Bare Hands (Sequel To No Sympathy)

Candor

Candor looks bad. It looks like not many people care about its well-being, which is probably the case.

Before we walk in, I stop and take in Tris and I's reflection in the glass doors.

I look much more determined than I feel, but I suppose that's a good thing. That way, no one notices the indecision and insecurity inside me.

Tris, on the other hand, looks just as strong as I expect her to be. She looks like she's contemplating something in her head, and maybe she is. I stifle the urge to ask her what's going on in her head.

"Here we go." I tell her.

And then I open the door and walk in.

The light from outside floods in, brightening the room we're in and allowing me to see that it is surprisingly not dirty at all, and it's more than obviously that someone indeed does care about its well-being. Across the room is an elevator that looks very shiny, which isn't surprising. Black tiles line the floors and in the middle of the room, painted largely on the floor is the Candor faction symbol - the uneven scales. Truth and lies.

And to top the upkeep all off, there are Dauntless guards everywhere. They are all armed.

And as if she read my mind, one of the guards, as if noticing us all of a sudden, turns to us with her gun pointed in our direction.

"Identify yourselves." She says stoically, approaching us slowly.

Before we can answer, several other Dauntless guards notice the predicament and turn to look at us, their guns still at their sides.

"Four." Someone from the crowd of Dauntless guards says loudly. I find him and nod, happy to know that at least someone here knows we're not here to cause trouble. "And that one's Tris. They're both Dauntless."

The woman still doesn't lower her gun.

"A little help here?" She asks loudly. I assume she's talking to the Dauntless guards because they raise their guns and approach us cautiously, like they expect us to attack them.

"Is there a problem?" I ask.

"Are you armed?" I look at her like she's stupid.

"Of course I'm armed, I'm Dauntless aren't I?"

"Put your hands behind you head." She says firmly and loudly. I search my mind, trying to figure out what is going on, but I can't come up with anything. In my peripheral vision I see Tris glance at me.

Resigned, I raise my hands begind my head and wait for Tris to follow suit.

"We walked through the front door." Tris says, still trying to reason with them. "Do you think we would have done that if we wanted to hurt you?"

When no one answers her, she copies my position as the Dauntless guards come forth and search me for weapons. I fight the strong urge to snatch it back from them when they take my gun.

"I have a knife in my waistband. Touch me and I'll make you regret it." Tris says firmly.

"What's going on?" I ask. She looks around and meets the eyes of the rest of the guards.

"I'm sorry." She meets my eyes. "But we were instructed to arrest you upon your arrival."

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Yup! I got it up! Yeah! Sorry it's a bit shorter than usual... How you guys enjoyed this! =)