Chapter 71: Reaction
Katniss intercepts Beetee after the meeting to ask for his help. He agrees. He will help Katniss produce her Propo and make sure it gets the same airtime as Snow's, hopefully before the Government has a chance to advance their own agenda. The Government's deception has got Beetee offside as well.
The following day, the streets of Panem are filled with angry people. There are protestors with placards demanding a response from the Government and an explanation for their deception. They are outraged and the Government needs to act quickly to quell the growing hysteria. Their first initiative is to send Peacekeepers into the streets to ensure the protests remain orderly. This effort at control won't last long if they don't also provide an explanation, and Paylor will need to front the cameras as soon as possible. She will do this in the knowledge that it may be the last time she speaks before the people of Panem if the Government can't assuage their fears and rightful condemnation. Paylor needs to convince them that the Government did what they thought was in the people's best interests by hiding the fact Snow may still be alive.
They televise her speech during the morning Prime time and it is Mandatory viewing.
"Citizens of Panem, as you know, Coriolanus Snow revealed to the whole of Panem last night that he is still alive. This information came into the Government's hands only recently, and was as shocking to us as it is to you". Paylor pauses for effect. "The truth is, we all believed Snow was dead, but in the initial aftermath of the Rebellion and Coin's death, we were unable to obtain his body as proof of his demise. We had to assume, in the circumstances, that Snow had met his death on the same day as Alma Coin. No one had factored in the possibility of an already established group…the Capitol Resistance…who managed to rescue Snow from the people surrounding him after Coin's untimely death. Resistance fighters, disguised as District rebels retrieved him from the Square, unconscious and near death, claiming that he was dead and that they had been ordered to remove his body. The uproar which was caused by Katniss Everdeen's assassination of Coin left us little opportunity to assess the damage until it was already done. Our main priority at the time was to restore order. We, the Government, owe you an apology for our actions, or lack thereof. Rather than focus on our failure, we intend to press ahead with the Capitol Games which are an effort to finally bring Snow to justice. The children selected to enter the Arena are children of Resistance fighters and these Games are designed to effectively bring the Resistance to an end while also ensuring the recapture of Coriolanus Snow. We are calling again for followers of the Resistance to provide any information they have on Snow's whereabouts. If we can do this, then we will have finally achieved our aim of keeping the citizens of Panem both safe and free".
Paylor ends the broadcast hoping her words will have some effect. At the same time, she knows she may have to prepare her resignation, in light of her failings and the failings of her Government. If that is the case, it will have been a short lived victory for those who had hoped to create a new and more just Panem.
Katniss has worked throughout the night on her Propo with Beetee. Of course, there is no Mockingjay outfit for her to wear and she decides that she wants to appear as herself, Katniss Everdeen, one of the ordinary people who has also been deeply affected by the Government's deception. Peeta has remained by her side, not interfering with her intentions or the making of the Propo. This is something that Katniss needs to do and she has his full support.
They see Paylor's broadcast in the morning after snatching a few short hours of sleep. It is what Paylor had promised…an explanation of the Government's inaction and confession of their deception. This is nothing new to Katniss, she has heard it all before. What is new is their attempt to divert the people's anger away from the Government by laying some of the blame on her…for killing Coin. They are making her a scapegoat and the Government is going to feed into Snow's narrative about her, painting her as unpredictable and self-centred. After all, Snow was supposed to be her intended target.
"Katniss, are you ready?" Beetee asks her.
"Yes" she tells him with conviction.
None of the Mentors have attended weapons training with their Tributes today as Snow's reappearance needs to be dealt with first. Paylor's broadcast to the people has had the intended effect, preventing all out riots in the streets, but people still linger on the pavements and in the squares waiting for any kind of an update. They huddle together in small groups commenting on their disgust and disappointment with the Government, not quite willing yet to demand they be overthrown. Snow still poses a threat and there is no one to fill the breach if the Government is deposed.
Beetee signals the beginning of the broadcast.
"Citizens of Panem, this is Katniss Everdeen". Katniss is dressed in a white blouse, open at the neck. Just out of sight is the locket that Peeta had given her during the Quarter Quell and pinned to her blouse is a Mockingjay broach to remind her of her sister. She has her hair is in one braid which hangs over her right shoulder and it is a reminder to her, and the people of Panem, of the young girl who entered the Arena so willingly on behalf of her sister. She hadn't really changed that much. Still prepared to fight for what she knew was right, Katniss faces the cameras and the people.
"First, I would like to address you, and then I will address the man whose design it is to take Panem back to its darkest days, Coriolanus Snow. He has tried to convince you that I am a spiteful "girl", a product of the Games, and unable to control my desire for revenge. On one count he is right. I am a product of the Games, the Games he forced so many of the District's children into as a way of keeping control. The problem for Coriolanus Snow was that he couldn't control me and, ultimately, he couldn't control you. When he realized this, he threatened me and, in spite of me trying to please him in order to protect my family, he forced me into the Arena again. When I escaped he hijacked Peeta, my fiancee, and in an ultimate act of control tried to use him as a weapon against me. This vengeful man is now prepared to force Capitol children into the Arena by stubbornly refusing to give himself up. The purpose of these Games is justice, not revenge, and I would ask Coriolanus Snow to consider coming forward in order to put a stop to the killing".
Katniss takes a moment before she addresses Snow personally.
"Snow, I know you are watching this. You told me once before that everyone knew you were not above killing children, but you disagreed that you would have any reason to kill Capitol children. Tomorrow, you will begin killing Capitol children. You will be killing them because you stubbornly refuse to come forward and face justice. Yes, I could have shot you with my arrow and ended it then, but you had been captured and were powerless to do any more harm to the citizens of Panem. Coin was not. She saw me as a threat, just like you, and she proved this by sending Peeta into the Capitol to join the Star Squad, knowing he had still not recovered from his hijacking. All of Panem saw his attempt on my life which the Capitol aired for their viewing pleasure. Then, Coin arranged for my sister to be brought into the Capitol as a medic just as the Capitol was about to fall to the Rebels. Prim was only 13 years old, much too young to be sent into a war zone. But Coin did it anyway and my sister was killed. Killed by the bombs that destroyed your Presidency".
Katniss allows the listeners to absorb what she is saying.
"Both of you were a threat to the future peace and prosperity of Panem. I don't regret killing Alma Coin. I am just sorry that I could only kill one of you on that day. But, make no mistake Snow, justice is coming. Whether you allow these children to die in the Arena or not, we will meet again, and this time my arrow will be for you".
Beetee ends the broadcast and Katniss falls into Peeta's arms. It has taken all her strength to confess both her heartache and her intentions. Peeta holds her close as he helps to share her burden. Tomorrow they will both carry the weight of having to say goodbye to their Tributes...Katniss and Peeta will need each other even more.