We Could Have Been Great

Chapter 6

Snow is sitting in his mansion watching on multiple screens as the couple from 2 and the crowd favourites from 12 sprint towards the cornucopia and away from the mutts.

He really had to hand it to the gamemakers, they had outdone themselves with those creatures. They were eerily human-like and were faster and deadlier than anything the arena had ever seen before.

They would definitely get the people of the Capitol talking.

"Sir," a man says, walking up next to Snow who is sat at his huge mahogany desk.
"What is it Orson?" he asks annoyed.

He wishes people would just leave him be. Honestly, he really should get new staff: they are getting too comfortable with interrupting him.

"There are crowds at the gate sir. They are screaming for the Games to stop. Apparently the pair from 2 won their hearts. Fights are breaking out between supporters of 2 and those of 12. It's pretty bloody."
"And why should I care about that?" Snow asks, bored and impatient.

On the screen, Clove is searching for weapons in the cornucopia.

"Because there are also riots in the districts. Sir. We have sent in more peacekeepers but the people are angry; they have the upper hand. And the people of the Capitol are turning against you. They are trying to tear down the gates."

Orson is tall and broadly built, head held high and avoiding eye contact as he delivers the news. He's one of the few members of his staff that Snow can rely on. But he can also sometimes be incredibly dense. What in Panem does Orson expect him to do? Call off the Games? With four victors? Does he take him for some kind of fool?

"You think I should stop the Games now?" Snow asks, a hint of danger in his voice. It's a threat, he doesn't even try to conceal it. There is no way he is ending it now. A bloody fight to the death, a true punishment for the tributes involved is what the Games is all about. There is no way he is stopping it now. Not when it's finally getting good.

On one of the screens, Clove is starting to scale the side of the cornucopia.

"Uh- I-," Orson stutters. His face is flushed. He knows this is a loaded question.
"Well?" Snow asks expectantly, a sick smirk twisted onto his face.
"If you want to keep the people on your side," he finally answers, "sir."
It's a smart answer, leaving the ultimate decision down to Snow himself.
"Have you sent in the last of the peacekeepers to the rioting districts?"
There is no way the Games can end like this.

"Yes sir."
"You've explained the rules of the Games to the Capitol citizens? Tried to scare them into backing down?"
"Yes sir. They won't back down."
Snow sighs. It never should have come down to this.

He has to think for a moment. If he ends it now, he could play this to his advantage. A gracious president who was won over by the overwhelming love he had seen between the couple from 2 and the couple from 12. He could not only win back the favour of the Capitol but he could also win over some of the imbeciles from the lower districts. And his own people would love him more than ever. He could turn it into a huge press tour throughout the entirety of Panem.

He could manipulate this to go however he wants.

"Call off the Games. Declare all 4 of them as the victors. But, I want you to set up a broadcast for me. I need to come off well. Tell me exactly what the people are saying. I'll include that in my speech. Now go," he waves his hand and Orson hurries away.
Snow keeps watching as the two couples face off on top of the cornucopia and the victor announcement is made.
This better go how he wants. But, if it doesn't, there can always be a freak accident that kills a couple of the victors off.

Never, in the whole history of the Hunger Games, has there ever been more than one victor, let alone four.

Someone is going to pay for this.