Tobias and I leave Stephanie's small office on the fifth floor of the Merciless Mart and follow Rose through the maze of monochromatic hallways that lead back to the elevator. I was right to ask Rose to accompany us. We would never have found our way through the miles of nondescript corridors. To me everything looks exactly the same. I wonder how the Candor decipher the difference between one hallway and the next.
The three of us ride down to the lobby, Rose asking one question after another in rapid-fire succession. Some are easy and we are happy to answer, like "How old are you," and some are quite difficult and we tell her aren't appropriate to ask total strangers, like "Why is your name a number?" She doesn't like to be censured. Even Candor children are encouraged to say whatever's on their mind at any given time. I can't imagine living that way.
When the elevator doors open into the lobby, I let out a sigh of relief, and I hear Tobias let out a little chuckle. I'm glad Christina doesn't act like Rose. I don't think we would be such good friends if she did. I head across the lobby and out the front doors to find Caleb in his Erudite attire pacing nervously back and forth, looking out of place.
"Hi, Caleb," I say, getting his attention.
"Hey, Tris," he says, obviously happy to see me.
"I'm glad you were available this afternoon," I say, leading him into Candor headquarters. He seems extremely agitated. "Are you okay, Caleb?"
"Two Dauntless members just pulled up in front of the building then practically dragged Jason Grant inside," Caleb says, looking around. "I think I've seen him before, Tris. Now that I've seen him in person, he looks familiar but I can't place where I've seen him. Here's all the information Cara and I gathered about him and his brother. Their parents want to come to Dauntless and claim Jared's body as soon as possible, and they would also like to visit Jason." Tobias approaches us, and I hand the file to him.
"Information about Jason and Jared," I tell him. He opens the folder and looks through it, studying the material carefully. "Their parents want to pick up Jared's body soon, and they want to visit Jason, which I'm not sure is a good idea."
"We'll ask Jason if his parents are involved in the conspiracy under truth serum," Tobias says. "If he confirms they aren't, I don't have a problem with them visiting him under strict supervision." That seems reasonable.
"I hope we get some answers today," I say.
"Who's this?" Rose asks, looking Caleb up and down.
"I'm Caleb," he says to her, offering her his hand. "I'm Tris' brother." She frowns a little at him.
"If you are brother and sister, why are you in different factions?" she asks. I give Rose a stern look and Tobias shakes his head but it's Caleb who answers.
"You really are Candor, huh?" he says. "Obliviously, we chose different factions, Rose, and that's why we aren't in the same faction anymore."
"Do you miss your sister? I miss mine," she says to Caleb as we get back on the elevator. She pushes the button for the fifth floor and looks at Caleb with puppy dog eyes, waiting for his response. With faction before blood constantly reinforced to initiates, especially transfers, we aren't supposed to miss our families, but I know I miss mine terribly sometimes, even my annoying older brother. I look across the close confines into his pale green eyes.
"Yes, I do miss her at times," he says tearing his eyes away from mine and looking back at Rose, "but we're extremely lucky. We work together on the council so we still see each other from time to time."
"That must be nice. I've only seen Christina twice in six months," she says sounding sad. I wonder if it seems like a lifetime already like it does for me when I think of my mother. "I was used to her being here even though she annoyed me sometimes." I chuckle a little at her answer. Apparently all siblings annoy one another at times. I wonder if my children will be that way.
The elevator opens, and we find Stephanie, Will, and Christina standing there, all of whom look a little worse for wear. They join us in the elevator, and we take it down to the third floor. Stephanie explains we are to meet Jack Kang and Niles Murphy in the Dauntless holding room where our prisoner is now being held. Candor has an identical holding room for each of the five factions she explains, a place to keep faction members who are causing trouble and prisoners until their interrogations. The elevator doors open to another nondescript Candor hallway, and we follow Stephanie to our destination. When we enter the holding room I'm surprised to see white marble floors instead of black but the walls are still the same bright white. The only furniture in the room is a bright white low wooden bench against the back wall, which is where Jason is sitting surrounded by Purple-Hair and Snake-Tattoo, two of Tobias' most trusted Dauntless security men, and two Candor men I've never seen before.
Stephanie introduces us to Niles Murphy, an older dark-skinned man who apparently administers all the interrogations at Candor and Jack Kang a handsome, short, black-haired man who is one of Candor's leaders. Even though I would consider him nice looking, he doesn't look like a warm and caring individual. We all shake hands and get down to business. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Christina leave the room with Stephanie and Rose, and I try not to think about my best friend in her time of need.
"The three of us would like to perform the interrogation, Jack," Tobias says in his authoritative Four voice. "I'm not sure where his answers will lead us so we don't have a fixed set of questions. I hope this is acceptable."
"Normally, I would have to refuse your request, Four, but since the setting is more informal than usual, I don't have a problem with it; however, Niles and I will stay and monitor the interrogation."
"Please do and if you have any questions you feel need to be asked, don't hesitate to do so," he says.
Niles steps forward and takes a syringe filled with a cloudy blue liquid out of the black box he has been holding onto. He hands Jason an alcohol swab and tells him to wipe off the left side of his neck, and Jason reluctantly does as he's told then Niles inserts the syringe into the vein in his neck and injects the truth serum. The effects of the serum are almost instantaneous. He slumps against the wall and his eyes glaze over. When this happens Purple-Hair and Snake-Tattoo get up from beside him and stand quietly by the door. Tobias straightens up even taller and approaches Jason.
"What is your full name?" he asks. Jason squirms a bit, trying not to answer but finally gives in to the truth serum that's pumping through his veins.
"Jason Alexander Grant," he says. We already have this information but at least we know he isn't lying to us.
"How old are you?" Tobias asks.
"20."
"What faction were you born into and what faction did you choose?" This is another question we know the answer to but we need to hear the answer under the truth serum nonetheless.
"Erudite born and that's where I chose to stay," he says holding his chin up a little higher, definitely proud of his faction.
"What is the full name of the man you were with the night you attacked Four?" Will asks. Jason fidgets a bit more with this question then hangs his head, defeated.
"Jared Ian Grant," he says so low that it's barely audible.
"You will speak up," Jack Kang says to the prisoner, his voice booming through the spacious room.
"How old was Jared?" Will asks.
"21."
"How are you and Jared related?" Tobias asks.
"We were brothers but you killed him," Jason snarls through clenched teeth.
"Are your parents involved in the attacks?" I ask.
"No," he says incredulously.
"Why did you and your brother attack me on Christmas night?" Tobias asks. There is silence in the room for a full minute. The entire time Jason looks like he's in physical pain.
"You weren't our target, she was," he says trying to point toward me. It seems like his arms are not functioning properly at the moment.
"Who told you to attack me?" I ask, swallowing the fear that bubbles up. He struggles much longer this time, not wanting to give up the information.
"It's futile to resist," Jack says. "Just tell them the truth and the uncomfortable feeling will be over."
"Cameron," he says on a gust of breath.
"And Cameron's last name?" Will asks, although we all know the answer.
"Wright," Jason says.
"What exactly did Cameron Wright ask you to do to Tris?" Tobias says in his frightening Four voice.
"Kill her," he says matter-of-factly. Tobias' sudden intake of air threatens to suck the oxygen out of the room, depriving the rest of us of air. He stands there clenching and releasing both fists. I know for a fact Jason would join his brother in the morgue if Tobias were alone with him right now.
"Why did he want you to kill her?" Will asks after clearing his voice. Tobias seems to be frozen in place at the moment.
"He said she needs to be eliminated for meddling in our business," Jason replies.
"What business would that be?" I ask, indignant. He glares my way and once again struggles against the truth that wants to rip out of his mouth. This is the longest he's resisted. He grimaces and grits his teeth to try not to talk.
"You stopped the war on Abnegation," he finally says. "Cameron, Jared, Asher, and Ben said you must pay for your meddling." Ben is a new name. Finally some new worthwhile information but I wasn't the only one who stopped the war.
"What are Asher and Ben's last names?" Caleb asks almost trembling. He obviously has heard these names before.
"Parrish and Riley," he says through gritted teeth. Oh great. Not only did Erudite trade one psycho for another, but he's also involved with my new found family. I glance at Caleb and see he is devastated by this news but he soon pulls himself together and stands taller.
"Riley," I hear Tobias say under his breath to no one in particular. "So familiar."
"Just who are Cameron Wright, Asher Parrish, and Ben Riley to you?" I ask since no one else is talking.
"Cameron and Ben are my best friends. We went through initiation together," Jason spits, trying very hard to hold the information back. "Asher Parrish is a close friend of Cameron and the new leader of Erudite." I look at Caleb, and he's as white as a sheet.
"What is it Caleb?" I ask.
"I figured out where I've seen Jason before. He's been in Asher's office. Asher. He's the advisor I went to about the simulation serum, Beatrice," Caleb says. "He's the one who shut it all down by going to the Abnegation Council. Why would he do that if it wasn't what he wanted? He's the reason all the conspirators were executed. I don't understand. I trusted him with my life. I trusted him with your life. Oh God, he knows about her involvement." Alarm lights his eyes, and I imagine mine as well. Tobias moves to stand directly next to me, and he reaches out and takes my hand in his, and I look up into his worried eyes.
"Tell me who you think stopped the war on Abnegation," I say to Jason.
"You, your turncoat brother, your mother who somehow knows way more than she should for a typical Stiff, and your father for not controlling her," he says with a sneer. My mouth falls open. It seems the Prior's have a price on their heads and didn't even know it. Tobias squeezes my hand before he lets it go. He walks directly in front of Jason, and Jack and Miles, feeling the tension rolling off of him, move to flank him.
"Does Cameron still want Tris dead?" Tobias asks. I know Tobias is dying a little inside having to ask this question but he sounds like it doesn't faze him.
"Yes," Jason says with a slight smile on his face.
"Does Cameron want my family dead?" I ask.
"They are all on the elimination lists," Jason says. Lists! I lock eyes with Tobias.
"Tell me everything you know about any lists involved with Dauntless, Erudite, or Abnegation," Tobias says to Jason. I see Jason physically start to shake and sweat beads form on his forehead and upper lip. He is trying very hard not to speak, and it's taking a physical toll on him. Will moves very close to me, looking like he would throw himself in front of a bullet for me as we watch Jason try not to answer. He lets out a sound I've only heard once before, which reminds me of the time I encountered an injured dog lying in the street. Caleb gently picked it up, and we rushed it to the veterinarian clinic in the city. It was making a high-pitched whining sound just like what's coming from deep within Jason's throat. Suddenly he gasps for a breath and passes out. Jack and Niles both rush forward to check on him.
"He has a pulse," Jack says over his shoulder. "I've never seen anything like this. Have you Niles?"
"No, sir. Not in all my years," he says with awe in his voice. "He withheld so long he couldn't take the pain anymore and his body shut itself down."
"Will we be able to interrogate him further when he wakes up," Tobias asks. "We really need to know about the lists"
"Not today I'm afraid," Jack says. "It isn't safe to give more than one dose of truth serum in a 24-hour period of time. I understand the importance of an additional interrogation, Four. I do. It seems we still have a very serious situation on our hands. This is much bigger than just Dauntless. I want all the council representatives here for the next interrogation. I will get Sofia working on that right away. She will contact Abnegation and Amity. How does 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning sound?"
"Tris and I will be here," Tobias says reaching out to shake Jack's hand.
"I'll be here also," Caleb says, color finally returning to his cheeks.
"I'm putting arrest warrants out for Cameron Wright, Ben Riley, and Asher Parrish. Is it okay if we keep Jason here overnight?" Jack asks.
"That would be great," Tobias says. He then walks over to Purple-Hair and Snake-Tattoo and dismisses them for the day after retrieving the car keys from them. They will jump the train back to Dauntless.
"Very well. Niles, would you escort our guests down to the lobby," Jack says.
I walk over to Tobias with Will on one side of me and Caleb close by my other side. When I reach Tobias, I immediately take his hand in mine, and he squeezes it tight. We all follow behind Niles in silence. I can't get the interrogation off my mind. It's amazing how this day has changed. One minute Tobias and I are talking about marriage and children, and the next I find out my entire family is marked for death by Erudite fanatics. I feel like I could breakdown at any moment but I know I have to remain strong.
"I don't know what to do about Nathan, Dru, and Callen," I quietly say to Tobias. "What we know so far only points to Cameron but my mom said Asher was a close friend of Nathan's, too."
"I think we need to learn as much as we can from Jason tomorrow, and hopefully before the masquerade ball tomorrow night, we'll have all the answers about this mess and everyone who needs to be in custody will be," Tobias says trying to reassure me. I can't imagine going to the masquerade ball tomorrow night but as Dauntless leaders it's a part of our duty.
When the elevator opens in the lobby I see Stephanie, Christina, and Rose sitting at an intimate grouping of furniture in the corner of the room laughing. Before I can go over to them, Caleb tells me he'll see me in the morning and gives me a quick hug then flees the building. The news Asher has been involved in this from the beginning is taking a toll on Caleb.
"Are you ready to go," Will asks Christina when I finally approach them. I study her mother's face and see no animosity toward Will, which is a good thing for Christina, Will, and their unborn baby.
"I am," she says looking a bit sad. She gets up and hugs her mom tightly then her little sister and tells them she hopes to see them again before visiting day but she can't make any promises.
"Here's the paperwork you requested, Four. You can drop it off at the front desk at any time. Just tell them it's for me, and it will get to me," Stephanie says to Tobias, handing him a sealed manila envelope. Will takes Christina's hand in his, and we all file out of the Merciless Mart together.