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.


"Tank, what's going on with you?" Spinner asks in exasperation as Eric's standing behind her tying a bandana over her eyes.

He'd woken her up at the first pale of dawn, made her get dressed, and then dragged her down to the training room while all of Dauntless still slept.

"I'm seeing something." He replies curtly and she feels him move in front of her.

Spinner lets out an irritated huff. "Ugh, this is so-" Her sentence is abruptly cut short when she's suddenly dodging a swing from Eric. "Hey! What hell is your-" She deflects a hit to her face, leaping sideways and twisting into a backwards somersault to put much needed distance between them. "Have you lost your goddamn mind?!" She barks, hearing him circle around her. "Do that again and I won't hesitate to break your fucking arm!"

Like an electric pulse through her body, Spinner senses him charging from her left. She bobs her head to the side to evade a punch and then weaves to the other to avoid a second blow. Ducking from another powerful swing, she blocks his fist with the side of her forearm. She swiftly bends forward and dodges his attempt to reverse the shift in dominance. Grabbing the side of his thigh, she brings up her leg behind her and strikes the top of his head with her foot.

She releases Eric as he emits a loud grunt, hearing him stumble back a few steps. Following after him, Spinner seizes his forearm and braces her hand down on the mats, kicking her legs up to wrap around his neck before slamming him down flat onto his back.

"You done?" She snarls as she forces him into an armbar and then starts pulling his arm back.

Eric chuckles darkly, and before she can react, his other hand grabs her wrist and yanks it forward. He turns in hard and shoves her onto her back, grabbing her wrists and pinning them above her head. She feels him lean over her before she can fight back, and his lips brushes her ear. "Are you?"

A roguish smirk tugs at her lips as she lets out a seductive hum. "If this is your idea of foreplay, lover," she wraps her legs around his waist and pulls his hips flush against hers, "then me likey." Spinner purrs and a startled gasp leaves her throat when Eric thrusts against her.

"Not quite, Princess." He responds in a gravelly whisper as he releases her wrist. One of his hands fist her hair and the other to slip beneath the hem of her t-shirt, stroking the sensitive skin on her hipbone. "But I'll keep that in mind." Bringing her head forward, his lips slant over hers, kissing her deeply and aggressively. He trails rough kisses along her jaw, biting and sucking, then nipping just underneath it.

"What-oh God…" She breathes, gripping the back of Eric's head as he devours the side of her throat. He grounds his pulsating length against her core, drawing a whimper from her. "What exactly were you seeing?"

"Your senses." He scrapes his teeth over her skin and her body surges up into his, causing him to groan.

"My senses?" She parrots, her brow furrowing behind the blindfold. "Why are you...?" Spinner trails off as the realization finally hits her, and suddenly she shoves him off of her. "Are you fucking crazy?" Ripping down the bandana, she pushes herself up and shoots Eric a horrified look. "You are not taking the X serum!"

He scoffs as he hauls himself to his feet, rolling his head until she hears a satisfying crack in his neck. "I wasn't asking for your permission, Spinner." Eric retorts in a hard tone, glowering at her before turning on his heel and walking away.

Spinner scrambles after him, catching his elbow just as he's stepping through the door, and he shoots her an aggravated sideways glance. Glaring back at him, she tugs him over to the corner and shoves him up against the wall. "Did you forget about side effects that thing has? And I've experience how many of them so far?"

"That's why you're going to tell Jeanine about it at the meeting," Eric says evenly. "Then she'll make a new batch and there, problem solved."

She squints in disbelief. "Why do you wanna take it all of a sudden? For more power? You're a great enough soldier without it. I, on the other hand, didn't have a choice in the matter."

"Look, I don't need to explain myself to you." He snaps fiercely and she's taken aback for a moment before she tries to make her face neutral. "This is my decision and I will do as I please." Eric sneers, his steely-gray eyes flashing dangerously. "And if there are repercussions then I have no choice but to deal with them, right?"

"Whatever, suit yourself," Spinner gives a listless shrug of her shoulders. "And for the record, I was already planning to tell Jeanine about."

"Wow, your first real adult decision." He gives her a mocking nod of approval and she rolls her eyes.

"Eat me, asshole."

The side of Eric's mouth kicks up in a smirk and he presses his face closer to hers as his hands find her hips. "I could use a little snack."

Spinner's face becomes so hot that I fear steam might start billowing out of her ears.

His smirk only widens. "What's the matter, Red? I thought you could handle me?"

"Um, ma'am?"

Spinner jumps and jerks around to glare at Oscar standing by the door. "You fucking creeper, how long have you been standing there for?"

"Uh, I just got-"

"The hell do you want, Lurky McGee?"

Oscar flinches then runs his hand down the back of his neck in a nervous fashion. "Can I speak you to about something? It's..." He drops his eyes when Eric cocks his pierced brow impatiently. "It's important, ma'am." He mumbles, chancing another look at her.

Spinner sighs. "Yeah, fine," she turns back to Eric and narrows her eyes at him. "I'll see you at home, solider."

Offering her a little smirk, Eric squeezes her hips before clasping his hands behind his back and sauntering out of the training room.

"Alright, kid, talk." She says blandly as she's digging out her crumpled carton of menthols and lighter from her bra.

Oscar stuffs his hands into his pockets then rocks back and forth on his heels. "I was kinda hoping if I could apply for the empty spot on patrol squadron four," he says casually.

Pulling out a cigarette with her teeth, Spinner shoves the carton back into her pocket before flicking open her Zippo and lighting the end. As she slowly takes a long drag off her cigarette, Spinner surveys the boy in front of her with a disinterested gaze. "No." Her tone is blunt as she flicks some ash onto the ground, and a look of displeasure flashes across Oscar's features. "You're too young. I don't do the whole babysitting thing."

"You wouldn't have to," he argues back quickly. "Max told me you said I was a good soldier and I want to prove that to you."

"Are you ready to die too?" Spinner asks, cocking her head as she blows smoke out through her nose. "Those guys out there are no fucking joke. They've killed a lot of our men, you realize that, right? And they will not show you any mercy because you're a child. Are willing to handle all that? Knowing that there could be a night where you come back to Dauntless in a body bag?"

Oscar gazes at her for a long and hard moment before his head dips in a sharp nod. "I am."

"Fine, suit yourself too," she shrugs. "Position's yours. Get the paperwork from Max and I'll put you on next week's schedule. And 'cause of your age, you'll be paid fifty points less than everyone else. But you'll still get a decent-sized paycheck every two weeks."

With a large grin, Oscar nods again. "Thank you, ma'am. I won't let you down."

"We'll see."


Incoming Video Call

Goddess of Love

Placing down the tape, Spinner answers her ePhone and blinks in surprise when she sees Venus's rosy face appear on the screen. "Well, this is a neat trick," she half smiles, pushing her hair back from her face. "I'm guessing Geo gave you the message?"

Venus nods. "Rhino said he's heard of the Simms family. But like your friend Lauren said, they were really reserved. And you said that Xavier transferred to Erudite?"

"That's what the file said." Spinner mumbles as she takes in the map she'd taped to the whiteboard. Grabbing a colorful selection of pens, she begins outline all the factions. "Amelia was a Divergent. Just like…" She glances down at Jude's bracelet and a lump of grief forms in her throat. Spinner shakes her head before her mind could settle on the memory of his blushing face. "Nevermind."

Venus purses her lip into a thin line, understanding immediately. "Your job is to hunt and kill them, Spinner. Good or bad."

Spinner pauses and looks at the screen, somberly meeting her blue eyes. "But… will you all still stand by me? Even though I'm a murderer?"

"You do what you have to for survival. So, of course we will," Venus smiles softly. "You've done so much for all of us, we owe it to you."

She sniffles, wiping away the tears that managed to escape. "Thanks, Vee. I really needed to hear that."

Venus nods with another smile. "Has Jeanine arrived yet?"

"No, Eric said she won't be here until this afternoon. Because of the snow and all." Spinner tells her then rubs her lips together. "I'm so fucking nervous. What if she makes me factionless again? I can't… I can't leave Tank." Frowning, she takes in a deep breath, trying to calm the anxiety churning around in her stomach. "We're getting married, Venus. He even put my name on the lease as McCall-Coulter."

Venus lets out a girlish squeal. "Oh my God, Spinning Top! It's like straight out of a fairy tale!"

"That's one pretty fucked up fairy tale, Bubbles…"

"You know what I mean, Snarky." Venus rolls her eyes, causing Spinner to snort. "I'm just so happy for you. You're glowing, hun. It's beautiful." The blonde twirls around in the snowfall before falling back with a wistful sigh. "And Jeanine needs you. It would be a very stupid of her to get rid of you now. And you've been nothing but loyal to her."

Spinner runs her fingers through her hair again. "Let's hope she sees it that way too, huh? Even though she's been secretly testing an experimental Super Soldier serum on me, and now my dumbass of a fiancé wants to start taking it too."

Venus blinks in astonishment. "What? Why would Eric want to do something like that?"

"'Cause he's a fucking power hungry jackass. I think it has something to do with Broody breaking his nose two days ago. His ego must be in I need to be better than Four mode." She rolls her eyes, moving to outline the Factionless sector.

"Him and Four fought? Why?"

"Four has been telling Evelyn everything that's been happening at Dauntless. About me, about Eric, and probably about Jeanine too." Spinner says as she draws red X's over the areas they've already searched. "And Evelyn? She's no better. Broody knows stuff about me because of her."

"It sounds like she's trying to use Four to convince you to come back." Venus gathers as she sits up in the snow and fixes the black hat on her head. "You even said he told you that Evelyn's the one who sent the flash drive."

"I'm not going back to her." Spinner says sharply. "I appreciate all she's done for me and my family, but… I could never fully trust her and I'm starting to see why."

All of sudden, Eric's keys jingle outside the door.

"Shit, the moron's back with breakfast. Venus, I'll call you later to tell you how everything went, yeah?"

Venus shoots her a smile, her shimmery blond curls bouncing around her shoulders as she nods. "Don't be too hard on him. I'm sure it's all out of the goodness of his heart."

Spinner snorts. "The day I find that, you'll be the first to know. Love."

"Love." Venus giggles back before she ends the video call.

As she slips her ePhone back into her pocket, Eric enters the apartment carrying a plastic bag.

"Still pissed at me, Kitten?" He smirks as he's heading over to the table. "I got breakfast."

Spinner ignores him and continues to label the Erudite sector.

"Do not test me today, Red." Eric growls. "Get over here now."

She drops her pen with a huff before crossing to the table and plopping down into the chair. Avoiding his eyes, she cranes her neck sideways to look out the window as he drops her breakfast down in front of her.

"You're welcome, bitch." Eric sneers, lowering himself into the opposite chair. He rips the lid off his container before digging into his eggs.

"Thank you, asshole," she returns with a fake, sugary-sweet smile while she does the same. She quickly drops the façade, rolling her eyes and grabbing a hash brown.

They fall into a tense silence after that.

Spinner keeps her gaze glued to the window, but she can feel Eric's intense stare boring into her. Taking another bite of her hash brown, she glances at him pointedly. "Enjoying the show?" She arches brow and he offers her his infamous smirk in return

"As a matter of fact, I am."

"Well, it ain't free, so quit gawking me."

"Are you seriously going to be mad at me all day?" Eric grunts in sudden irritation before taking a sip of his coffee.

Tilting her head, she places her finger to her chin with another bright fake smile. "Gee, I don't know." Spinner's face falls into an exasperated expression as she places her elbow down on the table. "Are you seriously gonna ask Jeanine for the X serum?"

He leans forward, matching her stare. "My father's the one who created it-"

"Well, then there's your answer." She cuts in smoothly, lowering her head to fork some scrambled eggs into her mouth.

"You worry too much."

Spinner snorts, her eyes lifting back to his. "One of us has to."

Eric scoffs. "I can handle myself."

"So you've told me," she sighs.

"Maybe you should start keeping that in mind, then."

"'Kay, I'm done." Spinner drops her fork and then pushes out of her seat. "Thank you for breakfast, Eric. I'm gonna go take a nap." Feigning a cheery smile, she spins around and heads for the bedroom, leaving him alone at the table.


Spinner glances up when the door opens, and Zim and Eric enter the conference room. "Hey, hippie, come sit beside me." Without waiting for a response, she grabs his arm and yanks him down into the empty chair.

Eric rolls his eyes as he sinks into the seat across from her. "Grow up."

She flips him off with a smile before she grabs her pen and gets started on Oscar's paperwork.

"Okay, what's going on with you two?" Zim asks the scowling pair. "What did you do now?"

"Why do you always assume it's me?" Eric fires back.

"Because it is!" Spinner exclaims, throwing up a hand towards him. She turns to Zim who's shaking his head. "Do you know your dumbass best friend wants to ask Jeanine for the X serum? He feels he's entitled to it because his daddy made it." She sends Eric a disdainful look and he sneers back at her.

"Seriously, man?" Zim sighs. "You know you don't need that."

"That's what I told the big lummox!"

"Oh, so you're going to choose her over mine?" Eric stares Zim down, nodding a few times as he leans back in his seat. "Some best friend," he grumbles. "I'll remember that the next time you fuck things up with Lauren."

Spinner snaps to other leader with a glare. "What the hell did you do to my Sweets?"

Eric snorts as Zim glowers at him. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I am gonna jump rope with your fucking intestines, hippie boy." She snarls at Zim.

"Remind me why I'm still friends with you again…" Zim rolls his eyes, wincing when Spinner punches him hard in the ribs. "Ow!"

"Because you can't do any better." Eric chuckles back.

"Screw you, man."

"Sorry, I'm taken."

"Gayyy…" Spinner drones out in low, exaggerated voice as she signs her name at the bottom of the form.

"What's that?" Zim asks while peering down at all the papers in front of her. "You're putting Oscar on the patrol squadron? He's only sixteen."

A scoff leaves Eric's lips. "And you're surprised by this?"

"Look, I warned the kid about the seriousness of this situation." Spinner tells them, flipping to another page and signing her name at the bottom. "He insisted that he could handle it and I told him if he dies, it's his own fault. So, now he's on lucky patrol squadron numero four," she finishes with a flourish of her pen.

Zim leans closer and points down at her name. "Shouldn't that be McCall-Coulter?"

"Um, we're not married, bud."

"Yet."

Her gaze bounces back to Eric whose expression is smug. "Well, guess what, Tank? It's gonna be never if you end up going through with your decision." She tells him fiercely and his steely eyes darken. "Then we'll see which one is more important to you. Power or me?"

Spinner's going to stand by him regardless of what he chooses. She just wants to see which one.

Eric remains quiet, his jaw tightening into a hard line.

There's a knock on the door before it opens and Jeanine and Max step into the conference room.

A nervous lump develops in her throat as she rounds up the papers and then shoves them back into the folder. She watches Jeanine take a seat at the head of the table, while Max sits down next to Eric.

"I trust you all had a good morning." Jeanine acknowledges with a cordial smile.

The three leaders nod at her politely.

"Good. Now, Petra," Her metallic gaze focuses on her and she feels an icy chill run down her back. "Eric tells me you have some very important information to share with us, is that correct?"

Spinner gives her a stiff nod. "Yes. But if you don't mind, ma'am, I'd like to speak with you alone."

Eric's eyes jump to her and narrow sharply.

Jeanine scrutinizes her for a long, pensive moment before she gives her a curt nod. "Very well. Gentlemen, would you mind leaving Petra and I alone for a moment?"

"Of course," Max moves to his feet, and a very reluctant Eric and a curious Zim to do the same.

Eric stares her down as they walking out of the room, and the sound of the door closing is akin to her fate being sealed.


Be prepared for awkwardness and bad guy feels in the next chapter.

Thank you for all the reviews, the favs and the follows!

Love, Peace and Tranquility.