Divergent FBI

Chapter Forty-Nine

Tris' POV

After a while, Marlene comes out, her hair wet with dirty clothes in her hands. She wears black leggings and a shirt so oversized, I'm surprised that it hasn't swallowed her whole...well, it actually kind of does.

"Do you want to just throw those clothes away?" I ask her, motioning to her gray sweatshirt and jeans, hopefully her underwear is in there too. Lord knows I'd want to burn that shit...

"Yeah, that's a good idea." I take them from her and begin walking down the hallway, towards the interrogation rooms. I chunk the clothes as we pass a trash can.

A couple minutes of walking brings us to a long hallway of doors and windows.

"Hey, you're probably gonna see some scary people as we walk down here through the windows and stuff, but I promise you're completely safe. They've all got hand and ankle cuffs on, so they can't even stand, okay?" Though I'm not looking at her, I know she nods. She's been through much worse than seeing a couple shady characters, it really shouldn't affect her that much.

I continue down the hallway, keeping my eyes forward, I don't like seeing all the people in these rooms, they just remind me of how many more of them there are on the streets. When we get to the end of the hallway, I open the door and let her in first. She takes a seat on the far side of the metal table and I close the door before sitting opposite of her.

"Shit," I whisper, tapping my pockets. "I forgot the recorder... Screw it, I'm using my phone."

I see a smile slip on her face, but by the time it's there, it's gone. I open the voice memo app on my phone and press the record button.

"Marlene Johnson, are you okay with this conversation being recorded?"

"Yes." I nod at her and begin speaking again.

"Your husband, Eric Johnson, is a domestic abuser, yes?"

"Yes."

"Would you mind telling me when Eric first began abusing you?"

"Um, it was about two months after we got married, so three years ago. I had accidentally spilled some...I think it was Gatorade on our carpet after getting back from the gym with him and he just lost it...we had white carpet." A tear spills out of her left eye and she wipes it away.

"How long did it take before he did it again?"

"It must have been about a month, and then it kinda just kept escalating. After about two months of that, it became every two weeks, then every week, then every other day. It took about eight months for that all to happen."

"What would you say is the worst thing he's done to you?" Her breathing speeds suddenly, and her eyes squeeze shut. I wince as her perfect nails dig into the table, making an unpleasant sound. "Marlene? Are you okay to continue?"

She nods her head, but it's like she can't open her eyes. They stay squeezed shut.

"Y-Ye-Yes, just give me a minute." I watch her as I wait, then get a text on my phone. It's from Uriah.

I'm watching on the other side of the window, do you mind pressing the button so I can hear.

I stand and walk near the door where a small silver button is placed. I press it.

"Umm..." Marlene starts, her hands shaking. "The worst thing, is after he beats me...he- he forces me to- to..."

"What does he force you to do Marlene?"

"He calls it 'making love'," She chuckles humorlessly, glancing up at the ceiling and trying to keep her tears at bay. When she speaks her next sentence, her eyes latch onto mine and her voice shakes. Just looking at her, I can hear her cry for help. "but I call it rape...and it happens almost every night." She seems to collapse into herself, and her head lands on her folded arms. Her whole body shakes as she cries and I close my own eyes before any tears leak out.

"Thank you Marlene...I think we'll pick back up tomorrow, you need to rest."

She nods her head into her arms, her whole body quaking with every sob.

"I'll be outside." I whisper, closing the door behind me. I see Uriah standing at the glass, his face a mask of anger.

"This shouldn't happen, to anyone. Ever." He spits, his jaw flexed as he clenches his teeth. His arms are crossed but I can tell that they too, are tense.

"You're right, but at least we can help the people that it does happen to."

"That's not good enough." He shouts, just as Marlene lets out an ear-piercing scream. "F*ck!" He shouts, spinning around to punch the wall behind him.

"Uriah!" I yell, the idiot shouldn't be this involved with her case. He draws his hand back, swinging it up and down as the pain eases. "What's wrong with you? Why are you so worked up about this?" I ask him, stretching forward to take his hand and inspect it.

"I don't know." He exclaims, swinging his hands around. I glare at him and grab his hand again. It's just a little red, and it might swell, but he'll be okay.

"Uri, we see this everyday. What makes her different?"

"What makes her different is the fact that she is different. She has a fight left in her, no one else in her situation does. I can't explain it, but she's...special." I nod my head in agreement.

"You're right, but be careful about where this is going, okay? She may be different, and she might be special, but she's still married." I could see it in his eyes in the control room, he likes her, but 'they' can't happen, at least not yet.

"We need to fix that then."

~*~

"Uri, you're coming to my place tonight right?" I yell across the control room. Marlene stands next to me silently as she has for the last ten minutes while I explained to everyone that she would be staying with me, for three reasons. 1.) in a girl and she isn't comfortable with guys yet. 2.) I'm an FBI agent and I can protect her if I must. 3.) I live on the top floor, which is the hardest place to get without being noticed by somebody.

"Yeah, I'll be there in an hour or two." Uriah replies.

"Also," I begin, nodding at Uriah's answer. "Where's Four?"

"He said he'd meet you at your apartment." Zeke butts in, his eyes glued to a screen filled with the pictures I took of Marlene. Hopefully, she didn't notice.

"Okay, then see you later Uri. And I'll see the rest of you guys tomorrow!" I chirp, whipping around and beckoning for Marlene to follow me.