ALLEGIANT PART II
chapter fifty-two
FOUR
i am forever alive / i hook my heart to my eyes
i reach from birth just to die / i keep the devil inside / i grow him in me
Oceana, "The family disease"
a/n: Please be advised, because Allegiant didn't exactly cover all the basics on the shit going down outside of Chicago(i.e. the Fringe), I'm forced to create with my own ideas and explanations for the remainder of this fic. That being said, this is all new territory for me. I'm going for an original American military approach because it fits in with my plot bunny perfectly. So hang on guys.
It was a long and bumpy ride to the Fringe, which gave me too much time to my thoughts.
Too much time to worry about Tris and her broken mind, a little voice said. No. Today I would be selfish, I decided. I pushed Tris out of my mind and decided to focus on the Fringe.
I had brushed up on my knowledge while gearing up and learned that the Fringe is more dangerous than let on. I learned about a lot of the rebellion when I was with Nita months ago, so I was aware of the rebels wanting the Bureau of Genetic Welfare to fuck off and leave them alone; they didn't care about being pure or genetically damaged. They would also result in ruthless tactics if provoked.
The official report said the Bureau would send out troops of soldiers to patrol the area and gain intel on the destruction throughout the city. They were mapping and organizing and it was rumored they would begin rebuilding once the fighting ended. The unofficial report included using firearms to push back the rebels. There wasn't an option for them to overpower the Bureau so manpower was needed to keep that in check without drawing attention to other cities. The only clues I was given to our mission was to infiltrate one of the buildings the rebels used for headquarters. I didn't care enough to ask anymore questions or think about the answers. I dressed in a faded dark green army uniform that was thick and heavy with a bulletproof vest and climbed into the back of the large van like vehicle with Amar, George, and three other men.
We were each given an M16 rifle and a pistol. I was relieved to hold a gun again. In truth I was getting restless. As dark and anti-social as I had become in the last few weeks there was a nagging little feeling in the back of my mind that kept reminding me I was Dauntless and I wasn't acting Dauntless. But not today.
As we entered the Fringe I noticed through the window the air was thick and cloudy. Likely from a recent explosion. The terrain was in rough shape; roads and sidewalks ripped up and there was almost no grass due to the garbage that littered everywhere you looked. Buildings that were left standing were boarded up; paint faded and chipped. There was debris from the bombed buildings that crumbled over each other in a depressing state.
It was much worse than the streets of the factionless. This was true warfare.
"Hey, if you see a body, um, don't look at it." George didn't meet my eyes when he interrupted my thoughts.
He checked the clip of his M16 for the third time.
"Don't worry too much about that," Amar said, trying to lighten the mood. "And don't mind Georgie. He doesn't like coming out here."
"Who does? We're fighting over a wasteland."
"Wait, fighting over?" I asked. "I thought we were fighting because the Fringe rejected society and are rebelling against the Bureau?"
"We are. But when that's over what's going to happen to the Fringe?" Who's going to live there?" George cryptically asked me, one eyebrow raised knowingly.
"That's a conversation for another time." Amar finished. "We're almost to our destination."
There was a few minutes of silence until the van pulled to a rough stop and we lurched forward. One of the soldiers named Thomas swore at the driver and rubbed his head.
"Okay squad," Amar said, turning to look at me. "We're going to debrief Four before we head out. So our objective is inside a building two blocks west from here. We're going to enter through the roof and make our way to the top floor. There's three floors in total. Now we have intelligence that the building will be almost completely empty except for a few stationed guards on the bottom floor. The rebels have moved west and we have approximately 90 minutes to get in and out."
Amar pulled out a folded map from his chest pocket and pointed out our route and advantage points marked in red ink. I quietly appreciated the fact that Amar had not abandoned his Dauntless leadership skills and I found it easy to be caught up like the rest of the squadron.
"Four, you're going to accompany Georgie and myself to the top floor where you two will cover me as I go in the marked room."
"How do you know which room it is?" I asked curiously.
"Staff sergeant knows everything, didn't you know?" Ben, who was the soldier in the drivers seat, interrupted. He turned and grinned at me.
Thomas and Ben were twins with bright copper hair. The only way to tell them apart was by their facial hair; Ben had thick sideburns that took up most of the sides of his face and Thomas had a goatee and was missing one of his premolar teeth. They both had stubble which reminded me that I did too, and I wondered when the last time I shaved was.
Amar smirked. "Funny. Ben, you and thomas are going to be posted on the roof to guard our entry and exit. And Lucy, you'll take the top left advantage point with the sniper and keep watch of the ground activity."
"Lucy?" I was both stunned and confused when the soldier in the passenger seat who was keeping an eye on the outside turned to acknowledge me for the first time.
She had long sandy blonde hair - almost like Tris - but the left side was shaved completely off. Her face faintly resembled a cat and she gave me sly look. "Four."
"I didn't know there was a girl on the team, boss." Thomas said dramatically.
"Shut up, Tom." Lucy rolled her eyes. "That's not a problem for you, is it, Four?"
I shook my head. Me of all people would have no issues working with a girl.
"Good. Let's move out then, shall we?" George said.
Getting to the building took more time than I thought. We had to move slowly, and through back streets. There was a lot of pausing between each soldier moving to join the group. Amar always went first and motioned for the next to follow. We had earpieces but Amar made it clear nobody talked unless he said so. They used a lot of hand signals I was unfamiliar with so Amar used Dauntless motions for me to understand. I couldn't help but wonder why we were being so stealthy when the Bureau had soldiers patrol the Fringe daily.
When we reached the alley next to the marked building Lucy climbed the opposite building's iron rungs, sniper rifle slung over her back. I was thankful that we had an old fire escape and not a rusted excuse for a ladder.
I was second to make it to the top and Amar grabbed my arm to support me. I nodded to him and took a look around. There wasn't much to the roof except a small entry way for a door. Thomas and Ben took their positions while George broke the lock and I looked back to see Lucy settle down and situate her gun in place. Nobody spoke until Amar said so.
"Alright, Four, lets go." He said, directing me to follow him and George.
"Don't pretend like you're enjoying me here." I remarked sarcastically.
"How can't I? You're practically one of us."
"I wouldn't count on it."
"Yeah, well, we'll see about that." He winked at me and readied his gun and slowly walked down the stairs.
I followed last, gun in hands, watching their backs as they soundlessly made it into the run down hallway. The adrenaline pumped through my body as we passed closed doors. I wondered if anybody was inside them and a darker part of me itched to find out.
"Ground looks good." Lucy reported into our earpieces.
"Not as good as you, though." Ben snickered.
"Can it or I'll snip your ear off." She retorted.
Amar didn't say anything but I could tell he was smiling. "Almost there."
George stopped to join my pace and nodded towards the last door in the hallway. We were halfway there when a door on the right side casually opened and a man walked out, holding a similar gun and looked just as surprised to see us as we were him.
"What the fuc-" he started before aiming his gun and opened fire on us.
"Shit! Get back!" George yelled and elbowed me behind him and dragged me backwards into a room as bullets fired into the door casing.
Amar, who was further ahead of us took him out with one shot and the guard fell to the floor in a lifeless thump. We heard shouts coming from the floor beneath us and George cursed again.
"Lucy, we have guards here and they're awake! What's your status up there?" Amar yelled into the earpierce.
"Bastards are coming out from the north building, they must have had reinforcements. About ten, nope, fifteen."
"Take 'em out, twins."
"Aye, aye staff sergeant." Thomas said before I heard more gunshots go off.
"Four!" Amar came running into the room, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. "Get in that office room and hold it while George and I take out the oncoming."
I nodded and followed them out, watched them duck into the stairwell and heard the spray of bullets hitting concrete. "It's unlocked." I said, mostly to myself when I turned the handle of the door. I shut it behind me and moved to the window and leaned to look out.
"Are you surprised? The rebels have no need for locked doors." Lucy's voice told me. "I just picked off a few but there's some moving towards your window, Four. Watch out."
A stray bullet zipped through the window and past my head, shattering the glass. I leaned back and positioned my gun and fired out at them. There was a time when I would have turned my eyes away from the scene but this wasn't Chicago anymore. I watched as one of my bullets hit a guard and he collapsed to the ground. My brows furrowed when I realized I felt nothing. Another bullet zipped past me and I retaliated and emptied more bullets into guards below me. My ears ringing, I paused to take a breath and focus on my team.
I heard Lucy's calm and steady voice, Thomas and Ben's hoots as they rained hell on the guards from the roof, George and Amar in the stairwell taking down the oncoming reinforcements. And my own heartbeat pulsing in my throat. Somehow in the mess of things, I thought of Tris. If she were here. But she's not, that little voice told me. She's stuck in a hospital bed and ro-
"Four. You're clear. The window is safe." Lucy's voice interrupted my thoughts and brought me back to reality.
"We're clear too." George said. "Just coming back up from the ground floor."
"Entering the room now." Amar said as he pushed open the door and hastily walked in, looking around for something.
For the first time I too looked around the room and took it all in.
It was just as run down as the rest of the Fringe, with cracked walls and faded wallpaper. An old desk with an empty bookshelf was on the far side and a ripped leather sofa faced the opposite side, next to me. Behind me was a wall covered in maps; maps of the Fringe and the surrounding areas of the Bureau. Was that why we were here? For the maps?
"Are we here to see what they're planning?" I asked, solely because I still had no idea what we were looking for.
"No, they don't leave anything when they move. They're too smart to keep their plans unattended."
"You call that unattended?" I stared in disbelief. "They all but raided us."
"Compared to their regular numbers, yes. We're here for that."
His eyes landed above my head and I turned to look up and see what he was looking at. It was an old flag, hung up on a rod attached to the wall. It was almost entirely covered in red and white stripes, except for the top left corner that was blue and covered in tiny white stars.
Everything then happened at once.
"A flag?" I asked, in both shock and disbelief.
"Stay out of the windows," Thomas's voice came in. "I hear movement below."
"Help me get it down." Amar came up beside me and lifted to pull down the corner. "Retrieving objective. This is golden."
"You brought us through a warzone for an old fucking flag?" I was yelling now, my unhinged temper flaring. "This isn't Dauntless's capture the flag, Amar!"
"Shut up, Four!" Lucy yelled. "You're attracting attention and I almost got him."
"Four, we'll explain later. Right now-" Amar was cut off by a gunshot that flew through the window and into my stomach.
And everything went black.