A/N: For those wondering, I'm going to do three of these long fics each inserting/melding the leverage characters into the hunger games trilogy. So, just because somebody doesn't appear in this one or isn't in here all the time does not mean they won't show up in the sequel. Oh, and I know that the tributes who win are called victors but when I began writing this I couldn't remember victors so I called them champions and then I remembered they were called victors and went to change it but sort of fell in love with the word champions so I decided to keep it. Consider it a Leverage change to it but yeah. I am aware of the actual title and I am sorry if it frustrates you. This is what happens when your brain decides it would like to recreate the Hunger Games by inserting the Leverage characters. Oh! Though there will be no Prim situation in this series there will be a Rue. And that is your hint.

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Nate felt his lungs stop as his name was called. The eyes of every person in the square fell on him with looks of shock and awe. He was going into the arena.

"No!" Parker screamed out at the top of her lungs. She tried to break through the rope but Jimmy was holding her back. She was scratching and clawing her way towards her friend, but Jimmy was just strong enough to keep a hold of her. "No, Nate! Somebody volunteer! Please, somebody volunteer! Nate, don't go!"

"Hush, Parker," Nate ordered gently. A great calm was settling over him now. He knew nobody would volunteer to replace him. It was the curse of being the son of a champion. He was going into that arena. The young boy ignored the peace keepers trying to get the little Seam girl from breaking through the rope barrier. He held his head high and started to walk towards the stage. A gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him though.

"Nate…" Paul began to speak with a quick look in Parker and Jimmy's direction.

"Don't you dare," Nate ordered briskly. He knew exactly what was on his friend's mind and he wasn't going to allow it. "Paul, under no circumstances are you going to volunteer for me. Your family needs you more. You're going to look after Parker now."

The soon to be priest immediately nodded his head in defeat. He bowed his head and said no more. He would not be the one to defy him. It was part of how their friendship worked.

Nate walked forward with a new confidence in his stride. He sent daggers towards anyone who dared to pity him and continued to the stage. Effie Trinket kindly came to collect him and present him to the rest of the district.

"Here are your tributes," she raised both of their hands in emphasis, "Nathan Ford and Margaret Collins."

The applause was nonexistent as always. Nobody cheered and tiny sniffles of pain were heard throughout. Nobody was happy with this year's Reaping results, but the children wouldn't volunteer to be slaughtered. Nate put a stop to that when he told Paul no. Now he was going to have to kill the baker's girl in order to make it home. Let the games begin.

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Nate obediently sat in the tribute room without hesitation. In a moment the peace keepers were going to allow his father to visit him. He hoped Parker would be allowed to because she needed to understand his plan. He needed to explain everything to Jimmy and Parker and it wouldn't work if they both weren't together. He had a plan and he needed them to stick to it.

Sure enough, the door swung open and a tiny blonde blur zoomed towards him in an instant. Nate braced himself as Parker slammed her whole body into him. She wasn't going to make this easy.

"You should have let him volunteer," Jimmy declared calmly. He entered immediately after Parker but he was keeping his distance. He could tell his son needed the space apparently. It was one of the first decent fatherly things he'd ever done.

"You and I both know Paul's family needs him alive more," Nate sneered towards his father in disgust. It was probably the years of drunken abuse that made him despise his father so. It was a shame they had never worked out their problems like real men.

"You have to win!" Parker ordered with her green-grey eyes staring up at him with hope. "I don't care if Maggie saved me during my first winter alone, you have to win!"

"I will," Nate nodded at his friend's order.

"Promise?" Parker ordered stubbornly. She pulled away from him and held out her hand for the shake. Her left hand was rolled onto her hip and her right hand was ready for battle. There was no going back now.

"Promise," Nate slid his right hand into hers and refused to lighten his grip. Parker needed to be reminded of the power he still contained within. It was going to make the next step of his plan easier.

"Don't promise her something you can't keep, Nathan," Jimmy's voice cracked as he spoke. Nate looked at his father in shock of the emotion. He had only seen his father cry twice in his short life. The first was when his mother was killed by a peace keeper because she wouldn't sleep with him. He was found in a ditch somewhere barely even a week later and nobody bothered to question Jimmy on the odd behavior. The other peace keepers didn't even call it a murder. Everyone in town knew who was responsible for it though. Jimmy also cried the day Adrianne came home in a little wooden box after her games ended far too soon.

It was in between their deaths that Jimmy picked up the bottle. He began drinking one bottle a day but that quickly increased to five bottles a night. He even began gambling his winnings away out of pure boredom. The hitting didn't start until after Adrianne's death though. Jimmy's heart refused to deal with the pain anymore. That was the major reason Nate hated his father so much. Jimmy was too much of a coward to ever let himself move on from his past. Now it seemed his past wasn't quite ready to let go of him either.

"Listen to me, Dad," Nate paused at the fact he actually called Jimmy dad. He hadn't done that since his mother died. "You have to stop drinking." Jimmy opened his mouth to argue so Nate raised his hand to stop him. "I don't care what you think but I need you to look after Parker!"

"I can look after myself," Parker scowled at the idea of it. The tears rolling down her cheeks though seemed to prove the opposite.

"Not anymore, Parker," Nate knelt before her with begging eyes. He knew his last wish had to be heard before they were separated forever. "Jimmy's your family now."

Parker cried harder at the news, "But you don't even call him family. You're the only family I have, Nate. You can't leave me alone."

"I'm not leaving you," Nate gently cradled her little face in his right hand. "I'll be back and I'll have lots of money to spend on you, okay? Jimmy's just going to take care of you while I'm gone. You're my little buddy, Parker. I would never leave you."

"Don't go for the cornucopia," Jimmy ordered before Parker could even think of speaking. The old man carefully stepped forward and placed a shaky hand on his son's shoulder. "Don't reveal your hunting skills until you get in that arena and don't you dare ignore any of the stations except the weapons. Haymitch will advise you likewise. Listen to him. He knows what he's doing."

"You'll take care of her?" Nate demanded immediately. He squeezed Parker against him to make their last moments together last.

"Yes," Jimmy agreed with both eyes trained on the tiny girl. "I'll take care of her. You just win this and come home."

"Bye, Dad," Nate forced the prickling feeling in his eyes away at his father's statement. He turned toward Parker just as the peace keepers started to enter. "You stay safe."

"Always," Parker promised. The blonde quickly pecked him on the cheek and hurried away before anything else could be said. Nate watched as the peace keepers forced his father away. He had to come back for them. He would do what his father said.

"You have another visitor," the redheaded peace keeper, Cora, explained.

Nate furrowed his brow in confusion of that one. He didn't expect anybody except Parker and Jimmy. He didn't have anyone else. Who could possibly be visiting him?

"I came to give you a gift," Paul explained with both arms raised in surrender. He was carrying something in his hands. Nate tried to give his friend the benefit of the doubt but he was curious. He was always curious. "It's a mockingjay pin. My mother gave it to me on my first Reaping Day. She told me it would bring me good luck and fortune. It seems she was right. I was wearing this pin when I met you and I have worn it to every Reaping day since."

Nate stared at his friend in awe. He knew what was coming next. This wasn't good. "Paul…"

"I want you to have it, Nate," Paul pinned it to his chest without permission. "It will bring you back to Parker. I won't need it anymore. Last Reaping Day, remember?"

"I'll give it back when I'm done," Nate promised immediately.

"No," Paul shook his head at the thought, "Don't promise me that. Promise me that you'll come back alive."

"I promised Parker," Nate smiled at his friend's thoughts, "You know what that means."

"You have to come back now," Paul chuckled sadly at the truth. "She'll kill you if you don't."

The two friends shared a laugh over the very idea of what the little Seam girl would do. They shook hands and bowed towards each other in respect. Paul was gone before the peace keepers even came.

"It's time to catch the train," Effie informed him from a section of the room he didn't even know was there. He wasn't exactly familiar with the train station. He had only seen it when Adrianne was chosen to compete and die for the games. There was nothing left to do. It was time to start the process.

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Nate and Maggie were both ushered into a small dining car moments after the train took off. There they saw a man they had never expected to see. He was the only other champion in District Twelve, Haymitch Abernathy.

"Nate," Haymitch grinned at the son of his fellow champion before taking a few swigs from his alcoholic mug. "How's it going?"

"I'm competing in the games," Nate responded back with a glare. He was a little too used to Haymitch's awful tone. They had been names for longer than Nate could remember. In fact, it was because of Haymitch's stories about the games that Nate decided he would never have children. What was the point when they were going to end up slaughtered for entertainment anyway? At least this increased his chances of not having to deal with that. Apparently there was a bright side to the games after all.

"Good luck," Haymitch sneered towards him. The champion took another smug swig of his drink and then promptly passed out. He was done for the evening at least.

"I'm going to go watch a recap of the Reaping," Nate declared with a roll of his eyes.

"Shouldn't we help him?" Maggie questioned in confusion. She wasn't exactly used to Haymitch's drunkenness. Nate on the other hand was intimately aware. He grew up watching Haymitch and his father have drinking parties. He wasn't in the mood to clean up his mess. He was going to do what he usually did. He was going to ignore the problem.

"No, he's always like that. He'll wake up soon and demand food. It's just his way.

Nate knew Maggie decide he was right the moment she started walking behind him. He also knew she was determined to get to know him before the games. If they became allies he wouldn't have to kill her. Somebody else would do it for him and he wouldn't have to feel guilty for it. It seemed like a good strategy really.

"I guess this means we're allies then?" Nate decided to be blunt with his strategy. He figured it would be easier to digest.

"At least I know I can trust you," Maggie nodded enthusiastically at the suggestion. They shook on it and sat down in front of the television screen. The recap was about to begin.

Sure enough, the Capitol crest began to appear and Nate glared at the television screen. He always hated the way they glorified this section with the highest honor that children would be up for slaughter like cattle. It was disgusting, but knowing the enemy was always an advantage. So, Nate stared at the screen with calculating eyes. District one was, like always, up first.

"Sophie Devereaux," the name was announced and silence was coming from the screen. A girl about his age walked towards the platform in a graceful stride. She had luscious curls of dark tresses and a figure that hinted at the perfect curves. The hair wasn't exactly unheard of for district one and neither was the way she carried herself as if she was more important than everyone else. What was odd was the fact that nobody volunteered to replace her.

"They're all staying quiet," Maggie commented in disappointment. She was just as intrigued as he was. Nobody in District One was ever actually chosen for the games. This would be interesting.

Her fellow tribute actually volunteered. His name was James Sterling and he was built for the games. Nate took special note of the male tribute from District Four named Marcus Starke because he looked like he would also be a threat to his survival. Maggie had pointed out that the boy from district eleven by the name of Thresh would be a useful ally if they could get him. Nate knew simply by the way the boy moved that that wouldn't be the case. The two took some time to strategize further before they exited to their rooms. Soon, the real work would begin.