"Dahlia Blossom. Don't let the name fool you. She's better known as the Black Dahlia. And she didn't earn that nickname by smiling and looking pretty."
"She sure knows how to perform for the camera."
"Because she knows how to play the game. She alwa...
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Pollux led the squad underground to the tunnels where he had worked sanitation after becoming an Avox. The dreary concrete walls and dimly illuminated lights were a stark contrast to the grand architecture of the Capitol above them. Did the citizens even know what was going on right beneath their feet? Did they realise how many people were suffering under Snow's regime? Or were they aware of it the entire time and just chose to ignore it? Stick their head in the sand and look the other way? Anything to maintain their own position of superiority in Panem.
With the gentle thrum of the Holo guiding them all the way, they steadily traipsed along the tracks of the underground. Dahlia and Finnick were settled behind the Mockingjay as she scanned ahead for pods, their heads constantly swivelling to check for possible threats. But the threat that headed for them was danger of a different kind.
They heard it before they saw it. The distant roar of a train zooming along the tracks in their direction. But the squad leapt into action before the glow of the headlights was even visible. Sprinting forward, Katniss steered them towards a tiled wall separating the track from another never-ending tunnel. She sheltered against it as the rest of the team tucked in behind her, hiding along the curve of the wall as the train came thundering past. Once it was out of sight, Dahlia and Finnick breathed a momentary sigh of relief. That was close... Too close.
"We're too exposed here." Katniss announced to Pollux, shaking her head slightly as she glanced around the open area.
Pondering her words carefully, Pollux nodded his understanding and devised a different idea. Gesturing his hand deeper into the tunnel, he directed her a few metres down the track with the rest of the squad immediately following behind without hesitation. As he slowed down into a jog, Dahlia noticed he had led them to a door built into the wall of tiled concrete. A maintenance corridor that would take them even further underground.
Pollux opened the door and ushered Katniss inside. But before they could go any further, Dahlia called out, "Wait." The pair stopped at her urgent cry, turning to face the woman as she strode out from the rest of the group. Her face was stony, eyes hardened as she motioned them back out of the door. "I know the Capitol. They see everything." She explained bitterly, remembering the dedicated surveillance team that watched over the Capitol and informed her of targets. Peeking her head into the area, Dahlia easily spotted the camera tucked away in the corner of the ceiling. Smirking at the predictability, she smirked and smugly murmured, "Bingo."
Dahlia retrieved one of the small knives from the sheath strapped to her thigh, twirling the sleek black metal between her fingers. Then in one swift flick, she let the blade whip through the air and smash directly through the lens of the camera. Just like Cove had once taught her all those years ago. The device fizzled with electricity, sparking madly before powering down with a mechanic hum. Just like the camera she'd once destroyed in her first Games. Wan't it funny how times moved on but some things stayed the same?
