Chapter 4
The days of training flew by. Everyday was the same routine, practice from 7:30 am until noon. Then a one hour lunch break before training started again until 6:00 pm. Seven days a week. Only from their third month in stage one they would get the Sundays off. The brutal training and fights had left all initiates exhausted, battered and bruised by now. Lauren hadn't been kidding when she told them that they would prefer sleeping above hanging out in the Pit. On most of the days, right after dinner and a shower, the majority of the initiates crashed into their bunk beds to sleep. The third month couldn't come soon enough for them.
Jada still managed to keep up with her extra training hours, though. Eric never mentioned their nightly encounter in the training room, nor did he walk in on her again. Jada didn't question it and just took advantage of the opportunity. She wished she could ask Amar or Four for help, but she knew it wasn't an option. She had to do without their help now. So she decided to put the most of the extra training in strengthening her upper body, since that was her weakest spot. One of these days she would have to fight Neo and she'd better be prepared for that.
When Jada rolled out of her bed for the second time that morning, she hissed in pain when she pushed herself off the bed with her left hand. Now that the dorm lights were on, she noticed a big bulge and a dark bruise on her knuckles. "Shit," she muttered under her breath. Her hand did hurt after a wrong-placed punch during her extra practice a couple of hours earlier. But she didn't think it was that serious. Groaning, she now prayed that it wasn't broken. The rest of the initiates also got out of bed and started walking around in the dorm to their closets and the bathroom. Wanting to hide her injury for the others, Jada quickly changed into her training clothes and put on a extra hoodie to tuck her left hand in the front pocket. A shower would have to wait. She managed to brush her teeth with one hand, but to put her hair back up in a ponytail she needed both. Well, that had to wait too.
Lynn was still in bed, half a sleep. Jada tapped her shaved head a couple of times. "Lynn, I've run out of clean shirts, I have to pick up some from the laundry room. Meet you guys at breakfast, okay?" Lynn just mumbled something inaudible in response. Jada fled out of the dorm and took on a sprint on her way through the cave-like hallways. She didn't have very much time, if she still wanted to get some breakfast and make it in time to training. After a five minute run, she arrived at her destination. The infirmary.
The young brunette made her way inside, squeezing her eyes until they were adjusted to the bright lights. In contrary to the rest of the Dauntless headquarter, the infirmary was the only compartment that had spotless white walls and ceiling. Where the darkness of the compound seemed to keep all of the secrets within it's walls, everything was open and transparent in the infirmary. Jada scowled at her surrounding, she hated this atmosphere. But it wasn't like she was here for fun, nor for visiting one of her friends. She knew she needed help herself. So she scanned the waiting area and the reception, hoping her brothers girlfriend was on duty that morning.
"Can I help you?" A young nurse behind the desk addressed her. "Is Shauna Williams here?" "No, she isn't on duty right now. Can I help you?" Jada looked disappointed, weighing her options in her mind. Before she could respond to the nurse, a hand grabbed her elbow and pulled her back. A concerned looking Four bowed his head to her. "Jade? What are you doing here?" Jada scrunched her nose in response, not particularly fond of having to explain her situation to him in the waiting area, with a couple of other members lingering around. Four seemed to read her expression and guided her towards one of the hallways behind the reception. "I've got this Janet, she wants to visit one of the other initiates," Four called out to the nurse behind the desk. A slight blush appeared on the girl's face, before she waved her hand at them to walk through. Jada's lips tugged up in a sly grin.
Four pulled her further along, until they passed an empty treatment room. Four quickly scanned the hallway, before shoving her inside. Closing the door behind him, he nudged his head to the table. Jada obeyed groaning. "She has got the hots for you, my friend. You should ask her out some time." Four raised his eyebrows at her. "Not interested." "Why not?! Are you even into girls? You never hook up with anyone, and you're clearly immune to my fabulous good looks. So, you can tell me if you're gay you know, it's no problem at all!" Jada winked at him, making it obvious she was just teasing him. Although, she really did wonder sometimes why her friend was still single. He was handsome, a real Dauntless prodigy since his initiation and most of the female population swooned at the mere sight of him. He didn't give any of them the time of day, though.
Four didn't look amused. "Not you too...," he grumbled, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "Just to be clear, no I'm not into guys. Not that I've a problem with people who are. But we are not having this discussion right now." He walked over to her and gave her one of his stern looks. "Tell me...Are you hurt?" Jada sighed and pulled her left hand out of her hoodie. Four softly took it in his own hands, examining it. His fingers felt surprisingly soft on her skin. He hissed through his teeth. "That looks really bad. From the fight yesterday?" Jada nodded in reply, technically dodging a lie. "Is it broken?" She asked. Four put pressure on all of her knuckles, checking out the bones. It wasn't fun, but Jada could tolerate the pain. "No, I don't think it is. It's badly bruised though, maybe a hair fraction. But you need to get rid of that swelling to use your hand properly." Four walked towards one of the cabinets, scrummaging through the different tubes and bottles. He pulled out a small bottle with a transparent liquid and filled up a syringe with it. "Whoa, hold on! What do you think you're doing?" Jada's eyes widened. Four didn't bat a eyelash and continued preparing the syringe. "It's just healing serum. Do you rather want me to get a nurse, so that Lauren gets a nice and detailed report about the injury of her favorite initiate?"
He got her there. Jada sighed, lowering her head in defeat. "That's my girl," Four smirked at her, taking her hand to inject the swelling with the healing serum. Jada closed her eyes when the needle entered the sensitive spot. "You don't have a girl, that's your problem," Jada sneered. She pulled her hand back and hopped of the table.
"Seriously, how are you holding up Jade? I keep hearing Lauren complain to Eric about your behavior. Please don't put a bigger target on your back then you already have. Zeke will kill me if anything happens to you." Jada chuckled at that. She put her good hand around Four's waist and gave him a quick hug. His embrace was comforting. She had always felt comfortable and safe with him. "Don't worry, I can handle myself. Lauren is just being a bitch, like usual. And thank you for this, I appreciate it," she reassured her friend. Four let go of her and walked back towards the door. "Hurry back to the others. I still need to check up on some of the transfers here." Jada laughed at his riled expression. "Good luck with them," she giggled. Four stuck his head outside of the door to check if the hallway was empty. When he made sure it was, he let Jada walk out first and closed the room behind them again. The friends parted, Jada heading off to the exit while Four walked along to the large hospital rooms in the back.
Jada quickly left the infirmary and jogged back towards the Pit, hoping she could still join her friends for breakfast. Halfway there, she started flexing her left hand. It already felt a lot better and the swelling went down rapidly, making it easier to move her fingers. Looking down at her hand, she didn't saw where she was going and ended up crashing into something hard. "Fuck initiate, watch where you're going!" Or someone hard. Jada rubbed her shoulder, that still throbbed from the impact with the other person. Her mouth opened to offer an apology, but she shut it right back at the sight of the person before her. "Eric", she grumbled acknowledging. Wondering to herself why the hell it always had to be him. Since initiation had started, he seemed to be everywhere.
The big Dauntless leader didn't seem fazed at all at their collision, standing there in his black uniform. A flawless appearance, as always. No, of course he wasn't bothered by it. It felt like running into a fucking brick wall. Jada scowled at him. His eyes bored into hers, making her skin crawl all over. It had been the exact same as that night in the Pit, only this time it was even more intense now he stood right in front of her. Jada hated that he seemed to have such a physical effect on her.
"Why aren't you with the rest of your class, initiate?!" He scolded. Jada narrowed her eyes at him. "Last time I checked, the training didn't start yet." Eric kept eyeing her suspiciously. Jada could hear him think, the radars in his head analyzing her entire appearance. When she noticed his gaze drop to her hand, it automatically made her pull it back and out of his sight. Too late. A sneering grin tugged at his lips when he figured it out. Jada rolled her eyes at him. She didn't wait for his dismissal and passed him, deliberately bumping his upper arm with her shoulder as hard as she could. But Eric's large body didn't move an inch. She heard him laugh, a sneering loud laugh, while she walked away. Asshole.
~ Four's POV ~
After he had helped Jada with her hand, Four walked over to the large room where a couple of his initiates had been brought into yesterday. He went to stand in front of the window and was pleased to see that there were only two that had to stay the night. One of the nurses just came out and smiled up at him. "Four. They're doing fine. I would say both are good to go by noon." Four nodded at the older woman. "Thanks, Sherry." The woman picked up some charts from the rack next to the door and walked away to the front office.
Four eyed the still sleeping initiates for another few seconds, before he took a step back and planned to leave again. He was startled by the sudden presence of the smaller girl besides him though.
"Tris," he whispered in surprise. The dark blond girl gave him a soft smile. "Hi. I just wanted to check up on Christina before training." "She's still sleeping, but the nurse said she's released by noon." Tris nodded. "That's good to hear." Four eyed her carefully. She was already in her training clothes, her long straight hair pulled back in a low ponytail.
From the moment she had dropped into the net, still wearing her grey dress from Abnegation, he had found himself intrigued by her. The big brown eyes that had looked up to him had him captivated. But though they were beautiful, it wasn't what had drawn his attention the most. Her personality had. The fact that she'd even transferred to Dauntless to begin with had him interested, being only the second one to do so in the last decades. He had his own reasons for transferring, but he couldn't quite understand hers. He had known her family when he grew up in Abnegation. Everybody did, since Andrew Prior was one of their leaders. The Priors seemed a loving, typical Abnegation family. And yet, both Tris and her brother had deflected their faction of origin. It made him wonder why.
The influence of her upbringing was still visible though, both on her personality and her appearance. But he had experienced for himself that the girl also had a bold streak. He had been amused at the fact that she had thrown out all these questions at him at dinner on their first day. The rest of their table had looked up in shock, while she seemed completely oblivious to it all. It was one of the first times it took him some real effort to scowl at someone. Even then, she was hardly impressed.
Four was pulled out of his thoughts when Tris made a move to leave. Without thinking about it, he placed his hand on her upper arm and kept her in place. She looked up in surprise. "How are you doing Tris? I've heard some things... but I need you to tell me if I have to step in. You know that right?" He saw her swallow thickly. "It's nothing I can't handle. But thanks." His eyes darted back and forth on hers. Tris stayed silent and just looked back at him. A few seconds later, Four released her arm and nodded at her. "Alright, see you at training." Tris wordlessly left, while the brown haired trainer kept watching her until she was out of his sight.
He stayed a bit longer, giving Tris the time to leave before he followed her out too. A couple of minutes later, he started to make his way back towards the Pit again. Luckily he managed to dodge Janet on his way out, since she was on the phone. The nurse had looked very disappointed at his curt wave goodbye, but he was nothing but relieved. The girl really wouldn't take no for an answer. Talk about persistent.
He quickly left the infirmary and entered the dark Dauntless hallways again. Still groaning at the thought of the annoying nurse, while shaking his head.
"Wait right there!" Four halted his steps and looked up. "Eric," the brown haired trainer sighed heavily, not particularly fond of dealing with his nemesis this early in the morning. The young leader scowled, but when didn't he? Apparently the expression came with his uniform. "I'm fine, but thanks for your concern," Four sarcastically replied. He made a move to walk along, but the hand of the leader on his chest prevented him to do so. Four narrowed his eyes at him. "Not so fast, number boy. What were you doing in the infirmary?" "Checking up on my initiates, Coulter. Like you ordered us to do, remember," Four replied irritated. The blond male huffed. "Last time I checked, Torres was a Dauntless born." Four kept his face straight, though he was starting to get a bad feeling about this. "Technically, she wasn't. But why are we even talking about her?" Eric pressed his lips in a thin line, while he frowned back at him. "You know what I'm talking about smart ass. Care to tell me why her injury isn't in her file?"
The blond leader had grabbed his tablet out of his jacket and lifted it in the air, pointing out the fact that he had just checked her file. Four groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. "What the fuck are you talking about Eric? What injury?" He wasn't about to throw his friend under the bus. But considering the fact that Eric seemed to be pretty much up to speed, maybe it was already too late. "Your loyalty is cute, number boy. But let me tell you one thing. If it doesn't heal properly it's all on you. And trust me, I'm fucking happy to report it to Max." Four raised his eyebrows at the pissed off leader, still feigning ignorance but also wondering what his deal was. He didn't know what he could expect from that asshole these days, but he didn't see this one coming. Eric let out another grunt, before he walked away. Four watched his retreating back, groaning to himself. Great.
~ Jada's POV ~
The workout on the punching bags this morning luckily went a whole lot better then Jada had expected, with her hand being almost good as new. In the afternoon Lauren had them practice their knife throwing skills again. Marlene and Lynn groaned at the announcement that their trainer made after lunch. "I hate knifes," Lynn grumbled. "You should've thought about that before your visit to the hair salon, baldy," Uriah teased her. Lynn stuck her tongue out. "Shut up, Edward Scissor hands," she retorted. Uriah and Jada laughed loudly at Lynn's mocking reference to Uriah's natural skills with the knifes. He sure was good at knife throwing, but Jada was even better. So while the siblings loved these practices, it couldn't be over soon enough for the other two girls.
"Don't mind her. I'm proud of you baby," Marlene teasingly said while giving Uriah a big kiss on his lips. Jada rolled her eyes in a playful annoyance. "I'm really happy that you two figured out your shit together, but please... my eyes!" The other three chuckled at that.
"PEDRAD! Get your ass over here, now!" Eric stormed into the training room. Lauren stopped her preparing and all the initiates stopped talking, interested to see what was about to happen. Uriah cursed under his breath and walked towards the leader, who was clearly pissed off. Jada gritted her teeth when she saw Eric grab her brother roughly by his shoulder, turning his back to the rest of them. Their redheaded trainer hastily made her way over to Eric and Uriah.
"What's going on?" Lynn whispered to Jada and Marlene. Both of the girls shrugged, not knowing anything more than Lynn did. They tried to eavesdrop into the conversation. But although Eric looked like he could explode any moment, the man didn't raise his voice loud enough to keep them in the loop. Uriah gestured wildly with his arms, obviously suggesting that he didn't do what Eric seemed to accuse him off. A couple of minutes later Eric shoved Uriah away from him, dismissing him to resume the training. While Uriah walked back towards his friends, Jada narrowed her eyes at Eric. She hated the way he treated her brother. Eric looked back at her, for only a brief moment. Annoyed. He was just annoyed, she noted. They both broke their stare at the same time. Eric followed Lauren over to the sets of knifes on the table in the center of the room, while Jada turned her attention to her brother. "What was that about?" She was the first one to ask. Lynn and Marlene looked up at him, obviously curious to hear his answer too. Uriah directed his back towards Lauren and Eric, before a small grin tugged at his lips. "That fucking Peter must have ratted me out. He and his friends harassed Tris yesterday, so Will, Al and I decided to give him a taste of his own medicine this morning after breakfast. But don't worry, I denied everything. Eric doesn't have any proof, otherwise he wouldn't let me off the hook that easily," Uriah explained whispering. Jada grinned along with him, clapping his upper arm in appreciation that he stood up to that bullying asshole from Candor. Lynn nodded at him in the same regards. But Marlene's cheeks turned red, as an angry expression took over her normally so soft and angelic face. "You went to defend Tris?! Aargh, I don't know why I even seem to bother with you!" She angrily spat out, dramatically throwing her arms in the air before storming off to another side of the room. Uriah's face was one big question mark. "Seriously?" he asked his sister. Jada shook her head. "Oh no, I'm not getting in the middle of that. Good luck, brother."
Thirty minutes later, the Dauntless born were finally throwing some knifes. They all stood in a long line, about 30 feet from the wall with the large cork targets. Every now and then the clattering sound of a fallen knife was heard, but most of the initiates could hit the targets by now. Jada loved the feeling of the sleek knifes in her hand. They were elegant, but at the same time extremely lethal. This weapon attracted her more then the guns. It almost felt like an extension of her body when she handled and threw the knife, that much control she had over it. And in contrary to handling a gun, she didn't have to think about it. Her body moved automatically.
A couple of hours later, Jada held the last knife of the set between her fingers. She pulled her arm back, adjusted her upper body in one fluid movement and swayed her arm forwards. Her knife flew forcefully towards the board, a big thud marking it's landing in the lowest point of the outer ring. Jada smiled at the result. All of her ten knifes were perfectly placed in a circle around the edges of the target. Bullseye training wasn't a challenge anymore, so she had set her own goals. Alex stood next to her, still throwing his last few knifes. "Impressive, Torres," he complimented her. Mere seconds later, a pair of big black boots halted between Jada and Alex."If I were you I would put in some more effort in your own training initiate, instead of distracting your competition," Eric snarled. Alex clenched his jaw and just resumed his practice.
Asshole. Jada pressed her lips together to prevent her thoughts leaving her mouth. She didn't want to give Eric the satisfaction of her pissed off reaction. Luckily, she heard him walk away mere seconds later. Another thing she heard while waiting for the rest of them to finish their set, was the bickering of Uriah and Marlene, again. Since the incident at the beginning of the practice, Marlene and Uriah hadn't stopped arguing. The whole thing gave her a headache by now. She could only hope the two would cut it out soon, before Lauren or Eric picked up on it and started to intervene.
After everybody was done with their set, they all went up to the targets to collect their knives again. Jada scanned the boards of the rest of the initiates, as far as she could see. A proud grin appeared on her face, it looked like she still was the best at this. It wasn't even close. "Initiates, only two more rounds before dinner! Make them count!" Lauren shouted. When they had to start again, Jada decided to go for the bullseye again, since she had a feeling Lauren would inspect them during these last rounds. Her hunch turned out to be right. It wasn't long before the redheaded trainer walked over towards their side of the row. Jada heard her slow her steps, until she was right beside her. Lauren stood still, hands on her back, watching while Jada threw another knife in the bullseye.
"What a shame, isn't it? Seems both of the Pedrad brothers have a hard time keeping it to only one woman," Lauren hissed viciously in Jada's ear. Jada felt an enormous anger wash over her, making her eyes rage with fire. "Keep your fucking mouth shut about my family," Jada bit back. It took all the willpower she possessed and two painfully clenched fists, to not let her anger consume her anymore then it already did. She absolutely hated that stupid bitch. She had been stalking Zeke on and off for years by now. But Zeke didn't want anything to do with that crazy lunatic. Yet she never stopped preying on him, always stirring up trouble for him and Shauna. Jada was furious that she implied that she had been with Zeke in some kind of way. You wish, bitch. The dig at both her brothers had her on edge. She forced herself to take a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
Lauren chuckled venomously at the distraught face of her initiate, clearly very amused with herself. "Don't just stand there. Go on, initiate!" She barked. Jada gritted her teeth, desperately trying to keep her mouth shut. She grabbed another knife from her left hand and went to trow it with her right one. Just when she pulled her arm back, she felt another gaze on her. A shiver rushed through her spine. Eric was watching her, she could feel his intense stare burning in the back of her head. Good, now I can shut them both up. She swayed her arm forwards again and just when she was about to let her knife go, a nudge to her shoulder threw her off balance. The knife landed under the target. Jada gasped in shock.
"Everybody stop throwing! I want to show you how to prevent a common mistake." Lauren's squealing voice bellowed through the large room, while she walked towards Jada's target. All the initiates stopped throwing immediately, curiously looking at the direction Lauren was headed. "Initiates, I get that you're all tired, but always keep the tension in you arms. If you don't, your knives will clearly lose power from that distance and end up lower than you aimed for." Lauren's face was completely straight and serious, while she looked around at the row of initiates and pointed her finger to Jada's strayed knife. "Torres, try to keep this in mind for your last knives for today!" Lauren sneered loudly. The redhead looked at everyone but the subject of her foul play though. That was a mistake. A big mistake.
The next moments seemed to play out in slow motion. Right when Lauren stopped talking, Jada threw one knife in the air with her left hand, catching it with her right. Her jaw was clenched and a furious fire raged in her dark eyes. She pulled her arm back and threw her knife. Right at Lauren. The redhead was still standing in front of the target. In the corner of her eyes she had picked up at the movement across from her. But it was too late. A collective gasp was heard, while Lauren's eyes widened at the sight of the knife that came at her. With no time to respond, she froze and closed her eyes. The loud thud echoed throughout the whole training room. The jaws of all other initiates dropped in shock. A murderous smirk appeared on Jada's face. She was perfectly satisfied with the result. Her knife, that now pinned the top of Lauren's red hair to her target. "Thank you for the tip, Lauren! Aren't you glad my knife didn't drop down this time!" Jada viciously spat out.
The loud, high pitched screech from Lauren that followed made everybody in the room cringe.
Jada stood in the hallway of the Leadership department, right outside the office of Max. She had been here before, to visit Max and Tori. It was a large department, with all kind of offices, conference rooms and other facilities. With the shiny floors, big tropical plants and nice furniture, it also was one of the most luxurious parts of the compound. But at that moment, none of it made an impression at the brunette though. She was solely focused on the two deep voices that came from the office. Max and Eric were in there, clearly talking about her. She tried to eavesdrop on them, but she couldn't really make out what they were saying.
After the knife throwing 'incident', Lauren had went absolutely berserk. The trainer had pulled the knife out of the board and her hair and ran out of the room, all the while screeching about "that crazy bitch" and crying about her hair. A large chunk of her long red hair probably still laid on the floor under Jada's target. The thought about it made her grin again. That stupid bitch had it coming and she wasn't sorry for anything.
When the rest of the Dauntless born noticed Lauren's hair on the floor, they either looked totally shocked or doubled over from laughing so hard. At least until Eric made them all stop, with just one evil glaring look. He had barked at them to leave the training room. Everybody except Jada, that was. Uriah, Lynn, Marlene and even Alex stayed behind with her though. Obviously wanting to protect their friend, worried about what was to come for her. But Eric had yanked her towards him, grabbing her roughly by her arm. Barking at the others to leave and warning them not to let him repeat himself once more. Jada had thrown her friends a reassuring look, wordlessly asking them to just go. She had this coming and she would be fine. They had no other choice anyway, so her brother and friends had followed the rest of their class out.
Eric had pulled out his phone, frantically tapping and swiping at it. A few minutes later he put his hand back around her arm and jerked her with him again, his fingers gripping painfully hard in her skin. Jada couldn't read his expression. He didn't seem furious, but obviously he wasn't happy either. He dragged her through the Pit and upstairs to the Leadership department. Numerous heads turned at the sight of them. Once they arrived at Max' office, Eric left her in the hall. On the way there, he didn't say a single word. Even when he'd entered Max' office he didn't speak to her. One threatening glare was enough to let her know that she should stay put in that exact place. So she did.
That was minutes ago. Jada was getting impatient, making her start hopping from her left to her right feet and back. There wasn't a single soul in sight to keep her entertained. Even the assistant that sat at the desk near the entrance when they entered had left the department by now. It was almost dinnertime, so they probably were all off to the cafeteria.
Finally, after another couple of minutes, the door to Max' office opened. "TORRES," Eric's deep voice bellowed through the hallway, as if she wasn't standing just a few feet away from him. Jada rolled her eyes at the overkill, before she warily stepped into the office, passing Eric in the doorway.
The door was slammed shut behind her. Max let out a disapproving sound. "Thank you, Eric," the headleader sarcastically remarked. Jada walked to the middle of the room. "Sit down." Max gestured towards the two leather chairs in front of his big wooden desk. Jada took a seat in the nearest one.
Max office wasn't huge, but it breathed an allure that fitted his rank. Expensive, dark wooden furniture. A luxurious dark red carpet on the floor. Two large and flat computer screens on the side of his desk and abstract black paintings on the light grey walls. It wasn't her style by any means, but it definitely suited him.
Eric kept standing against the wall, his arms folded before his chest. Max leaned back in his chair and sighed while he rubbed his hands over his eyes. "Torres," he stated in a tired voice. Jada narrowed her eyes at him. The way Max addressed her by her last name didn't bode well for the rest of the talk. "What do you have to say for yourself?" Jada clenched her jaw and unconsciously fisted her hands. "I'm pretty sure Eric isn't blind and that he exactly told you what happened," she retorted. Max slammed his hands onto his desk and leaned forwards, an angry expression on his face. "Now is not the time to smart mouth me, young lady!" Jada cringed slightly at his outburst. She hadn't meant to disrespect Max, but the words flew out of her mouth before she knew it, wanting to divert the question. She didn't want to tell him what happened or why she did what she did. It didn't matter.
~ Max' POV ~
Unbeknownst to Jada, Max wasn't exactly clueless to what was going on in her mind. After all, the apple didn't fall far from the three. Though the man unfortunately wasn't able to raise her, the young woman really was her father's child. Trevor Torres stood by his actions, did whatever he thought was right and wasn't one to excuse his behavior. Max eyed the fiery brunette in front of him, the said apple that seemed to have inherit the same traits. Even the look she just gave him reminded him so much of his former friend. Despite the darker color, her blazing eyes were a spitting image of her father's. He couldn't deny that he was very fond of the young girl, but she had to learn to keep her hotheaded nature in check. It got her into trouble before and he was afraid that one day it could have disastrous consequences. He needed to make her realize this, before it was too late.
Max took a deep breath, calming himself down again. "Jade, I can't let this slide. You attacked your trainer. If any of the transfers pulled a stunt like that, I'd threw them out in a heartbeat. Lauren might have provoked you, but you can't let your emotions get the best of you. There's a thin line between bravery and recklessness," Max continued seriously. He brushed his hand along his perfectly trimmed ring beard, pulling at the slightly longer hairs at his chin. "I need you to become a reliable asset to this faction, like I know you can be. That also means you need to obey and respect your superiors. No matter what. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Jada's look softened at his words. Max really had her best interest at heart and he could only hope she would see that. From a young age on, it was clear to him that this girl in front of him had so much potential. Now it was up to her to make use of it.
"I got it, Max. I won't let you down again," Jada earnestly answered. He saw the regret in her eyes. He had to suppress a grin at that, perfectly aware that there wasn't a single bone in her body that regretted her action. Probably not even the consequences that would came of it. No, the only thing she seemed to regret was letting him down. He always had been one of the few authority figures in her life that she had trusted and respected blindly. It actually warmed his heart, but now wasn't exactly the time to indulge her in that matter.
"Good. Now, let's talk about your punishment," the headleader stated firm. Jada groaned at that, while Eric simultaneously snorted at the light reprimand that the initiate seemed to get away with. Max threw the young leader a warning glare.
"Four weeks of cleaning the training room after practice, plus a couple of hours of extra work in the evenings. You can help Eric organize and archive all the files that he got piled up in his office." Max leaned back in his chair once again. The big grin on his face made it clear to the other two occupants of his office that the headleader was very pleased with his own idea. Jada's face fell, about the same time Eric's protesting groan echoed through the room. "I'd rather clean all the toilets in the compound then help him," she deadpanned. Max bounced back forward in his chair, folding his hands together on his desk. "It isn't up for negotiation, Torres. You'll just have to accept the consequences of your actions," Max barked at her, eying her sternly. Jada let out an exasperated sigh, before she nodded in acceptance.
The blond leader pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on. "Max, a word please." It didn't sounded like a request. "Jade, you can go. Wait outside for a minute, so Eric can show you his office on your way out." Max directed his words to the young female in front of him. She wordlessly nodded again, before standing up and leaving his office. When the two men heard the door close, Eric leaned his hands on Max' desk and threw him a menacing glare. "Care to explain why the hell I'm being punished too? Don't you think I have enough on my plate as it is?!"
Max wasn't impressed in the slightest. Though Eric didn't grew up in his faction, he knew how the young male ticked by now. "She needs to learn her lesson, Coulter. And though I'm sure she will try to behave, I know she has no regards whatsoever for Lauren. So that's where you come in. I need you to make her respect her superiors and reign in that temper. Besides, you could really use the help with the files. Your office is a damn disaster." Eric dropped his head, huffing in annoyance. "If you think I'm gonna babysit that brat, you've got another thing coming Max." Max raised one eyebrow at the younger male, an amused grin around his lips. "Do I need to remind you who's the superior here?" The headleader's tone of voice wasn't one of amusement anymore. Eric grunted again, before he looked up at the dark male. "Alright, I'll make sure she learns her lesson. But I'll do it my way, Max. If I hear so much as one damn complaint from you, she's all yours. Got that?" Max chuckled dryly in response, before his eyes hardened on his blond fellow leader. "By all means. But I trust you to be smart about this Eric. Don't let me down." Seeing Eric's frowned look, Max knew his cryptic warning came across. "You can go now," Max smirked. "Very funny, old man."
Max threw his feet on his desk when Eric had slammed his door shut again, folding his hands behind his head. "That girl of yours is giving me grey hairs, buddy!" He exclaimed chuckling, directing his look to the ceiling. He let out a deep breath, before he picked up his phone from his desk. He still had two other woman to talk to. One of them was Lauren. The other being Hana Pedrad. He wasn't sure which conversation he dreaded the most.
~ Jada's POV ~
A few minutes later, Eric finally emerged from the office. He slammed the door shut behind him and paced away, totally ignoring her presence. Jada let out an exasperated sigh, before she followed him through the hallway. They were a couple of doors down, when Eric raised his arm and pointed towards one of the closed office doors. "This one's mine." He kept on walking. "I expect you to report to my office after every training day, 7:30 pm sharp." Jada groaned. Eric halted abruptly, making Jada slightly bump into him. They both glared at each other. She was standing so close to him, that she could smell his cologne. Her senses were completely overwhelmed, making her want to take a step back. But there was no way she would cower for him. So she stood her ground, defying his menacing scowl. "Max might treat you like a princess, but I sure as hell won't. For every fucking complaint that comes out of your mouth you can add up another half an hour of work. Is that clear, initiate?!" The blond leader barked at her. Jada gritted her teeth, forcing herself to keep her mocking retort to herself. "Yes, sir." She couldn't really help herself sometimes. Eric's cold eyes darted back and forth to hers. When he turned around and resumed his walking, Jada let out a breath she didn't even knew she held in.
The desk near the entrance of the department was still empty, but when they left the floor through the automatic metal and glass sliding doors, they passed the two guards that stood outside in the hallway. Jada gave them a quick nod goodbye, while Eric didn't even looked at them. Jada scoffed at the back of his head. And then they say I should work on my social skills...
The pair silently made their way back to the center of the compound, headed for the cafeteria. The whole ordeal with the incident obviously made them already late for dinner. For Eric it probably wasn't any problem, considering he was a leader and all. But Jada could only hope her friends had grabbed her a plate.
The closer they got to the Pit, the more people they passed on their way. A couple of members started whispering at the sight of Jada. She sighed in annoyance. Great, damn gossip travels fast. It only went on, about every head turned her way. The very next soul that passed and dared to curiously glare at her, got the brunt of her anger. "What are you looking at! Need me to trim your hair too?!" Jada barked at the shocked man. She heard Eric snicker beside her, pissing her off even more. Jada took in a deep breath, trying to don't pay any attention to her surroundings for the rest of the walk. She entered the big mess hall and made her way to her regular table, leaving Eric at the stairs that led to the leadership balcony.
Jada noticed several familiar heads looking up to her. All relieved at the sight of her, alive and well. She threw a grin to her oldest brother, who was eating with Shauna and Four. They all shook their head at her, but their sneaky smirks also didn't go unnoticed by Jada. It was the same when she approached her own table. They couldn't right out pat her on the back for her action in the middle of the cafeteria, but the faces of her friends betrayed them immediately. With a slightly smug look on her face, Jada joined them for the rest of dinnertime.
