'Electro Mag Pulse 3Hz' Tori just kept staring at the scribbled note stuck to her computer screen in her work shop. She'd recognise the hand writing. The almost illegible chicken scrawl belonged to Eric. Really, she wanted to trust the note she wanted Eric to be helping to be proving his love for Dres. But she just couldn't. Tori also recognised what this note meant… Eric was no longer in his apartment he'd escaped. And whilst she couldn't find it in herself to trust the note she felt no urgent need to alert anyone to a missing Eric even though she knew he would be making his way back to Erudite.

Maybe he would manage his plan without Tris. Get back into Erudite gain enough trust he could provide them away in and get Dres out. Dres… god Tori hope she was alright.

Pulling the note down from her screen Tori wiggled her computer mouse to make the desktop background show. The picture was of Lauren, Dres and herself at the New Year's Party before they plus four had faked Dres' death. As per usual Dres' dress really couldn't have been much tighter or had any less material and still been called a dress. Which of course had meant Eric hadn't been far away from her the whole night, he was in the top left corner of this picture been his usual arrogant self. Arms crossed looking less than impressed. More like a body guard on duty than a husband.

Sticking the note to her desk Tori walked over to dead body of Hanna Yorke, Dres' mom, and ran her fingers over the implant before walking back to the EMP Generator Eric had also left on her desk.

Hanna had been the second to die. She had been in the infirmary patching up the wounded from the attack on Candor when she suddenly died. She'd just crumpled to the floor mid-sentence. The only thing anyone had been able to think could have done this was the implant. Perhaps, Tori wondered well really hoped, it was a sign Dres was alive and not co-operating.

Setting the parameters Tori walked over placing the wires either side of device. The moment she caused the pulse the device almost popped out of the skin jumping up a fraction of an inch but enough to get tweezers on and pull it clean out. The pulse worked it shorted the implants circuits causing it to release the artery it was latched too. Eric was really trying to help them.

"Coulter's gone!" Harrison was standing in her door way his hands pressed into the frame as he leant in panting looking at her in panic.

"I know." Tori responded perfectly calm.

Dres was in danger and Eric wasn't in control of the situation he couldn't handle it. He had to do something and leaving was just that. He was going back to Jeanine, to save Dres and Tori couldn't hold it against him. It was Eric's way of proving just how much he loved her best friend the lengths he was willing to go to keep Dresden safe. And now Tori wondered, maybe telling Eric wouldn't have been that bad. Maybe Dresden had been right all along and Eric would have protected her. She knew what this was though this was Eric doing what Four wasn't willing to making the hard choices. Unlike Four Eric was goal driven. He only ever saw the result he didn't care what had to happen for him to get there, even if that meant killing and the possible loss of innocent life.

"You know?" Harrison sounded outraged and Tori realised that he thought she had let him go, "I know Dresden is your friend but Eric Coulter is highly dangerous…"

"I didn't let him go Harrison. I merely meant he left a note." Tori picked up and handed over the note which Harrison just looked at blankly, "It's how we get our army back it fries the implants we can safely take them out of everyone now."

"How do you know Eric left this?" Harrison hadn't ever really worked with Eric, really, he just had a lot of friends he was enigmatic people wanted to follow him. So of course, he wouldn't recognise Eric's writing other than email's Tori doubted he'd ever had any contact with the former Dauntless leader.

"I recognise the hand writing."

"And it works?" The cautious tone didn't surprise Tori, Harrison didn't trust Eric. She doubted that anyone in Dauntless would trust Eric right now he'd lead them into this mess or at least been manipulated into leading them into this mess. Most of the Dauntless wouldn't believe or understand why he would just switch sides so suddenly. In public, he'd treated Dresden as one of his soldiers no different to herself or Lauren. Really Tori knew she should consider herself lucky Eric ever let her see just how much Dresden meant to him.

"I just tested it on Hanna's… body." Hanna Yorke had been an amazing woman and a fantastic nurse unlike most of the Dauntless nurses Hanna really made you feel warm and welcomed you got the impression she cared. She didn't deserve to die, despite all the pain in her life he son's defections to Amity, her husband's disgrace and suicide, her daughters' apparent death in the fire. Hanna York had still been a pillar of the community remained strong.

"You're sure it didn't come out easier because she's dead?"

"I was trying to get it out of her before I took a break it wasn't budging."

"Do you think Dresden Coulter is still alive?"

"Until Four faked Eric's death yes I think she was. Now, I don't know. But the way Hanna died I feel like maybe that was Jeanine trying to control Dresden or it might just have been revenge for us 'killing' Eric. I pray she is alive or god help those Eric decides to blame for her death." Tori already knew she, Harrison, Four and Tris would all be on that list. That Eric would stop at nothing until they paid for Dresden's life with their own. His revenge wouldn't be swift either he'd make them pay for taking her from him. Eric was a bully and Dresden was his favourite toy, the only thing in the world that could calm him down. The only thing in the world he cared about.

"So, we let him go?" Harrison asked.

"I don't think we have a choice Harrison I am sure by now Eric is already at Erudite… we need to test this on someone alive."

"Use me."

"Harrison?! This could kill you."

"Just do it, its quicker than trying to find a volunteer before we know it works." It did work one pulse and as with Hanna the implant popped out a little and Tori could extract it with tweezers. "I will send the med staff in first then you can brief them on how to take them out everyone else. I assume there's more than one of these devices around?" Tori just nodded in response and Harrison walked out.

The procedure itself didn't take long within an hour Tori had all the medical staff pin free, equipped and ready to extract everyone else's pin. What was taking the time was getting everyone else organised Harrison had started rounding them up with Tori had worked on the med staff but with Four getting some much-needed sleep things where moving slow.

At least though they were moving and in the right direction Tori reminded herself as she just kept working her way through the line of people outside the tattoo shop. All Dauntless had a rank Harrison had split them between the 'hospital' and tattoo parlour depending on that rank. She and the other artist were working on the three beds in here and the med staff ran the hospital.

"Tris is gone!" Four declared bursting into Tori's work area as she was half way through extracting another of the Dauntless girls' implant. Catching the implant as it popped with her tweezers Tori looked up at Four. Obviously, he'd only just woken up his clothes still crumbled from sleep, piles of yellow sleep in the corners of his eyes but he looked alert and panicked.

"Shit." She muttered as it hit her. She'd been so focused on the implants she hadn't thought to think to check if Tris was gone when she'd found Eric's note. Initially she'd just assumed he'd broken himself out, something not outside the realm of possibility for Eric. But now it made sense he'd not broken out Tris had let him out she'd taken him to turn herself in. Tori wanted to scream. Bloody Divergent's always trying to help everyone else no matter the personal cost. Tris was going to get herself killed just like her brother had gotten himself killed.

"Shit… what do you mean shit?!" Tori had wondered but now she knew Four had no idea Eric was missing also.

"We've lost Eric too."

"YOU'VE LOST ERIC?!" In all her years of working with Four Tori had never heard him raise his voice let alone shout in anyone's face. But this one she could understand and she could see his cool and calm façade starting to fail Four was coming undone and Tori could see it in his face he was about to start making rash decisions that could put Tris in more danger.

"Calm down, Eric isn't about to kill her whilst she's the only way he can get Dres back."

"We need to leave follow them now." Time, Tori knew they needed more time but Four was in a rush and so many of the dauntless would be ready to follow him screw the odds.

"Four we don't have the man power to take Erudite you know this especially with only half the implants out. For now, you are just going to have to trust Eric until at the very least the implants are out." It was asking a lot. Tori knew that. Four and Eric had never gotten along they'd never build a bond of trust not really. Or at least Four never learnt to trust Eric.

"We need more people I can get more people." This was what Tori had been fearing ever since Four had first mentioned the Factionless. They couldn't be controlled it was an uncalculated risk and go knows what they would want in return it was rash and reckless and the back lash would be unprecedented.

"No Four including the factionless is a bad idea we can't control them."

"I don't care."

"Stop it you aren't thinking rationally." Tori snapped but Four wasn't listening he was already leaving. "FOUR!" she shouted after him but he just kept walking leaving her with only two options make a scene in front of the Dauntless lower moral further create more problems by showing the cracks in their leadership already. Or just let him go and hope he came to his senses whilst she worked as quickly as possible to get these implants out.

She picked option two and quickly ushered the next Dauntless into her office and set back to work removing the implants.

"Stop staring its rude." Eric snapped still not looking up at Tris who was sat opposite him on the floor of the train as it rushed towards Erudite headquarters.

"Do you really think Dres will still be alive?" That made Eric look up at her though he didn't say anything he just glared before looking back down. That was when Tris realised just how much danger. If Dresden was dead when they got to Erudite no way Eric would remain loyal to Dauntless or to Jeanine. He'd said he wouldn't but Tris really did see Eric killing Jeanine if she'd killed Dresden it was obvious Eric's loyalty to Jeanine wasn't born out of a mother son bond rather something infinitely more sick and twisted.

"I need to beat you up a bit you look too clean to perfect to have been unwillingly dragged out of Dauntless." Eric stated standing up and nodding for her to do the same before slamming his fist into her face grabbing her hair and pulling it as he fell to her knee's holding her upright before hitting her again. There was now blood running down her face and her hair was a total mess she was sure Eric had pulled some of it out. Before he threw her to the floor again stepping over her and flexi cuffing her wrists then pushing her out the train into a dirt bank.

She was pissed as he dragged her to her feet and pushed her in front of his. "Was that necessary?" She hissed but started walking to Erudite none the less.

"Yes, Erudite see's everything from here inwards so shut up." She hadn't known just how far out the Erudite surveillance reached they were a good ten-minute walk from the main building. But if the level of surveillance Eric said there was, was true she doubted they would be walking for much longer.

She was right but it took the Erudite security longer to come and detain them than she was expecting. Though in the six minutes it took them to get to them Tris had noticed camera's she'd previously thought of as a remnant of the city that once was following them obviously active.

What did surprise her though was how they were detaining not only her but Eric. Sure, Eric had expected this planned for this and an interrogation but she hadn't believed it would really happen. He was Jeanine's son surely, she had some love, some trust. But the way they treated Eric, as brutally, as much of a prisoner as herself showed her she'd been wrong about that.

They were put in separate trucks and driven the rest of the way to Erudite headquarters.

It felt like hours that he was left alone in the interrogation room. Really, he knew it wasn't that long but he had no way of telling. The Erudite interrogation room like its cells where padded windowless rooms located in the centre of the building. They were done that way to disorientate people they'd be fed, awoken and moved at random times with all time keeping devices removed. This limited their chances of escape never knowing if it was night or day outside those four walls. They'd often use this method to trick prisoners into thinking longer had passed.

"Well… well… well seems they can't even kill you off." Alistair Rossi was a Candor that had transferred to Erudite he's use of logic to pursue the truth made him a great interrogator and hard to trick but dauntless all learnt interrogation techniques to both withstand letting information slip and withdraw information from others. Specifically, the factionless. "Where have you been?"

"Inside Dauntless gaining the trust of the new leaders."

"Why did they spare you?"

"I used Tobias Eaton's weakness for Dresden Coulter told him she was in danger only I could save her."

"Do you want to save her?"

"She betrayed me and my trust."

"But you loved her right? You married her."

"My wife died one year ago, in an explosion in factionless whilst on patrol duty."

"So, what happened in Dauntless?"

"I convinced the divergent she was the only way we could get inside Erudite. The only way I could win back enough favour to have the freedom to lower the defences to the tunnels so the Dauntless could attack Erudite and I could get Dresden out of Erudite."

"And they believed you?"

"They believe that I am willing to do whatever it takes to save a traitor." Eric put on his signature cruel smirk.

"What about a dead traitor?" Eric forced himself not to react despite the fact he wanted to scream wanted to beat the truth out of Alistair. He knew there was a 50 per cent chance this was a lie a way of trying to get him react. Dresden could still be alive. But this could be the truth and Dresden could have died of her injuries from the sim. Or Jeanine could have just got bored of waiting and killed her.

"It's of little concern to me just a body to finally fill a grave." Eric forced out keeping his face neutral.

"To be honest with you I don't know if subject six is dead or alive I just wanted to see how you'd react. Maybe you really are as heartless as they say… she was your wife you must have loved her at some point?" Eric wanted to sigh with relief let his body drop the weight lifting but he couldn't and still it wasn't confirmation that she was alive. Dresden could still be dead but at least there really was still a chance.

"Dresden Yorke was the top female initiate, loved by the Dauntless she was an ideal partner to see me settled in to Dauntless and into a leadership role." At least that was what he'd told Jeanine when she'd freaked out having heard he was dating one of the Dauntless leaders' daughters. That had not been part of her plan for him dating a love life. She'd even specifically told him he could fuck who he wanted but dating wasn't allowed no getting distracted.

"Can't have been that hard on you though… I've seen the pictures wouldn't have minded fucking her myself."

"One of the perks let's call it but you didn't have to deal with everything else all that Divergent shit gave her grand idea's." It hadn't really, he'd never had too much of a reason to expect she was anything other than Dauntless. Maybe she was a little to self-scarifying and smart but that was it. She certainly wasn't all that truthful and no way she was forgiving.

"Righty well if you hand over the details of the Dauntless attack then you can be on your way sure you have things to do with Ms Matthews."

"They'll come through the tunnels at sunset." Eric didn't know the plans he didn't want to but he doubted Four would follow his suggested plan so felt no concern in giving the details to Erudite. He was sure by now Four would have found both himself and the stiff gone freaked out and run to the factionless for help.

The factionless would storm the building with force chaos would ensue and he'd be able to grab Dresden and get the fuck out of there. This would give dauntless a whole new problem to deal with no way they would be able to control the factionless. But he wasn't a leader anymore it was no longer his problem. So long as he had Dresden he was good.

Leaving the interrogation cell, he wasn't surprised that alarms started going off straight away signalling the start of the attack. No longer was there any point of him trying to take out any security he figured though he'd done his bit distracting them.

Running up to the cells Eric was shocked to find the two guards out cold, crouching down he could still they were still breathing. But with no obvious signs of a struggle both from the guards and anyone been dragged out the cells he had no idea where to start. Groaning Eric decided on the hospital, there was a chance after all that the escapee from the cells might not have been Dresden at all. Though he doubted that somehow, he just knew this was Dresden.

A/N Wow its been a long time I am sorry. I also apologise for any grammatical and spelling errors I edited this one myself and whilst I am great with numbers English isn't really my thing.

Emmy