Walking out to the truck, Eric gave one last glance over his shoulder at Erudite. He had a strange sinking feeling deep in the pit of his stomach. He'd spent close to two hours with Dresden before he'd had to get changed into his tactical gear to leave. Nothing in her condition had changed and he'd left her as he'd found her; breathing on her own in stable condition but with no way of knowing when she'd wake up.
Max was waiting for him standing by their truck swinging the keys around, "You're late."
"I was busy." Eric shrugged as he casually strolled up. He was barely two minutes late and he'd told everyone else five minutes early anyway knowing half these brainless drones wouldn't show up on time.
"Yeah watching over the traitorous Divergent bitch… forget her Eric. You need to get your head in the game. Jeanine is already worried about you." Eric scoffed at Max's comment. Jeanine wasn't worried about him, she was worried she would lose her perfect attack dog. She didn't need to worry. He understood he had a job to find the perfect Divergent tonight and it would get done. If this perfect Divergent existed then they had to be hiding in Candor, everywhere else had been checked.
"I am not the one still going on about it. Get in the truck, it's time to move out!" He barked at Max. The plan for the attack on Candor relied on speed, a wave of Dauntless would fire zip lines from the surrounding buildings onto the roof of Candor and then work their way down the building. The unguarded roof was the only flaw in their otherwise tight security system. He's amazed the Dauntless seeking refuge there hadn't pointed out this flaw but he was willing to take full advantage of it. After a few moments, the roof top team would trigger alarms and the security downstairs would be weakened as some went up to see what was happening. That would be when his team would attack the ground floor and start making their way up.
"You sure this plan of yours is going to work?" Max asked as they started the drive towards Candor. Eric had chosen the middle of the night for this attack knowing that most of Candor would be asleep. "They have got all those Dauntless traitors hiding out there."
"Majority of the Dauntless won't be there. They think they've been sneaky when they go over to the Hancock building to spy on Erudite each night. The lights are always on in Erudite so they think they can see in and gather intelligence." If there was one thing Eric was great at it was battle plans. From raids to defensive scouting missions to face to face fights, Eric could use logic and analysis to create plans that nine out of ten times worked flawlessly. He was also far more perceptive and better at reading people than anyone gave him credit for. "They think they are clever. They're not." He smirked looking at the other trucks around him knowing Tori Wu was in one of them. She must think him truly stupid, he'd decided.
"But if they are watching us surly they'll spot us heading to Candor."
"It will take them too long to realize what we're doing and by then we'll already be through with the attack." His attack was perfectly timed so the train was just passing Hancock as they left Erudite. So now even if the Dauntless hanging out there spotted them, they had twenty minutes before the train would pass again and then another five on the train followed by a six minute run from the tracks. That gave them a 31 minute window. Eric wasn't stupid. He knew not every Dauntless that had followed was loyal, take Tori for example, so his soldiers had received their orders fifteen minutes before they needed to leave. From the minute the orders were given they hadn't been alone, so no one had time to send any warning messages. Eric wasn't stupid.
Max pulled them up just around the corner from Candor. The rest of the distance would be travelled on foot and very specifically timed. Climbing down from the truck Eric looked around to see others doing the same and those in the backs filing out before checking his watch. Two minutes.
He looked up towards the roof, even though he wouldn't be able to see his men up there. With silencers on their guns, he wouldn't be able to hear them either. He shouldn't hear a thing until the first wave of Dauntless and Erudite attacked the door in 3… 2… 1…
The silence was blissful but it only lasted a couple of seconds until Eric heard the sound of return fire. People inside were fighting back… it didn't last long. Their force was superior and Candor didn't have a chance as he followed up behind the last of the soldiers.
Max followed him into the building and he glanced around. The ground floor force had taken the lobby and were now standing awaiting his orders to start sweeping up the building as the roofers swept down.
"Not sure why we can't just shoot them all in the head." Eric looked up at the Captain who had dared to speak as the man pushed his boot against the face of one of the Dauntless on the floor, leaving a muddy shoe print, "If there's no enemy army, we win."
"Now, Bob, we can't just kill everyone." Eric remarks, "No people left means no one left to create prosperous conditions. Anyway, it's not your job to ask questions!" He was getting side tracked by this idiot and he didn't have time for that. Turning his attention back to the rest of the guard, he used what Dresden referred to as his 'evil leader' voice "Half in the elevators, half in the stairwells, left and right! Go!"
Eric followed the team in the stairs while Max went with the team in the elevator. Neither of them speaking before splitting up, knowing automatically which way to go after working together for so long. Max was older but it was pretty obvious by looking at the pair that Eric was the one with the power.
Wandering the halls of Candor, Eric looked around for hidden Divergents and waited for Four to launch himself out of a room at him. Four was probably the biggest threat in the building. He was likely to encounter him here because the coward was afraid of heights and wouldn't have volunteered to go to the Hancock building to spy.
The second floor starts bringing up results as he hears shouts of Divergents being found. He orders them all to be taken to the elevator bank where they'll be screened with the new scanners and he'll work out who to take and who to kill. Jeanine might not have given the kill order but she wasn't going to be against it. She'd asked him to find the perfect Divergent and bring another high scoring one too. The rest was up to him. He was in rather a rush and killing them would be quicker and more efficient.
The guard has already moved up onto the third floor, but Eric lingered, walking the halls. He had a distinct feeling something wasn't right. Turning a corner, he found what was wrong, Tris Prior. He knew she would be here and there she was standing right in the middle of the floor unarmed, stupid girl. Jeanine wanted her more than anything. She might not be the perfect Divergent but Jeanine hated her and that should be enough to divert her attention from Dresden. And Four was in love with her… it was almost too perfect. Jeanine would leave Dresden alone, the Stiff would likely die, and Four would have his precious feelings hurt. He couldn't help his smirk as the Stiff looked up and caught his eye as he walked towards her.
Like any good Dauntless, the Stiff's first reaction is to attack but Eric's already two steps ahead of her and she barely manages to graze his chin with her elbow as he grabbed her arm and pushed his gun to her forehead, "I don't understand how you could possibly be stupid enough to come up here without a gun." She was no Dresden, Tris was pathetic without a weapon and she'd never mastered the art of using her size to her advantage in a fight. In the same situation, Dresden would never have been more dangerous. Unarmed and cornered made her unpredictable and that was one of the things he loved most about her. Her strength, her fight.
It seemed though as the Stiff thrust her thumb into the partially healed bullet wound in his leg, her parting gift to him, she'd been learning some new tricks. Growling out in pain, Eric reacted instinctively and drove the heel of his gun into Tris' jaw. He hoped, as he regained his composure from the pain still radiating from the wound, that he'd fucking broken it.
He wanted to fucking kill her for that stunt. Shoot her clean through the skull, but a dead Divergent wasn't going to get him Dresden back. A dead Tris dead wouldn't be as interesting to Jeanine as a partially alive Dresden was. So she had to live. Unfortunately, it seemed she'd also caught on to the fact that he didn't want her dead and she started to laugh.
"Oh if you think my not killing you is any better than what's going to happen to you when Jeanine gets you, you're wrong. See, she's been waiting for you; she has some special sims for you. Not only that, but she wants to see what happens when you put a Divergent into their fears, let's see you smash the glass on that water tank in real life." As Eric spoke he maneuvered the Stiff into a positon she couldn't attack him from. Years of training with Dresden meant he was pretty great at pinning people into submission. This particular position was pretty basic, Dresden would have been able to get out of it but the Stiff wasn't clever enough.
Pushing her towards the elevators, the pain still radiating from the bullet wound forces him to limp. They are almost there when she fucking gets the idea to attack again kicking her heel back and up into his balls. The sudden rush of pain is intense as his grip slips and he can see her try to start running. Fool. She should have run the second he dropped to his knees, but her hesitation was all it took.
Surging back to his feet, Eric repaid her earlier favour and thrust his thumb into the bullet wound on her shoulder so he could watch as Tris crippled to the floor screaming in pain. "Not nice is it!" He spat pulling her back to her feet and dragging her into the elevator bank. Throwing her amongst the others, "I want a gun on her at all times." Eric snapped at the closest Dauntless who instantly lifted their gun to train it on her. That wasn't enough and Eric reached out to pull them closer until the gun was pushing against the back of her head. "Not just trained on her, on her!" He reiterated.
"What's the matter Eric?" Tris starts to goad him and he knows what she is doing, he won't let it work, "Afraid of a little girl?"
This time he lets out a short laugh. Fuck he hates her. "I'm not stupid. That little girl act might have worked on me before but it won't work again." Crouching down in front of her, Eric pushed his hair out of his face. "Which is why I'm sure you'll be put down soon enough." He says it to scare her, really he hopes Jeanine will keep her new plaything for a while. At least long enough to get Dresden out of Erudite and somewhere safe away from Jeanine.
Eric's eyes scan the line of Divergents. There are five, including the Stiff, but as the elevator rings a sixth is pushed to his knees along the line. It isn't Four though. Eric can't help the growl that comes from his chest. Four is a loose cannon. He has to be in the building somewhere, no way would he have gone to Hancock and left Tris alone. So why the fuck haven't they found him? He wouldn't be under simulation, they'd have to notice him as a Divergent. But then, he'd faked it once before and he wasn't stupid. He could have been lying on the floor playing unconscious as the Dauntless ran straight past him.
They keep waiting, and as more levels are reported clear two more Divergents are added to the group but still no sign of Four. As the last floor is reported clear, Eric decides there's no more time to look for Four. He needs to get them out of here.
"Erudite only needs two of you. The highest two ranking in divergence." Eric says as he walks up to the first in the line. A balding guy, definitely a Candor by his clothing and his old age. "Divergent 10%" The scanner states and Eric looks at it with a bored expression.
"Well shit!" He scoffs with a shake of his head, "You're almost normal." Pulling out his gun, Eric proceeds to shoot him in the head, "That's boring." He can't help but smile to himself as he sees Tris flinch at his actions. This is all her fault; Dresden would be safe in Factionless if she hadn't come along.
"That is not part of the mission!" Max calls over to him from the other side of the room. "Jeanine said bring two back to Erudite, nothing about killing the rest."
"So what?! As far as I am concerned the rest of them are still outlaws." Walking towards Max he kept eye contact with the older man, watching as Max crumbled under his gaze.
"Let's just wrap this up quickly, we still have the Dauntless traitors on their way." Eric wanted to hit him because that was what he was trying to do, get things done quickly. Instead of wasting time piling everyone into the trucks, he was just killing those they didn't need. But now Max was wasting his time with stupid questions too.
Eric walked past Tris smirking as he walked over to the little boy Tris had been trying to save, crouching down to scan him. He could feel Tris' eyes on him. "Divergent 40%."
"Well I guess it's not you either." Eric stood back to his full height lifting his gun.
Pointing it at the kids head, the little boy is stammering, begging him. He hesitates as he looks down at the boy, and notices the kid has blue eyes. Kadence had blue eyes – his daughter had blue eyes. Never before had he hesitated. Killing was part of being Dauntless. He'd never had a problem pulling the trigger. Besides, the Divergents were going to die anyway. Killing them now just got it over and done with and meant they had less people to take back to Erudite. But he paused as the little boys' eyes looked up at him, wide with fear and unshed tears.
That hesitation was all the Stiff needed, and he was being tackled to the floor, his gun spinning across the room as she went for a punch to his face. Grappling on the floor, it took him a few moments to get her locked into submission. His temper flared, fuck he wanted to kill her. Choking her was so incredibly satisfying, the stupid fucking bitch. As he watched her lips turn blue, he wondered, not for the first time, why did Dresden sacrifice her life for this girl?
"ENOUGH!" Max's shout bought Eric back to the present and he let her throat go. "We still need to test her."
Eric growled but backed away and let Max scan Tris as she lay on the floor gasping for air. "Divergent 100%" The fuck! Was all Eric could think as he took the device from Max and pointed it at her again, "Divergent 100%". Oh this was perfect. Jeanine was going to love this. He'd done it, he'd found the perfect Divergent and none of the rest mattered.
"Go and inform Jeanine we've found the one she's been looking for. It's Tris Prior." He told Max who left straight away. He stood back up and turned to the closest loyal Dauntless, "Kill the others, we have all we need." Before he pulled the Stiff up to her feet. "The rest of you move out!"
Escorting Tris to the main doors, they are nearly there when Eric feels the cold metal slipping into him under his ribs.
Fuck, was all he could think as he fell to the floor, Tris's blade slipping from him as he groaned in pain. Shit. Curling into a ball he could hear the sounds of the Dauntless traitors storming the building. Four's fucking voice, he could hear both Stiff's talking and he couldn't help the smirk. While painful, his wound wasn't fatal and now he'd get an audience with both Tris and Four. Jeanine would be informed Tris was the one she wanted and she'd be focused on finding her. Being stabbed wasn't part of the plan so he'd say Plan B was off to a mildly problematic start.