I lean forward in my chair with my elbows on my thighs and my chin resting on my folded hands hoping this mess is almost over. We have all the key players in custody, except for Cameron. It's too bad he wasn't caught when his mother was. It would have made life a lot easier. I wonder where he's hiding.
While the other factions are still transporting their spies to Candor for their interrogations, Will personally delivered Dante and Samuel. I noticed remorse on Samuel's face when they were brought into the interrogation room but Dante seemed like a totally different person. He's never been my favorite but I didn't think he had it in him to be a spy and let us all down. Tobias couldn't even look at them. He left the room before their interrogations began with the removable disc drive Lauren gave Will.
He didn't miss anything. Much like Jason and Ben, Dante and Samuel were Erudite pawns. They were forced to join Dauntless by Jeanine Matthews to be spies, and they never once questioned her orders. They made weekly progress notes and passed them to a factionless person at a prearranged spot who took the reports to Erudite. They weren't even compensated for their deception. They thought they owed allegiance to the faction they were born into. They were both asked about the package I opened at the Christmas Party but they didn't have a clue who left it there either. When Niles asked them what their greatest regrets were, Dante said Kirsten and Samuel said Ella. They didn't mean to fall in love, but they did, and they regret that their actions hurt them. I can't help but feel bad for them. Tonight's supposed to be a fun party celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of another, and their men are sitting in jail charged with crimes that more than likely will end with their executions.
Ever since Will left the Dauntless compound with Dante and Samuel in handcuffs, my phone's been vibrating in my pocket almost nonstop. I have at least 30 messages and missed calls from my friends. I know I owe them an explanation but I don't have the slightest idea what to say. I get my phone out of my pocket to call Christina just as I see Dr. Parrish come through the double doors. He walks straight toward me so I put the phone away. That conversation will just have to wait.
"I see there have been more arrests," he says looking around the now crowded room. "Do I need to do more DNA tests?"
"No," I say to him. "But I did volunteer your lab for the analysis of the tests instead of Erudite for the time being. We're all a bit leery of them right now and for good reason. Jack Kang will have someone here administer any tests needed, and he said he would deliver them to you himself. I don't know if he was serious or not. He had quite a shock learning that Miles helped kill Dawson Andresen and provided truth serum to Asher and Dru since he got here."
"That's fine, Tris. I had really hoped that Asher and Dru didn't kill Dawson but I always thought they did. I had no idea about Miles' involvement though," he says. "Can I see Asher? I have some things to say."
"You can for a limited amount of time and under supervision," I say to him. "Sorry, Dr. Parrish, those are the rules." I motion to Purple-Hair who's standing by the door. He comes directly to me.
"It's okay," he says.
"Would you please take Dr. Parrish to see Asher?" I say.
"Thanks, Tris," he says. "And before I forget, here are the DNA results from earlier and the car keys." I take them both and put the keys in my pocket. I sit back down in my chair waiting for the next interrogation to begin and open up the test results. Everything's as expected. Definitely no surprises here. I sit back and am taking in the chaos around me when I see Tobias come back into the room. He has a stack of papers in his hand. He stops and talks to different faction representatives and gives them a copy of what he's holding. While he's talking to Jack Kang, I get up and go to them.
"... over a hundred people total on her list," I hear Tobias say to Jack.
"100 total?" I ask, hoping it's not what I think but his look confirms my suspicions.
"Yeah, Tris. They've killed well over 100 people throughout the years. Dru and Asher used to do the assaults and killings themselves until they recruited Cameron, Jason, Jared, Ben, and Alec, whose first assault it appears was on Hana. Maybe he can be rehabilitated."
"Here's the DNA test results," I say handing the envelope to Tobias. "There isn't anything we didn't already know in there." He puts the long list of names he's holding in the envelope for safe keeping.
"I'll get you a copy of the DNA results as soon as I can," he says to Jack. "Since you've interrogated the Dauntless prisoners, Tris and I are going home. We have some business to take care of before the ball tonight and some people who are wondering why two of my best friends were arrested today." I hope he opens up about his feelings on the way home. I don't like the look on his face. It worries me.
"I understand betrayal, Four," Jack says during an unusual moment of sensitivity. "Miles and I have been good friends for as long as I can remember. Today's news was devastating." Tobias and I shake hands with Jack and make our way through the double doors. When we enter the hallway, Mom, Dad, and Caleb are standing there. Tobias and I join them.
"Four and I are going back to Dauntless," I say.
"I have to stay since my faction is knee-deep in this mess ... again," Caleb says with a sigh.
"I have to stay also," my dad says. "It's exhausting to think about how many more interrogations we have to sit through."
"Mom, would you like a ride home?" I ask.
"Thank you for the offer, Beatrice, but I'm staying with your father," she says. "We'll ride the bus home. It passes right by here."
"Did Nathan and Callen go home?" I ask her.
"Yes," she says with sadness on her face. "I never cared for Dru but I had no idea she was so ruthless and cold. I feel bad about what she went through but it doesn't excuse her behavior or what she has done to Nathan. I'm not sure my brother will ever be the same. Please take care of him."
"I'll do the best I can, Mom," I say. "Before I go, I want to apologize again for how you found out Four and I are getting married. We want you all at the wedding. As soon as the arrangements are made, we'll let you know the details."
"I wouldn't miss it for anything," my mom says.
"That goes for me as well," my dad says. "I'm sorry about the punch earlier, Four. I really don't know what I was thinking but it was wrong. I hope you can forgive me."
"It's already forgotten, Andrew, so there's nothing to forgive," he says, shaking my dad's hand.
We all say our goodbyes, and Tobias leads me to the elevator as my parents and brother return to the interrogation room. I could have told them about the baby since we were alone but it didn't seem like the right time or place, and I didn't want to add to their stress. I also didn't want to chance my dad hitting Tobias again. I still can't believe he did that. I still can't believe I did that.
"Penny for your thoughts," Tobias says, looking at me from across the elevator. The doors open, and we quickly walk toward the exit and out to our car, longing for the interrogations and Candor to be behind us.
"I was just thinking about the baby, actually," I say, taking his hand in mine. Fear and joy equally fill me whenever I think of her. "I didn't think it was the right time to tell them. We'll have to make a trip to Abnegation and Erudite soon and sit down and give them the news. I wonder if they'll be happy for us."
"To be honest, at first I doubt it, especially your father," he says, absentmindedly rubbing his jaw. "They'll get used to the idea eventually, we just have to give them time." We both get in the car and start driving toward Dauntless.
"I hope your right," I say. "I don't want to alienate my family, especially my parents."
"We need to talk about the truth serum. You scared the hell out of me today, Tris. I thought I was going to lose you." His stare penetrates to my very soul, and a shiver runs down my spine.
"When I heard Dru say truth serum was used to confirm divergence, I almost fell out of my chair," I say. "Today could have turned out a lot different if I hadn't been aware like I am under simulations. I realize now it wasn't my best plan, but it worked out okay. Once I remembered what was going on and what I was doing, I could lie, it just felt like I was on fire when I did."
"You should only have lied to save yourself," he says, pain in his voice. "You should have answered the questions about me without a second's hesitation. I don't ever want you in pain because of me. You know that." What he doesn't seem to understand is I would feel nothing but pain if he weren't here with me.
"I didn't want to give away your secrets, Tobias," I say, reaching over and taking his hand. "They didn't need to know those things they were asking me. They were irrelevant. I'm so glad they finally stopped asking about the engagement. I was so afraid I was going to end up telling the entire room about the best sex I ever had. Today was great too." He laughs and shakes his head at me, a blush coloring his cheeks.
"I cannot believe we did that," he says. "I don't think even Zeke has had sex outside the Dauntless compound before. I'm sure if he had, he would have bragged about it."
"You mean a Stiff did something before a Dauntless born? Unheard of," I say, joining his laughter. "Can I ask you a question?" He looks at me and nods. "Do you ever brag ... about us?"
"No," he says, lifting our joined hands to his lips. "I wouldn't feel right doing that. Don't you remember how Zeke reacted when he found out we're having sex." How could I forget, he announced it to the entire cafeteria. "I wouldn't want to cheapen what we have." I can only smile at him. "Do you talk to the girls about us?"
"I've talked to Christina a little but not much," I admit. "What we do in our bedroom," my face turns bright red, "or ... other places is ours and no one else's. I don't feel the need to share." He leans over and gives me a quick kiss before returning his eyes to the road. After a moment of silence, I look at him. All of a sudden he looks so unhappy. "Talk to me, Tobias." He furrows his eyebrows at me. "Dante and Samuel."
"I don't know what to say, Tris," he says, then he sighs and runs his hand through his hair. "I've known them both for about two-and-a-half-years. I never suspected they were spies. They hid everything they did. I've been going through the control room's keystroke logs since this mess started and nothing they did ever stood out as abnormal or disloyal. What hurts the most is I've shared things with them I've only shared with you and Zeke. I can't believe they fooled me. I can't believe I trusted them." He's very upset with himself when it's those two he should be angry with. Typical Tobias, blaming himself for something that isn't his fault.
My phone vibrates again, and I pull it out of my pocket. It's another message from Christina telling me everyone's patiently waiting for my arrival. I doubt that very much. Will texted Tobias and told him all the girls ganged up on him when he walked in the door demanding answers he didn't have. He told them I would fill them all in when I get there. I sigh.
"Not more bad news I hope," Tobias says after I sigh.
"All the girls are waiting for me," I say. "They're expecting an explanation."
"Do you want me to come with you?" he says.
"No," I say. "It's not going to be easy breaking the news to Kirsten and Ella. I'm not looking forward to it, but it's probably best that it's just us girls." We pull up to the front of the Pire, and he turns off the car. "Are you leaving it here?"
"No, I have to run and see if Evelyn got my message," he says. "I told her no more codes in flowers, so I don't know if our plans have changed. I'd ask you to come with me but I know you have to get ready for the ball. He leans over and kisses me. "I love you. I'll pick you up at 7:30 for supper. Will and Christina's, right?" I nod at him and kiss him again. What I wouldn't give if we could just lock ourselves in the apartment tonight instead of going to the party. I sigh, say goodbye, then get out of the car.
I relive the highlights of today, the good and the bad, as each step carries me closer to seven cranky and emotional woman who probably think I've been ignoring them for the past couple of hours. If I'm honest with everyone including myself, I was ignoring them while I was at Candor because of business but then I just didn't know what to say so I didn't say anything. When I get to Christina's place, I knock on the door, and she immediately opens it for me.
"It's about time, Tris," Christina says. "Where have you been?"
"What's going on?" Kirsten says. "Why was Dante arrested today?"
"Please tell me it's a mistake, Tris," Ella says with tears in her eyes. "What did he supposedly do?" I was right about cranky and emotional. Marlene, Lynn, Ciara, and Shauna are all ready for the ball, except for their masks but Kirsten, Ella, and Christina are still in regular clothes.
"Why don't you all sit down," I say. "It's a long story but I'll tell you everything you want to know." I proceed to tell them about Jason and Ben's interrogations and the fact they didn't know much. I tell them about Asher and Dru's interrogations. They are hanging on every word, and when I get to the part of the story about Dawson Andresen's assault on Dru, they all gasp in unison. I tell them what the lists mean, who made them, why they were made, how they were made, and how names were eliminated. Then I tell them about the Erudite spies in each faction and that Dauntless' are Dante and Samuel. Kirsten is quite vocal stating she doesn't believe it, and Ella can only sit in front of me and cry.
"I'm so sorry. When you're placed under truth serum, you can't tell a lie, and Asher said they're Erudite plants during his interrogation," I say and even as I'm saying it, I feel a twinge of guilt. "Their interviews are both complete and they confessed. I don't know how severe their punishment will be. You can visit them for short supervised periods if you'd like. Just go to Candor and ask to see them. Guards will take you to them.
"The last thing I think you all should be aware of is this isn't just a Dauntless problem," I say. "There have been more than 100 people killed at Dru and Asher's insistence over the past 20 years. I guess we should be thankful they're all in custody, except for Cameron Wright. Do any of you have questions for me?"
"Why would he do this?" Ella says mainly to herself, not expecting an answer. "He's always been so strong and so Dauntless. Why would he be spying for Erudite?" She starts sobbing again, and Ciara moves close to comfort her. Kirsten, on the other hand, is pacing back and forth muttering to herself. If I hadn't heard it with my own ears when Dante was under truth serum that she isn't involved in this and had no prior knowledge, I would think she was just as mixed up in this mess as Dante was.
"Do you all know what Cameron looks like?" I ask after realizing no one has any questions for me. I think they're all in shock, and might have some later. Some say yes and some say no. I excuse myself and run down to Tobias' office and get the photo grab and bring it back to Christina's apartment. Everyone studies it for a while then I take it back downstairs and put it where it belongs.
When I get back everyone else has left. I take a quick shower to wash off the day then give myself over to Christina's talented hands. I'm still silky smooth from my last wax so she thankfully skips that step. We talk more about the interrogations while she works on transforming me into a masquerade ball princess. She's plucking stray eyebrows when she finally brings up the subject of my engagement.
"Were you surprised when he proposed?" she asks.
"Um," I say, trying to think of exactly how everything happened when she interrupts me.
"You promised details, Tris," she says, sounding pissed.
"I know. I wasn't trying to hold anything back," I say. "I'm just trying to tell you how it happened. Was I surprised? No, I wasn't but that's because we had already decided to get married." She looks at me with complete shock on her face. I tell her about the marriage stipulation for adoption and she understands.
"Yesterday was a very stressful day with talking to your mom and learning the details of Jason's interrogation. When he asked me to go out, I told him no but he talked me into it. I have to admit it didn't take much!" I tell her about getting ready and going to supper. "It was like we were alone in the cafeteria. I don't know how that happens, but it happens quite often. Do you ever feel that way?"
"Yeah, I do," she says with a silly grin on her face. "When we still lived in the dorms, I swear he would look at me, and I'd forget the other initiates were around. It got embarrassing a couple times."
"After supper he took me dancing," I say. "It felt so good to just let loose and not worry about anything for a couple hours. It amazes me the songs he knows. He must have listened to a lot of music the last two years because listening to music is considered selfish in Abnegation."
"Is there anything not considered selfish in Abnegation?" Christina says with a slight scowl on her face. I think about this while she takes all the huge rollers out of my now dry hair. I shake my head.
"Not a lot actually," I say. "I don't want to spoil my kids but I definitely want to give them the childhood I didn't get."
"Enough stalling, Tris. Engagement," she says. I just laugh. I try to shake my head but she has a firm grip on the rollers and my head doesn't move much.
"Okay," I sigh. "We have a special place we go sometimes."
"Where?" she asks, always full of curiosity. She turns the swivel chair so I'm facing her, and she starts working on my hair. I've never told anyone about the chasm before so I stall a little. She frowns at me.
"The bottom of the chasm," I say. She furrows her eyebrows at me, possibly questioning my sanity. "There's a hidden path that leads to rocks by the river. It's where Four and I kissed the first time." She nods but doesn't say anything, urging me to continue with her eyes. "He led me to the rocks, and we sat watching the river for a while. I wasn't expecting anything. He started saying some very nice things, and then he pulled out the box and asked me to marry him." I look at my ring and relive every moment in the chasm from last night. A bright smile forms on my lips.
"You're smiling like a crazy person," she says with a chuckle.
"I'm so happy right now, Christina, even with all the crap that's been going on," I say. "If someone would've asked me a month ago what I wanted my life to be, I wouldn't have been able to answer. I had no idea where my life was heading. I knew it was headed in the right direction but marriage and a baby so soon. I can't quite believe I'm getting everything I never knew I wanted."
"I'm happy for you and Four," she says. I study her face while she twists, tugs, and sweeps my curls into an extravagant style that falls midway down my back.
"Are you okay, Christina?" I ask. She meets my eyes and forces a smile.
"I wonder when I'm going to get married, Tris," she says. "I really thought he would've asked by now."
"Have you talked to him about it?" I ask.
"I really shouldn't have to, should I?" she says. "I'm carrying his child. We've talked about long-term plans, yet I still don't have a ring on my finger."
"There are no rules for this kind of thing," I say. "If you're not happy with the situation, I suggest you talk to him about it. Four had my ring for quite a while waiting for the right time to propose. Maybe Will is doing the same thing. Talk to him."
"Okay, I will," she says. "I think it's time to get you into your dress. Four will be here any minute." I put my shoes on first then she helps me into the fancy blue dress. She sits me back down in the chair and carefully puts my mask on over my hair then turns the chair so I can see myself in the mirror as a knock sounds on the door. She opens it and Tobias comes into the room looking stunning in his white tux with cornflower blue bow tie and cummerbund, and white shoes. He's holding his mask in his hands, fidgeting with it. I get out of the chair and stand before him.
"Wow," he says, slowly roaming his eyes from the top of my head to my toes, which are peeking out the bottom of the dress. "You look amazing."
"Thank you. You look great yourself," I say to him letting my eyes take in the site of his perfect form then turn my attention back to Christina. "Do you need help getting into your dress?" She has progressed from regular Dauntless clothes to her silky robe but she still isn't ready to go to supper.
"No," she says with a smile. "Will can help me with the zipper. He's upstairs." I'd forgotten he came in while we were talking about the interrogations earlier. I hug her and tell her I'll see her soon.
Tobias puts his mask on, and it makes his dark blue eyes pop. He takes my hand, and we slowly make our way to the cafeteria for supper. I knew Kirsten and Ella wouldn't be here because of Dante and Samuel's arrests but James, Ciara, Zeke, Shauna, Uriah, Marlene, and Lynn are sitting at our table in various shades of the rainbow. They all look amazing but there's sadness in the air tonight, and it's predominant at our table. I look at Tobias as we sit down.
"Let's try to have a good time tonight," he says to all our friends. "Okay?"
"Can we ask some questions," Uriah says with an edge to his voice.
"We'd rather not answer any questions tonight," he says. "I'll tell you what. We'll answer any questions you want to ask at lunch tomorrow. I doubt any of us will be getting to bed very early tonight with the party going on well into the night." Everyone agrees and the atmosphere gets better. Soon Will and Christina join us and things feel almost normal for the first time in a long time. I try to isolate the part of my heart that's broken so I can deal with it later.
Movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention, and I turn to see a tall, dark haired guy in a black tux with a white bowtie and cummerbund walking purposefully toward me. He seems familiar, and when I see the dark green eyes, I realize who it is.
"Can we talk, Tris?" Peter asks.