Divergent One Shots (Eric & Tris)

Two-A Life of Significance 1.2

Eric

I step into the conference room realizing I'm the last one to arrive.  Even Jax—head of security—and a few of our generals are present.  The only remaining seat is between Ryan and Tris.  I see Wendy and Will pouring beverages.
"Hey, look.  We saved you a seat," Ryan says waving to me. 
I actually laugh lightly at that.  Tris stares at me as I sit between them. 
"How was your workout?" Ryan asks me as the two aides pass out the drinks. 
"It was a workout," I shrug dismissively. 
"Looks like you took out some aggression on the bag—either that or some unlucky member's face," he says motioning to my split knuckles. 
"The bag," I admit unconcerned. 
"What was wrong?" he presses.  "You haven't done that since the Choosing Ceremony."
"I talked with Zeke a bit," I tell him.  "He offered to go out for drinks tonight.  I pretty much told him if we finish at a reasonable time and I'm still up for it."
"Count me in," he says excitedly. 
"You have to work tomorrow.  We weren't getting hammered," I tell him firmly. 
"Hey, I know my limit," he defends. 
I guffaw, "Sure you do."
Wendy and Will finish up.  I see him wave to Tris as they leave the conference room.  I glance at her to see her grinning at him.  Her eyes meet mine and her smile widens. 
"Alright, so let's try to make this as quick as possible.  I set up a conference call with Abnegation at five about our findings," Max says getting to the point. 
I raise my eyebrow in surprise at that but he continues on.  He gives us information about the increasing hostility of Factionless toward themselves and the bordering factions.  Statistics are projected along the wall.  He lists off several points dealing with the increase of attacks in the last five years—since the police force was disbanded by Abnegation and moved to the fence.  I see Tris taking constant notes beside me.  I notice how lovely her penmanship is, each swoop and swirl gliding effortlessly across the paper.  I try to focus on the topic at hand and I'm grateful for being able to pay attention during the seriousness of this meeting—even with her so close beside me. 
Jax and the generals give details of the severity of many instances ranging from larger scale attacks to individuals fighting.  There are some circumstances where some people are hospitalized and others treated for minor cuts and bruises.  They show photographs and clips from these encounters.  Troops have to be pulled from the fence to deal with these situations, delaying the response time and often prolonging the encounters. 
"Some of these, as we look over them..." a general states.  "... they sound kind of crazy.  It's a serious possibility that some Factionless are suffering from severe cases of mental illness."
"For example?" Jude asks. 
"I've got several instances of injuries due to impossible causes from the interviewed Factionless," Jax continues.  Max makes a motion for him to elaborate with the wave of his hand.  Jax sighs and picks up a form.  "This is what was stated as the cause of this incident.  A Factionless man stabbed his friend repeatedly.  He said that giant spiders were attacking him.  Another instance was a Factionless woman hitting a crowd of people in Candor.  She said she thought they were a wall closing up on her."
"It sounds like a fear simulation," Tris whispers beside me. 
"What was that?" Lydia asks her and she repeats it loud enough for everyone to hear. 
Many people nod. 
"It oddly does," Jax agrees. 
"That is an unusual deduction," Max says.  "But the mental illnesses need to be dealt with.  We can't have these crazy people running a muck through the factions.  There has to be safety and order.  That's our top priority in Dauntless.  This is why we're presenting our findings to Abnegation.  When they disbanded the police force five years ago, they asked us to appeal for consideration of reinstatement.  That's what our plan is.  We have already forwarded our findings and they're waiting on us to elaborate on what we've discovered."
We all pound the table in agreement.  Tris jumps in surprise at first but smiles up at me. 
Max makes the call to Abnegation.  It's answered by a small conference room of men all clad in grey.  Among them who I immediately recognize is Marcus Eaton.  I hear a gasp beside me, rapidly echoed in the Abnegation room.  I see Andrew Prior among them seated beside Marcus. 
"You can wave," I whisper to Tris. 
She meets my eyes and looks back to her father smiling and waving.  He looks surprised but he smiles and nods at his daughter. 
"So, we were told this was some sort of emergency?" Marcus says gruffly. 
Max does the speaking since he will be head soon—and from what I hear, used to lead the police force.  He elaborates on the situation.  The Abnegation seem alarmed. 
"We were... unaware of these problems," Marcus states at a loss. 
"These Factionless suffering from mental issues... is it complete loss of mental faculties or just some of the time?" another Abnegation man asks. 
"Both," Jude chimes in.  "Some are still having what I'd call an episode while others are within their proper state of mind when soldiers arrive."
I see Andrew Prior whispering to Marcus Eaton.  They all whisper among themselves and it's clear they've muted us as they discuss. 
"The floor recognizes Andrew Prior.  He has a personal experience dealing with such an instance from an unexpected source," Marcus says.  He nods to Andrew who rises in his seat. 
"For those who don't know, I transferred from Erudite," Andrew says.  Tris gasps beside me, clearly unaware of her father's previous faction.  "I wanted to make a difference in the city.  I was planning on doing so in Erudite until I saw something that shook me to my core making me leave my former faction.  I witnessed unethical testing of unwilling Factionless in Erudite.  They were injected with a bright orange or orange-yellow serum that made the test subjects behave just as described today.  I didn't agree with Norton's testing methods—the previous head of Erudite—or the current leadership—Jeanine Matthews.  Both were involved and condoned such experimentation while I was a dependent."
There's whispering between the Dauntless leadership at that.  I look to Ryan.  "Perhaps we should get a sample of our fear serums.  If it's the same, it'll wear off and won't be a problem," I tell him.  He agrees and we send down one of the generals to get a sample of each. 
I glance to Tris and she looks disturbed. 
"You alright?" I ask her. 
She meets my eyes and nods.  She forces a smile but I can tell she's not.  She's leaning forward in her chair and I can't help but rub her back—a friendly, comforting gesture. 
When the general arrives with the samples, we present them to Andrew. 
"The color is similar... but those are much more translucent than the ones I'd seen administered.  It was more of a solid shade like that of orange juice or something of the like with yellow added," Mr Prior clarifies. 
I close my eyes and sigh roughly.  I stand removing my hand from Tris's back which I hadn't even realized was still there. 
"What he saw administered is the concentrated formula.  I know this because I've diluted it myself in Erudite.  I was warned that administering the full version affects of the mind permanently and in small doses lasts the typical time for a serum in our city.  While a dependent in Erudite, I was told to separate batches—diluted for Dauntless deliveries and undiluted for Erudite purposes but I'd never been told those until today," I explain. 
"Perhaps we better meet with Candor," Max says angrily writing a note. 
"I concur," Marcus Eaton agrees.  He makes a note as well.  "We will be meeting at the Hub tomorrow and we'll discuss the possible reinstatement of the police force."
Dauntless pounds the table in reply and I actually see Andrew smile. 
"We'll set up a meeting with Candor.  Perhaps it can be an early morning conference to include Abnegation," Jude says. 
"We'd appreciate that," Mr Eaton replies.  "If not, let us know when and we'll make time."
The meeting is concluded and I glance to my watch to see that dinner has already begun.  I notice someone waiting in the hallway outside of the conference room pacing. I don't know why I offer to shut down the projector but I do.  I glance to Tris to see her still writing notes on her papers.  I stride over to the computer and begin the shutdown sequence as everyone else clears out.  I just feel like I should be here for some reason so I remain.