The Sterling Nightingale ⟷ Finnick Odair/OC

And to everyone at once

Chapter Thirty Six | And to everyone at once

"Thus society accepted him, made much of him, since his horses were the finest in the country, his fétes and wines the most sought after. Moreover, Sir Percy got no pity, because he seemed to require none – he seemed very proud of his clever wife, and to care little that she took no pains to disguise the good-natured contempt which she evidently felt for him, and that she even amused herself by sharpening her ready wits at his expense." Emma Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel

If there's one good thing about the Capitol, it has to be the fact that the law is taken very seriously. Well – that's not always a good thing in her case, but this time around, Sil is very happy.

The attorney that she is affiliated with goes by the name of Tobias Barnaby. She's only seen him a handful of times over the last few years, but each meeting is handled with care and discretion. President Snow has made sure that all his Victors are set up with the very best, just in case something goes haywire in their already caustic lives. It is about the only insurance that their dear President takes out for them.

Dorsey had looked into Tobias Barnaby when he was first assigned to Sil as her lawyer, right after her Victory Tour seven years prior. Barnaby also handles several other Victors and, according to Dorsey, rarely ever goes out of his way to attain any of the celebrity status that most of his colleagues obsess over. He seems to be perfectly fine with living a quiet life. Despite handling several cases involved with Victors over the course of his career, Barnaby rarely ever makes the headlines, either. Dorsey seems to think he is trustworthy enough, at least when it comes to President Snow. Sil is banking on the hope that Tobias Barnaby won't turn on her and inform Snow as to the reason she is at his office.

It's too late to turn back anyway. She's already made the appointment to see him this afternoon, and the preparation for doing so had taken her the better part of last night and this morning. She had to make sure that Finnick would be away while she is out, come up with a viable excuse should she run into him, and get to Barnaby's office in complete discretion. By the time she actually makes it to the office, Sil is rather exhausted from it all.

Her exhaustion is also, in part, due to the fact that Dorsey hasn't heard back from District 13 since sending over Peeta's medical files. He's only gotten a very brief message to let him know that said files were received, but no further orders were given involving the hopefully imminent rescue of the captive Victors. Sil has been hounding Dorsey for the last few days now about it, but he always gets back to her with the same reply: so far, District 13 has been silent regarding their plans. Perhaps it is just as well, for now, because Sil has several of her own plans to implement in the meantime.

She walks casually into the firm, huge sunglasses sitting demurely atop her nose. They make her small face look even smaller, especially with the wide-brimmed hat shielding her. It is her armor, she thinks with amusement, and brushes out the wrinkles in her long black and white stripped dress as she looks around. The secretary looks up at her when she walks to the desk.

"Miss Cornelius – oh, I'm terribly sorry. Mrs. Odair," the woman hastily corrects as she stands up from her desk. "Mr. Barnaby is waiting for you in his office."

Sil smiles widely and simpers, "Gracious, I hope I'm not late. Thank you, my love. I'll let myself in, shall I?" Without waiting for an answer, Sil makes her way down the hall.

Mr. Barnaby's office is located at the end of it. An expensive looking sign is bolted to the door with his name written in golden lettering. Sil takes one glance at it and raises an eyebrow, her mind flashing back to the endless lessons her father would give her on each precious stone and metal in his jewelry making. The lettering looks to be fake gold. Probably a metallic type of paint with the barest shards of the true metal, meant to give his office the appearance of status and wealth without spending the money to do it. Very smart of Tobias Barnaby, she decides as she reaches for the doorknob.