The Sterling Nightingale ⟷ Finnick Odair/OC

You are a blaze of wildfire

Chapter Fifty Five | You are a blaze of wildfire

"She smiled, in the midst of all her anxiety and through her gathering tears, at the thought of the ruling passion strong in death, of Percy running into the wildest, maddest dangers, with the latest-cut coat upon his back, and the laces of his jabot unruffled." Emma Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel

Coin's office is immaculate. Sil is unsurprised. She's also grateful at the moment, because it makes her job slightly easier.

She never thought she'd be spying on the very woman she's been helping these past seven years, but fate has a way of changing things up. One moment, you're headed in one direction – the next, your path alters completely. Sil doesn't question it, and neither does she complain. She's hoping that this little trip will put some things into perspective about Felix's presence in District 1.

She's not a fool, despite her pretenses these past few years in the Capitol. She knows that Coin must be aware, at least in part, that Felix is in District 1. The man doesn't even appear to be attempting to hide himself. If Marcus, her agent who had only just arrived in the city, had seen him walking around in broad daylight, there must be something else at work. She has the distinct impression that Felix wants to be seen – that he wants her to know he is there. She can smell a trap brewing behind the scenes. Only, she's not sure if Coin is aware of it, or worse still, if she's playing some role in it as well.

After spending time with the woman, Sil isn't sure about any of the things she used to believe. Something about Coin makes her recoil. Some deep part of her doesn't trust the woman, and though it baffles her, Sil can't ignore the feeling that wrenches through her gut whenever she sees her. She's spent seven years working with the president of District 13, and so this inconsistency is a red flag that blazes upon the horizon her mind.

As she efficiently goes through her desk, Sil stumbles upon information that puts things into perspective for her, though she is not necessarily looking for it. She's quickly flicking through one of the desk drawers, where Coin had stowed a pile a paperwork, when she uncovers a report on a subject that Sil does not expect. But, though it does not contain information about Felix, she cannot stop herself from quickly scanning the page, so drawn in as she is to the headline that screams in big, bold letters, 'Hunger Games: Operation 2.0'

When she reaches the end of the paper, she is shocked.

Coin wants to reinstate the Hunger Games using Capitol children. She wants to keep the very practice that Sil has spent seven years of her life trying to dismantle. She is so surprised that Sil just sits there for a long moment, staring sightlessly at the room which has housed so many unspeakable horrors during Snow's reign. And she can't help but wonder – is this what she has fought for? Risked her life for? Sacrificed her identity for?

She could laugh at the way the situation has come full circle. She started doing this because of the Hunger Games, and now she will end it because of the Hunger Games. It is beautifully ironic in a way that only fate's pale hand can conjure.

Coming back to her senses, Sil puts the page down on the desk and snaps a quick photo of it with her PAAD so that she can reread it in the future. Then, putting it back, she shakes the thought away for now and continues searching for the information she came here for.

It's almost impossible to concentrate of the search with the revelation of Coin's schemes shooting warning bells through her head, but Sil forces herself to thoroughly slip through all the papers and then some. There is no information on Felix, but Sil isn't convinced that Coin doesn't know he is in District 1. She is not the only spy who works for District 13.