DISCLAIMER: I own neither the Divergent world nor the characters, they belong to Veronica Roth.

Chapter 66

Tris

The pit is more crowded than I've ever seen it before. It seems that rumors spread quickly in Dauntless, so that's why everyone's here. There's not many things that the average Dauntless member would refer to as scandalous, but I've heard that word whispered between people as I walked at the side of the pit to the front to where my friends have gathered. It must be taken seriously, or why else would they whisper at all? Dauntless don't whisper. They shout.

I only have time to say hello to Uriah, Marlene and Christina and reassure them that I'm fine when the big screen in the front flickers and Jack Kang comes into view. Good, so Zeke managed to set it all up despite Caleb's assistance. Tobias went looking for him behind the hastily made up stage to see if he could help.

"Hello Chicago," Jack begins to speak, and the pit falls silent - more or less. "I informed all the leaders that we have something important to share with you, and I hope that you can receive the signal of this stream in every faction: In Abnegation. In Amity. In Dauntless. In Erudite. And even in Candor. Most of the Candor have come together here to witness the upcoming revelations with their own eyes, and those who didn't fit in here are watching in our reception hall."

Behind Jack, I recognize the room Tobias and I had to go under truth serum, only now it is packed with people in black and white. Every single seat on the benches is taken. A shiver runs through me as I imagine that people in every faction have assembled to watch the interrogations today. I wonder how they will react when they find out what was going on. What if we're falling into chaos instead of reestablishing stability now?

I don't have time to think any further as Jack steps away from the camera and I see Jeanine being escorted to the seat in the middle by Will and Shauna. Her hands are tied behind her back. With satisfaction, I register the terror and humiliation in her face. She knows there'll be no way for her to avoid the truth anymore, and everyone in our city will know how she conspired against our society.

Will and Shauna push Jeanine down on the chair. She glares at them maliciously. I enjoy watching her eyes cloud after Niles injects her with truth serum. I know how cold it feels when it spreads through your veins.

Then the interrogation begins.

"We begin with a few standard questions. Please state your name and age," Niles says, and his voice sounds firm and distanced.

"My name is Jeanine Matthews. I'm 45 years old," Jeanine replies obediently, no trace of control about her words left.

"What faction were you born into?"

"I was born into Erudite."

"What is your current faction?"

"Erudite."

"Describe your position in your faction."

"I am their leader."

"As Erudite's leader, what were your goals? Where did you want to lead your faction?"

"I wanted to give Erudite the power it deserves. As the faction of the intelligent, we deserve to have more power when it comes to governing this city. We know what is best."

"What position did you aim to achieve?"

"I wanted to become the political leader of Chicago."

"Were you planning to share this power with anyone?"

"No. I wanted the power for myself and for my faction."

"Did you have allies?"

"Yes. Max and Eric, and a handful of Dauntless and Erudite members we trusted."

A murmur runs through the crowd in the pit at this declaration. But of course, Niles can't hear it. He continues throwing questions at Jeanine.

"What was Max and Eric's role in your plans?"

"I needed them to make their faction fight for me. Erudite members don't have the skills for that. I promised them to give them more power in the new government than they have right now, and they would have gotten it. But not as much power as I wanted for myself."

"Did they know that?"

"I suppose they didn't. I chose my words wisely when we talked about that. But they knew I wanted to be Chicago's leader."

"Did they collaborate voluntarily?"

"Yes. They took a few days to think about whether they wanted to federalize with me after I approached them with my suggestion."

"When was that?"

"About half a year ago. We were at the faction leader's spring conference in Amity."

"How did you plan to gain power?"

"We planned to overthrow Abnegation and kill off their council members and their families. We wanted to make the Dauntless soldiers fight for us by controlling them through a simulation. They wouldn't have known what they were doing. They would just have followed silent orders typed into a program. After shattering Abnegation, Amity and Candor would have been easy to subdue. Amity always want peace and neutrality. They don't want to be bothered, they just want to keep living in harmony within their own faction, and they don't care as much about what others do. Well, and Candor couldn't fight against Dauntless either. You would have had to follow our ideas or die."

At this, Niles finally has to take a few deep breaths before he regains full control.

"Were you planning to show any mercy, with anyone?"

"No."

"You said you wanted to kill the Abnegation council members. What about their leader?"

"No, not Marcus. We had a deal."

What?!

"What kind of deal?"

"He somehow go wind that Erudite and Dauntless were striving for more political power. He realized that his days as Chicago's most powerful man were coming to an end, and clever as he is for someone from Abnegation, he negotiated with me."

"What was the result of these negotiations?"

"He was going to get away with his life. He asked to be granted asylum in Erudite. Nobody was supposed to know. The idea was to declare him a prisoner and lock him away within Erudite, but to keep him alive. He preferred that over death."

"What did he offer in return?"

"He provided us with detailed maps of Abnegation. He gave us a complete list with all members that showed where each of them lived, and who was related to whom. He also offered us work schedules, so we could see where everyone would be at the time we wanted to attack."

"Who knew about that cooperation between you and Marcus?"

"Just me and him."

"So Max and Eric didn't know?"

"No. They didn't need to."

"Did you find out where Marcus got the information about your plans?"

"No, I have no idea."

"Your faction has been spreading rumors and bad news about Abnegation. Did you approve of that?"

"Yes. I ordered it."

"What is the source of all this hatred against Abnegation?"

"They withhold food and goods and give too much of it to the factionless."

"That's what you want to make everyone believe. But your personal hatred against Abnegation, where does it come from?"

"They are hiding Divergents. Those people are dangerous and a threat to our society and the peace in Chicago. They cannot be controlled, so they have to be eliminated."

I try to stay as indifferent on the outside as I can while in reality I feel a million different things between anger, fear and restlessness. Is this the moment right before Niles outs us?

"Divergents, Jeanine? Honestly?" He gives her a scornful look, making it clear what he thinks of her and what she's said. "I would never have assumed that someone as intelligent as you would believe in their existence. It's a fairy tale, nothing else."

Jeanine glares at him, the effects of the truth serum must start to wear off. But it's still strong enough to stop her from saying anything that she's not asked to say.

"That can't honestly be what you based your campaign against Abnegation on," Niles continues, and I wonder why he's lying. I didn't know a Candor was capable of that. And Jack must tolerate it, too, or Niles wouldn't get away with it. "So, let's cover the recent events. You tried to carry out your plans last week. Explain which actions you took."

"I ordered Eric and Max to inject their members with the simulation serum, which they did on the day after initiation. Then we tried to launch the simulation that night, but it wouldn't work. I was furious. We started investigating to try to find and solve the problem. We checked the computers and cables, the software, the serum. But we still couldn't find a reason. I suspect it was some Divergent rebels who tried to stop us."

"That sounds slightly paranoid, to be honest. What do you think have they done?"

"They must have messed with our serum somehow, or sabotaged our IT system."

"Well, you will find out the answer to your question later today, and you will see that it doesn't have to do with a Divergent rebellion or however you want to call it. To come to an end here, I want to ask a few questions about yesterday. You kidnapped three people yesterday, is that true?"

"I didn't do it myself. I just gave orders. Other people did that for me."

"Who?"

"Eric."

"Just Eric?"

"I think he mentioned he had help, but you have to ask him who accompanied him. I didn't bother asking. We are a small group of allies, so it must have been one of them."

"Now that you mention it, would you please state every name of your accomplices?"

What follows is a list of names, most of them unfamiliar to me. I only know Max, Eric, Peter and, sadly, Cara. I don't know how to contextualize that Cara really was on our side at the beginning and then switched sides. She was fighting on our side. And then she turned into a traitor. Why?

"Okay, let's get back to yesterday's events. You injected two of those captives with a serum that was supposed to wipe their memories. What kind of serum did you use?"

"Memory serum. And, just for the record, it wasn't me who injected them. Cara did. I watched her do it. I just told her to do it."

"How was the serum modified?"

"It wasn't modified."

"But those two victim's memories returned later during the day. Is that a normal effect?"

"No, it's not. The damage is usually permanent."

"So you intended to permanently wipe those people's memories?"

"Yes. I don't do things halfheartedly."

"Then how do you explain that the serum didn't work on them?"

"I have no idea. Maybe they had a trick in hiding that they are Divergent. The serums don't work on them the way they do with healthy people."

A murmur goes through the crowd in the pit, moving like waves. My heart is pounding wildly. I'm sure now that Jack and Niles must be trying to keep our Divergence secret, so every question Niles asks is carefully worded to not reveal that about us, or even bring up the suspicion. But he can never be sure of Jeanine's answers. The way people react at the accusation that someone could be Divergent proofs that it's still dangerous to make it public. Our society isn't ready to live with those of us who think differently. I hope Caleb's and Marlene's names will remain unspoken in this interview until the end.

"Again, Jeanine, that's just rumors. Or would you go as far as saying that all of Dauntless is Divergent, too, because your simulation serum didn't work on them?"

"No. Now you're being ridiculous."

"I'm just trying to follow your line of arguments here. And yes, in my opinion, that's ridiculous. And I think we're done here for now. Thank you for your honesty."

And all the Candor around them repeat his last sentence like a prayer, "Thank you for your honesty."

I think there's nothing to thank for when it comes to Jeanine, and not one of her words would have been true hadn't she been given truth serum. Apparently it's just a weird ritual the Candor have.

I watch how Will and Shauna escort Jeanine out of the room and probably back into her cell. Only a few seconds later, Tori and Lauren enter the room, each of them holding one of Eric's arms. I realize with satisfaction that his right arm is in a sling. That's why his hands are tied in front of him.

He doesn't struggle while they lead him to the chair and order him to sit down. He must have decided to face the trials with a certain dignity. Niles injects him with truth serum and then begins the questioning the same way he always does.

"We begin with a few standard questions. Please state your name and age."

"Eric Coulter. I'm eighteen."

"What faction were you born into?"

"Erudite."

"What is your current faction?"

"Dauntless."

"Why did you transfer?"

"My aptitude test result was Dauntless, so I decided it would be the most rational thing to transfer there. I also hoped I could make it into a better position within that faction. I know my IQ score wasn't high enough to make it into Erudite leadership, so I wanted to try in Dauntless. I was successful and became the youngest leader they've ever had."

I'm impressed how he manages to keep his arrogance even under the influence of truth serum. Niles ignores it and continues.

"When Jeanine approached you with the idea of attacking Abnegation, did you agree immediately?"

"No. I was sure we could get far by cooperating, but Max wasn't convinced. It took me a few days to talk him into it. He didn't know what was good for him and our city."

"Did you pressure or blackmail him?"

"No! I just gave him the right ideas and after thinking it through, he came to the same conclusion that I had drawn: That it would be good for Dauntless to strive for more power and good for our city if Dauntless had more saying in how things are going."

"You believed you acted for the public good?"

"Yes."

"You weren't enthralled by the idea of more power?"

"Of course we were! Those two ideas don't necessarily contradict each other."

"Then how does murdering an entire faction not contradict acting in everyone's interest?"

"Sometimes there have to be sacrifices if we want to reach a certain goal. In this case, Abnegation is a thread to peace and stability between the factions. That's why they have to be removed. With them gone, there is a chance to start fresh and begin a new era, with the four remaining factions that actually contribute to our society. We could make Chicago a better place to live with Abnegation gone. They waste too many of our resources on themselves and the factionless. Nobody needs the factionless."

"So you wanted to start a war to stabilize peace?"

"I know not everyone is capable of understanding that."

"You're right. I can't understand that. So, did you plan to kill Marcus Eaton during the attack?"

"No. I would love to kill him, though. But Jeanine forbid it. She said she needed him as a hostage. She wanted to use him to show the remaining Abnegation that even their leader hadn't got any power left. I don't agree with her in this point. I always argued that there'd be nothing left of Abnegation to threaten."

"You mentioned the factionless and how useless they are. Did you have any plans about what to do with them?"

"We wanted to create controlled areas in the city where they wouldn't have been allowed in. Dauntless soldiers would have protected the borders of these safe areas."

"So the idea was to exclude them even further?"

"Yes. I wouldn't mind killing them off. They're nothing but useless scum."

"You will be surprised when you hear about the part that the people you refer to as 'useless scum' played in arresting you. But we'll get to that point later today. For now, I have more questions about your conspiracy with Erudite."

The interview goes on and Niles covers most of what has happened, but, yet again, several points remain unmentioned. It's stunning how he can maneuver around the critical parts that could put us in danger while still gathering all the information he needs to convict the conspirators. It requires a lot of skill and training, I guess.

After Eric's questioning is over, they bring in Max. Most of is statements are things Jeanine and Eric already confessed involuntarily. His statements are not as harsh and cold as those given by his two predecessors on that chair, but it's clear that his general intentions weren't any better than theirs.

I brace myself for Cara's interview as Lynn and Tori bring her in. The procedure is the same as always.

"We begin with a few standard questions. Please state your name and age."

I temporarily zone out. The blood rushes in my ears as my thoughts revolve around a question I've been asking myself countless times already: When did we lose Cara? What made her turn her back on us?

I'm brought back to the moment when Christina squeezes my hand and looks at me with wide eyes.

"Let me ask you again, just to be sure: You claim you were never, at no time, on Jeanine's side?"

"No, never. I was always on the side of the Allegiant."

"That's interesting. To explain to our audience all over Chicago what she means by 'the Allegiant': That's the group of mostly Dauntless and one, or apparently two, Erudite members who fought against Jeanine, Max and Eric and finally caught them last night. They are the reason we're not in the middle of a war today."

Niles pauses to give everyone time to process this, then goes on with his questions.

"There is a recording from the secret lab you and Caleb worked in. It is from the afternoon that Jeanine came with at least two soldiers to capture you both. Do you remember that scene?"

"Of course I do."

"On the tape, I heard you give sensitive information to Jeanine. You told her about the serum you developed as a vaccine against the simulation serum and gave her names of the Allegiant members. How do you explain this if you didn't side with Jeanine?"

"I used my Erudite brain. They captured Caleb, and I realized he wouldn't be able to do anything helpful anymore. I didn't want to be locked away, I wanted to maintain my chances to act on behalf of our group. Therefore, I decided, in that very moment, to make Jeanine believe I switched sides. She promised me to alleviate the consequences I'd have to face for conspiring against her. I was sure it was just a lie to make me cooperate with her. I used the fact that she thought so weakly of my determination to fight against her. I had to give her some information that was valuable for her, or she would never have believed me."

"You claimed you sided with the Allegiant because of Caleb. Is that true or was it a lie, too?"

"It was a lie. I was never interested in Caleb that way. I just had to give her a reason why I sided with them in the first place, and then tell her that reason wasn't important to me any longer. In Erudite, we are used to looking for the reasons behind someone's actions. It helps us analyze their behavior. I had to make up something she would believe, and that was the first thing that came to my mind."

"Jeanine said you injected two people with memory serum. Is that true?"

"It is."

"Then you were ready to pay a huge price to make Jeanine believe in your loyalty. Even if you did that to keep up your camouflage, it is still a criminal act to wipe someone's memories. The effect of the serum should have been irreversible."

"I know! That's why I did it!"

"I don't understand. Please explain this statement."

"There is an antiserum for every serum Erudite has developed. However, not all of them can reverse the effect of the first serum if administered after it. Some of them have to be given to the person before they receive the potent serum, for example the memory serum. I secretly injected all five of Jeanine's prisoners with all the available antiserums as a precaution. I wanted to safe them! Yes, I injected Caleb and Marlene with memory serum. But I knew it wouldn't do any permanent damage. That's why they got their memories back. It's not a magical miracle, it's plain and simple science."

Oh! I turn to look at Marlene, and so do Uriah and Christina. Cara saved her! And she saved Caleb as well. I remember her injecting me and Uriah with various serums without explaining what they were for.

I must admit I didn't see that coming.