Albert Westfield,
Congratulations on your promotion to Head Peacekeeper. It's unfortunate to have to replace the late Aloysius Starkweather at this time, but the tragic accident that occurred a week ago made it a necessity. After last month's incident at the prison, I believe you are the best person to restore order to the Capitol. I trust you will not fail me.
-Coriolanus Snow, President of Panem, private correspondence.
"No, you need to look more downcast. Like you live in constant terror. Try not to make eye contact with me like that." Raven says. I'm doing my best, but looking scared of everything is something I'm not so good at. She sighs. "Take a break. We need to go over the floor plans again."
Twenty minutes later, my head is aching, and Raven's done trying to quiz me on the maps she's made. Ever since Raven got the invite in the mail, we've been practicing and studying non-stop.
Caesar Flickerman's having a birthday party in three days. Raven, having chosen architecture as her Capitol talent, actually designed his mansion a few years back. She won't tell me how many years it's been, but that's the job that landed her the right to live in the Capitol instead of being tossed back into District 5. Anyway, that, as well as being a Victor, managed to get her on his invite list, and she saw an opportunity.
I'm going too, of course. Capitol parties are always well-stocked with Avoxes, so that'll be my disguise. Additonally, Raven tells me nearly every Avox is redheaded, either naturally or because the Capitol dyes hair compulsively. It's considered a big social gaffe to talk to one in public, unless you're giving them an order, which is making this plan sound better and better to me.
The plan is simple enough. Raven and I are going to walk in through the front door. If anyone asks, I'm her personal servant. She'll loudly instruct me to take Caesar's birthday gift to the backroom, and afterwards I'm to spend the rest of the night in the kitchens. However, I'm not going to make it to the kitchens. I'm going to try to sneak upstairs and go through Caesar's office. Maybe I'll find something useful.
Hopefully it'll be more useful than the information Raven managed to get about our unknown, note-passing friend. It's been a month ago and she's been searching every lead she can. The only thing she got out of it after three weeks of effort was Caesar's name. This could still be a wild goose chase, but if it is, I'm going to pick up something shiny for me on the way out.
But first, another three days of Raven training me to act like an Avox convincingly. I can't wait till this is over. I'll sleep for a week. At least I don't have to remember any lines.
It's the day of the party. I'm in my red Avox uniform, and Raven's given me a haircut, as well as pulled it back. Very different than my interview look last year. In the event that I come face to face with Caesar himself, I don't want him to remember me. I did my best to be forgettable during the Games interview, but you never know. He seems sharper than the average Capitol civilian.
It's a long ride over to the mansion. It's snowing out, and the Avox uniforms don't seem to be designed to hold warmth. I have a feeling it's deliberate. The Capitol probably wants the former rebels to know that their lives are going to be miserable for a very long time. Raven doesn't speak to me the entire way over. I know she's playing a part, but it makes the night feel much different. Instead, she's chatting away with the other passengers about the upcoming party, and how thrilled she was to be on the list.
Say what you will about Raven, but she knows how to talk to Capitol people. She's got them all hanging on her every word about twenty minutes in, and she gives me the briefest glance during one of her stories and suddenly I understand. She's deliberately drawing everyone's attention to herself so that none of them will take a closer look at me. It's unlikely they'd recognize me in this outfit, but I did come in fourth in the Games. Good idea, Raven.
She's just getting into a story about her own Games when we arrive. Even I'm interested in this one, but she cuts it off once we've been let out of the car. She smiles at everyone and promises to finish telling them about it later that night, and I feel like the only thing that could make these people happier tonight is if they got to share a car with Finnick Odair on the way back. And the party hasn't even started.
It's a short walk up to the mansion from there, and my feet are getting colder by the second. There's a guard at the door, and he gives us a look, but Raven produces her invite and mentions I'm there to help out in the kitchens, and he doesn't give me a second glance. He waves her in, making sure not to make eye contact with me.
"Now, leave this in the third room up the hall, no, the one over there, then take the second left and you'll be in the kitchens. I'll send someone to get you when it's time to leave. Do you understand?" Raven instructs me. I nod, trying to look as meek and scared as I can. Of course, Raven's already drilled the layout of the building into me, and I'm wearing a two-way wrist buzzer under my sleeve, just in case one of us needs to signal the other when it's really time to go. But, since this is for the benefit of everyone else around me, we have to make it convincing. I start to walk away and she's already joined the party.
I'm noticing an interesting pattern about twenty feet up the hall. There's a large, wall-sized mirror in every room I've passed so far. Either Caesar is the vainest guy in the world, or else he's got eyes throughout his whole house. I guess when you're rich, you can afford to go either way, but I don't like this at all.
Third room up the hall. Caesar's got some rich friends. The whole room is stacked with extravagantly wrapped boxes, in varying sizes, and Raven's gift looks like it might vanish if I put it down in here. The upside is that Caesar's giant mirror in this room is almost completely covered, and I feel like I'm being watched a little less. Either way, after I get into his office, I'm going to give her the signal and get out of here. I put the little box on top of another one that's wrapped in a green cover, and move out.
I walk past the first left turn in the hallway. It seems to go on for a while, but then there's the second left. I walk past it too, and the staircase is right after it. Moving as fast as I can, I'm up the stairs, and the sounds of the party gradually are disappearing. It's utter silence now.
I see a room with more books than even the museum had, and I'm amazed at it. I wonder if he's read them all. It could just be for show, just like the rest of the Capitol. It's not what I'm looking for, though, so I tear myself away from it and check the next room I see.
It's got a desk covered with papers. Folders everywhere. This must be his office. Best place to start my search, I suppose. And it's missing the large mirrors, which strikes me as unusual.
I'm checking the drawers on his desk when I notice something about the folder in front of me. It's got a familiar name on it. Ellis, Marissa, it reads, and suddenly I'm worried. I flip through it. There are several pictures of me, both in the Games and out of them, transcripts of my interview, along with interviews from my neighbors and family. I wasn't close with any of them, so the information here is limited, but I'm pretty sure Caesar's at least suspecting something.
"Hello, Marissa." I hear from behind me. I turn around, not sure who I'm expecting to see. When I finally spot where the voice came from, it takes a lot of willpower to keep from showing my surprise. Oh, yeah, he definitely suspects.
Caesar Flickerman is watching me, and he's got a gun trained on me.
Caesar Flickerman's sitting in a fancy armchair smiling at me winningly, and for a second I almost think he's done all this just to interview me again. I'm running for the door before he says another word, but it's locked behind me.
"Marissa, calm down. All I want to do is talk to you. Raven's safe. Trust me." I hadn't even considered that he might have her somewhere, but if he does...
I sit across from him. "That's better. Now... You're obviously still alive. Care to explain how you got out of the Games?" I shake my head. "No? All right. That's not really why I want you here anyway." He pauses. Watches me intently for a second. The friendly game show host is gone, and in his place is someone who actually scares me for once. "Finnick Odair's trident. You took it." Not a question. He knows. He continues, "shortly after that, Raven was arrested for trying to trade it. You received a note. Rescued her." Yes, I already know that. I'm wondering where he's going with this. "After that, Raven had all charges mysteriously dropped. Unusual, I'm sure." Yes, I'd questioned her about that a few times, but she had no idea what happened.
"Now, here's the important question. Where's the trident now?"
"Good question. Why don't you ask the Peacekeepers?" He almost smiles at me. Then it's gone. "Don't play games with me, Marissa. It won't end well. I know you don't have it. I know the Peacekeepers don't have it. I also know that my men she intended to trade it to that night don't have it. Someone else has it. And Marissa, the last thing I want right now is competition."
"Competition?" The pieces are coming together slowly.
"Yes, competition. The Capitol will never fully remove the criminal element from Panem. You and I are living proof of that. However, that element can be controlled. For the most part." He sighs. "This is where you come in, Marissa. I don't care that you're an independent. That doesn't matter to me. The fact that you escaped the Capitol and faked your own death impressed me, and I always like a good show. I have a favor to ask of you."
"A favor?" I feel stupid just repeating what he says, but I don't know what to say. I'm stunned right now. "What is it?"
"I want you to find out the name of the person who took the trident during the trade. Find out where it is now. That's all. I'll take care of the rest." Hmm. Doesn't sound too hard...
"What's in it for me?" I ask before I can stop myself. Caesar actually does laugh this time. Then he's serious again.
"Here's the deal. You're subtle. My men don't have subtlety. If I send them out to find out who this is, there's going to be a bloodbath. They'll simply question anyone and everyone they can think of that may have been there that night, and they might ask hard. It could get tied back to me. No, I need you. So I'm not going to tell you I'll have you killed. Raven, either. As long as you get this job done, you're both safe."
He reaches behind his chair and pulls out a notebook. "In fact, I don't know if you've been paying attention, Marissa, but this year is the Quarter Quell."
I keep silent and wait for him to get to the point.
"It so happens, since Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have upset the President, that the Quarter Quell is arranged this year specifically to get them back in it. Let me see..." He opens the notebook to somewhere in the middle and flips around, then stops. "Let's see... This is what's going to be announced in two weeks. 'On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder, blah blah, tributes will be reaped from the existing pool of victors'".
He lets that sink in for a minute. "Now, as we both know, your friend Raven is in this pool. Do the job, and I'll make sure her name is out of the drawing for good. That's my offer. Take it or leave it." He leans back in his chair and lowers the gun. "Oh, I should tell you... there's only one other female victor from District 5."
I think quickly. One other. Two names in the drawing. No one to volunteer for her. I can't let Raven go back there. She'd never last against twenty-three other victors.
"Looks like I don't have much of a choice, then." He pushes a button on the wall next to him, and the door swings open. As I'm stepping out, I turn back for a second. "Happy birthday, Caesar", I hear myself saying.
I close the door and I'm buzzing Raven as fast as I can. She meets me at the front door after ten minutes and doesn't look at me. She's shaking hands, smiling, hugging people, and finally we're out the door.
Somehow, the ride home feels longer than before. Much longer.