AN – In case you've forgotten how this whole fanfiction thing works: I am not Suzanne Collins. I do not own the Hunger Games books or any of their characters, settings, plots, etc. Just to clear that up.

Trusting

I turned away from Doc and Chervil and started to pace. I was not going to lose it here. I saw both Walker and . . . the married guy, whose name I could never remember, glance over, attention attracted by my frenzied motion.

I took a deep shuddering breath. I still couldn't trust my voice but I walked back over to them. We didn't have time for hysterics.

Chervil put his hand on my arm and gave me a smile. I knew he couldn't possibly be that calm, but if he could fake it maybe I could too. "We figure they're already working on getting themselves out. They're not gonna sit there and wait. We just need to do what we can to clear the way up here."

"Which might be more of a problem that it should be." If Chervil was being light about things, Doc couldn't have been more somber: "This whole thing is massively screwed up. We've been trying to figure out who we can trust and coming up with hardly anyone. But Sarge trusts you, so we do."

It didn't seem to matter to them that I was the famous Mockingjay. Only that they knew Gale trusted me. How much could I tell them? And how much did they already know? They trusted me, but could I trust them? Did Gale trust them? He did before, but things had changed since he got back. And even though she'd tried to back off of it, Johanna had thought there was another spy in the Squad. Who? But I was going to need some help. I could at least find out what they knew: "What do you mean 'massively screwed up'?"

"When we got up we tried to go to Onyx, to volunteer to help get them out," Doc explained.

"We're the experts on the lovely L5," Chervil interjected.

"We couldn't get to Onyx. They wouldn't let us do anything. They sent us all to Medical, but we're fine. I offered to certify everyone's Fitness For Duty, they wouldn't let me. I wanted to rappel down into the Pit, bring some medical supplies, water, a two-way radio. They won't even listen." Doc's hands were clenched into fists as he spoke.

"The Nut is a circus of paperwork monkeys. They're filling out the correct forms for an explosion and following some book that says to run an oxygen line down through the Pit." Chervil shook his head and I remembered Gale's dislike of the guy in charge of the Nut.

"If that's even what they're doing," muttered Doc. Chervil shot him a look that said not to say too much. But Doc met his eyes and went on. "There's one other thing you should know. That night, right after the explosion, we were sitting around in the dark. We didn't want to waste our headlights. It was completely, horribly quiet. The fans were down, the rumbling had stopped. And we heard . . . a yell. Not like calling to us, just like . . . I don't know . . . frustration, anger, something. We tried answering back, but we didn't hear anything else. . . . We think . . . we think it sounded like Sarge."

"But when we were up on the Surface," Chervil took over, "I heard two of Onyx's guys saying . . . no way anyone had survived down there. I told them, well, I called them some colorful names. . . . I told them what we heard and they didn't care. They just said something about there being all sorts of weird noises down there. Like we didn't know what we heard. Like we couldn't tell a human voice. Like Doc said, massively screwed up."

"You're sure?" I asked without thinking.

"We're sure it was someone."

"What can we do? What can I do? Do you have a plan?"

"We're working on it," said Chervil. "We . . . ." He looked at Doc and ran his tongue over his lips. I knew he wasn't sure how much to trust me. "We have some ideas about how to get into or out of the Nut, either get them out or at least get some help to them. We have a map, but we need a better one. We need one that shows the mechanical and everything. And we need to know who we can trust."

"The only ones I trust are Brighton and, maybe, Beetee." I paused. Why hadn't I said straight out that I trusted Beetee? Was he was just too busy to bring him in on any other plans? Or was there more to it than that?

Johanna. I did trust her. At least to want to get them out of the Nut. But I couldn't tell the Squad about her. Not yet.

"I might be able to get a good map though." I remembered Johanna had said to get a map from Beetee. Surely he would have the most detailed technical maps. "How about if we meet back tonight? I'll try to bring a map."

"2200 work for you?" asked Chervil.

"Make it 2300. I don't want to leave the lab too -"

"That's too late," Doc interrupted. "I need to get down there soon. The first 24 hours are critical, after that . . ."

"Doc," I couldn't tell him too much, but I had to say something. Before he just went charging down there. "Don't worry about that. . . . Someone's already gone down, brought some water, some light, some basic meds."

They both stared at me intently. Finally Doc asked "Who?"

I shook my head. "I can't say. But they've gotten some help."

He took a deep breath and blew it out. "Okay, so we'll focus on helping them get out. 2300 will work."

"Be careful. You know this whole Base is buggier than old meat left out in a swamp," said Chervil with his mischievous grin.

Doc let out a heavy sigh. "I hate that they can watch us, listen to us, but we can't find out what they're up to."

I was just about to leave when a thought hit me. I was pretty sure the little bag I'd filled in District 12 was still at the bottom of my duffel. "If someone had some of those little cameras, or the microphones, could they be set up, be used?" I knew Gale had said someone on his squad was great with things like that. Was it Chervil? Both Chervil and Doc leaned in to talk to me.

"You can't take their bugs or else we'd just take them all out. If you mess with them, an alarm goes off and they deactivate them. Then deactivate you." Chervil was shaking his head.

"No, I mean devices from somewhere else, not from the Base."

Doc answered. "You'd need their serial numbers. Then you'd need to get onto a computer, log in the serial number, activate it. If anyone ever checked the active numbers they'd see a new one, but who knows how often they check that sort of thing. Why? What do you have?"

"Could you get to a computer? Get them to work?" If any of these guys was really a spy I was giving them something they could use against me here. But we needed to know what was going on. And they seemed genuinely concerned about the rest of their squad. They were trusting me. I'd have to trust them, at least a bit.

"Brighton lets me use his. If you've got something we can use, you're my hero," Chervil's eyes were bright with excitement.

"Think about where we could use them. I'll meet you here tonight and bring what I can."

As I walked back to Beetee's lab I was trying to decide where the bugs would be most useful. I was startled out of my thoughts by Julina calling "There you are!" She ran down the sidewalk towards me. "Come on. Beetee thinks they're just about to break through, to get the communications going again."

My heart leapt and we hurried back to the lab, adrenaline racing through me. I was afraid to even hope, but if I could only talk to Gale, hear his voice, know he was okay. Had the squad been right? Had they heard him yell? Why had he yelled? Was he hurt? Or just mad?

We jumped back into our numbers with real enthusiasm, at least at first. The lab was buzzing with excitement and I was eager to do something that would help. It was hard to tell though if what we were doing made any difference, but keeping busy kept me from going insane.

After a couple of hours we heard a single loud profanity from Beetee and then the lab fell silent. Julina looked at me with wide eyes. That was strange for Beetee. It couldn't be good. I got up and looked out the door into the lab.

There was obviously something wrong. People were walking out, slamming doors, looking dejected. The lab was emptying as workers left to actually try to remember where their rooms were.

Beetee was lying back in his usual chair, his glasses pushed on top of his head, his arms hanging limply, his eyes closed.

"Beetee?" Julina called quietly.

"Hmmm," he answered then opened his eyes. "It didn't work. I sent everyone home to get some sleep. We'll have to try something else tomorrow."

"What about you?" asked Julina. "Are you just going to sleep here? You look beat."

"There's no point going all the way to my quarters," he muttered. "But I guess I should grab a cot. My back'll hurt if I sleep here." He sounded like that had happened before. I didn't doubt it.

"Good night, ladies," he said as he shuffled off. He seemed so different without all the nervous energy, no fingers flying on the keyboard, no hands pushing back his hair incessantly. I tried not to think about how close I'd thought we were to finding out what was going on down in the Nut.

After he left I realized that I hadn't asked about the map. "Shoot," I said out loud.

"What's wrong?"

"I was gonna ask him where they keep the maps, but I can't bother him with that now. I wonder how long it's been since he slept."

"You don't need to bother Beetee. They're in one of these drawers somewhere. You try that one, I'll try this one." Without hesitating Julina knelt on one side of Beetee's work space. I took the other. She didn't seem to think he would mind.

The drawers were filled with files of computer code, a foreign language to me. I skimmed quickly through the first drawer, then started on the one below it. I noticed that this one still had a key in the lock, but it opened easily. Maybe Beetee just stored his keys there. I didn't have to examine anything closely. Anything intelligible to me, like a map, would stand out in the jumble.

At the back of the drawer something caught my eye: a file with my name on it. Suddenly, I felt guilty, but I had to know what was in that file. I looked over at the cot room's door. It was pulled shut, but not all the way closed. I took the file out and opened it. It was not computer jargon, but sketches of a gun. I saw page after page of sketches, in Beetee's light, meticulous hand, of a gun with an exaggerated sight scope. I skimmed through it, sure that I was only understanding part of what I saw. He had designed a gun and named it after me.

I glanced back into the drawer to see if he had named weapons after anyone else we knew. No. The other files had more normal labels, although all were in a larger subsection labeled "Special Weaponry": "Voice-Activated Weapons," "Body Armor Blasters," "Retrievable Trident." Then I saw a file that made my stomach turn: "Two-stage Bomb Arrays." Without thinking, I pulled it out and opened it. My heart clenched in my chest. I tried not to think of Prim. If I did I knew I'd fall apart.

This file wasn't in Beetee's handwriting. These were Gale's sketches – quick, strong, dark. I closed my eyes. This was nothing I hadn't already known. I looked at the page again. Across the bottom, in Beetee's careful print, it said "This is a terrible idea." I frowned and tried to remember back in District 13, when I first heard of this idea. Had Beetee disapproved? I didn't remember him saying anything like that.

I heard a noise behind me and jumped.

Julina. I put the files back where I had found them and closed the drawer. Her questioning face told me that she knew I had found something. I stood up and she wordlessly held up a map.

"Staying to do more data entry?" Beetee asked from the door to the cot room. I flinched away from him and took a step back as he approached.

"We just needed a map," said Julina. "Can we take this one?" She held out the map to him and I took a breath while he was distracted. I felt like he would be able to tell what I had seen just by looking at my face.

"Just leave it on my desk when you are done with it." He gave me a burning look and for the first time in a long time I remembered watching his Games. Beetee had killed with calculating precision and never a glimpse of regret. I started for the door and Julina followed.

"Good night, Beetee," I said, trying to sound as normal as possible. As we reached the door I heard the small click of a desk drawer being locked.

"You okay?" Julina asked.

I just sighed. I couldn't tell her what I had found. Even outside, away from the bugs. I didn't know her well enough to explain everything. I wished Gale were here. He'd understand that I didn't want that gun named after me. And maybe he could explain Beetee's note on his sketches.

We went back to our room. I dug the small sack with the cameras and microphones in it out of the bottom of my bag. I bit my lip and looked at Julina. "I, um . . . need to go . . . out."

"Out?"

She looked at me. I had a feeling that tonight she was beginning to lose her wide-eyed Capitol innocence. She knew I was up to something.

"You shouldn't go alone," she said timidly. If I did need a bodyguard, she wouldn't be my first choice.

"I'll be okay." Too bad I didn't have my bow and arrows with me. I did have my knife. Just in case.

As I approached the back of the auditorium I saw a lone figure waiting for me, no guards. Something wasn't right. I ducked back behind a building and watched him for a while, trying to see who it was. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see that it wasn't Doc or Chervil. He was pacing. He turned and the light hit his face. I was almost sure that he was one of the soldiers who had been with them earlier, the married one. I still couldn't remember his name.

But he was in Gale's squad. I came out from behind the building and tried to walk casually, so that if anyone else saw me I wouldn't raise suspicion. When I was even with the back of the building I turned abruptly and went over to him.

"Katniss." He gave me one nod in greeting. There was a pause and he must have realized that I didn't know his name. "I'm Groves. Doc said you had something for him." He held out a hand.

"Where's Doc?" I tried to sound unconcerned, but the more I looked at him the more it was clear that he was agitated. Even in the darkness his eyes seemed red, his hand shook.

"I'm the only one who could get away." His voice was ragged.

I needed to get these things to Doc and Chervil. What other choice did I have? I handed him the map and the bag. "We need to set another meeting. For tomorrow."

He was already turning to leave. He ran his hand roughly over his face. "I don't know. I don't know who can come. I don't know when. We can try 0800, on the way back from breakfast. I think they'll let us have breakfast." He sounded flat, hopeless.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. Someone will be here."

"I'll be here." I watched him as he walked away, one hand clinging to the map and bag, the other pinching his forehead, rubbing both temples at once. I'd been getting better at observing people, but I still had no idea what to do when someone was obviously upset. He seemed to be grieving. I hadn't noticed him acting like this earlier today. What had changed? "Wait," I called to him.

I saw his shoulders move in a sigh. "What?" He sounded sure that I was about to give him bad news.

"Are you okay? What happened?" I didn't even know him. I had no right to pry. Or maybe I did. I was trusting him to help Gale. I needed to know what was going on.

In seconds he was inches away from me, speaking in an angry whisper. "I'll tell you what happened. They've called us all in for questioning. And the questions they are asking – they're not good."

"What do you mean?"

"They're not looking for information. They're looking for someone to parrot what they want us to say. They asked all these questions about Sarge – how violent and uncontrollable was he? Had he ever attacked anyone in the Squad? Why did he hate the president? Weird stuff. Sick stuff. Then, when I gave the wrong answers, that bastard said to me . . . ." He silenced himself and bit his lip.

I put my hand on his shaking arm. "What? What did he say to you?"

He looked at the back of the building. I could see a vein pulsing in his neck. "He said he needed a good witness to come to the Capitol with him. If I was a good witness I could come and bring my family. At first I didn't understand, then he said 'If you bring your family we can get a doctor to fix your baby's heart. Can't be done in District 7.' Then I knew what he meant."

"What did you say?" I felt cold, like ice water pouring down my back.

"I told him . . . things I can't repeat to you. I'm not going to the Capitol."

"Thank you." It sounded horribly small. Could I have done that if it was Prim?

"They're setting him up. They're gonna kill the President and pin it on Sarge."

"Why?"

"I don't know. We have to stop them."

"How?"

"I don't know. Maybe Doc or Chervil or Brighton will know. I don't. I've gotta get back."

"Your baby – what's wrong?" Again I was asking a question I had no right to ask.

"He's gonna die. My little Birch is gonna die and it'll be my fault."

"He needs a heart doctor?"

He nodded bleakly.

"I know a good one. He'd come out to 7. He'll help you."

"Is he from the Capitol?"

I nodded.

"Then I don't want him near my family. They're monsters."

"No. He's not. Some of them are. He was Peeta's doctor and he was good. There was another doctor who wanted to do horrible things, but not Dr. Adrian. Do you have paper? I can give you his number now. I had to call him a lot."

He looked at me and his eyes were shining. "Tell me the number. I'll remember it." He repeated the number to himself as he turned and walked away.

I was a few feet away when he called out "Hey, thank you," then disappeared around the corner.

Later, as I lay in bed I tried to make sense of it all. But I couldn't get past the terror that it had never ended. The Games went on and there was nothing I could do to stop them.

I wondered where Gale was. Was he hurt? Thirsty? Alone? Had Johanna found him down there? As well as I knew Gale I'd never spent a night in his arms. Then Johanna's words about the noose came back to me. In my gut I knew she was telling the truth and I hated her for it. Because she was there when I wasn't, because she knew a part of him that I didn't, because I would never stop owing her for saving him. The thought of a noose in Gale's hands stole the air from my lungs. And he never told me. He would've been gone forever.

But I had been with Peeta. I couldn't regret that. My stomach lurched as I wondered if I was being punished, if Gale was being punished too, because I was a horrible widow, not even out of mourning and falling into his arms. Part of my brain said "no" – who would be punishing me anyway? But part of me knew this was all my fault. I could picture Peeta's frown if he could hear me thinking like this. He hated it when I let my thoughts spiral into weirdness. He would pull until I told him what was wrong, then help me see how silly I was being.

Except that he wasn't here. There was no one here to talk to, no one to bring my crazy mind back to earth.

And I was back to missing Gale. I lay in bed yearning to talk to him about all of this, wishing for his touch, his warmth, clutching the useless communicuff square in my hand.

I slept fitfully, my nightmares full of coal mines, fire, guns, and darkness. I woke before dawn to see Julina sitting at the desk holding something small up to the light.

"Sorry, this was on the floor by your bed. Is it yours?" Julina held the small plastic square out to me.

"Yeah, Beetee says it's shot."

She looked at me, wide-eyed and confused. "Let's go get breakfast," was her only reply.

I showered quickly, hoping that would at least give me the appearance of being well rested. On the way to the mess hall, Julina took my elbow.

"Beetee must not have gotten a good look at the circuitry. I think I might be able to replace the broken wire. Do you want me to give it a try?"

"Absolutely." I was afraid to get my hopes up again, but I pressed the square into her hand.

I didn't eat much breakfast. There was a Panem Circus lying on the table where we sat down. I wanted no part of it, but Julina picked it up. "This is so sweet about your cousin."

"What?" I couldn't think of anything about Gale's predicament that could be called 'sweet.'

"Look." She handed me the paper. The headline screamed: "Mason Goes AWOL to Join Hawthorne Down Deep in the Dark." "I was hoping that they'd get back together. They make such a handsome couple."

I tried to smile and nod, but only managed the nod. I set my fork down and decided to head over to my rendezvous early. I told Julina I had to meet someone and agreed to see her back at the lab. As I walked toward the auditorium, it occurred to me that Julina hadn't asked what the plastic square was. Had she known? Or was she willing to try to fix it whatever it was?

There was no one there. I sat down in the grass and waited.

The worst thing about that headline was that now everyone knew where Johanna was. How had they found out? Johanna was right. It was impossible to be paranoid enough around here.

No one ever came to meet me. At 0830 I gave up and went back to Beetee's lab. Julina was already entering numbers.

"Shall we get back to work? Let's get a few more of these done before we take a coffee break." She suppressed a smile. I could only hope that it had something to do with the communicuff square.

My head was swimming as Julina read numbers off to me. I was anxious for noon, for Johanna's signal, to see if she could get out of the Pit without being seen. I tried to ignore the senseless gnawing in my stomach. I was already jealous of Johanna since she was down in the Nut, being useful, with Gale. And now, maybe she was being more than useful. No, of course not. The Panem Circus was trash. They just made things up. Except they were right about where she was. How did they know that?

"I'm dying for some coffee. How about you?" Julina's eyes were still sparkling.

"Absolutely."

We were almost to the mess hall, back door as always, when Julina grabbed my elbow and steered me in the other direction, behind a warehouse. The weeds were tall and once we sat down we were almost covered by them.

"I think it'll work. I couldn't test it because I don't know any call names. But I did connect it to an old communicuff so you have a keyboard to use."

She was sitting cross-legged, bouncing up and down with excitement.

"So you did know what this was? How?"

She looked quickly around, even though we already knew that we were alone. "We had a neighbor in the Capitol. They always brought me stuff fix since I was good at it. One day he brought me one of these. He wouldn't say what it was for, but I figured that out myself. I wouldn't give it back to him until he showed me how to use it."

"You know how to use this?"

"Sure. Do you know the call name you need?"

"Dove."

She explained to me how to convert the name into spelling alphabet code, and then where to punch in the call name to start. She helped me with the code for my own call name and the terms to use to start the call. My heart was pounding.

"Do you want me to . . . go?" she asked. I frowned at her. She had been so helpful, but I had no idea what, if I got a hold of them at all, Gale or Johanna might say. Better not to have anyone else here.

"I'm sorry. You probably should."

"I'll see you back at the lab." She left, still smiling over her electronic success.

I punched in "Dove," then pressed a small speaker key and said "Delta-Oscar-Victor-Echo. This is Alpha-Romeo-Romeo-Oscar-Whiskey. Radio check. Over."

I hunched as closely to the small device as I could and waited. I could hear the breeze in the grass in the silence.

Then "Alpha-Romeo-Romeo-Oscar-Whiskey. This is Delta-Oscar-Victor-Echo. You are 5 by 8 vocal. What took you so long? Over." It was Johanna. But what made my heart stop was the unexpected sound of Gale's beautiful deep laugh behind her voice.

I caught my breath. I couldn't remember what to say.

"Alpha-Romeo-Romeo-Oscar-Whiskey. Do you copy? Over."

"Yeah . . . uh . . . Affirmative. Are you okay? What's going on? Over."

"Alpha-Romeo-Romeo-Oscar-Whiskey. This is Six. How are you? Over."

It was Gale.

"How am I? How are you?"

"Alpha-Romeo-Romeo-Oscar-Whiskey. This is Six. I'm fine. A bit banged up. Delta-Oscar-Victor-Echo had to splint up my left arm, but I'm fine. I miss you. Over."

"I miss you, too. . . . Over."

"Alpha-Romeo-Romeo-Oscar-Whiskey. This is Delta-Oscar-Victor-Echo. Enough chat. I'm on schedule, but I'm coming out alone. No way Six here can make the climb with one hand. Pay attention. Four and Niner are dead. Niner set the lift charge. Six is the only one out here with me. The rest are blocked in. Oscar-Whiskey-Lima is in with them, with her crew. One's got a broken leg. Eight is fine. Seven's in contact with us. He is I.I. Two, Three, Five and Ten are on L3, should be out soon. Copy? Over."

I had only gotten bits and pieces of that. "What? I don't understand. Say it again." She did and I took notes in the dirt as she talked. I'd just have to get her to explain it when she came up. When she finished I said "I got it. What do you need me to do with it? Over."

"Alpha-Romeo-Romeo-Oscar-Whiskey. This Delta-Oscar-Victor-Echo. Take report to Echo-Alpha-Golf-Lima-Echo. Stat. Over."

"Copy. Over. Wait. I talked to . . ." I checked my notes in the dirt to get the numbers right. "Two, Three, Five and Ten. They're out. They want to help. Can I trust them?"

"Alpha-Romeo-Romeo-Oscar-Whiskey. This is Delta-Oscar-Victor-Echo. Yes. They're good guys. Wait. Over."

The silence went on until I began to wonder if she was coming back.

"Alpha-Romeo-Romeo-Oscar-Whiskey. This is Delta-Oscar-Victor-Echo. Six here says don't trust them. He's not sure of anyone. That's ridiculous; we have to have some help. We both agree Doc is solid. The others, you make the call. Oh, and Six wants you to call his mom. But don't blow our cover. You can't tell her you've talked to him. Copy? Over."

All I could think was 'I've hardly gotten to talk to him,' but I said. "Copy. Over," then the transmission went dead.

I sat back on my heels, breathing as hard as if I'd been running. My head was spinning. He was alive. He was okay, laughing even, missing me. But my chest felt tight. I missed him more than ever. I clutched my arms around myself, but I couldn't stop feeling cold.

I looked at my watch – 10:55. One hour until Johanna's signal. She sounded almost ready to leave. And she said Gale couldn't make the climb. He was hurt, but he sounded so good. Of course, he wanted me to call his mom. What would I tell her if I couldn't say I had talked to him? That would have to wait until after I talked to Brighton, and got the signal from Johanna.

I studied my notes, locking them into my mind. "Owl" was Paylor and she was alive. That was good. "Eagle" was Brighton. I just had to find him now.

I started to leave, then went back and, like a good little spy, erased my dusty notes with my foot.

I went to look for Brighton, but I couldn't find him anywhere. Not in his office, not in the auditorium, not in the mess hall. He must be down at the Nut. As I passed the phone outside the mess hall I realized that I had just had enough time to call Hazelle. It couldn't take long since there wasn't much to tell her. But there was no answer: the phone rang and rang. I gave up and headed to the Nut, wondering if I could do anything right today.

I stopped by my room and grabbed my hooded cloak. The less I was recognized, the better.

I was glad I had it when I reached the chaos outside of the Nut. Outside of the security perimeter there were hundreds of people, press, cameras, lookie-loos. They had roped off a smaller area for families. I wondered if I counted. With a jolt I recognized Hazelle and the kids. They'd come. Old habits died hard. I headed down to talk to them.

Hazelle pulled me into a tight hug as soon as I saw her. I was surprised to feel Rory's arms around both of us. Vick joined too, holding Posy up. I was sure Johanna's warning had been for the phone only so, as we were all clutched together, I whispered "He's okay. I talked to him an hour ago. He hurt his arm, but it's splinted now." Hazelle's tired eyes grew wide. "He wanted me to call you. I tried, but . . . ."

"I'm not home." She started to ask me "How did you . . . ?" but I put my finger to my lips. She didn't understand how dangerous this whole place was.

"I can't tell you. I . . . ," then I saw a figure in gray fatigues with short white hair walking swiftly toward the security entrance: Captain Brighton.

I gave Hazelle another quick hug and said "I'll be back." Perfect. I had just a few minutes before I needed to watch for Johanna's signal. I ran and caught him just before he reached the gate. "Sir!" Once I had his attention I whispered in his ear: "I have a message for you." He pulled me aside, glancing at the guards' shack inside the gate. He must have thought the same thing I thought: it would be bugged. Better to talk out here in the open.

I repeated the message word for word. He made me say it twice. "How long ago?" he asked.

"An hour. Do you understand?"

He nodded. "Can I ask how you got the message?"

I reached into my pocket and flashed the square, still attached to the communicuff, at him. His eyes widened. He looked at me intently. "Could I have that?"

My stomach lurched. It was my connection to Gale. But it would do him more good in Captain Brighton's hands than mine and I trusted Brighton. I passed it into his palm, my own fingers flinching, wishing I could hold onto it.

"Have my secretary call if you want to talk to me," he said. I'd be able to get updates from below that way. "Oh, and there's something for you in my office."

"What?" I shouldn't have asked.

"I can't discuss it here. Just stop by as soon as -"

The ground shook. I almost lost my balance and grabbed Captain Brighton's arm reflexively. His head jerked toward the Nut.

A cloud of smoke? dust? something was rising from the front part of the Nut, the part that collapsed during the avalanche. There was a deep rumbling, crashing sound as bits of broken concrete fell into the hole. A gasp went up from the crowd, some screams intermixed.

Captain Brighton, his face white, rushed to the security gate. I ran back to the Hawthornes, not sure what I could do, but hold on to them and worry.

Then I remembered . . . Johanna. Could all of that have been the distraction she was waiting for? But she was supposed to climb back out of the Nut, through that hole. Was she there when it collapsed? I watched for her signal for the next hour.

But it never came.

Thanks so much for beta'ing this monster chapter, IrishLuck19.

And thanks to all of you for reading it. And double thanks to those who sent reviews:

Solaryllis, GirL0vesDoom, Jenn06807, DreamReaderGirl, MountainAir, Heart the Squid, Katieg343, Analyn Ruse, Howlynn, GaleKatniss, RipredtheGnawer, ellenka (you are too kind), KidsInLovex, Allie (), AlwaysSmile8, iluvdinos, LittleRueFlower, Daydreaming Viking Girl