Note: Eric is a pivotal character in both the books and the film, but we're not actually told much about him. I feel there is quite a complex character there, and wanted to explore how he came to be the man we find at the outset of Divergent. I definitely need practice in writing dialogue so pleas R&R. If there is any interest, I'll post further chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent or any of the characters.

Chapter 1

She was a patient woman – no-one could say otherwise. But while logic dictated that there was no value in jeopardising what had been years in the making by rushing to closure prematurely, surely things had gone on long enough. She leaned back in her chair, away from her desk, and gazed out the window at the ebb and flow of humanity in the city below her, silently cursing Marcus, and all he Abnegation thralls. Regardless of whether everything was ready or not, he was getting ready to make his move – which meant she need to make hers if she was going to prevent him putting the city – their entire society – at risk. Unfortunately, all her careful planning aside, not everything was within her control. That didn't mean she couldn't exert influence.

A short rap on her door interrupted her reverie. 'Yes?'

'Your ten o'clock appointment is here, Ms Matthews.'

'Thank you, Patrick – I had quite lost track of the time.' Jeanine smiled at her assistant, a simple acknowledgement of his efficiency but lacking warmth. She stood, smoothing the front of her dress as she stepped around her desk. 'Please show him in, and could you bring us some coffee.'

'Certainly.'

Patrick opened the office door wide and admitted a smartly dressed youth. He stepped into the office, and shook Jeanine's proffered hand firmly as she welcomed him.

'Thank you so much for making time to see me, Eric.' She gestured towards a low seating area at the far end of her office. 'We may as well be comfortable while we talk.' Her smile and voice were warm and inviting. She waited until they were both seated before continuing. 'Do you know why I wanted to see you?'

He had tried to figure it out since he'd received the… invitation? Summons? All he could come up with is that it either had something to do with the Aptitude Tests, or the Choosing Ceremony, which were just two months away, but he wasn't sure. He was more curious why Jeanine had sent for him. Not that he entertained many doubts about his own worth – low self-esteem was not a problem he was ever likely to face - but he wasn't so over-confident as to render him stupid. He was smart, but there were smarter kids around, and in Erudite that's what mattered. Unless Jeanine was interviewing lots of folk in his year, but he didn't think so – he would have heard something. He didn't offer any of his thoughts though. Not that she intimidated him, but where some of his fellow students thought it was smart to let everyone know how much they knew, he'd learned early that the really shrewd move was to watch, listen and learn.

'Not really, Ms Matthews…'

'Please, Eric, call me Jeanine.' She smiled again, as Patrick arrived with their coffee. 'Thank you Patrick. Please make sure we're not disturbed.'

'Of course.' He gave Eric a curious glance as he closed the door behind him. Jeanine poured two cups of coffee, and cradled one in her hands as she sat back in her chair. She waited until they were alone before continuing.

'Have you ever thought much about the fence?'

'The fence?' Eric hadn't seen that one coming. His mind flicked rapidly through remembered lessons, conversations, documents, but nothing gave him a clue to where this was going.

'No. I mean, not much. It's just there. Amity farm the land just outside, and Dauntless guard it. It doesn't really have anything to do with Erudite.'

Jeanine allowed herself a moment of exasperation. They all just went about their little lives, as though it had always been there, accepting it as the limit of their world. She'd hoped that this one would have displayed a little more curiosity though - who had built it, what it was for. Never mind – for this assignment too much curiosity could be a liability. Still, one should be able to expect an Erudite to engage his mind!

'Eric, have you considered that it's there for a reason? That it's only necessary to have such security measures if there is a significant threat? Do you think we squander much-needed power on an irrelevance?' Jeanine watched him process the new information and consider the implications.

'Threat?'

'The threat has been distant for many years, but the risk is growing – rapidly - and there may soon be a crisis.' She sipped her coffee, allowing him a few moments. 'I don't think I need to spell it out for you that anything that poses a threat to our city, poses a threat to us all. It has, therefore, a great deal to do with Erudite, beyond simply the technology that built it and continues to power it.

'I don't want to talk to you about the fence, but about what measures might be taken to minimise the threat.'

'And you need me for that?'

Jeanine smiled, 'Well, I believe you may be useful.' She replaced her cup on the table. 'Very useful. Eric, you have a choice to make in a couple of months.'

'The Choosing Ceremony?'

'I want to talk about what choice you will make.'

Eric looked at her, trying to find a clue in her steady gaze about how he should respond. 'The aptitude test will tell us what our most suitable choice is – what we have an aptitude for.'

'Don't be naïve, Eric. Are you telling me that you have lived all your life here and you don't know what faction you're suited for? Even without a particular aptitude for Erudite, your upbringing in this Faction should have given you sufficient reasoning skills for you to understand whether you fit in here or not.' Jeanine stood up abruptly and paced the length of the office, stopping to perch on the edge of her desk. 'Do you really think I need the aptitude tests to tell me what a basic understanding of personality and psychology will, although admittedly it speeds the process.' A trace of acerbity sharpened her normally dusky tone. 'But that's not what they're for.'

'So what are they for?' he asked.

Damn! She'd said too much. 'They reveal… other things. Things that don't concern you.' Eric's was curious, but she didn't give him the opportunity to ask any more questions. 'What does concern you is the choice you will make at the Ceremony.'

'Don't worry - I know where my loyalty is. I can't imagine myself anywhere else. Faction before blood – right?

'How about Faction before self?'

Eric regarded her quizzically. 'What? We're always taught that what is best for the Factions is best for us too.'

'What would you do if the best way to serve your Faction was to leave it?' Eric gaped at her before collecting himself. She continued. 'To serve Erudite in such a way that no-one would know what you were doing – no-one would know the contribution you'd made?' Jeanine knew this was the tipping point for Eric. She'd observed him long enough to know that he was too ambitious to consider any truly selfless act. It's not as though he had any aptitude for Abnegation, for goodness sake. 'No-one except me, that is.' Ah, that made a difference. She saw him weighing his options; being recognised by many who were of little importance against the gratitude of one the leader of his Faction. And, she noted, it played to his vanity, the knowledge that he'd been specially selected. She was sure his conceit wouldn't allow him to pass that up.

'Of course I want to do the right thing, but surely you don't want me to become Factionless.' He almost spat the word. Becoming Factionless was unthinkable.

'No. I want you to choose Dauntless.'