When We Fall~Finnick Odair {Book 3}

Chapter Nine

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Two months. That's how long it had been since Finnick had seen Autumn on screen. And they had been the worst two months of his life.

Every time he closed his eyes he saw what could be happening to her. Finnick wasn't even sure if she was dead or not.

Katniss had visited him every once in a while to make sure he was eating. Sometimes she would come with Prim and her mother.

Prim was much more comforting than Katniss, which Finnick liked. He would tell her stories about District Four and how he met Autumn.

Finnick wasn't sure what day it was as he stopped caring. Katniss walked into his room without her mother and sister for the first time in a week.

"Is it another video?" Finnick asked in anticipation, watching Katniss shut the door behind her. She shook her head, disappointing Finnick. He didn't want to watch Autumn tortured anymore, but he needed to know if she was still alive.

"It's not a video," Katniss told him. "But they need to talk to you. Boggs is creating a plan."

Finnick stood up from his chair, allowing Katniss to lead the way. They walked down the long hallway of doors, but instead of going into the production room, they walked into a conference room.

Multiple people already sat at the large table in the room including all of the victors. Haymitch greeted Finnick with nod while Beetee gave him a small smile. Finnick had met Gale, Boggs, and Plutarch already. They all just watched Finnick sit down.

Finnick crosses his hands over her stomach and leaned back in his chair, watching Coin as she walked to the front of the room.

"How nice of you to join us, Finnick," Coin greeted him with a fake smile. Finnick didn't react and just waited for her to continue. "So, you have all been called here to talk about the mission."

"Excuse me, but what is this mission?" Haymitch asked, seemingly just as much in the dark as Finnick.

"The mission Ms. Everdeen negotiated," Coin spoke. "To extricate the victors in the Capital."

Finnick's eyes widened and his adrenaline picked up, a small smile playing on his lips. It was the first time in months he wore anything even close to a smile.

Finnick cleared his throat. "So uh, when will this mission take place?" Finnick asked.

"Slow down, Mr. Odair," Coin shook her head, holding her hand up. "We still need to figure out who will be going on the mission and how we will distract Snow. Along with where they are. They may have been moved out of the mansion."

"I volunteer to go on the mission," Finnick told Coin.

"We can't risk that," Boggs shook his head, drawing all eyes to him. "You're a victor. If the mission goes wrong and the Capital takes you, they'll only have more leverage."

"I don't care what becomes of me," Finnick told the group. "I just want Autumn to be safe."

"And she will be," Coin told him, drawing attention back to her. "But we can't risk the Capital having anymore victors."

"So we don't even know where they are?" Finnick asked, rubbing his forehead with his thumb and middle finger.

"Actually..." Beetee spoke up, leaning forward in his seat. "We do."

"What do you mean?" Coin asked. Beetee began to type into his computer. He then placed the computer into his lap and rolled over to the monitor that connected to the hologram screen. He plugged his computer in, a video showing up at the front of the room.

It was Autumn. But there was a different background. She was not being filmed for propaganda or by President Snow. She was filming herself.

Beetee clicked a button on his computer and let the video play. Everyone in the room went deadly silent.

"Uh...hey District Thirteen," Autumn spoke into the camera. "I'm Autumn Reeves, District Four victor. If everything works out, this video will be sent to Beetee. I'm not sure how this works, but that is not my job." Autumn began to explain. "You may be wondering how I got this video to you. Well, you have many friends here in the mansion who hate Snow just as much as the rest of us. There is a servant named Brandlen Frosslis. He was a forced into the job of a Game Maker, although he wasn't much of a Game Maker as much as a puppet."

Finnick stared at the video. Autumn looked much better from the last video he had seen. She was very bruised up still and the camera didn't show the rest of her body, but she had been fed a little more and her hair was cleaner. The hollowness in her cheeks was lesser and the color had come back to her face for the most part.

"He hates President Snow and has helped me send this video to you, along with get a map of the Capital, the Mansion, and the Tribute Center in detail. All three of which are attached to this message," Autumn spoke. "I am sending this to you with hope that you will be able to come for us. The Capital is slowly changing all of us and Peeta is getting the worst of it. They are putting things in our heads and sometimes I can't tell what's real or fake. It's only getting worse." Autumn stopped talking for a minute and took in a deep breath. "In three days we are being transferred to the Tribute Center where we will be held. I have taken this risk to send this message, so please take the risk to comply and save us." Autumn then leaned forward in her chair and reached for the camera, pressing a button to turn it off.

"How long have you had this video?" Coin asked Beetee.

"A week," Beetee replied.

"And you've kept it to yourself?" Coin asked.

"Yeah," Beetee nodded. "I had to check the maps and make sure it checked out. She could've been forced to send that video to lure us into a trap."

"And did it check out?" Finnick asked. Beetee nodded, causing Finnick to smile. "Then lets go get them."