Tobias, Will, Christina, and I all climb into the black Dauntless car, which is sitting by the curb outside of the Merciless Mart where Purple-Hair and Snake-Tattoo left it. I look at the elevated tracks that run alongside the old cement building and long to run and jump onto our faction's preferred method of travel. I love the surge of energy that moves through my body whenever I jump onto a moving train and the breathless feeling of suspended animation when I jump off. I didn't realize how much I've been missing it. February can't come soon enough.
"How was your visit with Rose and your mother?" I ask Christina, trying to get my mind onto something else.
"I loved visiting with Rose until she blabbed my secret, then I remembered what it was like to have a little sister," she says with a smile. "It was great talking to Mom once she got past the fact I'm pregnant. She wasn't happy with Will and me at first. She actually tried to talk us out of having the baby. Can you believe that? She said I was too young." I look up at Tobias just as he smiles and looks down into my eyes.
"Yeah, she said almost the exact same thing to Four and me about adopting the baby, which we are going to do by the way," I say leaving out the part about marriage. They don't need to know that news just yet. Christina squeals in the backseat causing me to jump. I've never heard a sound like that come from her before. I turn, furrowing my eyebrows, and look at her. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm just super excited. We're going to have babies together, Tris. How great is that?" she asks, excitement running one sentence into the next. "We can all learn about being parents together. And think about this, if they're both girls they'll be best friends just like we are, or if we have a boy maybe they'll fall in love with each other."
"That's never happening," Tobias says matter-of-factly, sounding more like Four. "Our daughter is never going to be allowed to date." My heart swells when he says "our daughter." I take the hand that's resting in his lap and lace my fingers with it. He smiles down at me once again, and I beam back.
"I know exactly what you mean, Four," Will says. "If I have a daughter she's getting locked away at about the age of 12. No boy will ever touch her."
"You can't do that," Christina complains.
"And why not?" Will asks.
"Because it's not logical. I know what it's like to be a teenage girl. It isn't that bad. We can be responsible, right, Tris." I'm not sure I can answer that question but I don't get a chance to try.
"Yeah, but I know what it's like to be a teenage boy, and what goes through our heads thinking about you girls is worse than you can imagine," Will says. I look up at Tobias with an inquisitive look. He just nods his head a little, agreeing with Will.
"Seriously," I ask.
"I'm afraid so," he says. I shake my head at both of them and blush.
"Did your mom have a bad reaction to hearing she is going to be a grandmother?" I ask getting the subject back to Christina and Will and off of future children.
"I thought she would be disappointed in me but she wasn't. She was just in shock," Christina says. "She's concerned we're taking on too much responsibility at a young age. We'll both be 17 when the baby's born, and I told her I realize that's quite young by Candor standards but I've been talking with a lot of Dauntless members since I found out I was pregnant, and I've noticed a trend. Most couples get together during their initiation or shortly before or after then get married and have children right away so 17 isn't young at all by Dauntless standards."
"How did you learn that?" I say.
"Mostly at the salon and tattoo parlor. Dauntless women especially love to talk about themselves," she says. "It's weird but true. They also love to gossip. I had no idea that happened in this faction also."
"Have you learned anything useful from the Chatty Cathy's?" Will asks.
"Who?" she asks.
"It's an old doll from before the war. Never mind," Will says.
"No, I haven't or I would have told you already, Will," she says. "People repeat everything they hear about the assaults for a few days then something else happens in their lives or in Dauntless, and the talk about the attacks fade away. It's like they don't get the danger we're in."
"We are Dauntless," I say. "Its very definition is fearless. I'm not saying we shouldn't be concerned about what's going on but how do you make a faction full of people who are trained to be fearless, fearful?" We are all quiet for a moment letting that question hang in the air.
"What made you change your mind about the adoption, Tris?" Will asks, changing the subject once again. I tense up remembering my fear landscape, and I really don't want to talk about it.
"She went through her fear landscape," Christina says. "That seems to be a tool she uses to figure out how she really feels about things. I wouldn't want to keep going through mine."
"You're right, Christina," I say, tears welling up in my eyes. I quickly wipe them away.
"So having a baby wasn't in your fear landscape?" he asks.
"It was my greatest fear actually," I quietly say. "I really doesn't want to talk about this, Will."
"It was painful for both of us," Tobias says, looking at Will in the rearview mirror. "Evelyn came and took the baby away after we had her for six months. The pain was crippling."
"All my other uncertainties about adopting Four's sister fell away the moment I had to give her to Evelyn," I say.
"I didn't mean to upset you, Tris," Will says laying his hand on my shoulder and squeezing gently.
"It's okay," I say, patting his hand, which he then removes. I see that we pull up in front of the Dauntless compound. Tobias parks the car, and we all get out. "I'm glad you had a nice visit with your mom and sister today, Christina."
"Thanks, Tris. I really did," she says. "I didn't realize how much I'd missed them both. Am I going to be able to go back and see them from time to time?" Tobias and I look at each other.
"If we have business at Candor, you are more than welcome to come along with us if you're not busy," Tobias says to Christina. "You're our unofficial fifth leader."
"Thanks, Four," she says to him.
"I have to run an errand," Tobias says. "Will you make sure everything is ready in the conference room for the ambassador's meeting, Will? I'll be right back." Christina and Will say goodbye then turn and walk through the glass doors into the Pire. I look at Tobias curiously. "I need to get a message to Evelyn telling her we need the baby's father to be at our meeting Monday night. Do you want to come with me?"
"No, I'm going to stay here and go through Dr. Parrish and Asher's files to prepare for tomorrow. I'll also continue going through the inactive files," I say. I stand on my tiptoes and give him a kiss. "I'll be in my office when you get back. By the way, I want to be at the ambassador's meeting even though I don't need to be. I love you. Be careful."
"I will, Six," he says, caressing my cheek then leaning down and touching his lips to mine once again. I smile when he pulls away. I love it when he calls me his special nickname. "I'll be back soon."
I walk into the Pire and go directly to Tobias' office. I pull Zander and Asher Parrish and Miles Randolph's personnel files and then decide to pull Nathan, Dru, and Callen's records while I'm at it. I go to my glass-walled office and sit behind my desk. I open Dr. Parrish's file first. I look over the paperwork paying close attention to his younger years but nothing sticks out to me as odd. He doesn't have one reprimand in his file, which surprises me. I swear my mother told me Nathan and his friends were trouble makers. I close his file and open his brother's. Although they don't look anything alike, in my opinion, Zander and Asher Parrish are twins. I wonder how they deal with the separation. I knew twin girls back at Abnegation who couldn't stand to be away from the other for more than 10 minutes. They both left Abnegation for Amity the year before I left. I can't imagine them being separated for an hour let alone a lifetime.
I look through Asher's file carefully, and I see a lot of infractions. There are minor ones that include sneaking out of the compound after curfew, stealing food out of the cafeteria when it's closed, and breaking into the training room after hours – I did that once with Uriah, Lynn, and Marlene. I didn't know it could have went into my file – but the one incident that concerns me the most is an assault on a fellow Dauntless dependent named Dawson Andresen. I'm going to have to pull his personnel file and see if there are any clues as to why he was assaulted.
I pick up Nathan's file after setting Asher's aside and see a lot of the same infractions I found in Asher's file, although Dawson Andresen's assault is not one of them. I thought that Dr. Parrish and my uncle were close friends but they weren't getting into trouble together like my mom said they were. It seems Asher was the one he was getting into trouble with. Maybe Dr. Parrish wasn't as good of a friend to Nathan as everyone thought. I open Callen's file and see that he's 15 years old and will turn 16 shortly before this year's Choosing Ceremony. If he chooses to stay in Dauntless, he'll be one of Uriah and Christina's initiates this year. I would have guessed he's older than I am. There are no infractions in his file and everything looks rather normal. After setting Callen's file aside, I open Dru's. Hers, too, is full of infractions, the most I've ever seen actually, including the assault on Dawson Andresen. That tells me there's a connection between Asher and Dru. Maybe it isn't Nathan who shared his prejudices with Cameron but Dru.
I get up from my desk and take all the records back to Tobias' office to refile them in their proper homes. I go to the member's files and look for Dawson Andresen but can't find a record of him. I move to the inactive files and still can't find a record for him, which is odd. I think back over the inactive files I've already been through, which are still in my apartment but that name just doesn't sound familiar. There is one other place I can look. I open the drawer that houses the deceased files and look for Dawson Andresen's name. My pulse quickens when I see Al's name on one of the files. I take a moment to remember my friend turned enemy and guilt rises within me. Maybe he would still be alive if I could have forgiven him.
"I was wondering where you were," Tobias says coming into his office. I turn and look at him.
"I'm just looking into some files," I say after having to clear my throat.
"What's wrong?" he says, alarmed. It's only now I realize a few stray tears are running down my face.
"Oh, it's nothing really," I say, wiping the tears away. "I just ran onto Al's file. I was just remembering the good times ... and the bad. I still wonder if he would be alive if I would have forgiven him."
"Don't beat yourself up over him, Tris. He isn't worth it," he says to me, leaning up against the file cabinet next to the one I'm looking in. "You and I both know he wasn't going to make it into Dauntless, not with the way the faction was being run at the time, and he didn't want to be factionless. I know that for a fact. It was one of his worse fears."
"You never told me that," I say looking up into his concerned eyes.
"I feel it's a great responsibility to know everyone's fears. They aren't easy to think about, and I don't feel like they are something I should normally share," he says. "But Al chose his own path jumping into the chasm that day, and if telling you his fear alleviates your guilt then I will choose you every time." I reach out and take his hand and squeeze it. "So why are you looking in the deceased files?"
"I'm looking for a name I found in Asher and Dru's files, Dawson Andresen. I can't find a file for him anywhere. I was just getting ready to go home and get the inactive files that are still there. I need to refile them anyway. Either I've overlooked it or there isn't one for him."
"That's impossible. There's a file on every person who has ever lived in Dauntless," Tobias says.
"I know," I say. "If we can't find the file, I suggest asking Dr. Parrish if he knows anything about him."
"It's almost time for the ambassador's meeting," Tobias says, checking the clock on the wall. "Do you still want to come?"
"Yeah, but I'm not going to stay for the entire meeting," I say. "I'm going to go to the apartment and get the inactive files and see if Dawson's file is there. I don't remember the name but to be honest, I've looked at a lot of files lately. His name might not have stood out to me. If it isn't there, I'm going to go through the files and see if it's been misfiled. Something tells me this Dawson Andresen is the key to what's going on around here."
"You might be right, especially since his file is missing," he says. "Let's go to the conference room. You can tell me what you've learned on the way." I tell Tobias about everything I found in all the files and that I think Dr. Parrish can be trusted. If we can't find the file on Dawson Andresen, he might be the best person to go to for answers.
We walk into the conference room and almost all the ambassadors are sitting around the large table, talking and laughing with one another. We wait for the remaining stragglers including Peter and Uriah then I move over by the door so I can make a quiet getaway after seeing Peter's face when he gets assigned to Amity. Tobias calls the room to order and everyone looks at him expectantly. They obviously have no idea why this meeting has been called.
"It was brought to my attention earlier this week that the council has been receiving complaints about our ambassadors. Needless to say, I'm not happy about this. I expect more out of our Dauntless representatives," Tobias says in his authoritative Four voice. "This is the only warning I'm going to give each and every one of you. If any of you get another complaint, no matter how trivial, you will be guarding the fence. That being said, you are each going to receive a permanent faction assignment. There will be no more three month alternating posts." Almost everyone's face falls a little at Tobias' announcement. I study the faces of those I know and those I don't and see this isn't a very popular decision.
"Three years ago the council mandated the faction ambassadors from Dauntless have permanent assignments. Unfortunately, the previous leaders didn't follow through on their orders. They didn't think it was important, we do," Tori says. "I'm going to hand each of you your new assignment. You will report to your new faction beginning Saturday. Your days off, hours, and schedules will remain the same for the time being." I watch as Tori hands each of the 20 faction ambassadors their assignments. Uriah and Ciara's eyes brighten. They both got Erudite and will be keeping an eye on the faction for us and reporting directly to Tobias and Tori.
"Amity?" Peter says. "Seriously." His eyes are filled with hatred.
"Do you have a problem with the assignment I made Mr. Hayes?" Tori says, sounding much like Tobias. "Amity is a very important part of this city. Without them you wouldn't be able to eat. Are you saying that protecting Amity isn't important?"
"No," he scowls. He brings his eyes to mine and glares at me. I would love to smirk at him but that would draw too much attention to the fact I was instrumental in placing him in Amity so I show absolutely no emotions whatsoever.
"You know, Peter," Tobias says. At hearing his name, Peter tears his eyes away from mine and looks towards Tobias. "If you don't like your assignment, I think I could give you a different one. How does the fence sound or maybe cleaning bedpans in the infirmary? And just so everyone in this room knows, Peter here is one of the people who got more than one complaint, so he is partially to blame for these assignments." Peter slouches down in his seat as everyone glares his way. Wow, I didn't realize he had had a single complaint let alone more than one, and he's only been on the job for a little over three months. I just thought my dad didn't like how he was treating Abnegation. I knew this wasn't going to be a good fit for him. More than likely within the next month, he's going to be guarding the fence or worse, for him, factionless.
"No, Four," Peter quietly says. "Amity is fine." I take that as my cue to leave, and I head home to retrieve the inactive files I went through while Dr. Parrish had me on strict restrictions. I bring them back to Tobias' office and file them away after looking through them again. I was right, none of them are for a Dawson Andresen. I start again with the deceased files and look at every single name carefully but don't see his anywhere. Then I move on to the inactive files and still find nothing. I'm half way through the active members when Tobias walks into his office.
"I still haven't found his file," I say, irritation creeping into my voice. "I'm half way through the active member files. If you want to start at the end and work your way towards me we can finish this before we go to supper."
"Okay. What's the spelling of the last name?"
"A-N-D-R-E-S-E-N," I say. After 15 minutes we have went through the rest of the active files, and there is no file for Dawson Andresen.
"This is odd," I say looking into Tobias' eyes.
"What's odd?" Will asks entering Tobias' office, Tori following close behind him. I quickly get them up to speed on what I found in the files I looked at this afternoon including Asher and Dru's assault on a Dauntless dependent named Dawson Andresen.
"The problem is there is no record for such a person and no records at all for anyone with that last name," I say. "I've been through every file ... twice. It's a mystery but I have a gut feeling this person is at the center of what's going on right now." Tobias sits down behind his desk, and the rest of us each take a seat in different chairs throughout his office. Tobias rubs his hand across his face and lets out a groan.
"Tori," he finally says. "I'm going to need you to meet with Samaire Towne tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. in my office. I had Tris tell her to meet us but Tris and I will be at Candor to continue Jason's interrogation. She's going to describe to you one of Daniel Parks' attackers so you can make a composite of him. Text it to me when you finish it.
"Will, I want you to stick around here tomorrow instead of going back to Candor with Tris and me for the interrogation. Tori, I want you to get a hold of Will if you need him for anything. Otherwise, keep your eyes peeled for Cameron. Tomorrow night's masquerade ball could be a prime target for him to strike if he isn't arrested by then.
"Tris and I are going to Candor to continue Jason's interrogation. There's a possibility we won't be back until late afternoon, especially if Cameron Wright, Asher Parrish, or Ben Riley are arrested this evening. Asher should be easy to find since he's the new leader of Erudite. I hope this doesn't become a pattern. I think that's it for tonight unless you guys have anything to add," Tobias says. We all shake our heads at him. Soon Tori and Will get up and leave Tobias and me alone in his office.
"Tris, let's get dressed up and do something fun tonight. How about dancing? You love dancing, and we really haven't been able to do it since you fell," he says to me.
"I'm not sure, Tobias. Why don't we just spend a quiet evening at home? Jason's admission about my family has me a little freaked out," I admit to him. He gets up from behind his desk and walks over to my chair and puts his hand out to me. I reach up and take it, and he helps me out of my chair. He puts his lips on the back of my hand, kissing me gently.
"Miss Prior," he says. "I haven't had a proper date with the woman I love for quite some time. Would you please do me the honor of going dancing with me tonight?" I smile at his formal request.
"Yes, of course, Mr. Eaton," I say with a laugh. "It would be my pleasure to accompany you dancing tonight."