The analyst's eyes betray her sadness as she breaks the news to me.
"Sir, Special Defense has completed the analysis of your communicuff…" I lean back in my chair and bury my face in my hands.
"Let me guess. Nothing."
"We ran a full pattern analysis twice and couldn't find any trace of source code, pathway identification, or any kind of base address. The message just contained one piece of data, "The first Snow has fallen." Everything else was just not there. I don't even understand how it's possible."
I sit in Central Briefing with President Holmes, General Sturm, and Rikard Ohm. The three of them stare at me as if they are watching this unfold as part of some television program.
"They haven't made a mistake yet," I say. "Why even hope that they would make one now?" the disdain dripping from my words.
"What about the legacy surveillance that was already in place at the cabin?" President Holmes asks the analyst.
"Madam President, both legacy high altitude surveillance and the audio acquisition network was functioning perfectly. We had clear observation of Miss Snow until 1755 hours the night of her disappearance when suddenly every single sensor and back-up sensor experienced a simultaneous system failure."
"Shouldn't that have triggered an automatic alarm here at the Operations Center?" General Sturm asks. This peaks my attention considering he is actually sounding concerned. I hope that it is for Venus and not for simply for the viability of his security net.
"Yes, Sir," the analyst hesitates for a second. "Well, normally it would, Sir, but the alert system was also briefly disabled. However, there was no sign of unauthorized access."
I slam my fist onto the table causing everyone to jump.
"Dammit, of course there was no sign of unauthorized entry! There was never any sign of unauthorized entry for the fourteen previous abductions. Why the hell would there be one for the fifteenth! We have to stop acting like we're dealing with a normal threat. Whoever is doing this is smarter than we are! They are two steps ahead of every move we make and we have to start thinking and not just reacting!"
"Please, Colonel Snow," President Holmes interjects. "I realize how upsetting this must be to you, but maintain your military bearing. I need your experience thinking for us rather than your anger yelling at us." I manage to straighten up and at least appear to pull myself together.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am. You're right."
"No apologies are necessary. Mr. Ohm, the reason I've asked you here is for your analysis on the technical threat to the UDP networks." I can't help but glare at him. The thought that Venus would still be safe if it wasn't for his plan has never exited my mind. His eyes catch mine but betray no emotion. His artificial voice begins to speak while his frozen lips still remain perpetually motionless.
"It is obvious that the perpetrators of these disappearances have a high level of knowledge of the Ministry Defense Network. It contains all the data they would need to organize these operations including access to disabling the appropriate security protocols."
"So, you're saying it's an inside job?" General Sturm spits out at him.
"Unlikely," Ohm continues. Every time a Ministry employee accesses the network, their personal identification code and physical location are logged in a separate encrypted database which has not been tampered with. The only way that I can see these particular operational security violations are possible is that someone is entering from outside of the network by manipulating the data stream itself. This is extraordinary in and of itself because the data stream uses a triband encryption matrix with a 10 millisecond refresh rate. "
"English please," I say to Ohm becoming increasingly upset at his nonchalant attitude considering that this realization has the potential to bring down the entire country. "Some of us in here are just dumb grunts."
"In layman's terms, Colonel Snow, the database access codes have over two billion possible combinations and the correct code changes one hundred times every second."
"Could it be the TEC?" says President Holmes.
"Unlikely," Ohm continues in his passive tones. "The TEC uses a binary carrier wave on their data transmissions that is very distinctive, especially over long distances. Our external defense nodes would have picked up their transmissions almost instantly.
My thinking is that it could be a sleeper: an old veteran of the Revolution that has a particular grudge against the descendants of their previous overlords."
"That's half the damn country, Man." Sturm mumbles.
"Actually, not when you examine the facts, General," Ohm continues. "The Defense Network is a remnant of the one designed for the Peacekeeper forces near the end of the Snow regime. We simply just re-encrypted it."
"So, what you're saying is 'It's the same door, you just changed the locks,'" I grumble.
"One could use that analogy, yes."
"So, I guess the question we should be asking right now is 'Who are the people who re-encrypted the network?'"
"I think that you are finally starting to use the little bit of logic you seem to have, Colonel," Ohm says as a crooked grin creeps across his face. I continue to glare.
"I imagine it's not a very long list, then?"
"A little less than a hundred names would have had access to the kind of information required."
"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" I yell as I stand up from the table.
"Not so fast, Colonel Snow," President Holmes barks at me. "After consulting with General Sturm, we have both decided that the strain of this chain of events has proven to be too much for you."
"What?"
"You're too damn close to this, Snow. With your emotions this high, you're a liability rather than an asset to this investigation," Sturm says bluntly.
"How much leave do you have built up?" Holmes asks.
"You're turfing me?"
"We're simply asking you to have confidence in us to see this through."
"I supposed to be confident now. I've been screaming about this for the past twelve months and nothing has been done!"
"Watch…your…tone, Colonel. I am still your president whether you like it or not. Leave the Capitol for awhile, spend some time reconnecting with your wife, and we'll see to your protection."
"My protection?" I don't like where this is going.
"You are to have a twenty-four hour a day security escort until further notice under my direct executive order. I can't afford to lose Ares Snow. You're too valuable to us."
I curse so loudly that every set of eyes in the room looks directly at me.
"Venus was my responsibility and now she's gone! You can't expect me just to sit idly by while I put my fate and hers in the hands of a bunch of worthless techno-geeks," I say more than indicating Ohm with a nod of my head. He remains unfazed.
"Look what happened to Venus, Snow. Look what happened when you didn't 'think' like you were supposed to. Trust me, I know how you feel." Sturm says trying to be as inoffensive as possible but his words slice like a razor. I nearly collapse to the floor as my legs feel they are now made of rubber.
"This is not a debate, Ares," the President continues. "My decision is final. Go home now. Your escort is already waiting for you upstairs."
Five bodyguards meet me at the elevator. They walk with me as I go to my office, clear out a few personal items, and then take me to a waiting private car. I begin to feel as Venus must have: like a prisoner.
When we arrive at my apartment building, I convince them to leave me at the front door, but I have two guards stationed directly outside at all times, and three more walking around the outside in plain clothes. An unmanned hovercraft circles ten thousand feet above in the sky streaming a constant video feed directly to Central Briefing and the crisis room at the Presidential Mansion. In less than 48 hours, I've lost my sister, my freedom, and now my dignity. Venus was right: maybe I am now living for Panem's sake alone.
I swipe into my apartment, and find Lizzy waiting for me in the living room.
"President Holmes called me directly this afternoon and told me about the new arrangement…"
I drop everything I am carrying directly to the floor and stumble to the corner across from her. There is silence for a few seconds.
Without warning, I punch at the drywall as hard as I can. My fist goes through it like tissue paper. Tears are streaming down my face and I hear angry, painful screaming ringing in my ears. Eventually, I realize it is coming from me.
"Ares!" Lizzy yells running over before grabbing my shoulder. I collapse to the ground in the fetal position. Lizzy's warm embrace soon wraps around my quivering body and she rocks me back and forth like a child in its mother's arms. "It's ok. It's ok, just let it out."
"She's dead, Lizzy. I can feel it in my heart. She's dead! And it's all because of me…"
"No, Ares. No, it was her choice. You can't blame yourself for that."
"Then who? Who do I blame?"
"Blame the people who did this, Ares." She gently wipes the tears from my face and softly kisses my lips. It's like an immediate tranquilizer. "Let the anger go. It will destroy you…and our security deposit."
Both of us burst out laughing, but soon I turn sullen again.
"My entire adult life, I've been the warrior: the one with the answers. The one that everyone counted on to face the enemy head on and take care of them…"
"And you will be again."
"Are you sure about that?"
"As sure as I am that I love you, but right now you have to have faith that the right people are in place to figure this out."
"And while I just sit here gathering dust like a relic, what am I supposed to do?"
"You're on administrative leave aren't you? Let's get the hell out of here, just the two of us."
"Where would we go?"
"Back home. Finnick's offer is still open."
"Really? Me dealing with Finnick right now?"
"Ok, if you don't want to deal with him, I can still get us a wonderful little cottage by the sea. Think of it, Ares. A little fire burning on the stone hearth, the smell of steaming lobster caught fresh that morning coming from the kitchen. You and me bundled up on the porch watching the sun go down as the rays dance off the surf, the sound of the waves crashing onto the sand…"
Suddenly, I realize that is exactly what I need.
"That cottage does sound pretty nice, I have to admit."
"Just give me a few days to make the arrangements. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."
"A few days, what am I supposed to do until then?"
"Well, what do you want to do?"
"Something, I've really been neglecting." Slowly, I take her hand and stand us up. Our lips meet again and I press Lizzy gently into the wall. Her arms softly massage my back as the rest of the world just seems to melt away into her embrace.
My hands find the base of her sweater and I pull it over her head, our lips only parting for the briefest of moments. Her skin flushes and its warmth becomes even more intoxicating. I can't stop and she doesn't want me to. I lift her into my arms and carry her to the bedroom. As we drop together onto the covers, my fingertips slowly run up and down her chest and she trembles with anticipation. True happiness rushes back into my heart. I can think of nothing else but the bond that connects us. How that bond has been tested, tried, but never has failed. This is the only woman in the world that my entire existence depends on.
"As long as I have you, nothing else really matters," I gently whisper into her ear. She whispers back, "And you will have me until my dying breath."