The Pawn
The train sped on. Gaius entered the bathroom, sat at the toilet, and opened his pack of cigarettes. He unrolled one of the cigarettes to expose a small bendable device. One side of the device was sticky, and he placed it on his nose. He said, "It rained on the day I first kissed a girl." The device answered with a hum. The hum was transmitted to his skull by the device; the skull transmitted the sound to his inner ear, meaning that even if someone was sitting right next to him, they could not hear it.
Gaius had done this many times before and was good at his job—well, both of them. He was able to travel between districts because he represented a large factory in District 8 and was responsible for getting orders for the factory. Each district had different clothing needs, and he had to find something his factory could do for each. For District 12 they mostly produced mining clothes, which were specially designed for the rough ware and extremes of heat. He would brag to the officials about how well the clothes wick the sweat away, allowing workers longer shifts without passing out, and they would complain about how they fell apart too soon. He was good at swaying them, and he liked what he did for the most part.
His other job was his real passion. Gaius was trusted to travel by the Capitol, because his father never married his mother. His father was a great man who had loved Gaius, his two sisters, and his mother, but was dedicated to bringing down the government, and so kept his family secret to protect them. Gaius was there when they whipped his father to death, standing in the crowd, forbidden by both his parents from saying a word to his dying father. He swore that day to commit his whole life to one cause and never looked back.
The device started speaking in an obviously artificial voice. "Your mission today is to make contact with and recruit an individual. It is considered an A1 priority that this individual be recruited. This is likely the most important mission you have ever been on. We are going to give you a complete history and psychological breakdown on the person. We are also going to give you a list of points we want you to make to him and another list of points we want you to know but are forbidden to say to him. Before we continue, we point out to you that the individual is considered the most powerful psychic alive, so mind your thoughts."
Great gods! Gaius felt a chill run down his back; something weird was happening. Gaius had heard stories of agents being burnt on purpose just to get some false information to the Capitol and wondered if that was what was happening. Gaius could picture himself writhing in pain, being tortured by the Capitol, and felt a panic sweep through him. Why would they tell him things not to say, and then ask him to talk to a psychic? Are they testing me? Are they testing the psychic? What games are they playing? He calmed himself down by saying to himself what he always said, "They are going to kill President Snow! I may be a pawn, but the game is KILL SNOW, and that is the game I wanted to be a part of."
In another train cabin, another pawn was in play. This pawn already knew what he had to do. For him it was always the same—he eliminated problems.
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