Waking up to the sound of artillery exploding in the distance was not the most comforting situation Dahlia had found herself in. Though her racing heart was significantly calmed by the familiar feeling of Finnick's arm wrapped securely around her waist, his chest pressing firmly against her back. They had barely separated from each other's side in the time they'd spent hidden in Tigris' basement and that didn't change as they both shot up in alarm at the commotion of war battering the surface.
"Mortar shells." Gale announced, standing up from his seat next to Peeta as Katniss shared anxious glances with Dahlia and Finnick. "It's not ours. Peacekeepers must be shellin' the rebels outside the city."
But Cressida was quick to correct him, "That's not outside the city."
They all knew what this meant. The rebels were getting close, practically knocking on the doors of the Capitol. Dahlia gazed up at Finnick with hope ablaze in her eyes for the first time in days. Finally, the end was in sight.
•——————•°•✿•°•——————•
Gale, as the least high-profile target of the squad, had ventured upstairs to survey the situation outside while the rest continued to shelter down below. Though, discontent with simply sitting and waiting for news, Dahlia assisted Katniss in assembling more arrows to replace those she lost in the tunnels. It was numbly therapeutic for her, repeating the same task over and over again. Something to focus on while Finnick kept trying to distract her by draping ridiculous fabrics over her body. The interaction between the married couple was enough to keep everyone entertained, simply because they knew he was the only one who could get away with winding her up. But just as Dahlia went to playfully whack Finnick over the head with a fur-lined boot, Gale jogged down the stairs with information to share.
"Sun's comin' up." He declared loudly, pausing only briefly to stare at a snickering Finnick with a smirk on his face and a glaring Dahlia with a boot aimed dangerously in her husband's direction. Shifting his eyes questioningly to Katniss gave the District Twelve man little clarification as she just shrugged with an amused grin. Choosing to ignore their childish antics, he continued, "There's some small-arms fire. Could be Paylor, maybe Lyme. Rebels are close."
As if lost in a dream-like daze, Cressida stared into the distance and airily mumbled, "This is it."
And she was right. This was the moment every citizen of the districts had been yearning for. The day where they were freed from the tyrannic rule of a heartless dictator. The day they could finally stop living in fear.
Dahlia had barely begun to grin in delight when a tuneful fanfare echoed around the basement from the screen on the other side of the room. A message about mandatory viewing had popped up once more but, this time, Snow wasn't about to announce the successes of the Capitol or death to the rebels. He was ushering his people to safety.
"To all Capitol citizens more than a half mile outside the City Circle, I am announcing a mandatory evacuation." The disgraced President explained calmly, but Dahlia could tell he was on the verge of defeat. He was a prideful man, but he knew when he'd been beaten. There wasn't much left that he could do. "Come to the mansion. I am promising you shelter and sanctuary. All refugees, come to my home. And there you will be provided with food, medicine, safety for your children, and you will have my solemn oath to protect you until my dying breath..."
"Wish he'd hurry up with that last part." Cressida remarked under her breath, making Dahlia and Finnick stifle their laughter into muffled snorts of agreement.
"... Our enemy is not like us. They do not share our values. They have never known our comfort and our sophistication. And they despise us for it. Make no mistake." Dahlia scoffed her disbelief at that statement, shaking her head bitterly in aggravation. Snow had bettered himself and the Capitol at the expense of everyone in the districts and now had the nerve to criticise them for the very deprivation he had caused. And he wondered why people were rebelling. "They are not coming to liberate us. They are coming to destroy our way of life. They are coming to bury us."
As the broadcast was brought to a swift conclusion and the small band of rebels were left silently fuming at Snow's manipulative lies, Katniss firmly asked, "Is he still in the mansion?" She glanced over to Peeta for the answer, but the boy was stuck staring at the blank screen in fear. Dahlia knew how he was feeling, although she had long since turned her fear to rage. "Peeta?"
"Yeah." Peeta confirmed shakily, his voice quiet and hoarse as he nodded briefly. "I recognise the room."
Sensing an opportunity, Katniss unfolded a map they had found discarded in the basement and smoothed it out on the floor as she asked, "Where is that?"
"About five blocks away." Cressida replied, kneeling down next to the map as Dahlia and Finnick peered down at where she was pointing. "We're right here. Off the Avenues. Mansion's here."
"What about the pods?" Katniss questioned next, the outline of a plan beginning to form in her head.
Finnick was the one to speak up in response, "They'll have to deactivate the pods if they want the residents to get out safely."
Dahlia hummed her agreement, motioning to a heavily populated area of the Capitol and explaining, "They'll probably deactivate them around here, where the main streets are. Those are the areas most likely to be protected by Peacekeepers so the residents will likely flood there in the masses."
"That could work." Katniss muttered under her breath in realisation, gazing up at the people around her with hope blazing in her eyes. "I could get close enough."
"Every Peacekeeper's gonna be waiting." Gale pointed out gruffly, arms folded as he found numerous flaws in this plan.
Cressida chimed in with her own doubts, "Next to our faces on every billboard."
But as Katniss and Dahlia glanced knowingly at each other, both girls understood that they were thinking along the same lines. The Mockingjay was the one to voice their aligned thoughts, "Snow's offering shelter to all the refugees."
"I'm sure he wouldn't turn away a few more." Dahlia quipped back with a sly smirk on her lips as she and Katniss exchanged nods of acknowledgement. "We can slip in right under their noses."
"Surely you're not thinking of going?" Gale suddenly spat out, his eyes narrowed at the woman who had assumed she would be joining Katniss on this final leg of their journey.
Dissatisfied with the harsh way Gale had addressed his wife, Finnick slowly rose up to his full height and crossed his arms threateningly. "And why wouldn't she?" He questioned the boy sharply, a challenging tone laced through his voice as he practically dared Gale to utter another word of complaint against Dahlia.
"She's one of the most recognisable faces in this war." Gale stated in a weak attempt to justify his comment.
"So is Katniss, but you don't seem to be against her going." Finnick retorted quickly, noting the hypocrisy in the boy's argument.
"Well, at least I know Katniss is on our side." Gale retaliated before he could realise what he had just admitted. Though he hadn't meant to confess those thoughts aloud, Gale didn't regret what he said. He wasn't the only one who'd been sceptical that Coin had permitted their former enemy to join the squad and he certainly hadn't forgotten the chaos that had occurred when he rescued her from the Capitol. Gale had never fully trusted her. And he didn't want her tagging along with him and Katniss to infiltrate the very people she had once served.
The room had descended into silence at his words, all eyes darting between the two men currently engaged in a tense standoff. Everyone feared that Finnick was about to punch Gale for what he'd said, watching the way his hands curled into tight fists and his jaw clenched in fury. Just when Dahlia was sure Gale and Finnick were about to get into a scuffle (one she was sure her husband would win), Katniss intervened.
"I trust Dahlia." She declared firmly, making both men turn to her. One was confused, the other unbelievably smug. Even Dahlia was shocked by that statement, not expecting Katniss to stand up for her like that. But there she was, the Mockingjay, glaring fiercely at her oldest friend for questioning the loyalty of her truest friend. "I know where her allegiance lies."
Gale scoffed at Katniss' insistence, rolling his eyes as he grumbled, "I don't think you do--"
"Her allegiance lies with me." Katniss interrupted curtly, standing up to meet Gale face to face. "Not to Snow and the Capitol, or Coin and the Rebellion. She stands with me." There was no hint of doubt in Katniss' voice, every word delivered with determination and purpose. Because she believed with all of her heart that what she was saying was true. Dahlia had never been fully devoted to either side of this war, finding reason to disagree with both of their systems. But she gave her loyalty only to those who had earned it. "I'm going to kill Snow. Dahlia is coming with me. If you don't like it, you can stay here."
After that strong declaration, Katniss gathered up her newly assembled arrows and marched from the room to inform Tigris of their plan. Without Katniss' support, Gale quickly backed down from his one-man fight against Dahlia's involvement and Finnick returned to his wife's side with a satisfied grin on his face. No one was arguing against the Mockingjay and her right-hand woman.