Chapter Twenty Five

Torsti and Lumina helped Annie back to their house. She clenched her teeth in pain as they lowered her down to sit on her bedding and she lay herself back slowly. Closing her eyes, Annie listened as Maverick came in.

"Jarek and Inciness are in the house three down." The boy's voice said, "… what happened to her?"

"Aidan." Lumia replied softly.

"He dead?"

"Yep." Torsti answered flatly.

"Is she going to die?"

"That's not the plan." Annie muttered, opening her eyes to look at him. He just looked back down at her and Annie had the distinct impression he was trying to work out just how many seconds she had left of life. She forced herself into a sitting position. He didn't need to know just how awful she felt; he may pull a Jarek and see her as prey. Well, he already saw her as prey… but he didn't need to see her as immediate prey if she could help it. "So…" she said through clenched teeth, "Jarek and Inciness three houses down…"

"Yep." Maverick dropped down to the floor, his back against the wall. "What are we gonna do about them?"

"I don't know." Lumina murmured.

"….Mmmm, we set a trap." Torsti said, sinking down onto his own bedding. "Draw them in…and then we fight."

"Oh, yay." Annie breathed, stretching her legs out. She ran her fingers slowly through her hair, looking around. "… where will we set this trap then?"

"By the path up to the water?" Torsti shrugged. "They'll run out soon."

"Maybe they'll come to steal what we have instead…" Maverick said.

"That'd make no difference, would it?" Torsti answered, "They'd still be coming to us."

"I guess so."

Finnick ran his hands through his hair. He needed to do something. Annie was out of money. If she needed anything now, he wouldn't be able to get it for her. She needed more funds. He had to get her more. It had to be now. The time for her to run from the others was swiftly approaching and when she did she would need money.

There was nobody downstairs who would sponsor her. He knew that. He'd been down there multiple times. He'd have to look elsewhere. Chewing his lip, he thought. There were always his clients… They would welcome a call from him. If he could persuade some of them to sponsor Annie… then she may be okay. Finnick sighed, considering it. He figured he knew which ones he would be able to get some money out of, but it would mean leaving the Mentoring Station. He wouldn't be able to watch Annie while he was gone. What if she needed help while he wasn't there? He shook his head; he wouldn't be able to help her at all if he didn't get her some more money.

"Mags…" he murmured, not taking his eyes off Annie's screen. "I… I'm going to get her some money…" He felt the woman's eyes on him and after a moment he turned to look at her. The look in her eyes told him that she knew exactly what he had in mind. After a moments silence, she nodded once and looked back to Torsti's screen without a word. Finnick let out a relieved breath. She wouldn't try and talk him out of it. "Watch her for me?"

"Of course."

As Finnick got to his feet, Mags raised a hand to gently brush his arm. He bent and pressed a kiss to her hair before he strode for the door. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could return to help Annie.

He stopped quickly by his room to collect his little book full of his clients and their contact details before he headed downstairs to get a car. As he rested back against the seat, he flipped through the pages. Should he go for a client he hadn't seen in a while, or perhaps a more recent one? He thought of Claudia. She was very smitten with him, and would no doubt be all too excited to hear from him again after only a few days. He could probably use that to get her to do just about anything. Closing his eyes, he snapped the book shut and nodded slowly. He would begin with Claudia. Opening his eyes again, he leaned forward and gave the driver the address he wanted.

When he arrived, Finnick headed into the building and to the phone in the lobby. He then called the desk and asked to be put though to Claudia. It only took her a few moments to answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Claudia… is that you?" he tried to keep his voice low.

"Yes…?"

"Ah, excellent." He purred, "It's Finnick…"

"Finnick!" She gasped, and he could hear her delight, "Finnick…"

"Yes… I… had the afternoon free and… well… I wondered if perhaps you were also free…" He listened to her giggling before she answered.

"I am… Were you thinking of perhaps visiting again?"

"Mm…" Finnick forced himself to swallow, "Yes… Yes, I would like that."

"Well, you can come over whenever you like…"

"I'm downstairs right now." He answered "I'll be right up."

"Oh, lovely." She giggled again "I'll prepare myself…"

"Brilliant."

Finnick hung up the phone and strode for the elevator. He closed his eyes as he was lifted toward Claudia's floor. He knew what he would likely have to do to get what he had come for. The question was, could he do it? Snow wasn't forcing him to be here this time. Snow probably didn't even know he was here… He wouldn't be punished if he just left now…

Annie.

He was here for Annie. Could he do it? Let this woman touch him to help Annie? As the elevator came to a stop, Finnick opened his eyes, his decision made. Yes, he could. He would.

He stepped out of the elevator and looked around. Claudia wasn't anywhere to be seen. He moved toward the window and looked out at the spectacular view of the city. How many of the residents were glued to a screen right now? What had happened in the arena since he'd left the Mentoring Station? Was Annie even still alive? What if something had happened to her while he was in the car or even downstairs on the phone? What if something was happening to her right now?

There had to be a television in here… He turned to look for one.

"Finnick!"

He jumped at the sound of his name, and looked back around to see Claudia walk slowly into the room. "Claudia…"

"I'm so glad you wanted to come back to me! I'm sure you have lots of people you could have chosen… I must have made quite the impression on you for you to come back so soon! I'm so glad!"

Finnick just nodded, unable to help his eyes flicking around the room. "Do you have a television?"

Claudia tilted her head, looking at him. "Of course…"

"Do you think that we could check the Games?"

"Oh, sure…" Claudia nodded and moved to the other side of the room where she fiddled with something on the mantelpiece for a moment. Finnick watched as a large panel on the wall slid back to reveal a screen that was very nearly the size of the wall itself. He moved closer as the arena appeared on the screen. "I thought Annie was going to die when she got stabbed by that guy…" Claudia told him as she moved to stand by him.

Finnick just nodded, watching as Lumina handed Annie a water bottle. Annie took it with a murmured thanks and took a sip, her eyes unfocused and directed at the window nearby. Finnick knew then that she was wondering if it was time that she left the group. He could almost see her working her way through a list of who was left and where she could possibly go. She knew the time was coming and that it would be soon.

"You know…" Claudia said, her hand moving slowly across Finnick's back, "Even though she is your tribute, I really didn't think she would still be alive this long. I mean, her training score was surprising and all but I still don't really know how she got that… I'm sure you had something to do with it, but maybe she has something we haven't seen yet… That would make things rather interesting… But I still don't think she will win…"

"I think she will."

"Oh? Really?"

Finnick nodded, his eyes on Annie as Claudia's hand continued to move over his back, her nails scratching lightly through his shirt. He clenched his teeth, his eyes not moving from Annie. Her skin was still disturbingly pale and her hand moved absently over the bandage where she'd been cut. He had to do this for her.

Claudia's hands moved up under his shirt and Finnick tore his eyes away from Annie to turn and look at her. "You can turn it off, now…"

"Oh?" Claudia smirked up at him, "You don't want to watch while we…"

"-No." he said simply. No, he certainly did not.

Claudia shrugged and moved to turn the screen off. Finnick caught one last look at Annie, her face scrunched in pain, before the screen went dark and he turned quickly toward the window. "Claudia…" He said, clearing his throat "I will… require payment…"

"Oh, I know that." She said absently. He didn't turn to look at her until she added, "I'll be right back."

Finnick scrubbed his hands over his face and up into his hair. There was no going back now. Claudia wanted him and he was going to give her what she wanted, so that she would give him what he wanted. For Annie.

"Which account do you want this to go into…?" Claudia asked, coming back into the room with her purse. "My father did it last time, so I don't know…"

Finnick took a slip of paper out of his pocket and looked at it for a moment. It was the number for Annie's sponsoring kitty. He handed it to Claudia.

"Okay… And the price?" She asked. He gave her his usual price and then watched as she nodded and placed the paper on the table before setting her purse atop it. "I'll transfer the money when we're done." She told him, turning her eyes on him.

"Okay." He answered, his fingers fumbling for the buttons on his shirt. Claudia smiled coquettishly at him and strutted forward, running her hand up his bare chest when he'd gotten the shirt open. He looked down at her when she reached down and undid his pants.

"Do I need to put the wig on again?" she asked.

"No." Finnick answered simply, before he lifted her off the ground, allowing her to wrap her legs tightly around his waist as he pressed her into the nearby glass, bunching her dress up around her hips. As before, she wasn't wearing any underwear and Finnick was easily able to position himself to best suit his purpose. "I know you're not Annie." He grunted with a hard thrust into her. Claudia moaned loudly, tilting her head back to rest against the glass as her hands clutched at his shoulders. Finnick's own hands tightened on her hips, holding her in place while pressing her more firmly into the glass as he thrust again with more force. He had a brief moment of hesitation when he considered that he hadn't spent any time in preparing her or warming her up for what was to come but the moment didn't last long when Claudia's nails raked down his back as she urged him on.

Claudia cried out with each movement as Finnick thrust into her repeatedly, his hands bruising her hips as he both forced her into the glass and pulled her down to meet each one of his thrusts. Her hands found their way into his hair where they pulled and tugged wantonly in unison with her loud cries. He closed his eyes, trying to distance himself from the situation as he roughly fucked the girl who wasn't Annie.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the massive delay. Busy, busy.

I hope anyone still reading this isn't disappointed.