The Name of the Game I Finnick Odair

Beetee's Plan

"Hey, Kenzie, Finnick, come on in! We figured out how to make you pretty again!" Katniss bellowed, causing the duo to turn to her.

The original quartet scoured all scabs from their bodies, helping with the others' backs, and came out the same pink as the sky. They applied another round of medicine because the skin seemed too delicate for the sunlight, but it didn't look half as bad on smooth skin and it would be a good camouflage in the jungle.

Beetee called them over, and it turned out that during all those hours of fiddling with wire, he had indeed come up with a plan.

"I think we'll all agree our next job is to kill Brutus and Enobaria," he said mildly. "I doubt they'll attack us openly again, now that they're so outnumbered. We could track them down, I suppose, but it's dangerous, exhausting work."

"Do you think they know about the clock?" Kenzie questioned, tilting her head.

"If they didn't, they'll figure it out soon enough. Perhaps not as specifically as we have, but they must know that at least some of the zones are wired for attacks and that they're reoccurring in a circular fashion. Also, the fact that our last fight was cut off by Gamemakers will not have gone unnoticed by them. We know it was an attempt to disorient us, but they must be asking themselves why it was done, and this, too, may lead them to the realization that the arena's a clock." Beetee replied. "So I think our best bet will be setting our own trap."

"Wait, let me get Johanna up," said Finnick. "She'll be rabid if she thinks she missed something this important."

"Or not." Katniss muttered quietly, causing Kenzie to scold her.

When Johanna had joined them, Beetee shooed them all back a bit so he could have room to work in the sand. He swiftly drew a circle and divided it into twelve wedges. It was the arena, not rendered in Peeta's precise strokes but in the rough lines of a man whose mind was occupied by other, far more complex things.

"If you were Brutus and Enobaria, knowing what you do now about the jungle, where would you feel safest?" Beetee asked, reminding Kenzie of a schoolteacher about to ease children into a lesson even if there was nothing patronizing in his voice. Perhaps it was the age difference or just the fact that Beetee was about a million times smarter than the others.

"Where we are now. On the beach," answered Peeta. "It's the safest place."

"So why aren't they on the beach?" Beetee questioned.

"Because we're here." Johanna spoke up impatiently.

Kenzie nodded, "Yeah, we claimed it."

"Exactly, now where would you go?" 

"I'd hide just at the edge of the jungle. So I could escape if an attack came. And so I could spy on us." Katniss exclaimed logically, while Kenzie nodded in agreement.

"Also to eat," Finnick added. "The jungle's full of strange creatures and plants. But by watching us, I'd know the seafood's safe."

Beetee smiled at them as if they'd exceeded his expectations. "Yes, good. You do see. Now here's what I propose: a twelve o'clock strike. What happens exactly at noon and at midnight?"

"The lightning bolt hits the tree." Katniss replied instantly.

"Yes. So what I'm suggesting is that after the bolt hits at noon, but before it hits at midnight, we run my wire from that tree all the way down into the salt water, which is, of course, highly conductive. When the bolt strikes, the electricity will travel down the wire and into not only the water but also the surrounding beach , which will still be damp from the ten o'clock wave. Anyone in contact with those surfaces at that moment will be electrocuted." Beetee explained his plan.