Chapter Text
A stack of papers wakes me from daydreams of space.
“Cord,” a voice chirps, and I lift my head to see Daniel, my boss. “You’re taking on the Erudite Amity case.” He’s a gentle faced man with brown eyes and hair to match, his chessboard suit resting comfortably on his frame. “You okay with that?” I look at him for a moment, studying his stance and smile before nodding. “Of course I am,” I respond, with an ounce of spite in my answer. I reach towards the hill of papers that litter my desk and grab the first one; it’s a photocopy of last Tuesday’s newspaper, the headline reading “ERUDITE + AMITY RUTHLESSLY BEATEN” in frustrating capitals. I look up to Daniel. “This seems like an easy solve, right?”
Daniel shakes his head. “Nope,” he replies. “We’ve spoken to every person who was there, Candor or not, and they all didn’t see the assailant. Maybe try heading over to Dauntless to grab some footage to see if you can find ‘em,” Daniel suggests, shrugging his shoulders. Daniel walks away, wishing me luck on the case. As soon as he leaves, I begin to scour through the papers; a few contain photos of the victims’ injuries, blood flooding their faces, broken bones and a black eye are all I can handle right now, so those get demoted back to the table. I trade them for information on the victims, an Erudite teacher and an Amity florist. The two were notable friends, and would usually visit the other during work breaks or free time. The florist looks very well…Amity. Long blonde hair with a smile that would make anyone happy. The teacher is an elementary one, and the blue glasses shine a wonderful ray of sunlight onto his face. The two look like a happy few friends, so why would someone beat them up?
I stand up, grabbing my monochrome jacket. Daniel was right- start with Dauntless footage, then go from there. I drag my jacket around my frame and walk out the office, and onto a busy street. A collection of Abnegation politely smile and wave at me, and I return the gesture; some Amity and Dauntless are trading art tips on the green across the street, and, as usual, some Erudite and Candor are down the rabbit hole of another debate. It’s nice to see factions mixing together, but I walk down to a metro stop and wait, the case still lingering on my mind. Metro after metro passes by, with factionites getting on and off like sardines, but it takes a short while before one to the Dauntless compound arrives, empty as a nest in summer. I get on, glancing over the advertisements dotted around the metro cart. Some are outdated, like the Erudite lecture on improving Amity’s farming technologies and last year’s Abnegation food drive, but others are more recent, with my eyes being cast over to the city wide market notice for next week- I should probably go, it’ll be good to get my hands on some Amity art for the apartment, and some good Dauntless cake. I hang onto a pole and allow an eldery Abnegation take the chair close by, with her gratefully nodding in thanks as she sat down. The car begins to move and chug along the tracks, the skyline of our city’s rebuilt towers and skyscrapers coming into view, shining like diamonds in the midday sun. The car stops at a few landmarks, like the Hub, where most of the passengers leave, before arriving at the Dauntless compound.
I step off the car and walk into the compound, a myriad of tattoos, dyed hair and fingerless gloves hit me. A few look in my direction, others ignore me as I encounter the blacked out doors into the main Dauntless building. I’m greeted by a harsh-headed receptionist, fully decked out in tattoos and fingerless gloves. “Hi,” I sound out, “Cord Holland. Faction Investigations. I need to look at some of your footage for a case.” The receptionist looks up before gliding their chair over to the desk’s computer, tapping the keys rhythmically for a moment before stopping. “Take the elevator up to the fourteenth floor, and ask for Sean- he’s in charge of city footage,” they reply, casting their eyes back over the computer and gesturing towards the rustic black elevators of Dauntless. “Thanks,” I mutter before ambling towards the elevator, clicking the number ‘14’ and waiting for the doors to shut before me.
The elevator shoot me up to the Fourteenth floor, and I wait a while before I step out.