The woman was looking up at you with dull, grey eyes. Her mouth twitched upward, and the tips of her fingers twitched expectantly. You were looking into the eyes of the president of District 13; the big manager of all this…it was crazy just thinking about it. You stood in front of her feeling very naked and bare. "What do you want, Juliet?" she asked expectantly. You stood there in deep thought. What were you supposed to do? Your parents were dead. Your allies were dead. And your only friend was lying in a hospital in critical condition. You had not choice…and the president of District 13 knew it.

"Alright, I'll stay…as long as you help get Cid back into shape," you said. President Coin gazed at you from her fingers and nodded her head. She wrote something down on a piece of paper.

"The deal is acceptable. You will be in a single room near the top. Training starts at 6 am sharp, don't be late," she instructed you this and gave you a packet on weapons info. You turned to leave, however, she stopped you just by clearing her throat. You turned slightly and saw her give you a smirk.

"Welcome to District 13, Cadet Matthews…"

You opened your eyes to an alarm beeping in your ear. Groaning, you rubbed your face and then pushed the OFF button. Slowly sitting up, you yawned and scratched your arm. It was about 7:30 am and you were going to begin Gale's training today. Sighing, you went over to your wardrobe and picked out a black t-shirt that came to your midriff and tight black pants. You then proceeded over to the mirror and stuck your hair up with pins. Washing out the stitches on your face, you exited the room and made your way down to the weapons unit. There, Gale waited for you, wearing the designated uniform of a cadet and sporting a mediocre bow. Smiling at the menial weapon, you walked over and checked in with one of the guards. "So, what are we doing here?" he asked. You took the wooden bow from his hand and set it down on the floor. Instead, you replaced it with an automated bow with enhanced sighting, darkening, night vision, and aerodynamics. He raised an eyebrow at the large, black thing and weighed it in his hands.

"It's a lot lighter than it looks," he said honestly. Holding it out, he pulled back the drawstring and released it. He smiled at the sound of the snap. You nodded your head in agreement. It was a very sweet piece of equipment. You ushered in some shooting ranges and watched as he hit targets with different kinds of arrows: gas, freezing, iron, and just plain ones along with others. You watched him closely, trying to gauge his experience with the bow and arrow. From the looks of it this Gale guy had hunted before, and he knew how to handle his own weapon. Nodding to yourself, you gently pulled the bow out of his hand and searched through the weapons unit for a minute before handing the dark-haired boy a standard District 13 semi-automatic. He held the weapon in his hands and weighed it for a minute before taking aim and firing at the target.

Needless to say, he didn't get a bullseye. He didn't even hit the target mat. Cringing slightly at the thought of trying to teach a country boy how to shoot a gun, you showed him how to hold the gun properly before firing. After a few bad practice rounds, he threw the gun down in frustration. Being as patient as possible, you put the gun back in its spot and folded your arms across your chest.

"Don't worry about it too much, you're not going to be using the gun soon anyhow," you assured him. Gale gave you a funny look so you continued. "You need to be trained in hand-to-hand first before you can even see combat." You pushed him out of the weapons unit and down the hall to the combat room. Standing up on the mat, you took a few minutes to stretch out and got down in a defensive position. Gale followed your lead without question…a quality you were beginning to like about him. Without counting down, you immediately attacked without holding back. Gale was quick to respond with a solid block, however, he was very slow on his feet. You quickly overcame him in a few short steps and a well placed jab to the shoulder blade. He crumpled to the ground, and groaned slightly. However, he didn't stay down. With a red face, he got back up and attacked back. He ran at you with open arms, but before he could even touch you, you jumped over him and used his shoulders as a post and pushed yourself up and over his body causing him to run off the mat. Turning around he gave you a surprised expression.

Gritting his teeth, he ran at you again, but you could see that he had changed his mind and made a jab at your arm. Smirking to yourself, you dodged the punch by dropping to a crouch and doing a leg sweep. Gale hit the ground with a thump and moaned in pain. He didn't get up this time, but instead laid on the floor with wide eyes. Giving him a knowing smile, you sat down cross-legged next to him. He was breathing kind of haggardly, so you let him have a minute. Standing up again, you offered a hand.

"This is the kind of level you need to get on before you can get even CLOSE to the battle. So, let's try it again…"

You hit the ground with a grunt and moaned. The man who stood above you was Officer Cornick. With a large scar reaching across his face and a buzzed haircut he looked very angry and very mean. However, he smiled when he held out a hand to help you up. You begrudgingly took it and hoisted yourself up. Rubbing your sore muscles you smiled at your tutor. "You have to admit that I'm getting better…," you said with a knowing smile. Cornick looked at you with a twinkle in his eye and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. You lightly punched him in the arm teasingly. Walking over to the edge of the mat you got back down in a defensive position.

"Ready to try it again?" he asked seriously. You closed your eyes and took a reassuring breath. Then, focusing, you nodded your head slowly. The large man paused for a second before throwing himself at you with quick jabs and punches. You dodged each one and then used his outstretched arm as a lifting post and cartwheeled over his back before hitting him in the soft spot on his shoulder blade. He went down on all fours. Surprised at your own success, you forget to take him out, so you paid the price when he shot back up and kicked your legs out from under you. You fell to the floor with the same surprised expression on your face. Cornick stood over you with a big smile on his face.

"You're right, you are getting better," he admitted slowly. He then flopped to the floor a little breathlessly. Sitting cross-legged he got in a meditation pose and closed his eyes. You gazed at him for a second before following his lead.

"You think I'll ever have to see battle?" you asked softly. Cornick took an intake of breath before opening his eyes. He gazed at you sadly. Putting a reassuring hand on your shoulder he gave you a sad smile.

"I really hope not."

You sat in that meditation position, focusing on your breathing. Gale was sitting next to you silently and obediently. He had several good bruises on his sides and back from your attacks, but he didn't complain about them. You took a few moments of silence to think about what to do next before slowing getting up and stretching your arms. Gale watched you and followed your example. You saw him grimace slightly as he touched a large bruise on his side. Taking a swig of water from the canteen you gave the tall, dark boy a smile. "You'll get used to it, don't worry," you said reassuringly. Gale looked at you with those dark eyes for a moment.

"That's a good thing?" he asked with a slight chuckle. You laughed and shrugged your shoulders.

"It'll get you by," you answered darkly. Gale nodded his head and then stretched his arms and legs.

You followed him out of the combat room and into the hallway. The clock on the wall told you that it was 5:30pm, time for dinner. You walked with him out into the cafeteria and stood in line for the food. A scanner read your bracelet and dumped a tray full of stale bread and an extra helping of grey casserole. They must still believe you needed to gain some weight…Gale noticed as well and snickered slightly. You ignored him and walked over to the nearest table and began to chow down. You ate it without much gusto. It was kind of hard to get excited about the food in District 13. Gale sat across from you and smiled.

"Yum…grey casserole…," he said sarcastically. You smiled and nodded your head. "It seems like the kitchen staff think you need to bulk up," he noticed. You nodded your head once again.

"I didn't get a lot of chances to eat on my last mission and I lost a bit of weight," you answered. You took a bite out of the casserole and grimaced slightly. It wasn't the best in the world. Gale took a bite as well, but he just kept a straight face. There was a moment of silence in which you could tell that Gale was dwelling on questions. You didn't have to wait long until he couldn't help but ask them.

"You're pretty young to be a Special Operative…," he suggested. You understood what he was getting at, but you just nodded.

"I guess…," you said simply. Gale nodded his head in understanding. You looked at him with raised eyebrows, inviting him to continue.

"How long have you lived here, in District 13?" he asked. You thought for a moment…now that was a little harder to answer.

"About 2 years," you said, thinking about it for a moment. It was weird…two years already…that felt like a millennia ago. Gale nodded his head. He looked you up and down in analysis.

"How come you don't have to wear the uniform?" he asked curiously. You chuckled at the thought of this question. It wasn't exactly like you had permission to wear your street clothes.

"Because I like pissing off our dear President," you answered darkly. Gale gave you a confused look so you continued: "I just don't look good in khaki," you said jokingly. The dark-haired boy merely snickered before finishing off his casserole. You drank the last bit of water from the glass and stood up.

"I have to go see about a friend, but we'll meet again tomorrow the same time," you instructed, getting up. Gale nodded and waved good-bye. You dumped your tray at the drop-off and then made your way up to the computer lab where you found Cid busy at work, hacking into the Capitol's mainframe. You watched with a smile on your face as Cid typed away at the keyboard. His face went from concentrated to frustrated, to satisfied. Sighing, he sat back in his chair and finally noticed your presence.

"Hey, Juliet," he greeted you. You sat down in the lab chair next to him and gestured toward the monitor.

"What are you working on now?" you asked, trying to be polite. Cid smiled and tapped his head in a genius way.

"We're hacking in to the Capitol's main computer system to see if we can crack their security codes," he answered. You gave him an impressed look and then smiled. But before you could ask any further questions every monitor in the lab lit up with life. Cid jumped to his feet and began typing away, however, a face appeared on each one.

It was a boy about your age. He had light blonde hair and a set jaw. His eyes were a light blue as he stared right into the camera. He was sitting in a chair, and his face was contorted in pain and frustration. He opened his mouth to speak and he told the camera that District 13 should give up in the fight or matters will just get worse. He then spoke a name, "Katniss", a girl who apparently was a key in all of this and that she should give up as well. Before the camera flickered off he gave a lurch of pain and he cried out. You jumped up and nearly gripped the monitor with surprise.

"Who was that?" you demanded. Cid, however, was busy with a series of flashing lights from the call box. He answered a phone and spoke through it with a firm voice. He then proceeded to type on the computer ferociously and pelt it with commands. You grabbed Cid's arm and forced him to look at you. "What's happening? Who was that?" you asked again, this time more clearly. Cid shook of your arm and continued working.

"I don't know, but that signal came directly from the Capitol…it was a warning…," he said gravely. You realized that you weren't gonna get answers from here, so you forced open the lab door and took the stairs up to the top level two at a time. Without knocking on the door, you burst into Coin's office. You could immediately see that she was just as haggard as you were. The phone was ringing off the hook and several operatives including Demitri and Frank were pacing the length of her room as she shuffled through papers on her desk.

"What the hell was that?!" demanded Coin. One of the chief officers flexed his huge muscles and scratched his head.

"It looks like the Capitol has managed to send us a link over our television wires," he answered. Coin looked like she was about to throw something at him, but instead she took a steadying breath and sat down hurridly behind her desk.

"Who was that?" you asked, calling attention to yourself. Coin looked at you and you thought you saw a vein pulse in her neck.

"What are you doing here? I don't remember inviting you," she answered back sourly. You shrugged your shoulders and took a step forward.

"Who was that on the TV? And who's "Katniss"? you repeated. Coin closed her eyes and held her head for a moment before answering.

"That was footage shot from the Capitol of Peeta Mellark giving us a warning," she answered gravelly. Peeta Mellark…Peeta Mellark…that name sounded sort of familiar. That's when a light bulb flickered on in your mind. Of course! The guy had been there with that Katniss girl in the Hunger Games. He had been captured, and now they were using him as bait. You noticed how stressed and tense everyone in the room was. Suddenly, the door burst open and in walked in Gale looking VERY tense. Coin literally groaned when she saw him.

"Not now Hawthorne," she said angrily. He stormed over and placed his palms on her desk.

"We have to go save him," he said. Frank hobbled over and nodded his head vigorously.

"He's right Chief. If they continue to use Peeta that way, our 'Mockingjay' will never be our symbol," he said in a hushed voice. Coin sighed and slumped back in her chair.

"I know! I know!" she cried, frustrated. She closed her eyes and put her hands to her temples in thought. You walked over slyly.

"I wouldn't mind going on a mission...if you needed me that is…," you said slowly. Coin's eyes snapped open and she glared at you angrily.

"Your mission is to train Hawthorne. That is it," she stated. Gale stepped up with a red face and a set jaw.

"I NEED to help rescue Peeta. Let me in on the mission," he demanded stubbornly. Coin stared at him blankly, her mind reeling. You stared at him as well, curious as to why he wanted in on this mission so badly. You knew that you had YOUR reasons…but what were his? Finally, Coin looked up her face now peaceful.

"Alright, I'll let you on a mission Hawthorne," she said slowly. His face brightened, however, Coin continued. "That's right, you'll be going on a mission, but not to save Peeta…not yet at least. We need to do some recon so you'll be going in on a covert operation."

Gale's face dropped a little but he remained silent. Coin then proceeded to turn to you with a big smirk on her face. "You want back in the field so badly Matthews, well here's your chance. You're going to take Hawthorne out on his first covert mission…show him the ropes…keep him busy. I need to do a little research before I can give you a case, but I'll be in touch with you by tomorrow." She said, looking at you directly. You almost groaned at the thought of training a newbie fresh in the field, but you didn't complain. Hey, it was something to do…Coin pushed you and Gale out the door.

"Now, if you'll please…," she said. Taking the hint, you waved good-bye to Frank and Demetri and followed Gale down the stairs to the bottom level. He stopped you in the hallway and made sure no one was listening.

"So, we're going on a mission?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. You sighed and picked at the ends of your hair.

"Yeah, it looks like it. But it's COVERT, so there shouldn't be a lot of fighting," you answered. Gale nodded his head. But before he could walk away, you stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"How come you want to save this 'Peeta' so badly?" you asked curiously. Gale looked straight into your eyes for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"He's…a friend of mine," he said, pausing slightly. You knew that he was lying, but you didn't press him any further. Instead you told him that he needed to get some sleep before heading off to bed yourself. Getting into bed, you rubbed your eyes and then drifted off into sleep…