They won. They played everyone - Panem, the Capitol and the rules. They battled death together and came out as victors.
...And really thought that everything would change. But Lucy Gray, who many years ago believed in Coriolanus's promises and agree...
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Stretching like a string line for better view, Aster and Philomel leaned against the door of their father's office. Having successfully escaped from several hours of studying the school curriculum and dolls becoming no fun to them, the bored to death children stretched their necks like goslings and greedily caught every word from his dialogue with the officials who had contacted him over the long-distance communication.
Aster grabbed his sister with both hands and they both tried not to fall, while Coriolanus was behind the wall of the office and did not suspect that they were there, continuing his conversation.
"This year the budget for the Hunger Games will be several times smaller, so it's worth reducing costs for the arena. I have already worked out a plan that includes less use of genetically modified animals and more use of "naturalistic" traps. This will benefit all of us and especially our wallets."
"Mr Snow, maybe it's not worth doing it? This show is steadily maintaining its ratings and the Capitol is just beginning to accept this form of entertainment..." Coriolanus, looking at the well-fed, pig-like faces in these blue screens, mentally rolled his eyes.
These people already disgusted him enough, if only for the fact that in his youth they continued to make themselves fat while he himself was starving. It seems that these dressed-up idiots took the gesture that he did not cancel the Games as a sign to start embezzlement and theft of the budget.
They could have done this under the previous President, but this was definitely not about him - Snow made it a habit to count and have his hands on everything, even the tiniest piece of metal, as since childhood, he knew what each of them was worth.
"Moreover, this money will be used to restore the city, so that Aster and Philo proudly walk on the clean streets of the Capitol, and not on bloody massacres," of course, he himself was not too opposed to "bloody massacres," even having previously led the organization of some of them.
But now, three weeks after the announcement and start of the restoration project, and the massive cleaning of the entire Capitol, everything else has faded into the background.
He bit his lip, interrupting the senseless babble of the old men in a calm but at the same time authoritative tone, thus showing that his decision is final. Several people were still trying to insert their "- but Mr. President!", but Coriolanus did not listen to them. Now he is the power, and they are nobodies. They remain in their seats only because he allowed them, and even then he is too kind to all this actual, unworthy trash, that only got their positions through birthright connections - complete opposite of what he had to suffer through, to get where he is now.
"Of course, the Hunger Games will take place in three months, right on time. But I don't intend to cut food and expenses for transporting tributes, so only the Arena is left to cut."
