the surgeon.
"I think I have some painkillers," Finnick muttered gruffly before leaving the room.
Katniss remained silent, although she felt someone's shadow lurking over her. Johanna Mason glared down, face pinched in anger.
"So, all of a sudden you care?" she spat.
Katniss felt self-righteous anger run through her veins, but ignored it. She couldn't let any of the other Victors get to her, one way or another. Or else her walls would crumble. She didn't answer, knowing full well that she couldn't ignore Johanna forever. The woman's fingers twitched, as though she wanted to strangle her.
"And what makes you think you're good at this anyway?" Johanna snapped. "For all we know, given how high and mighty you think you are compared to us, you could be killing her."
That struck a nerve and Katniss almost spat something equally rude back. High and mighty? She supposed that was the reputation you got when you played at refusing to mingle.
When Peeta's voice rose, she shivered slightly, heart thumping. Given her self-imposed solitude, she rarely heard him speak these days, but sometimes, she'd hear his laughter or grasp a few words, and it was as though she heard him for the first time.
She was glad she hadn't had time to totally fall in love with him in the Arena. That would have made the present even more complicated. She'd been able to brush off whatever it was that she'd felt for him under the guise of being star-crossed lovers, but she couldn't quite forget. She'd cared for him a great deal. Even now, four years later, she still cared. But she refused to show it. Refused to open her heart to anyone.
"Her mother's a Healer," he said. "She'll know better than anyone here what to do."
Katniss looked at him, but he was still leaning against the wall, watching Gloss, ignoring her. Narrowing her eyes, she turned back to Annie and Finnick who had just returned. Katniss grabbed the painkillers, eyes wandering over them. Many she didn't recognize.
"Give her those," she ordered, hanging two boxes to Annie and the rest to Finnick. "Two tabs each."
Annie nodded and obeyed, and Katniss grabbed one of the towels, wetting it in the basin of warm water the young woman had brought along, before bringing it to Cashmere's side, carefully, daintily mopping up the blood. As she passed it over Cashmere's cuts, she noticed the absence of reaction- the Victor had been knocked out, either by the pain or by the painkillers, which was a good thing for her, all considered.
Another glance at the surgeon's portrait read four minutes. Much better, and she caught Enobaria's eye- the woman's threats had obviously worked. Katniss recognized the glint there, the glint that informed her of a fresh kill, one born of necessity, a kill meant to save a life. Enobaria hadn't killed the surgeon, but threatening him must have felt pretty similar. Katniss bit back a grin.
Cashmere's wounds were no longer weeping blood, and Katniss cleaned them further, until each and every lash was standing out. It was still ugly, but at least it was something to work with.
The surgeon, pale and sweaty, walked in as she finished, still dressed as a party-goer. So that's where he was, instead of being on duty in his quarters a few floors down. Ridiculous. And unforgivable.
He knelt down by Cashmere's side as two assistants bustled in. One of them gasped at the sight of her back, then the surgeon ordered, voice firm,
"Everyone, out, now. I cannot operate under these circumstances."
Katniss caught the murderous face Gloss was wearing, and she picked herself up from the floor.
"I will stay," Annie declared to the surgeon, and Katniss was glad she, herself, hadn't had to. Whenever one of their own was hospitalized, one of the other Victors stayed during the operation and afterwards- that was how deep their lack of trust for the Capitol ran. Katniss had, as they all did, visited the hospital downstairs a few times, and each time had awoken to either Annie or Enobaria. The others, it would seem, couldn't be bothered when it came to her.
"No one is staying," the surgeon sneered, preparing his needle.
"Yes she is," Gloss all but growled. "Because if she isn't, it's me, and I'll rip your fucking head off and use your skull as a goblet during the next Victors' party."
Finnick coughed and showed the door. They filed out, Katniss second to last, and Finnick closed the door behind him. Once in the corridor, Katniss felt a wave of fatigue sweep over her, and as the others entered the Arena Room, Katniss' hand fell on the doorknob to her room.
"Oh, no you don't, Girl on Fire," Finnick's amused voice muttered near her ear.
Katniss turned toward him, ignoring his beautiful face and mocking tone.
"No I don't...what?"
"We're having a little meeting in the Arena Room, and for once, you're going to act like a member of Victory Hall and attend it," he answered softly, although she noticed his eyes were cold.
She looked him up and down.
"You don't get to order me around, Odair," she snapped in return. "I'd like to preserve the last freedom I have- that to come and go as I please within my own home."
Finnick's eyes widened slightly and he pulled something from his pocket. A sugar cube. He was always sucking on one. He slipped it between his lips and winked, although some of his usual fire seemed to be gone.
"Home," he repeated. "They got you good, didn't they, Girl on Fire?"
She stilled at that, feeling the colours drain from her face. When did home stop being the Seam? When did home become Victory Hall? Four years ago, obviously.
"What's this little meeting all about, anyway?" she snarled, fingers clenching around the doorknob, and she saw a slight twinkle in Finnick's eyes.
"There she is," he breathed before adding, his voice higher. "You heard Gloss, when Enobaria brought Cashmere back from her client?"
Katniss remembered the treasonous words slipping from Gloss' lips. Words that could put all of them in danger. Finnick continued as she nodded stiffly,
"After tonight, you can bet that President Snow will be sending his goons in here. We need to prepare."
"Prepare," she said. "In the Arena Room? A place full of bugs?"
"If you'd paid attention to anyone here during the past four years, Girl on Fire, you'd know."
Know what? she wanted to say, but he'd already turned on his heel, heading towards the Arena Room. Katniss hesitated, hand still on the doorknob. She could ignore them, return to her bed, pretend that everything was business as usual. But Finnick was right- Snow would want to know exactly where everyone stood in regards to Gloss' anger, and he would send in his people to make sure that the Victors weren't planning anything. And she was a Victor. Despite her ignoring the others, she was still, she knew, a high-risk profile, the girl who had ignited uprisings in the districts during her Games- quickly tampered out, but still.
Katniss sighed and let go of the doorknob, turning on her heel and entering the Arena Room as well, eyes flickering over the other Victors, save for Annie and Cashmere, who were still in the District Room. Her eyes met Finnick's as he chewed on his sugar cube, lips curved upwards.
"Know what?" she snapped, closing the door.
"That we've rooted out the bugs, all of them, in this room," he answered, taking a seat around the long table where everyone else was sitting. "Took about a year, but we managed it."
"And Snow doesn't realize that this room is no longer bugged?" she asked in disbelief.
"No," Enobaria replied, fingertips drumming on the table. "We've managed to silence the bugs and cover the cameras with replica images of an empty Arena Room. They simply believe that we don't use this room. And we rarely use it anyway. Snow knows," she indicated the bookshelves around them, "that we aren't interested in Capitol propaganda, and," she pointed to the large paintings of tributes dying in the arena over the years, "this is the stuff our nightmares are made of, so why would we use this room instead of the District Room anyway?"
"Sit, Katniss," Finnick ordered softly, and she obeyed, head thrumming.
She had to keep her eyes from wandering towards Peeta.
"Okay," Johanna stated. "Now that the infamous Mockingjay has gotten off her high horse, what do we do? Gloss, I know that Cash is your sister, but what you said is going to guarantee that-"
"I know," Gloss spat, glowering at no-one in particular. "I shouldn't have yelled that in the District Room."
"As much as I'd like to see Snow dead," Enobaria said, as several Victors chuckled, "that really wasn't the time, Gloss."
"It doesn't matter," Finnick interrupted. "None of that matters anymore. What we need to do is agree on what to do now. You can bet that even if President Snow doesn't send anyone in, we're going to be watched more carefully than ever, which will...complicate things."
Katniss blinked.
"Complicate what?" she asked.
No-one answered, and she narrowed her eyes, catching the glances they exchanged. Whatever it was, they were hiding it from her on purpose. Her eyes slid to Peeta automatically. He was once the person she entrusted with her very life, but now, he ignored her, as always.
"Finnick..." she warned softly, but Finnick shook his head.
"I'm simply talking about our daily life," he explained. "The things we can and cannot say any more."
It came across as true, but Katniss knew it was a lie. Suddenly, she felt the need to speak to someone, someone who wasn't an inhabitant of Victory Hall. But she couldn't. Her family and Gale didn't know the truth of what she did here. They only believed that she had to live in the Capitol as a Victor, in peace, spending her days doing silly socialite stuff and her nights partying away. She didn't trust Effie Trinket with such talk, and she hadn't seen Cinna in years. That left one person, and she wasn't sure whether or not she could really trust him.
"Well then, it's clear to me," she snapped, rising from her chair. "We just go on being good little whores for the Capitolites, and that's it."
She marched out of the room, slamming the door. No-one called her back.
Katniss slipped into her bedroom, body tired but mind buzzing. She needed to think.
It was obvious now that the Victors were hiding something from her. She'd never thought that could be the case. She didn't know what it was, but they hadn't spent an entire year debugging a room for nothing. They wanted to have conversations without the Capitol listening in.
How long had the Arena Room been debugged for? How long had they been having secret conversations, hiding not only from Snow, but from her? Why invite her tonight, only to keep things from her?
Frustrated, Katniss let herself fall upon her bed, head spinning. The evening had brought forth some news, however- the Victors didn't trust her. Whatever they were planning, they didn't trust the Girl on Fire turned silent and haughty.
All of a sudden, the need to talk to someone was overwhelming.
Katniss rolled out of bed and grabbed the holophone, uttering two words.
"Haymitch Abernathy."
The holophone began ringing.