"Baby, it's... it's Smarty Pants—I mean, Caleb. Something happened. Will would like us to meet him at the hospital. He's being transferred to their prison ward."
Caleb Prior had been minding his own business. Since the bigger half of his new 'circle' was literally dead or gone, it'd just been him and Gabe, keeping to themselves, each hoping to reduce their time with good behavior. The only time they fought was in the pathetic little weight room they had, since Gabe had taken it upon himself to keep teaching him how to fight. He was grateful. Four was still a legend around here, although he thought that was stupid. Four was gone. He wasn't in there anymore. But being Four's friend made him automatically one of the cool kids, and he supposed he was grateful for that. He'd been so worried about how the older man would affect his sister, but he'd never considered the long term benefits.
Caleb had decided, though, to become fearsome in his own right. He quickly the source of information in the prison that everyone wanted to be friends with; anything from where to get cigarettes to who had it out for whom, Caleb knew. Strangely, it was impossible to find out how he knew all of those things, but he'd gotten started with that when Four was around, telling him anything and everything he found to be important. And Four, for a guy that barely graduated high school, had a sharp tactical and analytical mind that made him that much more frightening.
The fight had broken out suddenly. Some asshole yanked Gabe out of his seat and another started wailing on him. Immediately, whoever had it in for those two jumped in to pound on them, and soon, he was in the middle of a brawl, punching and shoving his way through the crowd to find Gabe and get him out of there before the guards showed up. He made a mistake though... he hadn't been watching his six.
The pain that tore into his side was sudden and searing, and it made his vision blur. He instinctively prepared to disarm whoever had just stabbed him, but there was nothing but fists and screaming. The searing pain tore into his shoulder next, and he groaned audibly in pain. He fell to his knees just as the guards came in with the crowd control gear, ordering them all to the ground.
Making their way through the traffic isn't terrible—or, it wouldn't be under different circumstances.
Tris had visited Caleb as often as she could, sometimes bringing Four along to see Gabe. Four visited Caleb on his own once, but most of the time, he only went when she did. They got along the same... Caleb still seemed somewhere between intimidated and irked about him dating Tris, but they still had the common bond of the hell hole called prison they both found themselves in, and talking to each other was easy.
On her last visit, he'd asked about Four and had smiled as she told him all about Four's 'conversations' with the baby. He'd smiled with her, happy to see her doing so well. He squeezed her hand when the guard turned around.
She remembers when she told him they name they chose, and the memory dispels some of her anxiety.
"We're almost there, baby. Hang in there, okay?"
"Okay," she whispers in response. Four lets go of the steering wheel and places his hand on her knee. She hadn't noticed its nervous bouncing until then, and made an effort to sit still.
When they arrive, Four has to hold her seatbelt in place so she doesn't jump out of the car before he's brought it to a stop. "Hey, calm down."
"I—"
"Tris."
She stared at him, surprised. He'd never spoken to her like that before. It was a tone that left no room for discussion or argument. Even when they'd argued, he'd never sounded so... well, like that. Her startled look was enough to make him relent.
"I'm sorry, Baby. I just want you to be calm, okay?"
She stares out the window for a moment. "Were you?"
He sighs. "To be honest, no. I was a mess, but you were also in very critical condition. We don't even know what's going on with Caleb yet—just... don't panic until it's necessary, okay?"
She deflates, her shoulders slumping. "You're right."
"Let's go, Baby."
"Finally," she mutters, dashing out of the car as fast as she can go. He shakes his head and follows, taking her hand when he catches up with her they walk inside, her hand is squeezing his so tightly that he has to extract it from her grip, choosing instead to wrap his arm around her. When he sees his hand as it lays on her shoulder, he notes how red it is from her death grip.
She pouts at him apologetically, and he kisses the top of her head before asking the receptionist about Caleb.
"Mr. Prior is stable and is staying in room P23. You'll go around the corner and down hallway to the right, and—"
"I know where to go. Thank you," Tris interrupts, taking Four's hand again and pulling him around the corner.
They have to take the elevator down, into a subterranean level. When the elevator opens, it's much like the visitation check in at the prison. There are small lockers they can put their things after they are scanned by the security guards, and then they are scanned by the metal detector. Tris and Four present their IDs and are about to explain the situation when Will steps through the elevator doors.
"Oh good, you're both here. I know you're anxious to see him but let's wait for the doctor and we'll give you a run down of the whole situation, okay?"
"Just... tell me he's alright."
Will smiles. "He's going to be just fine. Was bleeding a lot, they had to do a transfusion and lots of fluids. Hey—don't worry, okay? My guess is that between the blood loss and the pain meds they've got him on now, he will probably be a little bit weak and out of it for a few hours, but he was awake not too long ago. Oh, here's the doctor."
"Miss Prior, it is... is this Mr. Eaton? You look better than the last time I saw you."
Four recognizes the doctor that treated him when he got his ass kicked in prison not too long before. "W-wha—well, this... i-is awkward."
The doctor laughs. "Mr. Eaton, are you here to visit as well?"
The way the doctor's eyes peruse Tris rubs him the wrong way, so he drapes his arm across her shoulders and places his other hand protectively over her stomach, giving the doctor his most winning smile. "Caleb and I met while I was still in, but seeing as how my girl is his sister, he's practically family."
"I see," the doctor says neutrally. "Mr. Prior is recovering very well. Thankfully, the intended target of his kidney was missed, so the blood loss, while significant, was not severe enough to be life-threatening."
"His kidney?" Tris squeaks.
"Uh, there was a brawl, and someone brought a home-made knife to the fight. Caleb caught one in the side and one in his shoulder."
Four frowns. "Why would anybody bring a shiv to the common area? Everybody knows the best place to off someone is in their cell or in the bathroom."
The guards look startled by his matter-of-fact statement, but Will shrugs it off. "I don't know the answer to that for sure, but there's a chance they didn't mean to kill him."
"What do you mean?"
"Well... naturally, since it was a prison attack, I sat with the warden and went through all the people in Caleb's cell block. There are other connections there... connections to Marcus Eaton."
Four grits his teeth. "You think my father had something to do with it?"
"It's looking very likely. If so, maybe they were just supposed to hurt him to get the message across, if you know what I mean." Will frowned. "Or maybe they started the fight on purpose so that they could try to kill him and slip away in the crowd."
"Whatever it was, I just need to see my brother."
"Of course," the doctor says kindly. "Please, follow me this way."
When she finally reaches his room, Caleb is half asleep and smiling. "My Bee," he croaks. "Lookin' good, sis."
"Well you look terrible," Tris says, giggling even though her face was wet with tears.
"Aww don't get upset. I'm... gonna be just fine. Four takin' care of ya?" His words are sort of slurred, probably due to his pain-medicine-induced fatigue.
"I know how to take care of my girl, Smarty Pants."
"Good," he says, his eyes finally slipping closed. "You better cause... he's gonna come for you."
"What was that?"
But Caleb is already asleep.
Four frowns. Did Caleb know that Marcus had targeted him? Of course... Caleb is like a magnet for information.
Will immediately shakes him awake. "Hey."
Caleb groans, wincing.
"Sorry."
"Whatever."
"What'd you mean by that?"
"What? Oh—Tris!"
She raises an eyebrow.
He flushes and gives her a sheepish look. "Sorry, guys. I'm... kind of out of it right now."
"You just told us that he's coming for us. Who and what does that mean?"
"Do I really have to spell it out for you? Your asshole father is gunning for you, Four. He's going to come for you, and probably Tris. And the baby. He's probably pissed that you landed his sorry ass in jail. He's not going to stop until he sees blood, do you hear me? I... I can't do anything from inside. You have to keep my sister safe... please."
"Did you know that Marcus had put a price on you?"
"I heard scuttlebutt, but nothing concrete. They don't even know who tried to kill me yet."
Well it says something that not even Caleb could find out what was happening before it happened. Four frowns. "Did you see anything or... hey, stay awake, man!"
"Huh?" Caleb looks around, dazed. He reaches for Tris. "Are you okay?"
"Are you?" she asks.
"Dizzy," he mumbles. "Can't... breathe right. Hurts."
"We're going to let you sleep, okay? I just need to know what you remember about the attack."
"Oh it's you. My lawyer's cop boyfriend."
"Answer the question, Prior," Will says, somewhere between amused and stern.
"I don't know. Somebody went at Gabe. All hell breaks loose... next thing I know I'm here looking at your ugly mug. At least my sister makes up for it. Hey sis," he finishes with a cheesy grin.
Tris leans forward and kisses his forehead. "Hey, Caleb."
"Don't look like that," he mumbles, his eyes slipping closed again. "I'm gonna help you catch that asshole. I promise." He gives a half smirk. "Nobody messes with my sis."
"Well he wasn't much help," Will says later on at the police station. He's sitting across from his partner and next to his girlfriend. Circumstances aside, sitting with his two favorite people like this makes him very happy.
"He was still pretty out of it when I saw him," Christina says. "How did Tris handle it?"
"Well, actually, although I'm sure she was freaking out when we called. But I'm pushing for them to be put in a safehouse, along with Zeke. No risks at all this time with them. And Zeke... I just don't want a repeat. Harrison is on it. We can have them moved out of the city by tonight. Prior will also return to protective custody."
Christina bites her lip. The loss of her cousin still hurts her, and Will knows that making sure that Zeke is safe means the world to her.
"C'mere Chris," Will says, patting his leg. She scoots quickly into his lap, resting in his arms and burying her face in his shoulder. He rubs her back gently. "We're going to do everything we can for them this time, okay?"
"I know." Christina's voice is muffled.
"Try not to worry, okay?"
"Okay."
"In the meantime, did we get the recordings from the prison cameras?"
"Yeah."
"Warden cooperated?"
Fernando, normally friendly, quiet, and calm, gives an eerily innocent smile that makes goosebumps race across Will's skin. "The warden knows what'll happen if he doesn't," he says, stretching and then standing.
"Wait, where are you going? Aren't we reviewing the tapes now?"
"I've got a date with the wifey tonight... anniversary stuff. You guys have fun with your movie night."
"Har har," Will says. "Jerk."
"Fuck you, Fer," Christina mutters.
"Well if I get home on time tonight, I'll have a lovely dinner with my equally lovely wife, we'll crack open a bottle or two or eight of wine, and she'll fuck me so you don't have to. Toodles!" Fernando claps him on the shoulder and winks at Christina, then takes off, smirking the whole way.
"Ready to go, Little Sparkler?"
"I've been ready," she grumbles. "You?"
Four nods. "Did you pack your weapon?"
"Yes I did."
"Okay."
"I, um... don't want anybody to know I have it. It's just... it could get Zeke in trouble."
"You're right. Do you want me to have it, Little Sparkler?"
"No, it's okay. No offense but... you're too... Dauntless. They'll be expecting you to carry a weapon, but not me."
"She's got you there, bro. Come on, the officer guys are already waiting for us."
"Already? They weren't supposed to be here for another twenty minutes."
Tris frowns. "Maybe I should call Will to be sure."
"Naw, don't bother him with that. He's probably busy with his cop work."
"Or with Christina," Four grins.
Zeke makes a face. "Look, I get she's a ten, but she's also my cousin so... I really don't want to think about her having sex. Kay? Kay. Now let's deuce."
"Take it easy, Baby," Four says gently as he guides her down the stairs and outside.
She smiles in relief when they make it to the car, then Four goes up to retrieve the rest of their belongings.
"You're Miss Prior?"
"Yeah and you are?"
The man, a medium height person with dark hair and stubble that surrounds a charming smile, shakes her hand. "Drew Hopson at your service," he says.
Tris returns the smile, but it is forced. Call it early maternal instinct, but she has the distinct feeling that something is off. She turns to the other man. He's tall and blonde, and she forces a smile at him too. He reminds her of Eric, but she feels like that might just be trauma talking.
She shakes his hand. "Hi. Tris," She introduces herself.
"Gabe Rawlins."
"Okay, that's everything. Hi. I'm Four. This is Zeke."
"I'm Officer Hopson, this is Rawlins. If you guys are ready to go, we'll take those and you all can go ahead and hop in the back here."
Four guides Tris into the black SUV while Zeke runs around the other side and hops in. He wraps an arm around Tris as the officers get in the front. Four's side of the door doesn't close right, and Rawlins immediately gets out of the car.
"W-what the heck, the door's unlocked," Tris mumbles.
"It's a safety feature on cop cars," Zeke explains. "The back doors only open from the outside. To keep criminals from running away or whatever."
"To keep us inside the car," Tris mumbles. "Four, I don't like this."
"It'll be okay, baby. It's just a ride to a safehouse."
"I still think we should call Will."
"We'll be fine, Short Stuff."
Tris snuggles between Four and Zeke and tries to feel safe.
It doesn't work.
Okay. I'm so sorry this has taken so long, and that it's so short. I've been super busy with school and trying (and failing, so far) to find a job, and all that good stuff, so yeah. also, the worst most massive writer's block with this story. I already know what I want to do with this story as it sadly comes to an end, but holy flying tentacle death, this thing is such a pain to write! But like children, the more difficult it is, the more I love it. I promise there's no abandonment here, okay? We'll see this story through together :)
As always, I hope the chapter was worth the wait.
check out the short-story outtake called "Stages" on my profile and let me know what you think while you're waiting. Also, follow me on Wattpad at temporaryinsanity91 and on twitter at talkingcarsrock. Thanks as always for your patience.
~temporary insanity