"Finn…?"
"Go help Gale and Leeg 1!" Finnick orders me while he shoves his arms under Messalla's body. He's alive and breathing again but he's too weak to stand up on his own right now.
I turn around to see where Gale and Leeg 1 are but the sight of the black deadly fountain which has now turned into a big black deadly wave scares the hell out of me. For someone who has had two trips to the arena I know it could be anything, not just a black wave that can swallow you.
The deafening sound of gunfire attacks my ears and I see Gale and Leeg 1 shooting everything they possibly can. In an instant I know they're trying to trigger other pods.
I take out my own gun and fire away. A pod explodes and leaves a large hole in the ground but I don't know if my bullets did that or Gale's or Leeg 1's. There's screaming everywhere but Boggs' are the worst to hear because everyone knows it's not just fear sounding through his screams, it's an unbearable pain as well. Suddenly I hear another scream, a shorter one, and when I turn around I see Peeta attacking Katniss.
"Damn it, Peeta," I mutter under my breath. I know I should probably shoot him but I won't. He can't help it he's like this. So instead I run towards the former lovebirds to help Katniss but Mitchell is closer. He flings himself at Peeta. Bad move. I remember Brutus doing the same in the arena. Brutus is dead now.
"Mitchell!" I try to warn him but it's too late. Peeta kicks him in the stomach and Mitchell flies through the air. When he falls onto the ground again, another pod goes off. Before we can try to do anything, Mitchell is trapped in a net of barbed wire. I try shooting some bullets to free him but I either miss every shot or the cables are supposed to withstand bullets.
Finnick calling my name over and over again warns me for the wave that has begun to fall. It spreads a nasty smell that makes it really hard to breathe. Everyone is suddenly running towards a building to protect themselves from the wave but what about Mitchell? He's still alive, someone should help him, not run away.
I fire a new range of bullets at the cables but they still won't snap. I can't do anything. Mitchell's body is twitching because he can't get enough air in his lungs but by doing that he's only hurting himself more. Blood is dripping down. I need to help him.
"Johanna, come on!" Finnick yells. I want to go but I can't. I'm not leaving people behind.
"We have to shoot him," a voice next to me suddenly says.
I turn around to face Gale. "I know."
"We'll do it quickly," he says.
"With lots of bullets," I add.
"Yes, he should die right away. No more pain."
"Okay, quickly. I can't breathe."
Gale and I both pull the trigger a few times and seconds later Mitchell isn't moving anymore. My breath is hitching in my throat and it hurts everywhere. The wave is coming dangerously close now.
"Let's go," Gale says, taking my hand and dragging me with him to the building.
As soon as we're at the front door another hand pulls me in for a hug. I hear Katniss shrieking Gale's name, a nervous tremor in her voice.
"Next time do as I say," Finnick mumbles in my hair, our fight long forgotten. "If I call you, you come. You don't stay out and risk your life again like that, do you hear me?"
I'm still gasping for air so I just nod against his chest. We both know we'll have to risk our lives more than once on this mission but the pretending is comforting.
There's an odd conversation between Boggs – or what is left of him – and Katniss. He's saying something but Katniss doesn't seem to understand what he's talking about. Everybody else is quiet, doesn't know what to say. The silence is only interrupted by Peeta's kicking against the closet door but then he too is silent.
"He's dead?" Finnick asks Katniss once he has let go of me. Katniss just nods. "We need to get out of here. Now. We just set off a streetful of pods. You can bet they've got us on surveillance tapes," he continues.
One of the cameramen, Castor I think, agrees with Finnick. "All the streets are covered by surveillance cameras. I bet they set off the black wave manually when they saw us taping the propo."
"What?!" I yell. "If you knew that, why did you let us tape the propo in the first place? You knew it wasn't safe!"
"It's never safe around here, Johanna," Gale says.
I sigh. "I know that but that's not what I mean! I'm saying that if you knew there were surveillance cameras AND pods they could set off manually, then why let us do it with only this squad? We're the Star Squad, why wasn't there a Bodyguard Squad or whatever?"
Finnick immediately jumps in. "Why didn't anyone come to our rescue?"
"Our radio communicators went dead almost immediately. Probably an electromagnetic pulse device," Jackson explains and then turns to Katniss. "But I'll get us back to camp. Give me the Holo."
Everyone is surprised when Katniss doesn't give the holo to Jackson. "No. Boggs gave it to me," she says.
"Don't be ridiculous," Jackson says.
"It's true," Homes suddenly says. "He transferred the prime security clearance to her while he was dying. I saw it."
"Why would he do that?" Jackson asks, clearly still confused.
"Because I'm on a special mission for President Coin. I think Boggs was the only one who knew about it," Katniss answers confidently.
Finnick and I shoot each other a look that says we are both thinking the exact same thing: no matter how confident she sounds, she's trying to fool us and we both know it.
"To do what?" Jackson demands.
"To assassinate President Snow before the loss of life from this war makes our population unsustainable."
"Okay enough with this show!" I say. Both Katniss and Jackson look at me, not really sure whose show I'm referring to. "Katniss you're lying."
"I'm not!" Katniss says at the same time Gale says "What?!"
"I don't believe you," Jackson cuts in. "As your current commander, I order you to transfer the prime security clearance over to me."
Katniss refuses again. "That would be in direct violation of President Coin's orders."
"Katniss!" Finnick warns.
"Oh man, taking the side of your best friend again. Really?" Gale mutters.
"As if you're not doing the same thing here," Finnick defends himself.
"Everything Johanna says or does, you're always on her side! And isn't it such a coincidence that it's always the opposite of what Katniss says or does?"
I'm just too baffled by this to say anything.
"I'm not on Johanna's side because she's my best friend," Finnick explains in an angry voice. "I'm on her side because she's right. Come on, Katniss is a terrible liar! She's not here to kill Snow."
And then Cressida suddenly jumps in. "It is true, Finnick. That's why we're here. Plutarch wants it televised. He thinks if we can film the Mockingjay assassinating Snow, it will end the war."
The Mockingjay assassinating Snow. This is it for me, I'm about to snap and I can't do anything to stop it. "You know, we have as much right to assassinate Snow as Katniss. Why her? What has he ever done to her that is so bad that she gets the monopoly on killing him?"
"What has he ever done to her that is so bad? Are you really asking that question, Johanna?" Gale almost yells.
"Yes, I'm really asking that question!" I yell back. "The worst was probably when she saw you being lashed with whips. Well let me tell you this, Gale, I saw Finnick in worse conditions. A few scars on your back are nothing compared to the mental scars Finnick and I have because we had to prostitute ourselves to keep our loved ones safe! Katniss had to pretend to be engaged to Peeta. Wow, that's tough considering he's a sweet, nice, gentle and not to mention handsome guy who happens to be in love with her! And guess what, even though no one believed her little act, her mother and sister are still alive. And so are you, Gale! But my family? They're all dead. Half of Finnick's family is dead. So you don't get to stand there and say that whatever he has done to her is so much worse because it is fucking not! Finnick should be the one assassinating Snow, or I should. Hell, even Peeta has more right since his family is dead too because of Snow! His mind isn't even his anymore! Katniss has everything and we have nothing and yet she's the freaking Mockingjay!"
Now I really want to slam a door and leave everyone pondering about what I just said but I know I can't. So instead I open the closet to let Peeta out. He's still unconscious but apparently I'm the only one worried about him. He's a broad-shouldered guy locked up in a closet after all.
It appears that my little speech didn't really change anything.
"Why is he here?" Jackson points at Peeta who is now lying on the floor.
"Because the two post-Games interviews with Caesar Flickerman were shot in President Snow's personal quarters. Plutarch thinks Peeta may be of some use as a guide in a location we have little knowledge of," Katniss answers. I look at her but she avoids my gaze and eventually blushes.
"We have to go," Gale says after a few moments of silence. "I'm following Katniss. If you don't want to," and now he's looking at Finnick and me. "Head back to camp. But let's move."
I walk over to where Finnick is standing. "What should we do?"
"I don't know," he whispers back.
I look around us to see if anyone is listening but they're too busy dealing with Boggs' body and discussing the holo to really pay attention to us.
"Maybe we should just go with them to see what the plan is and if we don't agree with something just go our own way… What do you think?" I ask.
"Yeah, fine. Let's go with them, see if they can get close to Snow and then we kill him ourselves instead of Katniss. But when things get messy, we're out, okay?"
"Things will get messy, Finnick. You know that."
He sighs. "I know. I just mean that we stick together. If we go our own way and let Katniss and Gale go, we stick together. As soon as one of us wants to go in a different direction, the other follows. Deal?"
"Deal," I say.