Welcome back folks! Oh boy; finally, we're at the part where the team of evacuees travels to District 13! And it looks like we'll be seeing at least two familiar faces from that district as well—who knows what's going to happen? How will the Thresh vs Clove conflict end up transpiring? Only time will tell…so what are we waiting for? Let's read.

The Good, The Bad, And The Coin

President Coin? Not Mayor Coin? President Coin?

Clove kept it to herself, but she had to admit; District 13 seemed to be making less and less sense to her the more time that passed. Whose side was it really on, based on what she'd seen outside of the underground bunker—and if it wasn't on the Capitol's side, then why would that be the case? And why would it have a president of its own? Even more confusing, regardless of whose side 13 was on, why hadn't they confirmed it by now, either by killing her or by killing Thresh? If it wasn't for her fear of what would happen if this place was an enemy of hers rather than an ally of hers, she'd be feeling really confused right now!

Simultaneously, Thresh was wondering what was going to happen next. The two of them were sitting in a darkly-coloured conference room, at a long round table with a giant screen in front of it. It was on the sixth floor of the underground area that was home to everyone in District 13, and all but one of the female soldiers were supervising the duo while they waited for this President Coin person to enter the room. Boggs had said she was "just finishing getting the soldiers from District 8 acquainted with the daily routine of District 13," and she would be here shortly. But why would she only want to talk to them? Why hadn't the soldiers at least tried to kill Two by now? Why would she keep Three waiting outside and the other two waiting who knew where? Had she or Boggs seen and heard his accusations through a hidden security camera just before the latter returned alone? Was the president of District 13 just so upset by the Career's selfishness that she wanted to watch her get killed in person?

It didn't matter. Whatever it was, the answer was bound to be revealed soon. Then hopefully, the people in 13 would kill Two, and then he could find Three again, tell him what he had to do, and get the couple from 8 back while Three reprogrammed any nuclear weapons he could find. All that without himself and any of his true allies getting detained themselves. He should be focusing more on that, considering how hard that task was probably going to be.

Suddenly the only door leading in and out of the conference room opened, and in walked a woman who appeared to be in her fifties. She had long straight blonde hair that rested on her shoulders, and she was wearing a very professional suit that was almost just as dark-coloured as the soldiers' uniforms but not quite. Even if the soldiers hadn't saluted to her, Thresh and Clove still both would have instantly realized that the woman had to be President (why wasn't it Mayor?!) Coin and, in a desperate attempt to find out whose side she was really on, the Career studied her expression. Unfortunately, doing so went nowhere, since the only vibes she picked up were ones that were probably exactly what she herself had spent nearly the entire journey producing: trying to act like she wanted to be on Nessa's team so hard that you couldn't even tell what was really going through her mind by looking deep into her eyes. The kind of vibes that were too unpredictable to give you a sure-fire answer.

The Career gulped. Her life was already beginning to flash before her, and she hadn't even gotten hurt since first coming to District 13! Quickly she pushed back her fears, reminding herself that while things did look bad for her, there was still a very small chance that she'd make it out of here alive. Maybe she'd get lucky and escape…or maybe 13 was on her side after all…or maybe the Capitol would swoop in and save her if she really was in danger! Everything was going to be fine…she wasn't going to die…

The woman pulled out the chair that was sitting right in front of Thresh and Clove and sat in it. "Good evening, Soldier Croppez and Bronzitt," she greeted, though she wasn't smiling. "My name is President Alma Coin, and I am the person in charge of District 13."

"Not Soldier," Thresh angrily insisted. The term just felt insulting to him. Like everyone who was working against the Capitol was called that as a way of mocking them for working so hard to rebel against them only to fall into a trap of theirs. And like everyone who lived here that was ranked below Coin was considered a puppet by her, and they were just supposed to go along with it by calling each other "soldier" all the time too. He was not someone that would tolerate that, and he only wanted to have to make that clear once. This district was already hurting or planning to hurt him, Three, and the couple from 8 in the worst way possible, and the whole "soldier" thing just wasn't necessary.

"Fine," said Coin, her voice not rising but her frown still growing, "I will just call you Mr. Croppez. Will that work for you?"

Sighing wearily, Thresh replied, "Yes."

Coin nodded, clearly eager to get down to business. "Good. Now before I say anything else, I'd like to make one thing clear to you. I have absolutely no intention of helping President Snow, and neither does anyone else in District 13."

She had heard his accusations through a hidden security camera. It was obvious now. But neither of the present tributes said it out loud.

"In fact, Mr. Croppez," continued Coin, "we are just as against the Capitol as you are."

"Really?" inquired Thresh. "Then why no rebellion?" He successfully managed to sound angry and as though he was not believing a word of what she was saying as he said this. But really, he was confused. Why hadn't the soldiers killed Two by now? And why was Coin steering the conversation in such a direction? They could easily reveal their true intentions now without getting hurt!

"We may have a lot of nuclear technologies at our disposal, but that doesn't mean we were or are in any position to start a rebellion against the Capitol," Boggs admitted, a sudden solemn energy within him as he spoke. "We struggled for some time just to stay alive, and the pox outbreak some years ago did anything but help the situation. And it's not as bad as it was in this department years ago, but we're still coming up with ways to ensure that we remain fully prepared for possible particularly extreme future attacks. The nuclear weaponry we have is strong, but it may not be strong enough to withstand what the Capitol is armed with."

A pox outbreak? Some years ago? Was that even possible, considering that 13 had been in 24/7 hiding for much longer than that—far too long to have possibly accidentally triggered an outbreak by touching something that had gotten contaminated by an infected object, person, or animal? Which could only have happened if someone had left the district and contracted the disease from something or someone in a weaker district? That was a lame explanation, which had to mean it wasn't the truth; just a way to let Clove know that they were on her side while simultaneously trying to trick Thresh into thinking they were on his side. Yeah, maybe that was it. Maybe they just needed the perfect opportunity to separate the duo in the most casual way possible…

But then again, the look in Boggs' eyes did seem pretty genuine. Or maybe he was simply that good at acting too. The poor Career could only wish she knew what the real truth was, so she could know whether or not she'd have to plead for her life to be spared or make an escape in just a matter of seconds.

Thresh, meanwhile, also remained for the most part unconvinced by Boggs' words. It also seemed like nothing more than a bad excuse to him, but he too couldn't help but notice the look in the man's eyes. It could be an act to cover up information that would guarantee a failed attempt to form an alliance with him, but it could also be based on genuine emotions and memories. There was just something about his gaze that seemed…different. And not really in a bad way either. Like it was worth giving the benefit of the doubt.

Though unlike Two, he quickly came up with the perfect way to find out for sure whether or not what he'd just heard was a lie: curtly say, "Not an excuse," and then waiting to see where that led.

"It's the truth," said Coin, her expression making it clear that while she understood the reasons for his skepticism, she didn't want to have to tolerate any more of his frustration. "Several days before the outbreak, three of our own snuck out to District 9 undercover to see if there were any people there who would provide us with more food. Two adult siblings from that district came back here with us and brought many loaves of bread, but one of them had unknowingly contracted pox from another person in District 9. The symptoms became clear to her the next day, and she, her brother, one of the soldiers who found them, and when they returned to us despite the odds, many of District 13's residents, were all killed by the virus. Many of those who survived were left infertile."

One of the female soldiers nodded in agreement. "We first arranged that mission to get more of an idea of when the best opportunity to start a second nation-wide rebellion would be. By communicating with residents of nearby districts and seeking as much information as we could about their current statuses, the districts' Peacekeepers' statuses, and any lucky details that might be known about the Capitol's highest-ranking residents and their agendas."

"Best opportunity?" Thresh demanded, genuinely shocked, angry, and disgusted. He even leapt out of his chair upon hearing that. "Why not now? Or sooner? Could've saved more people!" If District 13 was really against the Capitol, what was stopping them from rebelling right then and there? They even admitted it; they had the nuclear weapons and resources necessary! And why would food and water be an obstacle? They had to have enough of it to keep thirty people alive, and he was pretty sure that was enough fighters to overthrow President Snow! And that was something that would take less than four days! If they rationed out the food properly, nobody staying home would have to starve to death while they waited for their "fellow soldiers" to return from ambushing the Capitol's rulers. No—clearly, they weren't making any effort to attack the Capitol because they were actually on its side.

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple, Mr. Croppez," said Coin. "The Capitol's nuclear weaponry has likely evolved just as ours has and is, in faster and more efficient ways. They won't be a threat to us now thanks to the non-aggression pact District 13 along with the Capitol signed seventy-four years ago, but when we do come out of hiding, it'll be better if we put ourselves one step ahead of them in every w—"

"Hold on a second," Clove interrupted, keeping her fingers crossed that this was her chance to finally find out whose side District 13 was really on. "A non-aggression pact?"

Boggs nodded. "District 13 played a powerful role in the First Rebellion, but it wasn't enough to defeat the Capitol. So the soldiers who lived here decades ago secured a significant portion of the Capitol nuclear stockpile, and threatened to destroy the city with it. They knew they possessed a secondary nuclear stockpile in the west of the country, and for that reason they were able to negotiate a ceasefire deal with the Capitol, which would be unknown to the rest of Panem. District 13 would quietly secede from the nation and become an independent state, withdrawing all support for the rebels in the other districts and pretending to have been completely destroyed. Neither side of the war wanted the rebellion to escalate into a nuclear battle that could wipe out the entire country, so the Capitol reluctantly agreed to those terms. After that, District 13 evacuated all of its forces and population to this underground area, while the Capitol obliterated all above-ground infrastructure."

"But what the Capitol doesn't know," added Coin, "is that while we have been faking our deaths, we haven't actually stopped plotting to rebel against them again. However, with a lack of food and no weapons that were more powerful than the Capitol's, which take years to make, we haven't been able to emerge from the shadows as soon as we would have liked. So, with decades of developing and manufacturing new types of weapons, and secret missions to form alliances with residents from other parts of the country, which allowed us to smuggle materials from other districts and have an easier time finding the right opportunity to make our presence known to all of Panem, we've been working hard to solve that problem. But, sadly, there are still some resources we are lacking in."

"Right," snorted Thresh, still not convinced that District 13 was worth his trust. At this point he was starting to believe what Coin, Boggs, and their fellow soldiers were telling him, based on what they were saying exactly and the genuine energy within Boggs, but it was still a sickening story. He, Rue, Nessa, Three, and the others had even less resources than District 13 had had even back then, and look at how far they'd come! They'd broken out of a present-time Hunger Games arena, stolen from a hospital in the Capitol, and snuck nine people out of Districts 8 and 3—and the only people they'd lost in the process were three of the evacuees! And then there was the whole waiting-for-the-best-opportunity thing. What was that all about? How many people had to die, whether because of the Hunger Games or because of the Peacekeepers' wrath, before this district started helping the districts to a significant degree again?

As for Clove, well…she was absolutely terrified. After everything Nessa had accomplished with the non-Career tributes' help, she also didn't quite understand why District 13 hadn't come out of hiding yet. But this conversation was teaching her one thing: that as weird as their way of helping the districts was, 13 was definitely not on the Capitol's side. Which meant Coin more than likely wanted her dead and was just trying to lead the conversation into a specific direction. Telling Thresh everything he needed to know right in front of her to show both of them whose side this place was really on, so that she could kill her for being a traitor that knew too much. Killing her on the spot would, after all, seem hypocritical on her part, since that was something a Peacekeeper would have done…

Clove's heart was pounding hard and fast. Coming here had been a grave mistake on her part. She had to get out of here—now. So, just as Coin was about to reply to what Thresh had just said, the Career swiftly pointed at the other side of the conference room and asked, "Uh, soldiers? What's that?"

Fooled by her comment, Thresh, Coin, Boggs, and the other people in the room turned away from her to try to figure out what she'd just "seen," and as soon as their backs were all turned, she leapt out of her chair and raced out of the room as fast as her legs could take her. A second after she made it into the hallway she heard shouting and then a series of footsteps racing after her, which only made her even more scared. She could feel herself sweating from not her sprint, but her fear—and then an intense stinging sensation in her right eye as her sweat sent the remnants of the excessive amount of medicine Nessa had rubbed onto her forehead tumbling right into it.

That woman is so DEAD! Clove furiously told herself as she placed her right hand over her right eye and her left hand just above her left eye to stop any drops of medicine from touching it as well. She then swerved to the right and made a beeline for the underground bunker elevator. With all her might she quickened her pace, and as soon as she got to the lift she ducked downward in case someone was going to fire a bullet at her (which thankfully didn't happen), and as she did so she pressed the "up" button. The elevator doors opened, and with the top half of her body bent down as low as possible, she dashed in.

Clove gritted her teeth as she searched feverishly for the ground floor button. She heard the footsteps getting closer and louder, and she tensed up. Come on come on come on, where are you?! she anxiously thought. The footsteps were getting closer and closer to the elevator…she was running out of time…

There it was! She pressed it as fast as she could and then crouched down against the wall of the elevator, in case the doors didn't close fast enough and one of the soldiers made their way into the contraption. Luckily, that wasn't what happened. The doors closed before anyone or anything could get to her (although it was a very very VERY close call), and within two seconds, Clove was on her way to the ground level of the underground bunker series, breathing heavily and loudly as she tried to calm herself.

As she rose higher and higher, she looked down and saw every single one of the soldiers from the conference room except for Boggs and one of the other male soldiers turning and dashing toward the underground area's stairwell. It wasn't necessarily an alarming sight, because she knew there was no way they could make it to the top of the bunker series before she could, but it did little to comfort her. For all she knew, they could have walkie-talkies on them that they could use to tell any soldiers that might be on the ground level about what was going on, and that included the female soldier that had stayed outside with that Keyship boy…

Clove gulped. There was absolutely no way she was ever going to get out of District 13 alive. Not unless she got extremely lucky and managed to evade all the soldiers somehow…but she knew better than to think she'd be able to do that. Her only hope was the Capitol, and she knew it. But what if they didn't make it to her in time? What would she do then?

Some of the medicine on the left side of her forehead landed on her hand, and she quickly wiped it on her hip before placing her left hand back above her left eye. As for her right eye, it continued to throb, and she groaned, partly in pain, partly in annoyance, and partly in fear. Why had it all come down to this?! Why? Her life was at stake, her mission was still not over as long as the Capitol's Peacekeepers hadn't caught up to her, her eye was so darn sore, that stupid medicine was really—

Suddenly the elevator arrived at the ground level, and its doors opened. The moment she saw there were no soldiers or even any other kinds of people waiting for her, at least not in the area near the elevator, Clove dashed out of the contraption and hid behind a large crate that was many footsteps away from the hovercraft landing pad. She then peered over the side of it and saw that, now no longer a safe distance away from the elevator, seven soldiers who hadn't interacted with her since her arrival here were rushing toward the lift, although they weren't carrying any blasters. Everything about their expressions indicated that they knew about her escape from the conference room, and they were here to bring her back in without killing her. Just so something could happen before she was killed: either her suffering more or Coin giving a victory gloat right to her face.

Clove glanced in all directions, and when she saw two more groups of weaponless soldiers, each of these ones consisting of eight members, respectively searching the west and east (at least from her perspective) of the room, she knew what she needed to do. As soon as she confirmed to herself that none of the soldiers were looking her way, she darted out from behind the crate and ran in what she saw as the north direction, until she got to the landing pad there and hid inside a parked hovercraft that was standing on it. She stayed there for a few seconds, and then after examining the perimeter again, she crept out of the vehicle and ran for the exit of District 13's underground residence…only to literally be pounced on by the female soldier who had stayed with Geolo Keyship. Yup; clearly, all the soldiers had walkie-talkies with them.

Anyway, Clove was instantly knocked to the ground face-first, and she yelped in pain as the impact resulted in her right cheek and hand both getting scraped against the earth. Ouch! Just an inch or two under the same eye that the medicine had gotten into…

Geolo, meanwhile, gasped in shock as the scene played out before him. What had happened in the underground bunker? He wasn't surprised that the soldier did what she did, since he'd heard someone address her on the walkie-talkie she'd apparently been carrying via a camouflaged pouch on her belt, but he'd been too lost in thought about what could be going through Thresh's mind to hear anything in the conversation other than the fact that it had something to do with Clove "escaping" and needing to be "intercepted."

Easily keeping the Career pinned down on the ground, the soldier used her free hand to open her belt pouch, take out her walkie-talkie, and turn it on. "I have her," she said into the device's speaker. "We're just outside the base. Don't worry, Soldier Keyship and I are both fine. Over."

"Roger," replied a male soldier, his voice coming from the walkie-talkie. There was a pause, and then the same guy added, "President Coin wants you to stay there. I'll be out in a minute to bring the girl back to the conference room. Remember, she still wants Soldier Keyship to stay outside. Over."

"Copy that," said the female soldier. "Over and out." She then put her walkie-talkie away and placed her other hand on Clove's back.

The Career grimaced as this movement caused the jar containing Wish-Trish to be pressed against the part of her backpack that was closest to her back—and therefore against her back itself. Ugh…if there was just a way she could get out of here without getting killed first…then she could honor her word to President Snow and lead his troops to Nessa and the others…

Wait a second…District 13 hadn't X-rayed her backpack or Thresh's. And Thresh hadn't told anyone that there was a fairy in her backpack, or what circumstances had caused the body swap to happen! Which meant District 13 had no idea that Wish-Trish was here, or what she was capable of…

Despite the pain she was in, Clove thought hard, secretly becoming more and more satisfied as she did. Yeah. Let that soldier bring her back to the conference room and back to President Coin. If they were planning on asking her for any last words, she had ones in store for them that would knock their socks off.

As for Geolo, he could only stand there in confusion even more. That was another thing that puzzled him, come to think of it. Why was this President Coin person so insistent on having him wait outside while the soldiers brought everyone else in two by two? Clove was the tribute working for the Capitol. Shouldn't he have been the one who'd gone into the underground bunker with Thresh instead of her? Or even more confusing, if District 13 was a group of people armed with nuclear weapons and working for the Capitol, why hadn't they made it obvious by now? Nothing was making sense!

When a few seconds passed and he still couldn't figure out what was going on with his ally or 13, the boy sighed. I guess all I know is that Thresh is really taking me by surprise…and that I hope he's okay, he thought.

Ten more seconds went by, and then one of the male soldiers—apparently the one who'd communicated with the female one via their walkie-talkies—left the underground bunker. The female soldier glanced behind her, and when she saw it was him, she waited until he was standing right next to her and got off of Clove. The man then grabbed her by her backpack and pulled her to her feet, before escorting her back into the bunker and once again leaving Geolo and the soldier alone together.

The tribute sighed again, but this time in a bit of frustration. Having no choice but to just stand here knowing that Thresh, Twill, and Patch could all be in great danger but not knowing what exactly was going on where they were was a very unsettling feeling. He really wanted to go see what was going on in the bunker, but…should he, knowing that District 13 had a large number of nuclear weapons that they could threaten him with at any time? Then again, that was exactly what was making the whole scenario so strange. Why hadn't anyone who lived here done that yet? Something felt off. This wasn't how evil people in this kind of position acted, was it?

Geolo anxiously peered up at the female soldier, who instantly saw his expression and stoically asked, "You want to know what's going on in there, don't you."

Gulping and expecting the worst, Geolo replied, "Yes, I do. And well…and…" He stopped himself just in time.

"And what?" inquired the woman.

What is it with me and slips of the tongue?! Geolo thought, shocked and upset with himself and even more scared than he'd been a few seconds ago. Why am I letting the wrong things slip out like that all of a sudden? First there was what happened with Nessa, and now this. What is UP with me?

"Hello?" the female soldier curtly said.

Geolo gulped again and took a deep breath. Just think of Rue, he told himself. Think of Rue…think of Rue… And then half of his nervousness faded away as he imagined she was with him rather than inside the hovercraft, and what she might have done if she'd been in his current position: stay strong, not let her fears get the best of her, and just be honest. At least he thought that's what she'd do…was it?

He stiffened. He didn't know if that was what she would have done, but he knew one thing for sure: it was something a confident (which he wasn't) person would do. And even more so than that, he had a feeling that if he tried to lie his way out of the situation he'd just gotten himself into, the soldier would pick up on it and the consequences would be even worse than if he told the truth.

So, hoping with all he had that nothing bad would happen as a result of this, he admitted, "I, well…I…I'm just kind of surprised. Based on the clues Twill and Patch saw, and the fact that you would have helped the other districts decades ago if you were really still on their side, it…it's obvious that you're working with the Capitol. But why haven't you proved it by threatening us with your nuclear weapons if we didn't let us arrest you? I mean…nothing's stopping you. Why are you pretending you're on our side when you really don't have to?"

"Because we are on your side," replied the female soldier, suddenly with a more sympathetic tone to her voice. "I can understand why it might not seem like it, but hear me out."

And then, she proceeded to tell him a story that, little did he know, was the same story Coin and Boggs had told Thresh and Clove, and presumably Twill and Patch as well.

The male soldier shoved Clove back into the conference room so hard, she tripped over her own feet and fell to her knees. She quickly used both of her hands to steady herself, which worked but also caused her right hand to throb again. Owww…oh, she hoped her plan would work. She had to get out of here.

"Spare me the details, Miss Bronzitt," Coin unhappily said, having been waiting for her here along with Thresh, Boggs, and the other soldiers who had brought her to this room the first time. "I knew the truth ever since Soldier Boggs told me that your 'friends' from District 8 told him that they suspected it once he pulled them aside. Needless to say, even before they said anything he and I both suspected it."

Boggs and the other soldiers nodded in agreement. Thresh simply remained silent and still, but on the inside, he felt as though a great amount of weight was about to be lifted off his shoulders. This was it. In just a few seconds, no more dealing with Two. He and the other members of Nessa's team would finally be able to fully relax, and carry on with the evacuation plan without having to constantly worry about any threat other than the Capitol and troops of Peacekeepers from all over the nation.

Clove grabbed the edge of the table with her non-injured hand and shakily pulled herself to her feet. "What do you mean by the truth?" she asked, although she already knew.

"You're a traitor to the arena evacuees' team," accused Coin, though she still maintained her composure. "No one knows how exactly you're planning to do it, but it's still all too clear. The only reason why you're still accompanying them on their journey is because they're lacking true warriors."

Standing up straight, Clove looked the woman in the eyes. It was time. "Yeah," she bravely confessed, "I am. And I'm guessing Thresh saw proof of it last night. Just before he cut out Keyship's tracker?"

Thresh nodded, though he was purely angry and not at all impressed by her correct guess. "Got a fairy. In her backpack. Tied up and jarred. Could be the one who swapped Nessa."

Not that he trusted District 13; he was just saying this because if Coin and her soldiers wanted to prove that they were on his side, then killing Two was the best way to do it. And if they didn't, then he was above ready to do it himself.

Yup. Just as she'd feared. But it wasn't like she was about to back down, or even get scared. Clove had a plan, and it was time to put it into action. So, without any hesitation, she casually nodded and said, "It's true. But as a fairy, she can do so much more than just make people switch bodies with each other. In fact," she then removed and unzipped her backpack, took out the jar containing Wish-Trish, zipped her backpack, slung it back on, and then caressed the jar while saying, "even when she's tied up like this, she can make it so that if anyone's holding her or a jar she might happen to be in, anyone else who tries to grab her, it, or the person holding them, will get burnt and turned into coal."

It was a risky lie, and she knew it. It was also risky to suddenly hold the jar out in front of her and towards the soldiers and Coin, but she was counting on the fact that this was likely their first encounter with magic and therefore probably wouldn't want to take any chances. Luckily, she was right. As soon as she aimed the jar at the present residents of District 13, they all quickly backed away from her. Even Thresh backed up, but he didn't show any fear. He just showed caution on his face, not afraid of her and suspecting she was lying more than anyone was, but also keeping in mind that, as the poor fairy's captor who'd had her for an unknown amount of time, she'd spent more time with her and as a result would know more about her than he would.

"That's right," Clove sneered. She was enjoying this. "You're standing in front of a sorceress right now. So if you know what's best for you, I think you'd better do as I say. Do you all understand?"

The soldiers nodded, but Thresh simply remained silent and still, and obviously annoyed, with not even the slightest hint of fear within him. But before she could repeat her question with him specifically, Coin, who also hadn't nodded, shocked her by courageously saying, "I'll do as you say, provided my soldiers get to leave the room first."

As soon as she said that, Clove noticed the look in Boggs' eyes change a little. He was clearly still being cautious around her, but once he heard Coin's words, a hint of weariness and a new type of worry seemed to enter his expression. Like she was about to do something he was absolutely not in agreement with, but he couldn't even question her about it or else she'd do something even worse. Sort of like the energy she'd detected within that Keyship boy when his district partner split her lip in the Training Centre and Glimmer had forced him to help her, herself, and the other Careers laugh at her, but without the absence of self confidence.

Okay, she had to see what that was all about. Just for kicks. So she agreed to Coin's deal and gave Boggs and the other soldiers permission to leave the conference room. The president of 13 also advised Thresh to leave, which she also went along with. Something about that look in Boggs' eyes just gave her a good feeling; like things were only going to get better for her if she looked into what this woman had in mind.

Once Thresh (who only really left because the soldiers forced him out of the room before he could refuse to leave), Boggs, and the other soldiers were gone, the door closed behind them, and Coin, still showing no signs of fear, sat back in her chair and said, "Miss Bronzitt, based on your description I have to assume the worst. Are you stronger than all of our nuclear weapons put together as long as you have that fairy with you?"

"Oh I don't know," replied Clove. "I've never even seen any of your weapons, but something tells me I could easily be."

"And are you absolutely certain that she's the one responsible for the body swap that gave Nessa the opportunity to break herself and six tributes out of the 74th Hunger Games arena?"

Clove scoffed. "I know she was the one responsible for that. Two months ago I overheard her talking about forcefully putting someone rebellious from one of the lesser fortunate districts into President Snow's body! Not that she ended up succeeding of course. Someone tried to kill her and it scared her off." Who that person was exactly, however, went unsaid. In case something went wrong here, she wanted it to be as less bad as possible.

"I see," commented Coin, looking intrigued for a second before getting serious again. "Now listen. I don't usually make deals with allies of the enemy, but…give me the fairy, and I'll make sure it'll be worth your while."

Narrowing her eyes, Clove frowned and shook her head. "Don't try to make me play the role of the victim, Madam 'President.' I know you're just going to force her to finish what she tried to start as soon as I do it. Which I won't for that reason."

"You could not be more wrong, Miss Bronzitt," assured Coin, crossing her fingers behind her back. "I have absolutely no intention of using her to overthrow the Capitol."

"Yes you do," Clove angrily put in.

"No I don't," said Coin.

"Yes you do!"

"No. I simply want to use her to prove to those of my soldiers who keep trying to trick me into resigning as president just so they can be in charge," Coin secretly crossed her fingers behind her back again as she said this, "that they don't stand a chance against me. Having to put up with their actions can be quite a hassle, you know."

"No," insisted Clove. "I don't know, and I don't trust you. If you'd killed Thresh by now I might have, but you didn't."

"But I will," said Coin. "Right now. That is, I'll send my most loyal soldiers to do it right now. You just have to give me the fairy to seal the deal."

"I'm not going to do it, okay? You want to overthrow President Snow, and I want to help him. The two of us could never be allies, and you know it!"

Coin casually got up from her seat and walked around the table. "Fine," she said. "Or I can just…HA!" Just then, before the Career could react, Coin tackled her down, and took the jar containing Wish-Trish out of her hands before she could recover from her daze.

"Hey!" Clove yelled. Then she froze, realizing she'd just been caught in a great white lie by the person in charge of District 13.

"Hm," said Coin. "Based on what just happened, I assume that the only thing about this fairy you told the truth about was the part about her being responsible for the body swap. Am I right?"

Clove's eyes were wide in fear. Her only way out of 13 had just crumbled into pieces. All she could do now was reluctantly say yes, and hope that whatever happened to her next wouldn't be so dire.

Coin studied Wish-Trish, who appeared to have gone catatonic at some point during her time in the Career's backpack, and thought very hard. The conference room was then engulfed in the most tense silence Clove had ever known, and the poor girl swallowed hard. I'm so sorry, President Snow, she anxiously thought. I thought this was my chance to get rid of Thresh, but that was before I found out whose side District 13 was really on! I'm sorry I couldn't stay with Nessa and her friends long enough for your Peacekeepers to stop them from leaving Panem! I'm sorry I let you down! I'm sorry that—

"Miss Bronzitt?"

Clove snapped out of her thoughts just in time to see Coin getting off of her and then grabbing her left hand, pulling her off the floor and to her feet. She then let go of her hand and told her, "Alright. Normally I'd have you put inside a torture chamber…but since you did technically give me someone I still see as useful now, I'll let you go free, with Nessa and her allies. And I'll see to it that Soldier Croppez and Soldier Keyship are not among those allies."

"Oh, you don't have to keep Geolo here," assured Clove, surprised by Coin's decision but at this point deciding to roll with it just so she wouldn't get separated from the evacuees or tortured or killed. It was her only option aside from that, really. "He may have a lot of tech knowledge, but he's very weak on the outside. And I know the perfect way to make him shatter on the inside."

"I see," said Coin. "Well then, only Soldier Croppez will stay here."

"Good," Clove answered. Coin then turned and headed for the door leading out of the conference room, but just as she was about to open it, the Career asked, "Do you promise to only use the fairy for matters that have nothing to do with the Capitol?"

"I promise," said Coin, though this time she crossed her toes instead of her fingers. "Those that want to manipulate me into resigning will be sure to give me a break once I force them to swap bodies. Especially considering that one of them is handicapped."

"Alright," Clove said. "Now, what are you going to tell everyone out there when they ask you why you suddenly want to give Thresh a death sentence or something and let me and Keyship go?"

"I'll say you successfully forced the fairy to make you and Soldier Croppez switch bodies," decided Coin. "By the way, if Soldier Keyship asks, the reason why I had one of my soldiers keep him outside was because I wanted those who stayed in your hijacked hovercraft to see he was there, not being hurt, and therefore know that none of District 13 means him or anyone on their team any harm."

"I'll make sure I tell him," assured Clove.

"Good," smiled Coin. And with that, she opened the door and left the conference room.

As soon as the president of District 13 addressed her soldiers in fake but very convincing alarm and began to tell them the whole Miss-Bronzitt-swapped-bodies-with-Soldier-Croppez-so-arrest-the-soul-in-his-body story, Clove glared at the lady behind her back. I know you're lying to me, Coin, she angrily thought. And I don't know why you thought letting me go was a good idea. Still, I'm glad you did it. Wait till I tell President Snow that you want to switch bodies with him! I doubt it'll be so easy for you, since Wish-Trish and Starpoint said they were coming to Panem the first time to experiment and see if they could switch him with someone from one of the weaker districts by force. But if doing it that way really is possible, I wouldn't be surprised. And that's why by the time you find a way to make that work, Nessa's gonna be long gone.

Unbeknownst to Clove, however, while Thresh ducked away from the soldiers as they tried to catch him and then ran down the hall, with them in hot pursuit, Coin was deep in a sinister thought of her own: Enjoy the ride while it lasts, Miss Bronzitt. Because with or without you in my custody, it'll take far too long for the Capitol to catch up to you. If they haven't done so already, which I find very unusual, then by the time they do, I'll be in the body of President Snow's Minister Of Interior, stabbing him when he least expects it. You won't win either way. Just face it.

Oh. NO. What will happen next in this suspenseful part of the story? Stay tuned to find out ;)