(2-14-2020)

I'm sorry I've made you wait so long for the next chapter. 2020 had a rough start for me, both in my personal life and with this story. Hopefully real life and this story are both getting back on track!

There was one consistent comment that I want to take a moment to address from the last chapter.

That would be about Evelyn being Norton's granddaughter and Norton's last name being Johnson. Remember in the Divergent world a couple decides what last name they want to take. They can take the man's, the woman's, or pick their own.

There was a line I accidently removed in an edit, in that line Norton told Anderson that he wanted him to take his wife's last name, not his. He is trying to make sure that his grandchildren can move more seamlessly into another faction without people thinking they are the Erudite leader's grandchildren and might be loyal to him.

So, no, Norton's last name is not Johnson. But he is still Evelyn's grandfather!

Characters

Lisette, Ray and Anderson- Norton and Taryn's children

Adam- (mentioned) Lisette's husband

Taryn- Norton's wife

Charlotte- (mentioned) Friend of Norton and Taryn's she has passed away.

Marion- friend of Norton and Taryn's.

Patrick (mentioned) another friend of Norton and Taryn

Ariana- Anderson's oldest daughter

Devon- (mentioned) rival of Charlotte's

Agatha- (mentioned) Devon's wife, Bea's twin sister, transferred from Abnegation

Bea- Patrick's wife, Agatha's (dominant) twin sister, transferred from Abnegation

Alistair- (mentioned) Marion's husband

Anthony- (mentioned) Marion's son

Vanessa- (mentioned) Anderson's wife, transferred from Abengation

Glynis- Norton's secretary

And the fun part of this chapter... now you get to start seeing canon characters we knew as adults as teenagers!

Part 3 The Hunter

Chapter 21

Despite the fact I'm five minutes early, Lisette is already waiting for me when I get to the lowest level of the building that I meet my children in. After Lisette went to Amity, I found that it works well to meet with all of them once a month. We meet downstairs in same building where they each have their artwork. The lowest level has what looks like it was once a cafeteria, so there is plenty of room for all of us.

"How are you doing?" I ask her as she stands up to hug me.

"I'm doing well. I have so much to share right now! I hope the boys aren't late!" She practically bounces with excitement.

It strikes me, not for the first time, that Lisette really does fit into Amity. Unlike Ray, who I think would have left for Dauntless even without my encouragement, I don't think Lisette would have considered Amity without my little push, but she is happier there than I was as a child. "How are Adam and the children?"

"No," she shakes her head, "if I start talking about any of them, I'll say too much."

"Now you have my interest peaked."

"Is Lisette trying to make herself important again?" Ray jokes as he enters the room.

Lisette sticks her tongue out at her brother. "I'm not important, but my husband might be!" She quickly claps her hand over her mouth as soon as she realizes what she has said.

"That's intriguing." Ray pulls out a chair from the table we are about to sit at and swings it around so he can straddle it. "Sit down, Sis, and spill."

Lizette sits down, but instead of telling her brother anything, she playfully mimes zipping her lips, locking them, and throwing away the key.

"Father certainly sent each of us to the proper faction," Anderson remarks dryly as he joins us.

Lisette laughs. "I would never have lasted in Dauntless, but I could have made it in Erudite. I would have been content there."

"Content, but not happy." Anderson catches the word that she chooses.

"I wouldn't have met Adam there. I wouldn't have Fiona and Finn."

Deciding not to point out to her that there are different men that she would have met in Erudite, I go back to her earlier comment. "Your brothers are here now. What is going on with Adam and the children?"

"It's Adam." Lisette proudly squares her shoulders. "Charity, the Amity spokesperson, has decided to retire. Adam is on the short list of people being considered as her replacement."

"That's wonderful!" I pull off my glasses, allowing the world to shift out of focus.

Anderson responds next. "As long as he gets the job, that should put you in a very good position to discover new information."

"How do the Amity choose their spokesperson?" Ray responds with an oddly Erudite question.

"The process started two weeks ago when Charity announced her retirement at our monthly meeting. We were all asked to start thinking about who we think would be able to replace her. In two weeks, at our next meeting, people will bring forward their recommendations. They will ask a few people to speak about each person. After they speak, we will break into small groups and discuss it. As each group agrees who they think will be best, we will form larger groups and continue with the discussion until that group comes to a unanimous consensus. The groups keep getting bigger until we are one group. When the entire group agrees... we have a new spokesperson."

Ray gapes at his sister. "That's unrealistic! You really think that will work?"

"It works for everything else. Why wouldn't it work for this?"

"You guys are nuts!" Ray explodes.

"It's just as crazy as choosing someone from a class." Anderson joins them. "Having the smartest person lead you is the most logical. That person is the best-equipped mentally to look at different ideas and select the best one."

Clearing my throat, I put my glasses back on and speak in order to stop my children from starting an outright argument about what their factions do. "If they haven't put forth the names yet, how do you know that Adam has a good chance?"

"Oh, that's easy. I hear everyone talking at work, at meals- really, anywhere and everywhere- around the compound. People stop me and ask me questions about Adam, or check with me to make sure I'm ok with him having the job."

"If there is anything any of us can do to help, let us know." Turning to Anderson, I move to the most pressing issue for today's meeting. "Arianna chooses in two months. We need to decide about what to do with her and Evelyn. I need one of them to stay here in Erudite, and one to go to Abnegation."

"My marrying an Abnegation- even though she is smart enough to belong in Erudite- seems to have diluted our intelligence genes. I don't think that either of the girls is going to make the Top Ten."

"What about the Top Twenty?" I refer to the next tier down that I introduced a few years ago. I created it against the possibility that my grandchildren's IQ wouldn't be enough them to make the Top Ten. The Top Twenty is a group that I call upon at irregular intervals to assist with special projects.

"Both of them would probably make that, but..." Anderson pauses.

"But, what?" I prompt him.

"I think you are asking the wrong question. Both girls will be fine in Erudite. We need to make sure we are choosing the right one to go to Abnegation."

Pulling off my glasses, the world goes fuzzy again while I chew on the arm of my glasses and contemplate what Anderson is saying. "You have a point. With Ray's sons, it was a concern about who would fit the best into Erudite, but this time I need to think about who will fit best into Abnegation. What do you think the characteristics for Abnegation are?"

"They have to be able to put someone else's needs ahead of their own," Lisette responds before Anderson or Ray can.

"Whichever one goes will have to be good at conforming. There is a certain amount of... individuality in Dauntless that is missing in Abnegation." Ray points first to the piercing in his eyebrow and then to his back where there is a tattoo of the Erudite eye peeking out of the Dauntless flames. Years ago, Ray and I designed years ago the tattoo as a visible way for him to prove to someone else that his true allegiance is to Erudite.

"You need someone there who is still able to retain her loyalty. Whichever of my girls goes, she will have to appear to conform to norms and still be willing to feed us information from the council. She will have to fit in without giving away her true devotion," Anderson adds.

"Those are all good points. We will meet one more time before the Choosing Ceremony, but Anderson and I will discuss this again. I think I know who should go where, but I want to observe each of the girls in light of this information."

"Just let me know when you want to meet," Anderson agrees.

Turning to my oldest son, I change the topic. "How are things going in Dauntless?"

Dauntless is my one regret. I don't regret sending Ray there: he is the perfect fit. But the Faction itself has not turned out to be quite as… directable as I thought it would be. I got my hopes up several years ago when Ray was chosen to be part of a leadership class, but since it was discovered at the end of training that I am his father, they chose Lisette's old friend, Ava, instead. Ray has tried feeling out Ava, and although he is sure she will help protect the faction from danger outside of the city, he's not sure she is going to see anyone from inside as being a danger.

"Things are going well. Working in Tech Support continues to give me access to all areas of Dauntless. I'm trying to make sure Wyatt is well placed to be chosen for Leadership when his time comes."

"What do you think that will take?"

"He is in the leadership training program for the Factionless Patrol. We have five leaders and typically, three of the five were in the leadership of the Patrol before they were chosen for leadership. I'm trying to figure out who he should marry. There are a couple of very influential families that, if he had ties to them, he would almost be guaranteed to be chosen."

"Do any of them have daughters?"

"Each of the Pedrad families have a daughter. The one closest in age to Wyatt went to Amity. The other one… she is younger, but she has been practically engaged since she could walk. I don't think she's going to be an option."

"Any other families?"

"There are. None of them are as influential as the Pedrads are, but there are one or two more that have daughters the right age."

"Keep me informed of what you decide. Is there anything else I need to know from Dauntless?"

"I'll have Steven get his tattoo in the next couple of months. When I do that, I'll have to let him know what is going on."

"That's fine. I'd like to meet with my younger grandson sometime after that, so that I can discuss his move to Erudite."

"We'll set that up."

"Lisette, is there anything else in Amity?"

"We had more people in the jumpsuits last week. I'm sticking with the theory we developed over the years. The ones in blue are definitely in charge. They have to be the equivalent of Erudite outside of the fence, but I'm starting to think that maybe green isn't the equivalent of Amity."

"Just because the color doesn't match?" Anderson scoffs.

"No. Because they do the grunt work. They do whatever the Erudite tell them to do. I'm thinking they match up with the Factionless."

I contemplate her idea. Trying to think back through the years about the one time I saw them. The ones in green were the ones doing the physical work. "That is a valid hypothesis. Hopefully Adam will become the spokesperson and you can find out for sure."

She continues on. "Another group of Abnegation leaders went to the outside world three days ago. They haven't returned yet."

"Did anyone from Amity or their patrol from Dauntless stay with them?" I ask.

"No. Like always, the Dauntless guards- the 'Amity Patrol' as they call them- crossed over with them and came back. They are always housed separately. No one except for Amity leadership sees them. They don't live or eat with us. I heard Adam tell his friend, Jarrod, that the leaders are supposed to come back tomorrow night, and they need to have the Abnegation serum ready. I still find that puzzling. It's called the Abnegation serum, but they always give it to the Dauntless who cross with the Abnegation, and only rarely to the Abnegation."

I puzzle over that as well. Abnegation serum makes you forget things. They don't want the people who travel as guards to remember what they have done, but they are willing for the people who actually see what happens in the outside world to remember what they see.


"Happy birthday, George," I tell him when I arrive a little late to Beverly's son's birthday party because of my meeting with the children.

"Thank you, Norton." George's older sister, Tori, nudges him, and he continues, "And thank you for the chemistry set."

"Can I get you a drink or a piece of cake? Taryn made the cake," Tori asks in her role as hostess. She looks subtly past me to see if Beverly came with me.

If she isn't already here, Beverly probably won't make it. Since I came straight from my meeting with my children, I didn't get a chance to remind Beverly about her son's party today. "My wife always makes good cake. I'll take a slice of it, thank you."

Tori walks away to get the promised piece of cake, and hopefully a drink to go with the rich cake.

"Mother isn't going to make it, is she." George states is very matter-of-factly for a nine-year-old.

"I didn't come from the office, so I don't know for sure."

"She won't. Tori is going to be mad. Mother promised that she would be here."

"Maybe she will just be late."

George gives me a weak smile. I know it isn't his real smile, since his real smile reminds me of Charlotte, his grandmother. "It's okay if she doesn't. When she realizes that she missed it, she will want to make up for it. I bet she gets me extra chemicals for my new chemistry set."

"Here you go, Norton." Tori hands me the promised cake and a bottle of fizzy drink.

Taking them from her, I tell her, "Thank you. I think I'll go join Taryn."

"Be careful." Tori warns. "I think they are having a GRAMS meeting during the party. I heard Marion saying something about a study group for our botany summer school class."

"Thank you for the warning." I look around, hoping Patrick came with Marion. Instead, I see Evelyn sitting by herself. "Maybe I should go join my granddaughter instead."

"I would!"

"Is anyone sitting here?" I ask Evelyn.

She looks up from the cake she is eating. "No, Grandfather. Have a seat."

"Thank you." Once I am sitting next to her, I ask, "What are you doing here? I didn't expect you to be at George's party."

"Grandmother asked Arianna and me to come with her so Tori would have someone to talk to, but since Tori's mother isn't here, I've just kind of been sitting here while she helps her father with the party."

Looking around the room, I ask, "Where is Arianna?"

"She has a test in Faction History on Monday, so she's home studying. At least that is what she says," Evelyn mumbles the last part.

"You don't believe your sister?"

Evelyn snorts a laugh. "She has a one hundred and ten percent in the class. She didn't want to come, so said she needed to study. She is at home reading a book, but it may or may not have anything to do with Faction History."

"What about you?"

"I have a test in Algebra, but when I tried to say something about that Grandmother said she would help me study after the party and that it would mean a lot for me to come. So even though I have the Algebra review sheet that I could be working on while Grandmother is here..." Evelyn shrugs. "Here I am."

Deciding this is a good moment to see if I'm on the right track, I mention, "Maybe when you finish with your cake, you can help Tori."

Obediently, Evelyn takes the last bite of her cake and stands up. Without a word, she takes her plate to the kitchen.


"You are dense!" Jeanine, Devon and Agatha's oldest granddaughter, exclaims as I enter the door to our apartment.

"Jeanine!" Agatha or Bea's voice exclaims from the kitchen. Even though I have never learned how to tell their voices apart, I'm actually betting it is Bea's. Agatha barely ever speaks up against her headstrong granddaughter.

"Well, Aunt Bea, she is! Most serums are used for healing purposes. There are only five serums that..."

"Jeanine." Bea cuts off her niece.

Looking through the kitchen door way, I am just in time to see Jeanine twist her hair around her fingers while she glares at her aunt. Andrew, the son of Marion's son and Bea's daughter, leans towards Evelyn. "The way to remember the serums that aren't for healing is that there are five factions and five serums, one for each faction. Every other serum has a medicinal property to them." Andrew pulls a sheet of paper towards him and starts writing.

Tori leans forward so she can see what Andrew is showing Evelyn.

"Arianna and Jeanine, while they work on sorting out serums, why don't the two of you see if you can work out the properties that are needed for a patient with early kidney failure." Marion glances at Taryn for her agreement, instead of at the girls, as she assigns them their project.

Studying the group critically, I realize that sometime soon, I'm going to need to figure out where all of these children belong. At least in GRAMS, Jeanine is working with someone who is three years older than her. Maybe this summer for her internship, I should have her work with her grandfather, Devon, and my son, Anderson, in serums. It could be interesting to see how she does there.

Marion has said that Andrew seems to have a knack for medicine, and with his family tree, that makes sense. Marion, his paternal grandmother, is a midwife, while Alistair, his paternal grandfather, is a medical researcher. Anthony, his father, is an obstetrician. Patrick, his maternal grandfather, is an oncologist, and Vanessa, his mother, is in general practice. Only Bea, his maternal grandmother, isn't in the medical field. Maybe I should set up a medical internship for him this summer.

Tori situates herself so she can see what Andrew is showing Evelyn, creating something on her screen at the same time. Technology. Maybe she should be with Beverly to see if it helps their relationship.

Whichever of my granddaughters stays, I will put in the medical field, but even if I keep Arianna at the next Choosing Ceremony, I think I'll put Evelyn in a medical internship this summer. Medical professionals help people much like they do in Abnegation. It could be a good training ground for...

"Taryn!" Bea cries out.

Looking over at my wife, I see her weave just a little on her feet. "Grandmother!" Evelyn is out of her chair and holding her grandmother, trying to steady her.

Marion grabs the chair Evelyn was sitting on and pushes it under Taryn. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just tired and I got up too fast." Taryn pulls off her glasses and rubs her eyes.

"You need to go see the doctor," Marion tells her firmly.

"I'm fine."


"Ariana to stay in Erudite and Evelyn to go to Abnegation. What do you think?" I ask Anderson when we meet at his picture a week later.

"Evelyn is generally more compliant, and Arianna is slightly more intelligent, so I think you are right."

"Why didn't you just say something?"

"You've always liked the idea of Fiona and Evelyn ending up in the same faction."

"Well, that's not going to happen, is it."

Anderson smiles at me. "No, I don't think it is going to. Do you want me to talk to Arianna, or do you want to?"

Out of necessity, Ray had been the one to talk to Wyatt about his history before I met my grandson for the first time, but I did talk to Wyatt about what I wanted from him before his Choosing Day. I hadn't thought about what I would do with the grandchildren I already know. "Bring Arianna here. We'll talk to her about it together. I'll let you do most of the talking and I'll answer any questions that she has. Then we'll let her pick out her own piece of art work."


"Walk with me." Anderson comes no further into my office than the door.

Answering without looking up, I tell him, "Now isn't a good time, Anderson."

He steps in and closes the door behind him. "Fa, you need to go for a walk with me."

My head snaps up. Lisette is the only child who ever called me Fa. I mouth her name. "Lisette?"

He nods.

Closing the folder that I am working on, I stand up and leave my office with Anderson. "Glynis, please let the rest of my appointments know that I may be unavailable the rest of the day. I'll be back in as soon as I can, but tentatively reschedule everything."

Glynis hesitates to see if I give her more information before answering, "Yes, Norton."

Walking purposefully to the elevator, I twist my key into the lock to give us a non-stop ride down to the bottom. Anderson opens his mouth. I put a hand on his arm to keep him from speaking, then look up intentionally to the camera perched in the corner. Years ago, I tried to argue against having cameras in the elevators, but since they are not for my private use, and something could happen in them, I lost that battle.

Anderson leads the way, although it doesn't take me long to realize that we are headed to our meeting building. Once we arrive in an area where there isn't much coverage, he talks quietly. "She showed up today at my office. We were expecting a delivery of bees' wax in three days, but she showed up with it today." He stops walking, causing me to stop, too, and look at him. "She looks... awful. She's been crying. She's upset about something. She handed me this."

After I take the note from Anderson, we start walking again. My pace speeds up as I read her words. You know where. Now.

I hesitate for only a moment when we are in the building. She could be in two different places. She could be by her picture, or she could be where we all meet. Lisette gave the note to Anderson. Assuming that she would want to make sure he could find her if I couldn't come, I head to the group meeting room and not to her painting where he wouldn't be able to find her.

When we get down there, we find her huddled on the floor, clutching her legs, her face buried in her lap. I kneel on the dusty floor, mindless of the marks it will leave on my navy suit. My arms go around her, drawing her close. "Lisette, what's wrong?"

Her face is marked with tears. Her eyes are terrorized. Her voice is rough and fearful. "He's one of them, Fa. He's one of them!"

"Who? What?" I stroke her hair to try to calm her down.

She leans into me and sobs. "Adam. He's one of them. He's Divergent."