DISCLAIMER: I own neither the Divergent world nor the characters, they belong to Veronica Roth.
Tobias
We stop before going out on the street. Tori, Christina and Marlene leave first. They'll guide Marlene to a building close to the Erudite compound. It has a roof that offers excellent views onto the whole area. She's equipped with binoculars and an amplifier which is necessary to strengthen the signals from our walkie-talkies, some of them hastily self-made by Zeke, and lead them back to Caleb. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to stay in touch with us, and he's the one with the map and small figures representing us, which he can move around to have a good overview of the situation.
Then Tori and Christina will continue from there to complete their own mission before joining the rest of us again.
Zeke and Edward are the next to leave. They hurry to a hiding place right opposite the entrance of the compound. They'll be able to see Max and Eric arriving at Erudite, and will later follow them inside, hopefully without trouble.
Now it's just Lauren, Will, Shauna and me. We'll split into two groups later on, to reduce the risk of being caught, and now, with Shauna, at least none of us has to go alone. For this reason, it's also extremely good to have Edward and Tori supporting us.
We wait to make sure there's some distance between our different teams and then step outside. It's liberating to finally act. At this moment, I realize that I would't have been able to wait any longer than I had to. I'm driven by both my love for Tris and my hatred for our leaders. Those emotions run through my blood like gasoline, feeding my muscles and pushing me forward.
We take turns giving each other rear cover until we've reached our position beside a group of trees at the back of the Erudite compound. Lauren rushes around a group of trees, to a garbage can in which we have hidden blue jackets for us to cover up our identities. Sure, anyone from Dauntless will probably know who we are, but we won't be as recognizable at first sight as we'd be in black.
After slipping on the jackets, we're condemned to wait again. I stare at the building in front of us, illuminated against the dark sky. I remember the night I took Tris with me on the train, to show her what was going on here. All her spontaneous conclusions have been right. She's such a good observer. I hope that skill has helped her to survive in there today.
Just like she noticed how people were still working that night, I notice how a lot of windows in the research area are dark. It's dinner time. How good it is to have former Erudite in our team, who know their schedule and habits. I bet that's also why Max and Eric are going to visit Jeanine at this time of the day. They'll rise less suspicion and questions if they meet less Erudite in the labs. I hope the whole research area will be as deserted as we assume.
Both mine and Lauren's walkie-talkies hiss, and then we hear Marlene say, "Max and Eric are coming. They're heading straight towards the main entrance."
Seconds later, Zeke confirms, "They've just gone inside. They turned right into the library, towards the lab section. They brought four guards with them."
"Do we know them?" I ask. I'm curious to find out who supports their conspiracy.
"Well, one of them is our beloved Peter," Edward smirks, and his thirst for revenge is audible despite the questionable sound quality.
"Don't forget that our priority is to get the hostages out and arrest the leaders," I remind him. I wouldn't mind kicking Peter's ass either, but I want him to focus on our task, not on his personal agenda.
"Oh, he won't have a way out of this anymore," Edward says. "Truth serum will bring out the truth of what he's done anyway."
"One of the others completed initiation two or three years before us, but I don't know his name. The other two are both older, about the same age as Max. If I remember correctly, one of them is called Daniel. The other one I don't know," Zeke finishes the answer to my question.
"Tori, Chris, how are things going? How much time is left until the start?" Lauren interrupts our talking.
It takes a few seconds before we hear Christina answer, "Maybe five minutes. It's difficult to talk and act at the same time, we need our hands to work with, so I'll set this device aside again. You'll see when we're done."
How long five minutes can be. It must take them longer than that.
But then, finally, the lights are switched off, and Erudite turns dark. The building is waiting in front of us, unprotected. From this moment on, we'll have around ten to fifteen minutes before the Erudite will get their emergency generator going. Ten to fifteen minutes. The faster we are, the safer we'll be.
I push the small blue button at the side of my watch to start the timer. It'll be necessary to monitor the time that's passed since Tori and Christina short-circuited the main power line to Erudite.
"Let's move," I whisper and nod towards the others. We run to the edge of the lab section of the Erudite complex, crouch and then creep along the side of the building, trying to stay lower than the windows. We have to count them to be sure to wait at the right ones. Will and I have to go further than Lauren and Shauna. I would have preferred to go with Lauren, but it's better if there's one Divergent in each team, even if Shauna doesn't know about that.
I check the timer. It's been two minutes. We should be let in anytime now. I get more nervous with each passing heartbeat. What if the confusion in the main entrance hall and library isn't big enough for Zeke and Edward to sneak through?
I turn as I hear a window being opened. It's Edward who lets in Shauna and Lauren. I can only make out their shadows as they climb inside. I imagine what they must be doing right now to pass the time until Zeke opens the window above Will and me:
The girls will help Edward climb up into a ventilation shaft that lays above the main lab. He'll crawl through it until he reaches the grating above the lab, from where he'll release the sleep serum into the room. It was his idea to use the ventilation shaft instead of cutting a hole into one of the glass doors of the lab. It'll be faster this way, as it's right in the middle of the room.
Then the window above us opens, and Zeke's head pops out. "Come in, everything's deserted," he whispers and gives us a thumbs-up.
Without electricity, it's no problem to enter, as the alarm system doesn't work. We keep the window open for later, and Will and I follow Zeke out of the office through which we've entered - it's room 28 - and along the corridor. I memorized the directions: We take the third hallway on the right, second one on the left and then run straight past five doors until we reach a pair of glass doors on our right. That would be the entrance to the main lab. There's a second one right on the other side of the lab where Lauren and Shauna are waiting.
"Teams two and three, are you in position?" comes Marlene's question.
"Yes," I whisper into the microphone of my walkie-talkie.
"We are," I hear Shauna say.
In my mind I see Caleb move our figures on the map.
"Edward?" Marlene asks.
"I'm there. Starting now."
It's the signal to take out our protection against the evaporating sleep serum. It can't affect us as long as we're outside of the lab, but once we enter, we have to be sure we won't get knocked out by it. I cover my mouth and nose with the surgical mask Christina and Marlene have reinforced with carbon filters.
"Team one?" Marlene asks.
"On our way to the main entrance," Tori says, sounding breathless from running.
"Great," Marlene says. "Everything works fine. We're still on schedule. Keep up the good work. Don't get distracted by your emotions when you enter the lab. Stay focused on the mission, we can celebrate our reunions later."
It's easy for her to talk. She's only just getting her memories of Uriah back.
I can hear steps and muffled voices from inside the lab, which gradually slow down and become quieter. The serum must be working. This is a tricky phase: They are not supposed to notice that something is wrong before it is too late for them to open the doors and leave. It's crucial that they fall asleep inside, so we can go in safely. We can hear a few thuds after a while.
Finally, Edward speaks the redeeming words, "Mission accomplished. They're unconscious. You can go in. I'll join you soon."
I check the timer while Will pushes a twisted wire hanger between the sliding door and the wall to give us access to the lab: It's already been eight minutes without electricity. More than half of our time has already passed.
Once the door is open, we rush in.
It's dark inside, only a few emergency lamps cast a dim light from the ceiling. Apparently they work with batteries. There're bodies lying on the floor, a lot of them. I know they're only sleeping, but they seem lifeless. I kick against Peter's leg to check how deep the serum has sedated him already. He grunts sleepily, but doesn't move. He can't.
Zeke, who's standing next to me, kicks him, too - a little harder even.
"Just double-checking," he says smugly.
"Let's not waste time," Lauren urges us. She and Shauna have entered the lab through the second door. "Handcuff them, and then we'll look for our friends."
I don't have to be told twice and bend down. I turn Peter around rather roughly and pull his arms behind his back with more force than necessary. His limbs are soft and lifeless, like those of a rag doll. I make sure his shoulders will be sore tomorrow. With deep satisfaction I click the handcuffs closed around his wrists.
"Fuck you, Peter," I hiss.
Then I continue with the guy lying next to him. I don't know him, but I give him the same treatment I gave Peter. When I'm done with him, every person on the floor is already handcuffed.
"Eric is missing," Lauren says, shocked.
Shit, that means he must still be somewhere. I suddenly feel more like the intruder that I am in this building, knowing that my worst enemy is still around and awake, able to fight. Shit, shit, shit.
"We saw him go in," Zeke says, as if to confirm my thoughts.
"Let someone guard the lab doors, then continue as planned. We're running out of time," Marlene instructs us.
She's right. Lauren and Edward, who has jumped down from the ventilation shaft after removing the grating, position themselves at the open glass doors, while Shauna, Zeke and I run deeper into the lab. There's a part that is darker, not lit by emergency lights, and there, in a small cell, behind a glass wall, are Tris, Lynn and Uriah.
They look shaken and tired, weaker than usual, but they're awake and otherwise appear unharmed. They stand up as soon as they see us.
"Tris," I murmur as tears well in my eyes. I lay my flat hand against the cold glass, and on the other side Tris pushes her smaller hand against mine. I wish I could feel her warmth, could hear her voice. But in the end, I don't need to hear her to know what she's saying. I can read my name on her lips.
I'm in a trance, both of us are. Seeing her, finally seeing her again, after having thought I might have lost her forever, makes me momentarily forget where I am, and why.
"Four! Four! Move aside!" Zeke orders. I turn towards him and see him holding a metal chair above his head. Shauna is motioning to our friends to move away from the glass. I step aside, too, not wanting to be injured by the shattering glass that flies around us as Zeke throws the chair at full strength. Then he steps inside, hands each of them a surgical mask and helps Uriah up and out of the cell. Lynn is next, and then comes Tris.
"Tris," I sob, closing my arms around her small frame. Here she is, my Tris. My love. Alive.
"Tobias," she whimpers as tears run down her face.
I wish I could stop the time to savor this moment, to inhale more of her scent, to just feel her again.
"You must inject her, Four," Shauna pinches my shoulder. "She has to be able to run. We need to get out of here, fast."
I understand what she's saying, on an intellectual level, but my body doesn't want to listen to her.
"Four," Shauna pulls at my arms.
The moment I'm not steadying Tris anymore, she stumbles and threatens to sink to the ground. I hold her, then sit down together with her. I push up her sleeve and fumble for one of the syringes in the pocket of my pants. I take off the lid and don't waste time to inject the stimulant into Tris' vein. She mumbles my name again.
"Shh, Tris, everything's fine. We'll be fine. You'll feel better in a minute or two," I whisper while I run my hand through her hair. I can see the effect of the serum in her eyes. Her gaze becomes more focused, more alive again. Her muscles tense, I can feel how Tris regains power over her body. And it's about time, twelve minutes have passed since the short circuit.
"I'm done with the pictures," Will says, waving his infrared camera triumphantly above his head.
"Try not to lose it on the way out then," Zeke teases him.
"Never," he promises. "Although I hate that Cara is on there. I mean, that I had to take a picture of her. That she's really here at all."
I haven't given it much thought, but while I got Tris back tonight, he won't get his sister back again. She'll forever be the traitor who sold us to our enemies in exchange for her career.
Will tucks the camera away inside his jacket, evidence of who else has been here tonight, and then walks over to Max. Edward helps him to pick the limp body up, and each of them throws one of Max' arms over their shoulder. They can carry him this way, although his feet drag over the ground.
I hand Tris the weapon I've taken from Peter, so she can defend herself if necessary, before I have to help Zeke to drag Jeanine up between us to take her with us. As much as I'd rather steady Tris, I also want this woman punished for what she's done. Lauren and Shauna can help Tris, Lynn and Uriah. All three of them have regained enough energy to walk on their own feet thanks to the medicine Shauna stole from the infirmary.
We're ready to go and about to leave the lab when we hear steps coming closer.
"Don't shoot, it's us," Tori announces through the speaker, and seconds later, she emerges in the door with Christina. "How can we help?"
"You could take Cara, if she's not too heavy. I want her in jail, I want to know what made her turn against us," Will says bitterly.
Tori looks around at all of us, probably checking if there's something more urgent that has to be done. Apparently she comes to the conclusion that it's alright to take Cara, so she and Christina heave her up. At least she's thin.
"Beware of Eric," Marlene reminds us. How could we forget?
"Okay, let's get out of here," I say.
Lauren walks in front of our group with her weapon drawn to make sure the hallways are clear. I follow behind her with Zeke and the lifeless Jeanine and the others are all behind us, with Shauna walking backwards to scan the corridors for Eric or other enemies.
We've just turned around the first corner when the lights flicker back on. It's still some kind of emergency lighting, but suddenly we're much more exposed again than we've been before.
"Hurry," I say to Lauren.
It's not far to the room we climbed into. I count down the numbers of the offices that we pass until we reach number 28. The door is still ajar, and so is the window.
Lauren and Zeke climb out first, and then they pull Max out while I lift him from inside. We do the same with Jeanine and Cara, then help Tris, Uriah and Lynn. Shauna is the last to climb out.
We have to reorganize in the darkness. The emergency generator doesn't supply the whole compound with electricity. Outside, there's still almost no light at all. We start walking away from the building, towards our earlier hiding point, when a voice disrupts us. I know who it belongs to immediately. I don't need to see him.
"Stop!" Eric barks. "Stop, or I'll shoot your friend!"