AN: So, I'm guessing a lot of you will be seeing/have already seen Divergent, but please don't post any spoilers for those who can't see it yet :)
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Chapter 21
Tris looked with satisfaction around her new room, her new home for all intents and purposes. She smiled contentdly, deciding that it was a place she would love very quickly, especially once the few things she had ordered arrived. They would complete the finishing touches to the room nicely.
Out of habit, she turned to talk to Christina, and quickly realised that her friend was no longer a permanent fixture linked with her sleeping arrangements. That was going to take some getting use to.
She and Lynn were only at the other end of the hall at least, and Marlene wasn't too far off either. She was pretty sure she had heard Uriah's voice as well, calling something flirtacious and teasing in Marlene's direction.
Tris sat down on her bed, and smoothed an imaginary wrinkle.
She wished she could share her new home with her mom. She would like her little en suite, the cute dresser with mirror, and the small desk, which she would be able to use to look over cases and do research, among other things. A few pictures rested on the top of her dresser, and some books were sitting on her desk.
There was a little couch in the corner, which would have a decorative pillow resting on it once it arrived.
The plain bedspread she was sitting on would soon be replaced by a new, navy blue and white one, with little birds all over it. Tris liked the similarity of her new bedspread to her tattoo.
"Where's your mind wandered to?" Four asked affectionately, leaning against the doorway of her room.
"How did you know this was where you'd find me?" Tris asked, jumping up at his voice.
She moved quickly to the door, stretched up on tiptoes, and kissed him hello.
"I have my ways of finding these things out," Four replied with a grin. "Besides, most live-in agents are on this floor. I could've just gone door to door until I found you."
"Good point," Tris said sheepishly. "So, any idea what I'll get up to tomorrow? You work as a field agent, will I be working with you tomorrow? Will I be put straight onto a case?"
"I really can't say," Four answered. "I would guess they'd be more likely to get you started on some cases that immerse you in govermental missions. I rarely work with the government."
"Because of your dad?" Tris asked softly.
"Partly. I mean, I definitely don't want to run into him. But mostly because I have little tolerance for selfish, lying politicans, which I suppose links to my father," Four answered.
"So, does that mean you'll be working with Peter?" Tris said, revulted at the thought.
"Quite possibly, particularly as he was one of my recruits," Four agreed with a grimace.
"Maybe he'll get in the way of a stray bullet," Tris said hopefully.
"He is a bastard, but I wouldn't want that," Four countered. "If he was to die, I'd want him to have done something specific to deserve it, and I'd want to be the one to kill him."
Tris knew that he meant it, about killing him.
"Well, enough small talk," Tris said lightly. "Walk me to dinner?"
They headed out in to the corridor, to the elevator, and towards the dining hall.
"So, how was your day?" Tris asked. "You get a lot of stuff done?"
"Yeah, I finished off all the remaining paperwork from this year's training period, and I starting looking over some current, open cases, to familiarise myself with what's going on currently. I will probably be assigned to one of them before the week is out," Four told her.
"Does that mean you won't be around much?" Tris asked with a small frown.
"It really depends," Four said, as they lined up in the food line. "I could be sent out straight away, or I might need to be here for a while, doing background research and doing IT work. Even if I'm out in the field, I might be here at night, or whenever time permits."
"I hope you'll be here when I finish at the end of each day," Tris said quietly, popping a slice of lasagne onto her plate. "I know we'll both be really busy, but it would be nice to have a quiet moment together at the end of a crazy day."
"Well, it's likely that will we," Four told her. "So stop fretting, we're going to see plenty of one another, and we do have cell phones. You can call me whenever you need. You should make sure you contact your supervisor or mentor though, with any questions relating specifically to your job. I won't be your first point of contact for your training from now on."
"That'll take some time to adjust to," Tris said, biting her lip. "Christina isn't my room mate anymore, and you're not my instructor."
"But she is your best friend, and I am your boyfriend, so I'd say you'll have trouble getting rid of us," Four said with a chuckle.
Tris smiled in acknowledgement, looked thoughtful, and said, "Do you mind if I eat with my friends tonight? It's the last meal we'll eat before everything changes for us all."
"Of course, I'll see you before bed," Four said understandingly, kissing her cheek.
"You're going to look so sexy in scrubs," Uriah said lecherously to Marlene, as Tris approached the table where her friends were already seated.
"You better pay me the respect I'm due, mister, or I might not fix whatever life threatening injuries you end up with," Marlene threatened playfully.
Will and Lynn chuckled at their antics, but Christina looked on, her face a little contorted.
Tris knew it was going to take some time for her to adjust to everyone having seemingly better jobs than she.
"Well, soon enough I'll be an evil IT genius and be able to change all your assignments and living arrangements," Lynn joked.
The words evil genius caused Tris to immediately think of Eric, not that she thought he was a genius – just evil. Tris hoped before too long she'd at least know who Eric was talking to, so she and Four would know who to look in to, and put a stop to their plotting. She and Four both thought that the woman Eric had been talking to would most likely be a senior government official, you had to have high clearance within the government you have knowledge or access to Dauntless. Tris really hoped the following days would finally give her some answers about Eric and the woman he was plotting with.
"And Tris here is going to jump into the world of top secret governmental affairs," Uriah said. "You'd better tell us about all the cool people you meet."
"I'll tell you what I'm allowed to," Tris said with a grin.
"She's going to have higher clearance than us," Will pointed out.
"It pays to be number one," Marlene said with a sigh.
"Oh let's just stop comparing jobs," Lynn said with a sigh. "We're all doing amazing things, and after tomorrow, we'll be too busy learning the ropes of our new jobs to care what anyone else is doing!"
"Maybe we should do something else, to farewell our time as recruits," Marlene agreed.
"Strip poker?" Uriah suggested hopefully.
"No!" Marlene, Tris, Christina and Lynn chorused loudly, causing several other agents to look over at them curiously.
"Movie are too mundane," Uriah retorted.
"We played enough poker waiting for our results," Will added, vetoing it.
"Pool's closed," Christina added.
"Has anyone else heard about the emergency exit, up on the top floor?" Lynn asked quietly.
"Oh, yes!" Marlene replied gleefully. "That's a great idea!"
"What is it?" Christina asked.
"It's a massive, slide like chute from the top floor, right down to the bottom of the building," Uriah supplied. "It's not a secret, but it's not much talked about, it's main purpose is in case there's a security breach and the top agents in their offices up high need to get out quickly. Apparently it's a real rush, the slide is fast, really fast, and it's really, really long."
"Do we need access codes or something to use it?" Will asked.
"Tris should be able to get us in, her clearance is high enough now," Lynn answered.
"Will we get in trouble?" Tris asked. "I'm all for thrill seeking, but I don't want to have a black mark on my record before I even start."
"It's fine, no one cares, so long as nothing is disturbed or damaged," Marlene said airily.
"Zeke's done it before, it's not forbidden, most people don't really have the time to care about hijinx," Uriah said, further reassuring Tris.
"Let's go then!" Tris exclaimed decisively, standing up.
"I guess dinner is over then," Christina said dryly.
They made their way up to the top floor, Tris's codes giving them all access.
Marlene and Uriah led the way to the end of the floor, to what looked like a fire escape stairwell.
Marlene opened the door dramatically and said, "Behold!"
"Who's first?" Uriah asked. "We stand here, former recruits, ready to shed the last of our old lives in our thrill-seeking ride to the bottom."
"Idiot," Lynn said with a chuckle. "I'll go first."
In she popped, giving them all a wave. They watched her get up onto a ledge, position herself, grab onto a bar just over her head, then drop down. Her hands were all that were visible for a few seconds, holding onto the bar, then they were gone from sight too.
One after another they followed Lynn, until Christina and Tris were left.
"You know, what Uriah said isn't too stupid," Tris said to her.
"About what? He's said some stupid stuff," Christina replied with a smile.
"About leaving our old selves behind, and coming out fresh at the bottom," Tris answered. "I know you aren't completely happy about your job, but you're doing something that makes a difference, it's amazing just to have been picked for Dauntless and to have made it through training. You should start tomorrow positive, thinking about the good you can do."
"I have been awful, haven't I?" Christina said quietly.
"No, you haven't," Tris replied.
"Well, I'm going to do better," Christina said firmly. "I'm going to do what you suggested. So, I guess I'll see you at the bottom, a new woman!"
Tris watched her go, like she had the other four, then moved in to follow her.
She hopped up onto the ledge, placed her hands onto the bar above her head, then dropped down, hanging in limbo for a few seconds.
She closed her eyes and let go, free falling for a few seconds until her back connected softly with cool, firm metal.
She opened her eyes as she slid at breakneck speed down the chute, she thought leaving them closed might be cowardly, which wouldn't do for a Dauntless agent.
The air whistled as she rushed along, and she began to enjoy the sensation, the adrenaline coursing through her veins.
Almost too quickly she came to a stop, the surface flattening.
A little dazedly, she stood up, brushed her pants down, and headed for the door marked exit.
Tris found herself in the main entrance foyer to the Dauntless buidling, and her friends were standing there, chatting, waiting for her.
She walked to them quickly, and joined them, they all talked and laughed, still high on the thrill.
They were a noisy bunch as they headed for the elevators to go up to their dorms.
At the elevators, unusually, a woman stepped out of the elevator they were waiting for.
It was unusual, given the time of night, and unusual because she was clearly not a Dauntless agent.
She was a tall, imposing looking woman, with blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun. She was dressed in a blue, well cut, suit, and was almost certainly a government official, who had been in for some important meeting or other.
She shot a glare at Tris and her friends, catching Tris's eye directly with a disapproving look.
"I guess she thinks Dauntless's standards are slipping if we're agents," Marlene said with a giggle.
"Who is she?" Tris asked.
"Jeanine Matthews, idiot," Lynn supplied. "I'd expect you'll be seeing a lot of her. She's the Deputy National Security Advisor."
AN: So, you might guess from that last line, that we're moving into the Jeanine Matthews story line! It will not result in a war, but there will be some mission related action :)
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