Disclaimer: I do not own the Divergent books, movie franchise or any of the characters from it. I do, however, own the plot and characters you don't recognize.

City Council grants Max's request two days later, only until this mess with Edgar is resolved.

And now he's trying to place her in charge of the new patrol system. Her duties will include: picking their best soldiers out of the fifty that will be participating in a three-day initiation process. Then she'll have to divide the thirty she selects into five patrol squadrons. She'll also be dealing with scheduling the daily patrols, all while keeping tabs on Edgar and his renegade group.

He makes it sound easy, but Spinner begs to differ.

"Oh, hell no!"

Max gives her a pointed look from behind his desk. "This isn't up for discussion, Petra. You know the most about this renegade group. Not to mention you have your own sources tracking their movements. You're the best fit for this job."

"Why can't he do it?" She jerks a thumb at Eric in the next chair beside her. "He's the tactical one, I'm more of the run head first into danger and hope I don't come out missing an arm one."

"Max and I are going to Erudite to brief the new soldiers stationed there." Eric tells her. "So suck it up and just do it."

"Well, fine." She puffs out haughtily before leaning forward to snatch the list of soldiers off the desk. "You want me to suck it up and just do it? All right," she mutters under her breath. Her eyes roam down the list until she sees the name she's looking for. "Ha!" Spinner slaps the paper down in front of Max with her finger next to Kurt Daniels. "I pick him."

"Yes, Kurt is a very good soldier." He nods in agreement. "So, what about the rest?"

Leaning back in her seat, Spinner's bottom lip pokes out as she gives her head a slight shake. "No just Kurt. 'Cause everyone else on that list fucking sucks."

"That's a pretty big judgement call to make, don't you think?" Eric asks nonchalantly, but she can hear the mockery and amusement hidden under the words. "Not all of us were trained to be a super soldier, Red." He says sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"If that's what you wanna call it." Spinner mumbles, rubbing her hands together. "It never made sense to me why Jeanine was training me so hard until I settled into Dauntless. I guess she's been preparing me for when we overthrow Abnegation from government."

Suddenly, she thinks of Four, her very good friend.

He is Tobias Eaton; son of Marcus Eaton the abuser and Evelyn Johnson the leader of the Factionless. And the woman who watched over them all.

Until one day Spinner decided it was time to take care of the people she treasured most. So with her parents, Booker, and Venus, they formed their own little tight-knit pack. Then she met the rest of her friends along the way.

However, now things are different. When Jeanine finally carries out the attack, there's a possibility she will have to kill those who choose to remain loyal to Dauntless. She has to stomach the thought that Four, Lauren, and anyone she has formed a friendship could be included.

But easily she accepts that she's a Dauntless traitor. Because the man she loves is also one and they'll be causing all this destruction together.

"Red," Eric roughly bumps his knee against hers, snapping her from her musings.

Spinner blinks hard then looks at Max. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"I said, later this afternoon we'll be meeting in the dining hall to discuss this in further detail." Max says. "You'll also be introducing the new patrol system to the soldiers. Zim and Hayden will be helping you with the initiation process while Eric and I are away."

"Great, you gave me Tweedledee and Tweedle-hippie as my help." Spinner tosses a sullen look at Eric before letting out a long sigh. "This is gonna be a fucking disaster."

Eric snorts. "You'll live."

"Oh, go to hell, Blondie."

At lunch, Spinner sits alone at a table in the dining hall, glaring down at all the papers scattered before her.

Max gave her more information on the grading system of the initiation process. It's evaluated by their endurance, technique, and physicality. There's also a sticky note attached to the empty group list. It's reminding her that she needs to make sure the patrol squadrons are made equally.

Spinner rolls her eyes, wearing a sour scowl.

"Aw, why the long face?" Eric croons mockingly as he and Zim sit across from her, and Hayden drops down next to her.

She stabs him with a black look and he responds with a little sexy smirk. A stubborn blush flitters across her face as butterflies (or how she calls them: those stupid fluttery bastards) flap aimlessly around in her gut. His steely-gray eyes darken in a hungry delight.

"Ugh, they're doing that eye-thing again…" Hayden sighs heavily.

Zim laughs and slaps a hand on Eric's back, causing him to blink and break the connection. He grits his teeth and shoots the other leader a glare. Zim quickly throws his hands up in surrender with a silly grin.

Unamused, she huffs and starts to twirl her pencil between her fingers in agitation. "I'm telling you two from now." She catches her pencil and waves the end threateningly between Hayden and Zim. "If you somehow manage to fuck this up, I won't hesitate to kill the both of you, capiche?"

"You speak Italian too?" Eric raises an amused eyebrow.

"Nah, just that one word." Spinner snorts.

"Listen, Tiny," Hayden begins conversationally as he moves to wrap his arm around her shoulders, except he's stopped dead by the murderous glint in Eric's eyes. An awkward chuckle leaves him as he swiftly pulls back and shifts his chair away from her for good measure.

Spinner rolls her eyes but finds Eric's behaviour charming.

"You have nothing to worry about. Me and Zim have been doing this for a very long time." Hayden continues.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot you two are old."

"By three years." Zim makes a face at her.

"That means you're dying three years before me, Gramps." Spinner winks and shoots her finger at him, clicking her teeth at the side of her mouth.

Zim rolls his eyes before digging into his meal.

Spinner picks up the candidates' list and begins to re-read all the names. She becomes frustrated all over again. "You know what?" Huffing, she slaps the paper down on the table, causing the men to send her questioning looks. She kicks her boot up on her chair and digs inside for her lighter. "There's no way this is gonna work, no friggen way." She chuckles in way that makes her seem a little unhinged.

"Red, what the hell are you doing?" Eric barks as she flicks the lighter open then strikes the wheel.

"I'm not doing this shit." She fires back with a scowl. "The only person I can rely on to not fucking die on this bloody list is Kurt! And he may be a good soldier," she air quotes with her free hand, "as Bossman says. But the guy has an IQ of a pretzel. So, I'm gonna light this shit up and pretend Max didn't ask me to do anything."

'Spinner, put that thing away! You're being melodramatic!' I shout at her and she roughly tells me to eat her.

"Eric, your girl has officially lost it." Hayden shakes his head in disbelief as he's taking a sip from his mug.

"Do something before she burns down the cafeteria too." Zim adds pointedly.

"Petra, give that to me." Eric growls while he's holding out his broad hand, wearing an angry scowl. When she merely glares back at him, he bares his teeth in a snarl. "Now."

Spinner harrumphs then snaps her lighter shut before slamming it down into his palm. "There, happy now, Tank?" She spits, folding her arms underneath her breasts in a huff.

"Ecstatic, Red." Eric throws back just as sardonically before pocketing it. He waves a hand around all the papers. "Worry about all this shit later and eat your food." Eric says and gestures to her lunch resting at the corner of his tray.

A loving smile steals across her face before Spinner can help it and he scoffs at her amorous expression. Her smile widens and she loosens her angry stance before leaning over to grab her steak sandwich. "Thank you, baby." She grins.

Eric drops his gaze down to his own food, seemingly embarrassed and slightly annoyed. But she knows deep down he likes it. Her sweeping affection is a definite boost to his ego. "Quit talking and eat." He commands gruffly.

She continues grinning at him while taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Wuh-PSSSH!" Hayden and Zim motion at the same time.

Spinner lets out a snort into her palm when Eric's face hardens. He sends them a poisonous look, promising them the most violent deaths they could ever imagine.

"Now, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Just gimme the damn flask." Spinner whispers furiously as she and Lauren hide in the back of the dining hall kitchen. Nervous wouldn't even begin to describe the way she is feeling right at this moment.

Lauren rolls her eyes as she hands her the silver flask. Spinner quickly unscrews the lid then takes a long swing of whiskey. "Spin… is public speaking one of your fears?"

She removes the lip of the flask from her mouth, sucking in a haggard breath. "Hell yes, it is! It scares the crap outta me! Whenever we had to do oral presentations in class, I would always end up giving mine at the end of school once everybody was gone. I was that terrified. Speaking in front of large crowds freaks the hell out of me, and this is where alcohol comes in."

"Well, they don't call it liquid courage for nothing. So, bottoms up." Lauren says, tipping the flask back up to her mouth and Spinner resumes drinking. "Just… try not to dance inappropriately out there. I don't think Eric can kill them all."

Spinner hands the empty flask back to her friend, letting out an inebriated snort. "T-trust me, Sweets. My baby Tank can." She nods with a huge grin. She claps her hands together once, her face setting into determination. "Okay! Speech time." She wobbles in the opposite direction of the platform.

Lauren shakes her head with a chuckle, taking a hold of her shoulders then steering her in the right way.

"Hey, Lauren?"

"Yeah?"

"I fucked up, didn't I?"

"Yeah." Lauren agrees with a teasing pat on her shoulder as she's maneuvering her out of the kitchen. They climb the wrought iron stairs and when they reach platform, Eric is already there.

He looks over his shoulder and his face drops into a scowl at Spinner's rocky stride. "Is she drunk?" Eric asks, disbelief lacing his annoyed tone.

Spinner pinches her fingers together as she blearily squints at him. "Just a little…"

"Public speaking is one of her fears." Lauren tells him. "So, she had me bring her a flask of whiskey to help calm her nerves."

Eric rolls his eyes in irritation as she totters over to him with a drunken grin.

Lauren snorts while Spinner wraps her arms around his waist. "But she may have overdone it a bit…"

"I love you, Tank." She sighs happily into his ear and he stiffens for a brief moment until his body melts against her.

Eric Coulter is positively enamoured with this girl, there's no way of hiding it.

"My handsome soldier." Spinner purrs, nipping his ear.

His breath hitches in his throat as his member grows rigid against her, a low rumble beginning in his chest.

She smirks while dragging her nails down the small of his back that has him arching into her slightly. "Such a naughty, naughty boy." Spinner gives the shell of his ear a teasing lick.

Eric's hands grab her hips, tugging her possessively closer with another deep growl.

"Okay, you two, that's enough. Now's not the time. Take a breather." Lauren sticks her arms in between them and swiftly breaks them apart.

Spinner lets out an intoxicated whine of discontent, while Eric grunts in aggravation.

"Oh, you'll be fine for a couple of more minutes." Lauren fans them off before turning to her. "Now, Spin, do you remember what you're supposed to be talking about today?"

With a giddy smile, Spinner nods before unzipping her vest and pulling out a black file container. "I gotta talk about this!" She blinks suddenly, giving it a bizarre look before holding up to Eric. "Wait… what is this?" She asks innocently, tilting her head in a drunken curiosity.

Eric heaves a heavy sigh. "Just take her back to my apartment so she can sleep this shit off." He grunts as he digs into his pocket then pulls out his keys before tossing them to Lauren. Cocking his eyebrow, he reaches forward and plucks the file container from Spinner's grasp. "Looks like I'll be saving your ass again."

She offers him a Cheshire cat grin as Lauren gently takes her by the shoulders once more. "Come on, Spinner. Eric has important business to take care of." She sends him a teasing look, which has him rolling his eyes and stalking away.

"Where we going, Sweetssss?" Spinner slurs while her friend begins guiding her towards the stairs.

"To bed, so you can sleep this off." Lauren says with another chuckle, and Spinner pumps her fist into the air and lets out a drunken whoop.

"For those who don't know me, the name's Spinner. And I will be your instructor for the physicality stage of initiation this morning." She introduces to the rows of soldiers lined before her in the training room, all in plank position. Spinner gives the knife in her hand a brief twirl as she spins on her heel then makes her way down the line again. "You may or may not have heard Max call me Petra and this one when he feels like being an ass." She gestures to Eric who stands intimidatingly silent with his hands clasped in front of him.

He regards the soldiers with cold, impassive eyes, but the corner of his lip twitches in acknowledgment.

Spinner rolls her eyes good-naturedly. "However, if I hear any of you call me that," she stops pacing and her face splits into a wild grin. "I won't even cut you." She lightly trails the tip of her knife from her index finger, down her palm then stops at her wrist. "Instead, I will castrate you and proudly wear your balls as a necklace." She abruptly pulls back her arm then whips the knife at a soldier wearing a tuque.

He yelps and flinches violently when the tip of the blade snags the top of his hat. It continues sailing through the air until it's pinned to the wall behind them.

She smiles another wicked smile. "Thus, making you into my little bitch."

"Holy shit..." The soldier shakily breathes out and the rest gawk at her incredulously.

"She isn't kidding," Eric adds lowly. "So, I suggest you take her warning very seriously." He sneers and she sends him a kittenish smile over her shoulder, biting her lip. His eyes darken.

"Damn, Eric." A bulky soldier puffs out while fighting the trembling in his limbs. "How can you even handle a woman like that?"

"Oh, honey, trust me..." Spinner purrs as she's strolling around Eric. She drags a lazy hand across his shoulders, taking pleasure in the way his muscles ripple and dance. "He knows how to handle me quite well." Once she's in front of him, she gives him an affectionate nick under his chin. With a wink, she saunters off with a hypnotic sway of her hips.

Another soldier in the front row groans and she can feel their eyes glued onto her backside.

Eric emits a low, menacing growl.

She snaps around in time to watch him stalk toward the man with a long ponytail who's still gaping at her.

"Eyes on the ground, initiate." Eric snarls in a dark voice and soldier immediately drops them to the mat. "Yeah, that's right. And you'll keep there until I say otherwise. Perhaps that will teach you not eyeball what doesn't belong to you."

Spinner feels a blush enter her cheeks and Eric glances her way, an arrogant smirk tugging at his mouth.

Bashful, she ducks away from his heated gaze and turns her attention to the others. Her expression suddenly becomes hard as stone. "Thanks to your buddy googly eyes over there, you'll all run fifty laps as your warm-up. Go!" She orders, and the cursing men heave themselves to their feet. "And if I see anyone of you puke or die from exhaustion, you're cut!"

"Move, ladies!" Eric barks. The herd quickly begin their punishment, Ponytail's eyes still firmly on the ground.

Snorting out a laugh, Spinner goes to stand alongside of Eric. Their gazes lock for a moment before he sends her a smug expression. "Think you can manage all this while I'm gone?" He motions to the soldiers jogging around the room with a quick tilt of his chin.

She offers him a fake, cheery smile. "With Hayden and Zim helping me?"

He nods with a slight chuckle, seeing through her little façade.

Spinner drops the act straightaway. "Fuck no. I'm pretty much screwed."

A cold chill settles over Chicago on the night Eric leaves for Erudite. Max said it was for the next day or two, depending on the length of the training sessions there.

Spinner tilts her head with the bottom of the pink erasable marker tucked into the corner of her mouth. She looks at all the pictures she taped to the whiteboard. She'd made little notes here and there. The first being that maybe, and regretfully, she'll have to ask Geo to dig into Jeanine's past.

Right underneath, she wrote how it could uncover answers to the questions that have been plaguing her since being brought aboard on this mission. Like an explanation for the rift between her and her mother. Perhaps even who told Jack Kang about Booker's secret adoption. She gazes at her name circled under Jeanine's picture and at the little note next to it reading: 'Am I somehow connected to all of this?'

A weight settles into her stomach as she gnaws on the bottom of the marker agitatedly. After the tense moment passes, she sighs and rubs away everything from the board.

"Still screwing around on that thing?" Eric smirks as he enters the room carrying a large duffle bag.

"Yes, Tank, I'm still screwing around on this thing." Spinner mocks with a roll of her eyes. Then she suddenly yelps when Eric delivers a reprimanding slap to her backside as he walks by. She scowls at him, her bottom lip puckered in a pout while she's rubbing the sore spot.

After grabbing extra ammo out of the large encyclopedia he'd hollowed out, Eric stops in front of her and lowers his face close to hers with a predatory gleam in his smouldering eyes. "Don't get smart, Petra." He claims her lips in bruising kiss before pulling away then continuing over to his bag.

Spinner blinks dazedly then shakes her head to clear the fog of desire clouding her mind. She forces an annoyed frown on her face. "That hurt. I have feelings, you know."

"Quit being so overdramatic." He scoffs.

"Kiss my ass."

"Well, bring it here, then."

Her face burns and he sends her a cocky smirk that has her pulse pounding in her ears as the heat of his gaze grips her tight. "Stop distracting me, I'm tryna work." She grumbles before facing the board. She isn't sure what she's looking for. But she's confident that her months of being in Erudite had taught her to pay closer attention to detail.

"Hey," Eric calls out and Spinner sighs, rolling her eyes before looking towards him. He has his hands burrowed deep into his pockets, wearing an unreadable expression. "You can, uh… stay here while I'm gone." He says in this gruff and adorably awkward tone that has even him grimacing.

"O-h..." She stutters out, clumsily capping the marker before placing on the ledge of the board. It quickly rolls off and Spinner winces as it drops the floor with a clatter. She kicks it away and shoots him a bright, innocent smile.

He rolls his eyes.

"I mean, I would really like that. I can't sleep comfortably on Lauren's couch knowing that her and Zim..." She shudders in repulsion. "It'd be nice to get away from their lovey-dovey bullshit." Spinner picks up the green marker and begins drawing a little dinosaur doodle on the board. "I should just live here and call it a day." She snorts jokingly.

"Then do it."

Spinner's hand freezes on drawing the baby dinosaur's mouth and swears she feels her heart stop beating. Slowly, she turns to face him, jumping when she finds him standing right in front of her. His expression conceals more than it reveals. "Do you realize what you just told me to do?"

"I'm aware of what I said." Eric returns in annoyance. "So? Are you going to give me an answer or not?"

She blinks at him at few times and his jaw hardens in impatience, his head cocking to one side. "Uh, um, give me the two days to think about it." She says, feeling a little dazed by what's happening.

Eric basically told her, without actually saying it, to move in with him. She wasn't expected that at all.

He looks like he's ready to argue and she quickly adds, "It's not a no, Tank. It just… hasn't hit me yet. It kinda feels surreal, like a dream." She gives him a shy smile.

"Why? It's not a big deal." Eric mutters, frowning.

Rolling her eyes with a little shake of her head, Spinner takes a hold of his face and brings him into warm kiss. "I love you, dumbass." She whispers against his lips then smiles. Eric lets out a growl in warning and he wraps his arms around her body then deepens the kiss. She moans into his mouth as his tongue crashes against hers with fervent strokes. Her hands move from his face to slide her arms around his neck. "I'm-mmm-gonna miss you." She whispers between their voracious kisses.

Eric smirks. "I know you will, Kitten." He husks back cockily, kissing her once, then twice before pulling away.

"You think you're so great, huh?" Spinner wrinkles her nose impishly.

"The greatest." He chuckles wickedly.

She uncoils one of her arms to mock punch him in the jaw. "Don't get too cocky, bub." Spinner says playfully and he smirks again.

'Are you going to tell him about Andrew Prior?' I inquire and Spinner yells at me for ruining the moment.

She sighs. "Hey, Tank, I gotta tell you something…"

Eric flashes her a skeptical frown before narrowing his eyes. "Well, then talk."

Swallowing to moisten the sudden dryness in her throat, her fingers find the chain of his dog tags, and she slips them from underneath his layers of clothing. Spinner caresses its polished surface with her fingertips, lightly running over his engraved nickname. "Andrew Prior…" she begins softly. "I've met him before… when I was factionless. He used to give me and Booker this banana bread with walnuts in it and… it didn't taste half-bad. I mean, it was better than nothing, right? Booker used to always say that Stiff food tasted gray. No flavour or anything." She manages a tiny chuckle then glances up to meet his eyes.

Eric's face is blank. "How long were you factionless?" He asks.

"Close to two years, I think?" Spinner replies with some hesitancy in her voice. He elevates his pierced eyebrow. "Days tend to blend into one another while you're out there…" She mumbles uneasily. "Anyway, the Stiff recognized me."

"And?"

She shrugs then shakes her head. "And he didn't say anything. But I know he's not gonna tell anyone."

Eric releases a contemptuous scoff. "So, you're psychic too?"

"No, Tank, I'm not psychi -yowch!" His hand makes hard contact with her backside once more. Spinner glowers at him darkly as she holds a hand to her cheek throbbing from the reproachful sting.

"Lose the attitude, smart mouth."

"You're so abusive!"

Eric smirks at her pouting face, eyes flashing dangerously. His lips move to her ear. "Let's not pretend you don't enjoy the way I handle you, Spinner." His devilish tone sends a pleasurable shiver down her spine. And when he pulls back to look at her, she notices the blatant hunger in his gaze.

Someone bangs on the door and she blinks, glancing towards it. "Eric, let's get a move on. The car is waiting outside. Don't worry, Petra will still be here when you get back." Max says smugly from other side of the metal.

"Let's hope, huh?"

Spinner turns back to his smirking face and she mirrors his expression. "We'll see. Now," she places her index on the tip of his nose, feigning a stern look. "You better behave while you're at Erudite. I don't want Max telling me you mauled a soldier to death, understood?"

Eric rolls his eyes.

Her finger moves from his nose and down to run along the length of his lips. His eyes devour her. "And don't go too hard on them, Tank," she says, a teasing smile curling her mouth. "They are only mere mortals after all." She gives his chin a playful tap.

"Yeah, too bad, huh?"

Spinner snorts, her eyes shining with amusement. "Go get 'em, Tiger, show 'em whose boss."

Eric tilts her a sexy smirk. "Trust me, Red, I intend to."

She shakes her head with a laugh before kissing him again.

What a way to ask a girl to move in with you lol.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Thank you again for the reviews, the favs, the follows!

Love, Peace and Tranquility.