At exactly midnight, Wiress began moving through the air conditioning ducts again. She tracked her progress on a GPS on her communicuff. She pressed her ear to the wall and heard the hum of large power generators typical of those powering a super-computer. She opened a vent in the ceiling and jumped down to the tile floor. Pulling on gloves, she hurried over to the main computer in the center of the room. Three monitors were on the desk and there was a keyboard in the middle of the desk. Wiress hacked into the system and began looking at the records. She smiled when she saw reports on Beetee's progress on his wiring projects. You're doing well, love. She thought, a warm feeling swelling in her chest. She smiled and found what she was looking for: a document mentioning Beetee's place of residence. It was in the basement of the main broadcast headquarters several buildings over. Wiress groaned inwardly. She had to make her way out of this building and break into another.
She smiled and sent a virus into the computer system that would disable many of the pods and security systems throughout the Capitol. After locking the computer, she hurried through the basement and found a service door to the outside. She exited and hid behind a bush. Climbing around in the AC ducts had shielded her from the lights and noise of the streets. She poked her face out from behind the bush one large eye at a time. Do they ever sleep? She watched oddly dressed people walk down the street eating, drinking, or carrying large shopping bags. Stripping off her now soiled avox uniform, she stuffed it in her backpack for later.
Wiress made her way three blocks to the west by running in the shadows and hiding behind bushes. Suddenly she heard the familiar sound of a Peacekeepers' boots coming down the street. Thinking fast, she hid under a dumpster. "Who's there?" Wiress gulped and gripped her taser that she had pulled out of her pocket. She held her breath as the Peacekeeper walked right in front of the dumpster. He pulled out his baton and swung it at his side. "Peacekeepers! Show yourself!" He barked. He stood by the trash can for several minutes before walking away. Wiress counted to three, rolled out from under the bin, and ran to her next destination which was a long shadow of the fence that surrounded the Panem Television and Broadcasting Complex. Wiress crawled under the bush near the fence and listened to the hum of the electrical current embedded in the fence. She let herself cry for several moments. Beetee was so close but yet still so far.
"TESLA! TESLA! UP NOW!" A guard was banging on the metal door of Beetee's cell. He rubbed his eyes and reached for his glasses seconds before the guard turned on the bare bulb and yanked Beetee to his feet. "MOVE!" The guard sprinted down the hall nearly dragging Beetee with him. He was shoved into a car and driven a short way before being dragged down into the basement of another building. He was shoved into a room housing a supercomputer and a desk with a computer with three screens. Computer engineers were scattered around the room working on laptops and guards were standing around the perimeter with their weapons at the ready. "SIT!" The guard shoved Beetee into the chair at the desk.
"You have a virus." Beetee muttered. He was rewarded by a slap across the face.
"SOLVE IT! OR DIE!" Beetee went to work. If he ignored the the guards and his starving body, he could almost be in his work room working on a pesky line of code. As he was working, he recognized the work of the hacker. Find the weak spots, jam them up, and then escape. He smiled. That's my girl. His spirits were uplifted knowing Wiress had broken into the system. He wondered if she was in the Capitol itself. He typed in a few commands.
"Oh - someone broke in - from this computer." Beetee stammered. His hands shook. She was just here. In this chair. Wiress is right here in the Capitol.
"CALL THE PEACEKEEPERS!" The guard barked into a radio. "We have a break in! Find the fugitive!"
"How will we know who it is?" another guard asked puzzled.
"This person will know Mr. Tesla." The lead guard said slowly and carefully. "This person will be brought to this room to explain this little prank. Then Mr. Tesla will watch the execution." The guard shoved the opening of his gun into the base of Beetee's skull. "If you make this worse, you will never see your district or your girl. Again."
Wiress found the power generator that fueled the fence. She placed explosives around it and sprinted away. She hit the ground as a large blast literally shook the ground. She jumped up and climbed the fence. Jumping down, she ducked under one of the many broadcast satellites inside the compound. She hurried across the 'satellite field' and made it to the side of the building. Now to find the door.
Beetee finished fixing the computer system just as a Peacekeeper ran into the room. He pulled Beetee to his feet and glared into his face. "Who are you communicating with, Mr. Tesla?"
"I haven't -" Beetee began but was hit across the head with the Peacekeeper's baton.
"Don't give me that, Mr. Tesla! Someone broke into the Broadcast Compound! Someone hacked into the computer. WHO IS HELPING YOU, MR. TESLA? ANSWER ME, NOW!"
"I told you, I don't know." The Peacekeeper sneered and pulled out a small flat square that was a touch screen. He held it under Beetee's nose. "This, Mr. Tesla is a controller we use to control the pods. One push, and I will send mutts all over that compound. Mutts that can cause a human to experience searing pain as they bite flesh over and over." Beetee paled. "Aah, so you do know someone." He smiled. "Who is it? Just give me a name or description, and I will not send the mutts."
"But you will kill them otherwise." Beetee whispered. The Peacekeeper chuckled.
"Oh, we have our options if your friend is caught. Just give me a name, Mr. Tesla." Beetee bit his lip and tears came to his eyes. Betray Wiress and maybe negotiate her freedom, Say nothing and risk her certain death. Beetee shook his head.
"No." He whispered as the tears came faster.
"Are you sure, Mr. Tesla?" The Peacekeeper asked. Suddenly Beetee kicked the Peacekeeper with all his might and grabbed the square. He stomped on it and it was crushed to powder. The guards rushed at him and began beating him. He tried rolling out of their grasp.
"SEND THE MUTTS ANYWAY!" Someone else yelled. "MR. TESLA'S FRIEND IS GOING TO DIE!"
"NO! NO! PLEASE NO!" Beetee screamed before someone kicked him in the head and his world went black.