CHAPTER 8

PART I

Bright lights.

No, not just bright. Blinding. And strange noises, too. Mechanical sounds, electronic sounds, and, mixed in with all that, the murmur of voices both strange and familiar. I forced my eyes open only to be dazzled by the blinding light hovering over my face, and I immediately squeezed them shut again. I heard another sound and I felt the sensation of something constricting my upper arm, and I tried to pull my arm away, only to find that I can't move it, and, for the first time, I was frightened.

I must have let out a sound, because a moment later I felt the touch of a hand and I could clearly hear a voice say, "He's awake, doctor."

Doctor? Suddenly, it all made sense. I must be in a hospital of some sort. But where?

"Ahh," a familiar voice murmured. "The young Victor awakens."

I turned my head toward the voice and opened my eyes again, this time to see the gaunt, unsmiling face of Dr. Josephus Picardo, Capitol expatriate and former Mine Company Doctor for District Twelve. "Is it bad?" I managed to croak.

Picardo's lips twitched up in what could be construed as a smile, although "smirk" would probably have been just as accurate. "Is what bad?" He replied, as he reached up and flicked a switch. Instantly the blinding light over my head disappeared. "Young Victor, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you...physically, anyway. Your presence here is merely a precaution at the insistence of President Coin, among others. However, I cannot attest to your seeming, and rather disappointing, lack of common sense."

What was he talking about, "nothing wrong with me?" I distinctly recalled the explosions and the noise that immediately followed the Peacekeeper shooting that little girl in the head. How could there be nothing wrong with me after all that? "What about Katniss?" I heard myself asking.

"Look for yourself," Picardo said, indicating the bed to my immediate left. With effort, I turned my head to see Katniss, still wearing her Mockingjay armor, laying on a bed, unconscious, an IV tube snaking into one arm, an automatic blood pressure cuff wrapped around the other.

"Why isn't she awake?" I asked, noticing for the first time that I, too, had an IV dripping into my own arm.

"You were both sedated," Picardo replied. "She'll be coming around soon." He turned to a nearby technician. "Find the Everdeens and tell them that Peeta Mellark is now awake and that Katniss should awaken soon." He paused and added, "Discontinue the IV drips for Mellark when you return, and for Everdeen once she's awake. Once they are both able to stand on their own, they can both be discharged."

"Yes, doctor," the technician said, before turning and leaving the room.

"What happened?" I asked, confused. "The explosions...why aren't Katniss and I hurt?"

"I'll leave that for a military mind to explain," Picardo replied. "Speaking of which, I was given very specific instructions to notify certain people once you have awakened. Please excuse me."

I watched Picardo stride away, and I couldn't help but notice that he was still wearing his ankle-tracker.

"It's simple," Boggs said. "We were bombed by our own hovercraft."

"Why aren't we dead, then?" Katniss asked thickly. She was still shaking off the effects of the sedative, although she had been awake for several minutes.

"Something new," Boggs explained. "Flash-bang bombs."

As Boggs spoke, it became clear that even he hadn't been aware of these new weapons before they had been used in District Eight. In essence, they were giant versions of the flash-bang grenades that District Thirteen soldiers were sometimes issued - devices that Boggs and Jackson called "less than lethal" munitions. They produced a blinding flash of light and a loud explosion...thus the term "flash-bang" - and were designed to confuse and incapacitate an enemy without killing.

"They are ideal for hostage situations," Jackson said. "They were loaded on the stealth hovercraft orbiting Eight. Only the flight crew knew about them. They could monitor our communications with Abernathy and decided that the 'human shield' situation was tailor-made for the bombs...and a good thing, too. Loss of life, both Peacekeeper and civilian, was minimal."

I glanced over at Katniss, and, from her expression, I could see that she was thinking what I was thinking - that the bombs came just a little too late to save the girl that the one Peacekeeper had been holding her gun on. "How minimal?" I heard myself asking.

Jackson glanced at Boggs, who nodded almost imperceptibly. "One civilian, seven Peacekeepers, no Rebels."

"A few Peacekeepers managed to get away," Boggs added. "Between the District Eight Rebels and Damon's company, they should be mopped up in a matter of days, at best." He smiled for the first time. "Your presence in Eight was instrumental in flushing out the Peacekeeper holdouts. The next report we get from Paylor should confirm that District Eight is completely and firmly in the hands of the Rebels."

That would be significant. That would mean that Eight would be the first district to completely throw off the shackles of the Capitol and stand free. But, from what I saw of District Eight, that victory had come at a tremendous cost, with their infrastructure in ruins and their industry battered almost beyond recognition.

"This victory will be a boost to the entire Rebellion," Boggs continued. "Once the word gets out, it will give hope to every other embattled district."

Before anyone could say anything else about the great and inevitable District Eight victory, a pair of technicians entered the room. One headed for me while the other went to Katniss. They were both carrying trays and paraphernalia that I recognized as blood-draw kits.

"Excuse us for a moment," the one by Katniss's bed said. "We just need to collect a quick blood sample from you both. It won't take very long."

The technicians went about their tasks with efficiency born from long practice, and they soon left, full vials of our blood rattling in their respective trays. Once they were gone, Mrs. Everdeen, who had exchanged a confused look with Prim during the blood draw, spoke for the first time.

"That was strange," she said. "Both of those techs were from the Genetics lab, not the regular Clinical lab here in the hospital."

Genetics. I remembered that Dalton, the refugee from District Ten, had been a geneticist who had been involved with livestock breeding, both in Ten and here - and had been in conference with doctors here in the hospital. I also remembered that the Pox...the epidemic that had swept through Thirteen some years earlier...had rendered almost all of the surviving District Thirteen males sterile. I had an uncomfortable suspicion that, somehow, the blood sample that we had just given had something to do with all that.

It appeared that Katniss didn't share my suspicions. She merely shrugged at her mother's statement. Obviously she didn't care what lab the technicians had come from. She did, however, have a question for Boggs.

"Why aren't you in here with us, Boggs?"

"You mean, why wasn't I knocked on my ass by those flash-bang bombs?" Boggs asked with a half-smile.

Katniss nodded. "Well, you were standing up like Peeta and I," she pointed out.

"I wasn't completely exposed like you two were," Boggs explained. "Plus, I'm not you. Once we determined that you two were merely stunned, but otherwise uninjured, President Coin ordered that you both be kept sedated until your return here."

Coin, no doubt, had been watching a live feed of the events as they occurred in Eight and I have no doubt that she probably wasn't too happy about my decision, along with Katniss, to stand up and expose ourselves. Her order, most likely, was less to do with our continued well-being and more to do with "keep those two out of further trouble."

"That being said," Boggs continued, the hint of smile fading from his face, "I just want to know what the fuck -" he paused for a moment and turned to Mrs. Everdeen and Prim, who were standing off to one side "- pardon the language, ma'am...and Primrose -" and then turned back to Katniss and I "- you two were thinking back there?"

"No apologies necessary," Mrs. Everdeen said firmly. "I was pretty much thinking the same thing."

Boggs' anger surprised both Katniss and I. "Well...uhh...I just wanted to...that is, I thought -" I managed to stammer before Boggs cut me off.

"Thought?" Boggs shook his head. "Peeta, you didn't think. I would have thought that your training would have instilled a little more self-discipline in you." He looked over at Katniss. "You, I'm not surprised at." He shook his head again and muttered, "Victors."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Katniss snapped.

"Just that you're all strong-willed, undisciplined, and you have a tendency to do whatever the hell you want," Boggs replied matter-of-factly. "Even you, Peeta...training or no training."

Haymitch chose that moment to show up. He nodded a quick greeting to Mrs. Everdeen and Prim before turning to Boggs and Jackson. "Are you done with these two?"

Boggs looked inquiringly at the technician, who turned to Katniss. "Can you stand?"

Katniss nodded, swung her legs out to the side of the bed, and, with her mother on one side and Prim on the other, managed to somewhat shakily get to her feet. She looked at the technician and arched one eyebrow. "Satisfied?"

The technician turned to Boggs. "Doctor Picardo said that they could be discharged once they could stand. They're both okay to leave."

"Thank you," Boggs said before turning back to Katniss and I. "Take it easy the rest of the day," he said. "Debriefing in command tomorrow morning at eight. Get some rest, get cleaned up...I'll authorize your showers activated so you don't have to wait until tonight...and I'll see you both tomorrow."

Boggs and Jackson left after murmuring quick goodbyes. Mrs. Everdeen and Prim did the same with Katniss, Haymitch and I, stating a need to return to their duties, leaving us with just Haymitch. "Come on, you two," he said amicably, draping one arm around my shoulders, and the other around Katniss's shoulders. As we walked out of the room, he added, "I'm sure you want to get out of those uniforms and get cleaned up."

As we stepped into the corridor I opened my mouth to say something, but I never got the chance. Haymitch's hand suddenly tightened on my shoulder, and he spun me around effortlessly, slamming me into the corridor wall, along with Katniss. His face was contorted in anger, his eyes blazing as he pinned us against the wall with surprising strength.

"I'll only say this once," he snarled. "I ain't as nice as Boggs, and I ain't had a drink since comin' here, so I'm madder'n shit and in a piss-poor mood. Either one o' you ever pull some stupid fuckin' stunt again like you pulled today, and I swear I'll hit you with one o' those fancy stun guns they carry here...and trust me, those bastards hurt like a sonofabitch! You got that?"

"Yeah," Katniss and I both croak in unison. I glance quickly at Katniss, who's staring at Haymitch in wide-eyed surprise. I have no doubt that he wasn't making an idle threat about the stun gun...and I don't intend on finding out.

Haymitch relaxed his grip on us, pulling us back into the friendly, easy-going embrace he had been using earlier, and began to guide us down the corridor once more. "Good!" he said cheerfully. "I thought you'd see it my way."

The rest of the trip to Level Twenty was made without incident. Haymitch left us there, claiming a prior engagement - I still wanted to ask him about this sudden relationship that seems to have blossomed between him and Effie Trinket, but now just doesn't seem to be the right time - and left Katniss and I standing near the elevator door as he quickly slammed the cage shut before leaving.

Katniss turned to me as the elevator whined to life as the car began its descent to the lower levels. "Hell of a day, huh?" she asked ruefully. In response, I hold my arms out to her and she willingly stepped into them. I held her like that for maybe a minute; oblivious to the curious looks we got from others going about their business, before pulling away.

"I'm going to go back up and get cleaned up," she explained, as she punched the elevator call button. "Will you be up for dinner later?"

I smile and kiss her gently. "Six sound okay?" I asked.

Katniss nodded as the elevator door slid open behind her. "See you then," she said softly. As the cage clanged shut, she added, "Peeta? Looks like we pissed some people off today, huh?"

I shrugged. "I'd do it again."

The last words I heard Katniss say as the elevator began to ascend were, "So would I."

PART II

The next day at briefing, Coin, uncharacteristically, was all smiles as she greeted us when we walked into the conference room.

"Wonderful news out of Eight," she said as we took our seats. "Commander Paylor reports that the last Peacekeeper holdouts have been neutralized, days ahead of her original projections. District Eight is now firmly in the hands of the Rebellion."

There were a few murmurs and nods of approval from others at the table. Others sat in stony silence, their faces set into masks of impassivity. I found myself torn between the two camps. On the one hand, Boggs had been right...District Eight would serve as an example to the rest of the Rebellion. On the other hand, the district was in ruins. If what happened in Eight was what we could expect, then the Rebellion may well find itself winning the war and have nothing to show for it but a bunch of ruined districts, unable to care for even the most basic needs of their citizens.

Leave it to Katniss to be the voice of dissent. "'Neutralized?'" She asked. "What exactly does that mean?"

Coin glanced in surprise at Katniss. Irritably, she replied, "The Peacekeeper threat in Eight was handled."

"How?" Katniss pressed on.

"They were isolated, surrounded, and given an ultimatum," Coin explained patiently. "The ultimatum was simple...surrender or die. The few that attempted to give themselves up to our forces were shot in the back by their fellow Peacekeepers. Once surrounded with no chance to escape, we gave them one hour to surrender. At the end of that hour Damon's company, along with the District Eight Rebels, took appropriate action."

"What sort of 'appropriate action?'" Katniss asked.

"The city block that they were hidin' in was shelled into rubble," Silenus Festuca replied. "They'll be diggin' out bodies for weeks."

"How final," Katniss said sarcastically, and then turned to Plutarch. "I hope you managed to record all that. I'm sure it will make a wonderful propo."

Plutarch looked embarrassed. Coin looked furious. Not again, Katniss, I said to myself. You don't need ending up on Coin's shit list again. It was pretty obvious that Katniss had, single-handedly, managed to destroy Coin's upbeat mood, and Coin's next remarks pretty much confirmed that.

"While we are on the subject of propos," Coin said, her voice carefully controlled, "I would like to bring up the subject of the actions of you and Mr. Mellark in District Eight." She paused, as if searching for the right words. "It seems that there's no way for me to word this delicately, so I won't even try. What the fuck were you two thinking?"

The room suddenly fell dead silent. Since coming to Thirteen, I had never heard Coin utter any sort of profanity or obscenity, not even a relatively mild "hell" or "damn." And it was obvious that Coin was not finished with either one of us, yet.

"Miss Everdeen. You are the Mockingjay. You are the living, breathing face of the Rebellion," Coin continued, obviously fighting for control. "It's no coincidence that those Peacekeepers came out of hiding and pulled that human shield stunt while you were there to witness it. They obviously had received Intel that you were both there. You and Mr. Mellark are on the front lines of the information war that we are waging right along side the physical, 'fighting' war. Tomorrow, Beetee Latier will attempt to break into Capitol communications once again to broadcast our District Eight propo. You two will give every other fighting district a morale boost. The Rebellion needs living symbols, not martyrs. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Katniss and I said, quietly, in unison.

"I've indulged you both and given you a great deal of latitude," Coin continued. "I certainly trust that I will not have to remind you again of who is in charge here in Thirteen."

Katniss and I remained silent. "Good." Coin turned to Plutarch. "Mr. Heavensbee?"

Plutarch stood up, visibly relieved that Coin's anger seemed to have abated for now. "Messalla and I have put together a rough propo of yesterday's events, and this morning we showed it to a test audience here in Thirteen." He allowed himself a small smile. "The results were positive."

"Who was in your test audience?" Boggs asked.

"Soldiers from here in Thirteen, refugees from Twelve, our own Rebel Peacekeepers, and the Capitol expats," Plutarch explained. "I have to say that most everyone was universally appalled by the murder of the little Community Home girl at the hands of the renegade Peacekeeper."

"I would like to say something about that," Darius said, standing up. "I viewed it, along with Sergeant Festuca. Both of us were sickened by what we saw, but it's pretty typical of how Peacekeepers view district residents. You can expect incidents like this to occur whenever you manage to back a group of Peacekeepers into a corner."

"On that note," Plutarch said, "how do you see Peacekeepers in other districts, or even the Capitol, reacting to this propo?"

"Mixed," Darius replied. "Those that have any humanity left in them will be troubled by what they see. Those that are firmly under the Capitol's influence will see what this group of Peacekeepers did as a necessity." He paused for a moment, looking down at the table. "The trick is to find the human ones, and pull them over to our side."

Plutarch nodded solemnly. "Point taken." He turned toward Effie. "Effie? You saw it. Reactions from the Capitol expats?"

Effie looked subdued. "Disbelief," she said quietly. She glanced around the table nervously. "Some thought that it was deliberately staged to make all Peacekeepers look bad."

"How about you, Effie?" Plutarch asked gently. "What do you think?"

Effie looked like it was all she could do to not start crying. "It's different in the Capitol than in the districts. I've seen enough in District Twelve to know how horribly those poor people were treated by the Peacekeepers there." Somehow she managed to give Darius a small smile. "Of course, I don't mean you, Darius...or the others that are here in Thirteen now. But Peacekeepers like Thread, and Cray, and Breccia...they actually enjoyed mistreating district residents. And that's what confuses the other expats. They've never seen the brutal side of Peacekeepers. And they think that the propo is just clumsy propaganda."

As Effie spoke, Coin looked more and more troubled. "That may be a problem, if Capitolites view this as false propaganda. Mr. Heavensbee, perhaps we should consider editing that part out."

Plutarch shook his head emphatically. "No, Madam President. What Effie said makes sense. Capitol citizens will view anything we broadcast with suspicion. We need to show the other ten districts still in this fight what they can expect from the Peacekeepers that they face. They, Madam President, are our audience."

Coin nodded thoughtfully. "Very well," she finally said. She turned to Henry Elliott. "Next item, please."

"Update on Ten, President Coin," Henry murmured, as the view screen flickered to life and a map of District Ten appeared.

Coin nodded and turned to Boggs. "Colonel?"

Boggs rose to his feet. "Operations are on schedule in Ten. The Capitol should be feeling the effects of the cessation of food shipments."

"They have," Plutarch confirmed. "My operatives have reported shortages of meats, poultry, and seafood as well." That last was a reference to District Four, where fighting was still raging. "No rationing yet, but appeals have been made to the populace to voluntarily reduce their consumption of animal proteins."

Coin nodded again, this time in satisfaction. "Excellent." She turned to Silenus Festuca, who was seated next to Effie and Haymitch. "Major, superb work."

It didn't escape me...or anyone else at the table...that Coin had referred to Festuca as "Major." I caught Haymitch's eye and his only response was a crooked grin. I couldn't help but wonder how this was sitting with the other officers on Coin's staff, to have an outsider, and an ex-Peacekeeper, no less, receive such a promotion.

Not surprisingly, Festuca was dismissive of Coin's compliment. "Like I said before, you ain't gotta take the whole district...just the rail hubs. The rest'll take care of itself."

"Which the Peacekeepers are defending viciously," Boggs added. "And our forces are hampered by having to exercise care in not damaging the facilities too badly."

"I understand that same care is slowing our operation down," Coin interjected, "but, at the same time, we need those hubs as operational as possible, so we can move goods to the districts that need them, once they are firmly under our control."

"Just a minute," Haymitch drawled. "Boggs, you said that the shipments outta Ten have ceased, and Plutarch confirms shortages in the Capitol. But, you also said that the Peacekeepers are defending the rail hubs and that they're still under Peacekeeper control. How can you stop shipments if you are still fightin' for control of the hubs?"

"The Capitol stopped the shipments," Boggs explained patiently. "Not us. They don't want to lose trains." He smiled grimly. "Of course, the train crews from Six are only too happy to oblige."

"Colonel, you've indicated that one rail hub is more vulnerable than the others," Coin said. "Perhaps you'd like to share with everyone here what we were discussing earlier."

Boggs nodded. "Rail Hub One-Seventeen." He touched a control and the map zoomed in to an area in the northeast corner of District Ten. "It's heavily defended, as all of them are, but we decided to concentrate our efforts here, for one reason. Anyone care to guess as to why?"

Katniss was the only one to reply. "It's the closest to District Eight."

Boggs grinned again. "Exactly. When Commander Paylor informed us earlier that the last of the Peacekeeper resistance had crumbled, she also made an immediate request for aide...specifically food, medical care, and defense against Capitol bombing attacks. In return, she's offered her support of both current and future operations. When we take One-Seventeen, we prioritize livestock shipments to Eight. We've already dispatched a mobile anti-aircraft missile battery, and the hospital is putting together a medical team that should be ready in a day or two. Paylor can have one of her militia battalions on the ground in Ten in one weeks' time. That's when we launch our all-out effort to take One-Seventeen. With luck, we'll have livestock shipments heading east within two weeks."

"And," Coin added, "this will be the first true multi-district operation, and it will further demonstrate our commitment to inter-district cooperation." She glanced at Katniss and me. "You two will need to be ready to deploy to Ten in one weeks' time."

"We'll be ready," I replied firmly. Even though this operation sounded a little more "active" than District Eight, I was eager to be able to have everyone focus on a successful propo...one where Katniss and I don't risk our lives recklessly.

Coin nodded. "Good." She stood up. "We have work to do, people. Is there anything else before we adjourn?"

"Yes," Katniss replied. "One thing."

Coin turned to Katniss. "Miss Everdeen?"

Katniss stood up slowly and faced President Coin. "Why did people from your Genetics Lab take blood samples from Peeta and I?"

I could tell that the question caught Coin off guard. "I...I'm sure it was just routine," she stammered. She's lying, I thought.

"That's not what I was told," Katniss continued. Even though her voice was even, I could tell that she was angry. This has to have something to do with what I had heard, I thought. The stories about the Pox causing sterility in many of the men of District Thirteen.

"And what were you told, Miss Everdeen?" Coin asked coldly.

"I was told that you need 'breeders' to re-populate Thirteen," Katniss replied, just as coldly.

I had never seen Coin speechless before today. Now, she simply stared at Katniss, the color draining from her already colorless face. That in itself told me everything that I needed to know. There was a program to use the refugees to repopulate District Thirteen.

Coin finally found her voice. "Miss Everdeen," she said evenly, "I will discuss this matter with you, and only you – "she gave me a pointed look as she said this "- after we adjourn here."

"But – "

"This matter is not subject to open debate," Coin continued, effectively cutting Katniss off. "My office, Miss Everdeen. Five minutes."

And, with that, Coin gathered up her PADD, gave a curt gesture to Henry, and the two left. Boggs, who was still standing, quickly regained control of the meeting. "We're done here," he said curtly. "Katniss, you and Peeta see me in an hour. We'll go over your training schedule for the next week."

"If Coin's done with her by then," Haymitch drawled, turning to face Katniss. "I have a sneakin' suspicion that she's about to take a big wet bite outta your ass, Sweetheart."

"Haymitch!" Effie exclaimed. "Must you be so crude?"

Haymitch turned and leered at Effie. "'Crude' is my middle name, Princess."

I turned to Katniss. "I'll see you later," I murmured. She glanced at me, her eyes clouded with worry. I didn't blame her. I would be worried too…in fact, I was…and I'm afraid that Katniss may have succeeded in pushing the wrong buttons with Coin.

"Yeah," Katniss muttered. He laid her hand on my arm. "Hey. I survived the Games. I'll be okay."

As I watched her leave, I wasn't so sure.

PART III

At the sound of knocking on her office door, Coin looked up from the report that she was reading, and said one word.

"Come."

The door slid open, and Katniss Everdeen stepped into the office. Like its owner, it was spare and functional, with no decoration adorning the walls. In fact, the only decoration that Katniss could see was a single framed photograph, arranged precisely on one corner of the desk.

Katniss swallowed heavily and vowed to herself to not let Coin see how nervous she really was. "You asked to see me privately, President Coin," she said respectfully.

Coin regarded the younger woman for a moment before replying. "Miss Everdeen," she said, rising and waving her hand at a single chair in front of her desk. "Please, sit."

Katniss walked slowly to the chair and sat down, her back straight, hands on her knees. Peeta referred to this position as "sitting at attention," something that he had learned during his military training. Katniss had privately thought it was stupid – until now.

Coin slid back into her chair and steepled her fingers. "I'll get to the point. You have a major problem with authority."

Katniss said nothing. "I've seen it in how you deal with me. I've seen it in how you deal with your Mentor. I've seen it in how you deal with Colonel Boggs, and Lieutenant Jackson, and other officers. And, if I could speak with him, I'm sure President Snow would agree."

Still, Katniss was silent. "I brought you in here today to clear the air between us. Make no mistake, Miss Everdeen…I am in charge here. Not Colonel Boggs. Not Haymitch Abernathy. Not Plutarch Heavensbee. Me. And you seem to derive some sort of perverse pleasure in subverting my authority at every opportunity. This issue with the blood tests is simply the latest of many."

Katniss finally spoke. "So it's true?"

Coin leaned forward in her chair, clasping her hands and placing them on her desk. "Yes. It's true."

In spite of her nervousness, Katniss could feel her anger rise again. "We're not cattle! We're not 'breeders!' We're people!"

"And we're dying," Coin replied calmly. "Without the help of refugees such as yourself, in a generation…perhaps two…District Thirteen will cease to exist. Only one man in twenty is still capable of reproducing. The timing of your blood test was unfortunate. Normally, we would have scheduled an appointment for you and Mr. Mellark, but your circumstances are somewhat fluid. We had to act when the opportunity presented itself."

"So what now?" Katniss asked bitterly. "You take our blood and grow some sort of mutt?"

At this, Coin's face clouded just a bit, and an edge creeped into her voice. "Miss Everdeen, we are not the Capitol. We are not in the business of growing either mutts or clones. Your blood sample will be used to match you with the most genetically compatible donor. It's really quite sim – "

"What?" Katniss bolted up from her chair. "That's even worse! You actually plan on 'matching' me with some random 'compatible donor?' Fuck that! I won't do it! I – "

"SIT DOWN!" Coin barked. "And, for once in your life, shut your mouth!"

In shock, Katniss did just that. She sat down and closed her mouth. "I thought that I already established that I am in charge here," Coin continued, her voice once again even and controlled. "Miss Everdeen, you are laboring under the misconception that I need you more than you need me. Let me set you straight. As the Mockingjay, you and Mr. Mellark have been invaluable in waging the information war. I have no doubt that the latest propo, when aired, will be incredibly effective."

"That being said," Coin continued, "anything that you contribute from now on would be simply building on your earlier appearances. Oh, they would have value. But we've already taken Eight. Ten will fall quickly, with Eight's help. And after that, Eleven, then Nine, then Four, and, once the Capitol starves for a bit, they too, will surrender. And all this will happen whether or not you are the Mockingjay."

"Then why even bother?" Katniss asked. "Why not just toss Peeta and I into a fighting unit?"

"Because I know what you've been through," Coin replied, her voice surprisingly gentle. "And your continuing as the Mockingjay will shorten this war. Now, before you interrupted me, I was about to explain that repopulation efforts here in Thirteen will be done scientifically. Once genetic matches are made, sperm from genetically compatible male donors will be introduced to eggs from female donors. Fertilization will be accomplished in vitro, with no actual sex act performed. Once viable, the eggs will be implanted in a host female, who will carry the fetus to term." Coin actually smiled. "So you see, Katniss, you don't even need to go through pregnancy. Now would be a bad time, anyway…and I know that your birth control injections that the Capitol gave you lasts for a year."

Katniss stared in shock at Coin. "And what if I refuse to allow my eggs to be donated?"

"We've already harvested your eggs," Coin replied. "So you see, the point is moot."

"Can you believe that bitch?"

Katniss was pacing back and forth in my cramped quarters, still agitated hours after her meeting with Coin. "They took my eggs while I was sedated!"

That made me wonder if they "harvested" anything from me during that time. I hope they didn't. The idea of some Genetics Technician "milking" me was embarrassing…even more so than the fact that I will probably be told to do it myself.

"She even called me 'Katniss.'" Katniss actually shuddered at the memory. "At least she didn't ask me how I found out about the genetic testing."

"I'm assuming it was Prim or your mother…or both," I said.

Katniss nodded. "Snow only knows what kind of trouble they would be in if Coin found out."

"Well, she won't," I replied. I decided to change the subject. "So you saw the picture on Coin's desk?"

Katniss nodded. "Just a glimpse. It was probably taken years ago. Coin's hair was a reddish color then. Her, a man, and a girl about Prim's age."

"She's lost people, too," I murmur. I had heard that Coin's husband and daughter had died during the epidemic that the Thirteens called "the Pox." "Katniss, I'm not defending her, but she's known loss, same as you and me. We don't have to like her, but maybe we can try to understand her a little."

"I don't want to understand her," Katniss muttered. "I just want all this to be over." She stopped pacing and stood before me, shoulders slumped, so I did the only thing I could do. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close.

Katniss nestled against my chest. "I want it to be over, too," I whispered. "So let's do our part to end this bullshit. We leave for Ten in a week, and I'm sure Drill Sergeant Duffy will keep us both busy until then."

"Is he really as bad as you say he is?" Katniss asked. We had discovered today that Duffy would be running us through a special training program…including Bonnie, the girl from District Eight, who would continue to work as a liaison with the District Eight Militia; and Finnick Odair, who Dr. Aurelius had "provisionally" cleared to begin training and, if successful, to participate in the District Ten propo.

I chuckled. "You'll find out." I tilted her head up and kissed her softly. "No more talk now."

Katniss was only too happy to oblige.

PART IV

Andromeda Snow was in her suite, working on homework, when her phone buzzed. She sighed, leaned back in her chair, and picked up the phone, noting with pleasure that the caller was her best friend, Sperantia Blackstone.

"Hey, Speri," she said cheerfully as the small screen on the phone came to life, revealing her friend. Ever since the terrorist attack at school, Speri, like Andromeda, had been attending school at home, through carefully vetted tutors, rather than risk another attack, even though security had been greatly increased at City Center Academy.

"Are you watching?" Speri asked bluntly. Andromeda could see that she looked upset.

"Watching what?" Andromeda asked. "Speri, you know that I'm not supposed to have the Holo on until I'm done with my homework."

"Shit," Speri muttered. "Meda, you're such a goody-goody. Now turn your Holo on!"

"Okay, okay," Andromeda replied. As she fumbled with the remote control, she asked, "What's gotten you so upset?"

"You'll see," Speri replied grimly as Andromeda's Holo flared to life. "It's on every freaking channel. You can't miss it."

Speri was right. Big as life, the flickering images showed a rubble-filled street lined with ruined buildings, and…was that? Yes! It was Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen, standing and facing a line of Peacekeepers. Each Peacekeeper was pushing a child ahead of them. From the drab, ragged clothing Andromeda could see that the kids were from a Community Home someplace.

"What is this?" Andromeda asked.

"Fucking Rebel propaganda, is what it is," Speri all but snarled.

Andromeda remembered the video of Katniss and Peeta in the remains of District Twelve. But this…this was different. Katniss was wearing some sort of form-fitting black costume, and Peeta was dressed like the other Rebel soldiers. And all of the Peacekeepers in District Twelve had been dead. These were very much alive.

The images kept flickering and fading, and Andromeda knew that the Rebels had once again been able to hack into the Capitol's communications and broadcasting system. There was a man speaking, narrating the action, but Andromeda hardly paid attention. She was too busy watching the drama unfold. There were Peeta and Katniss, bravely standing up, exposed, talking to the Peacekeepers. Another man…older, but in a uniform much like Peeta's…also stood up and was shouting at the Peacekeepers.

Andromeda watched in horror as a female Peacekeeper shot a little girl in the head, and almost immediately there were a series of explosions that shook the cameras, and the images dissolved into static. Only the man that had been narrating was still speaking, assuring the audience that Katniss and Peeta were uninjured, and were, in fact, alive and well. The narrator closed by saying that District Eight was now firmly in Rebel hands, and for all citizens of Panem to rise up against the Capitol.

Finally, the technicians in the Capitol were able to once again regain control of the broadcast, and the Rebel image faded, to be replaced by a Capitol drama. Andromeda became aware that Speri was talking to her.

"Can you believe that shit?" Speri asked.

Andromeda knew that her friend was a staunch Loyalist, so she carefully replied, "It looked awful."

"Oh, Meda, don't tell me that you actually believed that? Peacekeepers don't shoot kids in the head!" Speri paused for a moment. "Too bad that those traitors Everdeen and Mellark weren't killed, though."

Andromeda refused to take her friend's bait. She glanced around her bedroom suite, the walls liberally decorated with posters of both Katniss and Peeta. "Then how do you explain what we just saw?" Andromeda asked.

Speri shrugged. "Actors. Who knows? The Rebels are nothing but a bunch of liars!"

"At least Katniss and Peeta are okay," Andromeda murmured.

"Yeah," Speri replied. "Too fucking bad." Andromeda could see her friend quickly glance over her shoulder. "Hey. Gotta go, dad's coming. Talk to you in the morning." Andromeda's phone screen suddenly went black.

Andromeda sighed again and tossed her phone on the desk. Her head was reeling with what she had just witnessed. And, unlike Speri, the attack on the school didn't fill her with hatred for the Rebels. More than ever, it made her want to understand them. And she didn't like not understanding someone that believed in something so deeply that they were willing to die for it.

Were Katniss and Peeta willing to die? Andromeda felt her heart rise in her throat when she saw them enveloped by explosions, and felt relief wash over her when she heard that they were okay. But just because they were okay now didn't mean that they would stay okay. And there was the matter of the Peacekeeper that killed the little girl. Peacekeepers didn't kill little girls. Or did they?

Andromeda reluctantly picked up her science text and started to work on her homework again. At least she didn't have to worry about what the school was serving for lunch in the cafeteria tomorrow. Andromeda had heard that they were beginning to use canned meats instead of fresh for some reason.

But Andromeda couldn't concentrate. Instead, she found herself wishing that this whole stupid Rebellion was all over.

With Katniss and Peeta safe and alive, of course.