A/N: So I'm really glad you guys are enjoying this story so far :) Bamberlee and I thoroughly appreciate all your reviews and follows and favourites. Keep 'em comin ;) lol


Chapter 3

TRIS

"Let's gear up, Alpha squad!" Colin shouts a dramatic battle cry. Illuminated only by the headlights of the truck, he thrusts his large rifle in the air three times. When he sees us all staring at him questioningly, he can't help but abandon his theatrical moment with a grin.

Christina laughs at him as she throws a few supplies into the truck- grenades, gas masks, a large rope, flashlights, night goggles and more bullets than we need. We don't know what to expect when we arrive at the site of the alleged factionless hideout tonight, so we're taking everything we could possibly need to get out of there safely.

"It won't stick, Colin," Christina teases. "No matter how many times you say it."

"Because you won't let it," Colin passes the rifle to Christina and then he rests his back against the side of the truck. The light of the full moon reflects off his pitch black hair. "Just go with it, Chris."

"No," she smiles, setting the rifle down in the truck and then pulling her hair up, "Because it's stupid."

"I second that motion," Cora chips in. "I mean… Alpha squad? Really?" She throws a bag filled with cans of teargas into the back. When one of the cans rolls out onto the floor and she bends over to pick it up, Colin shamelessly stares at her ass with wide open eyes. Cora has a body most women would die for, her honey-brown skin is flawless and her hair is rich- dark and thick. She's confident, the kind of woman who knows she could get any man she wants, yet she's strangely humble, and she's always been a team player.

Watching them all interact with each other reminds me of old times and I can't help but smile. To be honest I miss my old team sometimes. We were always so different, but in a good way; everybody brought something unique to the table.

I look around me and take it all in. I don't remember the last time I was out here, mission base, in the middle of the night, standing in an outdoor parking lot filled with Dauntless trucks. Seeing it all again feels so strange, like I'm standing in the middle of a memory.

"I think everything's loaded," Cora adds. "That's as much as we can carry, anyway." She playfully pushes Colin out of the way and jumps into the front seat.

"Heeeeey," Colin jeers as he steps away from the truck. "I already called shot gun!"

I laugh at him and I take a seat in the back. Colin always was fun to be around. He made every mission enjoyable and completely made you forget you were in absolute danger. When he jumps in beside me he says, "It's good to have you back, Tris."

"Don't get used to it," I tell him. "I'm only here as a favour to Harrison."

"Shame," he says earnestly. "You were a great squad leader."

"What he means is," Christina says in a low voice, jumping in the empty seat to my right. "Chad's an idiot. I'm surprised he hasn't gotten himself killed yet."

"He's like a cockroach," Cora laughs in the front seat, and then we're all laughing with her.

The four of us immediately quiet the second we see Chad and another man approaching the truck. I was told his name is Shane, only recently added to the team. He's a giant, the very opposite of inconspicuous.

From what Christina tells me, Chad runs this team a lot differently than I did. I focused on stealth, speed and agility, while he's all about brute force. He typically uses a lot of firepower and muscle, leaving behind a disaster in his wake, whereas I would have been in and out and no one would have been the wiser. I suppose it shouldn't matter as long as the job gets done.

Chad jumps into the back of the truck with all the equipment and Shane sits in the driver's side. "It's a pleasure to have you, ma'am," the large, bald man turns around and says to me with a nod, and then he turns on the ignition.

For no reason whatsoever Chad feels the need to clarify, "You will have all noticed Tris is with us for this mission, and she's very welcome, but I'm calling the shots here." He's obviously not too thrilled about my presence here, but I'm not here to babysit him. My job is to make sure we see everything there is to see in that place.

"Whatever," Christina whispers beside me. I almost laugh and I suddenly wonder if anyone in this team actually listens to him.

We take off from the Dauntless compound, and it's not a long drive to where Harrison said we would board the train. We use the time to fill our vests with everything we think we would need. My team leaves the flashlights, just like I taught them, and they all pull a pair of night goggles. I put three grenades in my vest, and I make sure everything is secured tight. Christina passes me a pair of handcuffs and a can of tear gas.

I check my handgun three times to make sure it's loaded.

"You're nervous," she says to me as we jump out of the truck. The tracks begin to rattle and in the distance we can hear the train approaching.

"Apprehensive," I smile. "It's been a while… and I keep worrying about Andy. I've never been out this late. He might be worried or have trouble falling asleep."

"Trust me, I don't think that feeling ever goes away," Christina says sombrely, patting me on the shoulder as we walk ahead of the others. "It's why Uriah and I agreed to not go on missions together. Someone always stays at home with the girls."

We glance behind us when the bright headlights of the train illuminate the night in front of us and the horn is loud in our ears. Then we start running alongside the tracks when the train is close enough behind us. It passes us so quickly that we're all suddenly hit by a forceful and cold wind, but then the train slows down a bit, just as Harrison said it would. We run faster, chasing the train until we find an open door. Christina's the first to jump in, and I grab onto the rail, pulling myself in behind her. All the others jump in behind me.

The train car is so dark we can hardly see each other, and the rattling and squeaking of the wheels on the tracks seems louder than usual. Christina and I claim our own corner like we always did when we were on missions together. I always loved working with her; I knew that no matter what she was on my six.

"So how do you guys decide whose turn it is to babysit?" I pick up the conversation right where we had left it, and I lean my back against the cold metal.

"We flip a coin. I know. It's juvenile," she chuckles. "We both love the job, but we love the girls so much more. We're both glad when we get to babysit."

"Well, I trust our children will still be in one piece when we get back," I laugh. When Andy's usual babysitter couldn't squeeze me in at the last minute, Uriah volunteered to watch him.

"Uriah is surprisingly good with kids though," Christina smiles.

"That's probably because he is one," I mumble, and Christina jabs me playfully in the side. We stare through the door for a while, even though we can't see much out there. After another minute of our dark, cold and bumpy ride passes, I say, "Chris, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How does Amy feel about you getting married?" I bite my lip when I ask the question because I know my best friend. I'm curious as to how they dealt with it, how the girls handled it, but I don't want her to read too much into it and she doesn't usually know how to do that.

"She's actually excited about it," she answers with a soft squeal. "We're officially moving into Uri's place so she gets a bigger room, and she and MJ get to be real sisters like they've always wanted to be. Why do you ask?"

"Andy asked me if he's going to get a new daddy… because Amy's getting one," I confess softly.

"Oh…" Christina's grin fades immediately. "Well… Amy loves Uriah. I mean who doesn't. But it was important for her to understand that he's not here to replace her dad. Nobody could ever replace Will just like nobody could ever replace Four. Loving a whole new person doesn't mean you've stopped loving another. But Amy's seven so…," she pauses, "I'm sure explaining these things to her is a bit easier than explaining it to Andy." With a shrug she says, "You should probably ask Uri. MJ is only a year older than Andy and he was the one who broke the news to her. Maybe he'll be able to help you."

I nod, but I don't say anything else.

"Does this mean things went well with Derek?" she grins, taking the conversation exactly where I knew she would, exactly where I wish she wouldn't.

"On the contrary," I grumble.

"You know, I'm still waiting for an update on how your date went," she scowls and folds her arms across her chest. Gone is Christina the soldier, and standing in her wake is Christina my best friend.

"Let's not ruin such a beautiful night," I say with a laugh, extending my arms out into the darkness.

"Fine," she laughs back. Then seriously she says, "I'm glad you asked though. I mean, it might not be Derek, but one day you might have to have that conversation with Andy… and I think it's great that you realize that." She stumbles over the words and it's probably because she's afraid I might take it the wrong way. But it's okay; I already know people wish I would just move on already.

"It's not really that," I confess.

"Oh." The disappointment is subtle in her voice. "Then what is it?"

"He keeps asking about his dad, and every time he does it makes me feel guilty."

"Guilty about what, Tris?" Christina touches my shoulder and leans up off the wall to face me. "It's not wrong to try and move on, you know. It's what Four would have wanted. He wouldn't want you to be unhappy, and he wouldn't want you raising his son alone."

But Tobias isn't here, and I hate it when people tell me what he would and wouldn't have wanted for me. They didn't know him like I did; if anyone knows what he would and wouldn't want, it's me. And what he wouldn't want is me settling with some random guy just so I wouldn't have to be alone, especially because of Andy.

I'd say I don't know how Christina and Uriah could somehow find happiness together after having both lost the love of their lives, but I do. They were nothing like Tobias and me. They didn't have the history we did. We all fell into the net together, but when I did, Tobias was already waiting for me. He didn't care who was around, he didn't care who saw. I barely got out of the net before he grabbed me and kissed me so hard, pouring out everything he had into it. After all, he had waited all of two years for me.

Not to mention when I got to Dauntless they were at the bitter end of a silent war with the Erudite. The second Tobias understood what divergence was, he knew I would be different just like he was. And after his friend Amar went missing, he went on a mission to put an end to whatever the hell it was that was happening. He was adamant that no harm would ever come to me. To the Divergent he's a hero, but what they don't know is Tobias didn't start that war for them. He started that war for me… so I could be safe.

Sometimes I think my mother is the only one who understands. It makes me wonder if there's something different about Abnegation love. I tried to get her to return to Dauntless when my father died so she wouldn't be alone, but it wasn't permitted. Later that year she told me that even if she was permitted to go back, she wouldn't have. She couldn't bear to leave the house where they had spent so many wonderful years together. Every room is filled with memories of him, and just like me, she hasn't really been able to let go. She lies awake at night staring at the empty side of the bed just like I do. Every so often I can hear the phantom of Tobias' voice whispering, 'Goodnight, Beautiful'.

That's what I feel guilty about- holding on to Tobias and dragging Andy along with me.

"We're here," Chad shouts, thankfully before I have to give Christina an explanation.

"We'll talk about this later," she says insistently, and we all hoard up at the door of the train car.

"We stick to the plan," Chad commands. "We take a look around, make note of anything suspicious, and we interrogate anyone who runs. We take as prisoner anybody who doesn't cooperate. Let's get the information we need by all means necessary."

"You got it, boss," Shane replies, looking overly excited.

"Now let's go!"

We jump off the train one by one, and stealthily we move behind the huge trees and buildings which appear to be growing toward the sky together; over time, what was man-made and what was natural seemed to have merged into one. I look around curiously, the moonlight so bright no one even needs the night goggles. I've never been this far north before. I never even knew anything was out here.

The buildings are far more run down than in the city, but obviously still occupied on the lower floors. The glow of candles and lamps can be seen through some of the windows. We move past all of them, heading straight to the big one at the back, where Harrison had instructed us to go.

The wind blows the leaves around us, and their rustling covers the sound of our footsteps as the six of us move in single file, our guns ready and pointed in front of us. The ground is uneven, concrete one minute and then earth the next. Quickly, we cross what used to be a road.

"There it is," Chad whispers, pointing to a large building ahead of us, at least fifty floors up. The walls are concrete but there are several windows, large and small, spread out across each floor. The light coming through the windows tells me that at least half of this building is occupied, and according to Harrison's source, the person we're looking for is almost at the very top.

"Harrison never mentioned which door, now did he?" Chad mumbles to himself. There are two, one to the far left and one to the far right.

"We're not seriously taking the stairs," I challenge him when I come to understand what he's implying. "This building has at least fifty floors. We won't make it half way without being spotted first."

"What do you suggest, Tris?" Colin asks me, looking at me attentively.

"We should scale the walls of the building. The trees grow alongside it on either side and they're tall enough to take us to at least the thirtieth floor. After that we can break one of the smaller windows higher up and climb the rest. We have rope; we can use it to help us climb up and then back down."

"She's right," Cora backs me up. She takes off her backpack and begins to open it up. "I have the rope right here."

"No one's climbing anything," Chad spits, grabbing Cora by the arm. "I'm squad leader and I say we're taking the stairs."

I give him an eye, but I don't challenge him. He's right, this is his squad now, and he specifically asked that I not meddle in the way he chooses to carry out this mission. Those were the terms he made when Harrison asked that I tag along.

"Whatever you say, boss," I say nonchalantly, without any of Shane's enthusiasm.

"We're gonna split up," he says. "Christina, Cora, Shane, you guys go left. Colin and Tris, you're with me. Keep close. We'll do what we have to do and meet up at the top if we find anything there. Everyone clear?"

"Clear," the whole team says in unison.

My gut tells me this is a bad idea, but knowing the skill set of this team, I decide to let it play out. I'd rather not have to use firepower, especially if these people are innocent, but if they are hostile, it might be our only way out of here.

Chad opens the door and we make our way inside; Colin sticks to my left, his gun always pointing wherever he's looking. It's dark on the bottom floor but we find the door that leads to the stairway and we begin to make our way up.

We move slowly, but the night is so quiet that our footsteps seem way too loud. I cringe.

"You're gonna get your squad killed one day, Chad," I whisper to him. He's a few steps ahead of me.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion," he growls.

"Well I don't need your permission. I worked with these guys for three years, some of them five. They're excellent soldiers and they deserve your best." I keep my voice down, but my tone is stern. "You keep making stupid decisions and watch how you'll lose them."

Colin doesn't say anything behind me, but I know he can hear me. If I can't have Chad removed as squad leader, I'll be sure to tell every member of this team to ask for a transfer, especially Chris and Uriah. They'll listen to me.

Chad begins to move slower, stopping entirely when he hears movement on one of the floors. There's a dim flickering light inside it, probably from a candle.

"Let's take a look on this floor," he says, not looking at me.

I don't answer him. I only keep my gun ready as he slowly pushes the doors open. I have all intentions of going home to my son tonight.

We step into a room full of sleeping people covered in blankets, thirty maybe forty of them. But something's off. They're not huddled together, there are no couples, there are no children, and I get the feeling at least one of them is already awake and pretending not to be.

"Something's wrong. We need to move," I whisper.

But Chad ignores me and he advances into the room. He kicks one of the snoring men in the leg and says, "What kind of intel does Harrison think we're going to get out of these people? They all look drunk."

"Chad," I insist. "We need to get-"

"Hand over your weapons," A deep voice says in my ear and I freeze. I get goose bumps when I feel the barrel of a gun pressed into my back. I don't turn around, but in the corner of my eye I can see two men standing behind us, the other one holding Colin at gunpoint. "That includes you blondie," one of the men says to Chad who immediately sets his gun on the floor.

I raise my hands in the air, and so does Colin.

Suddenly, the people in the room spring to life, each and every one of them armed. My heart races in my chest as about twenty guns are pointed at me.

We walked right into a trap. We were set up.