Chapter 33

Tris

I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock. I cast a glance at Tobias lying next to me. His chest is rising and falling slowly and the sunbeam from the window highlights his left cheekbone. Like this he looks younger, like the age he actually is. No set jaw, ocular eyes or tense shoulders. Carefully I slip out from under the sheets and get dressed. In 30 minutes my first shift in the control room will begin and I need breakfast. I leave the apartment and head for the dining hall. It's relatively empty, just two groups of three and four people. No one looks up as I enter so I pick a stray and fill it with everything that will keep me full until dinner. I won't have time for food during my mission today. Not wanting anyone of my friend to wake up to see me, I eat fast and leave almost as quickly as I came.

When I get to the control room a short girl with big curly black hair greets me.

"You're Tris Prior right?"

"Yeah. Yes, who are you?"

She smiles. "I'm Dana, Dana Welford. I'll be your supervisor today. I'll be here to teach you the basics and monitor you throughout the day." A jolt of disappointment goes through me as the last words leave her mouth. This means I won't be able to go through with my plan. I can't help myself to ask: "All day?"

She laughs and it's an annoying laugh. "Well, I have other things to do after dinner but that's when your shift ends as well so there won't be an issue there. Of course you can stay after that if you want but everyone is usually eager to leave as their shifts come to their end."

"I see."

"Well, let us get started Tris." She holds out her hand to guide me to a computer near the right corner of the room.

"Okay so first you press this button, and the computer will start. Usually they're already on since we have twenty-four seven supervision here in Dauntless." She giggles and I catch my self not liking her very much. "Then you click here to begin our monitoring program. You see that it has all of these tags but really you're just suppose to-"

I don't have time for this. I've been in this room before, maybe unauthorized, but I still know how to manage these computers. I have to come up with something so that she'll leave me for the day. I need to find out what Max and Eric we're discussing, who this nameless and faceless woman is.

"-and then you can just click here if you want to monitor more than four spots. Also-"

"Hey Dana?" I interrupt.

"Yes?"

"I am just not feeling well today. I think I might be sick to my stomach so I don't think I'll be able to sit here until lunch, or after that. Is it okay if we do this tomorrow instead when I'll probably feel better?"

Her stupid grin vanishes from her face and instead a frown appears between her eyebrows. "Well that is unfortunate. I guess I have no other choice than to let you go. We don't want you to feel sick. I'll come and see you tomorrow. In what apartment are you staying?"

"I um, 11 but I might be in 26 too."
"26? Isn't that Instructor Four's apartment?"

I swallow hard. I didn't realize Four's apartment number was common knowledge among the Dauntless. "Yes. Is there a problem?"

She shifts and her grin appears again. "No not at all." I don't why but she seemed to have been caught of guard and she turns around and walks out of the room. I look after her as she hurries down the corridor and disappears around a corner. Strange.

I cast a glance around the room to see if anyone is watching me. Luckily no one is and I turn to my computer. I pick up the earphones from the box on the desk and plug them in so that I'll be able to listen to conversations as well. I look for Max's office for about three minutes before I find it. Unfortunately he's alone and sitting behind his desk, deep in thoughts. Still I unmute the screen and listen. There is only the sound of the pattering on his computer keyboard.

After what seems like hours Max gestures someone I can't see to come in to his office.

"Did you find anything," he says as a man slips into the opposite chair. Eric.

"Nothing yet. However recently, we've had a lot of-" he seems to struggle with his next words. "-Incidents in the eastern area of the factionless region. They're smart sir, too smart. The factionless are growing stronger. We have reasons to believe they're under the orders of a leader. A former official leader."

Max leans forward in his chair. "What do mean 'official' leader?"

"A faction leader."

Max lets out a noise that sounds something like a mix between a laugh and a snort. "Never has a faction leader left for the factionless, never in history Eric. You know that."

"But now isn't history sir. This is today and the city is changing. We can all feel it."

Max sighs and looks outside his window. "What exactly are you implying?"

"That's she's the leader of factionless. You know she's capable of that, and I know it too from everything you've told me."

Max keeps his gaze on the window. "It's true. Evelyn Eaton is the strongest woman I've ever met."

A gasp of horror escapes me and a boy further down the row of computers turns his head to look at me. "What is it?" he says and begins to get up form his chair.

"No nothing!" I say, a little too hasty. "I thought I saw something, but I didn't. It's fine."

With a suspicious look on his face he sits down again and I exhale with relief and move my attention to the screen again.

"We need to look into this as soon as possible," Max says and gets up from his chair.

"We can go tonight, when most of our people will be in their apartments. It is a week day after all and I'm sure they are smart enough to not spend all their nights partying and getting wasted."

"You speak so highly of them Eric," Max says and gestures him to leave. "We leave at midnight, bring five men no more. We can't risk suspicion if someone sees us. Nor can we risk Evelyn thinking we've come for something in the matter of violence."
"Yes sir," Eric says and leaves the office.

As smoothly and quickly as I can I cancel all the windows open on the computer and leave the control room. I ignore the confusing looks from the other people behind screens.

Tobias

After I'm done with my workout I walk to my apartment. Tris' first control room shift is today so she won't be back until later today. I take a quick shower and then I lie down on my bed and stare up at the ceiling. It's not a very interesting one. Just concrete with a few cracks here and there. The very first week I moved in to this apartment I noticed that three of the cracks formed an image that looked like a broken heart. When I got here I thought it was meant for me, that someone chose this apartment just for me so that I would lie in my bed every night and look at it. Now, it's still there but I no longer relate to it. I reach up with my hand and close my right eye, and I cover the inner crack with my index finger in the air. Maybe my heart won't be broken forever and maybe it's not broken now.

At that, several loud and fast bangs on my door fills the apartment. They continue until I reach for the handle and open the door. Tris is standing outside, looking exhausted and sharp at the same time. Her hair is hanging loose over her shoulders and I catch myself wanting to run my fingers through it. "Tris, you don't have to knock you know. You can just come inside."

"What, and just skip the dramatic banging on your door?" she smirks and lets herself in.

I close the door behind her. "What's up?"

She glances around the apartment as if she's looking for something, then she turns to me and her smirk is gone. "I did something that I'm not really allowed to do."

Of course. I put my head in my hands and sigh. "What was it this time?"

"You know that I had my first shift in the control room today right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Well, I sort of overheard something on one of the computers. From Max's office."

"Tris, that's that overhearing. That's eavesdropping!"

She runs her fingers through her hair and sits down on the couch. "I know. I know that. I just needed to know what Max and Eric were up to."

"And, did you find anything?"

She smiles. "Now you're okay with it?"

"I didn't say I was okay with it. I just want to know if you found anything, that matters."

"Max is upset, he's angry that Jeanine is dead. But not for the reasons you might think. He told Eric that Jeanine was the only one who could tell Max the location of a certain woman he wants do find."

"Who?" I say.

She looks at me, and I only see sympathy in her eyes. I don't like being looked at in that way so I turn my head and fix my gaze at the brick wall. "Your mother," Tris says quietly. "Evelyn. He wants to find Evelyn. He thinks she's the leader of the factionless now and they're going there tonight at midnight."

She gets up from the couch and walks over to me. "Did you know, that she was alive?" I don't look at her and I don't answer her. What could I possibly say? She reaches out and takes my hand in hers. "Tobias… Please, look at me." I shift my eyes to her, but I still don't know what to say. "It's okay if you did. I won't blame you for not telling me."

"I found out before you came here." I say, not really sure when I decided to say something. "She left me messages to meet her and when I did she asked me to leave Dauntless and come join her in factionless."

Tris' eyes widen. "So it's true, she is the leader of factionless?"

I nod. "Yes."

"But how? She was a faction leader before she… left? Did she leave? I… I don't understand." She lets go of my hand.

"She faked her own death. Marcus didn't just abuse me, he abused my mother too. She couldn't stay so she faked her death and left."

"But, what about you? She couldn't have just left you in that house with him?"

I shrug. "I didn't want to believe she was alive when I first saw her. Because if she were, that would've meant that all you just said was true. And it was. And I hated her for it. But I knew our city was changing and I knew that being in Dauntless wasn't safe for me. But then…" I pause and look down. "Then you came to Dauntless and things changed. But yeah, I always knew she was alive."

For a moment neither of us say anything. Finally Tris says: "Do you know why Max wants to find her?"

"I wish I did."

"Well then," she crosses her arms in front of her. "There is only one way to find out."

"Tris there is something else I need to tell you."
She frowns. "What is it?"

"I know who killed Jeanine."

"What did you just say?"

"I wasn't sure so I went to ask them."

With two long strides she reaches me and firmly grabs my arm. "You did what?"

I yank my arm back. "Stop asking me questions like you didn't hear what I said."

She lets out a frustrating noise. "Are you completely out of your mind? Since when do you have a death wish?"
"It's not like that. I went to see my mother."

"You went to see Evelyn? When?"
"Yesterday."

"What? Why?"

"Because I thought I knew who killed Jeanine, so I went and I asked them."

It takes a few moments for her to realize what I'm trying to say. "You mean-?"

"Yes. Evelyn, my mother, killed Jeanine Matthews in court and then she ran away."

"Tobias-"

"Look, I get it if you want to tell someone, but I can't do that. She's still my mother Tris and I can't-"

"Hey!" She grabs my arm, more carefully this time. "I wouldn't do that to you. But we need to follow Max and Eric tonight. Max doesn't know Evelyn is the one that killed Jeanine, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to hurt her."
"What else did he say?" I ask. "About my mother?"

"That she was the strongest woman he had ever known."

"They knew each other?"

She shakes her head. "I know as little as you know."

See ya'll soon. Be brave! - s