Chapter 4

Untamed

Katniss Point of View

"Did you just say that your part of the mission was to kidnap President Snow?"

Star responded with a cool, collected tone. "Just rescuing Peeta would only save a life, but not cause any serious damage to the Capitol. We needed a better plan of attack, and what better way could there be to take down an army than depriving them of their leader? So I did say that I would be the one to kidnap President Snow. He spends the majority of his time in the same building where Peeta is held in and where the Capitol's main computer system is located. If we break into that building successfully for a long enough period of time, we have all of the tools to bring down the Capitol."

"But didn't you just say that is also the building with the highest security?"

A knowing grin appeared on her face. "I did say that, but what I haven't said yet is that Night and Beetee both designed many of the Capitol's main security." My confused face alerted Star to the necessity of information. "I rescued Night from another district, when I saw her potential. At the time, she had been designing protections for the Capitol to use. The Capitol failed to see her full-potential in time, and they lost that advantage. In the process, I gained a best friend and a great ally. Night, similar to Beetee, had designed nearly all of the security that the Capitol uses, so they understand how to use it to our advantage. Night is going to hack their mainframe, but it can only be done from the inside. Most of the Capitol keeps their information and weapons in District 2, but that specific building has its security system within it, instead of on the District 2 mainframe.

"We will get in using weapons Beetee has created for us among other things, but that is just the beginning. Our plan needs more accuracy and precise steps. We have the basic plan created, and listed the steps that each person must take to accomplish their individual tasks. Your job here will be to help me create those steps which we will follow and use to rescue Peeta. I will need much of your assistance on this, because I can only get so far. I know plenty about the Capitol and President Snow, but only you can truly predict their deceptiveness. You are the person with the must suspicion of the Capitol, and would be default, have the most knowledge about how to plan an attack against them.

"We have files on everything that the Capitol does, and more. The tactical room you saw earlier, with all of the videos, is just a page in our library. All of the maps, cameras, and files of information that we have accumulated will be at your disposal from your house and from your office here."

Star stood up and walked to a blank part of the wall, placing her hand against an averaging appearing piece of wallpaper, which started to scan her hand. The painting next to her hand swung open and there sat a few different sets of manila envelopes. She pulled the top one off of the pile, closed the door, and turned towards me. The envelope had my name printed in dark blue ink on the top. Handing me the envelope, she sat back down.

"That has your identification card and a list of all our basic laws in District 13. There aren't very many, and most are just to ensure that people aren't enslaved by a dictator all over again, forced to watch their children die year after year." Star had this distant look in her eyes, as if she was fighting back tears. Yet, you would not have known whether the look in her eyes was of vengeance or of anguish, because the rest of her expression remained absolutely resolute. Able to push back the pain, she kept talking. "Your identification card will give you access to all of District 13. The files, the maps, the videos, everything. Don't lose this card, but if you do it's not the end of the world. I can have a new one made in a jiffy, and have the old one canceled; I just need to know that it's missing. Especially with the amount of people in District 13, and the number of refugees we have taken in as of late. I don't want you to be afraid, but keep in mind that the Capitol may try anything to break into our system just as much as we are trying to break into theirs, which is why all that you have access to is completely confidential. Everytime you access those files, you will be required to fulfill facial recognition, voice recognition, code combination, and a scan of your palm. We cannot afford to have this information to fall into the wrong hands. Mind you, no one in District 13 that I have met would be capable of being a Capitol spy, but I need you to be cautious, regardless.

"I think that's everything. But if you have any questions, my phone number is in the papers I gave you, and my pager number is also listed next to the phone number. If you have any questions, no matter the time, just call. In the packet is also a pager for your use. Night or Gale can show you how to use it, because I am sure my explanation would just confuse you."

I opened the sealed envelope to find an identification card just like Star's. Plain key card with six random numbers, my name, and a picture of me after the first Hunger Games in the yellow dress, but instead of the full affect that had been intended by the outfit, the photograph had been cropped to just my face. I looked nearly happy in that photograph; granted, I did have a healthy Peeta sitting next to me, and now he's being tortured. I thought back to Star's words from earlier, Peeta will be damaged when we get to him. He will be in a state of physical, emotional, and mental disrepair. What are they doing to him? I understand the physical, but mental and emotional disrepair?

"You said earlier that Peeta would be in physical, mental, and emotional disrepair. I understand how they could be hurting him physically, but mentally and emotionally?"

"I was afraid you might ask about that." She rubbed her forehead and took a deep breath. "I don't know how much news you can handle in one day." Frankly, I didn't know either. First the news of District 13, then my dad, and now there is news about Peeta, and from the looks of it, bad news. I was sure that I would break down from all of this strain, but I needed to know. Seeing that in my eyes, Star started typing away on her key board and she brought up an image of Peeta on the screen of her computer. He was in some holding cell of sorts. I don't know what she was concerned about, he looked nearly fine. After all this time I would have thought he would look worse. In fact, all of his injuries looked like the ones from the Hunger Games.

"This is the first video from his captivity. They had not even touched him yet, but they started hurting him emotionally and mentally first." She played the security video. He was chained to the wall and his head lifted ever so slightly as a guard walked in pushing a television on wheels. Saying nothing, the guard turned on the television and stood against the wall, watching his reaction. The video had a reporter describing how the rescue plane, carrying me, Beetee, Finnick, and a handful of other people, crashed just outside of the Hunger Games playing field. Behind the reporter, they zoomed in on what appeared to be a plane on fire, with Capitol workers rushing into the plane to rescue who they could. All of them came out and immediately tried to extinguish the fire. But no one came out bearing bodies. The reporter held up a finger to her earpiece saying that she had late breaking news, "It would appear that our favorite Hunger Games Star has burned in the fire with many others. There are no survivors." Peeta thrashed against the chains, screaming it couldn't be true. "Katniss is alive!" He screamed those words over and over again. While he still yelled, the guard took away the television, saying, "Believe whatever you want, but the girl on fire, died on fire."

Star ended the video with a few flicks of her fingers. She handed me a box of tissues and I realized for the first time that my cheeks were tear stained. "You said that was the first video, what have they been doing to him since then?"

"You can see the videos yourself, because you have complete clearance with your card and all of the videos are in our database, but every day before they torture him for information, they show him the video of the plane crash and short clips of you during the games. They're hoping that it will weaken his defenses, so that he will tell what the rebels are planning. He hasn't ever told, but he knows really nothing worthwhile; however, they don't know that, which is why they continue to show the videos to him. He isn't so sure that you are alive anymore. To weaken the District's revolts, they show the same video footage they show Peeta, and then they show the footage of Peeta's torture. The Capitol believes that if they show the Districts footage of their hero weakening, they will weaken with him."

"Has it worked? Showing them the videos, I mean?"

"Yes, it has, but not to the extent the Capitol would like. I am not sure if you were listening earlier—when we were in the Command Room—but we have been transferring District 13 citizens into other Districts to help create a rebellious force. They feed the people motivational words, saying that you have to still be alive, that District 13 really does exist, that a plan is in motion to take down the Capitol, that there is a way out of this. These people have started replacing the sick and elderly ever since the Quarter Quell was announced. We have plans to transfer in two hundred of our people by the end of the week. And then we can launch our campaign against the Capitol in full force."

"What campaign?"

"I will give you more details later, but essentially we need to make the people truly believe you are alive. There is nothing more motivating to them, than you. You are the force behind their strength, and they need you back in their lives. Star has already hacked the televising system for all of Panem, all we need is a video of you and the other survivors to show that you are alive, and ready to fight. Do you think you could do that?"

What part? The fighting? The video? Rescuing Peeta? "I am ready for all of it. Where do we start?"

Star began typing away on her keyboard again. The image of Peeta disappeared instantly and her screen returned to a basic sign-in screen, requiring a user name and a password for entry. Pressing a few more buttons, Star stood up as the screen went black. "I will show you to your office and then we can go train for a few hours."

"Train?" What training would we have to do?

"I know that you were physically fit during the games, but you are not as strong as you use to be. Besides, physical exercise is just as necessary as mental exercise. You will train in combat with me, Night, Gale, Haymitch, Finnick, and Prim."

Unable to maintain any level of calm, I stood up in outrage and began shouting at Star. "Why on earth are you training Prim? Why do you think I do all of this? To keep her out of this." I thought she was helping mom run the shop, not training to fight the Capitol.

"You started doing this to keep her safe, not naïve. I never plan on sending her into combat, but if there were ever something to happen, where she needed to defend herself, are you really going to leave your sister defenseless? You cannot always be there to take her place. She only trains for an hour a day, where as everyone else trains for three or more hours. Your mom still needs her to run the shop, especially now with all of this additional clientele. And do not act like it was my idea, Prim asked for this: I did not demand she participate." As Star spoke her voice remained cool, and her logic, levelheaded.

She moved from behind her desk, to the front of it, so that she could lean against the glass, maintaining a relaxed body position. "I understand your feelings. If my sisters wanted to be trained in fighting skills, I would be furious; but I was never sent to the Hunger Games. Place yourself in her shoes, she has been forced to watch her sister—the most dependable person in her life—enter a fight or die tournament, not once, but twice. Even my siblings haven't watched the Hunger Games; I mean, why destroy their innocence? But every child in Panem is being subjugated to a situation much greater than themselves. Luckily, Prim has come to a certain understanding of this entire ordeal while you have been fighting this battle. Give Prim a chance to explain her decisions, before you make a bomb out of cleaning solution. However," Star stood up to her full height, crossed her arms over her chest, and stared me straight in the eye. "if you disagree with Prim, after she has explained herself, I will stand by her decision and continue to allow her training. Understood?"

"Absolutely. However, once Prim has finished her training, and after this war really gets going, if she asks to go into combat for any reason, I will lock her in her room with every rope and chain you have in this town. Understood?" If Prim was going to train, it would never become of any use.

"Perfectly, but let me tell you part of our deal, mine and hers. I only allowed her to train in the first place if she would be receiving defensive training only. Additionally, she is never allowed to leave District 13 without your approval. Normally that right would fall into the hands of the parent, but your mom relinquished the right to you. Why? I have no idea. The point is, if Prim wants to leave District 13 to play hero with her big sister, she cannot do so without your approval. However, I have promised that once this is all finished I will give Prim permission to travel from district to district to treat the ill and wounded. That was my only real compromise." Star's gaze left mine for a moment to glance down at the watch, wrapped around her wrist.

"Damn," Star slid back into her semi-relaxed demeanor as she picked up a leather, messenger bag lying in the corner of her office. "I promised Beetee I would stop by to check the weapons before he left, and he leaves in ten minutes." She slid the strap onto her shoulder before heading to the door. With her left hand wrapped around the metal handle, she asked: "Would it be alright with you if we stopped by the lab first? It will not take more than fifteen minutes tops."

As if I could navigate this place on my own to find the training room? "I don't mind. Lead the way." I gestured my hand towards the door. Grabbing the folder of information Star had given me, I followed after her, as she held the door open. Once we both stepped into the hall, she closed the door and fulfilled all of the security measures to reseal the door. The moment she heard the steal bolts slide into place, Star began power walking down the halls. I quickly raced after, forcing my strides to match hers. We finally left the Labyrinth and slid into an elevator, which dropped fifteen stories into the ground. The doors binged open and Star was power walking again. A few lefts, and a right later, we were opening the door to a room called the "Bee Hive."

The room was excessively large, at least forty feet by forty feet, and the kicker was, there was nothing in it. Except for three, white counter tops, standing in the center of the room, that had nothing on them. If I were searching for weapons, I would pass by this room without a second thought. I guess that was the point, because behind one of the solid table, stood Beetee, who had been bending over, hiding out of sight. He smiled in relief at Star as she walked across the room.

"I thought you weren't going to stop by to approve the weapons. You know what happens when you don't approve weapons, I have to keep making corrections to them."

"You would be doing that anyway, because you're such a perfectionist. Show me what you have got, big boy." She threw him a smile, which seemed to be her specialty. With her words, he tapped the counter top in a few places and then pressed his eye close to the counter for a scanning of his cornea. Then he said the words, "buzzing like a bee in the meadow," for the voice recognition software. Suddenly, the counter tops flipped over, the wall paneling withdrew into the ceiling and floor as racks of weapons and parts were revealed. Lighting flashed on behind each weapon to display it properly.

My eyes glazed over each one: a set of harmless looking, black sunglasses; three dozen platinum rings; headsets which were clearly walkie-talkies (about the only thing I could identify); three dozen pairs of shoes; and the last type of weapon I could identify, guns. They lines an entire wall whereas all of the other 'weapons' I had seen took up about four feet of wall. Every other inch of wall space held pieces of machinery and tools, which seemed to be assembly pieces. Wanting to see what Beetee and Star were toying with, I took strides to the far wall where they were glancing over a completely different set of weapons. These all seemed to be combat weapons: yard long, double-edged swords; numb-chucks; a dozen different type of darts; three knives that looked like they would cut through any piece of meat; an average appearing trident; another gun—but this one was singled out—; and a set of bow and arrows.

"They look great, but which ones have been tested? And are there any problems?" Star inspected each one, starting with the swords.

"Just the swords and the bow and arrows. I had Gale test Darius's knives, and I had Elizabeth and Jenna test the darts and all of the other equipment on the other wall. They said that the glasses, rings, walkie-talkies, shoes, and guns all work fine. The darts don't need any more work, which I think Lavinia will be pleased to hear. Finnick tried his trident, and even though he was just excited to have that, he was overly… appreciative when he saw the new additions of the lasers. Gale is excited to have the numb-chucks while Night is just pleased that her laser gun won't require her to participate in hand-to-hand combat. The necklaces, umbrellas, and detectors will be made next—"

Star cut him off. "Slow down there, Bee. This is better than I could ever imagine, and you got the shield up today?" She asked the question with more appreciation than uncertainty. "You're my hero. I didn't expect to have so much equipment so fast. Bee, you're the best." The old man almost blushed at the words. "We might be ready for The Plan sooner than I had planned. This is great work, but are there any faults? Any kinks that need to be worked out?"

"Nothing, and don't give me so much credit. Having Night to work with makes me move twice as fast. We fix each other's problems, but just having her around is like having ten capable assistants, where as I could never even find one competent one before. Night is a genius. Give her a majority of the credit. Anyways, just test out the sword so I can go home for my afternoon nap."

"With pleasure," a gleeful smiled drifted across her lips as her hand drifted to the handle, attached to the blade. "Oh, and Katniss please test your bow and arrow." Star spoke the words to me, but she seemed transfixed on her weapon. She swished it through the air a few times before moving her fingers ever so slightly and laser blips shot out of the tips, hitting the far wall, causing an ashen blotch to appear. Star was having fun with her swords so I turned to the bow and arrow.

Sliding the quiver over my should, I lifted the bow off of the rack. "This isn't your ordinary bow and arrow, even though I am sure you have a favorite one, this will at least come in second place for sure. The arrows have different characteristics. The red light on fire the second they leave the bow; similarly, the green are filed with this chemical that will dissolve through anything, the orange will explode like dynamite on impact, the blue will incapacitate anyone for two hours, and lastly the black are filled with nightlock, killing anyone instantly, regardless of where the arrow strikes. I have other arrows in the works, but these are the ones that definitely work, but I have applied a mechanism so that they don't explode in your quiver. You have to have your fingers on the metallic end, near the feathers to activate. Once the end leaves your fingers, you have three seconds before it explodes, or is lethal, or whatever its specialty is. Go ahead and test it out on the far wall."

I reached behind me to pull out an arrow, I just happened to pull out an orange one. Without a single thought, I placed it in the bow, lifted the bow up, and let the arrow slice through the air, before it landed on the far wall, right in the center, before it exploded. My ashen mark was slightly bigger than the one Star had created.

I turned to Beetee with a smile, knowing he had made my day with this type of weapon. "It's beautiful, Beetee. Thank you. But do me a favor, make the feathers have a different feel, cause the color identification is great for making the arrows, but the feathers all feel the same, so I will have no idea which is lethal and which incapacitates until I have it out of the quiver and in the bow, which isn't helpful if I am under attack."

"Of course." He smacked his forehead in a why-did-I-not-think-of-that gesture, and set the weapon back on the wall. "I will fix that tomorrow, and then let you get reacquainted with your new weapon." Turning his body to face Star, he asked: "Any problems?"

"None whatsoever." She whispered the words in admiration as she laid the blades back on the counter. "Any other special features I should know about?"

"The blade size and type can change with only a thought, as long as your hands are on the handle. I have programmed in all of your favorites: dagger, bowie knife, straight back, tanto, katana, and so on. I included all of the ones from the list you gave me."

"Even the kitchen knives?" Her eyes finally left the blade, as she turned her face filled with admiration towards Beetee.

"Everything from a paring knife to a meat cleaver." He responded simply, with a hint of enjoyment. He was enjoying his work, just as much as she was.

"Excellent. Now," she clapped her hands together. "Why don't we go to combat practice?" She said to me. "And let me know if you make any more breakthroughs on their system." Her words directed to Beetee.

"I will. And I would like to get started on a plane with in the next two days, but I will need more parts than are available for the engines." His voice was laced with concern I couldn't quite understand. So what if you didn't have a plane?

"Elizabeth and Jenna are going out tonight for the parts you need. With any luck they'll bring back the whole thing. We better get going. I want to give them a few more instructions before they head off. See you soon, Beetee." Star gave her partings with a wave, as she power walked out the door. I smiled and thanked Beetee as I followed her. We went back up a few floors, but this hall only had three doors. One on the far right that said 'men's changing room', one on the far left that said 'women's changing room', and one in the center that said 'TRAINING GYM.'

"The changing rooms are available if you need to shower or change into combat clothing, but I prefer to train in this, because it is what I would be wearing on a mission." She motioned towards her army green, cargo pants; black, leather, combat boots; and fitted, black, cotton, V-neck t-shirt. I did not notice before, but she was ready for war. Talking of war just made me think of its victims, and how Peeta had become a prisoner of war. Would we even get to him in time? "I don't wear much else, just because there isn't time to change between working and training and heading into battle. You are welcome to change if you'd like." Star's words, broke me out of my anger—temporarily.

"I will train in this." My answer was clipped and short. I needed to let out this building frustration, and what better way to do that than hand-to-hand combat training? Star pushed through the double-door entrance. The room had mats scattered everywhere, mixed in with weights, boxing gloves, jump ropes, and other gym equipment I could not name. The ceiling stretched to at least fifty feet high, but the room was bright, lit with artificial lighting, no windows. I realized that I was gaping at the room when Star had to grab my hand to steer me to the right set of mats.

There was a small crowd gathered of about five people, watching Finnick and Gale battle it out. In a creative leg sweep, Gale knocked Finnick to his back. This ended the match and the pair came over to talk to us, along with the other five people.

"Missed you, babe. Where you been?" Finnick smirked and winked, before picking me up in a bear hug.

"Missed you too, big guy." I returned his hug before turning to the others. There were two girls of equal height and build, but drastically different faces. One had a scar from the top left of her hair line, across her eye, ending at the tip of her nose, while the other's face was flawless. I wish I could say the same for her left arm. From her wrist to her shoulder she had scar tissue from a burn. Both girls stood strong, lean, and resolute, with grins on their faces.

"Katniss, I would like you to meet two of our best thieves, Elizabeth," the girl with the burnt arm, "and Jenna," the girl with the marred face. Star continued with the introductions as I shook their hands. "They'll be working closely with us on the mission I was discussing with you earlier." She was talking about the mission to rescue Peeta. The thought of his name alone inflamed my desire to beat down the Capitol.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Katniss." Elizabeth smiled and answered a question I didn't even know I had. "I burnt my arm trying to steal bread. I would have escaped with three loaves, but a Capitol policeman thought that sufficient punishment would be to shove my arm in the open flame oven for ten minutes. Luckily, the guy had a soft spot—right in the gut." An evil grin grew on her face at some treasured memory.

"It's an honor, Katniss." Jenna smiled with her lips, but it shown through her eyes. "My story isn't nearly as good. I got caught trying to free some mutants from the Capitol's laboratories, but one of the animals scratched me across the face. Apparently, it wanted to stay in its cage. I was just lucky to not lose my eye sight."

"Interesting scars. I almost wish I had some of mine." I could at least wear my scars as proudly as they did. I turned to see who else was part of the crowd. Night stood at ease, offering a gentle expression.

"It's nice to see you again." I gave the words to Night, to let her know that her tour was helpful earlier, to let her know that her guidance so far had eased my day from chaotic to tolerable.

She just nodded in response. As I turned to the last person in the group, I felt my anger burn on sight. How dare he! What kind of person has the audacity to give me a warming smile, like we are the best of friends, when he is a completely horrible, backstabbing traitor? Haymitch.

"How does it feel to finally be out of the hospital?" He said the words as if there was no ill will between us.

"Let me know in a week." Confusion spread across his face at my words, until my fist connected with his jaw.