A/N: Short chapter, but thought I would bust it out to let you all know I'm still here!
"We got it! We got it!" The tech team cheered as the propo aired in the districts again.
"Aw, wires, We lost signal output!" Beetee yelped in frustration as he pounded the desk in front of his 3 monitor workstation. Rolling her eyes, Wiress patted her husband's shoulder.
Take notes on the broadcast. Record for Command. Wiress instructed.
"Hon, why - " Beetee asked as he typed furiously at his station. "That's not going to help us get the output back."
"Information -"Wiress insisted as she gently but firmly moved her husband's hands away from the keyboard. "Oh - she gasped. "Peeta -" Her eyes watered
"What are thy doing to you, buddy?" Beetee asked sadly seeing thr boy clearly in pain. He took his wife's hand as they watched the Capitol's broadcast. Peeta's exchange with Caesar Flickerman aired to discourage the rebels by enticing Katniss to abandon her role as Mockingjay.
"Attention Victors Tesla, report to Command immedately." President Coin ordered.
"Yes, Madame President."Beetee said as Wiress unlocked his brakes on his wheelchair and wheeled him out into the aisle.
The Teslas joined Haymitch, Plutarch, Cressida and her crew, General Boggs and President Coin in the Command. "The Capitol is torturning Peeta." President Coin announced gravelly. Everyone nodded and waited for her proposed solution. "We must use this to leverage the rebellion."
"No!" Wiress cried as loud as she could. Standing up, her hands cenched in fury, she glared ar the commander-in-chief. "The boy is OURS. He is - The Caxpitol - they torture -" Shaking her head as memories of her own Capitol imprisonment at age thirteen came to mind, her large eyes remained on Coin. "We must rescue -
"At the right time, Mrs. Tesla." Coin replied coldly. "Victor Aberenathy, does the Mockingjay have TV access in the hospital?"
"Yes, but the staff said she slept most of the day. She'll gt something to sleep at night." Haymitch replied in a detached voice, though his mind was reeling from seeing Peeta's condition. He wanted to keep the news from Katniss temporarily and inform her at a better time, but he knew that decision was not his to make.
"Soldier Hawthorne believes her seeing Peeta will un-hinge her."
"Not un-hinge her, but rather cause her to make rash decisions." Gale Hawthorne said as he opened the conference room door. The mood in the room dropped to ice as Coin rose to her feet.
"Soldier Hawthorne, this is a meeting for rebels with only the highest security clearance." Coin said severely. In response Gale produced a letter bearing the signature and stamp of the District Thirteen Intelligence Agency. "Very well. The Teslas will fit you with your communicuff."
"We shall continue filming propos, of course." Plutarch added. "The Mockingjay has agreed to do the Tribute to the Tributes - We remember segments."
"Yes, but we would like to narrate the section on our children."Beetee said with sadness. Coin nodded.
"Remember. Not a word to The Mockingjay." Coin ordered.
"Yes, Madame President." The other attendees chorused.
"Meeting adjourned." Coin announced before leaving to her quarters. Plutarch left with Cressida and her crew. Wiress beckoned Gale over to her and Beetee.
"Here." She said holding out his communicuff. "The band is waterproof and bullet resistant. Beetee installed fingerprint and voice recognition as well as GPS-" Wiress beamed at her husband as he explained the software to Gale.
"Wow, so combat compatible." Gale replied in awe as the Teslas fastened it to his wrist using a complicated interlocking mechanism on the cuff. "Nothin's takin' this baby off, is it?"
"You got it son. Let's get going, shall we?" Gale followed the Teslas in silence. All three were thinking about the meeting and Coin's instructions. All were uneasy with Coin's cold use of Peeta as a pawn and the secrecy toward Katniss, the crucial person of the revolution. Yet they knew they must do their job successfully to stay on Coin's good graces and win the revolution.