Chapter 51
(Gale POV)
I feel a little guilty about not spending much time with my family lately so I make plans for Madge and I to eat dinner with them. honestly we should've been doing that anyway this whole time. So I leave a note for Madge to meet us in the dining hall and then Posey and I wait for her at the entrance. Posey about talks madge's head off, always happy to have someone new to give her attention. Rory and Vick aren't overly chatty but they're nice enough. My mother seems guarded though and I wish she'd just get more comfortable around Madge. I think it's because she's still thinking of her as Capitol royalty and that makes it hard for my mother to be herself around her. I'm hoping if we start eating with them regularly that she'll see how great Madge is.
I notice that Madge scarfs her meal down really quickly, scraping her bowl for every bit of stew, unconsciously letting me know that she still isn't eating breakfast or lunch really. I'm going to have to talk to her about it. She's gonna waste away and I can't have her getting sick just because she doesn't like the food.
After we eat, she has to take dinner to Drew who is apparently working late. I hate so much that she works for him. I hate that she's taking him dinner. But I also really love her so I'm trying so hard not to make a bigger deal out of this than it is. I know he's working on stuff for the rescue mission and I know she's taking him dinner whether I support it or not so I don't try to argue it. I do insist on walking down there with her but that's all and she's fine with that. I think she actually appreciates that I'm not throwing a fit abut it because she kisses me really good before she goes into his office. When she comes back out a minute later, she's super excited because he told her Martin is going to be rescued and it's all happening tomorrow.
I fall asleep fairly soon after we get back to her place, exhausted from getting up so early. She's snuggled up in my arms when I drift off and then the next thing I know, someone's knocking on the door and we're both sitting up and bump heads in the pitch black dark of the room.
"Sorry..." She mumbles as she flips on the light.
The knock at the door persists and I get up to answer it, glancing at the clock and seeing that it's after midnight.
"I need Madge to get dressed and come in to the defense department right now. It's urgent." Drew tells me as soon as I open the door. He's breathless, almost as if he ran all the way here taking the stairs.
"What's going on Drew?" Madge asks him, now at my side.
"Get dressed, hurry, we don't have much time!" He says.
"I'll be out in a second." She tells him and I let the door close as she does what he says and hurries to get clothes on.
"What do you think is happening?" I ask her, uncomfortable with the urgency of this.
"I have no idea. Probably like last time and they just have stupid questions about things. I'll be back as soon as I can." She tells me with a quick kiss as she heads out the door.
I can't sleep after that and end up pacing the floor back and forth waiting for her to return. She doesn't. Not in the next hour. Not in the next 3 hours. Not when it's time for me to go to work. Whatever has taken her away has to be really serious and now I'm really worried. I actually go and knock on Drew's door, hoping he can tell me what's going on but there's no answer so he must be in the defense department too. Knowing there's nothing else I can do at the moment, I leave for work.
On my break, I go and check the room and see she still hasn't been there. I knock on Drew's door again and this time he answers.
"Where is Madge? She never came home." I ask, ignoring the fact that he was clearly asleep and I've woken him up because I do not care.
"I can't tell you."
"You'd better." I warn him, taking a step closer and preparing to beat the information out of him if I have to.
He steps back. "Seriously, I cannot tell you. But I can tell you that she will be back today and at that point she'll probably tell you all about it." He says as he starts to close the door.
I push the door back open. "What do you mean she'll be back today? Did she leave 13?" Panic floods through me and I hope that isn't what he meant.
"I cannot tell you anything."
"Is she here in 13 or not?" I practically yell as I shove him into his room and take a step inside myself.
"I can't believe she picked you of all people to be with." He mutters in a low voice as he shakes his head. Then he says "She's not here but she'll be back today. I really can't tell you what's happening or give you details."
"Man you have to tell me something. I'm gonna go insane if you don't tell me why she's gone, I'm not even kidding." I warn him again, practically pleading for information.
He lets out a long sigh and says one more time "I can't tell you anything."
I glance down and see that her bracelet, the one I made her, is on his shelf and I lose it. "What the hell are you doing with that?" I shout as I grab it.
"I'm just holding onto it for her."
"Why?" I shout, needing details and information.
"I can't tell you anything." He says again.
So I punch him square in the face and leave his room before I do worse. I go to the defense department and ask the man at the front desk if he can tell me where Madge is. Of course he can't tell me anything, not that I really expected they would but I had to try. I go tell my supervisor that I'm not feeling well and he gives me the rest of my shift off. I go to her room and just wait because that's seriously the only thing I know to do here.
(Madge POV)
I am shocked that I've been pulled out of bed in the middle of the night but I know it must be important. Once we're in the defense department, the commander pulls me into the conference room and Drew comes too.
"Miss Undersee, Mr. Whitney tells me you have a friendship with this avox boy that's been added to the rescue list. Is this true?"
I glance over at Drew and he nods for me to answer the question. "Yes, as much as one can have a friendship with an avox in Panem."
"Do you think he would be receptive to you if you were to give him instructions that needed to be followed?"
"What sort of instructions?" I ask, not really sure where this is going.
"Instructions that would be essential to getting our people off the train and rescued."
I think for a moment and I don't know for certain but I answer "Yes, I think so."
"Okay. Then Miss Undersee, you will need to be a part of our active rescue team. We've had a change in plans due to the belief that one of our informants identities has been compromised and we've come up with an alternate plan but need your avox friend to act as our inside person. We don't think he'll be receptive to a stranger from our team but we hope he will respond if a familiar and friendly face is the one giving him the orders that need to be carried out. That's where you come in. We'll be putting you on the train and you'll give him an envelope that details what he needs to do. In return, he will be rescued as well of course."
I stare at him with my mouth hanging open. He wants to put me back in Panem? On the Capitol bound train? Is he crazy? I don't even speak or respond because I have no words at the moment.
Drew leans in towards me. "Listen, I know this sounds scary but you'll be on and off the train so quickly that no one will know you're even there. And in order to make the rescue for anyone happen, we need you to do this. I know Martina and he isn't going to respond to someone he doesn't know. He won't trust it, especially as an avox, he'll think the Capitol is testing him or something. It has to be you. He trusts you, he's already proven that. You have to do this."
"How would I even get on the train without being recognized? It's not like most of Panem doesn't know who I am. I'd be caught so easily."
Drew shakes his head. "You'll be in disguise. We'll board you in the time that the train is being stocked with supplies. You'll slip on, speak to Martin and be back off the train before it even leaves the station. That's why we needed to get you here now. We need to get you ready and on a craft headed to 11 which is where you'll do all of this. After that, you'll get back on the craft and fly right back. A few hours. That's all we need."
I stare at him, mouth still hanging open as I try to process what all he's just told me.
"Can you do this or not?" The Commander asks, an edge in his voice that lets me know it's urgent I decide right now.
I nod. I don't feel like I have another option. I have to do this. If I don't Prim and Haymitch will die and no one will be rescued. I can't have that many deaths on my conscious.
"Take her to the design room and get her into disguise and then take her to the flight deck. You have 30 minutes. Go." The commander says as he leaves the room.
Drew leads me to a room where a woman is waiting to dress me in clothing that looks like I live and work in district 11. She sprays some sort of dark brown color spray all over my hair, not leaving any blonde showing at all. She braids it and ties a handkerchief on my head. She wipes the last bits of pink polish off my nails, which needed to be gone anyway. She puts smudges of dirt on my face and gives me a pair of worn out looking shoes. When she takes my bracelet from Gale off my arm, I protest. "I never take that off."
"Which is all the more reason to take it off now. Someone might recognize it and we don't want that to happen." She tells me as she drops the bracelet on the table without another glance. I stare at it and I'm about to say something else when Drew picks it up and slips it in his pocket.
"I'll hold onto it until you get back so it doesn't get lost." He says.
I nod and try to relax. The woman tells me to smile and show her my teeth. I do and she shakes her head. "They're blazing white and perfectly straight. That won't do." She says as she turns and starts rummaging through a drawer. She pulls out something and hands it to me. "You'll slip this over your top teeth. It'll make you blend in better if anyone happens to talk to you."
It's a fake row of top teeth and it's crooked and dingy in color. I suppose that's appropriate considering I'm apparently supposed to look like I live in District 11 and no one there can afford proper dentistry like I've actually had. I put it over my teeth and it feels odd but not uncomfortable. I smile at the woman and she shakes her head.
"Don't smile. No one there would smile like that. Just keep your head down and act like you're a worker bringing supplies onto the train."
"How do I know where to find Martin once I'm on the train?" I ask Drew.
"He'll be in the kitchen. You'll be given a crate of food to carry there and that's your chance to talk to him. According to the schedule, he's the only one that should be in the kitchen. If he's not, you'll have to find a way to stall for a minute until you can get him alone or try to whisper if it's at all possible. The envelope he needs to get will be in the crate under the food. Make sure he is the only one who gets it."
"How much time will I have once I'm on the train?" I ask, nerves overflowing at the moment.
"30 minutes max. You'll need to be swift."
"What if he isn't there?"
"He'll be there. I checked the schedule for where the avox on the train are assigned to work. That's his spot."
"Those eyes are gonna give her away. They're too big and blue." The woman dressing me says aloud.
"Can you give her glasses or something to help distract from them?" Drew asks.
"I can do better. Brown contact lenses. Open your eyes wide for me, hon." She says as she pokes a lens right into my eye without advance warning. I'm instantly reminded of when my eyes got dyed pink by the Capitol stylist. "There, that's as good as it's going to get." She says, standing back and looking me over obce.
"Thank you." Drew tells her and then he leads me up to the flight deck where the hovercraft is ready to take me away.
I step onto it and expect Drew to follow behind me but then I realize he isn't boarding. "You aren't coming with me?" I ask, panic flooding through me that I'm doing this completely alone.
"I can't. I need to be here to help break and scramble signals to get you in and out of the district undetected. You've got this, don't worry." He tells me.
"Drew? Don't tell Gale where I'm at. I'll explain what I can when I get back but I don't want him worrying about me going back to Panem. Promise me you won't tell him anything!" I call out as the craft door closes and I hear him call back to me. "I promise."
I take my seat and buckle the safety harness as the hovercraft roars to life. I feel so nervous that I think I'm going to puke and I have to close my eyes and take several slow, deep breaths. I can't believe I'm doing this. I can't believe how much pressure this is. If I fail, the entire rescue will fail. I can't let that happen, I just can't.