-Trap Principato, District 1, Games Survivor-
He was once the most dastardly trainee in the Academy. He was the guy everyone wanted to be. He was the substitute choice for someone that he thought to be a coward to go into the Games. And he did everything he could to win the Games. If he wasn't staying awake and petting Abby's hair in bed, he was up on the District Two floor listening to Auri talk about his brother and being queer and patting his back and telling him now that he was away from there he was safe.
But he wasn't. In fact he was the first ally that Trap killed. And yet, for some reason, Trap was still alive and the good ones from that hellhole were dead. Thankfully there were a few of the goods that lived – Tessa and Malloy were genuinely some of the best people he'd ever met. Numi too, but he wasn't a survivor anymore. After everything they all put into him to try and keep him kicking… He should have known when he left the bunker that night would be the last time he saw Numi… He was free now, chasing after the rainbow connection for all of them.
But he couldn't help but think about the ones that would have served their purpose much better than Trap had they survived. Auri, the boy from Two with a heart as gold as his name. Or Austin, Malloy's ally who died for him as a rebellious act of friendship. The list went on and on. Trap wasn't even supposed to live, but he did because he wanted that badly to prove to his father that he was strong.
He curled up with a small shiver, moving closer to his mother who was sitting in the sewer by his side. He was a different person now. He knew that, and even if he didn't, he was reminded by his strong support system at every turn. But that didn't change the truth. He hugged the watch around his wrist to his chest, the thing that was sending a signal for him to communicate with the others. It was like his lifeline right now, to have the others there. But hopefully they were all sleeping like he was trying to.
But he couldn't get there and he knew it. He was so worried for his friends and didn't like not being by their sides. He knew in his brain that they were fine, but his heart was just pumping so fast. He felt like he should be there. But he had to go back home, grab his mother, and get rid of Junius's main bitches in District One – one of whom was his father, conveniently. He'd been waiting so long to shoot off that bullet, save his Mom the trouble of aiming her crossbow.
And now that it was all said and done, he didn't regret it at all. He just wished he would have given Numi something meaningful to remember him by, he just felt like he let him down so much. He was so confident that Coach Kat, Boss Camellia and Chief Jace were all safe, but losing Squirt Numi made him realize that nothing was guaranteed. In a way, Numitor was his Phil. He loved that kid so much and knowing that he wasn't coming back… Well, Trap hadn't wrapped his head around that yet.
It didn't help that he was cold, tired, hungry, and wet on top of it all. Domino seemed confident that they were going to come out of this soon, but Domino was confident about everything despite not much going on upstairs. That hopeless feeling was hard to fend off down here.
"You there Champ?" he rubbed his eyes and sat up at the soft familiar voice.
He put a hand to his ear to push the piece in further. "I'm here Boss."
"Where are you? Are you okay?" she asked quietly. "I'm worried about you."
Trap smiled a little bit and sighed quietly. "We're still in the pits with all the shit," he said. "Domino insists that we're going to get out of here soon."
"I know it!" said the bastard himself, cracking an eye open before he closed it again. Bella, Trap's Mom, gave him a concerned look before Trap just put a hand on her shoulder to get her to lay back down.
"Well hurry. Malloy is going to try and barter with that batshit Falconer guy and I need at least one of my friends to not be tied up with a crazy faction leader."
"Ya know Boss, technically you and Peanut are the crazy faction leaders over there," he said with a small smile.
Camellia gave him a small pity laugh. "Yeah. Hard to not fuck up these kids," she said with a sigh. "They're already so fucked up without all of this. Kodi was screaming," she said, her voice starting to quiver a little bit. "Ryder was holding him back from the medicine chest and the looks of horror from the others… They'll be branded into my mind." He could hear her sniffle softly and his heart broke for her. To have two partners and be away from them both, and responsible for six tributes barely younger than her… He wished he could have stayed there – plus he would have made a great Kat Junior!
Trap would have asked her what he wanted from the medicine chest, but they were all so damn used to monitoring Numi's bathroom use that he knew the answer and didn't want to make her say it. "It's not your fault."
"It's… This stupid government, and fucked up system," Camellia said, her voice breaking again as she let out a small sob. "I'm sorry, I just can't act this way around anyone," she said as she blew her nose again. "I can't worry Malloy and Jo, I can't let Wolf and Kat know I feel like I'm failing, and if Mari or the kids saw me like this they would only get more concerned and scared…"
"I know," Trap said soothingly. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be sharing a room with Mari? Where are you?"
Camellia chuckled softly. "Oh. Mari is sleeping with Ryyyyyder," she said, the tears slowing a little bit at that.
"Wait, what?!" he asked. "Oh no. I didn't even get to interrogate this kid. Put them on the line right now!"
"Stupid, it's like 2 in the A-M," Camellia said, but it was worth it to hear her slightly teary laugh. "Trust me, I'm keeping an eye on them." She got sad again as she shook her head. "They're starting to take loved ones of the tributes," she said quietly, her voice strained from the stress. "Ryder's step-brother is one. And they took Lester."
"Lester?!" Trap asked, shaking his head. He liked the little guy. "What?! Why!? He was supposed to be coming to you!"
"I know where he was supposed to be, but he isn't here!" Camellia said with a small sob as she wiped her eyes. She let out a heavy sigh. "It was because of Birdbrain," she said. "I just know it. The others won't say that, but…" He could hear her take a quivering breath. "I know what it's like to hold onto someone even when you think they're gone, one way or the other. Probably on some noble quest to think that he could save Bonnie…"
Trap sighed and shook his head. "Some people just can't be saved."
"Well… As long as one person has hope, it'll never be impossible," Camellia said. "Trap… I don't know what's going to happen next. But I do know that whatever it is, I need my brother more than ever so please… Don't let anything happen to you. Use Choptank as a meat shield for all I care, okay, I need you."
Trap looked over to where he was stubbornly trying to sleep. He didn't want to do that to the guy, but the desperation in Camellia's voice made him agree. "Okay. You have my imaginary pinky."
"It'll be your real one when we get together again. Soon, okay? I don't like being apart from my family."
"Me neither," Trap said. They had never all been apart for this long and he didn't like it one bit. "Get some sleep, Boss. You're doing great and I'll see you soon. And we need to start planning out the Fraud Squad Talk to give to Ryder Kota!"
Camellia laughed quietly. "Okay," she said. "You too, Champ."
He waited a few seconds before he turned down his sound and let out a deep sigh, looking over at Domino. This bastard had better not get them into deep shit. Well, okay, they were in a sewer so they already were in deep shit. But he meant real deep shit. No, he meant… Oh, nobody had better die because of his dumb ass!
He went back over to his mother, knowing he wasn't going to sleep but laying down anyways and letting her gently pet his hair. He missed her and was glad to have her back. He just hoped that nothing bad happened to her too… There were so many people that needed to be protected, he just had to trust that they could protect themselves and it would be fine… But after losing one of his closest friends in Numi, he worried about them greatly.
He stayed in that hazy state of anxiety and worry for most of the night, and was glad when he didn't have an excuse to try to sleep anymore.
"Let's get moving folks," Domino said confidently. "I can tell we're close."
"Close to what exactly?" Bella asked, retrieving her small satchel of belongings from where it was hung up over a pipe.
"Close to getting out of here," Domino said. "Come on, lady, you think I haven't mapped out this place yet?" he asked. "Contrary to your belief, I'm not a total idiot. Also, I want to live too. Even though I shouldn't." He started trudging forward. At this point the sludge wasn't even off-putting to Trap anymore, who put out his hand to help his mother through even though she didn't need it.
"What makes you say that you shouldn't live?" Bella asked him curiously as they walked. Trap whined quietly at that, not wanting her to start playing Mother with someone else. "Shush, you."
"Oh, I know that I'm a shit human, just like the lot of them," Domino said as he held up a lantern to look ahead. "There are some good ones out there, but I want power and wealth just as much as the worst of 'em. I'm just here to help the good ones, that are too good to help themselves. Like you."
Trap could feel his face grow hot. "Me? I'm not a good one," he said. "Did you not see me in the Games?"
"Sure, but that wasn't you," he said with a shrug. "You were trying to form into what your asshole sperm donor wanted you to be. Now this is you, I like him. I think he's good. Trying to keep everyone safe, you know?"
"He's a good Babybaby," Bella said, smiling a little bit despite the terrible situation they were in.
"Mom, please," Trap said. "We're in the middle of a war, is now the time to be embarrassing?"
Bella just shrugged. "Sure. It's always a good time to embarrass you."
Domino laughed at that and turned to look at them for a second. But his small smile turned to an expression of horror and Trap's matched it when they heard sloshing and the sound of something coming towards them. Trap turned around in time to see mutts approaching them, the darkness hiding their forms from the group except for pairs of glowing red eyes.
"Fuck," he said, his face setting in determination. He grabbed his mom and they both started running at the same time. Domino stayed back, letting them go first.
"Let's go Choptank!" Bella called to him, and Trap was comforted by how much she sounded like Kat. "We're not losing you here."
"Yes ma'am!" Domino said, their footsteps echoing down the empty chambers as the haunting figures approached them closer and in the light of the lantern they could see long, sharp teeth emerge from the sea of darkness. "Holy shit! This is incredible!"
"Only if we live!" Bella yelled over the sounds of footsteps.
"Ladder!" Domino said. "Coming up on your left. Oh I'm so smart!"
"You there Babybaby?"
"I'm here Mummymummy," Trap said, hefting her over towards the ladder and following after her. Bella grabbed the rungs, not questioning why she was going first and wasting any time and instead just taking them two by two. She grabbed the rusted handle above her and pulled it with all her might until it squeaked into action and revealed a blinding plethora of sunlight. Bella squinted and closed her eyes as they burned, but she pulled herself out of there, rolling on the grass as Trap followed. Domino let out a small cry and Trap whipped back around at the sound. He didn't even think, he just went, putting an arm in there and pulling Domino up when he grabbed it with great force. The creatures revealed their pale faces to the sun, screeching and retreating at the touch of the light on them, leaving the three of them in silence.
"Is everyone okay?" Bella asked, rubbing her eyes and blinking a few times as they were fully tearing up.
"Damn, this is going to make an epic scar," Domino said with a laugh as he pulled up his arm, which was covered in blood.
"Damn," Trap said, shaking his head. "Hopefully we have what we need to take care of that in here," he added, his heart still pounding as he looked at the other two and after a moment, started laughing about this. "Oh you crazy fucking bastard," he said, leaning over to slap Domino on the shoulder. "That is gnarly."
Bella was also laughing and clutched her sides. "Damn, I haven't felt that alive since I was in training," she said. "Long time ago – don't ask how long," she said with a stern look at Domino who had his finger up to do just that.
But their moment of reprieve was once again interrupted when they heard footsteps approaching them. Trap was immediately up on his feet and holding his gun, pushing his mother back behind him. "Let me get this," he said, vigilant to the threat.
"I can help," Bella said.
"Don't count me out yet," Mino said, taking his shirt off and wrapping it around his arm. "Let's fucking get some."
"Don't say it like that th-" Bella started but her voice was interrupted by a crack that immediately put Trap on edge as he put his gun up to aim.
And out from the clearing came the one person he was just waiting to see. "Go!" he said, waiting for Domino to subdue the threat while he was holding the gun. Domino used his training to expertly detain the threat to his knees on the ground, taking off his belt and tying it around his wrists to immobilize his hands.
"You little rat bastard," he said, before looking at Trap as the target wasn't struggling against them and his gun was dropped. "…He is a little rat bastard, right?"
"Oh I've been waiting for you, Birdbrain," Trap said, his lips spreading into a grin as he trained his gun right on the center of his forehead.
Bonnie put his head down, exposing himself to Trap as he quivered. "Go ahead," he said, through clenched teeth. "Shoot me. I fucking deserve it after everything I've done and didn't do. My little brother is dead and Lester… Lester is…" he trailed off and just let out a sob instead, unable to complete the sentence. "I left them. I could have stopped this, and I didn't. Just shoot me," he said darkly, his voice low and wavering. "I would rather be dead than face him after what they did to him because of me."
Trap frowned, but he was waiting to do this for everything that this man caused and did. But before he could, another figure came running from the woods with a yell and a small sob. "No!" Trap watched in horror as Lis threw herself over Bonnie, protecting him. "Don't shoot!"
Trap gaped at her, putting his gun away quickly and disarming it. "Vasilisa!?"
"He got me out of prison and is now a fugitive just like the rest of you, he deserves shelter and a fair chance too!" she said, hugging him even around Domino, who looked at Trap in confusion.
Trap just shook his head a little bit. But he knew how much Camellia adored Lis and would be so happy to know that she was under Trap's protection, so he sighed. "Let him go," he said to Domino, who did what he said as Bonnie let out another sob and buried his face in Lis's shoulder.
"You shouldn't have done that, that was reckless," he told her.
"I don't care," Lis said. "I couldn't let something bad happen to you before you had a chance to save him."
Freddy slowly approached behind them. When Trap saw him, he hurried over to him.
"There you are, Bambino!" he said, giving him a big hug. Despite how stinky and generally gross Trap was at that moment, the familiar face had Freddy grabbing onto him and hugging him tightly.
"Teddy – I mean, Trap," he said, blinking in total confusion. "It's still you…"
"It's still me, Teddy," he said, knowing how close Freddy was to all of Out of Spite and knowing that he would trust him. The last thing he needed was to have Freddy and Lis back and lose them.
"Fuck, I'm so glad to see you," he said, looking over at Bonnie and grinning a little bit. "Thank you for neutralizing the threat," he added.
Trap frowned over at Bonnie, who hadn't let Lis take the belt off of his wrists and was still kneeling there, crying, obviously a broken man.
As long as one person has hope, it'll never be impossible. Camellia was that one person for Trap. And if Lis was one person for Bonnie, then… They would deliver him back and let the jury deliberate.
"Uncuff him," Trap said finally with a sigh. "He's not a threat." He really wasn't, despite having a gun. He just looked… Sad and tired.
"You really shouldn't have that shit-covered rag on a wound," Bonnie said to Domino, wiping his nose when his hands were untied and unwrapping the wound, holding his arm and making a face. "Alright. I packed a first aid kit to err on the side of caution but this might need stitches. Something I never learned of course. But I can clean it out for you. Lissy, the kit."
"Of course," Lis said. Trap could see the soft touch he had as he started working on Domino's wound, gently telling him some fact about airplanes as he cleaned out the wound. There was something about him that was different now.
"I hate him," Freddy said, crossing his arms and frowning at Lis being over there with him instead of by Freddy's side.
"I used to hate him," Trap said thoughtfully, but he was once despicable and look at how much he'd grown.
"Used to? What about now?" Freddy asked, looking up at him with the sad eyes of a child that had been through too much shit.
"Now…" Trap smiled a little bit at Bonnie wrapping gauze around Domino's arm. He thought about all the happy memories he had now. The family man he'd become that came from the faith of just one person…
"He deserves a second chance."
~.~.
-Kat Valentine, Capitol, Rebel Leader-
She was astounded every time she left the Capitol. Coming out to the Districts was such a surreal experience. Even the Career Districts that were generally thought of to be wealthier weren't the same as her home.
It was a small little house, but nobody ever thought that it was small for so many people. Hell, Kat would probably look for something bigger for just herself and Stellan. Not that they'd talked about getting a place to live together. Dating a coup leader left no room for conversations so mundane. They basically had been living together for the past year, just with seven kids. One of which was now dead. If this was how parents felt after losing their kids to the Games – probably worse, she would admit – Stellan's calls to war were even more vindicated. Imagine putting families through this ever year and calling it sport… Kat always knew the Games were painful, but now she had experienced just a little taste of it for herself and the thought that it could happen again at any moment was too much for her to bear. Fuck, they'd better be careful out there…
It was one thing when it was Phil. Still incredibly painful of course, mostly seeing the friends so torn up over him, and Stellan, knowing that he would never forgive himself and not able to give him a reason why he should. Phil died young, and was innocent, but fuck, Kat felt like she raised Numitor in a sense. He lost out on parents from such a young age and was swiped away from his family by his own choice so quickly. He needed someone and the way that all of them came together for him – and each other… Fuck, it was so beautiful. But now everything that she once thought was beautiful was stained in his blood. She knew it was coming for fuck's sake, and she still was just… Not okay. She knew that Stellan had letters for them all from him and she wasn't ready to receive hers yet.
And then there was the other one she had practically raised… Lizzie. She had been trying to avoid thinking about the girl, but she couldn't help it. She was gone. Not only that, but Freddy too. Kat was morbidly glad that it wasn't one of the rescued tributes, but she had been through so much with those two… Hell, she'd spent so much time with Lizzie teaching her self-defense, she reminded Kat of a younger version of herself, and she was presumed dead with how long she'd been gone… But Kat was just trying not to think about those two. They weren't with the cause. But they didn't know any of this was going to happen to them, and they were gone…
She just didn't know how the fuck she would go on if she lost another of her kids. She worried deeply for each one of them. At least Malloy, Jo, and Coda had each other. Trap had his Mom, but that Choptank guy, he was just… Crazy. But he was confident he could handle it and she couldn't stop him. Stellan was managing Maggie and Piccolo. Camellia and Mari had each other at least, but Kat still worried for them anyway. At least she was here to watch over Tessa, Jace, and… Jill. She smiled a little bit at how quickly her three had melded into this little faction of rebels.
"I remember being young like them once," Professor Conrad Lakatos commented, smiling at them all as he had a sip of warm tea. "Was able to stay up late into the night reading. Now I always fall asleep at eleven whether I want to or not."
Kat chuckled. "I'm not that old yet," she commented.
"No," he said with a smile. "But you certainly must have some degree of patience to be with someone like Stellan," he added with a light laugh. "Despite his energetic personality, I always knew he was destined for great things. Never thought that I would be taking orders from him, though," he teased.
Kat smiled proudly at the praise for him, and it made her heart warm. "He's passionate about this and I'm so proud of him," she said, pulling up her tea to her lips and sipping it. "He put his heart and soul into this but it couldn't happen without cooperation from others in other Districts like you. And I am indeed very patient," she added lightly. But she loved all his quirks and it was obvious from her smile.
"Only Stellan would make the codeword between groups cowabunga," Conrad said with a grin. "I'm an old man and even I know that is out of style."
"It sure is out of style," Kat said, shaking her head. "But very Stellan. He's such a fucking weirdo," she said with a little giggle. "But he's a good man and after being without him for so long, I am missing him like crazy." She couldn't wait until she got back to him.
"Aha," Conrad said. "So, are you expecting a ring out of him soon then?" he asked, looking at her over his glasses.
Kat let out a nervous laugh about that as she felt her cheeks heating up quickly. Quickly, she looked over to where Conrad's TA, Molly, was hanging over a map that spread across a few tables with Tessa eagerly looking over their shoulder. "What are they doing?" she asked, to try and deflect from that subject as she awkwardly cleared her throat.
Conrad let out a chuckle. "Either they're looking at the wiring plot for the area and discussing the best way to power off the barracks, or Molly is showing off their most recent Dungeons and Dragons map."
Kat blinked in surprise for a few seconds at that. When Bex, the designated anime nerd, showed off their DM robe, that question was answered quickly. "I admire you," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know how any of you relax with the constant knowledge that you are oppressed. I'm a fighter and even I can be so on-edge… Especially with what's going on outside."
"This is just how they cope," Conrad said, looking over to where a pink-haired girl called Waverly was putting crystals in Jill's hands and telling her what they would do for her. "I do admire how they enjoy every moment."
Kat nodded a little bit. "So… Why statistics club?" she asked with a snort. "Seems like a kind of niche way to disguise a rebel hideout on a college campus."
"Because who's going to sign up for statistics club except for us?" Lili the hacker asked, her perfect nails clicking on the keys as she opened her mouth for Dane, the resident jock, to put a chocolate-covered chip in it. "It's the perfect cover."
"Everyone brands us as nerds despite how different we are," Eli the bug nerd said, adjusting their big neon yellow glasses. "They don't have to know that I like bugs, I can't do stats for shit!"
"Yeah I don't do stats, only Molly does stats. Because math is for chumps that don't get laid," said the boy called Ricky but he didn't look up from the handheld video game he was playing.
"You got laid once with a wayward traveler and then came running to me asking how to find the clitoris, that doesn't count as getting laid, you fool," Lili said, also not looking up from her screen.
"I'm so glad I like dick," Dane said under his breath with a look of horror as Lili wiggled her fingers menacingly at them all.
Kat let out a small laugh at that and shook her head a little bit at them. At least they didn't have a whole song written about them being horny. "Compared to what Stellan is dealing with right now, I sure am glad we're here."
"What is Stellan dealing with?" the resident music nerd Kyrie looked up from where she was gently strumming her ukulele.
"Oh, I think it's a full moon in a few days, I'm sure we can manifest the good vibes," Waverly said, and Jill grinned and nodded.
"I like this dude," she said with a laidback smile as she rubbed the crystals in her hands.
"Well her anime opinions are trash!" Bex said with a huff and wearing their DM robe.
"Ricky couldn't find the clit, but least he didn't leave his first partner against a tree," which caused everyone in the room to look over at that one nerd that just always hung out there and very rarely spoke.
"Hugo with the zinger!" said Ricky with a laugh, glad to be out of the hotseat.
"We don't talk about that!" Eli whined. "Come on man, I told you that in confidence!"
"Oh I'm glad I'm ace," Jace said with a laugh.
"I think we need to hear this story," Jill said, laughing when Tessa came over to sit in her lap and hugging her around the stomach. "No, I know we do. Spill the beans!"
"Jill, be polite," Kat said off-handedly. But it was still hard to believe that this was the group of rebels they were sent here to negotiate with. They were so nice and this had been a piece of cake. Everything was going to go to plan here and District Three would surely be under rebel control soon enough, which would be a great thing for them.
"Boo," said Jill, but she listened to Kat as she obviously respected her. It had taken some work to get there with her.
But the kids soon paid no mind to them as they were too busy antagonizing Eli and when he brought out a tarantula to threaten them, Jill just wanted them to put it on her while Tessa was morbidly curious about it and Jace was okay because at least it wasn't angry bees. Kat just relaxed as she watched them. They were all good kids, bright-eyed, smart, detail-oriented, and that was exactly what Stellan needed in his allies right now.
Molly broke from the circle of students to sit by their professor's side, quickly getting distracted putting their chin in their hands and leaning towards Kat. "Whoever Stellan is dealing with isn't nearly as lucky as us," they said. "I love Stellan and UV, but they're not… Eeee! They're not Midnight's Muse!" they squealed again.
Kat chuckled at them, but it seemed like years since she was part of that band. Not that she didn't like them – the band gave her one of her favorite memories making Thack pee and gave her Calliope who was one of her closest friends. But the culture of the rest of the group wasn't her favorite and she was glad that she'd fallen out of contact with most of them. But she couldn't just crush Molly by telling them that so she just smiled. "You really don't have to be starstruck, I've told you this."
"I can't help it!" Molly said, clenching their fists and shaking them in excitement as they stared up at her with wide eyes. "I can't believe Stellan is dating Kat Valentine! And you're here! And I get to meet you! I mean Stellan is amazing of course, he rocks, he was one of my good friends, well, if by friends you mean people I wish I was friends with but couldn't muster up the courage to talk to because of social anxiety. You know. Awkward. Bleep, blap, bloop. But always nice to me! You know what, he is a king and you are a queen! So you really do deserve each other, you are such a power couple! I love you two together so much, I STAN!"
Conrad gave an amused smile as Kat could feel herself blushing. Even if she was embarrassed, at least she wasn't elected to deal with those crazies in District Seven. "Thank you?" she said slowly, but wasn't really sure if that was the right response. But Molly received that with a grin and clapping their hands so she assumed it was okay.
"So what is Stellan dealing with?" Conrad asked curiously, though thoroughly amused by this.
"Well currently the Falconers in District Seven are holding three of the runaway tributes hostage," Kat said with a sigh as she shook her head. "And trying to get some kind of leverage over him, I don't know. He sent Malloy and Jo to negotiate, and Coda insisted on going too with his cane." She chuckled at that. She loved that kid so much. And hoped nothing bad happened to him… "But it's likely that Pointer Pocomoke is going to make Stellan drag his cute booty out there to negotiate face to face. This guy… He crazy." Hopefully not the kind of crazy that would put any of their lives on the line. "But Stellan needs him right now, so he doesn't really have a choice."
"Well, if anyone can do it, Stellan can," Conrad said. "I should know, I taught the boy."
"And he always spoke fondly of you," Kat said. "I'm sure he sent me here on purpose even though I told him not to go easy on me!"
Conrad chuckled as he looked at the students, who had gone almost silent as they got enamored with their hobbies of choice. "If this is easy, I fear for what is difficult."
"Yeah," Kat said, but she heard her earpiece crackle a little bit and put up a finger for a second. "Hold on."
"Kat?"
She blinked a few times in surprise at the voice she heard on the other side. "Pri?" she asked finally. It had been a while since she heard from Phil's boyfriend. "What's going on?"
"I have… A situation over here," he said finally, and she could hear the stress in his voice.
"Spit it out already man!" Kat said. It couldn't have been any of her kids, they were all scattered but none of them were in District Three except for the ones she was watching here in the college house.
"Lizzie Afton is here!" he said finally.
Kat's jaw dropped. Goddammit, it was one of her kids. Her heart started pounding. "Is she alright!?" she asked. "How did she somehow wander from the Capitol all the way to District Three?! Oh my God, is she hurt? She doesn't know anything right now, she's been on the run from the Capitol, Pri you keep her safe over there you hear me, you have precious cargo!"
"Okay okay, calm down woman," Pri snapped a little bit. "She didn't come alone," he said. "She was escorted by one… Agent Eight."
Kat's blood boiled at the mention of Alvis – no, Jun, whatever the fuck his name was, it didn't matter, he bailed on them at the last damn minute. And now they couldn't get all the tributes and some of them were in Falconers' hands, or in prison, and one of them was dead. "And what did he have to say?"
"He said Cowabunga so I let them both in," Pri said. "The girl is confused, she has almost no idea what's going on right now. The boy… Frantic, that's how I can describe him. Don't think either of them were expecting to see me. She's sleeping, he's taking a shower. But Kat, he's not too bad," Pri said, obviously nervous bringing it up. "He really just wanted me to take in the girl."
"Oh, I have some words for him," Kat said, but she took a deep breath. "Have you reported this to Stellan yet?"
"Not yet," Pri said. "Lizzie wanted me to call you first and I know you're here. So… What do I do with them?"
Kat shook her head a little bit, honestly not sure what the answer to that was. "Just… Keep them there," she said. Why would they go to Phil's house? How did either of them even know where that was? "I'll figure out what to do with them tomorrow, after I get these three on a craft back to Thirteen."
"Roger that," Pri said, signing off.
Kat could already feel a stress headache coming on. How was she supposed to do this? No. She had to keep on being strong. Stellan was counting on her.
She would do it for him.
She would do it for her kids.
She would do it for herself.
~.~.
A/N: A two POV chap because it was getting long.
Next Chapter: A night at the Markovs', A Negotiation, and A new Mission.