His Amity | Eric Coulter x Original FMC |

Chapter Seventeen

Lia's first official day as a leader of Dauntless began in a state of uncertainty. She had stayed at Eric's apartment the night before, finding it preferable to sleeping on the floor of her unfurnished new place. As she made her way to the kitchen, she noticed a note on the counter: "Breakfast for you is in the fridge, had to leave early for a meeting. Be in the conference room at 10."

Glancing at the clock, Lia saw she had about 30 minutes. She quickly devoured the breakfast Eric had left for her, dressed, and headed to the conference room. She had no idea what to expect.

When she entered, not everyone was there yet. Lauren, the trainer of the Dauntless-born, greeted her warmly. "Hi, Lia! I'm Lauren. It's great to have a new fellow leader. How are you feeling?"

"Hi, Lauren. Nice to meet you," Lia replied, trying to mask her nervousness. "I'm excited and a bit anxious, to be honest."

"That's normal," Lauren assured her. "You'll do great."

Other leaders started arriving, each in charge of different aspects of Dauntless. Lia found a seat next to Lauren and engaged in light conversation. Soon, Eric and Max entered. Eric sat down on the other side of Lia. They locked eyes, but Lia remained silent, unsure what to say given his unpredictable behavior.

Max began the meeting, thanking everyone for coming. "I'd like to introduce Lia as our new leader. She will be joining Eric's team for the time being."

Lia noticed the vagueness of his statement and wondered if the secrecy was intentional or if everyone else already knew. The meeting continued with leaders discussing various issues. Tom, head of the factionless patrol, brought up his concerns with some factionless behavior.

"The factionless have been quieter lately, less fights, not many of them out on the street. I think they're planning something, but I don't know what."

This Lia's attention, she was always told the factionless were disorganized scavengers.

Max responded, "Just keep me informed, if they're planning something, we need to know."

Max concluded the meeting with a final instruction. "Get your people in the pit within the next hour. We're implementing new tracking devices, and no one in Dauntless is exempt."

Lia looked at Eric, her mind racing with questions about the tracking devices. Max asked Eric and Lia to stay back, and once the room cleared, he turned to Lia. "How are you feeling about everything?"

Lia took a deep breath. "I'm ready and excited, but I have questions about what exactly I'll be doing."

"Eric will answer all your questions, I have a meeting with Jeanine," Max said. "Just make sure you're in the pit soon." With that, he left, leaving Lia alone with Eric.

Lia turned to Eric. "So, what exactly is your team responsible for?"

Eric leaned back in his chair, indifferent. "Our team is in charge of hunting divergents and eliminating them."

Lia's eyes widened. "Eliminating them? How are we even tracking them?"

"That's Erudite's job," Eric replied flatly. "They're creating a device to scan individuals. Soon, no one will be able to hide."

Lia swallowed hard, her mind reeling. "And the tracking devices Max mentioned? What are those for?"

Eric's eyes flickered with something unreadable. "Don't worry about it."

Lia frowned, sensing he was hiding something. "Eric, you know I need to be informed if I'm part of this team. What's the deal with the trackers?"

Eric's expression hardened. "I told you, don't worry about it. Just follow orders."