Early morning came and it brought with it the same bright oranges and reds it always does. Katniss glanced over at her host, she was still fast asleep and snoring softly, so she decided to do some snooping to see if there was any evidence in the house. She padded across the carpet, surrounded by the warmth of sunrise, she crept into hallways and rooms, but she couldn't find anything that proved Johanna was a spy. She stumbled upon the door to the attic and tip-toed down the creaky wooden stairs, she heard a rustling noise coming from the living room and prayed it wasn't her perp. Flicking on the light switch, the musty illumination revealed everything she was looking for, posters, files, papers, newspapers, things circled in red marker, reports from the USSR. Next to the plethora of evidence sat Johanna's axe and some picture frames with old photographs of smiling people. Katniss had found everything she was looking for, and stuffed some of the revealing papers into her pockets and ran back up the stairs as quickly and quietly as she could.

As soon as she climbed back onto the couch, Johanna's head popped up, "Where'd you go?" she asked.

"Just to the bathroom, sorry I hope you don't mind..."

"No, not at all," she rubbed her eyes and propped herself up, staring directly into Katniss's eyes. Could she tell the other girl was hiding something? Could she sense her fear and betrayal?

"Anyway, I'd better get going," explained Katniss. "Thank you, I had a really good time."

"Come by anytime, brainless."

"Bye, Josephine," and with that she was out the door and into the quiet cold dawn, carefully stepping through the snow to her car. This was it, she had everything she needed to convict Mason for her treason, she had her target locked and was ready o shoot her arrow. But why did she feel still that she needed more time? Was she just cautious that Mason was on to her, maybe if she spent just one more week...

Back at her apartment, she just set down her things and was ready to go over what she'd collected at the suspect's house when the telephone rang.

"Everdeen?" asked her boss, sounding somewhat frazzled.

"Yes, what is it sir?"

"You've spent far too long working on the Mason case, we need you to capture her and bring her home as soon as possible. What's taking so long?"

"She's just a very tricky person to crack, I mean I need to gain more of the perp's trust. I swear just give me another week or so and I'll have gained her trust, gathered enough evidence and maybe even get a confession on recording."

"You think you can get a recording of her confession?" he seemed very intrigued.

"Just give me a little more time."

"Alright, you have one week. One week, Everdeen to bring Mason back in cuffs."

"Yes, sir."

Click.

The agent sat down on a hard kitchen chair and slumped her head in her hands. She had only one week left to wrap this entire case up, and in actuality it shouldn't even take that long. She already had evidence, and she seemed to have gained the suspect's trust, it didn't seem like she was going to run away before Katniss could catch her. But something inside Katniss was pulling for more time.

The next afternoon she drove in pouring rain, thunder cracking as she pulled up to the independent book store. She wasn't really expecting to see Johanna there, she never showed up on weekdays, but somehow she was there. She was perched by a window, her nose buried in a thick novel of some sort, she didn't even look up when Katniss sat down next to her.

"Hey, Jo," Katniss greeted, her hair still dripping from the rain.

"Hey," she smirked and looked up at the other girl, setting her book down in her lap.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Katniss asked.

"Nah, it's way too stormy to be outside today. What about you, aren't you here on some kind of business trip anyway?"

""Yeah, um I am, but they don't really need me to do anything today."

"Mm."

"What are you reading?"

"1984, by Orwell."

"Oh, well it's a good thing 1984 wasn't anything like he said it would be."

"What makes you so sure? People forget it, but we're at the brink of a Cold War, here. Capitalism and Communism, nuclear weapons, missiles in Cuba, insane governments, blind citizens."

"I suppose you're right... What's your opinion on all of that anyway?"

"Just that I'd like it to end as soon as possible."

"Yeah..."

The two sat in silence for some time, Johanna reading her book, Katniss contemplating Johanna, rain and thunder pounding at the window. The yellow lightbulbs hung above their heads, illuminating their faces and bodies as neither of them could come up with anything to say, or any move to make. They were playing a game of chess, but neither one would dare to make a move. It was almost like the tension between the cat and the mouse was stimulating in a way they were both used to. These chases could be a ton of fun.

Katniss stared at Johanna, the way her small nose pointed upward a little even when she was looking down, the slight curl of her lip when she was concentrating, her dark eyelashes and shaggy bangs in her face. She was as dangerous as she was beautiful, and that was something Katniss knew very well even if it wasn't something she wanted to admit to herself. She wondered what her strong hands felt like, her slightly chapped lips, her warm skin...

"Brainless?"

"What?"

"You respond to 'brainless' now, how adorable! Brainless, why are you staring at me?"

"Well stop calling me that regardless, won't you? Sorry, I wasn't staring at you, I was just spacing out."

"Sure you're not just checking me out? It's okay, a girl like me is used to it."

"What! No, no way, I have a fiance, and besides I don't... swing that way."

"You really are an idiot," she teased and the two of them laughed nervously for a moment. Johanna reached out and stroked Katniss's long braid, "Do you wear this silly little braid everyday? What are you anyway, a Catholic school girl?"

"No, I just like it... I used to do my little sister's hair like this all the time."

"You have a little sister?"

"Yeah, back in America. I miss her very much."

"I bet you do."

"What about you, where is your family?"

"I don't really have one anymore," she sighed.

"Oh... I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, life is a lot easier when there's no one left that you love. Maybe it's less fulfilling, but it's a hell of a lot easier. My mother and father were killed during World War II, we used to live in Russia and when Germany invaded... well. My brother and I managed to escape to the docks, we heard about some ships on their way to the United States so we made a plan to stowaway on one of them, get the hell out of Europe. So that's what we did, only we got caught you see... My brother begged them to let me go, he sacrificed himself for me, but my fate wasn't exactly humane either. At least I survived, and I made it to America where I stayed for a while. But the past catches up to you really fast, it grabs you and even when you thought you'd tasted freedom it drags you back down. I did some things you know, things I couldn't ever say I was proud of doing, but I had to protect myself after everything that had happened. I had to, for my brother's sake, for my parents. And I guess that's how I ended up in Canada."

Katniss was shocked at this poor girl's story, and that she was trusting her enough to share it. The thought of the whole thing being a lie crossed her mind, but the sincerity in Johanna's voice and the tears welling up in her eyes weren't something a person could fake. She touched the girl on her hand and squeezed, Johanna looked away out the window as she pulled her hand away.

"It's alright," she began through stifled sobs, "I don't need your pity." She was so strong, not just physically but mentally and emotionally too. She had enclosed herself behind steel walls and Katniss was probably the only person she ever started to allow to have even a small peek at what was behind them.

Katniss knew she had to turn her in, no matter how tragic her backstory was, she had still broken the law on more than one occasion. She only had until the end of the week to bring her back to New York in handcuffs, but now it might be harder than she ever imagined. That trust she so desperately needed before became her greatest curse. The week went by, and she spent as much time as she could with Johanna, trying to collect more evidence, trying to find excuses and any shred of criminal in this girl that would detach her from Katniss's empathy. But the harder she tried to distance herself, the closer the two of them became. They went to the movies and spent more time at Johanna's house, they shared stories and secrets and ice ream sundaes at two in the morning. The end of the week was drawing nearer, and Katniss was far from willing to throw this girl in jail, her friend in jail.

One night when she was staying over at Johanna's, they were sprawled out on the bed, drunk as hell and laughing like mad men. Only one small lamp light was on, and Katniss was curled up under the blankets. They hiccuped and giggled and somehow Johanna's hand found the other girl's, and their fingers were tangled around each other, Johanna's eyes fixed on Katniss's burning red cheeks.

"You're so d-drunk," she stuttered.

"No way, you're the drunk one!" Katniss slurred.

Johanna put on her famous smug little grin and grabbed the other girl's blushing face, her lips only inches away, hot breath grazing her skin.