Disclaimer: I own very little.
Chapter Fifty: Another Attempt at Persuasion
That next day, when Crystal came to tend to Obadiah, she was very silent and wasn't in the mood to discuss much of anything with me. It wasn't very surprising, but I was hoping that she would come around. Nevertheless, I left her with my son and went off to work, expecting another long, busy day.
When I arrived, however, it was a little different. I arrived a little late, but usually this was not a huge ordeal. When I stepped into my complex, two of my fellow supervisors were standing in front of my desk.
"Hello gentlemen," I greeted with a smile on my face before dropping my materials on my desk. "How may I help you?"
The older one blinked several times before looking at the younger one and then back to me," President Snow requests your presence at his mansion immediately."
"Immediately?" I asked, leaning against my desk.
"Y-yes. He told us to send you r-right away," The younger one stuttered, avoiding eye contact with me.
Just as I was gathering my materials to head out, the older one stopped me.
"You won't be needing anything," He said strictly before gesturing toward the door.
I eyed both of them suspiciously before turning on my heel to exit, as they apparently wanted me to. Before I was completely out of the room, I called back to them.
"Make sure you do a thorough check on camera T-123G today! It's been blurring ever since last week and-" I tried to explain the rest of the job, but both of them shook their head.
The younger one answered," I-it's already been t-taken care of! Don't worry about it."
I nodded," Alright, then. Thank you."
And with that, I turned to exit to follow the escorts who were to take me to President Snow's mansion.
Upon arriving, I was told that Snow was waiting for me in his rose garden. Strangely enough, I had never been in his rose garden before, though I knew he always smelt of roses. By the time I navigated to where he was located, I nearly broke a sweat turning through all of the rows of plants and flowers he had in this garden. He was seated at a small, delicate white bench in the corner of the garden, cutting roses from the bushes.
"Ah, Mrs. Crane!" He greeted with a smile on his face. "It has been awhile since just you and I have had a chat."
I watched him cut the end of the stem off of one of the roses before dumping it into the basket at his feet. I swallowed before answering," Yes, it has been awhile, President Snow."
"I was just speaking with your husband yesterday. Surely, he spoke to you about this?" Snow asked, meeting my eyes.
I bit down on my lip," No sir. He didn't mention this to me."
Snow pursed his lips as the silence hung over us. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly before saying," Sad. Sad, indeed. I expected much more of him, you know."
I folded my hands behind my back and nodded," Of course, sir."
"I expected much more of you, as well," He commented casually, pausing his cutting to look at me.
"Sir?" I questioned, raising a brow. "I've done all that I can do to keep him under control, but in the end-"
"You could stop him. I don't think you're trying hard enough," He stated adamantly. "It's not really a matter that's up for discussion. You have thus far failed in preventing your husband from doing anything, well, stupid. I just wanted the chance to remind you that I was not…joking when I told you my ultimatum. You either rein him in or lose him."
I blinked several times and looked up to the skies for some sort of answer," President Snow, I must assure you that I love my husband, but…I cannot force him to do anything. He is a grown man."
He took a deep breath in before responding," I said it wasn't open for discussion."
I opened my mouth to speak again, but the look in his eye warned me against it. I avoided his eye before muttering," I'm sorry, sir."
"Good, girl," He complimented with a smirk before dropping another rose into his box." While you're here, I'd like to ask your opinion of Miss Everdeen. You have been watching the Games?"
"Yes and my opinion of her is…," I trailed off for a moment. "Indifferent."
He paused, his fingers lingering on a new white rose as he looked back to me," Indifferent? This girl has the potential to take your husband's life and you find her…indifferent?"
I sighed," I don't like her for that reason, President Snow, but…I don't think she's a terrible person. I don't entirely know her."
He was silent for many moments as he chopped the rose from the bush. My heart was pounding from my chest as I pondered this silence. He didn't make eye contact or say a word for what felt like eternity," A part of me wishes to agree with you."
Despite the relief I was feeling, his response confused me in the slightest. He wasn't supposed to like her at all.
"However, I know this is unrealistic for she is either an intentional or unintentional threat. I still can't decide which. Do you find her actions to be purposely controversial?" He asked, trimming the stem of the rose.
I swallowed and pondered my answer carefully," I'm still processing it. Sometimes, she seems very naïve, but at other times…I do not really know."
The truth was that I knew entirely, but I wished not to delve into the details of the matter. The last thing I needed now was the cynical president getting into an argument. Right now, I needed to stay as vanilla as possible. His eyes met mine while his hands continued to cut away at the stem of the rose.
"Seems that we are not the only ones who cannot interpret the young lady's actions. Now, now I do not wish to waste any more of your time. I simply wanted to remind you of our deal just in case you forgot. Hopefully, I will be celebrating the end of the Hunger Games with your whole family in a couple of days," He commented before standing up straight and placing a hand on my shoulder." Do tell Crystal and Obadiah I say hello."
I almost opened my mouth to mention this situation to him, but I swallowed and nodded instead," Of course. Have a nice day, President Snow."
I returned to work and made sure that all was in order. During the Games, as I've said, we were certainly more focused on intensified security, but there was little else to do. The Gamemakers were in charge of all the security inside of the arena while we were responsible for the streets and keeping an eye on them. It was for this reason; we had a big problem on our hands in District Eleven due to the riots. Our people were in constant communication with the Peacekeepers being deployed to the relatively unstable areas.
That day, I finished work much later than usual and was, quite frankly, stressed out. Before heading back home, I stopped by the lounge again to meet with Enobaria and try to unwind a little before caring for Obadiah. However, when I arrived at the classy joint, there was hardly anyone there.
With a sigh, I continued to walk in and took a seat at one of the tables, alone. I sat there for, who knows how long, simply trying to process all that was going on. In my head, there was so much spinning that I couldn't think on much of anything else. The riots were starting to become controlled, but Seneca was still in danger. If Seneca was still in danger, then myself and Obadiah certainly were not safe either. I was still figuring out how to convince Seneca to save himself, but it wasn't looking as though he would change his mind anytime soon.
"Ah, Mrs. Crane," A voice said from behind me. "We meet again."
I held my head in my hands and shook my head at the recognition of the voice," Haymitch, please I have no interest in speaking with you."
"Then allow me to talk, how about that sweetheart?" He asked when I looked up at him as he was sitting down across from me. "Seneca wasn't very willing to oblige at first."
A flood of recognition struck me as the words emptied from his mouth. I dropped my jaw and shook my head, letting out a frustrated laugh in the process.
I bit down on my lip before grumbling," You caused a riot."
"No, no," He corrected, raising a finger. "Seneca still caused the riot."
"Do you realize the severity of your actions?" I groaned, shaking my head as I turned to look away from him.
"I only pleaded my case and he was of a tender heart, unlike you Mrs. Crane. Strange, I would have put money on it being the other way around," He commented with a nasty smirk on his face as he leaned back in his chair.
"Why are you here, Mr. Abernathy? To rub this all in my face that I was wrong?" I asked coldly, darting my eyes back to his. "Because if that's the case, you can leave. Now."
"Oh, no not at all, Savera," He commented, very collected. "I only wished to give you another chance before something bad could potentially happen to Seneca."
I focused on the pattern of the table, absentmindedly running my finger along the pattern before sighing;" I can't do that, Haymitch."
He leaned forward before harshly whispering," Supporting Katniss and Peeta may be the best thing to do in this situation, Savera. Together the two of you could act as an impenetrable force that could sway Snow's opinion of them."
I narrowed my eyes at him;" Do you seriously believe that?"
"I like to put my faith in anything I can get ahold of," He said, nodding to me as he did so. "Plus, I think you know how much the public likes them. Deep down. You're just feeling threatened by them is all."
"Threatened?" I laughed, raising an eyebrow as if this were the biggest joke I'd heard. "I believe you are mistaken. I never wanted all of the fame from the Games, and I think you know that, Haymitch. However, now that I've a family to care for…I have to act on their behalf, as frankly, your duo is dangerous. If Seneca steps out against Snow, it's not your neck that's on the line."
He leaned back in his chair, inhaling slowly as he tried to maintain his anger," Listen, we can sit here and play this game all day, Savera. I just want support and if you're set on denying me that-"
Just as he was saying this, my eyes drifted the screen behind the bay. On the sleek device, highlights were being shown from the day. Normally, these didn't intrigue me much, but at the sight of Katniss Everdeen being pinned down to the ground. I immediately straighten up and stared intensely as Clove taunted the girl on fire. Perhaps, for once, she could prove herself. Perhaps, she and Cato were listening to me.
"Looks like your girl got herself in trouble," I commented, matter-of-fact as I crossed my legs; I almost smirked, but found it to be inappropriate.
Instantly, Haymitch's eyes were glued to the screen as his precious gem was in the claws of dangerous. My own bias aside, Katniss didn't stand much of a chance against the scrappy district Two tribute with the knife. Clove had her pinned to the ground and had she not gotten so stuck on taunting her kill, she would have had her. I was genuinely surprised when Katniss's savior appeared in the form of Thresh. Once again, the death of Rue, being the reason for his anger strong enough to smash the arrogant girl's head against the Cornucopia before Cato could come to her rescue.
"Looks like your girl got herself in trouble," He grumbled under her breath before forcing a smile to his lips as we watched Katniss scurry back to her love in the cave. "This is your last chance to change your support."
I shook my head firmly before slamming my feet on the ground and standing beside the table," Cato is still out there."
He looked straight into my eyes," Very well, Mrs. Crane. I just hope that Seneca knows where your loyalties lie."
"That's not going to be of the importance when Cato wins," I shot at him before turning on my heel to return home.
The finale was inching closer by the minute. Every minute that passed was another minute less that I would have to fulfill my deal with Snow.
A/N: We're almost to the end. I've got two chapters left. Let me know what you think please!
