A Game Of Justice ✭ Cato Hadley

Twenty-Six - Boom Boom Pow

The following afternoon, the Star Squad is notified that everyone is needed to stage a fairly complicated propaganda piece in the streets of the Capitol. Peeta has been correct about the fact that Coin and Plutarch are unhappy with the quality of the footage they're getting from the squad. Apparently, it's very dull and inspiring and boring to the rebel forces.

Clio wants to shout that it's no surprise that they aren't receiving the desired footage when the group – all of them highly trained and tactical – aren't allowed to do anything past play-act with their weapons. They're not allowed to shoot at anything but the broken glass that rests in the window panes of the high rise buildings and the unimportant pods. After four and a half days, the entire squad is on the verge of deserting out of boredom, wishing that they could just have something significant to do. She can tell that the others around her also want to scold the commanders in Thirteen for their disapproval.

However, no one does so because today's propaganda piece must be usable, both for single and multiple use according to the audible instructions received from Plutarch Heavensbee in his safe little bunker away from any real danger. Slimy little weasel. A special block of the streets has been set aside for filming, consisting of a couple of active pods laid out on an unimportant residential block that mean nothing in terms of strategic consequence.

The television crew want to provide a heightened sense of jeopardy and have informed the squad that they are going to be releasing smoke bombs and adding gunfire sound effects over the top of the action sequences that they want to capture. The victors are even allowed to unsheath their speciality weapons, although Clio keeps the majority of hers in her vest except for the knife that she holds in her left hand, keeping her gun in her right. A gun is even returned to Peeta as they descend the large white stone stairs in the streets, crunching over the rows of broken glass as they approach their target. As Boggs hands it back he makes sure to loudly announce that it's only loaded with blanks.

Peeta shrugs in response. "I'm not much of a shot anyway."

He speaks slowly, and seems preoccupied with watching Pollux at the front of the queue. It's almost worrisome, the manner in which he's watching the man's every move as he walks, calculating in his thoughts. Finally, he speaks up, his tone agitated. "You're an Avox, aren't you? I can tell by the way you swallow. There were two Avoxes with me in prison. Darius and Lavinia, but the guards mostly called them the redheads. They'd been our servants in the Training centre, so they arrested them too. I watched them being tortured to death. She was lucky. They used too much voltage and her heart stopped right off. It took days to finish him off. Beating, cutting off parts. They kept asking him questions, but he couldn't speak, he just made these horrible animal sounds. They didn't want information, you know? They wanted me to see it."

Fucking hell, that's dark, Clio thinks to herself and with one look at her boyfriend to her left, she can tell that he's thinking the same thing; that the boy has been through some horrible things in the Capitol but hasn't been given any guidance in Thirteen on how to deal with it. Not that they're any better, but they'd have thought that President Coin would've asked someone to help him, considering how much she claims to prefer him over Katniss; he only has Luna.

The man from Twelve looks around at the stunned faces in the group as they all process his words. He's waiting for a reply but when no one immediately says something, he asks, "Real or not real?" The lack of response upsets him more and he repeats his question, this time as a demand, "Real or not real?"

"Real," says Boggs. "At least, to the best of my knowledge... real."

"I thought so. There was nothing... shiny about it." Peeta sags as he wanders away from the group, muttering something about fingers and toes.