"Hawthorne, Everdeen, come meet your new unit." A female soldier called out to Katniss and Gale who were huddled in a tent conversing in hushed voices. They quickly abandoned their discussion as they hopped up to approach the group beginning to gather outside. The woman who had beckoned them over eyed each of them with an unreadable expression before introducing herself, "I'm Lieutenant Jackson, and I want to introduce you to your squad." Leaving no room for argument, Jackson immediately turned to the four silent figures behind her consisting of two slightly older men and two near-identical blonde women. "This is Second Lieutenant Mitchell, best sharpshooter in Panem. These are the Leeg sisters, First Combat Division. And this is Corporal Homes."
Katniss greeted each of them with a respectful nod, a little bit wary about being assigned a squad of complete strangers. It felt as though she and Gale were outnumbered by the District Thirteen soldiers, all of them more than likely loyalists to Coin. The President had ensured Katniss would remain in line from now on by surrounding her with a team of her best highly-skilled babysitters. She yearned for a familiar face among the crowd, someone she trusted to have her back if things went wrong. And, as luck would have it, her prayers were answered.
"Finnick?" She remarked in surprise, her face brightening up at the presence of the golden boy. Stepping around the rest of her squad, she eagerly advanced towards the man as he twirled a trident behind his back. "Are you with us?"
"Of course." Finnick replied, beaming at the younger girl as she reached up to hug him. He returned the friendly embrace and casually revealed, "Dahlia wouldn't have it any other way."
The Mockingjay pulled back in shock, glancing around in search of the mentioned girl as she spluttered, "Dahlia?"
"You didn't honestly think we would let you do this without us, did you?" The familiar taunting voice questioned in mock offence, making Katniss whip around to find the smirking woman leaning against a large case of weapons. "Katniss, you insult me."
The sight of Dahlia kitted out in full combat gear openly swinging one of her blades around experimentally once would've sent Katniss into a full-blown panic. But now it filled the Mockingjay with a great sense of relief and security. It even caused an uncharacteristic smile to replace her usual glower as she rushed to engulf the new addition in a much needed hug.
Dahlia had returned to her roots, kitted out in the very colour that had made her famous. When she went to Beetee asking him to craft a weapon for her, the genius man revealed two twin swords forged from the darkest steel that he had been keeping in preparation for her visit. Now, she truly had become the Black Dahlia she'd always hoped to be. A freedom fighter, not a mindless assassin. Now, she was dressed to kill and liberate.
"How--" Katniss asked in confusion, shaking her head as if trying to convince herself that it was all a dream. It certainly seemed too good to be true. "How are you here?"
"Well, I wanted to take a leaf out of your book and sneak aboard a hovercraft to get here." Dahlia replied teasingly, breaking away from the hug as Katniss stiffened in embarrassment. "But Finn insisted we got permission first."
As if the words had summoned him, her husband appeared diligently at Dahlia's side and threw his arm over her shoulder to tug her into his body. "But I let you have all the fun of forcing Coin to agree." He pointed out, placing a loving kiss on her temple. "She didn't stand a chance against you."
Katniss struggled to conceal the laughter that bubbled up at the thought of Coin attempting to go head to head with Dahlia. The images it conjured up in her head were amusing enough to keep her smiling until the end of the war. As her curiosity got the better of her, she eagerly questioned, "What did you say to her?"
Snickering to herself with a smirk of satisfaction, Dahlia cryptically replied, "Let's just say Coin really doesn't like me."
It filled Katniss with immense joy to know that someone seemed to think the same way as her about Coin. There was just something about the woman that didn't sit right with Katniss, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. Now that she had Dahlia and Finnick with her, she felt reassured that there were more people on her side.
"That's her loss." Finnick commented, staring down at Dahlia with such adoration that it was difficult to see how anyone could possibly despise her. He personally couldn't understand why some people didn't like his little flower, but he was one of the few to know who she was underneath the hardened exterior. Strong woman were a hard pill to swallow for some, but it was nothing a bit of sea water couldn't handle.
"Must've been a short honeymoon for you both." Katniss remarked in a slight teasing tone to her voice.
"Yeah, well," Finnick sighed, squeezing Dahlia's shoulder as the two smiled at each other. "I guess we're gonna have to have one in the Capitol."
"After we take it." Dahlia added on with a bold grin on her lips and a determined glint in her eye.
"Gather 'round." A stern voice commanded, capturing the trio's attention to the newcomers that had just arrived. The domineering presence of Boggs silenced all conversation as he and the film crew stood front and centre to address the group. "Squad 451, you're my unit. Lieutenant Jackson is my second-in-command. Each one of you is elite in some form of combat. But we are a non-combat unit. So we'll be following days behind the front-line troops."
Cressida was the next to speak up, further clarifying what Boggs was saying, "You're to be the onscreen faces of the invasion. 'The Star Squad.' It's been decided that you're most effective when seen by the masses."
"So we're not gonna fight?" Gale questioned from his place next to Katniss, sounding deeply disappointed at the prospect of not actually partaking in the action.
"You'll do whatever you're ordered to do, soldier. It's not your job to ask questions." Boggs shut him down quickly and sharply, making Gale deflate slightly in discontent.
But he wouldn't argue against direct orders, obediently stepping back from his retaliation with a dutiful, "Yes, sir."
"Our instructions are to shoot propaganda footage on the battle-scarred streets of the Capitol." Boggs continued as if the interruption had never occurred. "You were handpicked to intimidate their forces."
Once again, Cresside jumped in to add, "And inspire surrenders."
"Even though we'll be working on abandoned streets miles behind the front lines, I guarantee you, wherever they put us, it will not be safe. This is a war zone." Boggs reminded them strictly, like they were children being warned not to touch the glass and antagonise the snakes. "It is likely that we'll encounter both active pods and Peacekeepers. You're considered high-value targets to the Capitol. In the event of capture, you'll be given a nightlock pill. A poison that acts immediately. Lieutenant Jackson, do the honours."
Boggs handed the poison-filled case over to his second-in-command, who began distributing them amongst the squad. Dahlia was internally grateful for the easy way out, because there was no way she would be returning to the clutches of the Capitol. She refused to be at the mercy of Snow once more. Either she would kill him or die trying.
"I've already briefed you on the pods." Boggs resumed his instructions with little pause for the gravity of his words to sink in. "I remind you, they are on every block. Our unit has been given a Holo." The device was held high in the air for all to see and recognise before Boggs placed it on a weapons case in front of him and activated the technology. "A database that contains a detailed map of the Capitol and a list of every known pod. These pods can trigger anything from bombs to traps to mutts. We cannot move without this device. There's no guarantee that our database is complete. There could be new pods that we're not aware of. Because we don't want the Gamemakers to know we have this intel, it has a self-destruct on it. You flip this switch, say 'nightlock' three times, and it blows itself and anything within a 10-foot radius. Stay within out unit. Even with the Holo, it is likely that new pods have been set. Whatever they contain, they are meant to kill you."
The information was a lot to take in all at once, but Dahlia was prepared for anything. She knew exactly what they were signing up for and she was ready to show the Capitol the true meaning of fear.
As the intense briefing came to a close, Dahlia and Finnick wandered over to a frozen Katniss hand in hand. Though his tone was almost jesting, there was a serious underlining to his words as Finnick murmured to the two, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 76th Hunger Games."
It did feel like they were being sent into a large scale version of another arena, this one designed to simulate a bombarded city with abandoned buildings and collapsing structures. If Dahlia started to become intimidated by the daunting task that lay ahead, she could convince herself that she was just going back into the Games. She had won the first time, escaped the second, surely she could survive the third.
It wasn't war, it was just a game.
But to win this game, Dahlia needed to put her war paint on. And that meant donning the mask of the Black Dahlia for one last fight.
Let the Games begin...