Chapter 15

I had another tattoo done that night.

I had worn shorts as Tori worked her way from my left hip, down my thigh and to my ankles.

Around a hundred sunbursts, starbursts, beams whatever they were called, were overlapping on my leg, covering it from high over my hip to past my ankle. They were all black, with a few scattered in with gold, red, purple, pink, all the shades of the rainbow.

I loved it but it was a long process. I did some work on my tablet and watch while she worked, letting me finish some paperwork that I had been putting off.

They stung as I pulled my jeans on the next morning but I could ignore the pain.

Eric came into my apartment just as I started my day, both his hands full of coffee from the Ground House. He strode up to me, handing me one of them before rubbing a hand down his freshly shaven chin.

When he grinned, I narrowed my eyes at him, not trusting the almost smug and sheepish look on his face.

"Well," He started, his tongue darting out to touch his bottom lip.

"That doesn't sound good," I said, pausing to take a draw of the sweet, hazelnut coffee. "What did you do?"

"Well." He began again, letting one shoulder hit the wall as he watched me move around my kitchen and give Loki a quick morning treat. "Someone has to go to a conference in the City of New York in a week."

"Fuck that," I instantly said, scowling. "That city is supposed to be really bad for Factioned city people. I've been to Detroit but my mother said that New York is horrible."

"It can't be helped." He shrugged. "Guess who's the lucky lady that gets to go?"

I grumbled, "No…"

"Give the girl a gift," Eric snickered. "We're leaving tomorrow. Pack a bag for two weeks. I don't know how long we're gonna be."

"We?" I asked. "Eric, that city is unsafe for Factioned people."

He sent me a look, "You're not gonna be going alone. Max wouldn't allow you anyway."

"Why? Why did they ask for me?"

He made a dismissive noise, "I think it has to do with what Elijah had done. I don't think that city is happy about it either. They probably want you to speak on what happened."

"Did Elijah and his men go back fine?"

"Yeah. They reported to their supervisors as soon as they got back, including about the incident from what Max mentioned."

I sighed, "Alright. What do I even need to pack?"

"I don't know what the weather will be like so do what you will," He glanced at his watch, reading the notification that came up before crossing his arms again. "You will need smart clothes along with practical ones. And an evening dress."

"Evening dress?"

"Yep," He frowned at the thought. "I have to wear a penguin suit so you sure as fuck have to wear a dress."

I felt my nostril flare in annoyance, "I get to fucking choose it,"

He gave me a look that said he knew exactly what I was thinking, "Nothing overly slutty."

"Fine." I glared at him. "Can I bring my gun?"

"No."

I pouted.

)()()(

"Slow the fuck down!" Eric almost screamed at me as he clutched the side handle of the car.

"I need to fucking pee and you said we need to be in Ontario, Canada before we can stop the car," I shouted back. "So we are going to be there!"

"Damn it," He mumbled as I was weaving through the other cars on the road.

Surprisingly, there were several cars on the motorway. It didn't take much for me to speed through them. With our licence plate, we wouldn't be stopped unless we did something really stupid. But speeding a little was acceptable.

"Fine!" He gestured to an oncoming sign. "There! There are facilities and we can get dinner. Now, will you slow the fuck down before you kill us?"

"Okay," I smiled, carefully slowly the car down before indicating the car to go down the side road and into a small town.

We found a diner nearby, one that was friendly towards many travellers through the continent. We sat and ordered an easy dinner before I went to pee. We had cheeseburgers and greasy fries.

"Where are we staying?" I asked after finishing a mouthful of fries. "I don't fancy staying in the car, regardless of how large it is."

Eric twisted his forearm, turning his watch on and letting a small projection of it stay on the table. It turned into a map, one that showed everything available. "There's a small motel nearby. We'll see about getting a room there."

"Alright."

)()()(

I dropped my bag on my motel bed, letting Eric have the first shower.

He walked straight out of that shower, not even bothering to turn the water on. He looked a little pale. "You don't want to go in there."

"Why?" I asked. There was a temptation to go in there now. "What's in there?"

"A centipede in the bathtub,"

I rolled my eyes, going straight into there. There was, in fact, a centipede in the bathtub. It was massive, fat and a foot long as it sat in the tub. I grimaced. While I didn't mind bugs, I still didn't like them.

I grabbed a towel from the side, picking up the wiggling bug with my hand covered before plopping it down the toilet and flushing it away. I sighed, dropping the towel before opening the curtain of the shower.

I ran.

Eric grabbed both of our bags and packed us back in the car before we drove for an hour or two more until we found a decent place to sleep.

)()()(

Unsurprisingly, we got along well during the long ride to the City of New York. He quizzed me on a lot of stuff, on what I'd learned over the last few months or so. He even quizzed me on parts of my training during the initiation period.

Eric was driving when we got to the border of New York State.

We slowed as we reached the border crossing, stopping before the huge gates as a guard approached the car on Eric's side.

The guard tapped on the glass, letting Eric roll down the window. "IDs."

"Here you go," I said, handing the guard both holographic identification cards which were issued to us before we left. They were, as their names indicated, IDs. They'd tell anyone who looked at them how old we were and our genetic coding and our city.

The guard looked at them, twisting his wrist up to bring a hologram screen up before checking them against records. He nodded, giving them back to me and almost completely ignoring Eric.

"Who does the canine belong to?" He asked.

"Me," I leaned my head a little to see him better. "We were told we wouldn't need documentation for him."

"Is he chipped?"

I nodded.

He looked satisfied. "As long as the canine is chipped and has had all the necessary vaccinations, he's free to come with you. And the factioned man? Is he with you?"

"Yes," I had to refrain from glaring at the man. "We're here for a conference of the city leaders."

"A factioned is not allowed in without authorisation, especially from a closed city," He said. "Are you escorting him in, Ms Voltaire? If so, he can join you in the city."

"Yes, I am,"

He nodded. "Good. I will have his ID authorised. You will be informed at your destination later."

We were on our way after that.

"Weird," I muttered as Eric rolled the windows up again. His hands were white on the steering wheel. "Are you okay?"

He took a calming breath, "Yeah, I just don't like this city."

"Nor do I."

"We'll be at the city in about forty minutes," He said. "You can take a nap."

"Cheers."

It didn't take much for me to nod off.

)()()(

Eric gently woke me up, careful to not jostle me otherwise I'd punch him by accident. He learnt his lesson from the last time.

"Are we there?" I asked, yawning before I opened my eyes.

Instinctively, I reached for my gun but it wasn't there. I didn't like the fact it wasn't there, but we weren't law enforcement out here, we were almost ambassadors of sorts. We couldn't bring weapons to another city.

People surrounded the car, dressed in different shades of white to grey to black. One woman, dressed in a sleek black suit with a beautiful rose-coloured blouse, had a silver band sewn into her sleeve. The rest had a strip of bronze around their arms.

I looked at Eric who wasn't panicking. Because of that, I tried to calm down too.

"They're our welcome party," He said, pressing my seat belt button to undo it. "Come on."

I turned to get out, quickly finding the door being opened for me by one of the men with a bronze band. I wasn't quite freaked out by it but it was strange.

They didn't make a move to open the door for Loki so I did that, letting him jump out of the car and land next to me. He waited, letting me grab his lead just in case.

"Hi," I said. "Alexis. Eric."

"Yes," The woman had a thin smile on her lips but it was pleasant. "I'm Reelie. I'll be your guide for your time in the City of New York. I understand that Ms Voltaire is a Divergent whilst Mr Coulter is Factioned. Because you are a restricted pair, the council thought it was better for you to have a guide to help your transition during this time."

"Alright," Eric said, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. "What's happening first?"

"First, we will be bringing you to the hotel," Reelie said. "We have a room booked for a stay. The others will bring your vehicle."

"Room? Singular?" He asked.

"Yes," Reelie nodded as we followed her to the sleek black car. "As a restricted pair visiting the city, you have to be roomed together to ensure that the behaviour of the factioned is appropriate, otherwise the hotel would not let you into the building. When we arrive, appropriate clothing will be provided."

"Appropriate?" I asked as we got into the car. It was large and Reelie sat across from us in the back. Loki sat between me and Eric, half on my lap more than he was on the seats. "What's wrong with what we're wearing?"

"In a few minutes, you will see," Reelie smiled thinly.

I gave Eric a look but he just shrugged and I went back to petting Loki.

In truth, I did see what Reelie meant by appropriate clothing.

God, there was a big divide in the classes in this city. Sure, we had a sort of dress code, but that was to help identify us.

I could instantly tell who was who, but we didn't have much of a wealth divide but here, there was. Here, it looked like an old-era prison with the way some wore their outfits.

The factioned were dressed up smartly, wearing iron white shirts and dark grey trousers and skirts, and some had black instead of grey. They had bands of bronze or silver around their arms or on the hems of their clothes.

I asked about that.

"Oh, the bands are to help identify our status," She said, pointing to the two bands on her blazer. "I'm Silver, meaning I am an assistant to a Gold or work for an establishment which caters to them personally. Bronze are your other workings, food, labour, office."

"Who are the Golds?" Eric asked. "I don't see any gold bands."

"Don't be silly. Golds don't need bands. You know who's Gold and who isn't.".

I nodded, realising, "Golds are Divergents, Eric."

He glanced outside again, staring at the flashy individuals that wore too bright colours with so many shades of this and that and bags and shoes. They were fashionable yet very much impractical, wearing stuff that wouldn't be in the workplace. I supposed they didn't have to work, not like the rest of them. They were elites, set high above the rest purely because of their blood and lack of faction.

"They get treated like royalty, I see," He said under his breath.

"No," Reelie frowned. "They get treated as they should. Golds, or Divergent as you know them, are genetically purer than the rest of us. Why shouldn't they be treated better?"

I nudged Eric subtly, shaking my head to which he knew to drop the topic. "I see. We don't have this hierarchy of Divegents being better so we have a harder time understanding."

"It's fine. Perhaps you will come to like the city and stay,"

I very much doubted that.

)()()(

The hotel we were staying in was extravagant, even by New York standards.

A whole group of silver bands were standing before us as we got into the reception area. They were all smiling and being polite. I didn't like their falseness, especially when the manager came up to us and shook Eric's hand but looked almost scandalous when I put mine out. The manager was surprised I would even offer to touch him voluntarily.

I didn't like this place already but I tried to power through it.

We got situated in our room, a nice suite on one of the top floors. The bedroom itself was the size of my apartment. Then the living room area was even bigger. When I saw the beds they provided for us, and listening to the manager explain, I bristled in anger but I knew this wasn't the right time.

With there being a larger than a king-sized bed, I was surprised with the small cot the manager had insisted was for the use of the 'factioned man'. I kept my expression plain and when he left, I just frowned.

"Not a fucking chance," I shook my head as I opened up my suitcase. "These rules are pissing me right off."

Eric laughed, "And you were telling me to play nice when you look like you're ready to hit the next person that comes in here."

"Because they're all prejudiced sons of bitches!"

"It's fine," He shrugged. "We're only stuck here for the next week and a bit. Nothing I can't handle."

"You're not sleeping on that cot," I said instantly. "It's a foot too small and I'm not having you complain about your neck or your back all week."

He smirked at that before a knock at the door interrupted us.

Eric opened it, revealing Reelie with a whole rack of clothes which she brought in with her.

"I had to go get this rack," She said, pulling it in before separating half of the black clothing bags to one side and pushing the other away too. "The bags with the gold lining are Alexis', and the others are Eric's. Pick one and put it on, we have other things to attend to soon. I'll wait in the lounge. Please come out when you are ready."

She left with a scathing look to Eric to follow her out. He didn't, going to the rack and pulling the zip.

He snorted, lifting out a grey shirt and slacks, "What am I? Abnegation? Fuck that. Max said nothing about having to dress like them."

"He said it wasn't expected but it would be polite," I said, opening one of mine up before frowning. I pulled out the lemon yellow dress, long but form-fitting, enough so that it would be impractical. "Uh, no."

I went through the rest. While I liked a good dress, I didn't like ones I couldn't move in. Even if I was in a place where I didn't need to fight or keep peace physically, I liked the option.

"Why are they such ugly colours?" I picked up another dress, orange this time with stripes. "I'll look like a bee in that."

Eric snorted, finding the darkest grey shirt before putting it on. That was the only piece he wore from there, wearing the rest of his own clothes. He was not going to be wearing those little loafers they left for him.

I tried to not laugh at the simple thought of Eric wearing something similar to what Abnegations wore. It was hard to even imagine and hilarious.

I was just glad I brought my own clothes, including some dresses but I just continued to wear my basic outfit. I couldn't be bothered to get changed.

We went down to the lounge and Reelie's face said that she expected us to have gotten changed. It quickly changed into a pleasant smile.

Loki sat at a heel at my feet, only moving when I did. He was being very good as he was surrounded by strangers.

"You have a small conference to attend later this week," Reelie said. "Outfits will be provided where necessary. However, the schedule is quite free today. There are just a few appearances and acquaintances you need to make before you can settle for the night."

And that's what we did. We met a few people, and had dinner with someone from a semi-high position in the government before we were allowed to retire for the night.

)()()(

I didn't know when we woke up and I didn't care.

The bed was warm and I refused to get out of the bed when Eric did, letting him take the first shower as Loki snuck into the bed.

Eric laughed when he came out, drying his hair with a towel, "Your dog took my space."

"You left it open," I grumbled into Loki's warmth, opening one eye to glance at Eric. "Gym?"

"Yeah, get up,"

I sat up with a grumble, stretching with a yawn before I got dressed. A sports bra and leggings would do for now. I'd take a shower later.

We went down to the gym, finding it was still early in the morning when we awoke. Loki stayed in the room for now.

The gym was high-tech and spacious so Eric and I started on stretches in silence before we got on the treadmills.

After our warmups, we did pushups. I did my sets while Eric started another set, making me sit on his back while he did them.

"Move it," I told him, watching him push himself up. "One. Two. Three. Four. You're doing at least twenty before I'm getting off."

"Yeah?" He turned his head a little to glance at me. "I'm getting to forty then."

"Try it,"

I felt him work through all of the pushups, sitting steadily on his back as he did them. He got to the thirties and I felt him begin to tire but he did them. I got off after that, holding out a hand to help him up.

Then we began to do some friendly sparring, needing to wake up some more before we had to deal with other people.

We circled each other, carefully planning our steps as we went. Eric had an advantage over me when we sparred. He was the one to teach me all the techniques so he knew how to evade mine better than I did his. He just forgot that he wasn't my only teacher during that time.

We weren't sparring to win, just to practise our mavours this time. We wanted to work up a sweat and make sure our muscles were working properly, remembering our training.

It wasn't until we were sure we remembered, perfectly, and then we began to fight for real. Nothing major but we let ourselves get into the groove of fighting, attacking and defending as needed.

Eric had me in a headlock, just enough to immobilise me, when a whole group came into the gym, armed with guns and little armour.

"Hands up!" One of them shouted. "Let her go!"

But Eric had already let me go. He did as soon as we caught sight of them. He stood so he was in front of me, ever the protector.

They trained their guns at Eric and not me.

"Ma'am, are you alright?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" I sidestepped Eric.

"We got word that you were being attacked,"

"Attacked?" I asked.

"He had you in a headlock,"

"Yeah, because we're sparring," I said it like it was obvious. "You've put your guns on two ambassadors of a closed city. Put your guns down before I turn this into a diplomatic matter!"

They quickly holstered their guns, filtering out of the room when I waved my hand.

"Stupid fuckers," I grabbed my water bottle from the side. I took a drink from it with a scowl.

"Come on before they actually manage to have their safety off this time," Eric said.

"You saw that too?"

"Yeah. You would think that if they had guns, they would know how to use them,"

Reelie came storming in, her hurried footsteps in her heels the first thing we heard before she came into the gym.

"I heard what happened. What happened to have guards come?"

"We were sparring," I gestured to both of us. "And they thought we were properly fighting. We were but not aggressively. We always spar. There's nothing dangerous about it."

"It's always dangerous when a Bronze decides to fight," She said.

My blood boiled at her tone. She was calling Eric a Bronze, someone who only did labour work and shit because they were factioned.

"A Bronze?" I made sure my tone was full of disbelief. "He's not a Bronze. We are both Ambassadors, Reelie, and I suggest you start treating us as such or there will be more problems than just us simply sparring. You don't want the word back home is that you have been negligent in the manner in which you treat us. I doubt Chicago would be happy to hear that."

"Alexis," Eric touched my elbow, giving me a look. "Come on. It's not a big deal."

I lowered my voice, hissing at him, "It is when they're treating you like shit. It's the same as when Chicago didn't know, treating all Divergents like they're abominations." I turned back to Reelie, "I expect this to never happen again or I will inform our city about the discrepancies in the way you've treated us."

I left for my room.

)()()(

I wasn't happy for the rest of the day and Eric could tell. After a day of supervised sightseeing, we came back to the hotel and Eric drew a bath.

"Go take a fucking bath," He threw a towel at me while I sat on the bed, taking my shoes off. "You've been grumpy all day and I refuse to go to bed when you're like this. You'll be even fucking worse in the morning otherwise."

"Asshole,"

"Bath. Go." He crossed his arms. "I ordered some green tea so that'll come soon. Get your ass in that bathtub and relax."

"What if I don't want to take a bath?" I asked him.

He narrowed his eyes. I could see the fury in his eyes and it just made me more tempted to piss him off.

"I put fucking bubbles in it, Alexis," He snapped at me. "I made a monstrosity of a bubble bath for you so get your pretty little ass into that bath before I shove you in it."

"Aww," I stood up, taking the towel with me. "You think my ass is pretty?"

He shoved me into the bathroom with a scowl as I laughed, letting him.

He really did make me a bath, complete with a cup of green tea which he brought in a couple of minutes later. Loki followed him into the bathroom while I was in the bath, yipping and barking playfully. It wasn't until Eric bent over to hand me my cup that Loki decided to jump on Eric.

I barely got my tea out of the way before Eric was shoved into the bathtub, Loki following him right after.

"Loki!" I shouted as the dog just grinned at me. "You're a bastard."

He jumped out of the bath, leaving Eric to fumble his way out of it. I pushed him out before I got out too, finding that there wasn't much water left after two people and a dog went in.

I wrapped my towel around me, pointing at the door, "Out."

Loki dutifully followed my orders, trotting out of the bathroom to leave a wet Eric and me in my towel.

"I hate your dog," Eric said, stripping off his wet layers. His hair stuck to his forehead. "I really do."

"You're just mad you took an involuntary bath," I snickered, walking out to get my clothes from my bag. I changed into a tank top and new underwear. "Serves you right for making me take one."

"Shut up,"