IC Contact

[powdered]

"Hello! you have reached the voicemail of Effie Trinket. I am unavailable at present, so please leave your name and your number and I will be delighted to return your call."

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[powdered]

The Games are not a choice. They are a necessity.

It doesn't matter what anyone, myself included, thinks about them because it is not our choice and it is for the greater good.

[ In a way she's not speaking to convince Saul when she says this. She's speaking to herself. Everything about it is rehearsed. A mantra that is so deeply ingrained into the fibres of the Capitol citizens that believing otherwise is both painful and close to impossible.

She's still crying because tears have never been easy to stop for Effie Trinket, but Saul's apology did so some to help dial back her emotional torrent and she sniffles once before speaking again with less upset. ]

Your apology is accepted, Saul.

[5055034455]

[And there she goes, talking about "the greater good." Fantastic. This is just what he needed in his life — another victim of brainwashing.

He sighs.]

There's always a choice, Effie. I know it doesn't seem that way. Trust me, I do. But you know what they say about hindsight, yeah?

[powdered]

We weren't given a choice when we were taken here, were we?

There are some circumstances simply beyond our control.

[ Saul didn't know. He couldn't. No one talked or even thought about choice because it was much more pleasant to imagine civilian obedience was due to patriotism and not fear. Their beautiful lifestyles were paid for by submission and even better, willful ignorance.

Another small sob, but she's running out of tears.]

Hindsight? Of course.

It's always 50/50.

[5055034455]

[If she weren't crying, that might have made him laugh.

Oh, Effie. You tried.

Saul ignores the guilt building in his chest and presses onward. She needs to hear this.]

20/20, actually. And everything becomes clear as crystal, right? Now, I don't know if you've had enough time away from home yet, or if I should take these waterworks as an indication that you're almost there, but you're gonna hit a point where you can't think about home and still ignore everything the way you used to.

[He's seeing something clearly now, too: that she and him are a lot alike.]

I'm not saying this to upset you more. I'm saying it because it happened to me, and it sucked, and I want you to be prepared.

[powdered]

I don't know what you mean and I don't want to know.

None of it matters anymore. We're not home.

[ A tired, wavering sigh as she pinches the bridge of her nose and makes herself more comfortable on the threadbare couch to continue this exhaustive conversation. ]

And I don't see how can you defend these people when we are effectively their tributes? Except there is no victor or end to this game and it involves everyone.

There is nothing to realize. I don't have the time to spare on idle thought because I will be far too busy attempting to survive.

[5055034455]

How can you tell me it doesn't matter when you have people from home here? Would you say that to Katniss? That what happened doesn't matter?

[God, how he wishes he could get away with saying that to Jesse.]

You'll survive, Effie. The Initiative will make sure of that. As for how I can defend them — I already told you. I explained this. We're not just protecting them.

[powdered]

It doesn't matter here. I don't see what the law and practices of Panem have to do with this world, where there are much larger problems.

I have to say, this is the most unpleasant discussion I have ever experienced. It's very rude to call upon someone to lecture them uninvited. If you've only contacted me to make me feel worse than I already am, you should just hang up!

And I thought you were a decent man.

[5055034455]

[Ouch.

It's a good thing the video feed isn't on, otherwise Effie would have just had a grand view of Saul flinching. He stares at his tablet for a long moment, silent save for a bit of controlled breathing, then runs both hands through his hair.

Damn it.]

When I showed up here, I found someone from home. A client of mine. And at the time, it was just a professional relationship. I was his lawyer, he was paying me, it was my job to make sure he stayed out of trouble. So, that's what I did. But the more time I spent with him, the more I realized I owed him so much more than just what I could do for him as his lawyer — I helped someone almost ruin his life back home, but I kept him out of prison, so I was still doing my job, right?

But then there was this kid, a little girl called Rue. She was two seconds away from kicking my ass when she thought I was hurting this client of mine after I found him half-dead in his apartment here. And that kinda put things into perspective. It happened a little too fast and there was some tunnel vision involved, but long story short: I promised her I'd take care of him, and I wasn't speaking as his lawyer when I made that promise — I was speaking as his friend. And I'd like to think I'm speaking as family, now, because there's nothing I wouldn't do for him.

Three months, Effie. That's all it took.

[powdered]

[ Saul had said a lot of things, but only one of them truly registered to Effie. A single name that had created a disturbance among the District people and even some small circles of the Capitol.

Rue. Her death had moved Effie and many others to tears. She had especially felt for Katniss who had looked after Rue like the little sister she had volunteered to represent.

She didn't want to know and didn't want to ask, but she couldn't stop herself. Just how many tributes had been taken? ]

Pardon me, but did you say Rue?

[5055034455]

Yeah. I never got her full name, but she was a tough —

[Saul's voice cuts off when he realizes, with no small amount of fear, that Effie must recognize that name for a reason.

It can't be the same Rue, though.

Can't be.

When he speaks again, he actually sounds nervous.]

Did you know a Rue?

[powdered]

Yes, we did.

[ For once Effie didn't know what to say. It didn't really matter, because flowery vocabulary couldn't carry the weight of her tone like those three words did.

Rue. It wasn't be that common of a name, and from how he had described her... she had been so strong.

It was always the young ones that made it difficult to watch. ]

[5055034455]

[He doesn't like the sound of that at all. His heart drops a little and he swallows hard, already convinced that yes, he had every reason to wish they weren't talking about the same kid.]

Small? Dark skin, dark hair, um — [A pause, as he tries to remember.] Dark eyes? She was pretty young. Barely a teenager, I think.

[powdered]

Where is she?

[ Effie didn't need to tell him it was the same girl. She had no questions now.

Rue had been here. What did that mean? Had they somehow taken her from before her death, or even more incredulously, after?

Why was Effie so scared to know that small girl had been here, to realize she had been part of this war when Effie had already seen her die. She didn't and wouldn't ask herself the question that already nagged at her conscience.

Would that little girl have been spared if she was still here? Was this barbaric place somehow more forgiving than the Capitol?]

[5055034455]

People here come and go.

[Saul's voice sounds a little tight. He wonders if Jesse knows about any of this. He and Rue were close — how much did she tell him of home?]

She disappeared... um. A little while after we met, I think. I dunno where she went. No one knows where anyone winds up unless they come back to tell us what happened.

[powdered]

Rue is no longer in Panem.

[ What else was there to say? Effie didn't want to tell him the details, not after their previous conversations.

That she had been a tribute. That she was dead, and so were twenty one others. That many more of Rue's people had died because they had rebelled and were quelled with force. ]

I do hope her stay here was... pleasant.

[5055034455]

No one's stay here is pleasant.

[Maybe for a little while, but never for long.

His next question is asked without hesitance, without fear, without any emotion at all. He already knows the answer; what he wants is to see how Effie will react.]

She's dead, isn't she?

[powdered]

Did you have to ask?

[ Almost pleadingly.

She prays he won't ask her how or why, she doesn't want to touch upon that topic. Not right now, not here and not with someone who didn't understand.

Not when she was feeling so vulnerable and confused. ]

Yes, she is.

[5055034455]

[He won't ask; he already figures it has everything to do with the so-called Games, and if this hunch is correct, too, he'd rather not know.

Saul is quiet for a long time, to the point where she might think the call has been disconnected.

Then:] I'm sorry, Effie.

[It's not clear whether he's apologizing for this conversation or expressing condolences for Rue or offering sympathy for Effie's whole situation. It might be a combination of all three.

Whatever it is, it's sincere.]

[powdered]

So am I.

[ Now it was her turn to be sincere, and it was the closest to an admission of guilt Saul would get.

After an unconscious moment of silence she cleared her throat, lifting her voice to a more amiable pitch and hopefully restraining the new tears from reaching her voice. ]

I do appreciate your call.

It feels like this place saps the pleasantry from everything.

[5055034455]

It's not all bad.

[Never for long doesn't necessarily translate to never, at all. This place has its moments. Maybe Effie hasn't experienced one of them yet.

Saul can help with that.]

There are some decent restaurants here.

[do you see where this is going

do you]

[powdered]

I find that difficult to believe.

[ It's impossible to hide the note of cheer brightening her voice. Effie was a Capitol girl at heart and their favourite distractions were food and drink. They had perfected the art of the cocktail party, the dinner and possibly the orgy.]

I would require proof of such an establishment.

[5055034455]

[Why can't everything be so easy? Saul grins to himself, a little relieved. Time to turn the charm back on.]

Then let me prove it to you. Consider it an apology for all this unpleasantness.

[powdered]

That's three apologies Mr.Goodman, I'm not sure what that says about your etiquette but I will accept the willow branch.

[ She smiled, and was glad he couldn't see the mess those apologies had left on her tearstreaked face.

Effie enjoyed being gracious, almost as much as she enjoyed sounding it. ]

Do you have a place in mind? I'm still not sure I believe you.

And I refuse to eat rat.

[5055034455]

[He rolls his eyes. Please, Effie. Don't tally them or you may never hear one again. Saul Goodman is not a man who offers apologies willy-nilly.]

A few. And none of them serve rat, I promise.

[...maybe. He's pretty sure. And if he's been served rat before, it tastes a lot like chicken.]

[powdered]

Very well. I accept.

[ Effie feels and sounds quite pleased with this turn of events. Not only did she escape a thoroughly uncomfortable conversation, she would soon have a positive reason to leave the squalor of her dwellings.

For all that she hated being cooped up indoors, the dirty and dangerous streets were an unpleasant alternative. If the restaurant was a diamond in the rough then maybe she would have a civilized escape and could ignore the constant bickering and negativity by drowning herself in dessert. She was desperate enough to sacrifice and inch or two of her waistline for a little edible comfort. ]

When and where? My schedule is rather... open for the time being.