Chapter Eighty; Training

(Haymitch & Stephanie's POV)

Despite saying that she didn't need to know the particulars of where they were going – that she trusted him – Haymitch could tell Stephanie was practically bouncing with anticipation.

Haymitch smirked, inwardly commending her on her ability to stay silent and not demand he tell her where they were going.

They would be arriving at their destination shortly though and she needed to know the particulars anyway.

He could just imagine how she was going to react though.

Haymitch squeezed Stephanie's waist where his hand rested reassuringly before he began.

"We are going to a training centre," Haymitch told her.

"A training centre? Like the one on the ground level of the penthouses?" Stephanie repeated. He could feel her tense against him.

"Yea, something like that," Haymitch answered vaguely.

Stephanie lifted her head off his shoulder to sit back and look at him with narrowed, wary eyes.

"To do what?" she asked.

Haymitch gave her a deadpan look. "Have a guess sweetheart," he replied dryly.

"Haymitch…" Stephanie began warningly. "Training tributes for the Games is dangerous. We discussed this before. This is the Capitol!" Stephanie said, worry colouring her tone.

"Yes sweetheart you've said this all before – doesn't change the fact you can't fight."

There was a moment of silence.

Haymitch inhaled deeply. There he had said it; the thing that had been haunting him and plaguing his thoughts for a while now.

Stephanie couldn't fight.

Haymitch was fixing it. One week of training wasn't going to create miracles, especially not with all the other tributes being there also.

So Haymitch had been arranging for Stephanie to train in secret also.

At first he had had to keep his inquiries vague so as not to alert too much suspicion.

He couldn't trust a Capitolite with something like this. They would most likely use it as blackmail material or just turn him in.

Haymitch had spent an hour bandying back and forth veiled comments with a District One mentor. Haymitch reasoned that if anyone knew about secret training facilities – especially here in the Capitol – it would be the Career mentors.

However his inquiries were fruitless, until he came out of the rooms finally having giving up on getting anything useful from the District One mentor – whether the man had seriously not known of any such places or wanted to keep them for the Careers only, Haymitch little cared. All he knew was that he was no closer in getting what he needed for Stephanie.

She had approached him hesitantly, slipping a note into his hands hurriedly before scampering off.

It was evident that the Avox girl had heard and wanted to help.

Haymitch was suspicious at first but really he had no alternative.

But all the same he deliberately kept it from Stephanie, safe in the knowledge that if it were a trap of some sort that it would be evident that he was acting alone, though little help it would do Stephanie in the arena.

He met with the Avox woman. Ryess he learnt her name actually was and she was from District 3. She had been accused of spreading anti-Capitol propaganda and so brought to the Capitol and made into an Avox to set an example. Her husband had been killed.

Haymitch had felt vaguely guilty at the time when she told him they were from the same District and Haymitch couldn't even recall ever seeing her.

Through scribbled notes she had expressed her desire to help. Haymitch had been suspicious at first because she gave no reason why but as her efforts produced results Haymitch relinquished his suspicion, knowing she was risking her life by helping him.

His secret meetings with the Career mentors and then subsequent meetings with Ryess were where Haymitch had disappeared off to so often, though Stephanie little knew it.

Through inquiries and such, Ryess was able to tell Haymitch of a place, run by a Capitolite - who while he didn't care about tributes, he cared greatly about money.

Haymitch didn't like placing so much trust in someone who's only loyalty was to money, but he accepted because once the man would take the money he had incriminated himself as much as Haymitch. And if Haymitch's endeavours were discovered then he would go down with Haymitch.

Ryess had even managed to slip Haymitch the name of a Capitol chauffeur she knew was sympathetic to those from the Districts. Haymitch didn't know how Ryess knew this, but from the warm look the chauffeur had given Haymitch when Haymitch had approached him, he knew that Ryess had been correct in her assumptions.

But it was the acquiring of the chauffeur that had caused the whole problems.

Haymitch had managed to set up for Stephanie to begin secret training at the place. The man who owned the secret training centre was short and podgy around the middle with hair far too blonde and glossy for his age. He was called Sterlin.

Haymitch had insisted on looking at the premises Sterlin had at his disposal. Sterlin lived in an apartment complex, however he owned the entire second floor which consisted of four spacious apartments.

Sterlin lived in one and had knocked down the walls of the other, conjoining them all to make a training centre with blacked out windows.

Haymitch had no doubt that President Snow knew about the place, probably used it as well to train assassins to take out his political opponents and vice versa, though none of Snow's rivals had been successful as of yet.

Obviously Snow could neither acknowledge the place nor allow it to become public gossip splashed across the newspapers. So ironically, given that the place was a secret known only by the elite and not the common Capitol guard or people; Sterlin's apartment and training centre were actually the last place to find Capitol members of law enforcement about.

The problem had been in getting Stephanie to Sterlin's apartment.

They couldn't just walk there, and no Capital chauffeur would just wordlessly take them there.

Haymitch had been at his wits end trying to think of a way to get Stephanie to Sterlin's apartments, when Ryess had once more come to the rescue.

It had been after the disastrous incidence at the party when Haymitch had been frantically searching for Stephanie.

Ryess had been roped into being a server. The Capitol was trying to limit the number of other 'former District allies' the tributes may come in contact with.

Ryess had being trying to slip him the piece of paper when a guard had seen her.

Haymitch acting on instinct pulled Ryess close to him, whispering into her hair to play along.

The guard upon seeing them had snorted in disgust but obviously fell for it, thinking it was nothing but Haymitch leering drunkenly at some Avox girl, during which time Ryess slipped her hand into his blazer, and the piece of paper into his pocket.

The guard had moved them on and Haymitch had played the part perfectly, slinging an arm drunkenly around Ryess' shoulders as he stumbled down the hall, slurring just to finish the act.

The guard had merely rolled his eyes and smirked in amusement.

Haymitch had then wasted no time that night in approaching the chauffeur to ensure that he could drive them to Sterlin's apartments.

Haymitch's main concerns and guilt had been over leaving Stephanie without being able to find her.

Thinking of Stephanie – this had after all been for Stephanie, Haymitch could feel her gaze boring into him as she scowled at him.

"Haymitch…" Stephanie said, her voice low in warning before when she saw Haymitch's unwavering expression, she realised she wasn't going to sway him.

Stephanie sighed exasperated, the hand on his chest swatting him slightly. "You…!" Stephanie trailed off with a slight shake of her head before she pressed a resigned kiss to his lips.

Haymitch smirked slightly at her when she pulled back.

"You don't have to look so smug you know," Stephanie chided him before adding in a worried tone, "Will Isa not notice we're gone and what about…?"

Haymitch cut across her. "Isa will be taking Frenkin out to an individual sponsor lunch. I've already left word so she thinks I'm doing the same with you. The events of today won't be filmed so no one will be any the wiser," Haymitch assured her.

Stephanie sighed though her expression was still troubled.

The idea of training was troubling her enough, without the added fear of it being in secret and therefore highly dangerous.

But knowing that Haymitch was taking care of it all reassured her, allaying her fears slightly.

Stephanie opened her mouth to speak. She wasn't going to make the same foolish mistake of keeping Haymitch in the dark again.

Haymitch kept things from her to ensure her safety. Stephanie accepted that now. But Stephanie realised she didn't have the same ability to know what was better to keep secret or not.

"I have something to tell you – about what happened last night," Stephanie began seriously.

Haymitch's expression sobered immediately, his grey eyes sharpened.

"We're here Abernathy."

Stephanie's head snapped around as the unfamiliar voice sounded through the speaker, that came from the front seat and the car slowed to a stop.

Stephanie swallowed nervously as she glanced out the window at the unfamiliar buildings.

Haymitch sighed, before turning to her, the muscles in his jaw tense.

"We can talk later," Stephanie assured him as she inhaled deeply to steady her own nerves.