Finnick was the first to react, instinctively prioritising Dahlia's safety over his own as he placed his hand on her back and nudged her forward. Once he had prompted her into a run, he patted Peeta on the shoulder too before sprinting off himself. The trio were the closest ones to the sudden downpour, meaning they had to scurry as fast as they could away from that courtyard to avoid the danger. They trailed behind the film crew and their fellow squad members but followed Katniss' lead even through the frenzied chaos.

Jackson barked out orders, encouraging the soldiers to move quickly while Homes yelled out for them to get to higher ground. As the black ooze flooded the courtyard where they had previously stood, Dahlia scrambled up the wide grassy steps with brief glances behind her. The mysterious goo seemed to be surging in from all sides, forcing the squad in a specific direction and leaving them little room to escape. They were being cornered. If they survived this, the Capitol would know exactly where to find them.

Just as Dahlia was checking over her shoulder to ensure Finnick was still behind her, Peeta darted past her and reached out for Katniss. His hand latched onto the strap of her quiver and harshly yanked backwards until she was slammed into the ground. With a scream of rage, Peeta attempted to ram his gun into Katniss' head. Fortunately, Dahlia was by the Mockingjay's side in an instant and kicked her foot into Peeta's chest just as Katniss curled into herself. She successfully knocked the boy off his aim, meaning the gun never reached its target. Instead, it crashed into the ground as Dahlia tugged Katniss to her feet.

"Peeta, stop! It's alright." Dahlia attempted to calm the boy, planting herself between him and Katniss with her hand outstretched to ease him. But as Peeta's head snapped to the girl with fear and anger blazing in his eyes, Dahlia realised they were way past being able to talk him down. All the commotion of the last few moments had been too much for his fractured mind to handle, making him revert back to his Capitol programming. He was a mutt now. There was nothing she could do but protect the Mockingjay.

As Peeta went to launch himself at Dahlia to get to Katniss, Mitchell tackled Peeta away before he could reach them. "No, stop! You'll just make him worse!" Dahlia cried out, knowing Peeta would see the need to defend himself from this attack. She knew, because the Black Dahlia would've done the same thing. If the enemy attacked, you had to fight back and you had to win. And right now, Peeta saw them as the enemy.

Mitchell may have been trying to protect Katniss, but he didn't realise that he was only antagonising Peeta further. As the two men tumbled messily across the ground, Jackson frantically called out for Finnick or Dahlia to restrain him. But the damage was done. Peeta sank his fist backwards into Mitchell's face before whipping round and shoving him into the oncoming flood. Finnick reached the boy just as Mitchell landed on another pod, activating a barbed wire next which caught and speared him brutally.

"Settle! Calm down!" Finnick chanted into Peeta's ears as he hooked his arm round the boy's neck and held him back. Mitchell's anguished screams pierced the air as he was suspended above the members of the squad. They had little time to mourn the loss as the black gunge rushed forward and crashed into the steps like dangerous ocean waves.

"Finnick!" Dahlia shouted desperately as her husband wrestled Peeta away from the approaching dangers. Homes fired at the glass door of a nearby building, shattering the obstruction and clearing the way for the squad to head inside.

"Go, Lia!" Finnick yelled through gritted teeth, dragging Peeta's body up the remaining steps. "I'm right behind you!"

Dahlia didn't want to leave until she was sure Finnick had caught up, but Homes ushered her inside urgently and left her little choice. She was forced to follow behind Katniss as they sprinted up a grand staircase to what they hoped was safety. Regrettably, the Capitol had thought of every detail and planned accordingly, as Dahlia and Katniss discovered once they reached the landing.

"Keep moving!" They heard Jackson order from a lower level, pushing them all to continue climbing. "Keep moving to the top!"

But they couldn't. The rest of the staircase had been destroyed, leaving an ominous drop between the landing and the next floor. The Capitol had ensured that they could go no further. Once again, they found themselves trapped.

The only relief Dahlia received was seeing Finnick hurry up the stairs with a struggling Peeta squirming in his arms. He and Homes had to force the boy against the wall, shushing him gently as Finnick injected a sedative into his neck. The effects were felt immediately as Peeta's scuffle ceased and his body finally slumped limply. Finnick slackened his grip on the boy in order to embrace Dahlia and ease his erratic heart.

That had been a close call for the squad and a wake up call for some. If any of them were previously doubting the dangers they were facing as a non-combat unit, this assured that they now knew the risks. No one was safe, and accidents happened when people grew complacent. They had just lost two of their own and the threat wasn't over yet.

"It's slowing down." Cressida announced shakily as the gunk bubbled up the last few steps of the staircase, leaking over the edge slightly before beginning to retreat. "Gamemakers are still putting on quite a show."

As Jackson attempted to contact the base, Finnick spoke up with a sense of urgency in his tone, "Hey, we better move."

He seemed to have realised the same conclusion that Dahlia had come to, which she voiced as an addition to his statement, "He's right. If Peacekeepers didn't know where we were, they sure as hell do now."

Castor nodded his agreement and piped in, "Those surveillance cameras caught us."

"451 to base. Come in." Jackson tried again, with little luck in achieving a response.

"This is a bad spot. We need to move now." Gale muttered anxiously, eyes darting around at the extremely exposed and vulnerable area. If Peacekeepers descended on them now, they stood little chance of fighting back.

"451 to base. Over." Jackson's voice grew louder with desperation, until she knew there was no chance of getting through to headquarters. Sighing in frustration, she tucked the radio back into her pocket and turned to the team. "I can't get a signal. But I can get us back to base. Everdeen, give me the Holo." It was only then that Dahlia noticed the device clasped in Katniss' hand. The Mockingjay clung to it like it was her lifeline, determined not to let anyone else get close to it. At the girl's lack of movement, Jackson demanded once more, "Everdeen, what did I just say? The Holo. Come on, let's go."

"Boggs gave it to me." Katniss protested, making Jackson look up with furrowed brows.

"What are you talking about?" She spat out in confusion and disbelief, seemingly taken aback by Boggs' decision to bypass her in favour of Katniss.

Homes jumped in and aided Katniss' defence, "He did. He transferred security clearance to her. I saw him."

Jackson still seemed unconvinced, flicking her eyes from the soldier to the Mockingjay sceptically and asking, "And why would he do that?"

"I'm on special orders from Coin." Katniss replied with enough conviction to almost fool Dahlia... Almost. But the woman was able to suss out lies easier than breathing. After all, stretching the truth had once been second nature to her and Katniss had never been the best at lying. If she wanted to convince the squad, she should've chosen a more believable lie. Everyone knew how Coin and Katniss felt about each other, there was no way the President would've sanctioned a special mission just for her. And Jackson knew that better than anyone.

"To do what?" Jackson prompted, trying to pull more information from the girl but Dahlia could tell she wasn't accepting these claims as the truth.

"To assassinate President Snow." Katniss declared firmly, making everyone turn to her with a mixture of shock and doubt.

Just as Dahlia predicted, Jackson saw right through the bold lie and snarled, "I don't believe that for one second." Finnick and Dahlia exchanged discreet glances, silently agreeing that they were with the Mockingjay despite the deception she was trying to carry out. They joined this team to fight for her and they would protect her now, even from their own squad. As Jackson's stern expression seemed to intensify with power, she assertively commanded, "As your new unit commander, I order you to transfer security clearance to me now."

"I can't do that." Katniss argued back, holding her ground against Jackson's attempts to dominate the conversation. But then the situation escalated.

As Jackson's hand slid up to her gun holster, Dahlia and Gale immediately reached for their own weapons. While the District Twelve boy raised his crossbow, Dahlia swiftly unsheathed one blade in her right hand and a pistol in the other. The Madame had ensured Dahlia was proficient with all types of weapons, including using multiple at the same time. It made her a formidable opponent against anyone who put themselves in her path. And Jackson would find herself hard-pressed to combat against Gale, Dahlia and Finnick as all three of them took up defence against her.

"Let's not lose our heads here." Gale suggested with a threatening malice to his voice. The uninjured Leeg sister was the only one standing with Jackson, her gun aimed at Gale as the new commander maintained her focus on Katniss.

The tension in the air was stifling with neither side willing to back down but no one willing to pull the trigger. As the stalemate showed no sign of ceasing, Jackson gave Katniss a cautionary warning, "I'm not asking you again, Everdeen."

"And she won't tell you again." Dahlia quickly retorted, edging forward until she could see Jackson's face reflecting in the dark metal of her blade.

The two women stared each other down across the valley of steel separating them, even as Jackson demanded once more, "Give me that Holo."

Dahlia glanced over to Katniss, hoping for a visual confirmation to silence this woman once and for all. Unfortunately, Cressida intervened before any blood could be spilled. Stepping in front of Jackson's gun, she calmly announced, "She's telling the truth. Plutarch wants it televised. He thinks if we could film the Mockingjay assassinating Snow, it'll make the Capitol surrender before the casualties get too high."

Jackson's eyes never left the Mockingjay's while Cressida was speaking until Gale pointed out, "While we're arguing, there's 100 Peacekeepers on their way here."

Tired of all the internal arguing, Katniss forced Gale to lower his crossbow and motioned for Dahlia to stand down. The woman did so reluctantly, but kept a tight grip on her weapons and her glare locked onto Jackson's every move.

"Boggs promised me that when the time came, you would help me." Katniss pleaded, gazing hopefully at the woman who had been Boggs' right hand woman. At the mention of the fallen commander, Jackson's resolve seemed to waver and her aim faltered. She had trusted Boggs implicitly and he had trusted Katniss. So if he gave the Holo to her, there must've been a reason.

Begrudgingly, Jackson let her shoulders relax and placed her gun back in its holster. Nodding once at Katniss, she grumbled, "All right, soldier, Holo's yours."