A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I truly appreciate your support. Thank you also to Rosalie and BK2U, who both reviewed this chapter at different points in time. You're both wonderful!

Chapter 16: Micky – Reaction

My heart hammers in panic when the warning signal sounds – the indication that a broadcast is coming. We haven't had one since Tobias' message freed us, and it's not good that they're starting again.

But I turn toward it with everyone else, a lifetime of habits kicking in automatically. It's always meant death for someone to figure out I'm resistant, so I hide it without thought.

When the actual message starts, I know immediately that it's the president. We've been searching for her for hours, with no luck at all, and now it's obvious why. She's been kidnapped, and she's being forced to send this. I wonder how they're making her do it.

I listen to the message itself, but as I always have, I look beyond that too. And right there, clearly laid out for me, is everything Tris wants us to know. Apparently, she's as clever as Tobias said.

Within seconds, I know exactly where she is, and how many guards are keeping her and her brother prisoner, and how they're disguised. And that they're torturing Caleb to make Tris cooperate. The thoughts are amazingly detailed, but I know from experience that most people won't be able to hear them – they'll only receive the main message.

It's going to be tricky to rescue Tris, particularly since I don't know how much of the police force I can trust after this, but I don't even consider not doing it. There's no way I will return to the NUSA days.

When the transmission finishes, I can see the confusion on the faces around me. It's the same uncertainty I saw in Morgantown, when we cleaned up after the ineffective broadcast there. People aren't sure whether to follow what Tris just told them or stick to what Tobias taught them eight months ago.

It makes me wonder if Tris deliberately flubbed the message or if Tobias is really that much better at it. But judging by how detailed the secondary message was, she did this intentionally. Good for her. It gives us a chance to fight back.

My first step is to find Mary, since I know my sister is as resistant as I am. I can count on her even if I don't know who else to trust.

She's looking for me, too, of course, and we don't even exchange greetings before we start walking together. We've spent our whole lives communicating wordlessly about the broadcasts.

"We need to find Lauren," she tells me quietly, and I nod. We learned in Morgantown that she was never injected with a receiver, which means she won't have heard the message at all. There's a risk that the crowd turned on her afterwards because of that, but if so, we'd better rescue her first. We'll need her help to get Tris.

It doesn't take long for fighting to break out, with the majority of the town wanting to follow their new directions while some don't. Odds are it will turn bloody soon, but we ignore it for now. The broadcast wasn't strong enough to change these people permanently, so if we can rescue Tris and prevent any more transmissions, the town is likely to return to normal after a while. That's what happened in Morgantown.

As it turns out, Lauren finds us. Her expression is guarded as she approaches.

"I was searching a building," she murmurs so quietly we have to lean close to hear. It's a good precaution, even though no one else is nearby at the moment. "I gather something happened while I was in there."

Mary nods, keeping her voice just as low when she answers. "Same thing as in Morgantown, except…it was her." Lauren's eyes widen. "She resigned and appointed Brian Larimer as the new president."

For a moment, we're all silent while Lauren digests that. Then, I whisper, "They're torturing her brother. I know where they are, but there are eight people holding them. We'll need help."

Lauren bites her lip, thinking about that. It's definitely a problem. We can't trust anyone else around here, and I don't know if we can contact anyone from outside the area. Even if we can, there probably isn't time to wait. Not without risking Tris' life – and her brother's, I suppose. I glance at Mary, thinking about how far I'd go to save her if I was in Tris' position, and I know we need to try very hard to rescue both of them.

"I think…" Lauren says slowly, "that we need to arrest some people."

Mary's eyes light up, and she sounds excited as she agrees. "Yes, we should arrest everyone who's against the new president."

It takes me a second to catch up, but then I get it. There's a chance we can trust those people – at least better than anyone else – so it makes sense to gather them together. Plus, if there's no visible opposition left to Brian Larimer when we're done, he's more likely to think that Tris' broadcast worked. And that might buy us time to rescue her.

"Good idea," I mutter with a grin.

It takes the better part of an hour to round up everyone who opposes Brian Larimer. A number of them fight back as we arrest them, and it's difficult to get myself to be harsh enough with them to take them into custody. But we collect them slowly, one by one.

The worst part is when we go after the other security guards. Those of us from Pittsburgh didn't get here until a few hours before Tris' speech, so most of the group didn't get enough serum to fall for the broadcast. On the bright side, that means we'll have enough people to mount a good rescue operation, but it's a mess in the meantime.

"Come on, Micky," Jeremy insists loudly. "You know this is just like Morgantown. We have to resist it."

"I don't know any such thing," I respond just as loudly, keeping my face the same combination of sternness and blankness that I associate with being brainwashed. "What I know is that Brian Larimer is now our president, and we owe him our full loyalty."

But as Jeremy moves his gun to aim it squarely at me, I hold his gaze fiercely, willing him to understand. And then I blink slowly, three times in a row. It's not enough to attract anyone else's attention, but it's clearly a signal, and it makes him hesitate.

"I don't want to shoot you, Jeremy," I tell him calmly, still locking my eyes with his. "I want us to be on the same side, but for that to happen, you need to listen to me, and to the message our former president sent. Can you do that?"

He swallows, staring back at me as I blink again, three more slow times. He must get it then, because he lowers his gun, his face twisting in distaste as he lets me take it. I grab him by the arm, and the moment that grip is hidden from view, I squeeze three times, repeating my signal. He relaxes very slightly, though to his credit he keeps up a good act, arguing and seeming to resist as I push him to one of the two rooms we're using as our makeshift "prison."

It's the one with the other police officers we can trust. The one where we'll be planning the rescue mission, and as I shove him in the door, I whisper a single line in his ear. I've been doing that with everyone I put in there – a different line for each – so that collectively they know where Tris is and how she's being held. I figure it gives them a head-start on planning while we finish our "arrests."

Lauren is apparently glad of it when she and I finally go in there to "interrogate" our prisoners. Mary guards the door to make sure we're not overheard. And together, we come up with a plan.

A/N: To answer a review from a while back, now you know why I provided so much detail on Micky earlier. :-)

As I've mentioned before, I'm trying very hard to update at least twice a week throughout the current action sequence, so the next update should be posted by Wednesday (maybe sooner). In the meantime, please take a moment to leave a review. Those always motivate me to post quickly, and they have the added benefit of really making my day!