A/N: Hoping "Log-in Meltdown 2011" is finally over...

Part 21

The evening of Simon's surprise arrival, he and Madge stage a conversation for the surveillance about how reluctant she is to go to the Capitol—Madge wants it to sound believable that she does intend to join the training program despite the coercive circumstances and her hesitance for the past year. It's the best protection she can provide for her parents and the district when she "dies" in a train accident on the way there, as planned.

"I'll miss my parents and my friends," Madge says as they sit at the kitchen table, shuffling through a large pile of papers. She has to bite her tongue from adding that she'll especially miss her friends who are about to be murdered as a pointless political gesture by a bloodthirsty, morally bankrupt police state.

"You'll make new friends. And the rush of doing important work and being around the most powerful people in the country is worth it." Simon rolls his eyes and folds one of the papers into an airplane that he shoots at Madge.

She swats it away. "I suppose that's true. And I've already learned almost everything there is to know about 12."

"You'll be joining the elite, Madge. Plus, if you have a job like mine you get to visit other districts—see more of the country."

He slumps back in his chair with a sour expression, looking less polished than usual with his loosened tie and shirt collar. She knows he's assigned to several districts, one of which is 12—he'd requested it so he could investigate Mayor Undersee's possible connections to his mother's scandal—and that the traveling aspect of his job is one of the most difficult to stomach. He'd told her this afternoon that he hit his breaking point recently when Secretary Redwell ordered him to threaten to withhold insulin shipments to one of his other assigned districts because the mayor had questioned her on a tax issue; the mayor had a diabetic child and the Secretary wanted to keep him on his toes. ("You should see the looks on these people's faces when they see me coming," he'd told Madge. "Kind of like you and your father this morning.")

She's grateful Simon came through on the forged identification papers, because the types of things he has to do are even worse than she'd been imagining. One of his first assignments after finishing his training and being assigned to an actual job was listening to surveillance tapes—including those from the Undersee house—and seemingly innocuous details he'd included in one of his earliest reports about some Capitol officials had led to three people being interrogated and executed by the Capitol's secret police. Some kind of political rivalry gone awry, not even anything related to governance. The shine on the prestigious job he'd originally been excited about had dulled quickly. And the more she heard, the more Madge's doubts about whether she could really leave her parents had been squashed. She also didn't think Gale would have encouraged her to go to the Capitol even for sabotage purposes if he knew just how evil the work waiting for her would be.

"Well, at least I'll be able to come home and visit," Madge says, continuing their fake conversation. She almost chokes on the comment, though, since it reminds her that she actually won't be able to visit once she disappears. She's too recognizable in 12 to return unnoticed and her parents are monitored so closely…

"The homesickness gets easier to deal with. So I hear from the people from the districts." Simon flicks one of the papers across the table carelessly and gazes out the Undersees' back window into the inky night. She wonders what he's really thinking about—he's difficult to read, which she guesses is a benefit in the Capitol.

She's distracted from her musing by the entrance of her father, looking tense. "Simon, Reynolds and Auer are still on the teleconference with central security; should be back later." Simon nods, apparently unconcerned about the tasks his colleagues are dealing with at the Justice Building. Mayor Undersee takes in the table strewn with papers. "Did Madge explain everything here to you satisfactorily?"

"Abundantly," he says, perking up. "Did a great job, too—I can see why you needed her to stay longer to finish up this project." The fake project that's been part of her cover story for being unavailable to enroll in the Capitol's training program sooner. "Everything should be in order here," he says, gesturing at the messy piles with a sly smile, clearly enjoying deceiving the surveillance.

Mayor Undersee picks up the paper airplane and raises his eyebrows. "Wonderful. Simon, do you mind running these reports over to Deputy Snyder's house? He wanted to review them before our meeting tomorrow. Madge can show you where he lives."

Her father hands them a folder, but what he's really giving them is an excuse to get away from the surveillance without overusing the excuse of working on the garden, which she and Simon already thoroughly watered and weeded in the afternoon while he filled her in on the plan he'd devised. Simon is exempt from the curfew; he can just flash his ID if they're stopped.

"Did you talk to your mom yet?" Simon asks as soon as they're far enough away from the house, concerned rather than glib now that they won't be recorded.

"My dad did… She didn't take it well." Slight understatement; her mother had fainted and had to be immediately returned to bed. Simon doesn't respond, but she doesn't know what he could say… What she's doing to her parents is awful.

"Do you think… Simon, is there any way I could get that surgery for my mom to reverse what they did to her?"

"Maybe," he says with a frown. "It's one of the reasons I thought District 6 would be a good place for you. They have better medical facilities than most districts and who knows, maybe in a few years you could come up with a plan to help them… or at least your mother…"

Madge makes a vow to herself to get her parents out of 12 as soon as she can figure out a way that won't jeopardize the rest of the district, and to get that reversal treatment for her mom. If she can get away from the Capitol, so can they.

"What happened to your mother?" Madge asks him tentatively. It feels weird to inquire since her father apparently destroyed the woman, even if unintentionally. "After she was released?"

"About like yours," he says dully. "Morphling. Though not for headaches. More bitter, less functional than your mom. My father worked all the time and left my brother in charge of me, and then when he died my brother pushed me into the training program. As a matter of family honor," he adds bitterly.

Madge starts to see why he'd adopted her as his pet project—their family histories are similar enough that with all that time listening to the surveillance, he must have started to identify with her…

"So you don't still blame my father? You're not pretending to help me so you can turn us all over as the ultimate revenge, are you?"

He laughs lightly. "Would I tell you if I were? But no, I'm so tired of it all." She really can hear the weariness in his voice and decides she might as well believe him since she can't stay in 12 and she refuses to go to the Capitol. The risk is worth it.

"Can you quit?"

"I know too much," he says as he sticks his hands into his pockets. They walk in silence for a few moments and then he adds with a sly smile, "Besides, I can do more damage where I am now."

Madge brightens slightly—it's what Gale had been suggesting she do because he thought Simon was too 'useless.' But now it sounds like Simon's changing course. She smiles at the thought of Gale approving of something Simon-related, although thinking of Gale reminds her that telling him she's leaving isn't going to be easy…

#

Once Gale and his family take their seats with Katniss' family on the town square for Interview Night, he does his usual scan for Madge and quickly spots her in a back row by herself the way she was during the Opening Ceremony. It feels wrong to see her looking so lonely. His mother said she stopped by their house last night to talk to him, but he was working a second shift so he could have some time off during the Quell broadcasts. He wonders what she needed to talk to him about—she never seems to turn up with good news…

Oh. That's what. Simon appears and slides into the seat next to Madge, moving smoothly like the reptile he is. But Madge doesn't look agitated, and in fact is speaking quietly with him. Calmly… Gale leaps up to find out what's going on, but then the Hunger Games theme music starts and the Peacekeepers make everyone sit down.

Gale tries to catch Madge's attention, but she's engrossed in her conversation with Simon, leaning into him in a way that makes Gale's stomach clench. It's her 'we have secrets to discuss' stance and it's usually reserved only for him… A quick glance reveals that there are other people from the Capitol sitting with Madge's father on the elevated stage—recognizable by their obnoxiously bright attire and disdainful expressions—but Simon's hanging out with Madge in the darkened back rows like a kid who stopped caring about listening to the teacher in school. Gale considers whether it's possible to explode from curiosity, but then he gets a grip and steels himself, solemnly swiveling to face the screen.

The interviews are incredible: most of the victors are delightfully, openly resentful of being sent back into the arena. And Katniss… Katniss is phenomenal. She'd told him about the District 8 refugees she encountered carrying a mockingjay wafer as some kind of revolutionary symbol, though like her he hadn't known what to make of the information. It seemed vaguely helpful, if strange, to think of Katniss representing something she had no awareness of, but it didn't supply 12 with weapons or any other way to end the Capitol's oppression, so Gale couldn't do much with the knowledge.

But apparently it did mean something and Katniss has figured it out. To see her announcing herself as the symbol of the rebellious districts is thrilling and gut-wrenching at the same time. She's ensuring her own death, but there was no way they'd let her survive, so Gale indulges in a moment of pride at how blatantly she's rubbing their noses in the fact that she supports overthrowing them.

He's still reeling so intensely from Katniss' fiery declaration he almost forgets to listen to Peeta's interview, but as soon as he hears the word 'married' he freezes. They wouldn't have… He glances at Prim, who almost imperceptibly shakes her head. Of course; Peeta is a master storyteller. And Peeta tops himself with the story of the pregnancy, which cements for Gale that the story is pure fiction. But no one in the Capitol knows that, and Gale relishes how horrified the Capitol spectators are as they recoil from Peeta's verbal bomb.

When the victors all join hands and stand together at the conclusion of the interviews, Gale starts to think that maybe the Capitol really has finally gone too far, killing off their most popular celebrities as an excuse to eliminate the theoretical threat posed by a couple of kids from the coal district. But then the broadcast feed cuts out, leaving the town square in eerie silence, the seal of Panem looming on the screen like a giant eye. Watching them, like always.

Just below the seal, Gale notices a slight movement on the elevated stage and realizes that Madge's father is standing up, too. Gale shoots to his feet, eager to participate in any form of rebellion, no matter how insignificant. Within seconds the rest of the audience rises, leaving the Peacekeepers confused about how to react—the standing is a show of solidarity with the victors, but what's illegal about it and how can they threaten people into sitting down? Besides, the broadcast is over, so people smoothly transition into quietly departing from the square, successfully having flirted with rebelliousness but evading punishment for it. It feels very Mayor Undersee to Gale… Well-intentioned but not quite enough to change anything.

Daughter Undersee is another story altogether, though, and one Gale needs to hear about as soon as humanly possible. Telling his family he'll meet them at home, he weaves through the crowd to Madge and Simon, seated again and speaking in low tones. Simon is fidgeting with some kind of electronic device in his hands and looks more serious than Gale remembers. Neither hears Gale approach, but they do notice when he sits down in the row in front of them.

Madge looks at him with hopeful eyes. "Wasn't that amazing?"

He nods, as much as it hurts to think that was the last time he'll see Katniss until she's inside the arena. At least the image is how he wants to remember her—defiant and strong.

And now: "Simon, why are you here? Are you taking Madge away?"

"I am," Simon admits calmly, sending Gale's stomach plummeting. He looks at Madge, only to see that she's watching him closely to see how he'll take the news. "Why don't we take a stroll?" Simon suggests.

When they're farther away from the square and the Peacekeepers, Simon quietly explains that the Capitol demanded Madge join their training program immediately but that he has an escape plan for her, developed with the assistance of people recommended by Haymitch and Madge's father.

"Haymitch?" Gale distinctly remembers Madge's mom telling them Haymitch couldn't help.

"He talked to Simon during the Spring Blossom Festival," Madge explains. "Enough to feel out that Simon was hostile to the Capitol."

"We did the dance," Simon explains as though that means something. He reconstructs the conversation: "'Saw you talking to the mayor's daughter.' 'Cute kid.' 'Chatty, too. Says she appreciates your advice.' 'Is that so?''" He smirks at Gale. "That dance."

Gale remembers going through a milder version of that with Madge last year—picking up on hints she dropped that she wasn't happy about the Capitol. Obviously she didn't need to worry about that with him, but it did take her a while to figure out Simon was sympathetic to her… Assuming he's not setting her up to get back at her father.

Simon continues with his explanation. "Dancing aside, I didn't know Haymitch was willing to help until his people contacted me later."

"Haymitch probably lied to my mom," Madge says.

"She's a security risk—the morphling," Simon points out. "Haymitch is smart about not revealing more than he needs to. It's the only way to operate."

"She's going to hate him when he gets back…" Madge murmurs.

Gale thinks Haymitch is probably used to people hating him for being involved in them losing their loved ones, and that it likely won't be the first time Madge's mom has hated the guy. Gale suspects he's also on Madge's mom's list of people she can blame for losing her daughter…

Simon continues. "I found a safe place. New name, complete set of identity papers."

"Where?"

"District Six," Madge says, sounding as bewildered as Gale is and looking at him as though he can help her digest this strange news. "When my father worked there he made friends he thought might still be sympathetic to… well, my situation. Simon tracked them down and they've agreed to help me get started out there." Gale thinks she sounds overwhelmed—he would be, too—starting over somewhere completely new without any family or friends and with the awareness that one misstep could mean death or torture for herself or people she cares about. "The train to the Capitol has to pass through District 5, so we can stage an accident in 5 and then I can sneak into 6 since they're so close. As far as the Capitol is concerned, I'll have died in 5."

This plan sounds ludicrous and Gale has to quiz Simon for assurances. "Did you meet these people? How can we trust them?"

"Haymitch's contacts confirmed in advance that they were likely to still be sympathetic. Six is one of my assigned districts so I was able to approach them."

"How can you crash a train?"

"I'm still working on those details," Simon admits. "I have a contact in the transportation department in 5 who can help once we know when we'll be traveling… The Secretary wanted Madge in the Capitol right away, but if your friends make it to the final eight, she'll need to be interviewed, which even the Secretary understands. And there's very minimal travel during the conclusion of the Games, so we couldn't catch a train until the end anyway."

Gale fights a bout of nausea at the implications of what the 'end' of the Games means and has to stop walking to regain his composure. Madge clutches his arm and looks worried.

When he can speak again, Gale asks Madge what she would do in District 6. He can't picture her as anything other than the mayor's daughter. The mayor's subversive, brave, gorgeous daughter, but still, a creature of privilege flitting around the district like she has every right in the world to be wherever she wants.

"Get a job, I guess," she says. "Although, after tonight, I'm starting to wonder if a formal revolt is about to start. Simon and I were just debating it."

Gale feels the same stirring of excitement he did when the victors all stood together. The prospect of an organized rebellion, rather than the scattered uprisings that followed the Victory Tour and are apparently happening now, is exactly what he wants… "Do you know anything, Simon?"

Simon shakes his head. "As far as I can tell, the same ideas are independently occurring to more and more people across the country, but there isn't any cross-district organization. Of course, the people I know in the districts hate me, and in the Capitol everyone is terrified of even the slightest hint of disloyalty. There are surveillance cameras and informants everywhere. People you think are your friends turn on you without warning to advance their own interests by some incremental amount. You'd love it."

Gale makes a grunting sound, still unsure what to make of this guy who's acting like he's going to help Madge. She seems to trust him, and Gale trusts her… It occurs to him that if Simon isn't deceiving them and does learn more about a developing rebellion, he'll need a contact in 12 once Madge leaves. So as much as it pains him to be civil, Gale offers.

"If you need help in 12, you know where to find me."

"Believe me, I'm highly aware of your stance on all this. And actually," he says, reaching into his suit lapel pocket to hand Gale an envelope, "I had identification papers made for you, too, while I was at it."

Gale mutely accepts the envelope, staring at it as though it's a priceless jewel. Inside there are official-looking copies of a birth certificate, travel card, health history…

Five seconds. Maybe ten. For ten seconds he stares at Madge and allows himself to embrace the fantasy that he could start a new life somewhere else fighting the Capitol. It sounds like the country is tantalizingly close to hitting a critical mass of rebellious districts, and he could fight instead of being a spectator… Maybe get some real weapons and use them.

But who would take care of his family? And Katniss' family, since she just confirmed tonight that she won't be returning. He looks back down at the papers. They're taunting him: he can't fight even when an opportunity is dropped into his lap.

"Madge said you wouldn't go," Simon observes once it's clear Gale won't say anything. "But hang onto those anyway."

The disappointment is so thick in his throat all he can do is nod and keep staring at the beautiful envelope of contraband promise that he can't fulfill.

Distantly he hears Madge tell Simon she'll meet him back at her house, and then he feels her leading him away. He numbly follows her to a shadowy area between the blacksmith's shop and the hardware store.

"I'm sorry," she says quietly, hugging him. "I told Simon it might be better to not even give you the papers but I remembered what you said about choices…"

"What choice?" He asks bitterly.

She steps back to look at him and squeezes his arms. "I feel better knowing you have those papers. Just in case."

Just in case what, he wants to ask—if some magical pixies rearranged reality so he no longer had to be all that stands between starvation and the four, soon to be six, people he's responsible for?

But Madge is free to do whatever she wants… "Madge, you have to fight."

"I will."

He grasps her shoulders and tries to convey how serious he is. "Do it. Stop them."

"You know I'll do whatever I can. Including helping 12." He does know; she'll be sneaky and resourceful like always. She's looking at him in her earnest way and he feels a little calmer, slightly more anchored against the alternating waves of hopefulness and despair that have been washing over him all evening. She adds, "Gale, if there are more people like Simon, maybe we're getting closer to the point where the districts will be able to coordinate with each other…"

He tries to be optimistic—that's what he wants, too—but it seems so daunting. Twelve is still tiny and weak and one reptilian guy in the Capitol and one girl working in another district are unlikely to turn anything around. Although maybe the victors have something rebellious planned for the arena… And maybe the districts will truly hit their breaking points… The other districts, that is.

Everyone else gets to do something meaningful while he's trapped in 12. The other districts, Katniss, Peeta, Madge, and even Slimebag Simon.

He focuses on Madge again, who's watching him like he's a bomb that might explode at any second.

"Don't leave without telling me."

She nods solemnly and he wraps his arms around her to hug her tightly, sickened at the reality of never seeing her again. For the next few weeks his life will be unbearable—having to watch Katniss be tortured and murdered on television—and then it will be even worse. Katniss will be gone forever, Madge and his hopes of a District 12 uprising will also only be a memory, Katniss' mother and sister will be devastated, and his days will be filled with mining and worrying about his siblings starving or being reaped, hoping he doesn't let them down by getting himself killed in an explosion or a cave-in…

He's drawn away from his morbid thoughts by Madge sliding her hands up his chest to his neck and pulling him closer to her face. Once he figures out what she's doing, he doesn't hesitate to kiss her back and doesn't bother to feel guilty or to worry about what her latest thinking is on whether they're allowed to kiss or not—he just lets himself savor the wonderful sensation of someone wanting him back. This someone. This surprising, gentle, determined someone. Really determined. She'd been tentative at first but apparently warmed up quickly because now she seems like she wants to crawl into him, an idea he encourages by moving his hands to the small of her back and drawing her even closer.

"Gale." He hears her saying his name and it sounds so right he can't believe he won't get to hear her say it more often. Not that he's giving her much opportunity for speech at the moment… She makes a noise that's more insistent so he opens his eyes and rests his forehead against hers, allowing himself a few moments of sharing her air as they both try to catch their breath.

She doesn't need to say it; he knows they're both making it harder for her to actually leave. That as good as it feels to connect in this way, it will translate into more pain later. Or, now: her eyes are starting to look a little watery.

"Don't," he warns.

She blinks, hopefully also absorbing the beginning of the tears, and he takes the opportunity to kiss her one last time, trying to transfer some of his motivation and desire to get rid of the Capitol to her… Because from now on, she'll have to fight on his behalf, too. And then he rips himself away while he still can.

"Find me before you leave," he orders.

He assumes she agrees but he's already walking back to his side of the district. Crying is contagious and he's too angry at the unfairness of every single thing in his life to just accept it by crying, letting the Capitol beat him even further into submission.

#

Madge slumps down along the wall in the alley by herself and cries until she's hollow, and then vacantly stares at nothing while waiting for her eyes to hopefully lose some of their redness and puffiness. This is her life: making out with her friend's whatever-the-hell-Gale-is while that friend is waiting to be murdered on television, preparing to fake her own death and leave her parents behind forever, putting her trust in someone who possibly isn't trustworthy but is better than the alternative, and sitting by herself in a dingy alley to cry.

It's all so absurd that she starts laughing, a little hysterically, and only the awareness that a Peacekeeper might hassle her motivates her to stand up and stumble back home.

Her father and the people from the Capitol, including Simon, are watching the recap in the living room. Mayor Undersee casts a worried glance at Madge. "Everything all right, Button?"

As soon as the words are out, he seems to realize how unanswerable the question is and clamps his mouth shut with a frown.

"I'm going to check on Mom and go to bed," she mumbles. Partly for the surveillance—she's supposed to be tending to her mother—but mostly because she just needs to see her.

Simon surprises her by catching her on the stairs. "Sorry," he says, touching her sleeve gently. "I thought it might help."

"It did." Madge feels better knowing Gale has an alternate identity if he ever needs an escape route the way she did. Of course, he's responsible for so many other people he'll never leave. Madge's parents won't starve if she disappears; they'll just be destroyed emotionally, especially her mother… Gale, too, will probably be upset, judging by how he reacted to the news that she's leaving, utilizing his special talent to convert pain into anger. It seems to cruel to have to hurt the people she cares most about in order to avoid having to hurt people she doesn't even know, but she won't let the Capitol use her for their political murders, schemes, and who knows what else. So that settles the issue.

"Thank you. It's just hard."

Simon nods at her. "Get some rest."

Madge checks on her mother, but she's long since been sedated. The past week has been terrible—Madge can't even remember the last time they had a conversation. Well before the reaping. But at least she can still hug her, which she won't be able to do once she disappears. She crawls onto the bed and curls up next to her mother's lightly breathing form and quietly cries until she drifts off.

A/N: I KNOW, ANGST OVERLOAD. Poor things, I need to send them to a spa or something to make up for torturing them in this story.

Um, so I don't know how this story got to be so long, but thank you all for sticking with it and for being patient that I can't update as frequently lately. Thanks to the lovely reviewers from last chapter—MorningxLight, Miss Scarlett 05, EStrunk, roj, Flyza, IsForWinners, laughingismyhobbie, Medea Smyke, Leia 96, VanillaMostly, corsettes, TheNerdiBarbieDoll, wes1393, ReinaBorg, and SuperJule. I appreciate the support and always enjoy hearing from people. Love to all the new readers and older readers and lurkers, too. :)