AN: Hello again, and thank you for your reviews and follows! Things heat up this chapter, hope you enjoy. See you Friday!
The conversation with Veronica went better than Eric or Tris had anticipated because their very observant co-leader was patiently waiting for her chance to bring Jeanine down before she decided to retire from Dauntless leadership.
Surprisingly, the easiest conversation was with Four.
He was contrite, a part of him that Tris was familiar with, but Eric had never seen. He apologized for his behavior, and over dinner at his apartment he finally opened up about some of the things that were weighing on him. The first was something even Tris didn't know - Caleb was supposed to transfer to Dauntless, not Erudite, and Tobias didn't know how their relationship would ever survive if they had to spend the rest of their lives in separate factions.
"There are loopholes" Eric had offered and it was the first time there was a semblance of a decent conversation between the two men. Eric had explained that Caleb was smart to do what he did by transferring to Erudite because it put him directly into Jeanine's inner circle. Whenever they could finally get Jeanine on trial, anyone who is also in leadership with her who was not guilty of the same crimes as she is would have an option to choose a new faction.
It was a law to allow for a fresh start when in a position of authority under duress, one that Eric himself was very familiar with since he realized how deep Max and Harrison were in with Jeanine. If they were truly able to expose Jeanine, they may all be able to choose new factions if they wanted.
"You could go home." Tris says later when they're in her office, and she's killing time before the scheduled time that Veronica, Tobias and she needed to leave for their meeting with her father. Veronica had gotten Zeke to cause an audio outage for the leadership wing that was both untraceable and not able to be immediately fixed, giving them the privacy they all needed to work through their plans.
"If anything comes of this, that is a decision we'll make together." He says as he pulls her down on his lap.
"I wish you were coming with me today." She sighs heavily and he rubs his hands up and down her back.
"If I could, I would to be there to offer support but you don't need me there. I'm not kidding when I tell you that you're the strongest person I know."
"Nothing actually happened for so long, maybe part of me thought she'd just keep spinning her wheels and I'd eventually be able to report her. Or maybe she'd just stop her shit and change her mind. This whole mind control serum and war plan, it's just surreal. What if we can't stop it?" She worries.
"What if we can?" He counters.
"Both options are terrifying." She sighs.
"While that may be true, we're going to do this together." He says and she leans down and kisses him.
"I either need to have sex with you or go have a cigarette, my nerves are shot right now." She says as she rests her forehead against his.
"Since you leave in less than ten minutes, we'll have to settle for a smoke. Let's go down to the garage so you'll be there already when Roni and Four come down."
They share a cigarette, both promising again that they're going to quit while waiting for the driver to bring up their car. Roni no longer travelled by train, so a perk of shadowing her for out of faction meetings was the leadership car service.
"Will you pick me up at the platform in Erudite?" She asks.
"You want to ride the train home?" He asks.
She plucks the cigarette from his lips and takes a drag, exhaling through her nose before answering him quietly.
"I want to ride you home." She whispers in his ear. She can feel him taking a deep breath in before he pulls her flush to his body and kisses her soundly.
"God I love you." He whispers against her lips when they pull apart.
She wants to say it back, but it's like every time she tries to she completely shuts down. She buries her face in his neck and he sighs.
"I can stop saying it if it makes you uncomfortable." He says quietly.
"No. I'm working through it. Contrary to my reactions, I want to hear it." She replies and feels him nod against her.
He rubs her shoulders while occasionally pressing a kiss to her cheek. She's completely covered, dressed in Dauntless black but keeping herself covered for Abnegation modesty.
"Do I look okay?" She asks nervously.
"You are going to do great." He replies.
"I... Eric...I..." She trails off, then takes a deep breath before continuing, "Thank you for always knowing what to say, even when I can't find my words." She says shakily.
"I hear everything you don't say babe." He presses his lips to her forehead and she settles in against him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
When Roni and Four join them, she finally kisses him goodbye, "Don't forget to pick me up." She reminds him.
"Trust me, I won't." He grins at her.
She watches him from the window of the SUV until she can no longer see him.
They spend all of their trip talking about today's meeting. Four drove them at Roni's insistence, since she wanted privacy for their drive there. Roni had scheduled it as a basic inventory discussion, and she managed to do it on a day she knew Marcus would be out of the faction in an effort to ensure they'd have a chance to get Andrew Prior alone.
Tris fidgets the entire trip to Abnegation, and she participates in the conversation with Tobias and Veronica, but also keeps a running dialogue with Eric via text. He may think she doesn't need him, but even his words on the screen help keep to her calm.
When they're led to the familiar office of her father, her stomach is in complete knots. Andrew greets Veronica and Tobias enthusiastically, but when he sees his only daughter he pales.
"Beatrice, I had no idea you'd be joining us." He says evenly.
"Hello, um, Mr. Prior. I actually requested to join todays meeting, I needed to speak with you, we need to speak with you, privately." Tris says in a shaky voice.
"Of course." He leads them into his office, where he pulls a chair for Veronica first, then Tris before seating himself next to Tobias.
"Andrew, do you have audio or video?" Roni asks.
"No, we have complete privacy. We don't believe in allowing the city surveillance equipment in our buildings or homes. What's going on?" He asks.
All eyes are on Tris and she finally opens her mouth to speak, "I need my father right now, I'm not here as a leader, I'm here as your daughter."
"Beatrice, the laws-"
"Dad, the laws don't matter right now, because if we can't find a way to stop things your entire faction will be destroyed. We don't have much time. Please, I'm begging you, talk to me. See me as your daughter again. Hear me out." She begs.
"How will my faction be destroyed?" He asks, searching the faces around the table.
"Jeanine." Tobias answers and Veronica nods next to him.
"She's got her claws into our leadership Andrew. She's got Max and Harry and she wants a damn war." Veronica answers.
"Why a war? Why now?" He asks.
"Because you hold all the power of the government, at least in her eyes." Tobias says.
"She also wants revenge on you personally, for leaving her when she was pregnant with me, and for taking something she feels belongs to her." Tris says quietly.
"She allowed us to take you, Beatrice. She had no issue in allowing Natalie and I to raise you, why this? Why now? You're an adult, a leader for your faction, why?" He asks.
"This isn't about you taking me, unfortunately she doesn't seem to much care about that although she tries very hard to convince me that she does. She cares about the box." Tris says.
"You know about that?" He asks in shock.
"Not anything more than what she's told me, and that was just recently. There's a box from the founders of the city, and it apparently needs a Divergent to open it. She wants to find the Divergent who can pass sims for all five factions, and the rest she wants to eliminate, including all of Abnegation." Tris explains.
"Even if we get this box to her, what are the chances that she has someone who will have an aptitude for all five factions? It's impossible." Andrew argues.
"I know of two." Tris says, causing her father to gawk at her, "I'm one of them. Dad, we need to get the box to her and to open it. Once we have that, we can stop her from focusing on the war."
"What if that's not enough? What if she gets her box, gets it opened and still wants her war?"
"We will have recorded proof of her plans. My sister and two nephews work for our security and surveillance team, and they are working on undetectable recording devices that Tris and Eric can wear while working on opening this box." Veronica says.
"Eric Coulter? Is that who you are speaking of?" Andrew asks.
"Yes Andrew, he's the other suspected five faction Divergent. One of them should be able to open the box." Tobias replies.
"What if you fail? People have died trying to open this box Beatrice, I've witnessed it myself when I was in that faction. I left with it for a reason, in order to ensure no one ever found it and tried to open it again. If you or Eric fail, it will kill you."
"If we don't try, she will kill the entire faction. We have to at least try. If we get her the box, at minimum it buys us some time." Tris begs.
He studies his daughter across the table, "How do I know she didn't send you here herself?"
"Andrew Prior, I've known you for twenty years, do you think for a second I would have brought one of her minions here to you?" Veronica says.
"No." He shakes his head.
"Dad, you know me. I know we've had our differences, and I know I lashed out when I found out that Natalie wasn't my birth mother. I never meant to disrespect you with my reactions, but I can't apologize for being incredibly hurt. You raised me to believe my half brother was my twin, my adoptive mother my birth mother, and you allowed her to shame me for the way I look. When I left here, I was hurting and I still am, but it doesn't mean that I don't love you. I don't want to see Jeanine destroy your entire faction for that box, and I also don't want her to use whatever is inside of it to further her madness. Please dad, give me the box, give me a chance to take her down and protect you all."
"How do we do this? It is inside of my home and I certainly cannot bring Dauntless into my home without raising suspicions."
"I'm sure Natalie wouldn't allow me there anyway." Tris prompts.
"No, she wouldn't." He shakes his head sadly, "Wait here." Andrew says.
"Andrew, please don't bring her into the plan." Tobias says and the older man turns to look at him.
"I have no choice, she's the one who hid the box. I'll return as soon as I can." He replies without emotion.
When it's just the three of them Tris let's out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding.
"You did good, Tris." Tobias says gently.
"Chile, you did more than good, you did great. I know this was hard for you, but you did it."
"You don't understand, Natalie will never give me that box, she hates me." Tris replies, and the tears she's desperately tried to hold back spill out over her cheeks.
Four and Veronica both wrap her in their arms and whisper comforting thoughts. It's almost an hour before her father returns, and when he does he has a knapsack slung over his shoulder. Tris is surprised to see Natalie follow him into the room.
"Beatrice." She says as she closes the door behind her.
"Hello." Tris wraps her arms tightly around herself and she feels slight comfort when Tobias places his hand on her arm.
"Your father told me you were here and I was curious as to why. You've not been back here since you left, even during allowed visitation days, and I thought for once in your life you were actually following rules." Natalie says, and then turns towards Veronica, "Roni, it's lovely to see you again. How is my sister in law?"
Tris jerks her eyes to Roni and she notices the hard look on her face, "Hana is fine. I'm sure she would have loved to hear from you when her husband died, you know the brother you hadn't spoken to since you left your faction?"
"Faction before blood, dear. Something my daughter doesn't seem to understand since she's here asking Daddy to do her bidding for her." Natalie replies.
"I'm not asking anyone to do my bidding for me-" Tris replies angrily.
"Yes, you are, and if I didn't believe your story then you would walk away from here empty handed and we'd be on the phone with Kang immediately. The box is inside the bag, so you won't have to come back for it. I've packed some clothes just in case, because if you don't feel like she will stop that war you will need to get back here to your father and me." She pushes the bag into Tris's hands.
"Thank you." Tris whispers and Natalie nods.
"You understand the risk you're taking, don't you?" Natalie says and Tris nods.
"There's no other choice." Tris replies.
Natalie stares at Beatrice for several seconds saying nothing, and everyone in the room is uncomfortable until the silence is finally broken, "You are much more than I've given you credit for. Good luck."
"Thank you." Tris replies, realizing it's the closest to love and acceptable that she will ever get from her adoptive mother.
"If you can't stop her, warn us. As much of a head start as you can." Andrew replies.
"The current plan is to start the injections and sim when Dauntless initiation ends, which is in less than five months now." Tobias replies.
"We will absolutely keep you informed." Veronica says.
When they move to leave the office Andrew surprises Tris by touching her arm, stopping her from passing through the threshold.
"I'm proud of you. If for any reason I don't see you again, I need you to know that. I love you Beatrice." He says quietly.
"I love you too, Dad." She replies.
She tells the others she will be meeting Eric at the train platform nearest to them, and when she walks to their agreed meeting spot she sees him there waiting for her.
He doesn't say a word, he simply takes the heavy sack off of her back and moves it to his, then wraps his arms around her and lets her cry. They miss two revolutions of the train passing by before she even speaks to him, then one more as she calms herself, but when they finally make it onto the train she slams the sliding door shut and pulls Eric hungrily towards her.
"I need you." She says.
Their kisses grow sloppy as they undress themselves just enough for him to brace her against the wall and slam inside of her.
"I'll never get tired of the way you feel. You are perfect." He breathes out in between kisses.
"Right there baby, please, oh god don't stop, right there..." She calls out and then screams his name as she cums hard around him.
"Fuck yeah baby." He breathes out as she milks his own release.
"I'm pretty sure I promised to ride you..." She says before he kisses her again.
"We have plenty of time for that when we get home." He replies.
They clean up as best as they can before pulling the door open. The wind feels good against their heated bodies and they stand in the doorway wrapped around each other.
"I don't want to tell her about you." Tris says.
"No. You're not doing this, let me open the box. The less exposure on you, the better." Eric argues.
"I need to do this, I can't have her kill you if you can't open it, and I won't lose you. I'm her daughter, somewhere inside of her that matters to her, and I have the best chance of living through this if my Divergence isn't enough for that box. I want you to keep up the appearances that you're working for her, and I want you to bring me and the box to her."
"That's not the plan, Tris. No." He moves into the car and looks at her.
"I know it's not the plan, but we need to change things." Tris argues.
"Why do we need to change it?" He pushes.
"Because my father said he's seen people try to open the box before. They've died trying. I can't take that chance with you. I can't lose you."
"Do you think that I can? Do you think I'm going to just march you in there and expose everything about you to a woman who thinks we're disposable? Do you think I'm going to take a chance of you dying to open a fucking box? We need to rethink all of this, Tris. We give her the box and let her go crazy trying to find someone to open it. We let Roni get the surveillance shit for us, we record everything Jeanine says and we go from there." He argues.
"What happened to us making decisions together, Eric?" Tris asks.
"I could ask you the same thing. Can we table it for talking about later. We have a group behind us now, Tris. We can get help on this. You're not carrying this shit alone anymore."
"Yeah, okay." She says in frustration, and he knows he needs to distract her from her own thoughts.
"I love it when you're fired up. Your neck gets all flushed." He pulls her conservative shirt over her head, leaving her in a black bra, "See, right around here, all flushed and hot." He presses his lips to her heated skin.
"We also just had sex not even fifteen minutes ago." She argues.
"And we're going to have sex again." He yanks her belt loops and begins unbuckling her belt.
"I thought we made decisions together." She teases.
He pulls her pants down while she kicks off the shoes she was wearing, and then slips his hand into her panties and a single finger inside of her.
"Are you deciding against this?" He asks.
"No." She breathes out as his hand brushes against her clit.
"Then we have a unanimous vote my love." He replies before removing his hand and sliding her panties off of her long legs.
"Baby, the door is open, someone could jump on or see." She replies.
"Let them watch." He pulls his own shirt over his head as she drops her bra to the floor of the train car. He shed his clothes quickly and she strokes him when he begins pressing his fingers inside of her again, "I didn't think I'd find someone like you." He says quietly as he continues to pump his fingers in and out of her, "I didn't think I was enough for someone as good as you. I'm not a nice guy, but you turn me to mush."
"You're not nice at all, but neither am I." She breathes out when he leans down and takes one of her pink nipples into his mouth, sucking hard before soothing it with his tongue.
"We're good for each other Tris." He replies before switching to her other breast, curling his fingers inside of her while she undulates against his hand, "That's right baby, you let go, I want to feel you soak me." He says as she moans in pleasure.
"You know what I need..." She begs.
"You want me to suck on your clit, don't you Tris?" He growls.
"Mmmhmmm" She moans.
"Beg me baby."
"Please Eric, please give me what I need..."
"Are you gonna cum all over my face baby?" He asks and she can feel his breath over her sex, "You know I love it when you ride my face."
"I will." She promises.
He gives her what she wants, wrapping his lips around her swollen bundle of nerves. He curls his fingers harder and as soon as he does he feels her cumming, her juices running down his hand and on her face where she rubs herself on him.
"You taste so fucking good."
"Eric... Eric..." She breathes out when he removes his hand, but she pushes his face against her, "Keep your mouth there..."
She's moving against him and he is alternating between sucking her clit and lapping her juices and he can tell from her erratic breathing she's about to cum again. He can feel her legs shaking as she screams out in pleasure, and he holds her up as she falls apart.
He wastes no time before he lays her down and slams inside of her, she's soaking wet and so sensitive that she can't stop whimpering.
"Is this too much?" He asks her and she shakes her head no. He yanks her hips towards him while he bottoms out inside of her and she calls out his name again.
"Oh god..."
They can hear the voices of people running by the train but they don't stop and when someone tries to jump on Eric roars "Find another fucking car."
Tris can't find it in herself to care.
She can hear his breathing become erratic and his movements becoming choppy and she knows he's close.
"I want you to cum for me, I want to feel you." She purrs and it takes him right over the edge and he comes hard inside of her.
He drops onto her, panting as she rubs her hands up and down his sweaty back.
"We missed Dauntless." He pants into her ear and she laughs.
"They didn't miss us."
"I don't give a fuck. You felt entirely too good to stop." He presses his lips to hers and their tongues tangle together as he begins to soften inside of her.
He relaxes against her until they've both caught their breath, and they clean themselves up before getting dressed. They sit close to the door, watching their city fly by.
"Whatever happens out there, you and I will be okay. I promise you that Tris. You don't need me to, but I promise I'll always protect you." He says and she drops her head to his shoulder.
"I know." She replies.