Disclaimer: I still own little. Very little, at that.

Chapter Forty-One: The Return of Snow

When Seneca and I arrived at the headquarters, nearly everyone was in utter chaos. Mentally, I was smirking at how hectic the atmosphere was, but on the outside…I made sure to be just as confused as everyone else. I remember running around the complex, trying to offer help to anyone and everyone around, though I knew deep down that nothing would happen for another few hours.

For a while, I was able to rest easy but as the end of the timer came closer and closer…I could only hope that the system would come back online. It was only minutes before I presumed the timer would go off when one of the supervisors came to me with a flushed face.

"President Snow heard of the meltdown and came back on the first train out of District One. He's now home and is adamantly requesting your and Seneca's presence in his home," The pale worker nearly choked on his words as he did so.

I only wanted to stay there to see how much damage we would have to recover after the virus, if that's what you'd like to call it, made it course. However, I knew not to leave an infuriated President Snow stewing. Quickly, I located Seneca before; together, we made our way to the mansion via a transport provided by the president himself. Neither of us said anything, but simply clasped each other's hands and silently walked through the halls.

It was when we turned to corner to his office that Seneca finally spoke.

"You think he knows?" He whispered to me softly.

I looked straight into his blue eyes before shaking my head," He's just curious."

"I hope so," He exhaled before we knocked on the door leading to his office.

Slowly, the door opened, seemingly on its own as we entered into the sleek office. President Snow was standing, looking out the window with a white rose in his hand. We looked at each other before setting our gaze upon him.

"I was to be at a splendid gala tonight," He said, almost as if he were calm…but we both know he wasn't. "However, it appears as though I've other business to tend to."

His eyes cut over at us, clearly unpleased. He takes another look at his rose as he continues on.

"How did you allow a security breach, Miss Stone? How could such a thing happen under your careful eye?" He immediately demanded, allowing the rose to fall to the ground.

I swallowed hard and blinked several times before answering carefully," Sir, you must forgive me. Last night, my mind was not completely on the security system. I do not, however, know what caused this nonsense and pray that we can have it settled-"

"Don't try to fool me, Miss Stone. I know you are trying to protect your pitiful brother and I know that he is the only one who would have been able to pull the wool over your eyes now what I want to know is whether or not you let him," He quickly barked at me, causing heat to rush to my face.

"You're absolutely right in some ways," I said after several moments of silence; Seneca looked at me as though I was irrational, but I continued. "However, Seneca and I have found that the IP addresses from the breach do not match any of our systems that have been engineered by Capitol minds…which leads us to believe there may be rebel influence."

"Rebel influence?" He barked, looking at me with wild eyes.

"You see sir, we've been suspecting District Thirteen-"

"There is no reason to speak of District Thirteen!" He nearly howled, pacing nervously around his desk.

"Sir, we're sorry to upset you, but all roads point to a different source and, honestly, who else would have an interest in breaking into the system?" Seneca continued, playing the role flawlessly.

President Snow was silent for several minutes, pondering just how this could be possible. Both of us could see rage flowing through his veins; we had succeeded in making him believe our lie. It was all I could do not to start smiling from ear to ear as his face turned a deep shade of red and he finally slammed his hand down on the desk.

"This will never happen again! Do the both of you understand? NEVER!" He screamed, louder than I had heard him scream before.

"Rest assured, sir," Seneca began, nodding to him in affirmation. "We are already working at making the system immune to such break-ins."

His cold, unbarring eyes bore into me. It was almost as though he was searching my soul to see if we were being honest or not. I watched him as he squeezed the rose in his hands so tightly that it crumbled and fell to the ground, limp. On his desk, a device was flashing and beeping. Both Seneca and I looked at each other before back to the device. President Snow walked around the desk to his chair, took a seat, and then pressed the button to silence the device. The screen of the device lit up before he smirked at the both of us.

"It looks as though your lackeys at the headquarters have the system back online," He said leaning back in his chair, looking directly at the both of us.

Mentally, it was as though I had just won the world's most valuable prize.

We both smiled at his before Seneca answered," We've trained them well."

"So you have, Mr. Crane…so you have," He said, smiling before resting a hand on his chin and saying sternly. "But just because you succeeded this time doesn't mean their attempts to hack in will be halted. As much as I'd like to believe there is nothing out there…you never know who may be lingering. If at all possible, track whoever it was that did this and destroy them."

"Yes sir," We said simultaneously before there was another long silence

My heart was beating nearly out of my chest in anticipation of what he intended to do next. Nervously, I held my hands in front of me as he flipped through papers on his desk. Seneca and I knew better than to leave before being dismissed.

"Where is your brother, Savera?" He asked softly, looking straight into my eyes again.

I swallowed hard. I wasn't home free yet.

"I'm sure he's at his complex, sir. I haven't checked with him yet after the events of last night," I lied through my teeth.

"Ah, yes, of course," President Snow answered, tapping a pen on his desk rapidly. "Will you bid for him to see me, Savera?"

I could feel sweat forming around my hairline.

"Sure," I said, nodding to him formally. "I can stop by there on my way to the complex if you'd like."

"Please do," He answered with a smile on his face.

And with that, he dismissed the both of us.


"What exactly do you intend on doing?" Seneca asked me heatedly as we exited President Snow's mansion and climbed into the vehicle waiting for us outside.

"Calm down," I said to him. "I'm figuring it out. Just give me-"

"You better figure it out quick because you're going to be in a hell of a lot of trouble if you don't figure out something!"

"He has no idea it's us, Seneca!" I whispered harshly at him, shooting him a glare. "My plan, as of now, is to go to the complex where my mother and he were staying, call Snow and tell them they're gone. He'll have no idea it was us because he now knows we were working all last night!"

Seneca was shaking his head, seething at the thought. He was clearly overreacting, but I knew that I hadn't exactly told him all the details of my plan either. Therefore, he had some right to be upset with me. A

As we climbed into the car, I moved up to the window where the driver was and immediately informed him to take us to my family's previous home. When I sat down, thoughts of my mother's and brother's safety filled my head…I could only hope they were out of the country by this point.

Seneca said absolutely nothing to me until we arrived at the old complex. I looked at him, half expecting him to follow me when I got out, but he only crossed his arms and stayed out of my way. With a sigh, I climbed over him and entered the luxurious complex with bright green as decorations in their lobby. I approached a very long-nosed man at the reception to ask for permission to visit my family.

As always, he smiled and told me to go on up. With a nod, I turned to the stairwell and quickly ascended until I arrived on the fourth floor. When I arrived, I was not surprised to find the door unlocked. Tentatively, I entered the room and looked around at the immaculate room. They did a remarkably well job of cleaning up their tracks. I was half-expecting the room to be in utter dismay, but they proved me wrong.

At this point, I grabbed my portable device in my pocket and unlocked the screen. I quickly found President Snow and made attempt to contact him. I continued pacing throughout the room as I waited for him to answer. I was just arriving at the desk, the only sign of rush, where paper was carelessly scattered.

"What, Savera?" He instantly demanded from the other line.

"Sir, I hate to report this…but it appears as though they're gone."

The silence was so long, I had thought he hung up.

"Gone?" He asked, calmly, but I could sense the fury bubbling up in him on the inside.

"Yes, gone," I confirmed, flipping through the pages, finding them all to be blank.

"I'm sending officials over to authorize this then send out a missing persons report. Please report back to the security headquarters," He said curtly before I heard the click on the other end of the line.

To say that call went differently than I expected was an understatement to put it light then send out a missing persons report. Please report back to the security headquarters," He said curtly before I heard the click on the other end of the line.

To say that call went differently than I expected was an understatement to put it lightly. He sounded far too calm, but I knew better than to think he was truly calm. I knew that every inch of his being was infuriated and as treason-filled as it was…I couldn't help but feel an extreme sense of accomplishment as I strolled out of the apartment.

Seneca was going to be thrilled.

A/N: There you have it! Now, I'm going to start on the next chapter…I'm super excited for it! I think you'll like it. Please, please, please tell me what you think. I'm still going to try to be done by Christmas…which means I need to kick it into high gear! Thanks all! Love you all