Bare Hands (Sequel To No Sympathy)

Desicions

"Tobias." She says semi-quietly.

"Mother." I am surprised by how I address her.  I am still very upset with what she did to me all of those years ago, but I am willing to let it go now that Marcus is gone.

If he's gone.

Realizing that Tris witnessed all of that and is probably more confused than ever, I brush past my mom and continue into the crowd.

As I'm walking away, I hear Caleb say, "I thought she was dead."

I'm almost out of earshot when Tris says, "Me too."

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Evelyn is having dinner with us.

I don't know where the rumors that the Factionless were poor came from, because they are most certainly not. The table is laden with food.  Everything from wine in glasses to carrots and ham on our plates.

But that is definitely not the reason she invited us to dinner.

She wants something.

I'll just have to sit here long enough to find out.

All of a sudden, Tris sits up in her chair and looks at Evelyn.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on here?" She asks, clearly pissed that no one told her about this.

"Tobias's father was very abusive." Evelyn begins. As if she doesn't already know that. "I knew that the only way to escape him was to...disappear completely.  Abnegation helped me fake my death.  I did it to protect Marcus's image."

Tris interrupts her. "But you just left him there alone with Marcus."

"I was very young." She says.

I look up at her. She's making excuses.  Apparently she wasn't that young because she somehow got  Abnegation to fake her death for her, and that takes experience.

"I reached out to him about a year ago." She states. "I felt it was finally time to reconnect with him."

I chuckle.  If asking me to run her rebellion is her idea of "reconnecting" with me then she needs to work on her parenting skills.

"I'm still your mother." She looks me in the eye. 

I stare back. "No, my mother's dead. I went to her funeral when I was six." I turn my gaze to Tris. "She wasn't trying to reconnect with me. She was trying to use me." I look back at her. "Like you are now."

"What?" Tris whispers to me.

"She wants and army." I tell them.  Almost immediately Caleb turns to Evelyn. 

"An army?"

"I want an Alliance." She lies.

"No. What you want is revenge."

"This isn't about me." I chuckle again. "This is about putting an end to a system that says one group is more deserving than another. This city may be surrounded by a wall, but it doesn't have to be a prison."

Caleb speaks up, surprisingly. "I think that's an extreme. I mean the Faction system isn't perfect but it's hardly a prison."

"Let me guess...Erudite?"

He looks down at his food. "I was Erudite."

Evelyn just nods.

"You're going to kill Jeanine?" Tris asks her.

"Absolutely.  When I was married to Marcus I knew her well. Believe me there's nothing she isn't capable of. And I think you already know that."

"Tris." I give her the look. "We can't trust her."

"We're on the same side Tris. I'm Factionless because I don't fit in to any one faction, and you're Divergent because you belong to too many.  But we're both a threat to Jeanine. My people are ready for war if that's what it takes."

I can't take this anymore. 

"Then what?!"

"We dispose of those in power."

I know where she's going with this.

"And once you've done that...Once you've killed Jeanine. Who'll be in power then?" She doesn't answer. "See that's the part she always conveniently leaves out.  Don't you tell me this isn't about you. This is only about you."

She doesn't speak for a few seconds.  But when she gets that knowing glint in her eyes again, she speaks.

"I know where the remaining Dauntless are hiding."

"Where?" Tris asks.

"They took shelter in Candor. As far as I know they're still there." I exchange a glance with Tris. "Think about it. If we were to combine forces - Dauntless and Factionless - we'd be unstoppable."

"That's not gonna happen. Thank you for your hospitality, but we'll be leaving in the morning."

Tris sits up. "Four maybe this is it-"

Evelyn cuts her off.

"Tobias, please reconsider-"

I bang my fist down - hard - on the table, knocking several glasses over and point an accusing finger at Evelyn. "Don't you call me that.  My name is Four." I abruptly push back my chair and leave the table.

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HOPE YOU HUMANS ENJOYED I AM RUNNING LATE FOR SOMETHING PEACE GUYS!