"Prim and Punishment"
Chapter Ten
By Brian Grove
Brian at rescueddoggies dot com
Disclaimer – As I'm British and male, it may come as no surprise that I don't own Hunger Games.
An experienced beta would be welcome.
Previous chapter:- Unexpected help and capture.
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"She's waking up."
I struggles to get up, but I was tied down.
"Who the hell are you?" I asked as forcefully as I could manage.
"Someone not stupid enough to get taken unawares like you just were," the woman replied with equal force.
"This isn't the arena," I shouted defensively, even though I knew she was right.
"For you. The whole of Panem is the arena and the sooner you learn that, the sooner you won't put all of us at risk. I told Haymitch he was crazy."
"We agree on one thing then," I replied.
"Don't get clever with me, little girl. You might have half the districts thinking you're something special, but I know better."
"You're Johanna Mason," I said, suddenly recognizing the voice beneath her disguise.
"Not completely stupid then."
"If you're with the rebellion, why am I tied down like this?" I thought for a moment. "You ARE with the rebellion?"
"I take back what I said," she sneered. "You are completely stupid. Listen, Mockingjay..." she said the word like it made a bad taste in her mouth, "if I wasn't with the rebellion, you'd either be dead or enjoying the tender mercies of our beloved President right now."
I didn't reply.
"You're tied down because I didn't fancy some crazy girl attacking me when she woke up. Now, if I untie you, are you going to be a good little Mockingjay and behave yourself?"
I nodded. "Why did you knock me out like that?" I asked as she began to untie me.
"Quickest way to get you in the van, you'd have argued if I'd just told you."
I didn't agree, but it didn't seem worth saying so. She was untying me, after all.
"So what happens now?"I asked her.
"We get your leg fixed up, then get you out of the Capitol. The games are over."
"Who won?"
"Boy from Two," she replied. The one who'd tortured and killed Prim.
"I want him," I growled.
"We're here," she replied. "Now be a good girl and let the doctor fix up that leg."
She left as a man came in. "Hello, Mrs. Mellark. What seems to be the trouble?"
"When is the final interview?" I asked.
"What?"
"The Victor." I spat out the word. "When is the final interview?"
"Tonight," she replied.
"I need to get out of here. Strap me up," I ordered.
"If you stop moving around, I might be able to deal with your leg," she snapped.
"Sorry," I said, knowing that I didn't sound it.
She poured something in the wound which burned so much it made me remember the arena, my first games.
"What are you doing?" I screamed.
"Saving your leg," she replied bluntly. She brought out some sort of material and worked a cream into it, then said, "Hold tight to the bed and don't move. This will hurt."
And that liquid stuff didn't? I thought. How bad was this going to be?
"Bite on this pad," she said. She handed me a smaller was of the same material, minus the cream.
"I don't need it."
"Suit yourself. Don't blame me if you bite your tongue off."
I put the pad in my mouth and bit down on it. She shoved as much of the creamy material into my wound as she could, then tightly bandaged it.
The cream began to take the pain away, replacing it with a cold slightly unpleasant numbing feeling.
"This will need to be changed every day," the woman warned. "You will need to rest that leg for at least a week."
"I can't. I don't have time."
"Rest it or lose it. Your choice. I'm done here."
As she walked out, a man walked in. I recognised him, though I couldn't think where I'd seen him.
"Hello, Katniss. I'm Beetee." He offered me his hand to shake. I took it, limply.
"If Haymitch is right, you want to find a way to kill the Victor, right?"
"Yes," I snarled. "He..."
"We saw what he did, Katniss. When you talk to us, you might do well to remember one thing."
"And what's that?"
"We're on your side. And every one of us is risking our own lives to help you. That's two things," he admitted. "It would be nice if you didn't take out your anger on us. Save it for those who deserve it."
He was right, of course. "I'm sorry. It's just..."
"We understand, Katniss."
"You can't understand," I repied.
"If you get the time to get to know us, you might find out just how well we understand. So you want to kill Mars."
"Mars?"
"The Victor, the male tribute from two. Named after some ancient god of war, apparently."
"This ancient god of war. Liked torturing little girls did he?"
"I wouldn't know. Now the easiest way to kill him is to wait until he's back at home in District Two. It would be easy then."
"No," I said, firmly.
"No. Haymitch said you'd want to do it publicly, while he's in the Capitol. The problem is how."
"Get me near the stage for the interview tonight," I said.
"Can't. Security's too tight. And the only place you'd get a clear shot, you'd never manage to climb up to with that leg."
"I'll manage."
"No, Katniss. If by some miracle you managed it, you'd still be unable to escape afterwards."
"I have to try."
"We've discussed how it could be done, and killing him at the interview is out. But the victory train, now that's possible."
"Possible how?"
"Remember the trains pass over a long viaduct until they leave the Capitol through the tunnel?"
"Yes."
"Just suppose something happened to make it fall off that viaduct?"
"Can we do it?"
"Quite easily actually. A small explosion to destroy one rail. At that speed the train will derail and after a fall from that height, no more Victor. No more anyone else on the train either."
"It's District Two," I said. "Can you honestly tell me that there's anyone on that train that doesn't support the games?"
"No, that's why I agreed to have it set up. The track is already prepared. It just needs a simple button pressed."
"How do you know all this?"
"I'm from District Three. Remember my boy tribute in the seventy-fourth games?"
The one who reactivated the mines, I remembered. I nodded.
"You don't look happy."
"I'm happy," I said.
"You don't look it."
"It's just... It's just that I wanted him to know it was me."
"We can't have everything we want, Katniss."
"Is there no way to give him a present?" I asked. "Before he leaves on the train?"
"A present?"
"One of my arrows. So he'll know I'm going to kill him."
Beetee grinned. He pulled out a phone, called someone, and explained what I'd said. "I love it. Hold on, I'll ask her."
He turned to me. "Plutarch suggested having someone give him a present actually during the interview."
Ever the showman, I thought. "I love it, but how?"
"Make it a present from his district. If it's dropped off to Ceasar by an Avox, he won't think twice about who gave it to him. Nobody notices anything about Avoxes."
"And if they do? Won't they punish him or her?"
"Hmm," He turned back to Plutarch, then after a minute or two, back to me.
"Plutarch says we can get them out and into hiding with Gale and Peeta and the others, before it's even discovered."
"Great. Can you offer the job to the red-haired girl who served me some of the time in my first games? Say I asked her if she'd like to do it."
"I don't know who you mean."
"Peeta will know who I mean. Haymitch and Cinna will too."
"Any particular reason?" he asked.
"I owe her."
To his credit Beetee didn't ask any more.
Dinner was served. What a surprise, my favourite Lamb Stew. "I hope you still like this," he said.
"What effect have I had so far?" I asked him.
"In the Capitol – they're terrified of you. Snow's had to clamp down hard against murmurings even in the Air Force and the Peacekeepers."
"And the Districts?"
"They don't know anything. It's never been mentioned, not once."
"I still have work to do then," I said. "I never thought it would be quick or easy."
"There's one thing, though," said Beetee with a grin.
"What's that?"
"The live cameras always show the Victor leaving the Capitol for the final time. When that train goes over..."
"They'll present it as an accident of course," I said.
"But at least some will believe there's more to it."
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The plan went brilliantly, better than we could have hoped. Caesar gave Mars his present in the middle of his interview. Mars ripped open the box and pulled out my arrow, right on camera. His face went white. They turned the camera back onto Caesar as quickly as possible, to give Mars time to recover from the shock. But the whole of Panem had seen that arrow, and the shock on the Victor's face. For the rest of the interview, his confidence had disappeared. He looked like he was still in the arena, but unarmed and with a foe who could strike him down anywhere.
When the train went flying over the edge of the viaduct, crashing into a pile of mangled metal far below, I doubt there was a single person in Panem who didn't put the "tragic accident" as the Capitol called it, together with the arrow.
"Now, I just have to get out of the Capitol," I said to Beetee. "I have work to do in the Districts."
"What do you want to do there?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.
"I'm going to take out the cruellest mayors and Peacekeepers, make them know that simply obeying orders is one thing, but the whippings and the murders must end, or there'll be retribution."
"Ambitious. And if they kill you? What happens to the rebellion?"
"They let the Jabberjays out to die," I pointed out. "But instead of dying, they became Mockingjays. And they never have been able to kill off the Mockingjays."
"Good speech," Beetee admitted. "But putting yourself at more risk by making more attacks is foolhardy."
"Doing nothing and hiding won't make me safer, it'll just make me useless and frustrated. Then I'll get careless."
"And if they do kill you?" he asked.
"I'm very hard to catch," I replied. "And if they can't catch me, they can't kill me."
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Author's notes...
NO reviews to the previous chapter?!
Please review. I know it's a bit short but I really wanted to finish on that line.
Brian
THE STORY SO FAR
Chapter 1
President Snow forces Katniss to be a prostitute. Prim tries to kill Snow. Katmiss marries Peeta. In the Quarter Quell a sibling has to join each tribute. Prim is reaped again.
Chapter 2
Peeta finds out the truth. Prim decides it's her turn to protect Katniss. Flames and bruises.
Chapter 3
Into the games and Prim tells her story.
Chapter 4
Prim is killed and Katniss is rescued. Letters.
Chapter 5
Her first kill... almost.
Chapter 6
Katniss attacks a square full of people.
Chapter 7
Another day another dozen.
Chapter 8
"There is no District Twelve." Katniss striked back at the Air Force.
Chapter 9
Unexpected help and capture.
Chapter 10
Public revenge on the boy from Two.