Happy New Year! Enjoy this super long chapter.
Warning: There's some bad language in this chapter. The situation warrants it.
Nickel Baker, District 9
"Do your worst to me now
Before I change my mind."
Bright Eyes, Persona Non Grata
Later, Callisto Jasper would wonder what Luka would've done if he'd been there when men with guns had knocked on her front door. He'd been teaching her self-defence skills ever since Rarity Belcourt had disappeared, out of fear that she'd vanish as well. While Callisto knew she could probably hold her own against a mugger in an alleyway, she'd never be a real fighter. She'd never have that sixth sense that Luka had. He'd been raised in District 5 in the aftermath of a war and she'd been raised in the lap of luxury. When someone knocked on her door, she always assumed she'd open it to find one of her friends on the doorstep.
She didn't realise she was in any danger until the barrel of a gun was pointed at her face.
Callisto realised that she couldn't run. She couldn't fight back. She couldn't risk being shot. All she could do was scream. One of the gunmen grabbed her by the shoulder and clapped his hand over her mouth.
"Keep screaming and we'll shoot," the man hissed.
There was nothing Callisto could do. Her mind raced with panicked thoughts as they forced her into the back of a van, stumbling in clumsy stiletto heels. Too scared to think straight, she focused on the clothes of her kidnappers. They were all wearing black, bulky clothing, their faces hidden by masks. Some of the kidnappers appeared to be female and Callisto almost laughed at her earlier assumption that they'd all been men
Don't be ridiculous, Callisto. Women can be involved in organised crime too.
Since the kidnappers had all made an effort to colour-coordinate their outfits, Callisto came to the realisation that she was caught up in something serious. This wasn't a gang of desperate street-thugs. This was a serious threat.
Callisto thought of what they might want with her. She was the sister of the head gamemaker, the woman who was also the president's mistress. She was the girlfriend of District 5's first victor, the man responsible for cleaning up half of his district's crime. Both Io and Luka were bound to have some pretty powerful enemies.
As the van began to move, one of the men, the one who appeared to be the leader of the kidnappers, got out a communicuff and began to make a call.
"Hello, Miss Jasper," the man said. "I'm an old friend of yours. I'd like to have access to the Gamemaker Building for this Hunger Games... Yes, I know it's a strange request, one you're unlikely to grant me, so I went to the trouble of kidnapping your sister. If you don't let me in, she's going to die. You have until we reach the Gamemaker Building to decide her fate."
Callisto realised that she was about to die and began to laugh.
"You're an idiot," she told the kidnapper. "Io would never let you into the Gamemaker Building to save me. She can't stand me. You might as well just shoot me now."
"I'm telling the truth, Miss Jasper," The kidnapper said. "I'll let her talk to you if you want."
He shoved the communicuff towards Callisto's face.
"Callisto?" Io said, on the other end. Callisto realised how angry she was at her sister. She'd never asked to be related to Io Jasper, the genius. She'd never asked to be related to someone so important that their poor, unwilling family members got kidnapped.
"You are so grounded!" Callisto spat.
"Callisto-" Io repeated, sounding stunned.
"I don't care!" Callisto interrupted, "I don't care that you're thirty-seven years old and you're an adult and you have a job and a boyfriend. I don't care that you have a bastard son because you're so smart but you never realised that, if you're trying to have a secret relationship, you're supposed to use protection. I'm going to tell mom and dad that I got kidnapped because of you and you are going to be grounded."
Callisto let out a small sob. She knew she wasn't going to survive this. She wasn't ever going to see her parents again. She wasn't ever going to see Luka again. Either Callisto's captors would leave her body somewhere it could be found and identified and Luka would know that his girlfriend had been murdered or her body would never be found and Luka would spend the rest of his life searching for her. Either option would destroy him.
She needed to be angry to forget how scared she was.
"Aren't you supposed to be asking me for help?" Io asked.
"I've been trying to ask you for help my entire life, Io," Callisto said. "You never listened."
"I'm listening now, Callisto," Io said. "I'll do what they want. I'm sorry. I've always been a terrible sister. I love you."
Callisto gasped. Those were the words she'd been waiting to hear from Io her entire life. "I love you too, sis."
"This section shows all the tributes' vital signs," Io Jasper explained to one the kidnappers as the man pressed a gun to Callisto's temple. She knew that she was a traitor to her president for letting hostile forces into the Gamemaker Building but all the regrets she'd felt over not being a good enough older sister to Callisto had clouded her judgment.
She just hadn't wanted to let her baby sister die.
Now all she could do was hope that the man with the familiar voice, her "old friend", would take the responsibility of being in charge of the Hunger Games seriously. Maybe he was just a super fan who wanted to know what it was like to be head gamemaker. Maybe he wouldn't do too much damage.
"Now you know how all the controls work, may I please leave?" Io asked.
"No," the man said. "You and Callisto will be staying here for the time being."
"Why?" Io asked. "We've served our purpose. You've got the Gamemaker Building under your control."
"The Gamemaker Building was just an added extra," the man said. "What I really want is to her the fear in Coryo's voice when he realises that I have his girlfriend's life in my hands."
When Io heard the man use her boyfriend's nickname from school, the one that only she was allowed to call him now, something inside her head just clicked.
"Androcles?" She asked. "Is that you?"
"Yes." Androcles Anderson said. "Now, we are going to call your boyfriend."
Coriolanus Snow got the call right after the bloodbath. He picked it up, assuming that Livia, his wife, wanted to talk to him but was too lazy to leave her bedroom and see him face to face. That happened a lot.
"Hello, Coryo," the voice on the other end said. It was familiar but Coriolanus couldn't quite place it.
"Who's this?" The president asked.
The man laughed. "You really don't know? It's okay, you don't need to know who I am. All you need to know is that I have a gun to your girlfriend's head and if you don't want your Io to have her precious brains blown out, I suggest you do exactly as I say."
A chill ran down Coriolanus' spine. Someone knew about him and Io, someone very dangerous. Someone had shared his secret. But who?
"Can I speak to her?" Coriolanus asked. He wasn't sure why he was suddenly so scared. He wasn't supposed to care so much about Io.
"Go ahead." The man said. There was a sound like a communicuff being passed to someone.
"Io?" Coriolanus asked.
"Coryo!" Io cried, her voice shaking.
"Are you okay?" Coriolanus asked.
"I-I'm fine. They haven't hurt me."
The kidnappers hadn't hurt Io physically but Coriolanus hadn't heard her so scared since she'd woken up from a nightmare in his arms. He knew that Io had come dangerously close to death in the arena bombing that had killed three of their classmates, nineteen years ago. Even now, she still had flashbacks. Coriolanus knew that being held hostage was bound to make Io's past trauma stronger. He wanted to save her.
It worried him, how attached he'd got to Io. At first, she'd been perfect for him, his most loyal follower. Now she was a weakness.
"Don't worry," Coriolanus said. "I'll get you out of there. Whoever's responsible for this, I'll destroy them."
"I know who it is, Coryo. It's- mmpph!" Someone covered Io's mouth just as she was about to reveal who'd taken her prisoner. Coriolanus could hear her struggling in the background as the kidnapper took the communicuff back.
"She's a clever one, isn't she?" The man said, almost playfully. "She figured out who I am. I'm not going to let her tell you, though. You'll have to figure that out for yourself, Coryo. But now, my demands... For now, I'm not expecting anything too big of you. My people have taken over the Gamemaker Building. We have total control over its security systems so we will find out if you send anyone in and we will shoot your girlfriend. Your job is to pretend that nothing is wrong until we give you further instructions. Shut up, watch the Hunger Games and I will call you again when the victor is crowned. Goodbye, Coryo."
Coriolanus listened to the sound of the kidnapper hanging up and made a the beginnings of a plan. He dug through the drawers of his desk for his second communicuff, a brand-new one that couldn't be traced. He called his most loyal victor.
"Hello, Mr Starkwain. I've got a bit of a problem. Would you mind coming to my office?"
Nickel Baker regretted volunteering.
It had been spur of the moment. His fiancée's brother had been reaped and he'd decided to be the hero for once. It'd been a mistake. He'd watched his district partner die as he'd fled the bloodbath. Now he was exhausted, terrified and covered with sweat. He wanted to go home.
Then the Careers found him.
He cowered on the ground, backed up against a tree. The sight of the Careers all advancing on him, cutlasses drawn, was so terrifying that he lost control of his bladder. He closed his eyes, knowing he'd die petrified with fear, covered with his own urine and being watched by the nation.
Then the announcement boomed through the arena.
"Attention tributes. The gamemakers have decided that this year's games should have a new twist. The Twenty-Ninth Hunger Games should be focused solely on survival. Any tribute who attacks another will be killed."
"What?" One of the Careers asked.
"How is that fair?" Another wondered aloud. "This is a fight to the death!"
"I'm gonna kill him anyway." One of the Careers jabbed their cutlass towards Nickel...
And the sky exploded with parrots.
"What do you think?" Coriolanus asked Luka Starkwain, as the Careers all died in a cloud of parrots.
"That's troublin'," Luka said. "Y'know I didn't tell anyone your secret. Neither did Callie."
"I believe you." The president said. He knew that, if Luka Starkwain had been responsible in any way for his secret being revealed, the victor would be having a guilt-induced breakdown.
"So, they're armed," Luka said. "With guns?"
"Yes," Coriolanus said. He knew what Luka was thinking. Luka Starkwain was a very fit man. While other victors had fallen to drink or drugs, the only thing he appeared to be addicted to was cycling. Even fifteen years after his victory, he could probably still take out a large group of enemies. But he wouldn't stand a chance again multiple opponents with guns.
"Peacekeeper guns?" Luka asked.
"Most likely," Coriolanus said. "I'll check in with the local squads to see if they've noticed anything suspicious."
"I could probably disable a peacekeeper gun," Luka said. "They have this safety code built in, so if a squad member goes rogue, one of the others can disable their weapon."
"How do you know?" Coriolanus was shocked. Civilians weren't supposed to have that kind of knowledge.
Luka shrugged, "I'm friends with all the peacekeepers back home. I probably would've trained up if I'd made it to eighteen. I'm basically an honorary peacekeeper."
Coriolanus' brow furrowed as he browsed through peacekeeper squad reports, looking for a sign that their guns had been taken. Luka Starkwain was becoming an incredibly powerful man. If he ever realised what he could do with his power, he'd be a serious threat.
"Look at this," Coriolanus pointed at the screen. "Squad #010 hasn't reported for six hours."
"A whole squad..." Luka muttered. "If you can get me into the Gamemaker Buildin', I could disable their guns and get Io out of there."
"I wouldn't be able to get you in," Coriolanus said. "They've taken over the surveillance systems. I can't see what they're doing and they can see everything. They'll see you and they'll kill Io."
Luka seemed stumped but only for a second.
"I know a guy who can hack into their systems."
"You know a hacker?" Coriolanus asked, shocked that Luka would have a single criminal connection.
"He's not a hacker. He's a man who knows how to hack. Just like I know how to murder someone but it doesn't make me a murderer."
"Is he trustworthy." Coriolanus asked.
"Gajin?" Luka smiled. "He's pretty much my best friend. I'd trust him with my life."
Luka Starkwain paced the floor, feeling a sick sense of excitement fizzing away in his veins. He hadn't felt like this since the finale of his games. It was the feeling like a storm on the horizon, electricity in the air.
He knew that he was going to fight.
"We've got cameras." Gajin said. Luka and the president both crowded around his computer as images from inside the Gamemaker Building flashed up on the screen. Armed people, dressed in black, patrolled the corridors, while a few more guarded the control room. Luka counted eight in total. The same number as the kids he'd killed in his games.
There were two others in the control room as well, two women tied up and slumped in chairs. Luka recognised the dark-haired one as Io Jasper, Callisto's sister. The other one, the one with the lovely, crimson hair, was even more familiar. He'd run his fingers through that hair when he'd arrived in the Capitol this year. Callisto changed her hair colour every year and Luka always told her that it didn't matter what colour she was in. She'd always be beautiful.
"No..." Luka gasped.
"Is that..." President Snow began.
"Callie..." Luka stumbled away from the screen and sank to the floor, putting his head in his hands like that would undo what he'd just seen. He'd just spoken to her earlier today, before he'd had to leave to watch his tribute during the bloodbath. He couldn't quite believe that she'd been kidnapped since then. She was supposed to be safe in the Capitol.
She was supposed to be safe.
"What's wrong?" Gajin asked, softly. He didn't know about Callisto. Luka had tried his hardest to keep his relationship a secret for the last fifteen years. It hadn't come naturally to him, keeping a secret, but he'd been able to hide it from Gajin.
"They've got my girlfriend," Luka muttered. "The bastards... I'm gonna kill them! Every last fucking one of them."
"Language." Gajin said, automatically.
"My girlfriend is tied up in a building full of armed hostiles and you actually think I'm gonna have the energy to watch my language?" Luka asked.
Gajin sighed, sounding sad.
Rage shot through Luka like a bolt of lightning. He knew he had to destroy something or he'd do something stupid like punch the president for having an affair with the wrong woman. Or just having an affair.
"Permission to smash up a chair, sir." He said.
"Permission granted." Snow said.
Luka grabbed the flimsiest looking chair he could see and began smashing it against the floor.
"Couldn't you just keep your damn marriage vows?" He roared, without looking away from the incredibly satisfying sight of wood splintering beneath his hands. "I know you're the president. I know you make the laws. But you're not above everything!"
"Are you okay, Mr Starkwain?" President Snow asked.
Luka looked away from the chair he was destroying to stare at President Snow. For a moment, he lost faith in everything he'd ever believed in. The Capitol was a dangerous place, the president was crooked and the law was being abused at every possibility by those in power.
"Promise me something, Mr President," Luka said, "If we save Io, either dump her or divorce your wife. It's not right, what you're doing."
"How is what you're doing with Callisto Jasper any better?" President Snow asked. "You're corrupting a woman of the Capitol with your district ways."
Luka felt his faith crumbling. He'd learned, long ago, that he was just as good as anyone from the Capitol. If anyone from the districts had earned the kind of freedom and luxury that they had, it was him. Where he was from didn't make him worthless.
"You're lucky," he said. "That my girlfriend's in there. Because if Callie's life wasn't on the line I would walk away and you'd need one hell of an argument to get me to come back. I'm a victor. I am worthy. I think you know that, otherwise you wouldn't have called me for help."
When Gajin Nakamura woke up in the morning, he didn't expect that, later that day, he'd watch Luka Starkwain get into an argument with President Snow. Then again, he'd never expected to get reaped for the Hunger Games. Or to win the Hunger Games.
Now the two other men sat in a frosty silence as Gajin studied the screen and noted down the activities of the kidnappers.
"They're not going to realise that we can see them, right?" Snow asked.
"No," Gajin answered. "I don't think any of them are particularly good at computers. None of them have thought to check their systems since they broke in. I don't think they will until things start going noticeably wrong."
"Then they'd better not go noticeably wrong," Snow said.
Luka chucked, darkly, and pointed towards one of the guns on the screen. "Those are peacekeeper guns, definitely. That green light is the screen where you input the code. I've gotta get in there, before Callie gets hurt."
"You're going in there?" Gajin asked, wondering why he was surprised. Luka Starkwain was, yet again, throwing himself into a dangerous situation. One of these days, he was going to get himself killed.
"Yeah," Luka said. "I just need to steal one of their guns. Then I can use it to disable the others. I suppose I don't have to go in there. Someone else can learn the code, steal a gun and put it in. Sotope, maybe. She's pretty fit."
"I want to get as few people as possible involved," Snow said. "I think we can all agree you're the perfect candidate, Mr Starkwain. What I'm concerned about is how we're going to get you in there without you showing up on their security cameras."
"I could loop the footage if I studied their patterns for a bit longer." Gajin offered. "They'll think they can see what's happening right now but they'll actually be seeing something that's already happened. It's risky, though. I'll have to get the patterns exactly right."
"I could make an outfit." Luka said, quietly.
Gajin and the president both turned to look at him, surprised.
"I could probably pass as one of them," Luka said. "Especially since they're all in disguise. If I could put a similar disguise together, I could blend in a lot better. I probably could make one, as well. Callie taught me some things."
Gajin watched the way Luka's blue eyes lingered on the screen, on the red-haired woman. He knew that Luka's love for that woman was so strong, he'd destroy himself for her.
Gajin silently told himself to stop being jealous.
"So, the plan so far looks like this," Snow said. "Gajin loops the footage. Luka goes into the Gamemaker Building in disguise and steals a gun, deactivating every weapon in the building. Then I can send peacekeepers in to rescue the hostages."
"Sounds like a plan," Luka said.
Gajin hesitated. The plan sounded a little too risky for his liking but he couldn't think of anything better.
"We have a plan," Gajin said.
Io Jasper managed to hold back the tears until Androcles ordered for every sponsor gift - excluding weapons - to be sent to every tribute. Then she realised what they were trying to do. They were trying to keep the games dragging on for as long as possible. They were trying to keep the remaining tributes alive.
They were making her games boring.
"Why are you doing this?" She asked Androcles. She had no idea how or why he'd become the leader of a group of rebels, or how he'd managed to recruit almost every one of the other mentors from the Tenth Hunger Games. Even Livia Snow, Coryo's wife, was involved, despite not being in the building. She was the one who'd funded them.
Io could understand why Livia would want her dead. She'd stolen Livia's husband right from under her nose. She felt a grim sense of satisfaction in knowing that she'd probably ruined Livia Snow's day.
"I suppose I owe you an explanation," Androcles turned to Io. "Do you remember Juno Phipps?"
"Yes," Io said. "She was awful at school. Didn't she die of heart failure a few years ago?"
"Exactly!" Androcles said, a wicked gleam in his eye. "I happened to meet her by chance at a bar shortly before her death. She'd been investigating your boyfriend, Coriolanus Snow. You see, a lot of Coryo's political rivals have died mysteriously, just when they'd started to cause him trouble. Some of them... well, they might sound familiar to you. Dean Highbottom, Urban, Vipsania, Dr Gaul, Felix, Iphigenia, Festus. Even his dear friend, Clemensia. I did some digging. I've always wanted to be a reporter. They were all poisoned. Your boyfriend rose to power by poisoning people."
Io heard Callisto gasp. She didn't react at all.
She wasn't surprised.
"So what if he did?" Io asked. "I never liked those people. Coryo was the only person who was nice to me at school. The rest of you all treated me like a freak because I spent my time working hard rather than just bragging about my parents and sponging off their success."
Androcles' face was hidden behind his mask. The only parts of his face that Io could see were his eyes. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. She doubted she could even tell without the mask.
Faces were so hard to read.
"Some of those people were friends with Coriolanus right up until their deaths. He killed them because he believed they were getting too powerful. You're the head gamemaker, Io. You're also the president's dirty little secret, the mother of his child. You're the most powerful woman in Panem. How long do you think you'll last before you get too powerful?"
Io tried to ignore Androcles' threats. "That's ridiculous! Coryo would never kill me. He loves me."
"Does he?" Androcles asked. "Does he love you? Or has he been using you? How many tributes has he asked you to kill? How many games has he asked you to rig? And for what? He made you head gamemaker and let you into his bed. He indulged all your schoolgirl fantasies on the one condition that you did everything he asked of you. He brainwashed you, Io."
"You're wrong!" Io cried. "He loves me. We're going to rule the world together. You're just trying to turn me against him like you did with all the others."
"You're not going to rule the world together," Androcles said. "Coriolanus is already beginning to lose his power. His Hunger Games will be so boring this year, boring enough to get people to look up from their screens and into everything wrong with the government. Then, between my gun and your pretty little head, we'll force Coryo to confess to all of his crimes on live TV. There will be riots, chaos, an end to the tyranny."
Then he returned to his screens and left Io to her thoughts.
"Callisto," she whispered to her sister. "You're good at people. Do you think Coryo really loves me?"
Callisto sighed. Her eyes were sad.
"If he really loves you, why is he married to another woman?"
"Politics," Io muttered.
"I hate politics," Callisto agreed. "Never fall for a guy who cares more about politics than people."
Io wished she'd asked her sister for advice before she'd let herself fall in love with Coriolanus Snow. She'd always thought that Callisto was the irresponsible younger sister. Callisto had gone to parties, parties that had boys and alcohol. She'd become a fashion designer instead of getting a proper job. She'd started dating a victor, someone who wasn't even from the Capitol.
But what she'd just said was one of the smartest things that Io had heard.
Luka Starkwain pulled the bike chain tight between his hands. After two days of waiting, full of nerves, for Gajin to make exactly the right loop, he could finally bring justice down upon the people who'd dared to threaten his girlfriend.
Luka's target was the largest and tallest of the kidnappers, the one closest in stature to him. With his dark clothes and his white, plastic mask, he'd be able to impersonate this man unless someone studied him really closely.
And by the time anyone would be able to study him really closely, the peacekeepers would be storming the building and nobody would care.
It was a little scary how easy it was for Luka to sneak up on the tall kidnapper, as he patrolled outside a store cupboard. He hadn't been in a life-or-death situation like this since his games, fifteen years ago. His body fell into its old rhythms like his games had only been yesterday, like fighting had been carved into his bones. His heart beat so hard, he thought it might burst out of his chest.
He had to hold himself back from just launching himself at the kidnapper and beating him to a bloody, splintered pulp.
Luka was angry. He knew that he had to keep his anger under control. It was like keeping a rabid dog, frothing and barking on the end of a leash. Luka's anger was loud. He had to keep himself silent or he'd give himself away and cause Callisto to be shot.
When Luka was close enough to his target, he threw the chain around the man's neck and began to strangle him. He noticed almost immediately how little muscle his target had. The man's body was mostly fat. As the man struggled in his grip, dropping his gun and trying - failing - to scream for help with a chain tight around his throat, Luka wondered if all the kidnappers were like this. Maybe they all had weak bodies and hid behind their guns.
The moment the man began lose consciousness, Luka picked up the gun and shoved his captive into the store cupboard. As much as he wanted to strangle the man to death, he had enough control over his anger to know it was better for the man to be kept alive to be questioned and punished by the law. Strangulation would be too merciful a death.
Silently and methodically, Luka took a coil of rope from his belt and used it to tie the kidnapper up. When he was certain that the man was secure, he turned his attention to the gun. Just above the handle, there was a screen lit up with green. With shaking hands, Luka typed in the number he'd memorised. Two-four-five-two-two-three.
The screen flashed red, as red as Callisto's hair. Luka's heart filled with relief. He knew he hadn't saved her just yet. If her kidnappers really put their minds to it, they could strangle her with some rope or beat her to death with a chair. But Luka wouldn't let either of those things happen. His disguise meant that he could sneak into the room where Callisto was being held and walk among her kidnappers, ready to fight off anyone who tried to hurt her. The only thing that could be a problem was Io. Luka would need to protect her as well.
He reached into his pocket for his communicuff and gave President Snow the signal.
By the time Callisto Jasper had fallen asleep on her first night as a hostage, she'd managed to untie the ropes around her wrists and re-tie them. As someone who spent a lot of her time around fabric, she knew how to untie a knot. Her kidnappers had no idea that she'd be able to get both her hands free with a single tug.
Unfortunately, she couldn't do that because she'd definitely be shot.
One morning - or evening, since Callisto had completely lost track of time - she woke to the sound of screams. She saw her captors crowded around the screens, watching a boy get devoured by parrots. She recognised him as Geo Greyrose, the boy from District 5. Luka's tribute.
Her tribute.
She remembered dressing Geo for the parade in armour that looked like an underwater volcano - a source of geothermal power - and thinking that he was the best-looking tribute she'd dressed since Luka. Later that night, she'd asked Luka if he'd retire from mentoring if the boy won. He'd told her that he'd only stop coming to see her when he was in his coffin.
She'd been hoping that Geo would win. She'd been hoping that he'd bring more food parcels to her favourite district.
"What did he do?" Callisto asked.
The leader of the kidnappers - Androcles, as Io had called him - left the screens to talk to her.
"He was too handsome. He was becoming popular. People were rooting for him."
"So now you're going to kill tributes just because they look good?" Callisto asked. "You'd better be careful. You might accidentally bring the Boring Games to an end by killing everyone too quickly."
Androcles laughed. "The Boring Games? What an excellent way to describe what I'm doing! One for the history books, I think. How does it feel, Callisto, being somewhere where history is being made?"
"I'd like to be somewhere else, please," Callisto said. "Why do you need me, anyway? You've got Io. You've got the Gamemaker Building. Couldn't you just let me go?"
"You're right in saying that I don't need you," Androcles said, menacingly. "There's very little stopping me from putting a bullet in your brain. You know too much to live. But you have this very special type of intelligence, one that your sister doesn't have. I think you know that President Snow needs to be removed from power."
"Maybe he does," Callisto admitted. "But at least he doesn't kidnap people."
"What do you think happened to Rarity Belcourt?" Androcles asked.
Callisto hung her head. "I don't know."
Androcles reached forwards and tilted her chin up with his hand. "I think you do, Callisto."
Before Callisto could respond, peacekeepers burst into the room. Androcles hauled her to her feet and held her in front of him, a human shield. She saw Io being held the same way by someone else.
"One step closer and I shoot her!" Androcles yelled, as some of the other kidnappers were grabbed by peacekeepers, their hands being cuffed behind their backs.
He fired a warning shot at the ceiling. Callisto heard Io scream. She wanted to run and comfort her sister, who'd hated loud noises ever since the arena bombing, but there were ropes binding her ankles together and Androcles had a tight grip on her shoulder.
Callisto watched as the man holding Io lowered his own gun and shoved Io forwards, into the arms of the nearest peacekeeper. In the time it took for her to process that the man was helping to rescue her sister, Callisto also realised that she'd never seen this man before. His clothes, while still black and concealing his entire body, were slightly different to the other kidnappers' clothes. They hung off his body differently.
She'd need more time to figure out exactly how she'd worked it out, but Callisto realised that she had seen that man before. She'd seen him every year since he was sixteen, and in every kind of mood, in every kind of outfit.
"Luka!" Callisto cried, elated. He turned to her, blue eyes shining behind his mask.
Then Androcles fired several rounds at her head.
Callisto squeezed her eyes shut, wondering if she'd died. There was a ringing in her ears but no pain. Tentatively, she opened her eyes to find that nothing had changed.
"I guess my gun's broken," Androcles raised a knife to Callisto's throat. "I'll have to kill her some other way."
"Don't you dare!" Luka yelled, talking off his mask. "If you hurt her, I will rip your guts out and hang you with them."
Androcles backed towards the fire exit, dragging Callisto with him. Between the ropes around her ankles and her high heels, she could hardly walk.
"I see you're still protecting your precious Capitol, Starkwain," Androcles smirked. "Does it ever occur to you that the shining city of your dreams might be rotten to the core? Have you ever realised that you're just a dog begging for scraps at its master's table? Will you ever learn that we'll never see you as an equal?"
"I'm not doin' this for the Capitol," Luka said, quietly.
"Oh..." Androcles whispered. "You're in love with her, aren't you? Isn't that tragic? The simple district boy, in love with the Capitol girl forever above his station," he took another step towards the door, lifting his hand from Callisto's shoulder to push it open. The cold blade against her throat and the ropes around her legs stopped her from running to safety. "Actually, I'm rather attached to being alive. If your Callisto's the one thing keeping you from ripping me to shreds, I think I'll keep her. You may have won this round. You can arrest all my friends and have your Hunger Games keep the president's mistress, but you don't get everything. I'm going to leave and Callisto is going to leave with me. If anyone else follows me, I will slit her throat. Goodbye, gentlemen."
Androcles backed out of the door, pulling Callisto with him. The door swung shut before her eyes. She had just enough time to catch the terrified look in Luka's blue eyes.
She had to get back to him.
Callisto stumbled as she stepped onto the metal grating that made up the fire escape. The heels of her shoes sunk into the gaps.
"Why can't you walk?" Androcles yelled in her ear.
"Maybe if you'd given me an advance notice that I was going to be kidnapped, I would've worn more sensible footwear," Callisto said.
He sank to his knees to slice through the ropes around her ankles. She noticed that it would be pretty easy to knock him down the stairs. Callisto didn't have a fighter's instincts but she assumed that Androcles didn't, either. The moment he started falling, he'd probably drop the knife and she'd be able to get to safety.
The moment she felt the ropes fall away, she slammed her foot into his face. Androcles cried out, letting his knife clatter to the metal stairs. He grabbed her ankle as he fell backwards, dragging her with him. Callisto screamed as she tumbled down the stairs, trying to protect her head.
They finally rolled to a stop when the staircase turned a corner. Androcles' body cushioned the impact of Callisto hitting the railing. Immediately, she struggled to her feet, trying to ignore the bruises that covered her body. The rope around her wrists had fallen away in the chaos. She took one step and almost tripped.
"This is the last time that I wear heels," she muttered, kicking off her shoes. She tried to walk away only to find Androcles' hand gripping her ankle.
"It will be," He said, dazed.
Panicking at the thought of being dragged away, yet again, Callisto lashed out with the only weapon she had - her shoes. There was a sickening crack as the stiletto heel punched through the man's skull. Callisto gasped and sank to her knees, shocked, as Androcles fell limp.
She'd just killed a man.
"Luka!" she screamed, stumbling up the metal stairs, shoeless. "Help me!"
"Callie!" He burst through the door and rushed down the stairs to meet her halfway. "What happened."
"He's dead..." Callisto choked. "I killed him."
"That's my girl." Luka whispered, wrapping his arms around her.
She collapsed, sobbing, in his arms. She'd just had the most traumatic, exhausting, overwhelming experience of her life. Now she knew she was safe, she didn't have the adrenaline keeping her from falling apart. Luka let her cling to him, murmuring how much he loved her into her hair.
"Can you walk?" He asked, softly, as her breathing slowed to a normal rate.
Callisto thought of her shoes, both abandoned beside Androcles' dead body. Androcles' dead body... The world began to spin. The ground seemed too close one moment, too far away the next.
"No..." Callisto whispered. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Luka said. Gently, he hooked an arm behind Callisto's legs and picked her up. She felt weightless. "I've got you, Callie. Let's get out of here."
Luka Starkwain sat down beside his girlfriend. Callisto was curled up on the pavement, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. It hid all the bruises from her fight on the fire escape. According to the doctors who Snow had stationed outside the Gamemaker Building, neither of the sisters had suffered serious injuries but both were in a state of shock.
Most of the doctors were dealing with Io, who'd had flashbacks from the rebel bombing she'd been trapped in as a teenager. Callisto had been left alone, which suited Luka just fine. He always felt a lot more confident when he was alone with her.
"The first fight is always the hardest," He said, gently.
"Let's hope it's the last," Callisto whispered, glancing up from her feet. She'd been staring at them for the last few minutes. Luka had tried to reassure her that what she'd done to Androcles Anderson was in self-defence, and far less painful than the execution the rebel leader would've had if he'd survived. She wasn't any more guilty of murder than a hangman or a victor.
But Luka also knew there was more to killing someone than guilt and punishments. There was the matter of spilled blood and broken bones, of limp, lifeless bodies. Nothing could've prepared Callisto for that. Even watching the Hunger Games, extreme violence confined to a flat image on a screen, couldn't match the feeling she must've had standing over someone broken and knowing that she'd been the one to break them.
Luka knew the feeling well. It had diminished over time, with every blow he'd ever struck, as he'd come to learn that he was a fighter. Maybe it'd helped that he'd lost his first fight. Maybe it was easier for him to beat people black and blue because he'd already been beaten. He'd learned what a broken person looked like by reading the patterns on his own skin. He'd prepared himself for it.
Luka was glad that Callisto had won, though, no matter how much it'd hurt her. Because she'd won, she was here, with him. He could help her recover. If she'd lost...
Luka didn't want to think about what would've happened to her if she'd lost.
"If I hadn't been wearing heels..." Callisto said, looking pale and haunted. Clearly she was having dark thoughts as well. "If I hadn't been wearing those damn heels..."
"Then I would've torn this city apart trying to find you," Luka said. He reached across to squeeze her shoulder, comfortingly.
Callisto smiled, weakly. She turned to him with wide eyes. Even with her hair a mess and her face streaked with tears, she was the most beautiful woman that Luka had ever seen. He made the decision, then and there, that the kind of love he gave her wasn't good enough for her. She deserved someone who could be there for her at all times, who could hold her hand walking down the street or take her out to a fancy restaurant. She deserved better than to be his secret.
"Look, Callie," he said. "I can't keep this a secret anymore. I want to tell the world how much I love you. I want anyone who ever tries to hurt you to know that I will be out for their blood. I don't care if it destroys my reputation or my career but you... you've got your dream job. I don't want to ruin that for you."
"Luka, I've had that job for fourteen years," Callisto said, reaching up to caress his face. Her hand was steady, even after everything she'd been through. "It's been long enough for me. Now I just want to make the most of every moment with you that I can."
She leaned in to kiss Luka. He pulled her so close that he could feel her heartbeat, the proof that she was still alive. He'd come so close to losing her that he was scared that she'd be snatched away by some other villain the moment she left his sight.
Even if Luka stayed with Callisto for the entire games, he'd just have to go home to District 5 and leave her in the Capitol, where bad things happened and she was in danger. He pulled away, feeling powerless.
"Would you ever want to move to District 5?" Luka asked.
"Yeah," Callisto said, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'd love to spend more time with you and it's such an interesting place. I'm not sure it's safe, though"
"It's very different to how it was when I was growing up," Luka said. "Crime's really gone down and you'd be moving in with me, in Victor's Village. That's the best neighbourhood in the district."
"That's not what I meant," Callisto said. "I'm fine with District 5, just... Do you really think Snow would let me run away with you?"
"I'll figure something out," Luka said, thinking back to his argument with the president. Snow would definitely be a problem. Suddenly, a plan formed in his head, distant but getting closer, like thunder from a faraway storm.
He was sick of fighting. He was sick of hurting people. He hoped that he'd be able to adapt, to find a new purpose. Luka Starkwain decided that his new purpose was to settle down, start a family and protect the people he loved.
"Attention tributes. The gamemakers have decided to revoke their earlier decision. You are allowed - nay, encouraged - to kill each other. To aid you with this, you will each be sent your best weapon based on your background or performance in training. May the odds be ever in you favour."
Nickel Baker groaned when he heard the announcement. He'd known that the earlier one was too good to be true. Even though it had caused the death of the Careers and a few tough outliers, including the handsome boy from Five, it wouldn't extend his lifetime by much.
Victory would, though.
Nickel started considering victory, not as a faraway dream but as a real possibility. He was the only tribute over sixteen remaining. He was skinny and weak, sure, but he was the only boy left who'd hit puberty. He had height that the the other tributes would never live to reach.
He'd make sure of that.
A silver parachute landed next to him. A scythe hung from its strings. He untangled the weapon from the parachute and swung it around a few times, pretending he was cutting down stalks of wheat.
If any of the others came for him, he'd be ready.
Coriolanus Snow was putting off a very unpleasant meeting the only way he could - by scheduling another very unpleasant meeting.
The first of these meetings was with Luka Starkwain. Ever since the incident with the chair, Snow had become increasingly worried about Starkwain. The victor of the Fourteenth Hunger Games seemed to have grown a spine.
That made him dangerous. Too dangerous.
"What do you want?" Coriolanus asked, trying to sound powerful and imposing.
Luka Starkwain fixed him with serious, blue eyes. He looked unpredictable, a storm hiding in a perfectly-tailored suit. "I want to marry Callisto Jasper. I want her to move into Victor's Village so I can see her all year. That's all I want."
Coriolanus was outraged. He couldn't allow a district citizen, victor or not, to marry Callisto Jasper, a high-born Capitol lady. That would give people all sorts of ideas.
"No," Snow said, firmly. "Callisto Jasper is far above your station, Mr Starkwain. If you marry her, I'll have your brother killed to punish you for not knowing your place."
"Thought you'd say that," Starkwain said, a little too smugly. "Maybe reading the news will change your mind."
"What news?" Coriolanus asked.
"Look it up," Starkwain said. "It shouldn't take you too long."
Coriolanus turned on a hologram screen and scrolled through some tabloid headlines. Every other headline seemed to be about how much of a disaster the Twenty-Ninth Hunger Games were being. But there also seemed to be another story dominating the news.
"'Heartthrob Victor Buys Engagement Ring'." Coriolanus read aloud. "'Who's Luka's Lady?'. What are you doing, Starkwain?"
"Distractin' the people from your failures," Starkwain said, calmly. "It's why the Hunger Games has victors, isn't it? You kill twenty-three kids to punish the rebels for what they did and you let one kid live to stop the people from gettin' too angry. It's the thing that keeps the people workin'. It's not out of fear of what will happen if they stop. It's out of hope that they're workin' towards a bright future. Since the Hunger Games this year is such a disaster, the people will get angry. The thing that they were hopin' for never really happened. If you let me marry Callisto, I can give them somethin' to hope for, somethin' good comin' out of a bad year. If you don't... Well, the people will realise that I'm never gettin' engaged and they'll be even more disappointed. So, you see, I'm doin' you a favour, Mr President."
Coriolanus realised, slowly, that he'd been outplayed. And not just by anyone. By Luka Starkwain, his most loyal, most gullible, most easily-manipulated victor.
Had that all been a lie or had this year tested the limits of Starkwain's loyalty to its breaking point?
"Fine," he groaned. "Marry that blasted woman."
"Thank you, sir." Starkwain bowed and left the office.
Coriolanus tried to tell himself that it was a win-win situation. Now that Luka Starkwain had everything he wanted, he had nothing to gain and everything to lose. He'd stay in line from now on. He knew he was fooling himself.
He'd never have Starkwain's total loyalty again.
The next unpleasant meeting was with Io Jasper. Coriolanus had never felt so weak over one woman since Lucy Gray Baird.
He'd watched, helpless, as Androcles Anderson, the wannabe reporter who'd managed to form a rebel group with the dirty secrets he'd found, had talked to Io and her sister, trying to win them over. The cameras hadn't picked up the words that'd passed between Androcles and his hostages. Maybe he'd managed to convert Io to his rebellion.
Coriolanus needed to get rid of her before she destroyed him, one way or another.
When she walked into the room, Coriolanus had to resist all the loving and protective feelings that surfaced in him. Even though all of Io's physical injuries had been healed, her ordeal had taken its toll on her mind. She had this look in her eyes, a desperate longing for the only person she believed could protect her. Coriolanus.
There was no doubt about it. Io belonged to him. She was entirely his. She'd do anything he'd ask her to. His genius. His puppet. His weakness. His.
"Io," He said, trying to keep the pain out of his voice.
"Coryo," She replied, softly.
This was going to be hard.
"I'm sure you know the public reaction to the games," Coriolanus decided to get it over with, get straight to the point.
"It's bad," Io said, succinctly.
"They think it's your fault," Coriolanus said. "We both know the truth but we also both know that they can never know about our relationship. I have a very difficult decision. I could either allow the public to continue to believe that it's your fault, which would mean that I would have to fire you to avoid public outrage, or I could tell them the truth, which would ruin both our reputations, possibly costing us both our jobs. I'm sure an intelligent woman like you can figure out which option is the better one."
"You're going to fire me..." Io whispered, eyes brimming with tears. "Surely you can pull some strings. You got me this job. There must be a way you can help me keep it. Or at least demote me but let me stay on the gamemaking team. I could go back to mutt-breeding, work my way back up to the top."
"I'm sorry, Io. There's nothing I can do," Coriolanus lied. If he tried, he could probably keep Io around. But he wanted her gone. "I can get you a new job. You have a choice between mutt-breeding in District 10 and studying radiation-related health conditions in District 5. Both districts would really benefit having a brilliant scientist like you. You can't stay in the Capitol. It wouldn't be safe for you."
"You're banishing me?" Io asked. "What about us?"
"There is no 'us'. I was foolish to ever think we could be together. Livia-"
"Is one of them," Io interrupted. "I heard Androcles calling her. The only reason they managed to get so many weapons was because Livia helped to fund and supply them. You know she doesn't love you like I do."
Coriolanus paused before he spoke again. Maybe Io was lying, since she definitely had a hatred for Livia, but he found it disturbingly easy to imagine his wife plotting to overthrow him. He'd have to look into it.
"Livia will be dealt with," Coriolanus said. "There's nothing you can say or do to convince me to let you stay. Now, I've given you a choice between two good jobs in two loyal districts. I can make arrangements with influential families in both districts to get you the best accommodation. Wherever you go, you'll be well looked-after."
"There's really nothing I can do?" Io looked exhausted. "Fine. I pick Ten. I've always loved mutts."
"I'll send avoxes to help you pack," Coriolanus said, calmly. "Goodbye, Io."
"Goodbye."
Io left, trying to hide how crushing the news had been. She'd do a good job. Io was good at burying her feelings. Coriolanus tried to erase her from his mind but found himself beginning to cry. He wiped his tears away and caught his reflection in the polished surface of his desk. He saw his own face, his bright, blue eyes. The face that Io had fallen in love with as a teenager.
He'd made the right decision. He'd felt like a teenager around her and a teenager couldn't run a country.
Coriolanus Snow realised he'd have to change things. He'd have to make sure that no woman would ever melt his heart of ice again. The first thing he'd change would be the colour of his eyes. He knew he wouldn't be able to look in the mirror with his blue eyes again without thinking of the way Starkwain had looked at him across the desk. Without remembering that Starkwain was probably out proposing to Io's sister, that he was probably going to have a happy marriage, that he'd won.
As Coriolanus wondered whether he could go back on the deal he'd made and have the victor's younger brother murdered, just out of spite, he realised what colour eyes he'd need. Yellow eyes. A snake's eyes.
This chapter turned out almost nine-thousand words long, since it's a finale of sorts. I'm not sure why I chose the Twenty-Ninth games as the grand finale. Maybe it was because I couldn't think what else to do with it. I was also drawn to a more Snow-centric plot as this is the year that he turns thirty-seven and that's my favourite number. It resulted in Nickel being majorly overshadowed but, given how awful his performance in the games was, I imagine he'd like to be forgotten about. Nickel's not a total coward - he was brave enough to volunteer - but it's a running theme in this chapter that characters aren't mentally prepared for the dangerous situation they're in. Callisto, for example, has the skills she needs to kill Androcles but she had such a sheltered upbringing that it traumatises her. Nickel, while not being as sheltered as Callisto, was just an ordinary guy who was massively out of his depth. If Androcles hadn't culled all the tougher tributes, he definitely wouldn't have won.
Speaking of Androcles, this chapter needed a villain and, after where we'd left him twelve years ago, I decided that he'd fit the bill. Normally, fighting against President Snow would make a character heroic but Androcles is doing it simply out of bitterness and spite. Even at the end, when Io had been rescued and he had no chance of taking down the government, he held Callisto hostage just so he'd have some kind of victory over Snow.
The other two arcs I concluded in this chapter run in parallel. I couldn't really set up two forbidden romances - both involving one of the Jasper sisters - without some kind of dramatic payoff. I enjoyed writing the four central 'heroes' of this chapter (Snow doesn't really qualify as a hero) and fleshing out their relationships. My favourite relationship is probably the conflict between Snow and Luka. They definitely have a lot in common over the course of this chapter but the main difference between them - and the reason why Luka eventually wins - is that Snow prioritises politics over people and Luka doesn't. It also reflects in how their romantic relationships develop in this chapter. Snow loses Io to keep his grip on power while Luka gives up his reputation to keep Callisto safe and happy.
I'm also a little surprised that this is the first chapter I've written that actually goes inside Luka's head (well, he gets a paragraph in the Quell chapter but that's Luka's head when he's in Quell Mode so it doesn't count). He's definitely featured a lot so far because he's in a pretty interesting position as an influential, loyal victor with Capitol connections but it's always been from someone else's perspective. I feel the need to mention that I deliberately left out Luka's accent in his point of view sections because he wouldn't think of himself having an accent. One of the things that stands out about Luka is that he actually succeeded in getting what he wanted. Normally, I express my love for a character by putting them though a world of pain (The Bride and The Widow is full of this) but, while it's true that I toyed with the idea of killing off Callisto, I decided to give Luka a few decades of happiness before his inevitable death during the rebellion. That's the closest thing to a happy ending any of my characters can get. I'm probably very guilty of favouritism but I really enjoy writing scenes with Luka so this chapter was extremely fun to write.
