Dead in the Water | An Odesta Fanfic

Chapter Twenty-Three

The Head Gamemaker's wife was a pale woman, her face stretched and twisted by her countless surgeries until she looked like one of the phantoms that so often haunted Finnick's dreams. The heavy layer of makeup didn't help, accentuating her dark, heavy-lidded eyes and coloring her skin a pasty white. They were features Finnick was all too familiar with. Her bright red lipstick smeared across his face as she kissed him, while he was slipping out of his own mind to escape as he kissed her back.

It looked like just another Saturday night for Finnick Odair. But this time, he wasn't going home without some payment of his own.

"What do you want, Finnick?" she was asking. "Money? Jewels? Take it - I've got more than enough to give you."

"I don't want your money, Medea –"

She laughed. "That's not something I hear very often."

Finnick laughed with her. "What I want is something a little more... valuable."

Medea kissed him again before he could go on. Finnick thought it best to give her some encouragement before pressing her any further, so he kissed her back, her heavy perfume burning all of his senses until he pulled away.

"Fine." she gave in. "What is it you want?"

Finnick smiled and leaned in towards her as he whispered, "Secrets."

Medea laughed again and fell back against the pillows. "You think I have any secrets for you? You've heard about my cheating husband more times than you care to, I'm sure."

"They don't have to be your secrets." Finnick followed her to the pillows. "A woman as captivating as you must have no trouble getting secrets out of other people."

The words sounded painfully fake as they left his mouth, but Medea didn't seem to care. A flattered smile spread across her face. "Not nearly as good as you, Finnick." She tried to lean in for another kiss but he held up a hand to stop her.

"My payment first, Medea."

She rolled her eyes at him but she was still laughing. It was an awful, squawking sort of noise, reminding Finnick of the seagulls that were always circling around district 4. "I suppose I might have overheard something from my husband – something that might be of interest to you..."

"Of course you did." Finnick said. She seemed to melt against him at the sound of his rough whisper in her ear, desperate for another kiss.

"He's the Head Gamemaker, you know. Friends with everyone of any importance in Panem. Knows everything going on in the arena."

The arena. The mention of it almost made him slip up and fall out of the part he was playing, but he recovered himself before she could notice. This whole business of getting secrets would take more effort than he was used to. He couldn't simply escape into his head and lose touch with the world around him as he usually did. But secrets from Adonis Arc himself? Maybe it would be worth it.

Medea, on the other hand, seemed to get more comfortable as she went on. It was clear she had been itching to share this newest piece of gossip. "Things aren't exactly going as the Gamemakers hoped this year. You know that tribute – the one who's gone a little mad?"

Finnick really did break character this time. His eyes were a little too concerned, a little too worried. "Annie?"

"Maybe, I don't know the name." Medea waved it off. "She's lasting much longer than the Gamemakers expected and now they're worried she might win. And, well," she laughed. "We can't have a victor who has gone insane. Might make the games look bad, wouldn't it?"

Finnick wasn't sure how the games could look any worse than they already did. "But what are they supposed to do to stop her?" he asked, worried that he already knew the answer.