Chapter Twenty Nine
Peeta
I wish I could tell her. Effie would definitely know what to do. At this moment I just have to keep my mouth shut and smile. People come and shake our hands, some point and others just stare. This of course reminds me of that 'party' we had in President's Snow house. Filled with guards that at a moment's notice by the President could have very well finish our lives, we survived that one. This time around, the President doesn't want us dead, in fact he doesn't even know who we are.
The President was elected for the first time through one of the Career Districts. It was a move that people had become a little bit nervous on. Many people talking about the move to go back to the old government, the old mentality, however after two years into his term, President Novius, had done more to expand the use of alternative energy, to help keep people working. He was a younger gentleman, much younger than his previous successors but none younger than Paylor. Paylor to date was the youngest President and is still alive and kicking although not part of any political event such as this one. There has been five presidents since, or at least I think there have been five. We honestly didn't follow any of the politics of Panem, we just retreated into what people considered obscurity. This is actually one of the first parties that we have been to since the old Capitol government. I guess that is why there are so many cameras.
Something bothers me about all this. It isn't the fact that we have poison filled bracelets on. It isn't the fact that at any moment for whatever reason, this lunatic can press a button and we all die. The fact is, that we still don't know the plan. If Katniss is to actually execute the President, wouldn't they give her a weapon to do it? Something doesn't feel right and now that we are finally here, I have to figure out what to do.
Katniss comes back from talking to Effie, and while she looks a little confused she immediately grabs my hand. I feel something in it. It feels like a note. It is dangerous enough that I had to remember how to tap out code, but notes are even more dangerous. I hear music, and remember that the only time where we were able to talk without being spied on was on the dance floor.
"Would you like to dance?" I ask, lowering my hand to kiss hers. It is then that I catch something, a whiff of pinecones? When were we in anywhere near pinecones? I lower her hand and as we walk towards the dance floor, I don't see Booth anywhere, at least in front of me. The music starts to play something slow and there are cameras everywhere, following us onto the dance floor. It is then that I realize that Booth doesn't need to keep an eye on us, he has the camera people to do that for him. I can see our broadcast on the big screens behind us.
She lets me keep the paper as our hands separate. The paper on her waist, I lean in to whisper.
"What is it?" I say.
"Effie," she says. "First saying, minus seven, are always a gift?"
I think about it, and it makes absolutely no sense. What the hell does it mean, or is it meant to mean anything at all.
"What?" I say.
"I don't know," she says. "It makes no sense, the only thing that I can think of is the last part...always a gift. it was something that Gale told me once. That children...are always a gift."
"Do you think he is here?" I ask.
"Could be," she says.
"It smelled like pine cones," I say remembering her scent that was holding the paper.
"Pine cones?" she says. "Are you sure?" Because if you smell pine cones, the seven, then it is Gale, and if he is telling me about the children. Could it be that he has seen the children and that they are safe?"
"It has to be," I say smiling. "We have to let them know who is the enemy is. Probably they can take him out or at least arrest him, before you have to do whatever he wants you to do. All that matters is that we stop him."
There are no smiles from her. I lean in and kiss her lightly on the forehead as the song finally ends. I tell her that it will be okay and that we will make it through okay, but I know that at the end if all else fails, that I would to make the decision.
There are reporters that are waiting for us right outside the dance floor. They have been rope off from the rest of the people who are enjoying the eating and the drinking. Each one of them calling our names, calling us over to them. I pull on her to the area of the reporters, and she stops short pulling on my hand. I know her stance on the reporters and how she had always hated giving interviews.
"Come on," I say smiling. "It will be okay."
As we walk over to the reporters one stop us.
"Katniss, Peeta, thank you so much coming over to speak with us," the reporter says. "How are you enjoying the time in the Capitol?"
"We always enjoy coming back to the Capitol, to see how some things change and how others stay the same," I say. "Look at this party, the Capitol always knew how to throw a party, and well...between you and me,...I still don't have the hang of the showers here."
The reporters start to laugh and I have to make sure that one question is asked. Just like the interviews with Caesar Flickerman, we have to get them to go to where I want them to go.
"Katniss," another reporter yells out. She lifts up her head and smiles. "This is the first time in a long time that we have seen you and Peeta at one of our Capitol events. Are you a Novius fan?"
She looks at me and I squeeze her hand in reassurance. I know how much she hates this, the games of the Capitol always were a bitter taste.
"I support..." she starts to say before stopping. "I support, change, life after the Games, life after the War. I support living in the future and not dwelling in the past. I support people who do that."
Leave it to Katniss to always say something that could easily start another rebellion. Delly asked me once if I had wish that Katniss would be a little bit less, you know...Katniss, and of course I couldn't take less of her, because I love all of her.
I hear someone coming behind us and then there is a hand on my shoulder and as I turn around I see the man who has brought us here, that has been the one hiding in the shadows. His other hand grabs Katniss by the shoulder.
"Sounds like the Mockingjay is eying a place in politics," Booth says. "With a speech like this...a run for the big seat in two years? I mean, who wouldn't vote for you if you did ever decide...I mean...wouldn't you?"
Of course the reporters all agreed. It was one of the things that President Coin feared, that Katniss's popularity would always be there, that the people would always rally behind her. Even now, after all these years in hiding, I know that if we weren't here because of some sick person, that she could have easily become some high level official. Heck I bet she could easily win an election.
"Senator Booth," a reporter yells out. Senator? It is then that I realize the signs. The house outside the District, like the one that President Paylor had, the ability to get us into the event without the need of being scanned through security. This isn't an assassination, it is a coup.
"Senator," reporter says. "Are you the reason why we are seeing the Star Crossed lovers here in our Capitol?"
It is the chance that I have been waiting for. To get it on tape, to get Gale if he is watching to see this. So that they know who it is, that is holding us here.
I put my hand around his shoulder and smile.
"You got it," I say. "The good Senator is the real reason we are here today. He is the one, the one with all the gifts."
He smiles at me and I know that he wasn't expecting this. This is how we insure that if anything were to happen, that we take him down with us. He lifts up his hand and tells everyone that he has to take us now to meet up with the guest of honor, but that we will be back. Somehow from here, I doubt it. It feels as if someone is not coming back from this, and if I have a choice in the matter I know who is.
As we walk towards the crowd, he leans into my ear.
"You think you are so smart," he says. "But you forget, I am always one step ahead of you."
"Just tell us how," Katniss says. "How do you want me to do it. Just tell me."
"It is a surprise," he says.
Lillian
We don't walk, but we run towards the event. There is no time to get through security. Going dark, doesn't give us the ability to stop and explain. As soon as we saw the trigger, Gale knew something that no one else did. The words that my father said on the television was something that causes Gale to go into a panic.
"Gale," Johanna yells out to him to stop, but he doesn't. I can barely keep up, especially with the pain on my thigh. Stopping at the nearby corner, my hand reaches for the street lamp post. The pain is much that I can't walk or even think about running. I see Thomas in a distance almost catching up with Gale. He was always the fastest sprinter, not the quietest though.
I slip off my backpack and grab the needle from the case. Unzipping the case I see the small needle with a clear fluid. If there was ever a time to use, now it would be. I jam it into my thigh and as the cold liquid coarse through my body, I stand up and start to try and jog. It takes a couple of seconds before I start to feel my heart beat begin to quicken. The pain slowly disappears and as I run, I start to push myself harder and harder to catch up. The lights of the nearby event does tell where they are going, and as I reach the entryway I see a commotion at the front security check point.
"Hey Fledgling," I hear someone behind me. Johanna Mason is right behind me Turning around I see Johanna waving at me from a side entryway. I run towards her and she ushers me inside. The room is dark and as we struggle to find a source of light, I feel her hand on my shoulder. "Stop…moving…let your eyes adjust. Moving around…like a duck caught in a trap."
I am guessing the adrenaline shot keeps you all jittery, but once I close my eyes, I can feel my heart beat begin to steady itself. I start to see the boxes and the shelves in a room. It seems that we are in a storage facility and right in front of me is another box. My eyes finally adjust to the darkness and I could make out where Johanna is. She is crouched looking for something in her backpack.
She hands me an earpiece. As I put it into my ear, I hear Gale on the other side.
"Team one in entry point," Johanna responds.
"Team two in entry point," Gale responds.
The military talk always get me frustrated. I don't know what the hell is going on, what the plan is, or what we are doing. "What the hell is going on," I say over the COMs a little bit too loudly.
Johanna grabs me and pins me against the wall with her elbow in my throat and her hand on my mouth. As I struggle to get free she just leans in a little bit more and I can feel the ability to breathe is becoming harder and harder.
"Two choices," she says quietly, as she removes the ear piece. "I could just lean a little bit more, and cut off your air which of course would cause you to pass out, and I continue with the plan. Or two, you can learn to keep your mouth shut and I will explain to you what is going on. So blink twice if you understand, or once if you want me to live you here."
I struggle to get air, but as I blink once, I blink again to let her know that I understand. She lets me down and all I can do is cough, trying to more and more air, but failing to do so.
"Okay," she says. "Listen and listen very carefully. Your mother and father are being held by someone who develops new type of explosives. The thought is that there is a bomb here. He is going to blow everyone up, so we have to find him, okay?"
A bomb? The situation just became more serious that what we thought.
"Who is it," I say hoarsely.
"Gale is going to get him, and see if we can't get the location," she says. "Once it is diffused then we can get your folks."
"Why not just tell security," I say. "More people looking."
"And create a panic?" She says. "If he finds out that we are onto him, then he might just blow it all up and I want to make sure that I survive this little adventure, if that is okay with you."
She puts in her earpiece again.
"Moving to secondary point," she says. "Will confirm target, standby. Going silent."
"Confirm," Gale says.
She moves over to a vent and with a knife she removes it and places the vent next to it. She points up and I nod. As she wiggles her body into the vent I wait trying to think of what is going to happen. I follow her up the vents, weaving left, right, and forward until finally we reach another vent, trying my hardest to keep quiet, to steady my breathing. I hear a click, and recognize the loading of a gun clip. I can hear music and people talking when I finally emerge on the other side. Johanna moves onto a metal catwalk silently, I don't even hear the footsteps as she walks.
I see her walk with purpose until she stops and removing a pair of binoculars she looks down at the crowd.
"Confirmed trigger," Johanna says. "Also confirmed primary assets near the stage."
"Going in for extraction," he says. "Secondary nest has been established. Mike will be open in need of guidance."
"Confirmed," she replies. "Moving to line of sight, primary nest established in couple of seconds."
I look down and for the first time in a couple of days, I see her. She looks so beautiful with her golden dress. I want to scream out and run to her, grab Papa and hold him again. They are so close and yet I cannot do anything.
We move to another location and then Johanna slips out a gun that constructs into some sort of rifle. As she screws everything into place, she looks at me and immediately I know that the nest is a sniper nest. If Gale is down in the crowd then that means that Thomas is in the second nest. I look around and cannot find him anywhere.
"Continue walking," she says. "You should see them coming to your right."
Katniss
I could see the guards, I could see the President coming into view. Booth continues to walk with us and then as we are about to reach them, another Senator stops Booth to talk. They talk a little bit about conditions in the districts.
"As much as I would love to continue this conversation," Booth says. "We have a previous engagement."
Just then I feel someone come up behind me.
"Hey Catnip," I hear a familiar voice says.
I turn around and see Gale standing there. He smiles and as I look back I see Peeta's expression change. He starts to look around until Gale nods a quick no.
"Senator Booth," Gale says interrupting.
The Senator turns around.
"Can I steal away Katniss for just a second," he says.
"Mr. Hawthrone," he says. "What an interesting development having you here, especially so soon since you most recent change of events."
"Yes," he replies. "That is what I would like to mention to her. May I?"
I turn around and smile.
"The price you pay for taking me out on the town," I say towards Booth who has no choice but to let me go.
"Please hurry back," Booth says. "We will be waiting here."
I look back and see Booth's hand on Peeta's shoulder. He is still there and I am moving away from him. Although I am glad to see Gale, my first question is the one thing that I had been thinking of all this time.
"Are they okay?" I ask.
"They are fine," he says.
"Gale," I say. "I have to. Touching my bracelet. It is the nightlock all over again."
He looks down to my bracelet and nods. I had to tell him that I am held prisoner by this bracelet.
"You remember that time we went into the woods to hunt, I'd always went with the center quiver, but you of course being the rebel that you were, would always go with the left quiver," he says. Something about what he says that doesn't make sense. The rebels and the separation of arrows. The center quiver and left quiver, the only time we had arrows that were divided was when Beetee gave us the fire which was the right and the…
The realization comes as Gale smiles and grabs my bracelet.
"Why this does have the same shine to the left arrows that we had that day," he says. "Don't you think so, right? I mean why else would the Game run from a golden arrows."
The bracelet is an bomb, and we have to run to get away from it.
"It was a gift," I say trying to keep my voice steady. "Both Peeta and me have them."
His hand goes up to move a hair that has made its way to my eyes. As he moves it back behind my ear, he slowly cups it and I can feel something go into my ear, as he kisses my cheek.
"It was seeing you again," he says. "Please say hi to the children for me."
As he walks away I can still feel something in my ear. Coming up to my hair I touch my ear and find that it is a communicator.
"Hello?" I say.
"Catnip," Gale says. "You are on COMs."
"Mama?" I hear Lilly's voice. There a rush of emotions that I cannot explain or separate, fear, elation, love, but I think the a overwhelming sense of relief is the one that over powers them all.
"My beautiful baby," I say. "Are you and your brother okay?"
"We are," I hear Thomas say.
"Hey brainless," I hear another voice says. "Seems like you are always getting into trouble."
The smile disappears, and a slick happiness washes over me.
"Seems like," I say.
"Catnip we have you on scope, try to limit your conversation," I hear Gale interrupt. "Can you remove the device?"
I nod no. There is a long pause and there in the silence I feel Peeta's hand interlope with mines. I smile at him and kiss him on his hand. A tear begins to threaten my eyes. I struggle to keep it in, but know that it is a losing battle. His hand catches my tear.
"Johanna," I hear Gale over the COMs. "Time for that distraction. All teams ready for primary trigger to be neutralized."
"Deadman," I whisper into Peeta's ear. He turns to me confused. I need to get close enough to hide what I was going to say. If they kill him, we all die.
"Confirmed," Gale says. "Deadman switch on primary trigger. Wait until I am in position."
"Ten seconds," Johanna says. "Everyone hold onto their butts."
I begin to count down from ten.
Nine…eight…seven…six…
My heart beats slows down waiting for one.
Five…four…three…two…
"In position," I hear Gale say and then all chaos.
I feel for Peeta's arm, and once I have it in my hand, I toss him to the ground falling on top of him. People are screaming and I can hear every one trying to scramble. On the ground I see the chandelier fall and crash onto the stage. Quickly looking back to where Booth was, I already see him on the ground with Gale on his back.
"Katniss," Peeta yells. I turn around and see a couple of Booth's guards coming at us with guns.
One shot, two shot, and both of the guards fall on the ground.
"Might want to move, Mockingjay," Johanna says over the radio. "Have a couple more coming and I could only so many of them."
I pick him up, and as I am trying to get him to move. The bullet start flying so I motion to Peeta to stay low. I can hear Booth screaming out from the ground.
"No you don't," he says. "You do not get a happily ever after. Not again."
There is a gun fire and I see Booth drop to the ground yelling something. Peeta sees that and immediately reaches for the knife, fearing that Booth is dead and that soon we will be as well. He grabs my hand and jams it on the lock.
"Come on," he says. "Come ON!"
It is then the bullet wiz by and I grab him taking him down onto the ground. As my hand hits the ground I hear a small click. The bracelet slides off but starts to beep. His eyes widen as well as mine. I can feel my heart begin to race.
"Peeta, get yours off," I yell at him. He looks at me and starts to work it by hitting it on the ground.
"Go," he yells at me. "Get out of here!"
I look around I just grab the nearby gun, turn and take down two more guards that were coming. Turning back to Peeta, he still trying to get the bracelet off.
"I am not going anywhere," I say. "And you are not leaving me."
The beeping from the bracelet gets louder and louder, faster and faster. I take the butt of the gun and strike the bracelet harder and harder until finally it cracks. He slips the bracelet off, which starts to beep just as fast as the other one. It begins to flatline and Peeta without thinking tosses it towards the open space far away from us.
The last thing that I remember is his arms as he covers me when the explosion hits and we are tossed into the air.
