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CHAPTER 5 : HIS VALUE

"Ash asks to see you," Ruby whispered.

Erin gritted her teeth in anger then took a deep breath. She stared at her before pushing her lightly with her shoulder. She walked towards the door behind the counter. Hidden and covered with sheets, it was guarded most of the time by Nikolas.

While she was walking down the stairs, Erin could already hear the loud music pounding in her ears. It was dark and hot. The only brightness was the colored neon lights hanging from the ceiling and attached to the walls. She walked through the crowd, cautiously and on guard. People around her almost made it hard to breathe. Between dancers and drunk men, Erin no longer knew where to focus. It was not the atmosphere that disturbed her because she had spent a lot of time in this basement in the past. She was in Ash's territory, the man she currently despised the most.

Erin managed to reach the back of the basement. Sitting comfortably on a couch, Ash smoked his cigar while watching a woman dancing in front of him on a table. When Erin entered his vision, he focused on her. He leaned down slightly then whispered in the dancer's ear. In a second, she stood up elegantly. Erin looked away when she noticed that she was actually half naked.

"I'm glad to finally see you visit me," he smiled, raising his arms.

Crossing hers, Erin sat on the other side of the couch. She grimaced because she realized how many people had probably sat in this spot before her.

"What do you want from me ?" she asked him directly.

"Not even a hello ?" Ash said with a sneer, putting down his cigar.

"Stop it."

Despite herself, Erin's voice had been shaky. Ash had heard it too. Suddenly losing his smile, he showed a serious look. She knew he had called her for a special reason.

"I heard you sympathized with a peacekeeper ?"

"I've only known him for two hours," she grumbled, trying to dodge his question.

"Erin," he called her severely, "I'm still your leader, show me some respect."

Flaring her nostrils, the young woman looked away. Ash controlled the rebels in district twelve. He organized and led the attacks against the peacekeepers. Erin still wondered how he became a leader. The man was not friendly and not respectable to most. Although she no longer held him in her heart, she could not question his leadership skills. His strategies had always been very successful.

"Coriolanus Snow is not an insignificant peacekeeper. His father is the reason why the Hunger Games exist."

"I'm just trying to get to know him."

"We want to take possession of the military base in district twelve but I need information on the location. We will then use their ammunition and weapons to strike directly at the Capitol."

"What information can I possibly get from Snow ? He is only a young recruit."

"I want to know the number of soldiers and which ones are guarding which places. I want to know everything about their patrols and raids. I want you to make him our ally."

"He will never betray them," Erin replied firmly.

"I don't want him to betray them, I want him to believe that I want to help him. I want to do to him what he did to Lucy Gray."

"Why not just kill him with a bullet in the head ?" she asked him nonchalantly.

"I need him alive," Ash explained. "I could use him in negotiations with the Capitol. I know he was one of the smartest students at the Academy. He is a valuable resource for them."

Erin stared at the man in front of her. She looked at his tattoo on his neck : the number thirteen intertwined with chains and brambles. Ash came from this district. He once said that district thirteen had cowardly abandoned all the other districts during the first rebellion. In exchange for letting them survive, district thirteen had agreed to play dead during the war. A pact with the Capitol that led Ash to desert it.

"Don't make the same mistake as Juliet," he suddenly told her in a calm voice.

"I haven't seen her in a while," she explained, moving her shoulders. "What did she do ?"

"She ran away with a peacekeeper."

Erin raised her eyebrows, surprised. She did not really know the girl but she never thought she was capable of leaving. Maybe love had blinded her so much that she forgot that it was impossible to disappear from the sight of the Capitol ?

"Have you thought about my offer ?" he questioned her, looking straight into her eyes.

"Your offer ?" she repeated suddenly irritated.

"To work in the basement with me, you used to do it before."

"Yes, when I was just a child and I was stupid enough to believe that you were a good man."

Erin started to laugh nervously. She stood up, he followed her with his eyes in silence. She wondered how he could bring this topic up again. While she was walking away, Ash called her name.

"When the Hob falls, this basement will be the safest place. It's up to you to choose on which side of the door you want to be."

Giving him one last look, Erin left the area for good.

When she returned back to the surface, she saw Ruby. She had carefully waited for her and she looked worried. With a forced smile, Erin tried to reassure her. However, it did not fool her friend. Noticing that Ruby and Nikolas were both staring at her, she decided to share the conversation she just had with Ash. They sat down at a table then Erin explained everything. Ruby's first reaction was to bang her fist on the table.

"How dare he ask you such a question ?" she shouted angrily.

Erin tried to calm her down by explaining that she had obviously refused his offer. Erin was close to Ruby, she was her confidante. As for Nikolas, they had practically spent their entire lives together. They both already knew her story with Ash.

"I think he is expecting too much of Snow," Nikolas shared, crossing his arms.

"You have to be careful Erin," Ruby warned her. "He's not stupid and he probably knows that peacekeepers aren't exactly welcome right now."

"Then stop showing him that you all want to kill him," Erin answered. "It's literally written all over your faces."

Resting her elbows on the table, Erin let her chin fall into her hands. Ash was certainly right, this place was in danger. But what could she do to stop it ? It was not like controlling Snow meant controlling the entire militia in district twelve. While the group was still exchanging ideas for a plan, they all looked up at the Hob's entrance. A boy appeared in front of them. Erin, surprised, discovered Sejanus the friend of Coriolanus. On guard, Ruby immediately put her hand in her pocket. Erin, holding her arm, asked her to calm down. Sejanus, shy, took a few steps forward.

"My name is Sejanus," he introduced himself with a trembling voice, "and I want to help you."