Bare Hands (Sequel To No Sympathy)

Bribery

After leaving the table, I march up the stairs and slam the door to me and Tris's room.

I just need some time to think.

It's bad enough Evelyn wants to use me, now she's trying to get Tris and Caleb on board too.

And they seem to be buying it.

My mother knows how to bribe people all too well.

After a few seconds of deep breaths, the door opens, and I know without looking that is Tris.

She comes up behind me and hugs me around the waist and we just stand like that for several minutes.

Until I break the silence.

"I should've told you about her." I say quietly.

And then I turn around to face Tris.

"No more secrets, okay?" I ask.

She doesn't say anything.

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In the middle of the night, just as I'm trying to go to sleep, I feel someone gently rubbing my shoulder.

At first I think it's Tris, but when I open my eyes, it's my mother, looking almost nothing like she was before - power hungry and controlling.

She actually looks like my mother now.

My mother who's supposed to be dead.

And just for a second, I figure I'm in a dream. I figure that I'm dreaming about being back in Abnegation and my mother is waking me up to tell me to get up for school.

Only I know this isn't true, because I'm still in the same room in Factionless sleeping in the same bed with Tris, and my mom is wearing the same clothes she was earlier. And as much ad I want to, I can't let my guard down, no matter how she looks.

No matter how much I want my mother back.

"Evelyn what do you want?" I ask her drowsily, quickly glancing over at Tris to make sure I haven't woken her up.

Evelyn puts her hands up in surrender. "I just want to talk."

With some reluctance, I follow her to the other side of the room, glancing back at Tris every few seconds to make sure she's okay.

After we're as far away from Tris as I'm willing to go she turns around to face me.

"You know what I need from you Tobias. Have you even considered my offer?"

I fight the urge to snort. Is she really coming to me with this again?!

"Yes I've considered your offer, and my answer is the same as it was when you first asked me. Actually it's more like a 'heck no' now that you've tried to get Tris involved too. And on top of that, you haven't given me any details."

"I've told you enough. And I need your help."

"Well you're going to have to tell me something if you expect me to help you." I'm not letting her get off easy. "Though I'm still not sure why you need me."

"Fine." She folds her arms in defeat. "What do you want to know?"

"How do you know where the Dauntless are taking shelter?" That's a pretty good question in my opinion.

"Factionless has been keeping a close eye on a certain group of people that have shown up in Dauntless and our other Factionless safe houses. And I bet you can guess what group of people it is."

"I'm not in the mood for guessing." I'm tired of her beating around the bush.

I think I see her roll her eyes, but it's too dark to tell. "The Divergent. We've been keeping track of the Divergent."

"But how do you know who they are?" I ask.

"Before the simulation attack, the Abnegation aid administered something very similar to the Aptitude Test on members of their Faction and the Factionless search for a certain genetic anomoly. After the taunt was finished, it was brought to our attention that we might have the highest Divergent population out of everyone on the city."

My eyebrows push together. "I don't understand... Why-"

She cuts me off with that knowing look on her face.

"Why would Factionless have a high Divergent population? Obviously people who don't fit into any one category would be the most likely to leave a Faction or fail initiation."

"No, that's not what I was going to ask." I tell, already becoming annoyed. "What I want to know is why you care about where the Divergent are?"

"Ever since the attack, Erudite has been looking for more manpower. They've found some in Dauntless, but there have been rumors of people running away or leaving, so when they need more manpower, they'll almost certainly come looking here first, since we're one of the biggest groups in the city. But they won't do it if that find out how many Divergent we have. So even if they never find out, I would still like to know how many of us can resist simulations."

I shake my head, trying to get it to remember what my goal here is.

"And where exactly do I come in?"

"You are going to be the person that will bridge the gap between Dauntless and Factionless. They need someone to look to for guidance and since you're already an Instructor they should have no problem with it."

"Do you think I'm important to Dauntless? Because I'm not. They don't look up to me. Fear me is more like it."

She looks me in the eye.

"Then I suggest you become important. I'm sure you can find a way if you really want to." She opens the door to the room and is about to walk out when she turns back around and says, "The door is always open."

And then she's gone.

As I go back to lay down with Tris I can't help but feel a bit less mad with my mother. Her points were logical if not a little egotistical, and I'm actually considering helping her.

What is happening to me?!

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Yup here it is! Hope you guys enjoyed! Sorry its so late!! =) this chapter was sort of boring to write so it took longer...