On the first ring she answered and I was counting on it.
“Hello, Finn,” she said. “Don't you have some place to be?”
After memorizing the lines a couple of weeks before, I began, “Katniss...maybe the country was shocked tonight by your arrow, but once again-I was not. You were exactly who I believed you were.”
“Is this supposed to mean something to me?”
“What I just said should mean everything to you.”
“And if it doesn't?”
My response was disconnecting the call and meeting Phoenix downstairs.
The second we walked into this nightmare, I came to the conclusion that I was never going to make it as an actress. Honestly, I always knew I sucked at it but I liked being an overachiever. Stuntwomen are flexible, diverse, and fearless, but I was no JLo.
I couldn’t do it all.
When the clapping started, I flattened my back against Nix’s at the same time all the men raised their weapons pointing them at us. We may be outnumbered, but I was stronger, fiercer, and more determined to protect what’s mine than they were. I had love at stake.
Stepping into the circle was the woman these men knew only as the Operator. But I wasn’t stupid, I knew exactly who this was and how this game was going to be played. This game was the script ever action flick ever written followed.
It had a plot.
And I just like I told her before; a beginning, a middle and an end.
“Oh look,” I fake my smile. “It’s the infamous Operator. Okay fine, you don’t have a face for radio.”
And she didn't. In fact, she was breathtakingly gorgeous and young.
Coming within feet of me, she smiles and says, “You would really die for him, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I’ve lived, he hasn’t.”
“I see,” she says watching me for cues.
“I wasn’t finished,” I say holding a hand up. “What I was about to say was, I’ll die for him if it comes to that but I’m taking you with me.”
“I was right about you,” she grins proudly. “You’re armed, yes?”
“You’re cute. You said he couldn’t be armed. You never said anything about me. So cut the shit. Why lie to your men making them believe you’re a man?”
Nix and all the guys didn’t bother hiding their confusion or their fury once they pieced it together. Although, I was impressed by their utter silence over the deception. Clearly, they were letting the women handle this one…
“These men were not ready to be lead by a woman,” she says softly. “I’m afraid they aren’t as evolved as we are.”
“This is true,” I allow. “However, you put a price on my head and forced me to kill people. Why?”
“Thinning out the herd,” she waves me off. “They were better off dead.”
“That isn’t the point!”
“Are you feeling remorse, Finn?”
“No,” I make clear. “Okay fine, moving on. What the fuck, woman? What kind of game is this?”
“I like games, Finn Lee. I like strategy, violence, and money. I also like obedience and resolution. It's amazing to me that these men, my men, have already given you their loyalty because you love Phoenix enough to die in his place. And since I like games, I would also wager that if you commanded they kill me for my perceived crimes, that for you, they would do so.”
Holding my hand up, I stop her with, “Now, don’t go getting dramatic here. No one needs to die, yet. But you owe them an explanation.”
“No,” she laughs heartily. “I really don’t. They aren’t why I’m here, Finn. You are.”
“What's this now?”
“You were right,” she says happily. “I guess I am the game maker.”
“Okay… You lost me.”
“I have been watching you for years. Dare I say, I am your biggest fan? I was even on set a time or two. I couldn't get enough of your fearlessness. I devoured it. That's why when Ryan died, it hurt to see you blame yourself. That's when I decided to get involved.”
“Did you have anything to do with his death?”
“No,” she says stroking my cheek. “And neither did you. I’ve never seen bravery like yours, Finn. In this business I had thought I’d seen it all, until you changed the very game I created. Love, family, and distractions were a liability I could not afford. However, by making them sacrifice, I unknowingly contributed to their suffering. Love wasn't the enemy and I set out to make it right. So I made sure Phoenix received Ryan’s number, that way he’d get your text messages. My Phoenix, the first in all ways,” she smiles lovingly at him. “The first to kill for me, sacrifice for me, to walk away for you, to be selfish enough to fall in love. I think I fell for you right along with him. Unlike my men, there is no darkness in you. You are as pure as you are brave.”
I won’t lie, at pure I snorted and Nix groaned. Waving me off, she says, “Without asking, even as he tried pushing you away, you stood by him demanding nothing less than an equal partnership. You and Phoenix are stronger together, I can’t deny that, I won't. The time for change is now. Finn, you are going to help me usher in a new era. Middle Men and Middle Women.”
“Uh huh,” I say skeptically. “Except there’s a problem.”
“Oh?”
“Your rules suck.”
“I’m willing to revisit—”
“Swearing fealty to you is not a forfeiture of our families and friends for starters. We need our own adventures outside of orders, we need to live. And in return, we do not share what we do. We are allowed to have children, take vacations…”
“Anything else?” she asks blandly.
Facing the men, I ask, “You guys have health insurance?” I was met with grins, coughs, and a lot of heads shaking no. So I add, “And health insurance. Low co-pays and free scripts. The good shit.”
“I can work with that,” she says on a sigh.
“Oh, and what’s with the bird names?”
“Why do you defer to the roof?”
“Because no one looks up.” When she raises a brow, it clicked, I got it, so I nod and mumble, “Ah.”
“Phoenix,” she says facing him. “You’ve been awfully quiet. What do you think?”
“Why does my opinion matter?”
“Because you’re the first and I value your opinion,” she beams. “And believe it or not, you are the best decision I have ever made. You were my learning curve and because of you and your brothers, the world is a better, safer place. The Middle Men may have begun as a game, but it was and still is one I plan to win.”
“I won’t do this without Finn,” he says taking my hand. “But, we’ll both disappear if my brothers don’t back us.”
You could hear a pin drop as Nix and I searched the eyes of his brothers for their answer. Both of us gasped in unison when one by one, they laid their weapons down and knelt in front of us.
“It’s gonna happen, Edward, I’ve seen it,” Operator quotes horribly.
“Take it easy, Alice Cullen,” I joke because the alternative was tearing up.
“You’re the first middle woman,” Nix beams down at me.
Grabbing my shoulders, she caught me off-guard when she announced, “But here’s the catch, Finn, I’m afraid you’ll have to die.”
And then, I did.