Fair Warning: You guessed it, there's sex in this chapter. Enjoy. Or don't. Your choice.
"Operation is a go. You have the green light."
We're in Command, watching the carefully planned raid on The Nut unfold on a myriad of screens. We have overhead coverage from drones, both thermal and high-definition video. We're tapped into the team's communications, and we're able to directly talk to them if needed. They also are wearing new cameras that Beetee designed on their helmets. They're virtually invisible and look like an integral part of the helmet.
It's tense in the room, to say the least. It's late at night, almost two in the morning. We decided to attack in the dead of night for a few reasons. The most obvious, of course, is the lack of light. There's less security as well, and right around now is when fatigue kicks in on the graveyard shift.
There are only a few people here directing the operation. Me, Peeta, Haymitch, Finnick, Annie, Beetee, Johanna and General Quentin are all seated one on side of a long table, the screens opposite us.
We watch in silence as the team approaches using the rear access route we discovered. So far they've gone undetected, which bodes well. We theorized that the most dangerous part is now, when they're still outside. Once they're in, their uniforms, which are authentic ones we took off of captured soldiers, should help blend them in well enough to evade suspicion.
"At the first door," Lieutenant Manning softly informs us. "Jackson, you're up."
Jackson is the team's technology expert. According to Beetee, he's one of the best we have in the field. He and Beetee spent all week designing a device that will circumvent The Nut's security systems, allowing the team to slip inside without setting off any alarms.
He steps up to the door, and we watch on his helmet cam as he attaches the device to the keypad. He taps a few quick buttons and the light goes green, the door clicking open.
"We're in," he whispers.
He backs up and lets Sergeant Smithson, the team's 'door-crasher', enter first. There's one guard posted inside the door, and luckily he has his back turned. Smithson draws his knife and I look away momentarily as he covers the guard's mouth with his hand and silently slits his throat. Smithson scans with his rifle, motions the all-clear sign, and the rest of the team enter, the last man covering the rear. Smithson and Jackson drag the now dead guard into a closet and stuff him in. By the time someone finds him, The Nut will either be ours or destroyed. He's not scheduled to be relieved until 0800.
Now we're restricted to helmet cams if we want to watch the team. The drone is still circling high above, keeping over-watch, but can't see inside The Nut. It's steel reinforcements are too thick to penetrate visually.
They methodically begin moving through the hallways, now acting like they belong. They pass an occasional few soldiers who don't even give them a second glance. Manning and Smithson lead, and chat casually like they're good friends (which I'm sure they really are).
Manning directs the team to the lower levels towards where we believe the ventilation system's controls are based. If they can, and it's looking more and more like they will be able to, they'll gas the entire compound and take it over peacefully.
After ten minutes, they find what they're looking for. Manning leaves two of his men to guard the door as they enter the room. Removing the cans of gas we've provided them with, they first all put on their gas masks, including the two in the hallway. The only part of the compound they're not going to subdue with gas is where the civilians are. At night, there are only three guards at the entrance to that area, so we've directed them to take out those guards after gaining control of the military installation.
They pop the cans open and toss them into the pipes, the natural flow of the system doing the job of carrying the gas throughout the complex.
"Five minutes until the effects take complete control," Manning announces. "Mark."
All the men synchronize their watches and wait patiently.
After five minutes, they leave the control room and head towards the command center. When they pass the first few bodies in the hallway, they check to make sure the people are still alive and have pulses, which they do. They make sure to confiscate any weapons they find, and tie everyone up with hog-ties and flex-cuffs.
They make it to the command center and don't let down their guard for a second. We don't yet have control of the surveillance system, so we don't know if the people inside have succumbed to the gas like everyone else.
Not fooling around, Smithson kicks the door in with his boot and they clear the room with precision.
I let out a breathe of relief when it becomes obvious that nobody is conscious except our team. They once again confiscate weapons and tie everyone up.
As soon as we tap into the surveillance system and have complete control, I give the go-ahead for the reinforcements to head to The Nut. Once they arrive and take control, we'll have delivered a crippling blow to Snow's war effort. I wish I could see the look on his face when he finds out. Maybe Beetee can help with that, I chuckle to myself.
The reinforcements arrive as planned, twenty tense minutes after I gave the order. The commander, a Colonel, meets up with Manning in the command center and relives him.
"Lieutenant, move to the civilian complex," I order over the radio.
"Yes ma'am," he radios back, and quickly relays the order to his men.
"And Lieutenant? Good job," I add.
I watch the feed from Smithson's camera, which is focused on Manning, and see the look of pride on his face when I commend him.
"Thank you General," he crisply replies. "Move out," he orders his team.
It takes them a little while to make it to the civilian complex, given the sheer size of The Nut.
Finally they're literally around the corner from the door. As we predicted, there are three guards outside the door. Jackson uses a snake-cam to peek around the corner. One of the guards is seated behind a bank of monitors, and two are on either side of the door, all three armed with rifles and pistols.
He uses hand signals to tell Manning what he sees. Manning nods, thinks for a split-second, then relays his plan to the team using hand signals.
Smithson, Manning, and a Corporal named Reardon ready their silenced pistols. Manning uses his fingers to count down from three to one.
At one, the three of them step out from behind the corner, quickly take aim, and fire. The guards never had a chance. All three are dead instantly with shots between the eyes. Our soldiers step up and double-tap each of them in the chest just to be sure.
Now comes the part that had me nervous. We have no idea where the civilians' loyalties lie. They have taken refuge at a military installation of the Capitol, but that doesn't mean they support them. It most likely seemed the safest place to be during the war.
Either way, we're almost positive that none of the civilians are armed. That would be too dangerous, and the Capitol would have relieved them of any arms when they arrived. Hopefully.
We give the go-ahead for them to enter. Manning opens the door and a hallway is revealed. At the end is another huge set of double-doors. When those swing open, we gasp.
There must be at least 5,000 civilians all packed into one huge cavernous room. It looks like it used to be some kind of airplane hanger, but now it's lined from end to end with cots, dotted with portable toilets and showers and tables with food. Most of the lights are out, as most everyone is asleep.
"Now what?" Haymitch asks everyone.
"I have an idea," I throw out. Everyone turns to me, and we open the link to the team so they can hear as well. "Why don't we wake them up and inform them what's going on? We should assure them that none of them are in any trouble and they're welcome to stay there or come to 13 if they want. Or go home if that's possible."
"Should we really wake them in the middle of the night? Why don't we wait until morning?" Peeta suggests.
"I know I wouldn't want to be woken up abruptly like that for any reason," Johanna informs.
"Let's wait until morning," Haymitch makes the decision. "I'll address them over the PA. Actually, Beetee, can you set up some kind of video link so they can see me?"
"Of course," Beetee nods and immediately starts typing on his laptop furiously, talking to Jackson over the radio.
"Lieutenant Manning, I'm going to have the Colonel send a team over to take over guarding the civilians," I radio. "You and your team have done a spectacular job. Congratulations. You've just successfully infiltrated one of the most impregnable installations in Panem, incapacitated the entirety of the military stationed there, and did it all without a single casualty to our men. Well done."
"Thank you General," he answers firmly.
"As soon as you're relieved you are to board a hovercraft and return to 13," I continue. "When you arrive, you'll be debriefed and then I'm ordering you and your team to take a week off. Spend it with your families and friends. That's an order."
"Yes ma'am!" The whole team replies happily.
Five Hours Later
Peeta and I only got a couple hours of sleep. The combination of the stress of running the mission, the long hours we've been up, and taking care of the twins has drained us. We have one more thing to do before we can really head back and collapse to sleep for two weeks straight. Prim is taking care of the kids, as she could tell how exhausted we are.
We're now back in Command. The sleeping gas has worn off, and as the Capitol's soldiers began waking up, they realized they'd been defeated. A few tried to resist, but they were tied up so all it amounted to was some vulgar yelling and struggling.
Our Colonel, who's in charge on the ground, has gathered all the high-ranking Capitol officers and seated them in a line in the command center. Beetee has linked us in via videoconferencing. Haymitch is in another room addressing the civilians. It's Peeta's and my job to talk to the military officers.
"Good morning," I greet them. Some of them are staring back at me, some have their heads down. "I'm sure it was quite a shock waking up and finding you are now prisoners of war. If you're uncomfortable in any way I apologize, but I'm sure you realize why you're being restrained. Now, which one of you is the commanding officer?"
"I am," an older man responds. He's right in the middle of the line. "General Thad Wreston."
"Hello General," I nod. "It's nice to meet you. I assume you know who I am?"
"You're that traitorous bitch Katniss Everdeen."
"My name is General Katniss Mellark," I reply calmly. I have no need of anger right now. We're in complete control of the situation. "You may address me as General Mellark."
"When Snow finds out what you've done you're all dead," he warns. "You can't escape the Capitol."
I actually laugh out loud, and Peeta looks at me quizzically.
"He's already tried to kill me," I shrug, "multiple times. First he threw me in the Arena, but my husband and I survived. Then he tried to assassinate both of us at various times, including attempting to capture our friends to draw us out, but failed each time. So you'll excuse me if I don't shake in my boots."
"You think you're tough, huh? Little girl playing war? Let me out of these cuffs and I'll show you what war really is," he threatens.
I roll my eyes.
"You have a lot of bravado," I tell him. "That's commendable in your current situation. Unfortunately, as you are now a prisoner, you're going to have to get used to wearing cuffs. Since you are a military officer, we will convene a Tribunal to debate your crimes."
"I'll be back on the front lines in a week," he predicts. "The Capitol won't stand for this. We'll take The Nut back, of that you can be sure."
"Really?" I reply sarcastically. "Tell me General, where is the bulk of the Capitol's elite forces currently stationed?"
"The Nut," he answers.
"Oh," I feign, "I guess it's a good thing that we captured every single soldier stationed there, huh baby?" I turn to Peeta. He chuckles. "General Mellark, please inform General Wreston of the most recent developments involving his men."
"Yes General," Peeta smirks. "General Wreston, so far, five hundred and sixty-six of your men have willingly defected to our side, and it's only been roughly five hours since we captured them. More are joining our ranks by the minute. You see, if given the choice, the common soldier knows that we're the ones who are fighting for the right cause. We're the ones trying to bring freedom back to Panem, to give the power back to the people."
That leaves Wreston virtually speechless. He opens his mouth, no doubt to spew some snarky comeback, but nothing emits.
"Very well," I sigh. "General, you and your staff will be remanded back to District 13 to face charges. Colonel, please make sure these men make their flight."
"Yes ma'am!"
After a few more minutes of administrative procedures, we're finally finished. Peeta and I both exhale when the screen shuts off. It's been a hell of a long week, especially the last twenty-four hours.
"Are you okay?" Peeta gently asks, concerned.
I nod and he looks he doesn't believe it for a second. He just opens his arms and I fall into them, burying my face in his chest. I'm just spent, physically and emotionally.
"We did good," he whispers, kissing the top of my head.
"I know," I mumble against his uniform.
"Want to get something to eat?"
"Yeah," I nod, realizing how hungry I am.
We walk hand-in-hand to the cafeteria, and find it filling up with people going about the start of their days.
Grabbing some food on our trays, we find our friends all sitting at a table.
"Morning," I yawn as I greet them, sitting down next to Peeta.
"Morning," they nod back.
We're all too tired to do much of anything except eat. Even Finnick and Johanna remain quiet when they'd normally be teasing and joking.
"Where are the kids?" Annie asks.
"Prim's," I answer. "She has the day off."
"Oh okay," she says sadly.
"You can go over there Annie," I smile. "Nobody's stopping you."
"Really?" She perks up.
"Yes, really," I roll my eyes. "You are their aunt after all."
"Thanks Katniss."
"Anytime Annie."
We finish eating and Peeta and I head back to our place, intent on crawling into bed.
"I feel like the walking dead," Peeta mutters as we close the door.
"Me too," I agree.
"Bath before bed?" He suggests.
"Start the water," I nod.
He disappears into the bathroom and I hear the faucet turn on. I go into the kitchen and grab a bottle of wine and two glasses. We lifted the ban on alcohol weeks ago, but we still tightly control its purchase and consumption.
Entering the bathroom, I find my husband waiting for me, testing the water's temperature. We silently strip together until we're both naked, and he climbs in first. I follow, sitting between his legs, backing up to his chest. I pour us each a glass of wine and we quietly sip.
"You did great today Kat," he whispers, softly kissing my ear and neck.
"Thanks baby," I smile, blushing. "You too."
"I'm not the one who ran the op," he points out. "That was my gorgeous wife."
"Who couldn't have done it without her handsome husband by her side," I retort.
"Fair enough," he admits.
After we finish our wine we slowly, gently, lather one another and wash every inch of our skin. He spends a while washing my hair, and I don't mind one bit. He even massages my scalp, which he knows relaxes me immensely. I return the favor by massaging his stump carefully, ending it with my ritualistic kisses.
By the time we're done washing, we're both getting quite aroused.
"I'm really tired," I sigh, "but a huge part of me really wants to make love right now."
"I'm going to have to agree with that statement," he grins.
I can already feel his erection pressed up against my butt, and I soon feel his warm hand sliding down my torso and under the waterline until he slips a finger inside me.
"Ohh," I moan as he kisses my neck and shoulder.
After a few minutes of pumping his finger into me, he retrieves it and licks it clean while staring me in the eyes.
"As always, delicious," he smirks.
"My turn," I smirk back.
I turn so I'm facing him, straddling his legs.
I use both my hands, darting them under the water and grasping his rock hard cock. I begin twisting and stroking, alternating hands cupping his balls as I go.
He reaches up and pulls my head down until our lips meet, and I can taste the residual juices in his mouth. It makes me crave his come.
"Baby sit up on the edge of the tub," I plead.
"Why?"
"I want to taste you," I reply seriously.
He smiles and I help him maneuver so his crotch is in my face. Once it's above the water, I quickly take his cock in my mouth and begin sliding it in and out, bobbing my head accordingly.
I feel his hand on top of my head, coaxing me along, keeping it in place. Like I'd want to be anywhere else right now. Come on Peeta.
"Oh my god," he groans, "that feels so fucking good."
"Come all over me," I tell him. "Cover me."
"Oh yeah," he replies happily.
A few minutes later, I speed up as I can tell from his moans that he's fast approaching climax.
"Fuck Kat I'm there," he warns.
I stroke furiously with my hand, using my other to massage his balls, until he finally releases.
I open my mouth and a good portion of his come lands inside, while it also drenches my cheeks, eyelids, and even my boobs. Keeping my eyes closed, I lick the tip of his cock and he audibly shudders. I giggle, almost spilling his come out of my mouth. I use my fingers to clean my face off, depositing it directly into the pooled come already in my mouth. My boobs are big enough from the twins that I can lift them up and lick them dry, and I make sure he sees every second of it. When I'm positive I have collected everything I can, I tilt up, show him, and swallow.
"Mmmm," I moan, "as always, delicious," I repeat his sentiment. He smiles and shakes his head in awe.
"You drive me crazy when you do that," he mumbles happily.
"I know," I grin. "I happen to enjoy it, probably more than you."
"I doubt that."
I snort and giggle and he chuckles.
"Now get back in this tub and fuck your wife," I order solemnly.
"Yes ma'am," he smiles.
Once he's back in the tub with me, he flips me over and puts me on my back, swiftly entering me as he slides up.
"Fuck you're huge," I groan.
"I'm not even fully hard yet," he informs me.
"You're going to rip me in half," I say seriously.
"You mean like this?" He teases as he thrusts powerfully.
"Fuck!" I almost yell. "Yes, exactly like that!"
"Sorry," his eyes widen, thinking he hurt me.
"Don't you dare stop!" I demand. "Harder! Fuck me Peeta, fuck me harder!"
He listens and resumes his powerful, possessive, animalistic thrusting, quickly bringing me to an explosive orgasm. I writhe under him, begging him alternately to keep going and go even deeper. He grabs my hips and slams into me, somehow going further inside me than I thought possible.
I come once more before he tells me he's about to reach his second orgasm.
"Where do you want to come this time?" I ask between moans.
"Inside you," he quickly answers.
"Then you have to kiss me," I require.
"Deal."
True to his word, I feel him blow his load while his lips are attached to mine, our tongues dancing and intertwining. His last couple thrusts into me are so powerful they cause me to climax yet again, and even though he's already came, he keeps pounding into me to prolong my own orgasm.
"Wow," I sigh as he collapses on top of me.
I wrap my arms around him and bring him close, kissing and nibbling on his earlobe.
"Well done," I whisper in his ear. "Mission accomplished."
He chuckles and buries his face into my neck, softly kissing it.
After a minute we maneuver around so I'm lying on top of him, which is easier for both of us.
"We should get out before we fall asleep," I suggest. "I hate waking up in cold water."
"Definitely," he nods.
We get out of the tub and dry each other off meticulously. We only have the energy to put on underwear before we collapse on our bed together. Peeta somehow manages to get both of us under the covers.
"Oh I almost forgot to tell you," I say before we fall asleep. "The results from the referendums came in."
In the chaos of the governmental transition, we were forced to postpone the public referendums on Coin's loyal officer's sentences. Once things calmed down, we had every citizen who wanted to in 13 and all the liberated Districts vote. The choices included their current sentence, life in prison without parole; life in prison with the possibility of parole in thirty years time; immediate pardons, commuting their sentences and giving them credit for time served; and execution in the same manner as Coin.
"And?" Peeta asks curiously.
We've discussed this between us extensively, and both agreed that while taking a life is never pleasant nor is it easy, the crimes these men perpetrated certainly warranted a death sentence. They were directly responsible for numerous operations that we de-classified wherein innocent civilians were killed. They casually refer to it in the reports as 'necessary collateral damage'. The scary thing is that in almost every instance, they had an option that would have minimized not only civilian casualties, but casualties in both armies. While serving life in prison is quite a severe punishment, there are thousands of people who aren't alive today because of these men's actions. There are thousands of families mourning the unnecessary, heartbreaking, easily avoidable loss of their loved ones.
"In every case, the people voted overwhelmingly for execution," I evenly reveal.
"Oh," Peeta says, processing. "That's what we wanted, right?"
"I thought so," I admit. "But now that it's decided, I'm not so sure."
"This is the way I look at it," he explains gently. "What if Prim or one of my brothers, or even one of our friends died because of a decision these men made. Would we be okay with them living the rest of their lives while our family or friends are in the ground? I'm not trying to be vengeful, or exact revenge, but if, god forbid, you were taken from me, I wouldn't want whoever was responsible to live another day."
I think about what he's saying. Without a doubt, if anyone I loved was taken from me, I wouldn't stop until whoever did it, no matter their role, paid the price. I can't ever imagine life without Peeta, it's so scary to me that I try and avoid thinking about it at all costs. But the reality is that now, more than ever, Peeta and I are extremely high-value targets to the Capitol. Not only are we the symbols of the Rebellion, we're also now decision makers. If Peeta was taken from me, I'd personally go find whoever had a hand in it and destroy them piece by piece.
"You're right," I finally admit. "Those families need closure. They need to know that their loved ones didn't die in vain, and that's just another reason we have to win this war."
"We took a huge step in that direction today," Peeta says. "We now control their biggest, most important military base. We captured thousands, and are already getting hundreds of the soldiers to defect to our side."
"What happened with the civilians?" I ask. We'd been so focused on transitioning The Nut to our control that I hadn't had time to read the reports.
"From what I heard from Haymitch, when they realized that it was us now in control, they cheered. Apparently they almost mobbed our soldiers in joy, thanking them for liberating them. We've begun debriefing them, and apparently our Propos are having a huge effect in the Districts."
"That's good to hear," I smile softly.
"Yep," he nods. "And a lot of them are now able to return home because we've liberated their Districts in the time since they fled to The Nut. The rest are coming here, and most of the young boys and men, and a lot of women, have expressed their desire to join the army."
"That's great news. We can use all the help we can get."
"I briefly talked to Quentin before we videoconferenced, and the amount of sheer intelligence and weaponry we captured is beyond the scale of anything we've ever seen. We have all of their current troop placements. They apparently left a map right on the conference table in the command center."
"Idiots," I grin.
We're much more careful than that. All of our sensitive data is locked away, and we access most of what we need using computers that are coded to our DNA and have layers of encryption. We specifically have protocols to avoid just that, having sensitive intel fall into enemy hands. Ever since Francis and Coin were revealed to be traitors, we've increased the security surrounding not only physical data, but virtual as well.
"I'm exhausted," Peeta yawns wide, causing me to do the same.
"You could say that again."
"I'm exhausted," he smiles. I roll my eyes and he takes the opportunity to give me a quick peck on the lips. "Goodnight honey."
"Goodnight baby. Or rather, good morning. I love you."
"I love you too."
We drift off to sleep in each other's arms, resolute that we'll only get out of bed for an emergency or when at least twelve hours have gone by.
A/N: Apologies on how long it took me to post this chapter. If you haven't checked it out yet, I've begun the sequel to 'Top Of The World'. It's titled 'Not All Who Wander Are Lost' (a quote from one of my favorite books, 'The Hobbit'). I've been really excited about it, so for the last few days I've been concentrating on that. I promise the next chapter won't take as long as this one.
If you haven't read my new story, make sure you read the prequel first. It's a modern day AU so it might be confusing to pick it up without knowing everything that happened to our characters before the second story begins.
Thanks as always for reading and reviewing! Keep it up!