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explosive. Center, regular. You shouldn't need them, but better safe than sorry."<br />
Boggs shows up to escort me down to the Airborne Division. Just as the elevator arrives, Finnick appears<br />
in a state of agitation. "Katniss, they won't let me go! I told them I'm fine, but they won't even let me ride in the<br />
hovercraft!"<br />
I take in Finnick--his bare legs showing between his hospital gown and slippers, his tangle of hair, the halfknotted<br />
rope twisted around his fingers, the wild look in his eyes--and know any plea on my part will be useless.<br />
Even I don't think it's a good idea to bring him. So I smack my hand on my forehead and say, "Oh, I forgot. It's this<br />
stupid concussion. I was supposed to tell you to report to Beetee in Special Weaponry. He's designed a new<br />
trident for you."<br />
At the word trident, it's as if the old Finnick surfaces. "Really? What's it do?"<br />
"I don't know. But if it's anything like my bow and arrows, you're going to love it," I say. "You'll need to train<br />
with it, though."<br />
"Right. Of course. I guess I better get down there," he says.<br />
"Finnick?" I say. "Maybe some pants?"<br />
He looks down at his legs as if noticing his outfit for the first time. Then he whips off his hospital gown,<br />
leaving him in just his underwear. "Why? Do you find this"--he strikes a ridiculously provocative pose--<br />
"distracting?"<br />
I can't help laughing because it's funny, and it's extra funny because it makes Boggs look so uncomfortable,<br />
and I'm happy because Finnick actually sounds like the guy I met at the Quarter Quell.<br />
"I'm only human, Odair." I get in before the elevator doors close. "Sorry," I say to Boggs.<br />
"Don't be. I thought you...handled that well," he says. "Better than my having to arrest him, anyway."<br />
"Yeah," I say. I sneak a sidelong glance at him. He's probably in his mid-forties, with close-cropped gray<br />
hair and blue eyes. Incredible posture. He's spoken out twice today in ways that make me think he would rather<br />
be friends than enemies. Maybe I should give him a chance. But he just seems so in step with Coin....<br />
There's a series of loud clicks. The elevator comes to a slight pause and then begins to move laterally to<br />
the left. "It goes sideways?" I ask.<br />
"Yes. There's a whole network of elevator paths under Thirteen," he answers. "This one lies just above the<br />
transport spoke to the fifth airlift platform. It's taking us to the Hangar."<br />
The Hangar. The dungeons. Special Defense. Somewhere food is grown. Power generated. Air and water<br />
purified. "Thirteen is even larger than I thought."<br />
"Can't take credit for much of it," says Boggs. "We basically inherited the place. It's been all we can do to<br />
keep it running."<br />
The clicks resume. We drop down again briefly--just a couple of levels--and the doors open on the Hangar.<br />
"Oh," I let out involuntarily at the sight of the fleet. Row after row of different kinds of hovercraft. "Did you<br />
inherit these, too?"<br />
"Some we manufactured. Some were part of the Capitol's air force. They've been updated, of course,"<br />
says Boggs.<br />
I feel that twinge of hatred against 13 again. "So, you had all this, and you left the rest of the districts<br />
defenseless against the Capitol."<br />
"It's not that simple," he shoots back. "We were in no position to launch a counterattack until recently. We<br />
could barely stay alive. After we'd overthrown and executed the Capitol's people, only a handful of us even knew<br />
how to pilot. We could've nuked them with missiles, yes. But there's always the larger question: If we engage in<br />
that type of war with the Capitol, would there be any human life left?"<br />
"That sounds like what Peeta said. And you all called him a traitor," I counter.<br />
"Because he called for a cease-fire," says Boggs. "You'll notice neither side has launched nuclear<br />
weapons. We're working it out the old-fashioned way. Over here, Soldier Everdeen." He indicates one of the<br />
smaller hovercraft.<br />
I mount the stairs and find it packed with the television crew and equipment. Everyone else is dressed in<br />
13's dark gray military jumpsuits, even Haymitch, although he seems unhappy about the snugness of his collar.<br />
Fulvia Cardew hustles over and makes a sound of frustration when she sees my clean face. "All that work,<br />
down the drain. I'm not blaming you, Katniss. It's just that very few people are born with camera-ready faces. Like<br />
him." She snags Gale, who's in a conversation with Plutarch, and spins him toward us. "Isn't he handsome?"<br />
Gale does look striking in the uniform, I guess. But the question just embarrasses us both, given our history.<br />
I'm trying to think of a witty comeback, when Boggs says brusquely, "Well, don't expect us to be too impressed.