"Fire the cannons." Jerome said.

The young kid with a handlebar mustache turned around. His face was twisted into an expression of abject horror and shock.

"What are you waiting for?"

The boy stuttered. "Sir, the vitals for the three tributes on the ship have gone offline."

"What do you mean?" Jerome asked. The nerves in his back began to tighten.

"According to the radar and tracker, they've disappeared."

Jerome yanked the boy's chair back. He yelped as Jerome leaned in to the screen. Sure enough, the places holding Cyrene, Xavier, and Monette's name have gone completely blank. It's as if they had never existed.

Jerome couldn't have this happen now. What if they did escape? Lanarsus would have him executed right there in the room. The plan needed to go all the way with him. He was the one component that could not fail.

Yes, Cyrene had been cooking up something, but Jerome thought the worst was that she had set up a way to blow the place up with some matches. He never thought escaping to Earth was on anybody's mind.

The saving grace is that even if they made it out, the ship was only made for transportation, not landing.

Jerome turned around and sighed. Even if they did escape, he would be fine as long as Lanarsus decided to act after the Games ended. Regardless, desperate times...

"Fire the cannons. They're dead," he said. Just as the boy started to protest, Jerome lifted a finger. "I don't want to hear another word. They're gone and that's that. Fire them. Now."

Three booms erupted from the speakers in the arena.

"Now, if the meteor isn't to come for another few hours, then I must have dinner. My secretary is in charge. I want nothing major to occur until then. I need to watch every important movement from now until the end."

Jerome swooshed around and exited the room. His secretary was slightly gobsmacked. She looked around the room, all eyes on her.

Suddenly, she smirked. "Get to work, everybody."

Jerome power walked down the sidewalk in the downtown area. Taxi cabs and buses barreled down the busy streets. Throngs of pedestrians scattered themselves around the street lined with thin shrubs and tunneling wind blowing through the tall skyscrapers. Television monitors flashed in every bar, restaurant, and condominium hugging the bustling avenue. Cars honked and people roared. Betting lines changed and gamblers groaned. With the three cannon fires a few minutes earlier, all was right in the Capitol for now.

Jerome needed to eavesdrop on some people. He needed to get a feel for what the reaction was to the occurrences in the Games. Seeing a group of semi-normal dressed girls hovering by a window showing a television inside a bar, Jerome sneaked over and leaned on the marble pillar next to them acting like he was merely taking in the moving automobiles in front of him.

"Venus has to win. Those people in Twelve are even poorer than before. I think they deserve a better winner than that poser Katniss."

Jerome nodded. He could agree with that.

"Come on, Myrtle. There's no way she can survive that poison he put in her. Unless she can find the medication. Speaking of him, I don't care how crazy he's gotten. Romeo is still my man."

"Really?" A shorter girl asked. "He seemed pretty rude about what he said."

The other girl waved her off. "That's just the Games talking. When he gets out, he'll be back in business, and I'll be the first person in line."

The fourth girl gasped. "Are you crazy? You can have Romeo, because Aslovee is all mine."

"Zena, I don't think so."

"Do you not see him? He's sculpted like a god. He looks like he was carved out of stone. And he's a bad street boy? It's like every girls dream come true."

"I will say that cowboy persona does make me dream at night. I want to jump his bones the moment he gets out. But he is a little shorter than I'd like. Then again, you know what they say about big things."

"What?" Zena asked.

"Big things come in small packages. Or in his case, small things come with big packages."

The short girl smacked the talkative one. "Midara, don't say things like that in public."

"Don't tell me you don't have a crush on Aslovee. Or at least Romeo. Unless you have a crush on Eva-Marie?"

The short girl gasped and stepped back. "That's ridiculous. I-I just think Romeo's a little silly for what he said."

Jerome rolled his eyes. A little silly was an incredible understatement. He hoped that the young girls in the Capitol wouldn't be so naive or impressionable. Then again, these were only four girls. Maybe the rest were better.

He kept walking towards his favorite restaurant. It was a little seafood dive in between the television station and a boutique. It had the best tomato bisque. It was just the right swirl of spice and cream, but lax on the strength. Just soupy enough for him.

He walked past a crowd gathered in front of one of the many television screens set up for the Games. It was right in front of the large theatre. Nothing in particular was going on. Romeo was still limping through the airlock room. Nothing special yet.

Eventually, Jerome sat down at his favorite booth by the window. Looking out, he saw the running cars and motoring pedestrians dressed to the nines in the newest ornate styles. Jerome never saw the draw for them, but he did admit it would be great at parties. Maybe he should send a posthumous present to Helen.

Right. His death. With the Games drawing to the final four, he would have to kill Lanarsus very soon. As soon as the winner is announced, he would have to make sure the more sympathetic man in line for president is instated. The only way to do that was to make sure Lanarsus was dead.

Once the puppet was installed, they could get more Capitol funding for the new space program, and progress could continue without suspicion.

Even with a puppet president, there were plenty of enemies. In fact, many wouldn't hesitate to assassinate him if they thought he was caving in to rebels.

People needed to be conditioned to accept drastic changes in Panem. When all is said and done, Panem should be forgiving enough to let them finish their plans.

A few young teenage boys sat at a both behind him. Jerome quieted his thoughts to zoom in on the conversation.

"You're serious? They wouldn't let them escape."

"It's a cover-up. I really think they were aliens. They wouldn't let them come back down for nothing. What happened was that they found out they were aliens implanted on Earth. They couldn't have them die, so they sent them back down to communicate with."

Jerome sighed. The next generation needed help badly. Hopefully, the Victor can steer humanity in the right direction. That was part of the plan, after all.

"But seriously, Eva-Marie needs to win."

"Why? Because she's hot?"

"No. Well, maybe. But she would be a worthy Victor."

Can't argue with that, Jerome thought.

"You could say the same about Venus. And she deserves it more. Especially from Twelve. She actually cares about her district, unlike other people. Cough, Romeo, cough."

"Romeo is pissing me off. The only reason he is here is because he probably slept with all the girls in order to let him survive."

Jerome picked up his phone and started to dial a number.

A few rings later , Helen picked up.

"I can't wait anymore. Did you see what just happened?"

"I did," she said. "It's okay. Most people just think they hit the force field. Firing the cannons was a good idea."

"Regardless, certainty is something these people are good at. He is questioning us as we speak."

"Then shut him up. You're in control. The moment you think the Games are going to end, run over and do the deed."

Jerome chuckled. "I understand that. Security will probably go lax when they see the Games ending. All those guards will be watching, and I can just walk in."

"Correct."

"Is it okay to say that I'm still scared?"

The conversation grinds to a halt. The only noise around Jerome is the chatting of the kids and the slamming of forks on ivory plates.

"What are you scared of?"

"Failing. And dying. But I knew that would happen."

"You'll do great. It's not like anybody liked him anyway."

"What if I found a way to escape after I accomplished it?"

"You know they'll be tracking you."

Jerome sighed. "Thanks, again."

He hung up. That would most likely be the last conversation he had with anybody.

Thinking about the Games, Jerome looked at the final four in play.

Eva-Marie was too distracted by Aaron and possibly Venus's death. She would make a strong enough Victor, but there wouldn't be enough energy after those deaths. She would be too shell-shocked.

If by some miracle, Venus found the antidote and survived Romeo's poison, he could see her being a good Victor. She's nice, independent, extremely patriotic which would do great at fooling any Capitol naysayers, and hyper enough to rally around. However, she was from Twelve and used a bow and arrow. People would have a hard time looking beyond that.

Romeo would be completely unlikable from his stunts in the Games. He had looks, and was very gentleman like at the beginning, but a misogynist lunatic was a big no-no. The only way he could see him working is if he came out of the Games, regained sanity, and recanted all he had said. Even then, his mental toughness wasn't there. If he was swayed that quickly, he couldn't make it as a new symbol of the Rebellion.

Aslovee would be hard to get to cooperate. He already lived a very tough life of doing things the only way he saw fit. A rebellion is probably the last on his to-do list if he makes it out. Then again, he's faced hardship and lived through what the Capitol has subjected to the people of the outer districts: poverty. He had mental toughness and stability. He certainly did what it took to survive, and according to the girls by the bar, he did have looks on his side. People would like to have a tough figure to rally around. Not only that, but the Capitol wouldn't suspect him for even a second of starting the passive revolution.

Passive revolution. Unlike the last one, the were going to be quiet and subtle. Once they had all the people in the right spots, funding and support would be gift wrapped to them. They will make the Capitol theirs.

Jerome ordered the tomato bisque. Then, he kept staring at the buzzing people outside.

All of these people seem so calm when so much is brewing right in front of them. They weren't completely stupid. If they figured out that another rebellion was forming, they would oust all of the suspected traitors, then find the headquarters for the rebellion. Once destroyed, all the hard work would be lost.

He hoped that the next president and Gamemaker was smart enough to slowly but surely make the board and peacekeepers sympathetic to their values. The Victor could handle the rest of Panem. It's the inside government that needed convincing, and the President and Victor would need to work together for that.

They would make everyone believe that it is by their own choosing to accept a rebellion, instead of having one forced on them.

Jerome took a sip of water. He would need to get to the headquarters soon. Imagine if a death happened and he wasn't there.

He needed to calm down. Everything would work out how it was supposed to. Even if the plan was for him to die.


Who would make the best victor? Who would make the worst? Why or why not? What do you think about the public opinion Jerome heard. Is it accurate? Has your opinion changed? Your answer will not effect the Games.

The end is near. Get ready!