Kayden's POV

Kayden was sat in his office, browsing through the summary sheet of reports he had stacked in the to do basket at one side of his desk. Carl, a fellow ex-Amity, went around the floor with his trolley handing out stacks of reports tied together to each of the mini stalls that served as offices for each of the Checkers.

Kayden's pile was larger than most.

When he started this job, he only received the reports from the fence barracks by the gate leading to Amity. Somewhere along the first few months, Kayden had accidentally taken some of the reports from Kim's department and hadn't realised until he discovered it in his stack. The figures were incorrect to what was on the system, and since Cody's OCD had rubbed off onto Kayden, he needed to righten it immediately. Ex-Erudites are a pain in Kayden's ass and a bad influence… A month or so after that another report from Kim's department came across his desk. Once again it had been incorrect according to the report on the system, so Kayden checked it out and corrected the figures on the system before sending it off to the archives.

Days afterwards, Kayden had been sat at his desk, trying to do his job except he couldn't concentrate. If two reports of the same department were incorrect, was there a possibility that there was more? It wasn't long before Kayden charmed his way into taking most, if not all, of the reports coming out of Kim's department.

Now Kayden's pile still consists of reports on the supplies in Dauntless, mostly the ones on weapons, uniforms and ammo. His report on the Fence were integrated less and less into his pile but that wasn't by his own influence. Kayden put money on it being either Liam or Max sending the reports his way since Kayden was getting shit done.

A knock on the stall wall breaks Kayden from his thoughts. He lifts his head to see Liam standing with a smirk on his face.

Kayden immediately panics, only just remembering they were scheduled for a meeting before Kayden did his checks. "Sir –" Kayden hurried stands from his chair, only for Liam to wave him off.

"Please, it's okay." Liam stepped inside as he shoved his hands into his jean pockets. "My own meeting with Max and Kim ran over." He sighed. "Another meeting to end in argument unfortunately…"

Kayden grimaced. "If it's such an inconvenience, I can stop –"

"Would you though?" Liam grins. "\Would you really leave all those incorrect reports to pile up?"

"I –" Kayden hesitates, his eye twitching a little, and Liam laughs.

"I thought not. Anyway, Kim's not just getting it from us either. Some of her own checkers were actually really confused when they found out you weren't a part of their department. They started hackling at her too, it was beautiful!"

Kayden smiles tightly. As much as he appreciated the Leaders trying to get Kayden into the department where he'll belong better too, it was starting to put a target on his back. Many times within this last month or so, Kayden had seen Kim – and a few soldiers that follow her around – lurking around Kayden's stall at odd hours of the day. Every time Kayden was only thankful he was with others and he could only imagine what would have happened if Kayden were alone on the floor…

He shakes off the tingling feeling that ran up his spine. "I'm going down to the warehouse to check through everything, if you'd like to join?" Kayden asks the Leader as he picks up a small satchel with all of the reports with incorrect figures of supplies in. Kayden tucks a pen and notebook into the bag and waits for Liam's answer.

"Sure." Liam grins. "I've only had your reports about the system you have going on. I'd love to see it."

"Okay." Kayden quickly locks his computer Let's go." Kayden and Liam walk towards the lifts and as they pass other stalls, some of the Checkers pop their heads out to greet Kayden. It takes them a while to realise that Liam's there too and the Leader gets a stuttered apology. When the two enter the lifts and press the button for the ground floor, Kayden catches Liam smirking at him. "What?"

Liam shakes his head. "Do you always get greeted like that?"

"Sometimes, yeah."

Liam hums as he stares at Kayden. "Do you help them with any troubles they have with reports? Like you did back on the fence?"

"Well yeah… If they ask for help, I'll help them. I just… I don't see the point in not helping someone when the consequences could possibly affect the Faction. If someone doesn't know what to do, then I'll happily stay until after work hours to help them understand the process." Even as Kayden said how he thought the floor should be run, a stark opposite to the isolating system that Kim had going, Liam smirked at Kayden like the younger soldier had passed some kind of test.

"That's a nice way of looking at it."

For the rest of the ride on the lift, Liam was quiet as he typed something into his tablet. Between typing Liam would send a smirk in Kayden's direction before resuming typing. Regardless of how curious Kayden was, he had too much respect for Liam as a Leader and person to try and take a peek at what the Leader was typing.

It amazes him sometimes that Liam is only one year older than Kayden and happens to hold one of the highest positions in the Faction. The same could be said for Lilah, who only had a few months on Kayden, and was on the same level as Liam. He forgot how well-off Kayden and his friends were. Some of them were Leaders, Faction Ambassadors, squaddies, Control room operatives… Even though through sheer luck, Kayden was now held in quite a high position, it was a far cry from the boy he was in Amity, living in a wooden shack with parents who didn't want him, a sister who didn't remember him and a Faction that ignored him.

They stopped at the ground floor and Liam let Kayden lead the way out of the compound and to the warehouses clustered with other buildings on Dauntless' territory. Kayden forgets how large Dauntless is until he makes his rounds to the supply warehouses. Sometimes Kayden would see Alec and Hugo on their way to the building that all the Weapons Specialists worked in since the warehouses were close by. The warehouse holding all the weapons and ammo was closest to the WSD building and was even connected by an underground tunnel so weapons could be easily and quickly stored once they had been mass produced. The next warehouse along held everything else, sectioned off by each floor.

There were several dirt roads that led to the warehouses' loading bays. One of which led to the docks where Dauntless got their deliveries from the other Factions like Amity and Erudite every month. A Dauntless truck would bring most of the stock to the warehouses while the rest entered the compound. The others led towards each barracks on the fence.

Kayden nodded to the two guards that stood either side of the door into the warehouse holding the weapons and they let him in without having to flash any sort of ID… Not that Kayden actually owned any with clearance into these buildings…

Liam glanced at Kayden when they entered the building, and the door was shut behind them. "So how did you first gain access to these buildings?" When Kayden eyed Liam sharply, the Leader chuckled. "Don't worry, whatever you say won't be held against you in the future."

Kayden exhaled a breath. "The first time I acted like a snivelling mess that had a task from the Leaders and didn't want to mess up on my first day." Kayden rolled his eyes at his own antics. "I milked it a lot and it made the guards so uncomfortable that they just let me in without asking for ID." He sent a roguish grin to Liam. "You should maybe pull them up on that… The second time I needed access to the warehouses, I used the same façade but dialled it down a bit and continued to do so each time I needed to enter the buildings. Now I think they're thankful that I just nod at them."

The Leader snickered but said nothing else.

Kayden took this silence as a green light to get to work. He started on the first set of reports, thankful that he ordered them by floor. The soldiers that worked in the warehouses waved at Kayden as he walked towards where the ammo was kept.

Liam lets Kayden go about his duties without another word. The Leader went around the floor, asking the soldiers questions about the warehouses and how often they saw Kim down here. Kayden knew that the answer would be hardly ever. Since he's been coming down to the warehouses, he's never seen Kim or her lackeys here. Instead of focusing on the information the Leader is trying to gain, Kayden blocks it all out as he works, quickly falling into the calming motions.

Kayden moves from report to report, from floor to floor, correcting the figures to then later be uploaded into the system. In the hours it takes Kayden to go through all of the reports, he hardly notices Liam going to each of the offices on each floor to update the amount of supplies that need to be sent out to each of the barracks on different parts of the fence.

He hums to himself when he packs the last report into his bag along with the pen and notebook full of new figures to upload. When Kayden ended up at the lifts, he saw Liam waiting for him.

"Are you done for today?" The Leader asked.

Kayden nodded as they entered the lift and pressed the ground floor button. "Yeah, there weren't any reports for the other warehouses today."

"Huh… So do you go there less?"

"I try to check that warehouse every two weeks or so but sometimes the reports for ammo and weapons are just too much that I can't always get down there."

"Well, even if you can't, you're going a fantastic job kiddo."

Even though Kayden blushes from the praise, he snarls half-heartedly at kiddo, like there wasn't a year between them or anything…

xXx

Kayden's heart hurts beyond belief to see his home, his Faction, in such ruin. There were broken parts of the ceiling on the floor of the Pit and collapsed staircases. But what had his heart in pieces were the bodies of Dauntless soldiers.

While the attack was expected by nearly everyone in Dauntless, they had all expected it out on the Front Lines, not in the very heart of their Faction…

And not with a Leader at the helm of the invasion…

Liam had told him who the traitor was when Kayden has stepped onto the Checkers floor and found it in complete chaos the morning after. While Kim's involvement was a shock, now that Kayden thinks about it, it wasn't that much of a surprise.

The night before had been a movie night with Alec, Lilah and Flare. Alec and Lilah had left them early on in the night because they had plans to stay the night with Lilah's family. They had offered Issy to join them too, so she could relax without anybody mentioning Eric. It was a shame that Issy couldn't be there, but they had understood that as a captain, especially a captain on the Front, she needed to be available at any moment necessary.

Kayden had felt an intense amount of guilt when he found out what happened. Neither he nor Flare had heard any commotion from their apartment, mostly because the amount of alcohol they had consumed was enough to knock them out. In a bid to make up for it, Kayden stepped up and wrangled the other Checkers into some form of order, so it wasn't another thing of the Leaders' plate.

It had been a long week or so of ordering what supplies were needed where and getting them to the locations as quickly as possible, while keeping the reports up to date throughout all of the departments.

So much had happened that Kayden's mind felt heavy. Every person he talked to told him something new that had happened in the midst of the invasion. Josh's best friends and Cassian's parents had died. Issy was in the infirmary after passing out – not really a surprise either since she's literally a walking hazard. Dauntless had been betrayed by their own Leader. The current Leaders have gone through trials with the help of truth serum to prove their loyalty to Dauntless. The Leaders were also putting the rest of Leadership – ambassadors, assistants, Checkers etc. – in trials with truth serum to weed out any more traitors. Zeke and Cody had been temporarily promoted to Head of the Control Room while Four takes some time off. Uriah's squad was moving to the Front.

Throughout this chaos, Dauntless had somehow adapted to an odd normalcy… A feat hat Dauntless would only be able to pull off. While the repairs throughout the Faction, there were only a few Dauntless left that were interested in the remaining trials of the Leadership staff. What had most of the Faction teetering on the edge was who would take over Kim's department.

It was the main topic being whispered through the hallways. A few of the older members were eager to get someone in Leadership that had been in the Faction for a few years and had experience to level out the amount of youngsters in Leadership – nit-picking at Lilah and Liam's worth as Leaders. Kayden heard that a few people wanted Four in Leadership and were the very same that didn't want Eric in the position in the first place. Sometimes people named a few soldiers that Kayden had never heard of. Others in the Faction called out names of younger soldiers, calling it the new generation of Leadership.

Even as the Faction argued their preferences, it was down to Leadership to choose.

Kayden only hoped Leadership would make up their minds soon, because he was fed up with people asking him whether of nor he knew if Golden Eyes wanted the position she turned down years ago.

Every single time, Kayden's response stayed the same as it was the very same response Issy gives when asked that question.

Fuck no.

xXx

"–den?" His shoulders were shoved, and Kayden groaned. "Kayden? Kaaaaayden!"

Kayden jumped up and promptly fell off his chair. "I'm awake!" He yelled from the floor. Kayden lifted his head up to quickly and smacked it against the lip of his desk.

Someone sniggered. "Now you're awake for sure!"

Kayden groaned and pulled himself back into his chair and looked up to see Carl with his trolley of reports. Carl was leaning against the handle of his trolley, grinning down at him. When Carl made no move to place reports on his desk, Kayden lifted an eyebrow. "What? No reports for me today?"

"Nah, Max wants to see you today." The grin stays on Carl's face. "Apparently it'll take up most of the day."

Kayden frowned, still holding his head. There wasn't anything on his schedule that said he had a catch-up meeting with Max… In fact, the last meeting Kayden went to when the Leaders – Max, Liam and Eric – were present was months ago. "When?"

"Now."

Ten minutes later and Kayden is running past the receptionist's desk on the Leadership floor. Carl hadn't given Kayden much warning and he had been on his feet immediately. Kayden locked his computer, put away his reports and ran to the lift as quickly as he could.

He almost skidded past Max's office in his hurry but caught himself at the last moment. Kayden took a moment to straighten his uniform before he knocked loudly on the door.

"Come in!" Max's voice was muffled, and Kayden stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. The office was filled with columns of reports upon reports. As Head Leader, every report from every department come across Max's desk. With the added load of Kim's department, Kayden didn't want to be in the shoes of Head Leader. "Ah! Kayden! Did you get Carl's message?"

"Yeah, like ten minutes ago."

Max chuckled as he shifted a file on his desk. "Sorry lad, I would have sent an email in advance, but Zeke and Cody are reworking the system and it was down for most of the morning."

"No problem sir."

"Please," Max gestured to the chair in front of him. "Sit."

Kayden sat down as instructed. "Is there any reason you wanted to see me sir?"

Max stares at Kayden for a moment before answering. "There was. I've had word from the other Leaders that you've been running supplies to the departments that need them."

"Yes sir, I apologise if I was overstepping –"

Max raises his hand and Kayden stops talking. "I would like to thank you on the behalf of Leadership. Your work has helped us a lot this past week. On that note Kayden, Leadership has come to a decision." Max paused, watching him. "We would like to offer you a position in our ranks, taking over Kim's department."

Kayden's jaw drops. "You're offering me Leadership?"

Max smirks a little. "Yes. While working as a Report Checker you've flourished more than I had ever thought you would… You started finding evidence of a traitor forging reports, and even started to make it harder for Kim to get away with it after you took most of the supply reports and corrected them yourself. Since Kim's reveal and the aftermath of the invasion, you stepped up, and indirectly took over Kim's department in all but official name and training. Kayden, officially Leadership have divided Kim's department between us but with all the work you're doing, it's left us with every little to do."

Kayden's mouth was still hanging open. Occasionally his jaw worked as he tried to think of something to say but eventually all he got out was: "But you're – you're offering me Leadership?"

"I must admit you weren't our first choice for the position, but you are supported by three Leaders." Max grins a little. "Any guess on who?"

"Lilah." Kayden said instantly, knowing his friend would support him.

"Yes, my daughter has a lot of faith you'll rise up to any task we set for you and I'm beginning to believe it for myself."

"Liam?" Kayden guessed and Max smirked again.

"Liam feels like he was the source to your success on the Checkers' floor." Max chuckles. "Though he's reports that you're well respected by everyone you've worked with." Kayden frowns as he thinks of who the third could be. One name appears in his head but surely that can't be. Max, seemingly able to read his thoughts, grins. "And the third was of course Eric."

"Eric?"

"Yes, Eric. He admires the work you've done to get where you are. Given that you've been supported by three Leaders instead of chosen much like both Lilah and Liam were, all three of them have offered to train you if you accept the position. And no," Max eyes Kayden knowingly. "Your limp does not effect your ability to lead. If you were taking over Eric's or even Harrison's department, then maybe, but Kim's is strictly within the Faction."

Kayden's mouth finally shuts.

Max offered him Leadership.

Leadership.

Three of the current Leaders supported him for the role. Lilah and Liam he expected, but Eric was a surprise.

They offered Kayden Leadership.

Kayden's initial thought was that he was too young to be a Leader, but then he thought of Lilah. She was the same age as he and Kayden knew that if Lilah was struggling with anything, the rest of Leadership was there to catch her and help if necessary.

Leadership.

Though… If Kayden did take the position, he could get all of those reports under control, completely change the layout of the Checker's floor, and make sure the department runs smoothly…

"Of course," Max starts, his voice breaking through Kayden's thoughts. "Like the rest of the Leaders, if you accept the position, you will have to be put under truth serum for the rest of Dauntless to know if you stand for this Faction or not, to gain their trust."

Kayden swallows and tries to stop the shudder that threatens to pulse through his body. Truth serum was only administered by injection and needles was still a big fear of Kayden's. He wondered if truth serum felt the same as peace serum – thick and cloggy and heavy.

We believe in freedom from fear, in denying fear the power to influence our decisions.

Kayden straightened his spine, lifting his chin up and met Max's curious gaze. "I accept the offer for Leadership."