I stared at myself in the mirror. Tonight was the 'update party' on whatever it was that Jeanine was planning on putting to action. And it was a dress up event. For the occasion I wore a black, cap-sleeved dress that had draping in the bust area. The dress went straight down and was fairly long, reaching my ankles in my five inch black heels. I put my hair up in a neat, tight bun that was wrapped in a pearl headband.
I wore minimal makeup, only putting on mascara and eyeliner. I also dusted my face with baby powder to make my skin look a little paler. Lastly, for jewelry, I wore my mother's pearl earring and necklace set my adoptive father gave me when I was sixteen. He said it was one of the valuable things he saved for me from when he took me away from Amity.
I wasn't used to having to get all fancied up like this. I always stuck to wearing my regular clothing. But, if I had to dress up, I would put on a black blazer to somewhat portray a formal style. I wasn't into the whole dress look. But, why not try something different for once?
I kept my piercings in, afraid that taking them out would cause the holes to close up easily.
"You look ravishing."
I turned around to see Lucas leaning in the doorway of my bathroom, eyeing me. I felt heat rush to my cheeks.
"Shut up. You're lying."
He sighed and smiled, walking behind me and looked into the same mirror I was looking in. He hugged me from behind, his arms wrapping around my waist and his chin resting on my shoulder.
"I'm serious, Adelaide."
"I know," I said, sighing.
"So stop thinking you're not."
I huffed as he turned me around and embraced me that way. My arms made their way to wrap around his neck. That would never happen. You see, I was never one to think of myself as fairly attractive. There were too many flaws that I saw within myself that I never enjoyed thinking I could be beautiful.
His hand starts to trace circles on my back, "No matter what you think, to me you are gorgeous."
I smiled a little bit before kissing his cheek, "Thank you."
Our embrace diminished as I went into my bedroom to slip on my black dress gloves.
"So, what is this event?"
"Eric told me it was just a fancy gathering between the Erudite and Dauntless officials. Something about plans that could guarantee a better future for everyone."
"And you're going with him?" Lucas asked, heaviness in his tone.
I nodded, "It's the only way I could get in."
Lucas nodded, "Do you have a weapon on you?"
I smiled and lifted my dress up to show him a knife holster tightened around my right thigh.
"Of course! I wouldn't leave without it."
Lucas smiled, "Sexy."
Blush covered my face as I quickly straightened my dress out back to its original form. I headed towards the living room to pick up my silver clutch.
Knock, knock!
"That's him," I said, going to the door to greet him.
I opened the door to see Eric in a matte black, ironed tuxedo with a white dress shirt and black tie. His blond hair was slicked back, showing off his perfectly shaped facial features. and his enhanced blue eyes He left his two eyebrow piercings in, which only made him look much sexier.
Eric's expression immediately went softer when he saw me in the doorway. I didn't know what that meant, but I took it as a not so good expression.
"You look..." Eric started, "stunning."
A bright smile took over my face, "Thank you. You look dashing. I think this style suits you."
A light pink dusted over his cheeks, leaving me to believe that I had just made the coldest man in this faction blush.
He, however, shook it off right away and looked back to Lucas, "She will be home around eleven o'clock at night. However, I cannot guarantee that she will be home by then."
Lucas nodded, "Just make sure it isn't too late. She has to help with the simulations tomorrow morning."
Eric snorted, "Okay, dad."
Lucas huffed at Eric's comment. What was going on between them?
Eric then looked at me and held his arm out, "Shall we?"
I nodded, hooking my arm with his and saying goodbye to Lucas before closing the door.
"Now, I must warn you," Eric started as he guided me down countless hallways and doors. "Jeanine is not necessarily the one to accept what other people think about her plans. So, I suggest if you have some sort of concern, you wait until we come back here and either discuss it with me or Max. Otherwise, just nod to Jeanine and only ask questions and make comments if needed."
I nodded, but I knew that that was a promise I would not be able to keep. I was notorious for expressing my blunt opinion, so it is not certain that I will follow that rule.
In a matter of minutes, we arrived to the front of the compound where a line of blue cars were waiting to take us to the compound. Eric and I were in the first car.
Upon arriving, Eric became a fabulous gentlemen and opened my door, holding out a hand to help me out of the car. The compound was rather tall with the structure being made of glass. The glass showed the countless offices and staircases that wound to the top of the building, where there was a large library.
Hooking arms with me, Eric led me to the entrance of the building and through countless hallways that eventually led up to a set of tall, glass double doors. Through the glass I could see a long, dark oak table and chair set with blue plates and centerpieces. At the end was a blank, white screen that I guessed was set up for a presentation.
A couple of waiters opened the doors for us to be met by the one and only: Jeanine Matthews.
She seemed to be the stereotypical Erudite: proper and dressed in blue. Her blond hair was down, covering the shoulders of her blue blazer she pulled off well. Her eyes were dull and her lips formed a fake smile.
"Good evening, Eric," she said in a somewhat relaxed tone.
"Good evening, Jeanine. I'm hoping to see great results from your experiments."
"You're in luck," she noted, turning to look at me with a concerned look. "Who's this?"
I smiled and held my hand out for her to shake, "I'm Adelaide Foster, Special Ops Officer."
Jeanine looked at me with a stunned face, "Adelaide 'Popper' Foster?"
I nodded, "The one and only."
She immediately shook my hand, "It is an honor to meet you."
I shook my head, "The honor is mine. I am interested in seeing what you have planned."
She smiled, "Someone of your caliber of intelligence should understand the meaning of this movement."
I nodded, "I sure hope so."
She nodded, looking back and forth between Eric and I.
"Are you two together?"
I was taken aback by her question. What kind of question was that?
Eric beat me to an answer, "Yes, in fact we just started dating. She is still kind of nervous on telling people since her adoptive father doesn't know of the news yet."
"Oh, who is your father?"
"Sam Quinlin."
An amused expression rose upon her pale face, "I see. Well, I hope you two last a long while."
With that, she left to go have a brief conversation with Max and Lauren. Meanwhile, I took the initiative to elbow Eric in the ribs. Hard.
"What was that for?!" Eric whispered as we went to our seats.
"Why did you say that!?"
"Jeanine needs to know that she can trust you. If she knows that we are in someway intimate, than that will tell her that I trust you, and therefore she can trust you. Trust me on this one. Just fake it for one night," he said, intertwining his fingers with mine.
I sighed deeply, "Fine. But you owe me."
"Name your price and it will be done."
I nodded and looked straight ahead to see Jeanine's assistant. He had brown, somewhat mid length hair, brown eyes, and somewhat puffy lips. He had on a blue tuxedo, and sat up straight in his chair. For some reason, his facial features reminded me of Tris. He nodded towards me and smiled, showing a welcome gesture. I did the same before Jeanine began to speak.
"Ladies and gentleman, it is my greatest pleasure to announce the arrival of one of the most important men in history. Allow me to introduce the Erudite leaders to Sam Quinlin, the new head of the Dauntless Faction."
Entering through the doors was the man that I had recognized with the shaved head and short stature.
"Good evening everyone. It is an honor to be here, and I hope there is a chance for progression to promote a better society for not just us, but for society as a whole," he said before looking around only to meet my eyes. A shocked expression was held in his eyes, and his jaw looked slightly tense. He made his way and sat in the empty chair next to me, leaning in to whisper in my ear.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was invited by Eric."
My father hesitantly nodded and turned to talk to Jeanine.
Soon after my father's arrival, dinner was served. I was honestly expecting there to be blue food, but to my dismay there was none.
The mood was quiet and settle, and no one was paying attention to anyone. Well, until Jeanine decided she wanted to start up a conversation.
"So, Adelaide," Jeanine started, "how did you end up at the Dauntless training facility again? Don't you work with the Special Ops?"
I nodded, "Yes, but my partner and I were requested by Max to show off some of our advanced skills to the new incoming initiates. Even though we are still on emergency call, our main priority at the moment is to be role models and help them get through the initiation progress."
"I see," she stated. "What is the connection between you and Eric?"
I tensed up at her question, but felt Eric's hand squeeze my own, which made me calmer.
I came up with a facade, "Well, at first we liked to but heads a lot. We both have strong opinions and certain ways we want to run things. But, we always in the end figure out some sort of compromise. And it led to where we are now."
As I spoke, my father looked at me with an eyebrow quirked. He knew something was up. There was going to be a lot of explaining to do.
She nodded and smirked, "That's healthy."
An awkward silence fell over us as we finished our meals. But, it soon went away when Jeanine summoned the waiters to take our plates and give our undivided attention to her.
"Now, to recap from last time. As we all know anyone who is pronounced Divergent is seen as a threat. They have the power to ruin the way in which our elders have decided us to live. It has been recently discovered that most of these Divergents have been found to be either from Abnegation or have ended up Factionless. It is rumored that Abnegation is harboring these Divergents and protecting them too soon use them against us in the near future..."
As she went on about her plan, images started to project through the screen. They were pictures of suspected Divergents and of the Abnegation community. However, a video popped up showcasing a teenage boy, who was dressed in Factionless clothing, on a testing table.
"...and in response to this, I have devised a plan. In this video, I took a subject who is not Divergent and put him under a serum. The serum is able to suppress his emotions and thought process, and it able to control who he does and does not listen to. This way, we have found that we are able to command him to do whatever we wished. Here is the proof."
Playing the video, they told him to do some of the basic commands: salute, sit, stand, etc... Although they were simple, they expressed such a topic that we could actually figure out a way to control anyone. My only problem was that Eric told me that this would not be able to control the Divergents, so how is this relevant to the situation?
Jeanine went on, "As you can see, it has promised excellent results on anyone who isn't Divergent. My plan is to inject all initiates and Dauntless members, except for the leaders, a 'tracker device' into their neck. This will make sure that the initiates do not expect anything.This will have to be done after the conclusion of the third stage, since it will take time to fully go through their system. Once they are under a trance, we will be able to command them onto a train to Abnegation. Once they arrive, they will be commanded to take all citizens out of their homes to be shot and killed."
My breath hitched and my body tensed. She wants to kill all of them? That's pure insanity! Wiping out an entire faction?
"After this, Erudite will be passed over the opportunity to run the government they way it should be. Are there any concerns?"
No one spoke up, meaning everyone was on board with the idea, including my father.
"Adelaide, I want your opinion on this."
I looked at Jeanine with a confused expression, "May I ask why?"
"I think that your work and success has been strictly based on intelligence. I want your opinion."
Everyone's eyes were on me. Eric looked at me and mouthed what he was told me earlier.
I cleared my throat and sat up, "I can see your intentions and can understand your reasoning. Personally, I believe that it is inhumane to kill citizens this way. That leads me to ask you this: Do you think there is any possible ways that Divergents could actually serve a purpose?"
"What do you mean?" Jeanine asked in a intrigued tone.
"You say that Divergents are able to fit into all societies. Couldn't they serve well as spies or assassins in Dauntless? It would save a lot of time in a training aspect, since it took me several months to actually achieve blending in."
Jeanine nodded, "That is true. However, that would only conclude a way for them to turn against us."
"So then we put them under an oath. That's what all the Special Ops members have to do."
Jeanine stared into my eyes for a little bit. I could tell she didn't really care about my opinion, but chose to listen to it. "You may be onto something. For now, however, I want you to consider my plan."
Now I got mad. Did she not understand that I am trying to prevent a war from happening?
"I will consider it, but it doesn't mean that I will comply with it. The fact that you want to kill innocent people because of a special ability that we don't know a lot about shows me that you yourself don't know a lot about this matter. If anything, YOU should consider change."
Oh, did I make her mad. Her eyebrows furrowed downward, and her lips were pressed in a hard line.
"I have all of the information I need. Now, I would like it of you at least discussed the matter with Eric and at least agree on this."
I shook my head, "You are asking to agree with the idea of wiping out a faction. To murder INNOCENT men, women, and children who may not even be Divergent. The last I heard, Dauntless members are supposed to protect all citizens, not murder them because of suspicion-"
"Adelaide Ophelia!"
I quickly shut my mouth when my father said my full name. I gave him a quick glance. He was not happy with me.
"I apologize for my daughter's outbreak. I will make sure that she considers the proposal and to help out with the plan."
Jeanine smiled lightly, "It's quite alright, I knew it would happen. I know it's a lot to process, so it was expected. That would be very much appreciated. I believe we are done for tonight. Thank you all for coming."
Without saying goodbye, I quickly walked out of the banquet hall, not waiting for anyone.
"Adelaide!"
I kept walking.
"Adelaide!"
Someone roughly grabbed my arms and I turned around to slap the person responsible. However, the someone quickly grabbed my hand.
"What the hell was that back there?" my father questioned.
"The truth. She wants to commit murder in order to get what she wants. That's inhumane!"
"But she has a strong point! These people pose a threat to us."
"How do you know that, dad?! Have you ever encountered one that was bloodthirsty or tried to fuck with the system?!"
"Watch your mouth missy!"
"No, I won't! The fact that you are allowing your faction to do this disgusts me! You have always been the one to tell me that people should only die with a purpose! This is definitely not-"
Slap!
A shocked expression came over my face as I felt the stinging sensation. My father, of all people, had slapped me. He had never had to slap me a day in his life. And now the fact that he won't listen to his own daughter made me upset.
"Adelaide, I-"
"Leave me alone."
I walked away instantly and held my cheek, tears starting to flow down my cheeks and over my hand.
The chauffeur held the door open for me as I went to sit down in the freshly scented car. I quickly wiped my tears off of my face, pretending like nothing had happened when Eric came into the car.
Most of the car ride was silent. I could see Eric steal a couple glances from me. All I wanted to do was cry. Cry because my father wouldn't listen to me, for the people who have a death sentence, for the cruelty the factions are starting to show.
I could feel Eric's arm wrap around my shoulders.
"It's okay, Adelaide. Cry."
That's when all of the tears unleashed themselves from
my eyes. I brought Eric close to me and rested in the crook of his neck. His hand made circles on my back, attempting to calm me down.
"Look, everything is going to be fine. We'll talk about it later."
I nodded, "Why are you being nice? Isn't this the part where you tell me to suck it up and deal with it?"
A light chuckle came from his lips, "Well, maybe this time you have a reason to cry." That was the last thing I remember him saying before I passed out from the endless crying.