7. Trust.
"Egeria wasn't one of those grandfather told me to seek out," replies Gillian. "I don't know why she's here tonight. She's not the sort of person I would have expected to see in here."
"Leaving now isn't a good idea in any case," says Cato. "Gillian won't be any safer outside. She and I got in here without showing our identity cards. If anybody is looking for Gillian they may not think to look for her in here. We should wait until you have finished work."
Cato's suggestion has merit. It would be safer if Gillian left here with both Cato and I to watch over her. It'll soon be time for my second session, so I leave Cato and Gillian at the booth, and return to the dressing room. As I prepare for my session, I reflect on what Egeria said. Why did she tell Gillian to ignore her grandfather's instructions? Surely President Snow would have told me if that was the case. He must have anticipated me bringing Gillian to the Black Cat if his daughter-in-law went missing. Something isn't quite right with what Egeria said to Gillian.
With so few dancers here tonight, my sessions are soon done. Even when Marcie makes me do two extra sessions, I still finish by one-thirty. I don't get paid for the extra sessions, but the additional tips make it worth my while. The steady flow of patrons through the club means that there are plenty of new customers willing to provide tips. As the night wears on the patrons become more intoxicated and rowdy. Unlike the previous two nights, the club's heavies are having their work cut out to keep everybody in order. I begin to wish Cato had taken Gillian out of here earlier, but I'm equally glad that he's here to support me. My tips from tonight amount to a tidy sum. Enough to tempt a potential robber.
Marcie says I may leave after my one-thirty session. The club is still quite busy, but fortunately a new trio of dancers have arrived to entertain the patrons throughout the rest of the night. I look for Juno but I'm told that she's one of the girls arrested by the peacekeepers. I change into my street clothes and join Cato and Gillian at their booth. Unfortunately Gillian hasn't been contacted by any of the people she was expecting to find here. She insists that she's given the correct coded signals which indicate she wants help. As she stands up to leave, I notice how the lights from the stage reflect against her hair.
"What's that in your hair which reflects the light?" I ask.
"It's something that ma's new hairdresser put in my hair when he came to our apartment the other day. It's uncomfortable and I don't know how to get it out of my hair."
"It's some form of metal mesh," says Cato when he takes a closer look. "Effie may know how to remove it. There's nothing we can do about it here. Come on, let's go."
We work our way towards the main door, keeping close together and watching out for anybody who may want to prevent us from leaving. It's not just Gillian who is at risk. I'm carrying the priceless Jewels of Desire, and a large sum of money secreted on me. We are prime targets for robbers should anybody want to try their luck.
But robbers aren't my immediate challenge. A few men sat near the door recognise me as one of tonight's dancers despite my change of clothes. They make suggestive remarks as I pass near them. In other circumstances I might have found their comments funny. In their current inebriated state I doubt any of them are capable of performing the acts they are suggesting. Unfortunately their ribaldry only draws other people's attention towards me and we are soon having to push our way through an over-enthusiastic crowd.
We make it out of the club without further mishap. As we walk away I notice we have a group of four men following us. Cato notices them as well. We make a couple of side turns to verify our suspicions. They doggedly keep on our trail.
"Are those men following us?" asks Gillian.
"It seems so," I reply. "We'll take a few more turns and shake them off. After today's events I don't want any more people than necessary knowing where you are staying."
"Aren't you taking me back to my apartment?" asks Gillian. "What if ma has returned and she's worried about me?"
"I don't think your apartment will be safe for you tonight," I reply. "It's unlikely your mother will go back there at the moment."
After a few more turns, and a scramble over a wooden fence, we finally lose the men tailing us. We then head to Effie's apartment as quickly as can. Cato isn't the quietest of people when it comes to stealthily entering a building and Effie wakes when we arrive.
"This is Gillian Snow," I say to Effie. "President Snow's granddaughter. She needs to stay with us for a while. Her mother disappeared this morning."
"Yes, okay," says Effie, quickly hiding her surprise at her unexpected guest . "Hello Gillian. Let's make up a bed for you on the couch."
"Effie, will you have a look at Gillian's hair?" I ask. "She has some form of steel mesh wrapped in it which she doesn't know how to remove."
Effie takes a look, and uses her considerable skill with the strange fashions of the Capitol to assess the problem. After a short while manages to work out how to remove the mesh without ruining the rest of Gillian's decorative hairdo. She studies the mesh before handing it to me.
"It's not designed to be worn all the time," says Effie. "See. There's a series of fasteners which enable it to be fitted and removed. I thought I was current with the latest fashion trends, but I've not seen this sort of adornment before. When were you given this piece, Gillian?"
"Tuesday evening," replies Gillian. "Ma arranged for her hairdresser to come and fit it. She didn't tell me it could be removed."
That means it was fitted after my job interview with Mrs. Snow. I suspect that the timing is not a coincidence. Unfortunately it probably means that Mrs. Snow's disappearance was planned. Cato comes over to examine the mesh now it has been removed from Gillian's hair.
"It's not made of steel," he says. "See how each strand reflects the light like a mirror. Steel wouldn't shine so brightly. And the mesh doesn't weigh as much as it would if it was made of steel. It must be made of some new compound. It could be valuable."
Gillian is very tired and Effie halts further discussion while she helps Gillian make up her bed on the couch. With Gillian occupying Effie's couch, I suddenly realise that Cato has nowhere to sleep; other than sharing my bed. I suddenly feel awkward. As always, I get very aroused when dancing in the Jewels of Desire, and tonight has been no exception. I'm more than happy for Cato to be the one to help me relieve the pent up urges that have been brewing inside me. It just that …
"Stop dithering, Katniss," says Cato in a firm tone. "Get undressed and into bed."
I'm practically naked before it dawns on me that Cato is bossing me around. He did this occasionally when he came to visit me at the arena. I had resolved to put him in his place, and now I'm doing the exact opposite. I reach for my nightgown, but Cato prevents me from putting it on.
"Not tonight, Katniss," says Cato. "I'm here to keep you warm."
He kisses me and I melt into his arms. Katniss the hunter; Katniss the warrior; Katniss the survivor, all evaporate into thin air and only Katniss the sex kitten remains.
The bone-weariness I was feeling when we arrived at Effie's apartment soon fades under Cato's careful and intimate attentions. I begin to feel more alive despite the dangers we face. It is almost like being back in Hunger Games arena. My every sense is alert and responsive. Cato doesn't waste time with foreplay and senses my need to move onto the main course. This is Cato at his best. It's what attracts me to him. Sure, he's good looking and can be both witty and serious. But more importantly, he instinctively knows what to do to satisfy my desires. He knows when to be the dominant male; when to treat me as his equal; and when to defer to my lead. Once our passion is sated we both fall asleep in each others arms. We are still entwined when we wake to the smell of cooking the next morning.
Despite the prospect of filling our empty bellies, neither of us is in a rush to get dressed. We kiss and caress each other for a while. I know I complain about Cato being bossy and that he orders me about. But there have only been a few times when I've actually minded his arrogant attitude. It's as though his normally excellent sense of my real needs has been slightly askew on those occasions. Perhaps with practise we can iron out those minor imperfections.
While I know why I'm attracted to Cato, I've no idea what attracts him to me. I'm not so naïve as to think that I'm the only girl he's taken to bed. I know for a fact that he's dallied with other girls since becoming the victor of the 74th Hunger Games. There's been enough television coverage of his adoring female conquests. And he was no virgin when he and I first made out during the 74th Hunger Games training week.
"Come on lazy bones," says Cato. "Time to get dressed or we'll miss breakfast."
I look at my watch on the bedside table. It's nearly nine o'clock; not particularly late given it was nearly three o'clock when we went to bed, but Effie will have left for work and Gillian will be alone. My feeling of responsibility towards her takes over and I quickly get dressed. Cato does likewise.
"Good morning, Gillian," I say as I enter the main room. "Is there any breakfast left?"
"Good morning, Katniss," she replies, persisting in using my real name when we are alone. "You'll need to make something fresh. Effie and I ate our breakfast an hour ago."
"I'll make us something," says Cato. "You had better check that we haven't acquired any unwelcome watchers overnight."
"I've already checked," says Gillian. "There's nobody outside."
"You should have waited for us before checking," I say.
"I was careful," says Gillian. "I've had a lot of practise at checking for watchers."
"We should check the television news in case their any word about Gillian's mother," says Cato as he hands me bowl of cereal and glass of fruit juice. If I want a cooked breakfast then I'm obviously going to have to make it myself.
We sit through the news broadcast while we eat breakfast. There's nothing about Mrs. Snow's disappearance, but there's a short interview with Plutarch Heavensbee in an item relating to the 75th Hunger Games. According to the report, Heavensbee is at the secret site for the Games. That may explain why he's not been in touch with Effie and I.
"Once the peacekeepers realise Gillian's mother is missing they'll start looking for both Gillian and her mother," I say. "Records of yesterday's identity check at the railway station will lead the peacekeepers to me, this apartment, and the Black Cat. Time isn't on our side. Whatever we decide to do, we need to do it soon."
We discuss several options, but we are always drawn back to the Black Cat. Not only is there a potential source of help at the Black Cat, but it seems some of the answers to the mystery of Mrs. Snow's disappearance may be there too. By lunchtime we've agreed that the three of us should return to the Black Cat this evening. I would have to go there anyway, since I'm due to work at the Black Cat tonight. Hopefully this afternoon's Hunger Games function, which summoned Cato to the Capitol, will be over by then. I don't like the prospect of having to leave Gillian unattended at the Black Cat despite her insistence that Egeria Wolfe will protect her.
"Ah! While I remember," says Cato. "The book! Go and fetch it, princess."
"At once, my master," I reply sarcastically. Cato has reverted to his annoying arrogant attitude. Still, I do as he asks without further complaint. He has succeeded in making me curious about the purpose of the book.
Cato carefully opens the book so as to prevent it from falling apart. He finds the page he is looking for and turns the book towards me.
"What do you think of that?" says Cato.
I look at the page in amazement. "She's wearing the Jewels of Desire," I say.