Paul Matthews' second meeting with Dr Jane Perkins goes only marginally better than the first. She sits on one side of a tall mahogany desk in her office, as he and Emma sit opposite her, waiting for her finish scribbling on a notepad laid in her lap.
There's no bugs in here, Emma had reassured him as they'd entered near half an hour ago. Jane's husband Tom practically tears the place apart before every meeting to make sure. They trust her.
By they she had meant the Capitol, and that is contradictory to Paul because Emma is a Capitolite too.
Jane looks up suddenly. "Please read this." She hands the notebook across the table to Paul. It has a burnt orange leather cover, and thick yellowing pages. "And tell me if anything I have documented is incorrect."
Paul flicks it open to the indicated page as Emma shifts nervously beside him. Printed in neat handwriting, ink a deep blue and not even smudged in one single corner, is a full history of Paul's involvement with the Capitol, starting with when he was Reaped all those years ago (he breezes past the bullet-pointed information about his time in the arena) and leading up to his most recent Victor Tour. There are things in there that he'd rather nobody new about, things he himself would rather forget.
Paul flies up out of his seat and Emma's shoulders sag like this was the reaction she had been bracing herself for.
"Where did you get this?" He brandishes the book at the Doctor.
"There's a store in the Northern Quarter, they sell delightful calligraphy supplies."
"Not the book." Paul grits his teeth.
"Don't play with him Jane." Emma sighs uncomfortably.
"Did you know about this? Have you read it?" He directs at her.
Emma blinks. "Yes and no." She says slowly. "I know about it because we have to do our research before we bring somebody new into the fold. We have to be able to trust you, I told you that. And no, I haven't read it - your entry, I mean." The tips of her ears are turning pink, and she loosens her hair to let it fall down over them. "Because I remembered what you said, about me not knowing what its like."
"And why did that stop you?" He sneers, unconvinced.
"The look on your face that day told me that if you're right, and I don't know what it's like, then I probably never want to."
"You're right about that." Paul lowers the notebook in his hand down to his side, cooling down and thinking about how he'd probably want to research somebody he was about to commit treason with too. If he had the resources, he would've found out all he could about these sisters long ago. "I'm sorry."
He sits down again and places the notebook on the table.
"Did I miss anything?" Dr Perkins asks nonchalantly, like it wouldn't matter if she had.
"I was in your sister's kitchen last week."
"Funny." The woman across from him doesn't smile, but Emma sat next to him twitches like she might laugh. She doesn't.
"So what is this all about?" Paul leans in towards the desk. "You can get Pete out of the Games? Is there like, a loophole or something?"
The Doctor shakes her head gravely. "No loophole, I'm afraid. It's just going to have to be hard work from here on out, Matthews. We have people who are ready for this society to be done, for the President to be gone and the Hunger Games a thing of the past."
The Victor's eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. "You're really going to sabotage the Games?" He gawks.
"We find some good kids on the inside, we can bust them and everyone else and after that-" Emma sits up straighter. "Nothing will be the same after that." She grins.
"Wait, you mean you want the tributes to break themselves out? Why can't we just - just go in there ourselves and get them?"
"Its all about the symbolism, Paul. We'll be there behind the scenes, pulling all the strings to make things run the way they need to. But the tributes are the ones who need to rise up, for this revolution to really take flight. Otherwise, there'll be a scandal, they'll probably hunt us down and kill us and the kids, and then it'll all be back to normal by next year."
Paul gulps. "Things are going to change, permanently? No more Games, ever?"
"If things go to plan." Emma reaches out to touch his arm and he flinches back with thoughts of Melissapinkredblood before he manages to snap out of it. "Paul, think about what they did to you."
He is, always. There is a feeling, heavy in his chest and churning in his stomach, that never seems to go away these days. Maybe, he thinks, this is how he appeases it. He is sure that if he has to watch Pete die, it will never leave.
"Do I have tell Pete about this? Only, he's a bad liar and I wouldn't want him to get in trouble..."
Dr Perkins thinks for a moment. "The Lauter girl, her father is Mayor. She's good at putting on a front."
"You want me to rope her in and not Pete?"
"It makes sense, Paul. It won't just be her, we have others who have volunteered to be involved as well. You can tell her who to make alliances with, and who to run from."
"Who to kill." Paul corrects. "She won't last long without blood on her hands."
"Fine." Dr Perkins shrugs. "All I'm saying is, you keep them alive long enough for them to put the plan into motion, we'll handle the rest."
Paul looks at the Doctor, sharp eyes, poise and polish. He looks at Emma, bright and hopeful and real despite her makeup and high heels.
"And what does this 'plan' involve anyway?"
Emma smiles broadly. "Now you're asking the right questions."