All rights to Veronica Roth…I own nothing
I look at my watch. 7 o'clock in the morning. Too damn early for me anymore. I feel so wasted. I have my jacket pulled tightly against my body and my hands in my pockets. Today's the coldest day so far this year. It smells like snow. I know snow doesn't actually smell, but it seems like it will any moment. The sky is greyed over and there is a heaviness to the air.
I'm leaning against a large pillar just outside of a two story, recently vacated, warehouse. One of the men Zeke knows from Initiation used to own it until he got injured on the job, and the whole place went belly up. Needless to say, no one is really around. 7:15, they must be close by.
Down the road a ways I see some movement and change positions to get a better look. Matthew followed by some man who appears to be shocked by his surroundings. He looks every which way like he expects the sky to fall. Before they see me, I duck inside.
" Where are we going?" An unfamiliar voice asks, " Are you sure the office is down here? This all looks like rubble!"
" Yes I'm sure! " Matthew calls over the cold wind, " it's a renovation in progress. But the guy assured me that he would be here!"
There are two knocks on the door and I open it so they can't catch a glimpse of me.
" Here we go!" I hear Matthew say. And two sets of footsteps clamor into the echoing building.
Before they can react Zeke steps out from behind the men and grabs up the one he doesn't know. Wrapping his arms around the man's body he holds him tight and he begins to kick his legs wildly. He attempts to scream but I quickly place a ripped up piece of fabric I found on the floor around his mouth. His eyes widen when he looks me in the eyes. He knows me, or at least my face. He continues to squirm in Zeke's arms until we get him to a side office and strapped to a desk chair.
" Mmmmmphmm!" the man yells into the cloth in his mouth, "Mmmmph! Mnnph MnnnnmmMMph!"
" HEY!" Zeke yells, his voice carrying throughout the room, "IF YOU STOP SCREAMING WE'LL GET YOU THROUGH THIS!"
The man stops and looks up at the three of us standing over him. Turning behind me I slide up a stool and sit in front of him; eye to eye. I take out a small sharp knife from my boot and toy with it in my fingers.
" Answer a few questions and I'll take off the gag…alright?" I ask.
The man nods slowly.
" Good!" I say, " No screaming though alright?!" He nods again.
"Splendid! So…is your name Abe Fitter?"
He nods.
" Great! Well at least we found the right guy!" I joke, flicking my eyes to Matthew briefly, " Do you live at 25 Tree Line Road?"
His eyes twitch a little but he nods again.
" Is your Wife Debbie? And your sons are Franklin and Martin?"
Abe's eyes widen to their fullest width and he nods again, starting to sweat.
" Last question Abe. I lean and get as close to him as I can. Taking the flat end of the knife, i push it against his chin and watch as his body gets rigid. "Do you know who I am?"
He looks right back, and nods once.
I sit back in my seat and exhale deeply.
" You did good Abe!" I tell him, " Now my friend here is going to take your gag out, okay? No yelling now or it goes back in."
Zeke approaches and slips off the gag. I watch at Abe stretches his mouth out and fervently licking his lips for a moment.
" How do you know me, Abe?" I say, handing him a bottle of water. " Who am I?"
Taking the bottle from me, he uses his free hand and sips from it. " You're Tobias Eaton. Marcus Eaton's son. You are one of the most famous Dauntless."
It's weird to hear, but I take pride in that statement. I put a lot of myself in what I did for Dauntless. I shake my head a little and come back to where I am.
" So let's talk about why you're here Abe. You have information that I need. I need it very badly and with must haste. And I'm sure you're thinking that at this point you'd just give me it. But before you do I'm going to give you a few extra reasons why cooperation is a great idea for you. First of all we know a lot more than just the names of your family members and your address. Let's see here", I open up the folder I was able to retrieve through work. It's a comprehensive dictionary on this man's life.
" Let's see. Let's see! You've been married for 15 years to your wife Debbie, who's maiden name is Jert. You have two children together who are 8 and 13. Franklin just started playing the drums and it looks like he might make marching band soon. And as for little Marty, as you call him, He's taken up a love of farm animals. And often asks to go out to see the farm lands of Amity calling them, 'Moo Cows'! Making my point? How about you and your wife have been trying for a third child for 5 years now with no success. You've entered couples theory for your problems in the bedroom, when really you had surgery 6 years ago so you can't have children anymore. "
I throw the file over my shoulder and Matthew clumsily catches it.
" Listen Abe. I could keep going but I really don't want to. There's a lot of bad stuff in that folder. I mean there is a whole chapter on that girl, that Loraine girl, from Florida. You know what I'm talking about don't you, Abe? So here's the thing. You're going to answer my questions! Now i don't want to kill you or generally maim you in any way. We've already established you're too nice for that. I'm going to be your friend. But if you lie to me. My friend see... My friend here is going to beat the shit out of you." I tell him, pointing to Zeke. He's making it convincing by cracking his knuckles, "If you lie more than once, well Abe, I know where you live." To punctuate my words I slam my knife blade between his legs into the chair. Never taking my eyes off of him, i watch him recoil into the chair. He trembles briefly but quietly stops.
Finally He speaks again, " What do you want to know?"
" What's project Remnant?" When I say it I watch as he squirms in his seat a little bit.
He takes another swig of water, nearly emptying it, and clears his throat.
" Well I guess I would normally ask what you know. But since you went to such great lengths to find me, I'll assume it's not much. Project Remnant was created with great purpose. It was originally put together to study the genetic codes of the divergent. Simply to study them. To figure out at what point their genetic codes fixed themselves. It was fascinating really. The way we work as an organism. For a good year we were making extraordinary finds. One of the scientists put up a theory one day, what if we could harness this genetically perfect gene and use it to help people. Cure the sick and what have you. Within a month we found a sequence that cured a strain of cancer. CANCER! Alright, I know you don't know of cancer, but it's a harsh disease. So immediately it was put forth that we were to continue to type of testing. One of our more prestigious scientists came forth with an amazing find. Something that could change the way we looked at the project. The perfect specimen, a level 3 Divergent."
"Tris.." I mutter, before I realize I'm saying anything at all, " you mean Beatrice Prior, don't you?"
" You have to admit, she's special! You were close with her, I'm sure you saw it. She had something no one else did. And we knew it. Originally we just wanted to learn more about her genetic code worked. What made her that much better than the other divergent we had come across? At least that was the original plan. That same scientist who first brought us the information, he became obsessed with her. He watched her constantly on the cameras, had people giving him updates on her. Everything was cataloged."
" So what happened after she died?" Matthew speaks up. I don't take my eyes off of Abe. I feel my face starting to get hot.
" That's just it. She never did. When she was shot, she was sent to our offices immediately. A few specific doctors worked on her and saved her life. They put her into a sleep state, her heart beat barely noticeable without instruments. It took me two months to find out what had happened. They explained we were keeping her for more testing and they were making everything top level clearance and only a few of us were allowed to know. So then there were 20 of us, which is astounding since 50 or more were on the original project. They told us what we were doing was for the greater good. That this would keep us from disease. This would make the healthy that much better. The project took a dark turn when rumors started to spread about the head scientist was using it for person gain. He's wheel chair bound and he was looking for a way to walk again."
Before I can ask my next question he cuts me off, " There's something you should know. They are keeping her alive but she won't survive in that tank forever. They have plans to terminate her once their studies are done."
" How long do we have?" Zeke chimes in, " How long does she have?"
" Weeks. Maybe as little as days!" Abe tells us, " They're close. They're really close!"
" What's the scientists name?" I interrupt, " The wheel chair guy?"
" He's super private and I've only met him once, " Abe explains, " and he was only introduced to me as David."
I taste bile. I'm going scream. I stand up quickly, grabbing my knife and walk away from him.
" David? Are you sure?" Matthew asks, taking my seat.
" Positive! I remember thinking that it was the same as my father's name!" Abe reaffirms.
Matthew touches his face in horror, " How did he get his memory ba.."
" Where is this lab?" I ask loudly from across the room, interrupting Matthew. I have to lean on the wall for support.
" You see the paper? BH? It's Below Hudson. It's here, within the city limits! The entrance is an old building, not that dissimilar from this one. She's only 5 blocks from here." He tells me. Zeke walks over and cuts him lose from the chair, giving him another bottle of water.
" You can take him out of here" I tell Zeke. " We're done."
Abe stands and stretches. As he leaves the room he stops next to me placing a hand on my shoulder.
" It's it any comfort. She's not in any pain. David created a simulation that's her perfect scenario. She's happy and has no idea what's going on. But when she comes out that may be a different story. She's on a heavy amount of drugs and it's going to be hell bringing her off of them. I suggest you listen to me carefully. Next to the main tank there is a cabinet with several shelves of little bottles. Take at least three of every kind and a box of needles from the bottom. It'll be the only way. We never wanted to hurt her. She's like a miracle to us."
" Why are you helping me?" I ask him sincerely.
He looks mournful when he speaks, " Because I would do anything for my family. And if anything were to happen to them, I would die."
I know he means what he says. I can hear it in his tone. I don't say thank you but I let the seriousness drain from my face. I watch as Zeke leads him out the door by his shoulders.
Zeke reenters a moment later. " I gave him a slug just for good measure."
"Zeke!" Matthew cries, " What the fuck?"
" What? It was his idea! Might make it more convincing if he gets found out. " He laughs, " Seems he wasn't a bad guy after all!"
He really wasn't. Leaning against the wall still, I gather my thoughts. Five blocks! I think to myself. I could go there now! In and out before they knew anything had happened. Although i know nothing about this place and i could be walking into an army for all i know. Not to mention i could get Beatrice killed. It's an odd thought, considering i've thought of her in the past tense for two years now. I can't risk her life while i'm trying to save it. I need structure to go in. I try very hard to push the idea of her being so close to me right out just out of my mind. Turning i look at Matthew and Zeke who are conversing fiercely. I can't do this alone and between the three of us, Matthew probably can't even shoot.
I need someone i can trust. Someone who will put all of themselves into this without question.
I need another shooter.
I need Christina.
Writer's note: Nothing to much for notes. Just wanted to say thanks to those of you who are still reading! See you tomorrow.