PAWNS | FINNICK ODAIR

ALLIES

"How about the Careers?"

Lara shook her head and continued to stuff food in her mouth. Octavian sighed and ran his hands over his face.

"Lara, we need allies."

"We have them," she stated.

"You really think that we can take on the careers with just them? Half of our team is old and can barely fight anyway."

Lara laughed, nearly spitting out the chicken that was in her mouth being chewed. Octavian waited for her to finish eating before letting her continue.

"We won our games because we were smart. Beetee and Wiress are smart and skilled with tech. And Mags knows everything there is about survival tactics. She's helped train countless tributes, including Finnick."

She opened her mouth to add more defense to her argument but he quickly grabbed a handful of pie and smashed it into her mouth. It effectively shut her up enough for him to get a word in.

"We don't even know if Katniss and Peeta want to be on our team. And if Johanna goes off the rails, which she probably will, we're screwed. And what if one of us dies before we get the chance to kill off a career? The survival rate of us winning gets lower."

Lara rolled her eyes and wiped off the mess he made on her face.

"I'm not allying with them," she stated, "That's final."

She got up and left the dining room, passing by Cal. He tried to get her to stop but she shoved off his hand and stormed out of the apartment.

She walked through the halls to try and calm herself down. It was mostly silent except for the occasional footsteps she heard echoing in the halls.

It wasn't until she reached the elevator that she was intercepted by none other than Haymitch Abernathy.

"Hello, Lara," he greeted cheerily.

She glanced at him and pressed the elevator button for the doors. She completely ignored his greeting, making him clap his hands together awkwardly as he prepared for a difficult conversation.

"Have you thought of making any allies?" he inquired.

She shrugged, "I've got my mind open."

He nodded and waited until the elevator doors opened. Once they opened, however, Finnick was already waiting inside for them. Without warning, Haymitch slid his hand on her back and gently pushed her inside.

Finnick shut the doors while she protested. Haymitch shushed her, which did not go over well.

"What is going on?" she seethed, mainly directing the question towards Finnick. The man quickly grabbed her and pulled her into a hug, pressing his mouth against her cheek.

"Not here," he whispered, barely audible. He used the cover of the hug to disguise his words.

Once he let go, he plastered a fake smile on his face as if nothing had happened. Lara knew that meant that she needed to act casual too. So she stood between them and waited until the elevator came to a stop on the ground floor.

Haymitch took the lead and led them outside the building and to the alleyway beside it. He glanced back and forth on the street to make sure there were no lurkers or peacekeepers watching.

"Okay, we're clear," he confirmed.

Lara immediately took action and punched both of them in the arm. They both winced and leaned away for fear of getting hit again.

"What the hell is going on?" she snapped.

Finnick could see her anger was flaming and he wanted to defuse the situation. He stepped in between Haymitch and Lara and held up his hands in surrender.

"We needed a place to talk without being overheard. This alley has been swept for bugs and is kept off cameras," he explained.

Lara furrowed her brows and gestured for them to get on with it. She wasn't a very patient woman, that much they knew.

Haymitch took a deep breath and began his spiel.

"We want you to be allies with Katniss and Peeta. But more than that...we need you to protect them."

At those words, Lara scoffed. There was only a small pause between his words and her sound of disbelief. But the scoff soon turned into a light laugh.

"Why would I do that? Granted, Katniss is good but she's still a newbie. I'd do better allying with everyone else."

Haymitch sighed and passed the torch to Finnick. The latter then brought Lara's attention to him.

"We need them alive. They're important and they inspire a lot of people. They're the face of-"

He stopped himself before saying too much. He glanced back for help.

"Of what?" she asked impatiently.

Haymitch sighed, "Of the rebellion."

Now those were words that left her speechless. The word was hardly ever muttered in the country and yet here they were talking about a real one. She couldn't believe that it was actually happening.

"Many people found Peeta and Katniss' defiance of the rules in the games as an act of bravery. They want to keep showing the Capitol just how unhappy the districts are," Haymitch explained further.

Finnick nodded, keeping his eyes on the woman in front of him. She still hadn't said a word and her eyes were glossed over in thought.

"Katniss and Peeta have shown a crack in the system and the rebellion wants to expose and stop the Capitol for all its treacheries and deceit. Including the games."

Finnick grabbed Lara's shoulders and spoke quietly, "Including Snow."

At that, she snapped out of it. Her eyes focused again and she stared at Finnick.

"Who knows?" she asked.

"Johanna, Wiress, Beetee, Mags, and of course, you two."

She frowned, "What about Octavian?"

Both men sharply inhaled and waited for the other to answer. But Finnick let Haymitch take it.

"We weren't sure whether or not to tell him. We thought it would be best to tell you first."

She nodded. She said that Octavian could be trusted just as much as she could. They both nodded in understanding and waited for an actual confirmation of her decision.

"We knows it's risky but-"

"I'm in."

The second she cut off Haymitch, she knew her decision was final. Doubts flooded her head but she made the choice her heart said.

"I'm sorry, you're what?" Haymitch asked, disbelieving of the answer.

Lara straightened up and crossed her arms, "I'll take any chance to stop the games and expose Snow. I want to take down the whole damn system...I'm in."

Haymitch's eyebrows rose in shock as he glanced between Lara and Finnick. He clapped his hands once more and let out a chuckle.

"That was easier than I thought it'd be."

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