Chapter 10:

The man had a rope with him, and he lowered it into the hole. Annie went first and climbed up. Katniss went next with Peeta following directly behind her. Finnick made up the rear. It was dark. There were no lights on in any of the buildings surrounding them. The man put something into his pocket.

As soon as Finnick appeared from the hole they were moving, sprinting towards a white and grey building.

A group of four Peacekeepers guarded the main entrance, but Finnick did not slow down, and he charged the group. The two groups collided as the Peacekeepers reached for their weapons. One of them had already gotten a hand on a gun, and he raised it up to point it towards Katniss. She kicked him just below the knee, and he fell forwards, still holding the gun in his left hand. She kicked him again, this time aiming for the head, but she missed and instead hit him in the neck, below his jaw. He screamed out in pain and hit out with his right fist, hitting her in the shin.

She took a step back, and then stepped forwards, and with the extra momentum she delivered a swift kick to his left cheek. He slumped over and was still. Katniss took a few deep breaths as she glanced around at the others. The fighting was already over, and five bodies lay on the ground. Four Peacekeepers and…She grimaced. The man who opened the man hole for them was there too, laying between two of the Peacekeepers; his blood soaked the street under him. She had not even heard the gunshot.

"Beetee…" Annie stumbled over to the man, and she checked for a pulse. She looked at Finnick and shook her head.

Finnick swore. "This is bad." He looked back the way they had come, and then returned his gaze to the building. "Really, really bad." He paced back and forth, and then came to a sudden stop.

Katniss furrowed her brow. "We can't stay here."

Finnick swore again. But he started moving and headed for the building. The door was locked, so they had to go back and search for a key. Katniss found it in the breast pocket of the guy she had kicked, and they entered the building. Finnick was first and Katniss followed close behind. They entered into a narrow corridor, all the lights were still off inside the building. Annie had brought four large flashlights, and she handed one to each of them. Katniss turned on her flashlight and turned to point ahead of her; a door waited for them at the end of the corridor. They walked over to it. Beside the door there was a white box with a screen and nine buttons arranged in three lines of three below it. The screen flashed red and the word 'pass code' flickered off and on the screen. Peeta pushed the door and it slid open; he took a hesitant step forwards.

Annie and Finnick rushed past him. "I don't know if we can do it now," Annie said to Finnick.

"We just have to find out where…" Finnick said.

Katniss narrowed her eyes. "Who was that guy out there?" she asked, just as Peeta asked, "What's going on?"

Finnick stopped, turned, and came face to face with them. "That guy was Beetee; a good friend of mine, and the only reason any of this is possible." He turned and started walking forwards again, and they followed him. "He told me how and when to press it—"He waved with the ball-button. "—but how can I tell where the main servers are? Or even what they look like…" He increased his pace, and after thirty seconds they came upon a junction. Immediately, Finnick took to the left and into the stairwell.

Finnick halted and looked up and down the space between the stairs. "Up or down?" he asked. Katniss shivered. Madge...She shook her head.

"Down," Katniss said.

"Why?" Finnick asked.

She shrugged. "You want to go up?"

He shook his head. "Down it is."

The four of them had guns they had stolen from the Peacekeepers; Katniss held hers awkwardly in her right hand. It was a handgun of some sort. She put a finger to the trigger, it would be so easy…A little pressure and whoever was in front of her would…; she drew the finger back and tightened her grip around the gun.

Finnick started taking four and four steps at a time. "We have to hurry, the blackout won't last much longer," he said. They struggled to keep up. Finnick was tall and had long, muscular legs, and that showed by how easily he moved down the stairs.

They ran past four doors on their way down, but eventually they reached the bottom. Finnick flew through the door. Another white and narrow corridor. He ran to the nearest door and wrenched it open; a desk, two chairs and a small shelf was hidden behind it. He swore and ran to the next door; same story there.

"Over here!" Annie yelled. She had run ahead and stood in the doorframe of a room further along the corridor. They ran to her and entered the room. Two men stood pressed against the wall; they shook like leaves. They wore blue shirts and long white coats over them. Doctors or scientists of some sort.

"You c-c-can't do this!" The man to the right said, and raised his left hand.

"Shut up!" Katniss said.

Finnick grabbed one by his collar and pulled him upwards. There was a ripping noise as the coat started falling apart at the seams. "Where is the main computer?" Finnick asked harshly.

"I-I-I don't know…Don't kill me!" the man said.

Annie was at Finnick side. "How does this thing work again?" She pointed the handgun to the man's head. "I just press here?" she asked.

"No!" the man screamed.

"We don't really need two people, do we?" Katniss stood at the back and leaned against the wall.

Peeta caught on quickly. "No…Not unless they have what we want…"he drifted off.

The man licked his lip. He glanced at the other man. He stood shivering against the wall, and was not about to help.

"I will tell you. But…you have to leave me here!" the man said.

Finnick shook his head. "Can't do that. What if you lie?"

The man looked affronted. "I won't, I promise!"

Finnick dragged him out of the room and pushed him in front. "Show us."

The man stumbled, twisted, and only a hand from Finnick kept him from falling. e He

He led them back the way they had come, and up two floors before he stopped.

"It's in there," he said and pointed at the door.

"Open the door," Finnick said.

"You won't get away with this. You know that right?"

Annie laughed. "Who says we want to get away?" she asked.

"What?" the man asked.

Katniss furrowed her brow and looked at Annie.

"Open the door," Finnick repeated.

The lights went back on. The group stood rooted to the ground for a second; then Finnick threw the man aside. "We don't have time for this," he said and opened the door himself.

Annie hit the man with the back of her gun. "Don't want him calling out," she said.

Katniss and Peeta nodded, and they ran after Finnick. They almost collided with him; he had stopped right inside the room.

There were computers everywhere; stacked all the way to the ceiling. Finnick held the ball-button in his hand. Katniss walked over to one of the computer towers. It was very hot in here, and the closer she came to the tower the hotter it became.

"Step back," Finnick said.

He brought his other hand over to rest on top of the button. Then, when Katniss had moved back and stood behind him, he pressed his palm down hard. A click was heard and they waited, and waited, but nothing happened. Someone shouted something elsewhere in the building.

"Is that it? Did we do it?" Peeta asked.

Finnick frowned. "I don't think so…something was supposed to happen, and then the computers should shut off." The continued noise from the computers had never been more obvious.

"So now what?" Peeta asked.

"I don't know…" Finnick shook the ball. He pressed the button again; this time letting his palm rest on it for a longer period.

Tick, tick, tick. "Do you hear that?" Katniss asked.

"What?" Finnick said, testily.

"I hear it; it's a ticking noise. And…it's coming from the ball." Annie said.

They crowded around the ball; Finnick pressed the button twice more. Tick, tick, tick, tick. The sound increased in frequency, going almost too fast for them to properly differentiate between the individual ticks.

Katniss's eyes widened. She snatched the ball from Finnick's hand, and threw it towards the middle of the room.

"It's a bomb," she yelled as she ran for the door.

Hot wind hit her in the back and caused her to stagger; the lights went off again with a loud splintering sound. Once she had regained her footing Katniss attempted to turn on her flashlight. But to no avail; it would not turn back on. But, the complete darkness was not all bad. It told her something; they had succeeded in their mission. Katniss did not know how long it would last, but for now, the main computer was destroyed.

Katniss groped blindly, trying to find her way back to the door.

"Are you okay?" Peeta asked when she reached him. She nodded, and then quickly added, "Yes. You?" As she realised that he could not see her any better than she could him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said.

He stood by the door, and it did not take long before Finnick and Annie joined them. The noise outside the room grew in volume. There were several people shouting now, and for every time they did so, they seemed a bit closer to where Katniss was.

"They're closing in on us. I don't think we can get out this way. I think the lights went off in the entire floor, and that's why they're taking their time," Peeta whispered.

Katniss eyes started to adjust to the darkness and she could see his face; he was frowning.

"Is there any other way out?" she asked.

Finnick shook his head. "This is the only way," he whispered.

"Are you sure?" Peeta asked.

"Did you see another door?" Finnick asked, harshly.

"This room is huge, I don't see—"

The sound of feet stomping on the outside shut him up, and the four of them drew back slowly. Peeta and Katniss on the left side of the door, and Finnick and Annie on the right side.

Katniss pulled back until she lost sight of the door and she saw nothing but the wall on her left. Then she crouched and drew Peeta down with her.

The door opened.

"Spread out; I want them found now!" A gruff voice said. Loud footsteps sounded through the room. Katniss grimaced. She could not see them, but from the noise they made there had to be at least twenty of them. A fight was out of the question; they would need to sneak out somehow.

She straightened up. If they were found here it would be all over; they had to move before that happened.

A loud crash sounded through the room, and then someone shouted. "I found them! Over here—oooof." He groaned.

"After them," Another man shouted. The Peacekeepers ran for the door. Katniss heard them pass through it, and the sound of footsteps faded away into the distance. But they were still not in the clear.

She inched towards the door; with Peeta right behind her. Movements in the darkness. Two Peacekeepers had been left to guard the door. A man and a woman. The woman paced back and forth in the doorway, thinner and shorter than the man.

"Why do we always get these awful assignments…?"she said in a rushed tone.

"Because of you," the man muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"I say we go after them; there is no one here anyway."

The man shrugged. "Okay."

The pacing woman stopped. "How will they know? Are you going to tell?" she took a step towards the man.

"I said okay."

"I thought so…" She nodded. "Then go on. You're going first, rookie."

Katniss could not see clearly from the distance but she imagined the man rolling his eyes. Then he and the woman walked out the room and disappeared from Katniss's view.

They waited for thirty second before moving. Then they walked out of the room and started up the stairs. She would pause every few feet and listen for footsteps or any other sound signalling enemy movements. There it was, someone was coming down, and they had to find somewhere to hide.

Only one way open to them, they had only cleared one set of stairs. Peeta opened the door and walked out from the stair room and onto the actual floor. It was Identical to the one two floors below them, with a long narrow corridor and doors on both sides.

"What are you doing here?" he shrieked.

It was that man again. The one that had led them to the computer room.

"What are you doing here?" Katniss countered.

The man smirked. A crazy glint had entered his eyes. "You trying to escape through here?" He shook his head. "I don't think so; the only way out is up."

Katniss took a step towards him. His coat gave her an idea. "Do you have more of those coats?"

The man took a hesitant step back. "Why?" he asked.

Peeta took a few steps towards the man. "We need to borrow them," he said, catching on.

The smirk had slipped from the man's face and he glanced over his shoulder. The door was thirty feet away; the same distance that separated him from Katniss and Peeta.

Katniss prepared to run. The man turned and sprinted for the door.

Katniss and Peeta set off after him. Katniss, being the faster of the two, quickly took the lead, and within a few seconds she had cut the distance in half. She would never make it. It was too far and he had too big a lead.

The man reached the door and opened it. Katniss was only ten feet away when the door shut closed behind him; he fumbled with the lock. Then she was there and she pulled at the door; a gap appeared. She had made it. A second later Peeta appeared too and with his help they pulled the door open. The man had kept hold of the door for a second too long, and now came with it and fell at their feet. He groaned.

Katniss nudged him with her leg. "Get up."

The man moved and slowly started to get to his feet. He stopped still hunched over. Katniss took a step forwards. "Get up—"

Something sharp entered her stomach and she gasped. Katniss shoved him away from her and pulled up her shirt to look down at her stomach. A tiny trickle of blood flowed out from a small wound right above her navel.

"What was in it?" Peeta yelled. He held the man by the throat. The man gurgled, a long syringe in his hand.

Peeta shoved him against the wall and let go of his throat. The man fell to the floor and stayed there, like a heap of fallen laundry. He giggled. "You can't get away now!"

"What was in the needle?" Peeta snapped.

He laughed. "Don't you recognize it? You have seen it before… It's a tracker, similar to the one you had in the Hunger Games."

Katniss closed the distance between them and she put her gun against the man's temple.

"Get it out," she said, her voice low and cold.

"No." He sneered.

"Now!" she shouted.

"Wait," Peeta said.

Katniss's grey eyes found him, and the man left her field of vision. Then something happened. She saw it as in slow motion. Peeta's eyes widened and then his mouth fell open, and he reached out for her. She spun around, and the movement saved her life. The man's knife drew blood from her neck. He pulled his hand back and before she could do anything the knife was heading back towards her. This time, aimed perfectly at her head.

It never completed its journey. A shot went off and the knife fell, together with the hand, and landed roughly on the floor. The man twitched and was still.

Katniss turned to Peeta and the smoking gun in his hand.

His cheeks were flushed and he heaved for air, but his grip around the gun did not lessen.

The man's position had not changed much, his head was blown backwards and lay awkwardly on one side.

"At least they won't know," she whispered. "He would have told the Peacekeepers about the tracker." Katniss welcomed the numbness and hoped it would stay till it was all over. She needed it now; from this point onwards her emotions only slowed her down.

They found two long white coats and even some small masks that covered the lower part of the face. The journey out did not take long. They Peacekeepers were busy elsewhere and Katniss and Peeta managed to avoid them. Not a word was spoken the entire way. They had to get away from the building fast, put some distance between them and the Peacekeepers. They could not return to the underground with the Peacekeepers at their heels.

They had walked half a mile from the building before either of them said a word.

"We probably turned off the trackers too. When we blew up the machines…" Peeta said.

"Maybe," Katniss said.

"Probably."

"We still have to get it out."

"Yes."

"Do you think they got out?" he said. "Finnick and Annie."

She hesitated. "N—maybe, they're strong, they could have made it. "

Peeta nodded, but his eyes clouded as he looked down the street.

Katniss stared at the map Haymitch gave her. She recognized several of the surrounding buildings, and was almost certain of their current position.

She pointed to the red circle. "Let's go see where Haymitch wanted us to go. Who knows, we might get lucky and meet him there…"

Peeta nodded, and they continued on their way.

It took them the better part of twenty minutes to reach the building; it was one of the older ones in the Capitol and the exterior paint had small cracks in it. They still wore the white coats and the masks. It drew some attention from passers-by, but in a city where dresses and face paint are accepted daily attire, a long white coat and small masks were almost disgustingly ordinary.

There were no guards, or any other people outside the building. Katniss walked up to the door and tried the handle; the door was unlocked and creaked open.

A woman sat on a large, brown, comfortable looking chair, barely ten feet inside the building. It took up almost the entire width of the corridor and looked horribly out of place between the yellow walls.

She had a brown cowboy hat on her head; the brim of it cast a shadow over her eyes. Her lips twisted downwards and she clenched and unclenched her hands.

"Who are you?" she asked, loudly.

Neither Katniss nor Peeta answered. Katniss took a hesitant step forwards.

"Who sent you?" the woman asked.

Katniss licked her lips. "Haymitch. He said you would help."

"Haymitch?" The woman said questionably. "Haymitch…" she tasted the word. "Ah, that's right. Mr Abernathy." She rose from the chair. "What a pleasant surprise. How is he doing?"

"Bad," Katniss said.

"He has had better days," Peeta rushed to add.

"Haven't we all…" the woman said as she turned and started down the corridor. "Come along, we shouldn't stand here for too long, it's not good for anyone."

They followed her up three sets of stairs and into an office. A big desk took up the better part of the room, covered by papers and binders. A large microphone was fitted to a stand on the table; the woman drew it to her and started to speak.

"I am so sorry dear listeners. I had some loafs in the oven, and they, like you know, couldn't wait." She chuckled. "The Hunger Games are still going strong and I am happy to tell you that two more combatants are expected to fall today. That would bring it down to three remaining tributes." She put a hand over the microphone and whispered to them, "most of my listeners are from the Capitol. I have to give them what they want."

Peeta nodded.

She went back to speaking into the microphone. "Let's hope they finally get the last one. She has been lucky so far, but it has to come to an end eventually. For now: enjoy this newly released single, and I will be right back. My name is Ann and you're listening to radio Navona." She pressed a green button on a screen that had been previously covered by a large binder, and then she turned towards them again.

"So what can I help you with?"

"Have you seen Haymitch?" Katniss asked.

"No, not for a very long time."

"Do you know where he might be?"

"If he could? Anywhere but the Capitol."

"If he had to stay here."

"I have no idea. He could be anywhere." Ann shook her head with a faint smile on her lips.

"So why would he send us here?" Katniss asked Peeta.

"Maybe Johanna was right, and he is trapped."

"Yeah…" Katniss looked about herself. They were in a radio station; why would he send them to a radio station? There had to be other places, other buildings, so why here? Maybe this was the most secure location for them, but somehow she doubted that. With cameras following their every move it would be impossible to stay in one location for too long. Why had Haymitch not asked them to simply flee; escape the city and not look back?

Her eyes fixed on the microphone as Ann brought it up to her mouth again.

Ann opened her mouth.

"Wait!" Katniss shouted.

"I can't. I'm in the middle of a show."

"He wanted us to go on the air and speak to the districts," she said hurriedly.

Peeta's eyes widened. "Of course," he said. "Can you broadcast to the entire Panem?" he asked Ann.

Ann's eyes narrowed. "Yes, I can. But—"

"We're going to need your help."

"Well, it will have to wait. Like I said, I'm in the middle of a show."

"No. It can't wait. Our life. Your life. Everyone is dependent on this," Peeta said.

Ann peered at him doubtfully. She sighed. "Tell me everything."

Katniss pulled down her mask. "I'm Katniss Everdeen." She pointed at Peeta. "And that is Peeta Mellark. Right now we, together with Haymitch," She hesitated. "Mr Abernathy, are trying to get out of the Capitol. We hope to come back some day under very different circumstances."

Peeta continued. "Something very important is going on, and to help it succeed, we need your help."

Ann hummed. "So he finally found the guts…I will help in any way I can," she said.

"We have to get on the air. You have to put us through to the districts. To all of them. We have a message that has to get through," Peeta said.

"I can do that, but I don't know for how long it will stay up. The Capitol controls the tower."

Peeta smiled softly. "We only need a few minutes."

"That I can give you." Throughout the entire conversation Ann kept pressing the green button now and then, presumably to turn on a new track.

"We have to do it now. Cancel the program and we will get ready," Katniss said.

Ann nodded. She peered at them with clear brown eyes. "You know what this means right?" she asked.

Katniss and Peeta nodded.

Ann smiled sadly. "I had to be sure." She pressed a big black button. She pushed away more paper and binders, and more screens became visible. She started working on them and they came to life; her fingers flew over them as she made things ready.

Katniss looked at Peeta, and Peeta looked at Katniss. Neither of them smiled, and neither of them said a word.

"I am ready here," Ann called out.

They moved around the table and stood before the microphone. "Whenever you're ready," she said.

"Ready?" Katniss asked.

"Ready," Peeta said.

"I'm sorry about this," Katniss said.

Ann smiled. "Don't be."

"Go."

Ann pressed a red button, and they were live.

For a few seconds no one spoke; then Katniss leaned forwards and opened her mouth.

"Hi. This is Katniss Everdeen; from District Twelve," she said.

"And I'm Peeta. We are here now, to talk, to tell you a little about ourselves." He paused. "I was born seventeen years ago to a small family in District Twelve. I grew up in a bakery, helping my parents and doing my best to learn the craft. Then everything changed when I became sixteen and was chosen to enter to Hunger Games. I met Katniss Everdeen, and she became my life."

He glanced over at Katniss.

"Looking back, I wouldn't have changed a thing. But that's also why I'm here; why we're here. Because some things need to change, and we, as the people, can't wait any longer. We have to force the change." He nodded to Katniss, who continued.

"And I'm Katniss. You all know my story and my family, so I will get right down to it. The revolution has started. And we face a large foe, one who has more experience than we have, and better weapons.

"So we ask you for your help…It will be tough and people will die. But we will make the change, and our children will grow up happy—Snow has ruled for too long; it's time for him to go."

Peeta took over again. "I know this is asking a lot, but if you can't do it, then no one will—it's time, we will make Panem whole once more." He took a deep breath. "Regretfully…I don't know you, so I don't know what you can do to help. But I am sure there is something. Somehow, you can make a difference."

A siren went off outside. Ann nodded, the Peacekeepers had come. She went to stand by the window.

Katniss opened her mouth. "I don't want to watch any more Hunger Games. I don't want to see any more children sacrificed at the feet of the Capitol. It has to stop. Help us stop it now."

A door burst open three floors below them. "We have to go. It's up to you now. Go out and do your part; let's take this country back!" Peeta said.

The door burst open and Peacekeepers poured into the room. Every one of them, except that one man, wore a helmet. He had a hardened look about him, and walked straight towards them. He stopped ten feet away from them and pointed the gun at Katniss's face.

He gazed at her evenly. "Found you."

"Bye," Katniss said and pressed the big black button, shutting off the broadcast.