Octavia Maximillion, Interviewer of the tribute's families
It can't have been more than five minutes since the One Girl fell into that fire, and they fired her cannon, that Octavia was thrown onto a hovercraft along with her brother and this year's host of the Hunger Games - Adonis Maximillion.
For the last few years, the Maximillions have had a bit of a rivalry about who will do the family interviews of the tributes. This year, however, the Inner Table themselves gave the order for both of them to conduct the interviews; clearly the rulers of Panem have more pressing matters to worry about and don't have time for the Maximillion's little squabbles.
Octavia isn't really sure what to expect from this decision; all she knows is it will be interesting.
They took a different path in life; Octavia studied journalism, and always dreamed of showing the Capitol the reality of how people live in the outer districts - a goal that always proved tricky under the regime in which she grew up where she has had to keep her dream well hidden. But, the family interviews for the Hunger Games was always the perfect and only opportunity for her to do this.
Adonis, on the other hand, went to theatre school and became an actor. He could effortlessly slide into any role, including the host for the hunger games. When he got offered the job, Octavia finally saw her chance to do what she's always wanted to do.
Adonis doesn't care about the reality of the world, only his and his family's preservation. He'd do anything that the Capitol tells him to. But with the tide of control shifting maybe he'll allow his more rebellious nature to shine through, if it's even still there.
"We should be done in a few hours," Adonis states casually, whilst flipping through his sheet of questions. "Assuming we avoid the rebel strongholds, of course."
"That's if there's anything to get back to," Octavia rebuts.
"It doesn't matter who's in charge, whether it's the Inner-Table or Admiral Holland. We adapt," her brother shrugs. But then, he leans back as he can't help but give in to his curiosity. "Do you think Wakai and Martell will do it?" He asks in a hushed tone.
"I don't think it matters. A large alliance of rebels is moving down from the north and they'll get to the Capitol before the First Renegades, besides," she leans closer to him and says the next sentence in the quietest voice she can muster - "The one at the top has moved the last of his forces out of Three to an undisclosed location… along with a bunch of prisoners. I think they are planning something big."
"Which is why they want to end the games fast," Adonis realizes. But then, he leans back and shrugs. "It's just like I've told you so many times - you shouldn't ask too many questions. Our allegiance is with the highest bidder."
Octavia sticks her tongue out at him and rolls her eyes.
Octavia has spent the last few weeks gathering as much information about the tribute's families as she can, a task that has proved very tricky with many of the tributes being orphans, runaways, and in one case - a prisoner. But she managed to find someone for every tribute, well, except for Jokull, but Adonis assured her that he has a plan for that.
District Nine is the closest of the six Districts that the siblings will be visiting today as all the tributes from One, Two, and Three are dead.
Nine also has two of the eight families that they've had to track down, allowing them to kill two birds with one stone. Although, Octavia would hesitate to call them "families," given what she's discovered about them.
Like a lot of the other kids in the Final Eight, neither of the Nine's families were easy to find, particularly not Chaney's, and it wasn't helped by the awkward timing of the One Girl's death.
Octavia and Adonis are seated in the justice building in front of a collection of lights and cameras awaiting the arrival of Chaney's father.
Suddenly, the door swings open and a man enters with two Peacekeepers on either side of him. The man's face is covered in dirt. He has long, messy, brunette hair and a scraggly beard that has hints of grey in it. He strides with an aura of unwavering confidence, not too dissimilar to that of his son's.
Chaney's father takes a drag of a cigarette before sparring a glance at Briar's parents, who are standing a good distance from each other.
The man gives the Bacardis a dismissive snort, stamps his cigarette out on the floor, and then takes a seat opposite the two Capitolites.
The interview begins with the usual formalities - introductions, how are yous, and pleasantries which carry no meaning.
Adonis is the first to ask a real question - "Are you surprised to see your son has made it into the Final Eight of the Hunger Games?"
Possibly the last Hunger Games - Octavia comments in her head.
The man sitting opposite them simply shrugs at the question, his lips curl into a dismissive scoff. "He's a showman, like his old man. I knew he would be alright. That's why I left him, see… to get on with things himself. I knew what was best for him." He snorts again and then wipes his nose with the back of his hand.
Octavia leans in and raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, he definitely seems alright at the moment, doesn't he?" She couldn't help herself.
"And who's fault is that?" Chaney's father counters. He looks the two Capitolites up and down. "It sure as hell ain't mine."
Ten years ago, he would never have gotten away with saying something as accusatory as that to Capitolites. But the Capitol is fracturing, and the districts know it. It's only a matter of time.
Adonis hastily steers the conversation back to the games, trying desperately to take back control of the drifting ship - this interview, from his sister. "So, Mister De Kuyper. What do you think his chances are?"
Chaney's father leans back on his chair. A terse smirk lines his face. "Not that he would ever take any advice from his old man." He pauses and snickers. "That boy was always as stubborn as a mule… but yeah… he should ditch his alliance while he still can. Any bond that he thinks he's formed with that Bacardi girl ain't real. The only way to survive in this world is by yourself."
"But they're married now. Do you really think he'll just ditch her?" Octavia retorts.
The man scoffs. "Oh come on. I reckon that was all a sham designed by their mentor. I sure didn't raise him to have feelings."
No. You didn't raise him at all, that's the point. You left him. Octavia wants to pull her hair out in frustration. How can this man not see what's staring him in the face?
"Thank you mister De Kuyper. That's time."
"Phew. I was getting sick of staring at your faces. So, I'm guessing I'm walkin' back?"
The Capitolite siblings glance between each other then give the impatient man a nod.
Chaney's dad sighs. "This keeps gettin' better by the minute."
At the end of the interview, Octavia scribbles a few notes in her journal - that was an absolutely horrible, neglectful man, but maybe he did have a point about us.
Octavia lets out a deep breath. That was intense. Surely it can't get any worse?
They don't have to travel far for the next interview, as Delphine and Dario Bacardi take their seats on the interview chairs moments after the departure of Chaney's neglectful father.
Dario's movements are slow and disjointed and his face is bright red from alcohol consumption. Meanwhile, Delphine is sober but she taps her foot impatiently like this interview is a mild inconvenience. The only thing they have in common is they both seem to care as little as the other.
Clearly they've got better things to do than talk about their daughter - Octavia observes to herself
Briar's parents sit as far apart from each other as they possibly can, creating an uncomfortable feeling in the silence that Adonis soon breaks. "Welcome Dario and Delphine. You must be proud of your daughter for making it so far into the Games."
Dario and Delphine glance awkwardly at each other before they both insincerely mumble "very."
"What has surprised you the most about her performance in the Games?" Adonis asks.
"She's urm… resourceful," Delphine shrugs. "Her man too… much more than mine ever was." She looks at Dario again, and he scowls at her in response.
The lack of care that these parents have astounds Octavia. She has to dig deeper to try to unravel the mystery of this story.
"Let's talk about her marriage for one moment then," the journalist jumps in.
Adonis gives his sister an irritated look.
"Had Briar and Chaney known each other for a long time? How long had they been seeing each other? The whole thing has created quite the excitement across the country."
Dario and Delphine turn to each other, their eyebrows arched in confusion. "Well don't look at me," Delphine snaps.
"I…don't know," Dario admits.
"You don't know?"
"She… left home some years ago… just like Delphine."
Briar's mother shoots up off her chair. "Don't you dare turn this on me! This is all your fault! All of it!" She shouts, sticking her finger out at Dario.
Octavia gives Delphine a questioning look.
"After Teo- h-her brother passed… she got sick… I thought she was dead too. I couldn't face it. Not again," Delphine murmurs.
"Are we done here?" Dario requests.
"I think so," Adonis answers.
Octavia breathes a sigh of relief as Briar's parents storm out in a flash.
Good riddance - Octavia writes in her journal. They weren't there for Briar. They are irreverent. It's better that they're gone.
At least she's starting to understand Briar and Chaney. They truly have no one else but each other. Chaney really had no other choice but to volunteer.
"Alright, we'll take ten, then onto the next District," Adonis states casually.
District Ten is the next stop despite the fact that there are no tributes from Ten alive in the games. They are heading to Ten because it is the original district of the controversial Ozias Califera from Fourteen.
"You didn't tell me we were going to Ten," Octavia mutters as she gives Ozias's file a once over while waiting for the hovercraft to arrive in Ten.
"Fourteen is too far and also too dangerous at this time."
"Yeah but… who are we gonna interview? His entire family died in that fire a few years ago. It barely made the news in The Capitol, but it was one of the first stories I wrote about. It was started by some mad chef in his restaurant, who also happened to be Emery's father but don't worry about it. Anyway, the fire quickly spread around the whole district and it burned for hours before the Capitol responded. There were hundreds of deaths… that we know of."
"None of that matters," Adonis waves her story off. "The higher-ups want him dead as soon as possible and it's our job to not make him into a martyr but a monster. He's already caused quite the stir in District Ten. So, we're going to interview the Mayor, who's son vanished whilst visiting the barber shop that was owned by Gallus Adcock." He raises his eyebrows at his sister. "Ozias mentioned Mr Adcock's Barber and Pie Shop during his interview, you might recall?"
Octavia rolls her eyes. "How could I forget?"
"So until that Admiral of the First Renegades or this other alliance of rebels you mentioned takes over, we are following our brief."
The Mayor of District Ten and his wife Acantha are already waiting on their interview chairs when Octavia and Adonis arrive.
They are the most eager interviewees we've had so far - Octavia humors herself.
The Mayor is short and stout, and his leathery skin is coated in fake tan. As he begins to describe the disappearance of his son, he produces a tissue from his pocket and dabs it around his eyes as he speaks. "About ten months ago, our son was visiting Tulrango on a business trip. He decided to get a haircut at one of the town's barbers… the barber where he met Ozias Califera. We never saw our son again."
"Of course, we don't need to go into more detail about Ozias and Emery's operation - the killer went into enough detail during his interview with me before the Games, which we will play afterwards to remind the folks at home, but what do you think it says about Ozias's character that he was imprisoned in Fourteen for betraying and murdering his boss, who was leading the operation?"
"It shows he has no honour!" Acantha explodes. "He'll betray anyone that he calls his 'friend'. He's disgusting! He's a monster!"
Adonis turns to the camera. "Well there you have it. We've heard from Ozias's community-"
"Just one more question," Octavia cuts in.
The Mayor finishes wiping his eyes, looking up at the Interviewers again. "Make it fast. We're busy people."
"Three years ago there was a fire in District Ten… you might recall it?"
"An unfortunate and great tragedy for the district, yes."
"Yeah… what I'd like to know is why it took hours for any firefighters to be deployed? The delay meant the fire claimed hundreds of lives when the death toll could have been much less. Were you aware that Ozias's family were among the victims of this fire?"
"I fail to see how that's relevant! It was a turbulent time in Panem and we couldn't spare the resources-"
"But hours before a single firefighter showed up?"
"This interview is over." The Mayor stands up from his chair abruptly. "I came to talk about my son, not answer to the likes of you!"
As The Mayor and Acantha make their rapid exit, Adonis shakes his head in frustration. "Can we please try to end the next interview without someone storming out?" He groans.
"I'm sorry, but if I can see how contrived that interview was, then the people at home can as well."
"They'll believe it if they want to believe it, trust me."
"This isn't journalism."
"No, it's a performance."
It should prove difficult for the next interview to end with someone storming out as it's with Reese's mother.
However, there is something that has been puzzling Octavia as she paces up and down on the hovercraft, flicking through Reese's file. "I searched everywhere in Eleven's records and the archive. There was absolutely nothing about his father… not a single trace or record. It's like someone purposefully erased anything about him."
Adonis shrugs. "Panem is a big place. Lots of people go unaccounted for."
"Yeah… It's just curious, is all."
The interview with Hart Haricot, Reese's mother, will be different from all of the others. Due to her condition, she is unable to make it to the justice building, and so the interview has to take place in her own home.
Hart and Reese's home, as it turns out, is just a little shack in the middle of a dull field. In fact, the combination of Octavia, Adonis, their camera operators, sound recorders, and other members of the crew, almost take up the entire house.
Octavia swallows back her embarrassment for being so ignorant of the world. There's no one around here to help the Haricots if something were to happen… just like Ozias's family.
The young journalist kicks herself. Despite her endless inquisitions, she is still as shocked by the outer districts as ever.
When the siblings and their crew enter Hart Haricot's bedroom, Octavia has to prevent herself from gasping aloud.
Reese's mother is on death's door. She is bedridden, extremely frail, and is nothing more than skin and bones. She has dark bags under her eyes and pale skin. She looks like she hasn't moved for days.
"Sorry to disturb you at this hour, Mrs Haricot. We'll make this quick," Adonis greets, opening out a metal, fold-up chair beside the sick woman's bed.
Hart's eyes drift solemnly to the two interviewers. "Y-your… you're here t-to talk about my son, aren't you?" She croaks with a raspy cough.
"That's right. You must be very proud," Adonis answers, glancing up to the small, square, dusty television that hangs opposite Hart's bed.
"Very proud. V-very proud." A radiant smile spreads across Hart's face. That must be the first time she's smiled since her son left, and it shows. "When he comes back, h-he's going to make us rich. You'll see." Reese's mother's eyes slowly fall shut.
"Well, it's great to hear you have so much enthusiasm and confidence in him."
Adonis hastily brings the interview to a close, not wanting to make Hart speak unnecessarily.
But Octavia isn't finished yet. She clears her throat and leans closer to the bed. "Hart… if I may…"
Hart opens her eyes again and looks vacantly in the direction of the strangers from the Capitol, as if they aren't really there.
"Reese's father… who was he? We couldn't find any information on him. Is he still alive?"
The bedridden woman smiles again. "He's coming back soon, and he'll make us rich. H-he's coming back soon." Her eyes slide shut again.
Octavia swallows her emotions back. "Thank you, Mrs Haricot."
The Maximillions and their crew begin packing up their equipment for the next interview. As they step out of the Haricot's home, Octavia pulls her brother aside to speak with him privately.
The idiot is wiping his face and hands with sanitizer, like he has just stepped out of a mud puddle.
Octavia stops herself from hitting him. "Stop that!" She exclaims.
Adonis raises his eyebrows, bewildered. "What?"
Octavia sighs, shaking her head. "Reese's mother… what sickness does she have?"
"Oh don't worry… it seems to be something hereditary - incurable, as a matter of fact, but our experts assured us it's not contagious…"
"I'm not worried about that! She needs medical attention, urgently!"
"Do I look like a doctor? We aren't here for humanitarian efforts. We are here to make television, nothing more. It's none of our business nor responsibility."
Octavia folds her arms. "If she doesn't see a doctor immediately, then I'm sure she'll be dead by the morning. We're not leaving until she gets help."
Upon seeing that his sister won't budge, Adonis clasps his face in frustration. "Alright, fine. I'll talk to the Head Peacekeeper… see if I can pull any strings."
"No, we both will."
Still no closer to finding answers but at least I'm starting to get through my brother's thick skull - Octavia writes in her journal.
For the next interview, Octavia is the one taking charge as her brother has no ability to produce good journalism.
"There's been a slight change of plan for Brizio," she announces in the hovercraft.
"What now?" Adonis sighs.
"I was able to find even less out about Brizio than Reese, especially the nature of his volunteering, but what I was able to find was troublesome"
"What do you mean?" Adonis asks in an impatient tone.
"His parents seem to work for one of the largest crime syndicates in District Four, and as such, Brizio and his brother Tancred broke contact with them some years ago."
"They ran away or something, yes."
"Exactly. So I believe by interviewing the parents with Tancred, we would be endangering the boy. My logic follows, does it not?"
Adonis lets out a deeper sigh. "There's no point arguing with you anymore. So, what are you suggesting?"
"We only interview Tancred. It seems like he has the best connection with Brizio, anyway."
"Very well. I guess the chances of some drama that will inevitably have to be cut out are less." Adonis begins searching through his notes, presumably to make adjustments to this retconned interview.
They arrive at District Four's justice building, which stands on a cliff that overlooks the ocean, and begin setting up their equipment.
Five minutes before the scheduled start of the interview, Tancred comes wandering through the doors. He looks a lot like Brizio, with the same curly black hair and dark eyes, only, he's a few years younger. Either way, you would immediately be able to tell that he's the brother of the boy in the final eight.
The boy is red in the face. As he gets closer, he fidgets with his hands, and peers around the room nervously.
"It's okay, Tancred. They're not here. You're safe," Octavia affirms.
This settles the boy's nerves a little, but he still looks at the Capitolites with distrust, like how a mouse would look at those who set a mousetrap. "Do they know I'm here?" He responds.
"I can assure you they don't."
Tancred finally sits down on his interview chair but still remains hesitant.
Octavia gets straight to the point, as even though Tancred's parents aren't here, they still might have caught on that their son is being interviewed in the justice building.
"How has life been since your brother left for the Games?" Is Octavia's first question. It's an unorthodox question for a Capitolite, but she does things slightly differently from her brother.
"It's urm… it's been tough, actually." Tancred looks down at his hands with pensive eyes.
"How so?"
"Well… he-he looks after me, my brother. He was always much better at all that… stuff that our family did… that he still does. So, I've been staying at a friend's, his family have been helping me get to school. It's been hard to focus though, since he left."
Octavia's curiosity gets the better of her, once again, and she has to ask about his family. "You said the "stuff your family did." What do you mean by that?"
Tancred glances around, and starts fiddling with his hands again. "I don't think I can talk about it here, sorry. It never interested me anyway, I just wanted to focus on science and math at school, which is what I enjoy."
"We understand."
The rest of the interview is much more of a formality and touches on some of the specifics of the games with Tancred's responses yielding varying degrees of success.
However, as the interview is wrapping up, and they have begun packing away, Tancred says something that surprises Octavia - "I don't think he wanted to do it, by the way."
Octavia furrows her eyebrows at the boy. "What do you mean?"
"I don't think he wanted to volunteer. Someone coerced him into doing it - that's how things work around here."
"You… think he was blackmailed?"
"Just leave it, Octavia. We need to get to the next interview," Adonis cuts in.
But Octavia disregards her brother like he's an irritating background noise.
Tancred nods. "I don't know by who, but he had been working for more dangerous people before he volunteered… m-maybe even more dangerous than the people or parents work for. I-I didn't like it… he was disappearing more nights than usual." The boy suddenly turns red again. "I-I've probably said too much."
Brizio's brother hastily stands up off his chair and just says one last thing to Octavia. "I miss him. I just want my big bro back. I just want him to come home."
"I… I'm sorry."
"He's in the Final Eight, so I'd say the odds are in his favour," Adonis chimes in snarkily.
Tancred thanks Octavia with a smile and leaves, but not without Octavia requesting a Peacekeeper make sure he gets home safely - much to the irritation of her brother.
With the interview over, Octiavia writes in her Journal - things are finally starting to unravel.
Due to the drama of the last few interviews, Octavia and Adonis eventually agree to take turns in leading each interview, but not before another lengthy debate between them.
Since Octavia led the last interview, Alizka Ito's family interview will be led by Adonis
When their hovercraft touches down on a broken, gravelly street of District Eight, Octavia is forced to cover her nose and mouth to stop the relentless factory smog from clogging up her lungs.
The siblings hurry into the Justice Building in the main square and set up their equipment.
Alizka's family arrive very punctually. They are an unassuming bunch - Mom, Dad, and younger brother.
They are also very quiet and somber as they take their place on the interview chairs.
"Let me start off by congratulating you on your daughter's progress. You must be very pleased," Adonis begins.
The family looks at each other questioningly, unsure how to answer.
Finally, Liz's brother pipes up with a "Yeah! I never imagined my sister would…" he stops, and his excitement fades. His eyes go inwards as he seems to witness the image of his sister fighting in the Games.
(Fighting and killing.)
"She was just protecting her friend…" the boy mutters.
"She did nothing wrong," Liz's mother affirms.
The subject of Meridian has clearly become an elephant in the room to the family. So, Adonis avoids it and instead decides to talk about the future. "If you had any advice for Liz to be successfully crowned victor then what would it be?"
Liz's parents rub their faces in despair. Eventually, her father Kilo manages a response - "My advice would be… just be yourself. You didn't need to go to District Three or the Hunger Games to do that. Maybe we were too harsh on her… we just wanted what was best for our daughter and for her not to end up in one of these factories." He forces a look out of the window at Eight's industry. "But our daughter was perfect, just the way she was." He chokes up on the last of his words and his face falls into his hands.
Once the interview has finished, Octavia writes a note in her journal under Alizka - I think even if Liz does make it back, it won't be the same girl they knew.
The final two interviews are in the same place - District Six; which will make the Maximillion sibling's job easier.
As Octavia is reading Zora's file, her eyes suddenly grow wide.
"What?" Adonis muses.
Octavia shakes her head. "Don't worry, it won't matter to you."
"Just spit it out."
"It seems like this family has been through a lot already. Not too long ago, Zora's sister passed."
"Then that should make your job as a journalist more interesting," Adonis deadpans.
Octavia shakes her head and continues reading through the file.
There aren't many places to land the hovercraft In the grand, bustling Cinneridge City - the main city of District Six.
So, the Maximillions have to walk much further, much to Adonis's annoyance.
Zora's parents are also slightly late for their interview as they had to come from the outskirts of the city.
When Riya and Hester Iskra eventually do arrive, they look like they should be Zora's grandparents, not her parents. Both their faces have been overtaken by deep stress-induced wrinkles, and their hair is almost entirely grey with only a few strands of black remaining.
Above all, they look tired.
They sit apart from each other, suggesting that they are no longer together.
Octavia gulps, knowing deep down that Zora and the Games are probably the last thing they want to talk about right now.
"So, how's life been since the Games started?" Is the journalist's opening question again.
Riya and Hester share a slight look of surprise at the question they've just been asked. "Hard," Zora's mother mutters. "I've been spending some time with my friends during the down parts of the games, though. That's helped a little."
"After what happened with Kalila… I should have been there for her more!" Her father exclaims.
"It's alright," Riya murmurs.
Octavia suddenly finds herself struggling to continue this interview, as she feels like the perpetrator of these people's suffering, or at least part of the system that's causing it.
Adonis gives her a look as if to say "Get on with it."
"But she's got this far," Octavia manages to say. "And her resourcefulness with chemistry is unlike anything we've ever seen."
"Exactly, it's almost like she was made for this Arena," Adonis adds, cheerily.
Zora's father ignores the last comment and focuses on his daughter's skills. "I had no idea, to be honest. I knew she spent a lot of time at school after… what happened, but…"
"And her District Partner… they seem to work really well together."
"I… didn't trust him one bit at first," Riya states. "Especially after he betrayed his first allies, but now… I'm not sure."
The interview concludes with a discussion about Zora's chances before the Maximillions wish Zora luck and bid her parents goodbye.
Octavia immediately pulls out her journal writing - If there's one thing I hope the next regime does, it would be to give some support to the Iskras. They've been through so much already and it feels like there's nothing I can do.
The siblings wait in the same chairs that they interviewed the Iskra family in for the next interview.
A young man, who had been sitting unassumingly in the corner, rises out of his seat and saunters casually to the interview chair.
"Who's that?" Octavia whispers.
Adonis is snapped out of a daydream. "Oh, urm. That's…" he quickly takes a gander at his notes. "His name is Xun… he's for Jokull."
"Yeah but who- who is he?"
Octavia's brother shrugs. "Jokull is an orphan, so this is the closest to family we could get and we have to interview someone for everyone."
Xun looks to be Jokull's age. He is wearing a dirty, grey vest, and baggy black mechanic pants. His arms are covered in black exhaust and engine oil stains. He also appears to be in the permanent state of chewing some kind of gum.
"Welcome, Xun," Adonis greets as Xun sits down.
"Sup."
"So let's get straight to it. How do you know Jokull? You're friends, right?"
"Yeah," the young man snickers. "Yeah, we're… friends. I guess you could say that."
Octavia frowns. Who is this strange person? - she wonders.
"Well, what do the two of you do? I assume you work together?"
Xun leans back and begins to chew harder under this smirk. "You think I'm just gonna spill all my secrets to you? For you to just send me to Fourteen? Everything comes at a price around here, especially information."
Octavia would like to know more. "Surely, you can tell us something?" She inquires.
"Alright, I'll tell you something for nothing. Me and Jokull used to spend a lot of time sabotaging those illegal street races that you guys hate so much. It's so much fun, you should try it." He chuckles. "Alright, do I get a brownie point for that?"
"There have been some critics of Jokull's tactics in the games. Some have even called them 'manipulative and backstabbing.' What are your thoughts on that?" Adonis asks.
Xun shrugs. "If you ain't able to manipulate a little, you don't survive around here. I don't expect you to understand, anyway."
Adonis shakes his head dismissively and plows through the next few questions until he gets to the last one - "One final question for you. Many people have been wondering why Jokull volunteered for this ultimate prize of winning the Hunger Games. Do you have any insight into that?"
"The hell if I know."
"Well, thank you for your ti-"
"But I'll tell you one thing about Jokull. He don't ever do nothing for no reason. He's always got something up his sleeve, let me tell you."
Eight interviews. Eight interesting stories. Before Octavia departs back to the Capitol, she writes one final note in her journal - Life in the districts is more difficult and complicated than I could have possibly imagined.
All of a sudden, her brother calls her from the other room. "Get in here fast! Something huge has happened in the Games!"
"What? Did someone die?" Octavia blurts, racing towards the TV.
October 27th
Three days after the end of the Games
Jupiter 1 - Flagship of the First Renegades
15:00 Hours
Admiral Holland lounges at his desk at the back of the largest and most grand airship in the fleet of the First Renegades.
His fleet is gathering around The Capitol and is almost ready to attack. He just has to give the order.
Suddenly, a voice echoes through his comms. "Sir, we have captured some trespassers. They must have broken in when we landed… It seems to be Wakai and company. What should we do?"
Holland places his hand under his chin. "Show them in."
A few moments later, the door swings open and none other than Kate Wakai is escorted in along with three other stowaways - two young men and a young woman. The Admiral recognizes one of the men to be Conrad Martell. The other two are also victors from previous Hunger Games - Kalosani and Alecrim are their names, if he recalls correctly.
All of their faces are dirty and covered in scrapes and bruises, while Conrad is also limping with a bandaged leg.
They must have succeeded in their mission, then. Not that it ever mattered to Holland. Beating the Table and The Capitol is what matters, not chasing fairytales.
"I should have you shot or thrown out as Capitol spies," Holland says.
"Nice to see you too," Kate replies. She ignores the guards and takes a seat opposite him.
"I have to hand it to you - when your little operation went up in flames at the beginning of the year, I didn't think I'd be seeing you again, particularly not sitting in front of me."
"You'll find I'm full of surprises."
The Admiral remains straight-faced like an unmoving boulder. He never did get Kate's humour.
"I'll make this easy for you," Holland says, "I'll have one of my men drop you back off at Three and pretend we never saw you. Deal?"
"Not without a hovercraft, and a fresh supply of weapons and ammo," Conrad cuts in. "The enemy already got what they wanted from Three. Taking the Capitol won't matter. We're the only ones that can stop them but we need your help."
The Admiral shakes his head. "Take them away. We're done here."
"Fine," Kate sighs. She turns to Conrad. Looks like we're doing this the hard way."
Suddenly, Conrad pulls a gun out of his shirt and aims it at The Admiral. Meanwhile, behind them, Kalosania and Alecrim each swiftly take out one of the guards and seize their weapons; almost like they rehearsed it.
After Alecrim lays out his guard with a right-cross to the face. "Ouch!" He shakes his hand in pain. "That guy's jaw was like metal, damn."
Kalosani shakes her head in disapproval. "Come on, Ale, help me secure the door."
Despite the fact that there's a loaded gun pointed at him, The Admiral remains calm and leans back in his chair. "You're not gonna shoot me, Martell."
"Maybe not, but she will." Conrad turns his eyes to Kate, and she too draws a handgun from her jacket.
She would.
"The night of the fire… I was talking to you," Kate leans in closer and squints her eyes. "Did you know?"
The Admiral scoffs. "We've been funding your operation for years. Do you really think I would just throw it all away?"
Kate leans back again and loosens her intense stare.
"Kalo and Alecrim here are from the Alliance. They told us about some pretty interesting discoveries on their journey up north," Conrad says.
"Like what?"
"The rebel alliance in the north sent a scientist into Panem to help you study ancient artifacts from the old world. You locked her up. Said she was mad."
"A cartographer… yes. She claimed she could find ancient cities that no one else could."
"The Table has been using these cities to conduct their operations for years. That's why we've never found them!" Kate exclaims. "This cartographer is the only one who could possibly find them… who can possibly find our friend. Please, just find it in yourself to do the right thing for once."
Holland pauses, contemplating. "Doesn't look like I have much of a choice with a gun pointed at me. But have you really thought this through? What happens if you kill me? My soldiers won't hesitate to grant you a painful death, and with you dead, there will be no way to rescue your friend. Are you really willing to risk it all?"
Kate gives the Admiral a haunting stare and points her gun closer. "Yes."
Admiral Holland sighs. "Thought so." He stands up off his chair. "But if you are telling the truth and there's so much at stake, why should I trust everything to four ragtag kids?"
"You're not mentally prepared to fight these people, and you never will be," Conrad answers. "All four of us have been through hell in the arena and been reborn already. We are the only ones for this job."
Holland nods. "I don't have anything to lose other than one hovercraft and a few guns when your little escapade fails. Follow me."
Kate and Conrad turn to each other. "That actually worked?" The boy from Six quips. "What now?"
"I don't know," Kate says. "I didn't think we would get this far."
Thanks for reading! Added a little subplot pov in there just to set up the epilogues. We'll be back to arena next chapter! Only 4 chapters left! Let me know what you think. Gotta run now!