I know it's been too long and I am terribly sorry for that! Life has been demanding. I did not want to leave this story unfinished though so I'm back with another chapter. There is one—maybe two—left. I hope you enjoy and I am sorry for the wait.

Chapter 17

Sleep is a trying task tonight. Thoughts of Gale and Rose linger in my mind, keeping me awake and miserable. Haymitch is snoring loudly, his drool forming a wet puddle on the carpet where he passed out. I look for a clock, curious of the hour, but then I remember whose house I'm in. Johanna wouldn't have a clock any more than I'd have a rose garden. Without grant, my mind goes to Gale who sits greedily in the forefront of my mind as if he owns it.

Earlier, when I told Johanna I was leaving for District 12, she looked at me with knowing eyes and said, "He finally got to you, did he?" Yes, he finally did….though that's not what I told her.

I wanted to tell her how pathetic I felt for being so weak over Gale and that, ironically, I would miss her when I left. But it sounded silly inside my head, and neither of us was big on displays of affection. Yet, I would truly miss her.

District 12 felt lonely already. Peeta will be there. The thought of the baker's boy makes me light-headed; it's the first time I've thought of him all week. I feel guilty all of a sudden. Here I am in District 2, completely fixated on Gale, while Peeta is hundreds of miles away waiting for me. Peeta.

Gale. I never wanted to think about him again. Only, that wasn't true at all. I was thinking of him now. I try to snap myself out of it. This isn't me. I'm a Victor, a rebel and a warrior. I'm not some helpless overemotional girl, but that didn't make my feelings for him go away. They were still there provoking me and making me sick to my stomach.

There is no future for us. I try to remind myself. These days it's not uncommon for a man and a woman to have a child out of wedlock; it wasn't uncommon when a man left his family either. But Gale wasn't that kind of man, and I didn't want him to be. As much as I hate it, Gale belonged to Rose now. Hell, maybe he belonged to her this entire time; we just didn't know it yet. Fate. That's what you call it. I hate fate and everything it stands for. Fate took my father and my sister. It took Rue and Cinna and so many other innocent people. Fate is a monster, a parasite set out to trick you with falsehoods of what you think your life is going to be, and then it strikes…. and you're left alone to figure out how the hell to move on from the mess it created. I was a perfect example of what fate could do to somebody.

Hours pass and I'm still tossing and turning on the couch, begging myself to stop thinking and shut down. The frustration of it all makes me cry until I have nothing left. My mouth is dry and my tongue feels like a dead-weight between my reddened cheeks. The scar on my wrist has been burning without sympathy for over an hour now.

Even though every fiber in my body wants rest, my mind won't let it happen, and I climb out of bed and begin to marvel through the kitchen. A glass of water and a sleeping pill…that's what I need. I settle for just a glass of water. I make myself at home, searching through the cabinets for a cup. I find it and fill it up at the sink. The water isn't cold, and it has a weighty metallic taste, but I gulp it down anyway, quenched. There's a low-sung rumble in my belly, a discreet notification that sends me straight to the fridge. I rummage around for some meat and cheese and maybe some dressing if it appeases.

Carved turkey, sharp cheddar cheese, and a few slices of bread later, I'm satisfied and maybe even ready to sleep. I put everything back in the fridge and shut the door hard, causing a pile of junk to fall off the top. I sigh heavily before bending over to pick up the mess of papers. As I'm gathering the muddle of rubbish, a document catches my eye. At a glance, the top reads 'Computer Intelligence Training Schedule'….the rest is a calendar, a three month agenda that gives dates and times to computer knowledge classes. My heart flutters, and I don't know why until I realize what I'm holding. It was an agenda for an obligatory boot camp, a three month long training held in District 3, and Johanna wasn't the only one who had to attend. At the top, in small type, the program reads: Led by Captain Hawthorne.

My mind begins to race. The dates on the pamphlet are recent, just before the festival. Unless Gale took Rose with him to District 3 for three months, she couldn't be pregnant. Additional, was the vile feeling that Rose gave her. Deceit radiated from her silky smooth skin, and she was just the type to lie about something like this to keep Gale, her and that evil colored blood-red hair. I nibble on my bottom lip, contemplating. Johanna would know if Gale took her with him, but she hadn't returned home from the festival yet. I go back to the couch with the agenda in my hand, examining it as if it were a treasure map. I have to know. I have to know now.

Fireworks light up the sky. Loud and stirring music fill the district streets, making it almost impossible to think. Dressed in dull-colored pants, a plain V-neck, and my dad's leather jacket, I venture around the party, searching for Johanna. More often than not, strangers call my name while others come up to greet me. I'm as mannerly as I can be until I spot Johanna and excuse myself.

The former Victor, in all her dangerous glory, is dancing by herself on the dance floor. I call her name and wave her over when she spots me.

She swirls around a final time before coming over. "Are you here to ask me for a dance?" She points to a man with a bloody nose standing at nearby table. "Don't get too touchy-feely."

"I need to talk to you."

"So talk," she tells me and then twirls in an elegant circle, moving to the beat of the music.

I show her the agenda I found. "When did this training take place?"

She glances at it and continues to dance. "We just got back from it a week before the festival. Why?" She stops dancing. "Wait a second, are you going through my stuff?"

I ignore the last part. "Did Gale lead the team?"

"Well yeah, he's the captain," she says. "What's with all the weird questions?"

"Rose says that she's pregnant, but if Gale has been away at a three-month boot camp, I don't know how pregnant she really is. Did she come with him to the training?"

"No outside personnel allowed," she tells me.

My heart stops. "She's lying about being pregnant."

"If Gale's been away for three months, wouldn't he know that?" Johanna asks with interest.

"I don't think Gale is very knowledgeable when it comes to the dynamics of pregnancy."

"Well, if she is lying, how do we prove it?"

"I've got a plan," I tell her.

Johanna's lips twist into a mischievous grin. "Of course, you do."

Rose Thibodaux is a beauty and nothing more. Johanna had decided that a long time ago. When Mayor Thibodaux welcomed the new recruits to District 2, Rose was there to greet them too. She stood next to Daddy, tall and proud and beautiful with an air of superiority about her, greeting everybody with a smile and a handshake that left fingers tingling. Johanna recalled the way Gale tensed up when he saw her. Johanna herself had to fight the success of her beauty. In Panem, attractiveness like that was bestowed upon the worst kind of people, and she immediately knew Rose was no exception. As a result, Johanna took a fast and stout disliking to the Mayor's daughter. So when Katniss requested her assistance, it was more like a treat than a task.

To get close to someone is to get close to their loved ones and there was no one closer to Rose than her Father.

Mayor Thibodaux was not hard to find in a crowd, with ridiculous hair that reminded her of a bird's nest on fire and a belly as round as the Quarter Quell dome, she located him almost instantly. He stood at a nearby table passing out broaches that lit up like sparklers and projected 'Vote Thibodaux' into the midair. She felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu, and it didn't take her long to realize why. Seeing those pins reminded her of the games, and how they used to light up the sky with the names of the innocent. Re-election was just weeks away, and the Mayor had not wasted any time backing his spot in the political pool. Johanna took a not-so-giant leap and suspected the Badoc festival was just another scheme to persuade voters, and sure enough, the people were eating it up like an ooey-gooey butter cake.

She slipped, unnoticed, into a cluster of his supporters, waiting for her opportunity. Luckily, it was late and the festival was dying down so she didn't have to wait long. Mayor Thibodaux, with exaggerated jolliness, excused himself after the cameras shut off and shuffled through the disappearing crowd. She followed him, at a distance, into the Capitol building where Rose was waiting for him.

Thanks to the virtuous military, she not only had the training she needed to be covert, but the gadgets too. Concealed behind a large pillar, she drew a directional from her tactical belt and waited for the Mayor and his daughter to do the rest of the work. The Mayor excused his companions while Rose and he walked down the capitol corridors. She followed them at a distance, remaining concealed behind large columns and posts. Their conversation was of little value, just mindless chatter about the festival and weather….at first.

"So did you give Gale the news?" the Mayor whispered to his daughter.

"Yes." Rose answered sourly.

"And?" he asked.

"And what?"

"Well, what did he say, child?" he questioned, impatient. The Major was getting annoyed with his beautiful daughter.

"He didn't say anything," she told him, rather annoyed herself. "He's been preoccupied with that sorry excuse for a girl, Katniss Everdeen."

"Oh, Rosie!" he riled. "Don't be such a damn drama queen….a trait you got from your mother, no doubt. Do realize how important this is to me?

"I'll stop being a damn drama queen when you stop injecting these massive amounts of hormones into my veins."

Bingo. Johanna couldn't be more thrilled with that piece of information. Not only would it help Katniss, but it would help bring down the Major, who was no better than President Snow and Alma Coin or any of those corrupt Capitol pricks.

"You have to play the part and play it right. There can be no mistakes. How many times do we have to go over this?" The Mayor slipped into his office with Rose rambling behind.

"I can play the part without the hormones."

"Do you realize that Gale Hawthorne practically holds my spot as major in his hands? He can persuade the entire army to vote for me."

"He can do that without the help of the little lie we've sprouted," Rose tried to elucidate.

"I'm not willing to risk it, especially now that the Mockingjay is around him. There's no better way to guarantee his loyalty than a pregnancy with my daughter."

"Thanks for spelling it out for me," Rose responded sarcastically. "What's going to happen when he finds out I'm not really pregnant?"

"You're working on that part, are you not?"

"He's been running around with Katass lately. I haven't had any real alone time with him."

"Well, you know what you have to do then," the Mayor said sternly. "Make it happen."

Johanna Mason took pride in her work. She was quick on her toes and that triggered great situational awareness, even in the trickiest circumstances. She had the Capitol and the Hunger Games to thank for those aptitudes. The insidious effect of suppression from the old Capitol resulted in her own type of guile and she would use it to uncover deception in the system ….starting with the exposure of the Mayor and his precious daughter.