I stand in the protective circle of Tobias' arms in the middle of my dad's office in Abnegation watching my mom slap Marcus across the face, and I finally feel vindicated. I wonder how Tobias is feeling. Even though Mom, Dad, and two high ranking members of Abnegation just heard the vile statements that came out of Marcus' mouth about me, I can't stop a smile from stretching across my lips. I'm sure I look slightly deranged at the moment but I can't hide my happiness and I won't. Others have finally seen the real Marcus Eaton.
"I don't know what you are talking about, Natalie," he says, his voice once again dripping with charm. My dad steps forward and gets in Marcus' face. I've never seen him as angry as he is in this moment in my entire life.
"We all heard what you said to Tobias. Don't think we are fools. I would like you to leave my office immediately. You are no longer welcome here," my dad says to him.
"I am a council member. You can't make me leave," he says.
"When we vote you off the council, we can make you leave, and we are going to vote you out. The likes of you are not welcome here," Jonah says. "And don't forget, you can also be made factionless so don't push us."
"Leave. Now," Matthew says, pointing toward the door.
"This is all your doing, you little … slut," Marcus says, taking a step toward me with a vicious glare on his face. My parents both gasp at his words, and I feel Tobias further tense behind me.
"Don't you dare say another word to her," he says, in a very frightening tone I've never heard come out of his mouth before. He hasn't moved. He is still holding me back. "I swear if you say one more thing, Dad, I will show you exactly what it is you taught me so well growing up."
"You deserve my worthless son," Marcus says, never once taking his filthy stare off of me. I know he means the statement to feel like a slap across my face but it doesn't, it actually has the opposite effect on me.
"This is not my fault. Not by a long shot. This situation is 100% your making," I say calmly. I finally break out of the cage Tobias' arms made around me and take the two steps forward to close the gap between Marcus and me. I stand in front of him, looking into his hateful eyes, and glare back at him. "If you had been a better father to Four none of this would be happening right now but instead of taking responsibility for your actions and apologizing for what a crappy father you've been you decide to be an ass and blame everyone but yourself. You have done everything in your power to break him but look at him." I point at Tobias. "Look at him. He is not broken. He is the strongest man I know. You did not win. You will never win."
"That's enough, Tris," Tobias says with an edge to his voice putting his hands back on my shoulders. "Andrew, we still have business to take care of. May we continue?"
"Of course, Four," my dad says. "Matthew and Jonah, will you escort Marcus out of the building? Also please call for an emergency council meeting. We have much to discuss. I'll join you in the council chambers as soon as we're finished here. Thank you." As they leave the room, Marcus glaring at me the entire time, Tobias and I sit back down in the chairs across from my dad's desk. My mom returns to her seat on the small couch and doesn't take her eyes off of me. "I need to say something, Tobias, and before you censure me for using your given name I really need to speak directly to Tobias and not Four."
"Okay," Tobias says slowly. "I'm listening."
"I would like to apologize to you for not believing the Erudite reports about your father. I've thought very ill of you for quite some time, and you did not deserve that. He had me fooled, and for that I'm ashamed. Actually, he's had everyone fooled but not after what we just witnessed. He is not the type of person who should be representing Abnegation and helping to make the laws by which we all live. He will be removed from the council and made factionless."
"I don't want that," he says, actually sounding like Tobias. "Removing him from the council will be punishment enough. You don't have to make him factionless." He pauses for a long moment before continuing. "You see, Andrew, I don't love my father, but no matter how hard I try I can't make myself hate him either. Making him factionless seems like revenge to me, and I don't want that. I don't think I could live with myself if I allowed it." My dad stares at Tobias before he gets up from his desk and stands before him.
"I had my doubts about you dating my daughter, and I made that abundantly clear to you. I didn't think you were good enough for her, and I thought you were a terrible influence. I'm sorry about that also. I now see that you are the man she thinks you are." My dad reaches his hand out and Tobias takes it, and they shake hands. Then my dad looks at both of us. "I'm glad you found each other. I know you don't need it, but you both have my blessing."
"Thank you, sir. That means a lot," Tobias says.
"Thanks, Dad," I say as he returns to his desk and sits down.
"Tell me, Four," he says with a smile, "what else can I do for you?"
"Actually, I have a question about the faction ambassadors," I say. "Do we have the authority to assign permanent factions to the ambassadors instead of having them rotate every three months, or do we need permission from the council?"
"You want to do away with the rotation? I'm glad to hear that," he says, surprising me. I thought I would have a fight getting this idea passed by the council. "We've been trying for years to get the faction ambassadors to have permanent assignments but the old Dauntless leaders wouldn't hear of it. We've had some complaints over the years, not too many mind you but enough to concern us, about some of the ambassadors showing preferential treatment to factions."
"Do you have a list of these incidents?" Tobias asks in Four mode once again.
"I do. I'll get the list to you before you leave. Why the change now?" he asks, writing a note to himself to gather the files for us. I'm not sure I should tell them about Peter following me around. I don't want to worry them needlessly.
"One of our ambassadors is getting too friendly with Erudite," Tobias says. "We thought having him as far away from their influence as possible would be helpful."
"Do you think he's a plant?" my dad asks, remembering that four of our five previous leaders were all Erudite spies.
"No. He transferred from Candor," I answer. "I'm confident he's not a plant. I'm glad we can make this change without getting the council's approval first."
"The council approved that change approximately three years ago I believe," my dad says. "The other council members will be happy to hear Dauntless has changed their mind. When you make the assignments, please have a list delivered to me. I would appreciate it."
"Tori and I will start working on it as soon as Tris and I get back to Dauntless," Tobias says. "Do you have any requests for your ambassadors?"
"They have all been very accommodating over the years except for one of your new ambassadors. I believe his name is Paul. No, Peter. I don't think he likes us much," my dad says.
"Has he done something wrong?" I ask my dad.
"No, it isn't anything like that. I just get the impression he doesn't like Abnegation much."
"He's going to be assigned to Amity," I say. "He won't be a problem for you anymore."
"Is he the source of this change?" Dad asks.
"Yes, he is," Tobias answers. "He's a ... problem child, so to speak. We've had trouble with him in the past. He's the poster child for what we're trying to change in Dauntless: Ruthless, cowardly, brutal, selfish, and egotistical just to name a few."
"I believe that's all we have for you right now, Dad," I say as Tobias and I get up. We have to stop by Erudite and notify them we have a member of theirs in our morgue and another in our infirmary. I also want to talk to Caleb and warn him that people know about his involvement in stopping the war. My mom gets up and pulls me to her and wraps her arms around me, running her hand through my hair.
"I'm so proud of you, Beatrice," she says in my ear, "for standing up to that ... man, if I can call him that. I could have killed him with my bare hands for saying those awful things about you."
"Don't listen to anything Marcus says, Mom," I say. "He's a hateful man who's very unhappy and only gets pleasure from tearing others down. I'm glad his true nature has finally been revealed, I'm only sorry that it's at Four's expense." She releases me and looks me in the eyes then looks toward Tobias, who's standing behind my right shoulder.
"You two take care of each other. If you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to let your father or me know."
"I love you, Mom," I say to her and then I look at my dad. "I love you, Dad." My dad walks up next to my mom and hands Tobias the file he promised us.
"Here's the information on the ambassadors," he says. "We love you too, honey. Please take care of our girl, Four."
"I will, sir," Tobias says, reaching out to shake my dad's hand. We head out of my dad's office and down to our car.
"Erudite next?" he asks in an odd tone, and I nod at him. He starts the car, and we leave Abnegation behind. After a few minutes of strained silence I feel Tobias' gaze on me, and I meet his concerned eyes. "I appreciate you standing up to Marcus for me but I wish you wouldn't have bothered."
"I'm confused. I thought you would be happy he no longer will be a council member, that if we have business in Abnegation you won't run into him," I say, furrowing my eyebrows.
"Tris, that isn't it. I'm extremely happy people finally know who he really is after all these years but he isn't going to just let this go. Didn't you hear him? He blames you for losing his council seat and no one else," he says. "I'm worried about what he'll try to do to you. You may have just been a mild annoyance to him before, someone who he enjoyed toying with, but now there's no telling what he'll do." He takes a deep breath trying to calm himself, and I see his knuckles are white where he's gripping the steering wheel. "You just put another target on your back. You know I can't live without you. You have to be more careful."
"Are you mad at me, Tobias?" I ask incredulously.
"No, I'm not mad," he says grumpily.
"You look mad. You sound mad," I say under my breath. "I'm not sorry, and I'm not scared of him either. I can take care of myself."
"You should be," he yells, surprising me.
"You want me to be scared of your father?" I ask, not believing what I'm hearing.
"No. Of course not. I don't want you to be scared of anything ... ever, Tris. You just need to be more careful," he says, trying to calm himself. "What you don't seem to grasp is just how dangerous that man is. Maybe that's my fault. I haven't told you everything. There are things that happened in that house I never wanted you to know ... I never wanted to talk about. He's a vile, evil man. Be careful of him. That is all I can say right now."
I didn't even notice we had made it to the Erudite sector until he pulls up to the old library building, which houses their headquarters, and parks the car. He shuffles some paperwork and places photos of Jason, Jared, and Cameron in a folder. Without a word, he gets out of the car and waits for me on the sidewalk. This is going to be a lovely afternoon. I take a few deep breathes trying to calm my increasing agitation then unbuckle my seatbelt and join Tobias on the sidewalk.
We silently walk into the tall building, and I smell the familiar aroma of dust-covered pages just like the first time I was here when I came to see Caleb and have him investigate the simulation serums. People are milling about, retrieving what it is they're looking for from the book-lined shelves that line the walls then sitting at the long tables that house more computers than I've ever seen. I notice the portrait of Jeanine Matthews has been replaced with a portrait of the symbol of their faction, the eye. That's kind of creepy. No one notices Tobias and me standing here so we finally approach a woman who's sitting at a glass and metal desk and ask to speak to Caleb Prior, the Erudite representative to the council. She asks my name, and I give it to her. She then gets on a telephone and makes a call. Within minutes Caleb and a woman with golden blonde hair who looks very familiar walks up to us.
"Tris," Caleb pleasantly says, "is this business or pleasure? Pleasure I hope."
"I'm afraid it's business, Caleb," I say. "This is Four, the leader of Dauntless and my boyfriend." They reach out and shake each other's hands as they size one another up. "Do you have someplace where we can speak in private?"
"Yes, I do. Cara will be joining us. I hope you don't mind," he says, motioning to the woman standing with him. I suddenly remember who she is, Will's sister. I threatened to punch her in the face the last time I saw her. "Cara this is my sister, Tris and her boyfriend, Four. They are Dauntless leaders." Cara narrows her eyes at me but finally reaches out and shakes our hands.
"We've met," she says. "She threatened to punch me in the face." I feel Tobias' stare on my face but I don't break eye contact with Cara.
"You were rude to my mother," I say. "Plus the newness of Dauntless was still coursing through my veins. I'm not as short tempered as I once was." I hear Tobias clear his throat. "I'm sorry, Four. This is Will's sister, Cara. We met on visitation day."
"Okay," he says, taking in their similarities including their golden blonde hair and the crease between their celery green eyes. "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, Four. Will told me a little about you on visitation day. He didn't mention you two were dating though."
"That's because we didn't start dating until after initiation was over," I say. It isn't entirely true but she doesn't need to know that. Will may be one of my best friends but I still have a strong urge to punch his sister in her pretty face. "Caleb, we have some important things to talk to you about that aren't privy to those outside the council."
"Cara is my backup on the council, so she can hear anything you have to say," Caleb says, sensing the building tension between Cara and me.
"Very well. Four and I will follow you," I tell him. We follow Caleb and Cara to a small casual conference room a few flights up. We settle in around a small oval glass top table and are served coffee and a platter of assorted cheeses, fruits, and crackers, which Tobias and I both partake in as neither one of us has eaten anything since breakfast, and it's approaching suppertime. I realize we're going to have to make this quick since I have an appointment in the Pit at 5:30.
"I hate to rush this, Caleb," I say, "but I have an appointment back in Dauntless in a little over an hour."
"First, we have an Erudite member in our morgue and another in our infirmary," Tobias says matter-of-factly. Caleb and Cara both gasp at the news. "They attacked me Christmas night. In defending myself, one of them was killed and the other was badly injured." He opens the folder and slides two pictures in front of Caleb and Cara. She covers her mouth with her hand as she takes in their pictures and gasps again. "Their names are Jason and Jared. They're brothers. I'm not expecting you to know either of them, but we need you to figure out who they are."
"Actually, I know this one," Cara says, pointing to Jason's picture with a trembling finger. "Jason was in my initiate class. I think his last name is Grant but we'll have to confirm that."
"Do you remember if he was born here or was a transfer?" I ask Cara.
"Erudite born," she says.
"Are their parents still here?" Tobias asks.
"I'm not sure. Jason never talked about anyone except his brother," she says. "Why did they attack you, Four, and where were you when this happened?"
"In the Dauntless compound on the path that leads in and out of the Pit. They were both dressed in black clothing to fit in and move around Dauntless uninhibited," Tobias says. "As to why, Jason indicated the attack was meant for Tris."
"Why?" Caleb asks, alarmed. I pause for a long moment, still not sure I can trust Cara. I look into her eyes and see Will. I decide to give her the benefit of the doubt. I tell Caleb and Cara the same shortened version of events I told Marcus just hours ago. They are stunned by the news.
"From what we've gathered so far, there are still members of Dauntless working with members of Erudite for two reasons. The first reason is they want to kill Divergents like Jeanine wanted. The second reason is someone is angry the war on Abnegation was stopped."
"They don't know ..." Caleb says, not totally finishing his sentence.
"I'm afraid they do, Caleb," I say. "Jason told me."
"Knows what?" Cara says, looking at Caleb. Then she looks at me and adds, "Told you what?" I look at Caleb pleading with my eyes for him to read my mind. Can she be trusted with this sensitive information? He nods his head at me and looks at Cara.
"I trust her, Tris," he says. "Cara, Tris and I are the ones who stopped the war on Abnegation. I've been told from the beginning no one knows about our involvement." Something he says finally clicks, and it stuns me.
"But people do know about our involvement, Caleb. The council members all know," I say, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach. "We need to make a list of everyone who knows what we did. Mine is a reasonably short list: Mom, Dad, you, Four, and the Abnegation council."
"Will knows," Tobias says. "Didn't you tell Christina?"
"I forgot I told Will this morning," I say. "I had never told either of them before. That was the one detail I always left out of that story. What about you, Caleb?"
"The council members, Mom, Dad, you, Four, now Cara, and one other person here at Erudite I'm not at liberty to say." The mystery advisor. I wonder if this person is trustworthy.
"I'm not going to ask who that person is, Caleb, but you need to ask yourself if you think he or she is trustworthy and didn't have any ulterior motives in stopping the war and getting Jeanine executed. Also we're going to have to investigate the council," I say.
"I'm not looking forward to that. Tris, do they know about the other person, the one who started all this?" Caleb asks, fear in his eyes.
"I don't think so. Jason only mentioned you and me specifically. If he had known, I'm sure he would have said something. I think they're safe, at least I hope they are," I say, careful not to give anything about her away. Mom had better be safe. Cara has a curious look on her face but I don't want to say our mom is the one who tipped me to having Caleb check into the simulation serum.
"I'm sorry Cara, but I'm not at liberty to say who the person is that asked Tris to have me look into the serums. I need to keep them safe. It seems like no one else really knows who it is."
"The council members know," I say, suddenly worried. I'm going to have to make a decision as to whether I go back to Abnegation to warn her or not. I need to talk to Tobias about that.
"We have one other matter to discuss," Tobias says. He slides Cameron's picture out of the folder, and Caleb and Cara both study it but neither of them seem to recognize it. "His name is Cameron Wright. He's a member of Erudite. He's one of the people who has been killing members of Dauntless. We have DNA evidence that links him." Tobias looks my way, and I continue the story.
"Caleb," I slowly say. "He's our cousin." Caleb's head snaps up, and he looks at me like I've lost my mind. "I honestly don't have time to get into the entire story right now but Mom was born in Dauntless, and she left behind her mother and older brother, Nathan. I've met him, his wife, and younger son, Callen. To confirm Cameron is one of the killers, my DNA was compared to his, and there was a familial match. You need to find him so he can be arrested, interrogated, and tried for his crimes." I look toward the clock and realize if we leave right now, I will just have enough time to make it to the tattoo parlor for my appointment with Christina. "I'm really sorry, but we have to go. I have an appointment at 5:30 that I can't miss." I give Caleb a quick hug and reluctantly shake Cara's hand again. She asks me to tell Will hello, and I tell her I will gladly pass on her message.
Tobias and I hurry out of the library and get into the car. We drive back to Dauntless in silence. I'm too busy thinking about my mom and Caleb to notice if he's still angry with me or not. Tobias pulls up in front of the compound, and I turn and automatically give him a quick kiss. I tell him I'll meet him in the cafeteria and walk through the glass doors of the compound. When I get within a few feet of my office I almost run into a young girl holding a bouquet of white tulips in a sleek black vase.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I say to her, trying to move out of her way.
"Tris," she says, excited to see me. "I'm so glad I caught you. I'm looking for Four. Is he around? I have another delivery for him."
"Another vase of flowers?" I say, shaking my head and laughing. "I had totally forgotten about the other one."
"This is the third one I've delivered to him," she innocently says with a giggle. "I've never delivered so many flowers to a man before."