Vindictive | Chapter 10

I wake up the next morning and the first thing that comes out of my mouth is a long heavy sigh. Last night was great. Honestly. It was so close to being perfect until my idiocy took over and decided I should kiss Clove.

Yes. I kissed Clove Kentwell last night. And it didn’t end pretty.

I remember everything that lead up to that stupid mistake I made. I remember driving in silence, as each other’s presences are enough for us, dropping Clove off at her house and walking her to the front door.

“Thank you again for everything, Cato.” Clove said as she let go of my hand, obviously to my dismay.

I shoved my hands inside my jeans pockets before giving her a tight genuine smile. “Anytime.” For added effect, I nodded.

“I better get going. It’s past my curfew.” Clove informed me. She hooked her thumb over her shoulder and as we both turned to look at her window, her maid was looking at us with unmistakably keen and watchful eyes.

“You still have a curfew?” I asked with utter disbelief. I know Clove's only seventeen but for someone her age, especially if she’s a year away from being a legal adult, she shouldn’t have a curfew. Her maid must really care for her that much if she’s that strict.

Clove snickered. “That’s why I can’t wait to turn eighteen.” She glanced back at her maid over her shoulder and flashed her five of her fingers, which I could only assume meant five minutes.

Her maid left the window and it’s only then I realized I want to have some privacy with Clove.

“Look, Cato. I really had a great time but…can you just say whatever you want to say? I really need to go inside now. My maid is really strict and she’s like my mom now so—”

I just knew I had to cut her off. She was talking too much and I knew I had to do something. I did the first thing that came to my mind: I kissed her.

Although it lasted for only five seconds due to Clove grabbing my shoulders and pushing me away, it was probably the best kiss I had. Only because she was the first girl I had the guts to do such thing. Still, in those five seconds, I was able to feel the butterflies in my stomach, my cheeks heating up, heart hammering against my chest and my skin tingling with a familiar sensation. It wasn’t the ideal first kiss but…it’ll do.

When Clove pushed me away, my eyes widen and I knew at that moment what I did. I made my move without even sending her a warning or asking for permission first. I just did it eventually and she probably thought I took advantage of her.

“I…I’m sorry.” I muttered.

Clove's wide-eyed expression indicated she’s still in shock from the unexpected event. She snapped back to reality seconds after and looked at me with undetectable emotion.

“Good night, Cato.”

Clove opened her door and I was left alone outside, thinking about my stupidity and my habit of doing the first thing that comes to my mind without even giving it a second thought.

* * *

When I reach the bottom of the grand staircase, my first destination is the kitchen. I wasn’t able to grab a midnight snack when I came home the previous night for various scenarios invaded my thoughts. I kept thinking about what could have happened if I didn’t kiss Clove or what could have happened if I did kiss her but she didn’t push me away. As those same thoughts swirl around my head this morning, I don’t realize my whole team sitting around the kitchen table, quietly watching my every move.

I prepare my peanut butter and jelly sandwich in complete silence, my eyes gawking at nothingness. I even find myself pausing most of the time as I make my breakfast because the events of last night bombard me over again. It isn’t until someone snaps his or her fingers that I’m taken back to reality.

“Something wrong?” My eyes immediately find the person attached to the voice, and I’m surprised to see Johanna sitting beside Jessica, chewing her own sandwich as she eyes me with full concern.

“Johanna?” I question when I finally regain my composure and had topped my sandwich off with another whole wheat bread. “What are you doing here?”

From the corner of my eye, I notice Thresh tilting his head in puzzlement. “You two know each other?” He asks.

Johanna and I both nod. “We were introduced by Finnick, I think maybe a week ago? Was it, Cato?” She inquires me, as she's unsure when we exactly met.

“Yeah, it was last week.” I answer her, claiming the seat next to Finnick.

“Oh well then, we’ll rendezvous at my office in ten minutes.” Thresh comments before wiping his hand with a napkin and stands up, eyeing every member of the team. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Johanna. I’m glad to know about your special ability. It’s very useful when needed.”       

   

Johanna nods at him with a smile. “You do know I’m just a phone call away when you need some replicating to do.” She tells him and I catch her sneak a quick glance toward Finnick and I.

“Glad to know that.” Thresh replies. “Hope to see you around soon.”

We all watch when Thresh exits the kitchen and disappears behind the staircase to head to his office located at the basement.

I acknowledge Finnick when I made sure the eldest boy is not returning. “So…how did you introduce Johanna to Thresh?” I ask.

“I introduced her as she is. I said that she's my friend.” Finnick answers candidly.

“But it didn’t take long for him to interrogate me about what I do for a living and I had no choice but to tell him that I replicate things.” Johanna says. “Don’t worry, though. I didn’t tell him about the service I did for you.” She's quick to add.

“Knowing Thresh, he’s already contemplating whether to put you on the team or not. I just hope he really lets you in so Rue, Finnick and I don’t have to always keep quiet.” I inform him as Fox sends us all a quick glance of bafflement.

“What are you guys talking about?” She questions before sipping from her glass full of orange juice.

The four of us simultaneously shake our heads while our eyes widen.

“Come on, it’s not like I’m not part of the team.” Fox persuades, placing her glass down on the table and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.

I lock eyes with Rue who’s seated across from me as if to ask her for permission. She gives a slight nod in approval.

“I met Johanna last week because Finnick took me to his shop to replicate my tag. I accidentally left it at Glimmer's combat room and one of my friends has it as of now. She’s not turning it in to the police because she wants to investigate the crime herself.” I explain mostly to Fox.

“Does Thresh know about this?” She leans forward on the table to whisper.

“Obviously no.” Rue answers as she finally finishes with her morning meal. “I’ll let you guys go. I’ll be with Thresh downstairs.” She departs as soon as she says that.

“Seriously,” Fox starts afresh, “is Thresh aware of this?”

Finnick and I shake our heads.

“Why?”

“Rue doesn’t want to let him know. She’s afraid that once he finds out we failed to never leave any trace that night, Thresh will remove her from the team.” I say, standing up from my chair to escape the conversation that is only driving the guilt back into my system.

I carefully place my dirty plate in the sink and leave it that way. Rue is in charge of the dishes today and I’m pretty sure it won’t hurt if I give her a little extra work.

“Where are you going?” My foot is already outside the kitchen when Finnick stops me with a question.

“I’m going to Thresh's office. Where do you think I’m going?” I answer.

“Oh. Wait for us, then. We’re done anyway.” He says.

Soon enough, I can hear dishes being placed in the sink, water turning on and off before several footsteps trail behind me as we all head to the basement for the meeting. But of course, we have to send Johanna to the front door and say goodbye to her. Fox is still unaware of our new secret member so when Johanna is already out the door, I follow her without Fox's knowledge.

Johanna is waiting for me outside, knowing well enough that I have something important for her. 

“I’ll fill you in tonight about the meeting.”

With a nod, Johanna walks away.

* * *

“Alright, let’s get this over with.”

I collapse on the couch between Rue and Fox and let out a sigh of relief. To be honest, I’ve never felt this comfortable in my life before. It’s a good thing Fox finally drops the tensing subject a while ago in the kitchen and decides that it’s no good to push the topic any further.

I see Finnick leaning by the wall near Thresh's desk table, arms crossed, lips in a straight line and his eyes are boring into mine. His expression clearly states that whatever the meeting will be about is bad news.

“Okay, this meeting is officially open.” Thresh states casually, which earns a lot of eye rolls from the team. “First off, we have bad news.”

Finnick and I meet eyes and he shrugs his shoulders as if to say I told you so. I return my attention back to our team leader (apparently he thinks of himself as that so we know better than to object) and listen to what he’s about to say for the meeting is always about me.

“We need a new strategy.” Thresh notifies, glad that he’s not being mealy-mouthed. He stands up from his chair and walks his way towards the couch where three of us sat. “The first one Finnick plotted is a bit unrealistic and considering that Brutus is in prison, we can’t actually execute the plan. If we are to do it say, we don’t have any choice, the syndicate needs to be out of prison. Not that we’re going to help him escape but, the plan needs him to be present.”

When Thresh mentions Brutus's name, I can’t help but to think of his daughter instead. I know I shall be focusing on the meeting but the image of Clove's face suddenly pops out of nowhere inside my brain, once again invading my thinking. It seems like she has this power to push aside any thoughts I’m currently having and replace it with thoughts about her. I don’t know how she does it, but she’s really good at it.

A finger snaps in front of my face and I have to shake my head to be able to help myself back to the present, to reality. Yet again, everyone’s eyes are on me. Some have looks of bewilderment, while the others (mainly Thresh) are looking at me suspiciously.

“Are you really okay, Cato?” Rue inquires from beside me, pressing a hand on my forehead to check my temperature. “Are you sure you’re feeling well? You do know we can cancel the meeting and—”

“No.” I interfere, pulling her hand away from my forehead. “I’m fine. I’m just…thinking, I guess.”

“Thinking about what?” Finnick asks. He pries himself off the wall and strides over next to Thresh.

Without caution, Clove's name slips out of my mouth.

“What about her?” Finnick questions yet again, looking intently into my eyes. It’s like he’s trying to say that if I lie, I better prepare myself for the oncoming consequences.

“I just can’t stop thinking about what she said to me last night.” I answer. Now that the topic is brought up, I may as well face it. “She requested to drive her to District 2 to visit her mom at the cemetery. I didn’t really say anything but she opened up to me. She told me how her mother died and how she feels lonely because she has no parents to go home to. Surprising thing is, she has no idea that her own father is in prison.”

“Your point is?” Thresh raises an eyebrow. Sometimes, he can get a little too sassy.

“My point is— ”

“You feel sorry for the girl and now you’re having second thoughts about taking your revenge.” Rue interrupts me, not even looking up from inspecting her newly manicured nails.

“No.” I turn very defensive when someone falsely accuses me of something I’m not or didn’t do.

“Clove is trying to brainwash you, Cato.” Thresh suddenly speaks. “She’s putting up this sad show about how she has no parents because her mother’s dead and she has no idea where her father is to gain sympathy from you. I highly recommend you don’t fall for it. It’s a trap, trust me.”

“What if it’s not?” I whisper ever so quietly it seems like I’m only questioning myself.

I know I shall believe what Thresh is saying about Clove. We never know but the girl may also be part of Brutus's scheme, assigned to keep an eye on me and make sure that I stay as close as possible. It’s funny how if that really is the case, we have the same game plan.

“The real question here is: what if it is?” Thresh says. “Cato, to be honest here, Finnick and I have been noticing how close you’re getting to Clove. Our plan was to only befriend the girl not be her boyfriend.”

“I’m not trying to be her boyfriend.” I defend. “It’s just that Glimmer's dea—”

Finnick looks at me with wide eyes and Rue elbows me on my ribs as I almost reveal to Thresh about what really happened that night at Glimmer's house.

“What?” Thresh questions.

“What I was trying to say is that…her best friend Glimmer has to move to a different country and Clove was really upset about it and all our friends just went to their own businesses and I was left alone with her. She was really down that you can’t even get a word out of her and I just had to…I just had to make her happy.” I explain.

I’m quite impressed with how my lie turned out. Words just came out of nowhere.

“And you think that it’s necessary?” Thresh, apparently, is still not yet done with his interrogation.

I shamefully bob my head up and down. I just hope that Thresh will understand why I did that. I didn’t mean to get too close to the girl but…it just happened. And I realized that I have no control over it. No matter how hard I try to tell myself that I shan’t get attached to Clove, I just can’t. She’s like a magnet and I’m the metal.

Thresh breathes out a sigh of disappointment. 

“I’m really sorry, Cato. I don’t think this is working anymore. If you like the girl, the best thing you can do is to forgive her father, forget about all this and be with her. I’m not going to be the villain that stops you from doing what you want to do.” He utters before storming out of his office, making sure to shut the door vehemently to further emphasize his frustration.

I bury my face in my hands as I quietly fight the tears itching to come out of my eyes. I’m ashamed of myself because I let Thresh down. I let the whole team down. I know they’re all looking forward to our mission and I just threw it all away for some girl that I barely even know. Well, I only know parts of her but not fully. I don’t know how Clove is as a person. I only know her from what I see, what I hear and what I experience when I’m with her. I don’t even know if she’s what she’s trying to portray herself to be. Perhaps she’s trying to be angelic but she may also have a demon trapped deep inside.

“Cato…” Finnick calls and I look up to find him standing in front of me. His eyes show something of concern and a bit of betrayal.

“I’m sorry.” I whisper. “I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay. Besides, the plan backfired anyway.” Finnick replies to my apologies.

I shake my head, my face still in my hands. “No. It’s not okay. Thresh put a lot of effort to make this work. We even broke into someone’s house to steal weapons and I repay him by throwing it all away. It’s not okay, Finnick. Can’t you see?”

He squats down to my level and places a reassuring hand on my shoulder that made me look up. “I know you didn’t mean to get too close to Clove as though you don’t want to take your revenge anymore. And I also know you haven’t given up yet. That’s why we’re still going to do this…together. Don’t forget, we still have Rue, Fox and Johanna.”

Finnick smiles at me and it’s so contagious I can’t help but return it. “You’re right about that. Thresh might have thought I had given up but I didn’t. We can still do this even without him.” I voice out as I feel Fox and Rue wrapping their arms around me and I know in that moment, I still have my team. My hopes aren’t crushed yet.

“Come on, we have to go.” I urge, breaking away from the group hug and getting to my feet.

“Where are we going?” Fox asks.

“To confront Brutus.”

* * *

Rue and Fox decide to be the ones left behind to accompany Thresh in the house. Also, so that the eldest won’t get too suspicious and make false assumptions that we are going against him in this matter. The last thing we wanted is to develop a wall between Thresh and us. He is the person we need the most and the first person we turn to when in times of trouble.

Being that, Finnick and I embark on a short travel to the Capitol's Bastille. We are both eager but anxious at the same time, as this will be the first time we’ll come face to face with the syndicate himself. We’re not really sure what to expect.

When we reach the front desk, a woman not older than forty looks up from her computer’s screen and welcome us with a warm smile.

“Hello boys, what can I do for you today?” She acknowledges us with an alacritous greeting.

“Um, we’re here to see Brutus Kentwell.” Finnick answers, putting both his hands in his pockets.

“I’m sorry sir but Mr. Kentwell isn’t allowed to receive any visitors anymore.” The woman says as she looks up at us with sorry eyes.

“But—”

“I’ll handle this, Cato.” Finnick stops me from advancing towards the lady with his toned arm. He reach behind his pocket and holds up an identification card. “I’m from the CAA and we need to interrogate Mr. Kentwell. I believe he is responsible for this young man’s parents’ death.” He points at me with his thumb.

The lady’s gaze lingers on mine and her expression suggests she pities me. I don’t need that. I’ve had that for almost my whole life. I know I’m a poor boy for losing both my parents but they don’t have to make it appear like everyone shall feel sympathetic towards me.

She sighs in defeat. “Alright. I guess I’ll let you see him but for five minutes only. If you go over than that, I’ll have to call the guards.” The lady warns. She stands up from her rolling chair to lead us to the visitors’ center.

While the lady guides us through a million halls, like it’s a maze that’s never ending, she talks about the previous barbarous events that occurred when Brutus was still allowed to have visitors. I couldn’t care less about it. I don’t care about what he’s done inside this hellhole. All that I know is that I’m finally going to see the bastard and I’ll make sure he’ll regret ever doing what he’s done to my family.

* * *

I fidget in my seat while we wait for Brutus to arrive. The lady told us to wait here for a couple of minutes as it usually takes a while to get Brutus out of his cell. Apparently, his is the most guarded one out of the many. I won’t even wonder why.

The thick gray steel gates jingles open as four officers assist the syndicate to the visitors’ center. His wrists are cuffed securely and so are his feet. I know it’s necessary for Brutus to wear that but…to be honest, I don’t think he has to don that when walking.

“You!” I screech once Brutus is seated across from us in the small square table. I stand up to my feet and am about to attack him when Finnick and two officers stop me from doing so. They settle me back down on my chair as I continuously send lethal glares and feral scowls at the man in front of me.

Finnick presents his identification card and with a nod, the four guards leave us alone in privacy.

Brutus looks up and a smirk appears upon laying his eyes on me. “Ah…” his breath reeks of cigarette. “I remember you, little fellow. You are Vincent’s son, the so-called blue chip of the CAA just because he was the one who arrested the most wanted syndicate in the country. I must say it’s impressive.”

He taps his fingers repeatedly on the table and the sound facilely chafes me. I grab both his hands and pull him towards me, tightly clutching a fistful of his shirt to keep him in place. 

“Do you know what you’ve done to my life? Because of you, my parents aren’t here anymore! Because of you, my life has turned into a living hell and everyday, I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that the cause of it all is still walking on the same earth as I am! Do you know how much I want you dead? If it’s only possible for me to do it here, I would have slit your throat and snap your neck right here, right now!”

Brutus raises his hands and pushes me away from him. He grins mischievously once he makes sure there’s a decent void between us. “Do it. Why not now, if you are so eager to do it? This is a free country. You can do what you want.”

Raising my eyebrow, my jaw relaxes and my body leans forward. “Oh. I can do what I want? Okay, if you say so. Let’s just see if you’ll regret your own words when I say that I have your precious little daughter wrapped around my finger.”

The syndicate slams his chained fists on the table in complete madness. “Don’t you dare lay a finger on her!” He thunders at my face, rising to his feet and trying to wiggle himself out of his handcuffs.

“I already did.”