Chapter 9

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Katniss P.O.V.

I go over and over in my head what I'm going to say to Coin, and each time, I find a flaw.  But I can't keep doing this. I have to get this over with.

My hand hovers over the door handle for a moment before I finally pull it and step into the room. My heart starts racing, and I swallow hard when Coin notices me.

"Have a seat," she tells me. I take a deep breath and sit down at the table. "I'm guessing you've heard about what I plan to do tomorrow."

"Yes," I reply drily. "I've heard."

"And I assume you know why you're here."

"Not exactly," I say. "But I can make a pretty good guess. You're hoping I've changed my mind."

"You've guessed right," Coin tells me. "I've figured that after everything that's happened, you would have had a change of heart."

"You mean after you threatened Peeta?" I ask.

"I thought I made myself clear. That was not a threat."

"Could've fooled me," I say. "Look, believe me, I know why you want Snow dead. What I don't understand are the details."

"Care to elaborate?"

I take a deep breath. This is it. I can't make a mistake now.

"You insist that I be the one to kill Snow during a public execution," I begin. "But when I turn down the offer, you decide to do a private execution right away. I can't help but to wonder why."

Coin just shakes her head at me. "You're a lot more observant than I gave you credit for, Katniss."

I shiver at hearing her say my name.

"I know you're not very fond of me," Coin says. "And I also know that once Snow is gone, I won't be your first choice as leader."

"And that makes me a threat," I say.

Coin gives me a smug look. "Nothing personal," she says. "It's just that I can't aford to have any threats stand in my way. But, at the same time, I also can't afford to have your blood on my hands."

"You were hoping that Snow's followers would take care of that," I say.

Coin just stares at me for a moment. She gets a satisfied look on her face before leaning in as close as she can from across the table.

"So you have got it all figured out," she says. "But I'm willing to bet that one little detail you didn't think about is the fact that you'll need an alibi to prove that you weren't the one to kill Snow."

My heart drops. That's what this meeting was about. To get me away from anybody who might see me so there's no way to prove me innocent. There's no wintnesses. It's my word against Coin's.

That means Snow is already dead.

His loyalists will be after me, and I'll always be looking over my shoulder.

But my fear quickly turns to relief when I remember what I came in here for. Proof. And I got that.

I can't let my guard down yet, though.

"You're unbelievable," I say as I stand up. I try to keep a nervous tone to my voice. "You're just like him."

"You can drop the act, Katniss," Coin says. "Honestly, did you think that I wouldn't have the room searched before I asked to meet with you?"

I quickly grab onto the back of the chair as my knees give a little. The room being to spin, and I feel sick.

"I left the cameras up," Coin continues. "I figured I'd play along with your silly little game. Ms. Everdeen..."

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