Hi there! My senior year has begun! Luckily, I am stocking up chapters for this story, so I'll try to be able to keep a good update schedule. I thank God for fanfiction, because I'm pretty sure it saved my writing skill from sucking over the summer. So a thank you to you readers for your thoughts, critics, and love! I'm so pumped about my College English class because of this! Enjoy the next chapter!

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Zeke and I half walk/ half sprint into the hospital, looking for Amar in the waiting room. When we spot each other, Amar stands and joins us, looking fierce and strong minus the puffiness around his eyes. "I assume you both know what's happened." His voice is hoarse and soft, making it difficult to hear. I place an encouraging hand on Amar's back, well knowing it won't do much good, but my instincts to please my instructor haven't left me. He slowly explains to us what happened, his voice tight as a spring when he mentions George becoming hurt.

Zeke swallows hard. "Damn," was all he could say.

I take a few deep breaths. "I found something. . . At the scene." I watch their expressions warily and then continue. "It said 'Faction or Blood. Your Choice, Chicago.'"

Amar's eyes flicker with anger. "We have to retaliate. Our city isn't safe anymore, especially now that there isn't a fence. Those who are faction enthusiasts have gathered to attack Chicago and take control of the city. They want to force us back into factions."

"But why? I don't get it... Everyone has been fine for the last fifteen plus years." Zeke's eyebrows furrow as he thinks.

"It could be former factionless members who couldn't get on their feet. They want to get factions again, this time ensuring they'll have one." Amar's mouth turns downward.

"It could possibly be a person who was in a faction that hasn't done well without them." I add.

Amar nods. "Listen, I want to help. But right now. . . I need to be here for George. I'm getting to old for this." He twists his wedding band nervously. "I hope you understand."

"Of course, Amar. You should take George out of the city." Zeke speaks sincerely, his hands shoved in his pockets.

"No, I don't know about that. Perhaps you can figure out a way to attack the group outside Chicago. But we'll see." He pauses before turning for me. "As a fellow officer and George being a Sergeant, I'm leaving you both in charge. Four, are you willing to become a soldier?"

I'm surprised when my answer comes without hesitation: "Yes. I am."

XXX

Walking home in the cold sobers me up and I realize what I've done. I've basically become a head member of an army to protect the city. I haven't touched a gun in ten years. But that's not what's really bothering me, knowing my Dauntless instincts will kick in quickly.

What bothers me is Bee. I know she's old enough to take care of herself, but the situation is serious; more than I thought it would be. Her safety is threatened just by being a resident of Chicago. She's also the daughter of a political figure, which means if we lose this, we'll become factionless for sure. I clench my teeth, controlling my anger. I'm somewhat in a bind.

So when I walk through the apartment, I'm not in the mood to discuss tonight's events, but Bee gets straight to the point.

"So they want factions again?"

I sigh loudly, hoping she'll get the hint. "Some enthusiast group does."

"And they're coming to attack Chicago?"

I get a glass of water, praying that she'll drop it. "Yes, Beatrice."

Her eyebrows scrunch together, looking like they always do when she gets angry or frustrated. "And I'm assuming you have some part in this?"

"I do. Amar gave leadership to Zeke and I. We will lead a group to attack the terrorists and defend the city."

She nods, as if mentally taking notes and she already had that info written down. "And what happens to us if we do lose? Will we be factionless because of your political position?"

I grind my teeth. "If we lose, then yes. That's exactly what will happen. But I don't plan on losing this war." I rub my eyes, feeling fatigue. "Can we talk about this later? It's past midnight."

She crosses her arms, looking at me straight in the eye. "I'm fighting."

I'm shocked for a moment, but easily recover. "No way in hell."

She throws out her arms. "Really Dad?! I'm not a child! I deserve to protect this city as much as the next person!"

"You may be older, but I will not let you risk your life before it even has really begun! Do you even understand what happens in a war?" The stress of the day has broken me and my control is lost. I feel my arms twitch so I hold the countertop. You aren't like Marcus.

"If you didn't know, I've seen plenty of death growing up, Tobias." Her words sting like venom as she uses my real name. And it just pisses me off even more.

"Don't you dare pull that! You may have seen death, but you've never killed anyone. You don't understand how much I'm haunted by all the suffering I've witnessed." My voice drops to whisper. "I grew up being beaten by my father and thinking my mother died, when in actuality, she faked her death and left me with my father. I was in danger for being a divergent and was threatened by someone from my own faction. I killed more than thirty people at least, lost some of my closest friends and I was betrayed by the love of my life. Then she died when we had finally reconciled. All this happened before I was twenty. And then I found you and became a father, and for the first time since Tris left, I've been happy. And I'm not about to threaten that happiness. So don't act like you understand." My breathing is rapid.

She stands stunned in front of me. I haven't said much about my past over the years to Bee, only ever talking about good memories with Tris. I was afraid to burden her with my pain because I knew she had her own burdens to carry from her past. This is the first time I've bluntly shared about my past and I try to use it as a weapon to make her change her mind. "And I'm sorry that you went through that. But I can't sit here, letting the fate of my city rest in others hands and let the only person I care about lead them in the attack." She gulps down tears. "You're all I have, remember? If you go, I go to. That's the way we've always done it. Together."

I shake my head fiercely. "I can't let you do that."

She sighs and turns away from me, heading to her room. She pauses, facing the door. "I know what it's like living factionless. No child deserves that. And if I can help stop that from happening, then you can't stop me from fighting for them." She quickly retreats to the safety of her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

XXX

The next morning, Bee and I manage to maneuver around each other without having to make contact. Zeke and I have contacted some of the important people in the city as well as our friends who we know will be essential in helping us fight. We sit in a room set aside for group meetings as I begin debriefing the team Zeke and I threw together.

Christina opens her mouth first, as I guessed she would. "She would start evacuating the city? Who knows when they'll attack?"

Zeke shakes his head. "We need to address the people and recruit some of them to increase our force team. Perhaps evacuating can be the next option."

"But where are the faction enthusiast members coming from?" Caleb's glasses sit slightly crooked on the bridge of his nose. "I've studied our population count within the last year. No drastic decrease in the numbers, just an accepted quantity reserved for the ones who are deceased." He frowns. "The number from the "factionless" section decreased a little more than usual, maybe by twenty. But twenty people couldn't cause that much damage to our city hall."

"This has actually been a longer process than you guys think." I sigh, feeling guilty and responsible for the attack, like the period of time when I knew Erudite and Dauntless was going to attack Abnegation and warned only my father, who did nothing. "This group has been in Police files for the last six years."

Christiana's jaw twitches. "Why didn't we know about this?"

Zeke steps in and saves me. "Their only crime was a small vandalism act in an abandoned building. After that, we heard nothing since the fire."

Cara shakes her head. "Chicago in flames, once again. History repeats."

"You guys, the point is that we all realize how threatening this group is. And we need to take military action-" The TV screen flickers. A man with a black ski mask appears suddenly.

The first sound we all hear is a blood curdling laugh escaping the lips of the man on the TV. Then he speaks: "So you're just now planning how to fight us? And from what I've been listening to, you haven't made much progress. Too bad I can't see your faces, but I can hear your startled breathing and that is appealing as well." He grins widely, the fabric moving with his face muscles. "You can try to be as diligent as you want but I want you to save your energy. You'll need it. But here's my tip, to you especially Tobias Eaton: You're out of time. You never had any to begin with. And we are coming after you; all of you. Enjoy your meeting, my friends."

Static fills the room as the video cuts and our hearts drop.

XXX

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