A/N: I think I need to have the laptop taken away from me. I said that this chapter would focus on Zeke and the visit to Dauntless but I started writing and this is what happened. Apologies. I am also warning you ahead of time that there are mentions of Chris and Tobias. Both getting it on and just being together and moving on from what happened. I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH that this is all part of the plan and if you haven't figured it out by now, well...get on it, man. ;)

Chapter 11 (Tobias)

The moving of the printing press and other affiliated machines and files went quite well and by the end of the day, everything was moved to a securely locked room in O'Hare. Susan wasn't entirely sure what she was to do but Chris and I showed her that nothing was as hard as it seemed and this job wasn't an exception. She didn't even get a key to the door. I made sure of it. Only Christina and I had it and it remained on my key ring as did it on Chris's. We weren't taking any chances.

Following the movement and helping Susan move out of her office into a new one beside the printing press, Christina left to do inventory then return home to rest up for the next stop in our tour. I had to wonder if she was psyching herself out for it. The former Dauntless compound held more than a few demons for her, for both of us. However, Zeke was happy there. His city was thriving. It had been since the dissolution of the Factions. He presided over many of the city's former Factionless. Rumor had it, it was where my mother lived. Another rumor pegged Evelyn as the unofficial second in command. If that rumor was true, I was going to be facing my own demons soon enough.

I pause outside the door to my apartment building and think about that. Did I really want to see Evelyn? It was bad enough the threat of running into Marcus was an every day affair. I couldn't back out of the stop. It was unheard of and forbidden. A sigh escapes my lips and I pull out my keys to go upstairs but something makes me pause even more.

With a jingle, I pocket my keys and I head off to the Candor compound in the middle of the city. The train rumbles over my head as I count the cracks in the pavement. It's the last train through the city for the night. There isn't a curfew around here. There never has been but most people, save for the former Dauntless members, retire indoors at dark and tonight is definitely no exception. No one walks the streets save for me and my thoughts. I cut a dangerous shadow under the street lamps and if anyone was lurking, they'd do well to steer clear of me.

A determined stride set my pace up the stairs and through the glass doors at the front of the building. I count four cameras, one in each corner of the lobby as I push through to the stairs. I was only here briefly during the war but I remember the way to the main office of the building. If Caleb is leader here, that's where he'll be. If the cameras move to follow me as I approach the door to the stairwell, I don't notice them. The whole point is letting him know that I'm here.

The climb doesn't take very long. I've made it a mission to remain physically fit in these quiet times. You never know when things will happen. I step out onto the main floor and there is a man with a gun to my left, the barrel pressed tightly to my temple.

"I thought I told you I would handle this myself."

The tone of my voice is not amused as I speak, "The safety's off, Prior. If you wanted to kill me, you would've already. A long time ago, in fact."

There is a slight shift in the air and the gun slowly drops away and I can hear the telltale sounds of it being holstered. I turn to watch as Caleb covers the gun with a jacket he wears pretty much at all times.

"Smart man," I murmur softly and straighten. "Alright, we need to clear the air, here."

"There is nothing to clear, Eaton."

"Yes, there is. If you want mine and Christina's help, you can't get mad at us and then shun us when all we're doing is protecting your ass from the Council."

"I can do that myself. I've been doing just fine on my own."

"Liar."

Caleb's brown eyes narrow fiercely but he certainly doesn't refute the statement. I didn't expect him to. The truth was, he needed our help and it went deeper than us just defending him in front of the rest of the Council. He may have been smart, but, well, deciphering pamphlets was just one piece of the puzzle.

He crosses the hall and motions for me to follow him into his make shift office. Once inside, he closes all the blinds by flicking a switch on the glass to the side of the door. The blinds close and he lights a lamp on the desk in the middle of the room and sits in the chair opposite to me, tenting his fingers and staring rather intensely at me. I don't show I'm uncomfortable as I sit down across from him, mirroring his stance with a quirked eyebrow.

"Intimidation doesn't scare me, Prior." He remains silent and after a few moments, I decide enough is enough. "Look, what happened between Christina and I-"

He stands and cuts me off and I just want to punch him in his sanctimonious face. "What happened between you two is something I never wish to discuss with you. Ever. Is that understood?"

"Well, it isn't like you are a shining example of what's right and wrong either. So, we're even."

He is steaming, invisible smoke billowing from his ears. But, eventually, he sits back down with a composed expression.

"Why are you here, Tobias?"

"If you haven't already heard, the printing press has been moved from the fields to the O'Hare building. Susan is the head of printing now."

"Susan Black? Hm. No, no. She's part of Johanna's group. Someone else needs to be in charge. What about Cara?"

Susan? Part of Johanna's group? I try not to react, leveling my emotions so nothing reads on my face or in my eyes. At least she doesn't have the key. It doesn't mean she can't pick a lock or force a key to unlock the door. I pinch the bridge of my nose and I swear I promised to not react but I can't help the well of emotion boiling inside of me.

"Who else is in this little group of hers? You've never said."

"I'm sure you've figured out Conrad is," he says, quickly jumping into a businesslike rhythm. " Susan is as well. Adora, Peter, a Candor-born man named Nelson, a Dauntless-born woman who's name is unimportant, another Candor-born, and an Erudite-born but I don't know who it is. I think they work at the hospital. There could be others." He pauses and just as I'm about to speak, he cuts in again. "You never answered me about Cara."

"Cara disappeared. After you got fired from the labs, she just dropped off the face of the Earth. We looked for her but couldn't find her."

He mulls over these words and stands, pacing as he thinks. It's then, I start to think and realise...

"What does Johanna want with Peter? Why is he even here? You and I both know he took the Memory serum and left for Milwaukee after everything was said and done."

There is a pause in his pacing and he turns to me with a serious expression, his brows furrowed in thought. "If they're engineering medicinal serums there's a possibility they have a need to recreate the original Faction serums. The Memory serum was completely wiped out when it was used on the Bureau. If they need it for something, they'll have to use Peter's blood to remake it."

I feel dizzy. I should find the idea of Peter as a lab rat rather hysterical but this is no time for laughter or humour. So my theory was right. So was Caleb's. Johanna Reyes and Adora Miller were making more serums. Not as a means for a coup but for medication to help others. It still didn't explain Judith or why Johanna was hiding it from the Council every step of the way. The word games? The secrecy? Yes, the mention of serums was banned but medicinal serums? It was a breakthrough. Sure, we had hospitals and our own medications but what if death could be erased? Cancer cured? Diseases of the mind completely fixed. It could cause a revolution.

I try not to think of the implications this causes. The danger we could inherit. It could be worse than the war. This is far too alarming and I change the subject.

"And the Dauntless-born? Every name is important," I demand as a ringing begins in my ears.

I don't think I really want to know. The ringing gets louder.

"Tobias, she's really not important."

I slam my hands on the desk and force myself to stand, to be imposing in my anger. "Yes, she is."

He takes a step back from me and reaches for his gun, the holster unsnapping audibly in the ensuing silence.

"Her name is Lauren."

"You lie," I murmur through tightly clenched teeth.

"Why would I lie to you?"

"I don't know, because you like it?" It's my turn to pace the width of the room.

"Contrary to popular belief, lying makes me sick."

A snort escapes my throat and I glare at him. If lying made him sick, why was it so easy for him to betray us so many times? Why was it so easy to let Tris sacrifice herself for him? Why? Sure, it was easy to think Tris sacrificed herself because she was Divergent and raised in Abnegation so it wasn't a stretch. I argued that with myself so many times but even being raised in Abnegation myself, I would've never sacrificed myself for the likes of Caleb Prior.

So many more questions race through my head, I don't think I could ever fully answer them. When the freight train of emotions simmered to a slow boil, I finally was able to form a bit of coherent thought and thus a coherent sentence.

"That leaves at least two of her core group unaccounted for."

"I have my ideas but I don't think it'd be a good idea to discuss them now. You need a break and some sleep."

My eyes narrow. "You're not my nurse, Prior."

"No, but if we're still going to be working together, you need to be well aware and ready for anything."

He doesn't have to remind me of that either.

"Fine," I finally concede. "How many of the pamphlets have you deciphered?"

"Uh," he pauses and goes searching on his desk and, under a stack of papers and manila folders, he finds what he's looking for and pulls it out, flipping through the stapled sheets with ease. "About six."

"How many more do you have left?"

He thinks for a moment as he lays the papers in his hands down under the lamp. "About six more. Three months worth of pamphlets. It's fascinating information."

"Save it for when I'm with Christina." I turn and head toward the door. I am about to leave, my hand on the door knob, when I turn back to him. "It's okay to move on, Prior. It's part of the healing process. Perhaps you should look into it."

My tone isn't laced with malice or contempt. In fact, I genuinely think it's the right thing to do. Move on. It could do him some good. Of course, he doesn't answer and I can tell he's angry at me even mentioning it. Truthfully, I'm glad he didn't say anything. I like to convince myself I'm moving on with Christina but deep down, way in the back of my mind and under the scars in my heart, I still love Beatrice Prior with everything I am and everything I can be. I can't lie to myself like some people.

"Figure out the three people I'm missing and let me know what's going on."

"You'll know when I know."

He just nods and sits down at his chair, pulling a file from the stack and flipping it open. I'm about to leave again when his voice filters over to me.

"I don't recommend 'moving on', or whatever it is you think you're doing, with Christina. You may trust her because you don't have Beatrice to trust anymore, but it's a mistake. That girl has secrets and it's best you stay away from her."

Of course he would say that. It's that same familial protection bullshit he's been pulling since he found out Chris and I slept together. But it doesn't matter. I don't listen to him. I have no reason to. He betrayed us. Who's to say he isn't lying now? Who's to say he isn't betraying us now?

I simply nod in acknowledgment of the information and then I'm on my way out, down the stairs and into the night air to return to my flat.

xxxxxxxx

Christina is waiting for me when I return. Her brown hair pulled back into a tiny pony tail with clips holding back the excess hair from her face. I have to catch my breath. In the moonlight, she is exquisite, her ebony skin glowing like an untouchable star. Caleb's words echo and rattle in my mind but I push them away and manage a small smile as I approach her. She stands from her perch on the curb in front of my building and she smiles back at me, brightness in her eyes and her expression.

"And where have you been sneaking off to at this time of night?" She asks, her voice lilting and happy. It seems that the mornings apprehensions had disappeared throughout the day and there she was, with no care in the world.

"I went to talk to Prior over in his city."

She looks surprised. "And you didn't kill him?" she asks, teasing as I approach the door to unlock it.

"Truthfully, I thought he was going to do the killing. He greeted me with a gun to my head."

She looks surprised but then she dissolves into laughter as I open the door for her. She steps forward and climbs the stairs, all with that impossible grin on her face and I find myself relaxing. This was just like before we slept together and I silently wondered if things would return to this normal if we were to do it again.

"That sounds like Caleb."

She keeps climbing the steps past my apartment despite the fact that I had stopped at my door to unlock it and let her inside. Curious, I follow her all the way up to the top of the stairwell as she pushes open the door to the roof and hoists herself up onto the weathered blacktop, a soft wind tugging at loose tendrils of her hair.

I attempt to not look scared as she approaches the edge of the building and sits down, kicking her legs against the brick wall below her. It's then she peers backward at me with a wide smile.

"You act like you're scared of heights," she says teasingly.

"Me? Whoever said such a thing?"

She rolls her eyes and remains planted on that edge. I swallow back my fear and move to sit beside her. I don't look down. I can't look down but I do look out to the horizon. The city is dark. The small smattering of the lights of night faring citizens shine like little stars in the blackness and I can't help but notice the overwhelming glow in the distance over the wall.

"How long has that been noticeable?"

Her gaze lands on that same glow and she sighs softly. "I don't know. I've started noticing it too. I suppose it's always been there but we chose not to pay attention."

I fall quiet and watch the light a little longer before I fall back onto the roof and peer up at the stars. A few moments later, she is laying next to me, tracing the stars with a delicate finger. She traces over one particular one and I smile.

"That's Orion."

I know she's wearing a smug expression that is both impressed and surprised. "You only know it because of the belt. It's the easiest to find."

"I do not and it is not," I say and point to another constellation. "That's the Big Dipper."

I can almost hear her rolling her eyes and I pull myself from the edge and sit cross legged beside her, peering down at her. I watch the steady rise and fall of her chest for a while, allowing it to lull me into some semblance of relaxation. It's not too long later and I watch her stand and hold out her hand to me. I take it and she twines our fingers as I, too, stand beside her. Slowly, deliberately, she pulls me back down the stairs to my apartment where I unlock my door and allow her inside, shutting and locking the door behind me for the night.

She takes up residence on top of my bed and watches as I get ready for the night. I wash my face and shave and I'm taken back to the other day in this same situation and I silently wonder why I never saw her infatuation with me. Perhaps I did and I chose to ignore it. I never did like her Candor ways but Chris has proven herself to me and yet, I can't stop myself from going back to Caleb's warning.

"Chris?"

She looks up from a few files she's grabbed from my bedside table. "Hmm?"

"I can trust you, can't I?"

She frowns a little bit, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Of course you can. Why do you think you can't?"

I shake my head. "I trust you, Chris. I do. Caleb said something and I think he was just getting into my head."

"What did he say, Tobias?"

She looks angry as I glance at her through the mirror as I finish shaving. "That you have secrets."

She scoffs, her eyes narrowing. "He's just trying to start trouble. Don't listen to him."

"I'm not. Believe me. The day I listen to Caleb Prior is the day you make me step down from the Council and retire. Understood?"

I pat my face dry with a towel before I perch beside her on the bed. For a moment, she simply stares at me, trying to decide what to think of the words I just said. It's then she nods. Short. Concise. She understands. I appreciate it.

For a moment we simply sit there, watching each other. She makes the first move and shuts the file, tossing it back onto the bedside table. It's then the night begins to blur and we fall asleep as the sun begins to rise, chests heaving, skin slicked with sweat and I think, for one brief moment, maybe everything will be okay.