A/N: A previous version of this chapter said: "Those houses are on eight more blocks surrounding Hickory Lane, Springs Street, and Mockingjay Drive." And now I realize how misconstrued those calculations were. It now reads: "Those houses are on seventy more blocks surrounding Hickory Lane, Springs Street, and Mockingjay Drive." Sorry for the mistake.
I know it has been an eternity since I have posted a chapter for this, but do not think I have forgotten about it. I just got a little sidetracked and was trying to figure this story out. But I have it under control and will be posting more regularly. Especially since I am done with applying to college and have been accepted to New York University! If I have any readers from the area, shoot me a message telling me places to eat and things to do :) Have fun reading this lengthy chapter and more will be posted soon.
Chapter 3
A Bit Overwhelmed
Katniss Point of View
I sat in astonishment at Star's words. I couldn't speak for the first time in a long time. Star had something in her pocket that started to beep. She pulled it out of her jeans, looked at a message on the screen of the device, and frowned ever so slightly. Gale and Night looked to her for guidance and information.
"I have to go check on the progress Beetee is making, but we're going to give you some clothes so that Night Hawk and Gale can give you the tour. First, allow me to finish explaining a few things." I nodded for her to continue. "The day we rescued you from the Quarter Quell, a number of tragic events happened. District 12 was bombed. Gale managed to evacuate about a tenth of the population, just under 900 people. Sadly, many people we lost, including the Mayor Undersee and his family. I really liked them. Anyways, this is the largest group of refuges we have had; luckily, we were anticipating something like this to happen. Well, not something as tragic as the bombing, but an extreme growth in population, so I had our construction workers stop work on Headquarters, and build enough homes to house as many refugees as possible. We are still building more while people are bunking together now. But with this influx of people, our population is now up to 15,000 people.
"District 12 was not the only place to bring us refugees. But we had to go in and rescue a few others. Plutarch Havensbee was the Head Gamemaker for the Quarter Quell and Fulvia Cardew was his assistant. They were working for us and we planted them long ago, hopping that Seneca Crane would slip-up. Granted, we thought he would simply be fired, not executed. President Snow has been rather vicious lately, if you ask me. Not that anyone did.
"Getting back to the matter at hand, we managed to rescue, Plutarch, Fulvia, Effie, Haymitch, you, Finnick, Beetee, Venia, Flavius, Octavia, and Portia. I am not sure if you remember, but Portia was Peeta's stylist. President Snow was planning on using Portia to pry information out of Peeta. Additionally, we managed to save Rue's and Thresh's families. I know it may seem overwhelming, but all of these people would love to see you, with the exception of Haymitch. But take all of the time you need. You certainly have no obligation to continue fighting a war that you don't want to be a part of. So before I set you to work, I need to know if you are as serious as we are about taking down President Snow and the corruption in the Capitol. Or do you want to only be a part of rescuing Peeta? Or nothing at all. What's it going to be Katniss, the girl on fire?"
"Count me in for all of it." I heard the words. I spoke the words. I believed the words. Hearing my determination, Star stood up and headed towards a set of drawers near the door. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a green, plain, short sleeved shirt, and then moved to another drawer to pull out a pair of sturdy, leather boots, just like the ones she was wearing. Star set them on the edge of the bed, smiled and nodded to me, turned to Gale and Night Hawk, said goodbye and left the room.
"We'll leave so you can dress, and we'll explain more in a minute. Let me know if those clothes aren't your size or style, then we can have some new clothes made for you. It won't be the same as Cinna's, but our local seamstress is the best in the District. We'll she's the only seamstress in the District, but she's still the best." Night Hawk offered a warming smile and left the room. Gale smiled too, but followed Night Hawk like a love struck puppy. I slipped out of bed and pulled off the hospital gown. A nurse had taken out the needles earlier during the day, leaving small holes in my arms and bandages covering them. It didn't hurt much though, compared to what I'd been through before.
I dressed quickly, braided my hair. After I was picked up from the games and put in the hospital, a woman was sent in to fix my hair. She cut very few parts of my hair, just enough to make the style even again. I hoped that Peeta's hair would still be the same when we got to him. I prayed that he wasn't being hurt too badly because of me. I wished that he could be back in my arms. I braided my hair the best I could but my fingers kept slipping. I finished and looked down at my trembling hands. Why is my body freaking out?
I took a deep breath and my hands stopped trembling. I tied the boots and rushed out of the room into the hallway. I needed some fresh air as soon as possible. A tour of District 13 would be good for my state of body and mind. There were doctors and nurses walking up and down the halls, but it took me a few minutes to find them until my eyes landed on the love birds. Gale and Night Hawk were practically connected at the hip with their arms intertwined. He looked happy, for the first time in years. I mean, he was always at home when we were hunting in the forest, but this was something else. Something I don't think I'd ever seen on Gale's face before, and from the looks of it, the look wasn't going to leave any time soon… If ever.
They looked towards me, offered more smiles and started walking down the hall. I followed, taking in my surroundings. A plain hospital for the most part, except no windows. Most likely because we were underground, but that was just a guess. I couldn't think of any other reason for the lack of windows. Just to confirm my suspicions, I asked.
"Are we underground, Night Hawk?" I came up to her side, strolling along.
"Yes, we are. The hospital was one of the first buildings that Star's grandfather built underground. When the district was attacked, the first building to be extensively expanded on was the hospital. It seemed to be the most important. Oh, and you don't have to call me Night Hawk, that's my full name. You can just call me Night." She smiled more towards me but never slowed her walk. "You could say that my parents were hippies."
We stepped into an elevator and started heading upwards. I thought back to some things Star had said. "Star had said she was going to check Beetee's progress. Progress on what, exactly?"
"We could only build so high above ground without worrying about the Capitol attacking us. We know that they were probably too afraid to attack, because of the weapons that Star's Grandfather had built, but we still wanted to be cautious. And then we also feared that if we looked too powerful they'd get too scared and retaliate, attack us anyway, and us without enough security to protect against it. So we didn't build anything higher than two stories. We wanted a shield to protect against the Capitol's weapons. Beetee is working on making a shield similar to the Capitol's—you know the one they use on all of the buildings and surrounding the Hunger Games playing field—except the shield we are developing will only work against Capitol weapons and soldiers." Night said proudly, as if the idea were all her own.
"Night came up with the idea herself. She had one nearly built but she needed Betee for the final touches, because only Beetee is familiar with the Capitol's trackers." Gale added, admiring Night's abilities.
"So it's exactly like the Capitol's shield with the electric shocks, but it only works on a Capitol jet or someone with a Capitol tracker?" I asked for clarification.
"Yes, and I know what you're thinking, what if the Capitol sends an army without trackers? It's impossible. By law, any person part of the Capitol's army is required to be embedded with a tracker, so that way the Capitol doesn't lose any one to our side." Night ended.
"What about the possibility that they implant trackers into innocent citizens?" President Snow probably wanted to put one in me.
"It's possible but the problem is that the trackers also carry vital information about the Capitol's defensive buildings for the use of the military. So they would not risk implanting top secret information into someone that would switch sides." Gale explained, and I quickly learned that in the past few months he had been educating on himself military tactics through Night and Star.
As our elevator stopped at level one, the doors opened to the lobby of the hospital. A pair of secretaries were directing visitors to the appropriate floor, answering phone calls, and typing away on computers. We walked across the lobby to average sized glass doors. Gale opened one of them and let Night and I step through to the outside.
My eyes burned a bit from the shock of bright light. It was the first time in weeks I had been outside, in the sun. Eyes closed, I just stood there for a minute, letting my skin soak up the sun's rays. I took a deep breath, breathing fresh air, feeling as though it were the first time I'd ever had the chance to breathe. I opened my eyes, looking around at my surroundings. The streets were paved with cement. Sidewalks were six feet wide on each side of the street while a twenty foot street ran in between. The street had people riding bicycles, sitting atop horses, relaxing in carriages, or directing their horses from a cart pulling goods. The street was filled with color. Different colors of buildings, clothes, and people. Everything was brightly, happily colored with life. The faces of people were warm with smiles. Not fake smiles, real, joyful smiles I had rarely seen before. And when I say the people were different colors, I don't mean to say that they were like people in the Capitol with tattoos or dyed hair or make-up or implants, they just had different skin tones. In the Districts people had different pigmentations of skin but everyone had seemed to have a pale tinting to their skin as a result of hard labor and little food. District 13 was a completely different world from what I had seen before, but I hoped this was the way all of the Districts would become eventually.
I began to walk with Night and Gale. They pointed out different shops and buildings. Most of the buildings were owned by families, the first floor being used as the shop, the second floor as the home for the family. Night said that the district would not be so self-reliant if it weren't for the runaways from other districts. The people from other districts had a completely different skill set that helped with being able to make various supplies. Night pointed out the different stores as we walked up and down the street. Starting with the clothing stores, there was one for women, another for men, a third for children and infants, and a last one for shoes. The clothing stores received their fabrics from a few different families who dyed the fabric, who received the unstained cloth from a separate set of families that wove it, who received the fabric from another group that wove it, who received the thread from a different handful of families that spun it, who received the wool from families that owned herds of sheep. Similarly, the Shoe Store received their leather from families who tanned the leather who received the hide from the butcher, while the Shoe Store also received their thread from the families who also supplied the clothing stores. Explaining the process seemed to be simpler than the acts themselves. Continuing the tour, we passed by a shop twice as large as the individual clothing stores, except this was titled 'Tailor and Alterations', which Night explained was where the Seamstress fitted the clothes to better fit people's body types, seeing as how the clothing stores made a handful of sizes that needed more figure. Moving on, we passed a Nail Spa—created by the people from the Capitol whose best skill was pampering others. Contrastingly, the Barber Shop, which stood next to the Nail Spa, had been a necessity for cleanliness as well as vanity. Across the street from these stores was the Apothecary which backed up into the Tea Shop. The Apothecary as well as the Tea Shop found their supplies from the herbs in the surrounding forest in addition to growing a majority of the planets on their roofs. Further down the street sat the Book Store, run by a family who had built an old fashioned printing press and created copies of books their family had saved from before Panem was even founded. The family also printed the local newspaper, which reported happenings in the Capitol and other Districts, deaths from every District, and weddings and births of District 13 citizen. The newspaper had become the best connection between people in District 13 and the outside world, even if it was a one way street.
A Hardware Store sat at the corner of Springs Road—the street we had been walking on for what seemed like eternity—and that store seemed to supply everyone with everything needed to not only fix aspects of their house but to also create one from the ground up if they decided so. On the same side as the Book Store but across from the Hardware Store was the Weapon Supplier. The Weapon Supplier made their bows, arrows, spears, axes and other hunting materials from the raw resources obtained from the surrounding forest. Night and Gale were both very clear on the fact that this supplier was not handing around bombs and guns to hunt down military personnel from the Capitol. These weapons were for hunting animals, not humans no matter how much President Snow seemed like an animal. Do they think I am going to go hunt the weasel down? I'm irritated, not stupid.
We turned on to a new street that seemed to be the main link between streets. Before I could ask a question, Night Hawk gave me something else to think about. "This is the building where you will meet with Star after the tour. It's formally titled Headquarters, but everyone calls it HQ. And this is Mockingjay Drive. In honor of the bird which has seem to become the symbol of rebellion and hope among the Districts. It was pure coincidence. We'll give you a quick tour down Hickory Lane and then head you back here."
My head was spinning with thoughts of Peeta, but District 13 got in the way. As we continued onto Hickory Lane, which was parallel to Springs Street, I tried to keep track of everything Night and Gale were telling me. Only half of the information was sticking though and I knew that would be painful later, but could not seem to bring myself to remember all that they told me.
"By the way, you don't have to remember all of this. Anytime you need information or have a question of any kind, don't hesitate in calling me or Star. But Haymitch asked you to stop asking him for help." Night said, as if she could sense how overwhelmed I felt.
"Haymitch is here? Where?"
"His place is on the next street over, but he is currently at HQ. I am sure you will run into him there later. Please remember not to throw anymore knives or punches his way, he just left the Hospital last week." Gale responded this time.
"Why was he in the Hospital?" Tell me I knocked him out and just don't remember.
Night responded with a laugh, recalling a memory and retold it to me. "He and Star were in combat practice and she threw one kick too hard. He was out cold and she felt so guilty. In the end though, I think he was impressed she got the drop on him and she was proud of herself for knocking him out, but they would never admit it. Anyways, let's get back to the tour."
On the south side of this street, backing up to the Hardware Store, stood a school and daycare. "There are very few children under the age of sixteen not in that school, at least for a few hours a day. It began as a way to keep children off of the streets while their parents were working but quickly became a way to ensure that the youth understands the past and prepares for the future. We try not to lay on the heavy stuff; it is really just to let them know what goes on beyond District 13. Then the daycare is for the infants who need to be watched over and played with while their mothers are working. We don't force anyone to work who doesn't want to, especially expecting mothers or ones who are taking care of little ones, but after a while, they just need to get out of the house and work for a few hours, so we added a daycare as an extension to the school." Night explained.
The Tea Shop followed, which Night already spoke about. We passed the second entrance to the Hospital and made it to the last main store on that side of the street, the Furniture Store. Across from that sat what Gale introduced to me as my new home.
On the first floor of the house there were display windows through which I could see benches where people were sitting. The second floor had windows with curtains. The entire house was painted blue and surrounded by flowers bordering the front. There was even a patch of grass and a walk way up to the front door. Each of the houses going all the way down the street was extremely similar, but very different, because only this was where I would be staying. It was not home yet, far from it, but it could be someday. It sure has a vibe that I could not quite explain; it just spoke to me. I saw my mother and Prim through the window and saw them busily working with people, handing them different herbs or creams, catering to each customer in due time. I wanted to rush in and hug them, just to know that they were safe.
"We know that you want to speak to them, but this is their busy time of day, and Star is expecting you soon." Gale said, pulling me away from the front of the house. "I promise you'll see them in a few hours."
Moving on, we passed Greasy Sae's Soup Spot, where she sold her famous brew. The Bakery followed Greasy's, supplying the District with not only sourdough bread, but also cookies, cakes, and muffins. I nearly broke down at the thought of baked goods, but pushed the tears back and kept shoving one foot in front of the other. I started fidgeting with my hands and decided to shove them into my pockets. The Bakery had already been inhabited by another family, but Peeta's dad—not his mom—had survived the bombing, so he worked for them and stayed in a house down Hickory Street. How could I pass by his dad and the bakery every day? We moved on.
The Butcher Shop was supplied with poultry and beef by the hunters as well as the people who had started breeding livestock. A Creamery followed, supplying the district with milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter. Apparently they did most of the processing just outside the bulk of the town where the cows grazed. One of the last stops was the Food Market, which was the one stop shop for fruits and vegetables that were harvested in the fields. My mind kept wandering back to the bakery, because I could still smell the cooked butter and sugar as the scent drifted across my nose. So I started fidgeting with the hem of my shirt to distract myself from the pain. Noticing my fidgeting, Night Hawk posed a question.
"Are your clothes alright? Our seamstress, Sarah, can make you something else in no time at all." Night offered.
"These are fine." I looked down at the clothes I had. But would I wear only this while I was here?
Night laughed at my expression and confusion. "Of course these won't be your only clothes. I almost forgot to tell you. Your mom and sister have set up all of your possessions in your room above the Healer's Store. At least all of the possessions that they could save before the bombs were dropped." Her voice ended on a somber note, but she forged on down the street, so I followed.
We continued to walk amongst the shops, but I started to wonder where all of the natural resources were found. "Where do you get the resources for all of the stores? And who does the work to find it?"
"There are houses on the outer streets of District 13 that are completely house and contain no attached store. Those houses are on seventy more blocks surrounding Hickory Lane, Springs Street, and Mockingjay Drive. There are about thirty-five houses on each street—although we are trying to bring that up to forty—to provide enough housing for all 15,000 people living here, as Star said earlier. The majority of the people in these homes were from District 13 who were taught by refugees from other districts how to farm, fish, mine, etcetera. The people from this district were tiered of dying from radiation and wanted to learn how to be more useful than creating weapons that hurt people. Just outside the houses to the West are farms. Most people ride their horses or bikes to work. But there is a bus for people who do not have that luxury. The bus stop is the next street to the North, parallel to this one, called Golden Arrow Street.
"Anyways, next to the farms is a wide open area where herds of animals live. A group of fifty people hunt in that area, which is about the size of two districts and then some. To the far East is the ocean where some of our people fish. But the Ocean is a far enough distance away that we have a smaller town close to the shore filled with about 100 more people. They fish and then we truck the resources into town. And the truck heading back takes them resources that we make here. With any luck, after this is all over, I can build us a train heading from the coast to town, for a more direct link.
"To the immediate East and slightly to the North is where the mines and quarries are located. And I could keep describing to you where we obtain all over our resources, but this list goes on and on. We try to be completely self-dependent, without hurting nature of course, because that is how Panem happened in the first place."
"How do you not hurt nature if you're hunting, fishing, and cultivating?" I asked with curiosity.
"For every animal we kill, we make sure another is born, if not more. We take only what we need and then we also have trained people that care for any animal that is unnecessarily hurt by us. We are predators, but no more than a lion or a bear." Night responded, ending the tour of Hickory Street with an introduction to the Appliance Store.
"And this is my humble abode. My family sells and fixes appliances for the town to use. The next house over is Star's. Her family lives on Golden Arrow Street, but she likes being close to work. The first floor of her house is the only house close to Headquarters without having a shop or restaurant. She claims it's because she can't sell any of her work. At first that house was just empty and she lived with her parents. Well, actually she lived in her office and left her clothes and possessions at her parent's house. The whole town fixed up that house and asked that she move in and actually get a decent night's sleep. We all thought that she would work better if she was sleeping somewhere besides her desk. Since then, she had been producing even more results, as if that was even possible…" Her mind trailed of for but a moment before returning to the thought she had been about to speak. "Star will want to speak with you soon and I am sure she would love to explain this all to you. But before I take you to Headquarters, do you have any burning questions about District 13?"
I could think of only one after what Night had just said. "What is Star? I mean to District 13? Is she the Mayor or something?"
Night paused for a moment, trying to formulate her answer. Gale just stood there, holding Night's hand, already knowing the answer but unsure of how he would word his reply. And then Night said her words with conviction. "Star is our leader, in every meaning of the word. Her grandfather essentially is the reason anyone survived the bombing of our district. Even though she was not alive at the time she has naturally taken on the role of leader for the past ten years."
One word: astonishment. "How is that possible? She cannot be older than twenty-five."
"She isn't. Star is twenty-five years old, exactly. At age fifteen she started working at Headquarters and took on the role as our leader after working there for a month. Prior to that, District 13 was surviving. After Star took the stage, District 13 was thriving. I was not here at the time, but people tell me stories, none of them coming from Star, of course. She does not like to gloat and although is a confident speaker as well as leader, she likes to reflect on the glory of the district, not her own. At age fifteen she was simply running copies of important documents from office to office. She read them along the way and created solutions to every problem that was typed on those documents. Three weeks later, she spoke up as she dropped off some papers at a council meeting. As she told them that if the council expanded the resources to the water, all of the refugees from District 4 would be able to participate in providing resources, the overall morale of the refugees would increase as would the amount of resources available. That day she was put on the council and solved every problem they had been unable to manage going back months. She walked in with logical solutions to each problem. Soon after that, the council essentially handed the reins over to her, although she still asked that the council meet and no one be dismissed. If the council still meets, then Star does not have all of the power; because that is the last thing she wants. No one needs an all-powerful dictator again. With a council of people, Star has people that can out way a ludicrous decision, whether it comes from her or someone else, as well as people to bounce ideas off of. If Star believes that she can maintain the illusion that she does not rule District 13, more power to her. Realistically, in her eyes, she doesn't. In everyone else's eyes, Star is our savior and the reason we are still fighting. Or at least she was until you came along." She turned to walk again. "Let's go to work."
We turned the corner of the street to come up this an abnormally large building that I had really not noticed before. Night had pointed it out, but my mind had been filled with other thoughts.
When I say abnormally large, I'm not joking. This building stretched over nearly an entire block, was the only three story building in the district, and there were construction workers currently working on adding a fourth and fifth floor. Being built from marble, the building was not painted like the others. Seven wide columns held the triangular entryway, engraved with the words "DVM SPIRO SPERO." I had no knowledge of the meaning and decided to ask Star about it later. I followed Night and Gale up the marble steps, through the glass doors, with arches and golden frames, into the oddly cool building. Although I felt a chill run over my arms, the building had a comforting aura about it. We walked through the bustling lobby, into one of the elevators, and traveled to the fourth sub floor. Night explained that this building, like many others, had sub floors. The purpose of building beneath the ground was to make the best use of resources and to keep everyone safe. If the Capitol used any new weapons, District 13 wanted to be prepared for the attack. Each house had a basement that had been reinforced ten times over to withstand any radiation, bombs, guns, or mutants the Capitol could concoct. Prim and My mother had already been informed on the emergency protection procedures and they would show me later how the emergency disaster procedure works.
We walked down a ton of halls that all seemed to be the same. How would anyone ever know which way they were heading? While still holding Night's hand, Gale turned around, saw my confused expression, and offered me some comforting words. "It'll get easier. Star knows these halls the best. Stick with Star if you can."
"Won't she be bothered by me following her around?" Especially if she is as busy if Night says she is.
"Not at all. In fact, she wanted us to ask you if you would mind spending time with her. She wants to explain your part here." Night replied.
"What exactly is my part here?"
"You'll have to ask Star, because she hasn't told us yet." Gale responded. Opening a door labeled the "Command Room" by using a security card that was scanned by a monitor, entering in a code, and placing her hand on a pad that scanned her hand print, Night accessed the room and led us into it. Showing video footage from the Capitol and every district, computer screens covered every inch of wall space and in the center of the room was a holographic display, currently showing a topographical map of all the districts and the Capitol. Star stood with adults older than she, and yet, she was the one directing them, pointing out which people from which district needed to be switched out and how soon. I could barely understand, but from what I could tell, they were planning on switching out the sick and helpless citizens with other people ready to fight. Hundreds of citizens from District 13 were going to take the places of people in the districts to make the fighting force stronger and to have even more people on the inside, giving information to District 13. Star individual gave commands to everyone in the room and they immediately set to work. She turned towards Night, Gale, and me, and smiled in relief. She motioned us towards the door we just came through; we traveled further down the hall to a room titled "Star's Sky." The door had a similar security feature to the other one except this door also had voice recognition, blood test by a prick of the finger, and facial recognition. What could be in here that would require so much more security detail?
This room was much smaller than the previous one. The room had a glass desk with three monitors, one key board, and one projector similar to the other room's. There were also pictures all over the room of Star with people, most of whom I had never seen before. The longer I looked the more people I recognized. Haymitch and Star from a few years back standing in District 12's Victor Village. Finnick and Star holding up a large fish they had apparently caught together. Cinna and Star looking at my wedding gown. Prim, my mother, and Star smiling in front of our new home. There were many more of people from each district. But my eyes stopped searching when I came to a picture of my Dad and Star. It was years ago and Star looked young, but then again so did my Dad. It was the oldest picture on the wall. They were smiling in the woods, shaking hands and laughing.
"He was a great man, your dad. He was the first person I had the honor of recruiting from a district. He was our first ever inside man from District 12. He had been sneaking us information about District 12 for years, until he was murdered." Hatred leaked into Star's voice.
"What are you talking about? He as killed in a mining accident." I asked turning around to face Star, who was still staring at the photograph.
"I hate to have to tell you this now, Katniss, but there is no way around it. Your father was killed by the Capitol because they had found out he had been a spy for us. The mining accident was no accident at all. There were explosives placed, by the Capitol, just near where your father was scheduled to work that day. Katniss, the Capitol murdered your dad." I almost cried at Star's words. I had been able to handle my dad's death for years, but to have to hear that it was cold-blooded murder just hurt more. I stopped the tears from flowing, took a deep breath, and pushed the emotion back to deal with later, when I was alone.
"Thanks for bringing Katniss here." The anguish was still present in her voice as she thanked Night and Gale. "Beetee is done setting up the shield if you could add the finishing touches to it, Night. The two of you might also want to go see what weapons he has prepped for you both." Regardless of her word choice and the optimistic inflection to her tone, they could sense the hurt in her voice, so they left the room silently with a nod to each of us.
I heard Star move towards the seat at her desk and sit down. She started typing away at her keyboard. "If you'll sit down when you're ready, I can tell you why you're here."
I took another settling breath and moved to sit in the chair facing Star. She kept typing and brought up a map of Panem on the hologram projector. With a few more strokes of her fingers on the keys, she zoomed in on the Capitol, specifically a lower part in the center. She looked towards the projection and pointed to different areas.
"Peeta is being held here, in the center of the Capitol, with the highest security I have ever seen. I said earlier that we were going to break him out, but I am going to need you for this. Peeta will be damaged when we get to him. He will be in a state of physical, emotional, and mental disrepair, at which point the only person he will trust is you. I could send in twenty men today and they would be able to get to him, but getting out of there with him coming quietly would be the hard part. The plans are still in the works, but I need you to help me and Night break into the Capitol. Quite a few others will be used in the process as well, but our main focus will be your rescue of Peeta, my capture of President Snow, and Night's hacking into the Capitol's computer system."
I looked back at Star in utter astonishment and disbelief. "Did you just say that your part of the mission was to kidnap President Snow?"
