A/N: Dear readers, I cannot thank you enough for the feedback you've been giving me. I'm so glad you like it! Thank you all for the reviews, favourites and follows. I love hearing from you so please continue to do so. Also, a huge thank you to Sarah my beta reader. She makes me good. I was going to break this up into different chapters but I though you guys might appreciate this instead. Enjoy!


Chapter Eleven

The ride to Dauntless leaves me exhausted. It takes every ounce of me to hide my nervousness of going back to the compound from Jeanine. It will be the first time I'll see Eric since he showed up at my parent's home. Thinking about it causes my hands to tighten on my tablet.

"Tell me again about the Divergent," Jeanine demands. I open the file on my tablet that I have on Vera. It's a welcome distraction, and guilt settles in my stomach.

"She's working under Naomi in the botany division for now. She passed with a 78 percentage, one of the highest of the grouping. Richard is keeping an eye on her in the division for us. Her individual project was on changes that could be made to improve the serums, with particular focus on the Peace Serum."

"And when you met her?" Jeanine looks at me, watching carefully for my reaction.

I steel myself against my own words. "She was nervous when I asked about the test and why she transferred." Jeanine smiles and my stomach churns.

"I want reports from Richard each week, immediately if she does something that stands out," she says. I nod and write it down. I'm surprised at how many people know about what Jeanine's working on and if it has the possibility to backlash on her. Most of those in Erudite look up to her though, so it's unlikely. At least from Erudite.

The car stops and I look out the window as the driver opens Jeanine's door. We're at the back entrance to the compound, the same one I used when delivering the materials. I step out quickly before Jeanine can comment on my hesitance. Max is waiting for us at the door and relief sweeps through me.

"Max," Jeanine says with a smile. "I trust everything went well during initiation?" It's her way of subtly asking about the transfer we've asked them to keep an eye on.

"Very," he says. He looks more tired than usual. The lines around his eyes seem deeper and his hair is beginning to grey. "The initiates are entering the last stage."

"I'd like to see that," Jeanine says. It's less of a request than a demand. "By seeing it in action, we can determine if there's any need to improve it." Max nods. "Amelia, write it down." I open the calendar on the tablet and do so. I'll need to double-check the date of the last stage with Max before making any necessary changes.

"Follow me," Max says, motioning us through the door before leading the way to the room. The route he takes is quicker than any of the ones Eric has led me on. Somehow, I'm not surprised.


Max opens the door to the control room. The man with the green hair is sitting at the monitors. He looks at us for a second before ignoring our presence. Max leads the way, opening the door to the new room and ushering us in ahead of him. Jeanine goes first, moving towards the middle of the room which is lit up, expecting our arrival. I stop just inside the doorway. Eric and Cam are standing in the middle of the room and turn to us as we enter. I catch Eric's eyes and for a moment I remember what it felt like to be cornered by him. My stomach tightens as he smirks. I still need to find out who his informant is. I break the gaze, looking around to see the changes made.

The room has changed drastically. The stone walls have been painted white and the new lighting has brightened it considerably. It looks larger than it did before. There is a slight breeze and when I look for the source, I can see one of the added ventilation systems. Max pushes past me to reach Jeanine and I step forwards quickly. I should have been at her side earlier.

"As you can see," Max says, "everything is to your specifications."

"Hmm," Jeanine looks around the room slowly.

Cam speaks up. "The ventilation shafts and air flow have been increased. Outlets have also been added and the wattage used has been increased so you won't blow out the power by over heating it. I can give you the specific numbers, if you want." Jeanine nods and motions to me. I open my tablet, pulling up the notes on the room. Cam walks over to stand next to me.

I can feel eyes on me as he gives me the numbers. Looking up, I can see Jeanine talking quietly to Max and Eric. I catch a few words like equipment and testing which tells me that she's informing them of the next stage. Eric's watching Cam and I closely, glancing at Jeanine enough to show that he's listening. I stop myself from narrowing my eyes at him and instead focus on Cam. The number he gives me exceed what we've asked for. It's perfect.

"Amelia," Jeanine calls out for me. I look up to see her motion me forwards. I do so instantly. I have everything I need from Cam. "I want the equipment moved in immediately." I type out a note in the tablet as she continues. "Amelia will be my emissary for the lab here at Dauntless." I freeze at her words. This is the first I've heard of it. An emissary? I thought...I had hoped that I would stop coming here once the room was completed. "She'll arrange for everything you need, as well as ensuring that the labs run flawlessly together from both Erudite and Dauntless." I take notes automatically. She's leaving me here? I'm her assistant. Was she demoting me? I look up at Jeanine and instead catch Eric's eyes. He's smirking again, looking like a cat that caught a mouse. I have to stop myself from scowling at him. What does he want?

"I expect," I'm brought back to attention by Jeanine's voice. "That the process will run smoothly. I want volunteers from Dauntless to run the first batch of simulations on. I trust you can provide those?" she asks.

"Yeah," Max says. "We can. Just let us know when you want them."

"We will," Jeanine answers. She looks around the room again and smiles. "Now, when is the last initiation test?"

Eric's the one that replies. "Tomorrow afternoon."

"Perfect," Jeanine says. "We'll be here." She looks at me briefly. "Bring up the reports on the last three initiations. I want to see the results and effects of the simulations."

"Yes ma'am," I say.

"Well, gentlemen, our plans are progressing at a suitable rate. I trust that you will ensure Amelia has everything she needs while she's here." There is no room for argument in her tone.

"Of course," Eric said. I looked over at him to see him smirking at me. "We'll take care of her and give...everything she needs." There's something about the way he says that that causes me to tense. He makes me nervous enough as it is. The fact that he seems eager to help doesn't sit well with me. His last effort to help involved him pushing me off a cliff. I don't reply.

We're led out by both Max and Eric. It's far too similar to our first visit to Dauntless; Max is leading the way with Jeanine while I follow behind with Eric. I intentionally keep close to the wall, ignoring his knowing look as he walks beside me. My skin prickles when his arm brushes against mine.

"Did she tell you your new position before telling us?" Eric's voice is soft and my jaw instantly clenches at his words. I must have given something away in my expression. He chuckles lowly before speaking again. "Just a lapdog..."

"Tell me," I say lightly. My voice doesn't hold the tension that I feel. "Which educator told you about the proposal?" I look at him out of the corner of my eye to see his smirk grow wider. He leans towards me and I instantly step sideways to avoid him. I wince when my shoulder hits the wall.

"I see you did your research," he says. "Not enough though." He looks ahead and I realize we're near the exit.

I exhale sharply and narrow my eyes. "It will be. I'm not done yet."

"Good." I glance at him and he looks amused and anticipatory. He's waiting for something and the fact that I don't know what it is puts me ill at ease. Once we reach the exit, he stops. "Until next time, Amelia."

"I hope not," I mutter. I nod to Max as I pass him and follow Jeanine to the car.


The car is silent until it starts moving.

"Amelia, you are to be my eyes and ears in Dauntless, is that understood?" Jeanine looks at me carefully. My throat feels like it's closing and my hands shake. I fold my hands over the tablet in my lap and nod.

"Yes, ma'am."

"I trust you to ensure that everything goes smoothly between the labs."

"What about," I pause, unsure if I want to know the answer or not. I feel like this is going to change everything and I don't like it. "What about being your assistant?" Jeanine smiles and I watch as her glasses glint in the light.

"I believe you capable of doing both. After all, Dauntless won't need you all of the time and neither will I. If it becomes too much, I'll find someone else for the position." She doesn't say which position or where that would leave me, but I think that's the point. She turns away, satisfied that the conversation is over even though I'm not. There's more I want to know. Why me? What will happen if I can't manage both? Fear strikes through me and weight presses down on my chest. I don't think I want to know.


To oversee the last stage of the Dauntless initiation, Jeanine takes Gregory, one of the head scientists, with her. He is included in her plans for developing new serums against Divergents. They talk about it the entire way to Dauntless.

"Initial testing should include MRI's before and after the first round of simulation," Jeanine says.

"Of course," Gregory agrees. "That way we can see the effects and changes that might be made. A better solution would be to have the MRI while the serum is in effect."

"Correct," Jeanine says and I watch as Gregory preens under her praise. Luckily, we arrive at Dauntless before I feel the need to look over Jeanine's schedule for the fifth time for a distraction. This time, we enter through the front door again.

Max and the woman who was at the meeting about Divergents are waiting for us. Her hair is braided again and she looks bored. Jeanine smiles as she exits the car. I follow after her and wait as she introduces Gregory.

"He will be assisting us in our research," Jeanine says. I glance at Gregory. The scientist looks uncomfortable, standing a little too straight. He's failing to conceal his nervousness at being near the Dauntless, nodding to them instead of shaking their hand like customary. The woman smiles at it.

"This is Anna," Max introduces the woman to Gregory. "She's one of the leaders. You'll meet the others in the initiation. Shall we?" Max motions forward and opens the door for Jeanine. She nods as she walks through and I follow. I can hear Gregory scramble slightly to keep up. This time, we walk up instead of down. I stick close to the wall and the woman, Anna, walks beside me.

"You're the assistant." She says it like it's a fact, which confuses me. It's well known I'm Jeanine's assistant and we've met before.

"Yes," I say, unsure of how to reply.

"Hmm," but she doesn't elaborate. Before I can consider that exactly that means, we've arrived.

The room is large and open with machines everywhere. There are screens off to the side where Eric and another man and woman are standing in front of them. There is a chair in the middle of the room. It looks like the chairs that are used for the Aptitude tests. Max leads the way to Eric and the others. I watch Eric as we get closer. He breaks away from the conversation with the man and makes eye contact. He smirks when he sees me. My eyes narrow slightly at the sight of it. He has that look in his eyes, like he knows something I don't. He strides forwards to meet us.

"Jeanine," he greets. "Amelia." I nod back to him. I will be polite, but that's it. He looks past us at the scientist that catches up. His smirk vanishes and he raises an eyebrow.

"Eric," Jeanine says with a nod. "This is Gregory. He's one of the head scientists at Erudite, you remember. He'll be working with us." Eric doesn't say anything, just stares and I can see Gregory fidget under it.

"Four will be arriving in a few minutes with the initiates. Let's get you settled." He says it to Jeanine, but as he motions us forward his hand touches the small of my back lightly. I pick up the pace, breaking the contact. I can still feel the heat of it though, even as he passes me.


We stop in front of the screen and Max introduces the other two leaders. Dante is the shortest of the leaders but the scowl on his face doesn't fail to be intimidating. The tattoos on his wrists and neck only heighten it. The woman, Vi, smiles as she's introduced. There's hardness behind her dark eyes, but she doesn't show it in her movements.

"How many do you think will make it?" Vi asks.

"Hopefully more than last year. Those results were terrible," Dante says.

"Well, that was when Amar died. I think it threw everyone off," Vi replies.

Anna is silent. She looks away from the others with a small frown on her face. Was she a friend to the old leader?

"Intimidating, aren't they?" I look to my left to see Gregory standing next to me. His smile is shaky at best.

"I suppose they are," I say softly. "You get used to it," I almost want to make him feel better, but the truth is I'm only making conversation so that I don't get wrapped into one with Eric. Luckily, he's watching the door we came in from. I follow his gaze to see a man come in. Behind him, I can see a group of initiates, standing in the doorway. There's a woman standing with them. One of the adults must be Four. The man stops and turns to face the initiates. I can see the woman nod before ushering the initiates back. The man comes in and walks towards us.

His gaze flickers to us Erudite. I know we stand out, a clash of blue against a sea of black. There's confusion and wariness in his eyes but he doesn't stop until he reaches us.

"They're ready," he says. He's not as tall as Eric, nor as muscular but there's a steadfast assurance in him. He glances at me only for a split second.

"Good," Eric says. He moves closer, standing a little straighter. That's interesting. "Send them in, one by one." Eric's tone has changed slightly. It sounds more demanding. The man nods and turns without another word. He strides back to the door.

"Amelia," Jeanine calls. I go to her instantly. I see Eric smirk from his place near her and I remember his words about being her pet. There's a flash of anger in me before I push it away.

"Yes?" I ask.

"Take notes. I want details on the process and the rankings." She looks at me suddenly and I nod. I know what she wants. She's looking at ways to improve it, but more importantly, she's looking for the suspected Divergent.

"Yes, ma'am." Then, the first initiate is called in.

[tbc]