As promised, this isn't over. Hehehe. Enjoy...


Katniss:

Katniss watched in surprise as the Peacekeepers laid down their weapons and put up their hands in surrender, Thread included. He had been the one to surrender first after nodding. The rest of her squad was just as surprised, including Boggs who was busy nodding and talking into his headpiece. A minute later, he was ordering the squad to the ground to provide extra cover for an incoming hovercraft. It landed just as the front door to the mansion was opening and Gale walked out. To her, he looked uneasy, but happy at the same time. From the hovercraft, Coin and a small guard jumped to the ground and hurried over to Gale and they all disappeared back into the mansion. Haymitch climbed out of the hovercraft next and she jogged over to him.

"What is going on?" She asked. Haymitch looked at her.

"They've surrendered." He said. Katniss felt a moment of happiness that it was all over until she realized something. Snowden had left Thirteen and returned to the Capitol. Shortly after, Thirteen had lost contact with their spies in the city, information only Snowden would have known. Gale was going to lose Snowden.


Gale's POV:

I lead the group behind me into the large room where I had left Snow and Snowden together. I hope they didn't decide to run. They had both said it was time they surrender and to bring Coin to them to discuss the terms. This was not to be an unconditional surrender by any means. I could see in Snow's eyes that he cares for Snowden like a grandfather, or even a father, should. I stop outside the large council room and knock on the door.

"Enter," Snowden calls. I open the door and Coin pushes past me with her men.

"President Snow," she begins, "I am President Alma Coin of District Thirteen. I have come to accept your unconditional surrender." I enter the room behind them and stand off to the side so I can see both sides. Snowden is severely outnumbered being the only one in here who can fight for her grandfather. Coin and her dozen soldiers all have guns trained on the two. But nothing happens. Snowden and her grandfather just look at the armed men before them calmly. With the same calm, Snowden pulls a remote from her pocket and flicks a switch which turns on a button. She places the remote on the table. "What is that?" Coin asks.

"These are the terms of my surrender." Snow says. "Snowden is not to be considered a traitor or a war criminal. I testify and admit to kidnapping her and turning her loyalty to me through the use of tracker jacker venom. Until she is healed, she is to stay in the Training Center where she is to have access to the entire floor. She is to have full access to every room in the Training Center, including the gym if she so chooses. Access to the roof is to be unprohibited as this girl needs fresh air as much as the next."

"And if a refuse?" Coin said, cocking the gun and pointing it at Snowden. "I can kill her right now and still win and have your unconditional surrender." Snowden doesn't move or flinch as she looks at Coin. Nor does she move her eyes to the gun that is now pointed at her. Snow picks up the remote.

"If you refuse, you'll still win, but it will be at a higher cost." Snow says and gestures to the windows. I realize with a start that these windows look out to City Circle where all of our men are stationed around the citizens of the Capitol. Coin laughs.

"You'd sacrifice your own people just to save a traitorous woman?" Coin says. "That doesn't make sense, but go ahead."

"Those aren't our citizens." Snowden finally speaks up. "You forget, Coin, that I know you incredibly well. I knew you would siege the city and then make your way here. So, we evacuated our people to a safe place where they are waiting for the signal that it is safe. Those people that your men are guarding are actually your men, your spies that I captured and brought to the prisons. They are also prisoners of the Capitol. Prisoners you were unable to rescue because you had been focused on me. You refuse to accept our terms, we press this button and the City Circle is destroyed in a matter of seconds and your men with it."

The conviction in Snowden's voice scares me. She is willing to press that button and detonate those bombs. All that will be left of Coin's army will be the men in this room. I can see Coin analyzing the situation. It's clear that if Snowden dies now, her men die. But what are going to be the consequences for later. Is there another button hidden in the Training Center for her to push if Coin doesn't keep her word?

"What is it going to be, Coin?" President Snow asks. "How valuable is my unconditional surrender?"

"She will be pardoned." Coin said, lowering her gun and motioning two of her men forward.

"A full pardon, Coin." Snow says. "And her guard is to be kept minimal, only outside the doors of wherever she is. Remember, full access in the Training Center."

"Of course." Coin said through gritted teeth. "A full pardon for Snowden Caltrit and full access to everywhere in her new home, the Training Center. Take her to the Training Center. Set up a rotating guard outside the main doors. I'll figure out a full guard later."

I watch in amazement as Snowden removes her belt of knives and places it on the table. She takes a moment to hug her grandfather before taking her place between the two soldiers. I watch her leave, the only one seeing the look of distrust in her eyes as she looks at Coin before disappearing out the door. Moments later, Snowden is marching across the square, back straight, and then disappears into the Training Center.

"Now," Coin says suddenly. "You are the deposed leader, but a leader nonetheless, where would you like your prison to be?" The gesture surprises me slightly, but then I remember that this is Coin. She is manipulative. She is setting a precedence for if she is deposed. Snow slowly switches off the remote and smashes it before answering. He places the broken remote next to Snowden's knives and gets up from his chair and looks at the City Circle. Outside, the soldiers are taking the clothes off the supposed citizens and finding shackles and ropes and gags. They were telling the truth. Snow turns to us.

"My garden, please." He said. "I have memories there that I wish to enjoy." The poor bastard. He knows he is going to die.

Snow is marched out of the room by a handful of guards. Coin follows, shooting me a dirty look as she leaves. She is blaming me for this for some reason. Maybe because I didn't follow orders and came to the mansion in the first place. But Snowden is right. She knows Coin better than even Boggs does. They would have been ready even if I had followed orders. I just made things go smoother.


Haymitch:

He looked out the window, nursing the drink in his hand. He had stayed relatively sober for Gale's sake. The boy was a mess. He hadn't been allowed to see Snowden in the weeks since the end of the war. Katniss had tried to cheer him up, but he was sullen and kept to himself mostly, creating carvings, staring at the Training Center. Haymitch had been to see Snowden. The Twelfth floor was covered in her sketches and the television had been kept on constantly. She was closely following Snow's trial, sadness in her gray eyes. He had been there when the verdict had come in that Snow was guilty and he had shut off the television. He needed to head back over there soon. She was dangerous and couldn't be let out, but the victors were meeting to decide on something. They were to all meet on the fourth floor so Snowden didn't have the chance to escape into the city. She was on permanent house arrest until a decision could be made about her.

Haymitch took another drink as he remembered being told of the surrender terms. There shouldn't have been a question of Snowden's innocence in this whole thing. She had been used from the start, from the beginning of her life, she had been Coin's pawn against Snow. Of course, that had ended when Snowden had learned the truth, but it had also caused trouble for Coin who could no longer control the young spy.

"C'mon, Haymitch." Gale's voice came from the door. Haymitch got to his feet and went to the door and they walked to the Training Center.


Gale's POV:

Haymitch and I are the last ones to arrive at the meeting. Snowden is sitting on one side of the table by herself. I sit next to her and Haymitch sits next to me. The table is circular and large. Coin is a few chairs from Snowden. Next to Haymitch is Beetee followed by Finnick and Annie and then Johanna. Coin starts her speech, talking about vengeance and the least loss of life. I'm barely paying attention. This is all that is left of the Hunger Games' Victors. Only seven of us. Coin explains that it was decided that there would be another Games if they, as the Victors, decided there would be.

"I vote yes." Johanna says. "It seems fair to me. Snow even has a granddaughter."

"No," Annie says softly, taking Finnick's hand. "Isn't this what we fought to stop."

"I am with Annie." Finnick says. "We were fighting to end this whole thing. I refuse to let it go on anymore. I vote no."

"Yes," Haymitch says. "I vote yes. For all the children who have had to die and suffer in them."

All eyes are on me now. My turn to vote. I think of why we had fought. I had started fighting for Snowden, because it was something she believed in. She was fighting to stop these Games. She went through them to know what she was fighting against.

"The citizens need to know what it was like for us in the Districts having to watch our loved ones be killed or kill. I vote yes." That's three to three. Snowden is the tie breaker. I look at her. She is silent as she looks at everyone. She seems withdrawn, much like she had been when she had been coming off the tracker jacker venom the first time. After a few minutes, she speaks.

"You all talk of vengeance and why we fought. You even forget that Snow's granddaughter has already had to experience the hell that is the Hunger Games. I went through them both as an agent of District Thirteen and as Snow's granddaughter for that is who I am. I am Snowden Caltrit Snow, granddaughter of President Coriolanus Snow, a spy of District Thirteen, a Victor of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games. I went into the games to know what I was fighting against. I fought to stop them and I refuse to allow another one to happen just so you can have revenge. No, there will never be another Hunger Games again. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to return to the roof. I'm sure the rest of you need to get ready."

"Four no's, three yes's. There will not be another Hunger Games." Coin says and Snowden gets to her feet, eyeing Coin a moment before walking past everyone to the elevator. She turns to press the button and I look at her. There is hurt there. I caused that hurt by voting yes. But I couldn't vote no. It didn't feel right to me.

We are rushed outside and back to the mansion where people have started to gather. Over the last few weeks, the people have been returning from where Snowden had sent them. They are here to watch their president die. I wonder if they will know how close they almost came to watching their children die. I put on my uniform and Katniss hands me a regular bow, one of the ones she saved from the firestorm when Twelve was destroyed. Coin exits the mansion with the other victors. I listen to the cheers a moment before I am walking outside into the sunlight. More cheers. I look up at the Training Center, trying to see Snowden and I think I do, but it's hard to be sure. The crowd goes insane as Snow is led onto the terrace and is tied to the post. Katniss stands next to me and Coin stands next to Snow. I raise the bow, pulling the single arrow from my quiver and pull back on the string. I aim for Snow's heart. I look into his eyes. There is a plea there, a plea for me to promise something and I can only assume it is to protect Snowden. I nod and focus on where I am aiming. I don't even let go of the arrow when I hear the shot. The sound startles me and I loose the arrow which goes wide as Coin falls over the edge of the balcony and falls into the crowd. Dead. Katniss and I look on is disbelief as guards try to get to Coin's body. I look for where the shot could have come from. I can't see anyone with a gun, but some of Thirteen's men, led by Boggs, are rushing to the Training Center.

Snowden. But why? And how? Boggs and Katniss both assured Coin that there were no weapons in the room.

Katniss leads me back into the mansion as the final piece of my world falls away as I realize what has just happened. Snowden has just ended the contract that saved her life.

She's going to be killed.


*innocent humming from behind a brick wall* Thanks for reading and please review. Oh, and still not over. Not by a long shot. Hehehe. *humming resumes*