The man clambered at her ankles, grabbing at her boots with desperation as he begged and pleaded for the bottle of water she held between her fingers lazily. Vicious, hazel eyes shifted to the broken and dying man; alighting with burning hatred for the pathetic creature. She smirked to herself, moving the bottle over the man's head and dumping the contents on him with a disgusting level of amusement. The man dared to whine in her presence, receiving the plastic bottle when she threw it at his face before pressing the barrel of a sawed-off shotgun to the man's forehead.
His eyes welled with fear, the wolfish grin of the golden-haired woman seeming to grow more sinister by the heartbeat. Before she could pull the trigger, the metal walkway to Rivet City groaned and screeched into place; allowing her to cross onto the boat. She looked to the two guardsmen positioned by Rivet City's entrance, then to the pathetic creature quivering before her. She wanted to tell the sad excuse for a human being to beg for his life, yet, chose to kill him without a word instead. Blood and gore splattered across the steel of the walkway, the woman holstering her weapon and striding towards the entrance of Rivet City.
Harkness was filled with a sudden regret, looking at the headless body of the poor man, his brow furrowing in disgust and sorrow, as the woman stopped before him "Howdy," she greeted far too nonchalantly for a woman who just took a life - a Regulator none-the-less.
"I thought Regulators didn't take innocent lives," he growled at her.
She quirked a brow at this, looking him over as though he was mad, before looking down at her worn and blood splattered clothes. "Oh," She said absentmindedly, tugging at the collar of her duster, "well, Regulators don't." She looked back at him "I've come to see Doctor Li, where can I find her?"
He gritted his teeth, hearing a faint buzz in his ears at his irritation "What's it to you?" He asked.
"I require her assistance with a... Personal matter," she replied, "where can I find her?"
"Well, excuse me for not wanting to answer that question," he bit back, holding his ground, "we don't exactly take kindly to murderers here."
She chuckled, the sound low and dark; setting both guardsmen on edge "I can assure you, I have no reason to kill Doctor Li. I was informed by a man named Three Dogs that she may have information on a man that I am trying to find."
"And let me guess, that man's, what? Your next hit?" He hissed.
All amusement at the situation she held seemed to disintegrate at his comment "I don't like having to ask more than once, and you're really pushing it - Where is doctor Li?" She pressed, air becoming cold, almost as though all the warmth was being sucked from it to put fuel the burning fire of hatred in her eyes.
Harkness went to spit a retort when the guard by his side spoke up "The Science Lab, just through that door there," He nodded to the door on her left, their right, and hoped that she would leave them be "Follow the signs."
"Thank you," She smiled at this, almost like a mask was slipping into place; the expression so flawlessly innocent that it threw both of the men off guard. "Have a good day."
The alarms still rung around her, her hands trembling as she gripped the baseball bat with all she had. What had possessed her to reject that pistol? Damn her and her emotions, allowing Amata to run off with the now necessary weapon, what had she even been thinking? She could hear the argumentative shouts between The Overseer and Amata, vicious agreements of the head guardsmen echoing after the old man's accusations. She let out a shaky breath, doing her best to steady herself but finding little chance to do so. That was when she heard gunshots ring out. She spun around the corner, seeing Amata holding a gun at her own father, officer Mac lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.
"Nikki!" Amata called out, panic evident in her eyes.
"Amata," Nikki let out a breath, holding the bat in her hands with new found confidence. Before she could say a thing, she caught a glimpse of the overseer as he began to reach for a pistol at his waist. She lunged forward, slamming the bat into the old man's shoulder, sending him crashing into the ground. Amata gave a shriek, watching her best friend stand over her father and aim the bat at his nose "Amata, get out of here," She ordered.
At this, the Overseer's daughter ran from the room; dropping the pistol on her way out. "I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," He growled up at the younger.
"This was a long time coming," She bit out, trying to sound confident, despite the fact that it was already starting to waiver, "tell me the passcode for your terminal and give me the key to your office door." She could see the reluctance in the mans eyes. A smug sense of superiority became scrawled on his face at the sign of her faintly trembling hands; lack of courage beginning to show. Nikki gritted teeth and tried to picture someone else there in some other situation. Her hands steadied suddenly, a fire igniting in her eyes that chilled him to the core "Amata is my friend, she trusts me, but, if you don't give me what I ask I will hurt her."
"You're a cold-blooded little shit, aren't you?" The Overseer was quiet for a long moment "It's in the terminal over there." He nodded at the terminal positioned on the desk by a cell. Nikki approached the desk, stooping down and picking up the 10mm pistol as she made her way towards it, and brought the terminal to life. She glanced back at the overseer, aiming the pistol at his head as she downloaded the information to her pip-boy. She glanced back at the device, nodding to herself when it was done.
Moving to the door, she stopped in the doorway and half turned to half face him. "Amata was the closet thing I ever had to a friend outside of Jonas, I would never hurt, so, I can't make you suffer the way you have made me," She aimed down the barrel of the pistol, a hatred she had never felt before burning in her chest. "You could have survived this if you hadn't killed Jonas." She fired the weapon; bullet finding a new home in his skull. She turned and started towards his office.
She froze when she entered the main room, looking down at body lying in the centre of the floor. She took shaky steps towards Jonas's dead body, dropping to her knees. She placed a warm hand on the dead man's cheek, tears welling up in her eyes "God… Jonas..." She said, voice breaking under the weight of her pain.
"You…. Killed him…. Didn't you?" Amata's voice would have knocked Nikki off-guard if she was not so overwhelmed by the pain that threatened to break the strings of heart, "you killed my father."
She cared not, tears falling freely onto the doctor's lab coat, "Jonas." She whispered softly, "I-I'm so sorry," She cried, "I'm so, so, sorry."
"You should be!" Amata shouted, voice echoing in the small room, "my father is dead! I thought you were my friend!" She screamed.
Nikki took Jonas's glasses from his face, closing his eyes gently before replacing the spectacles. She then looked to the holotape clutched in his grip. Gingerly pushing back his fingers, she took it from his grasp. Standing, she approached the other woman, positioned in the doorway of a room that led off from the one she was in now "I hope you never have to lose the man you love." She said clearly before kicking Amata in the stomach to send her reeling back into the room. She shut the door, shooting the panel so it was locked. She knew Paul or Stanley would be able to fix it when this mess was over, and, knew it would be better if Amata was not seen with her when she finally left the vault.
As she turned to go to the office, she began to study the holotape titled "Note from dad"
"Don't mean to rush you, Doc, but I'd feel better if we got this over with." Jonas's familiar voice rang out through the pip-boy's speakers.
"Okay, Go ahead." He paused, taking in a ragged breath, "goodbye. I love you." Her dad's final words to her echoed through the cracks in her heart, the holotape running out of recording. She rubbed her eyes with her palms, clearing away the tears that had begun to bloom in her eyes.
Doctor Li had not been available for questioning, to her dismay, and so the young woman was left with pathetic objectives that she had not bothered to pursue wholeheartedly. It had taken her well over an hour to dig up enough information on the legend named Pinkerton, now, she was waiting on news on how to get into the bow of the ship. This Android from the Commonwealth seemed to have numerous ties leading to Rivet City. It made her wonder if the being was even here anymore.
"Hey. You." Harkness's sharp voice called out, the dangerous woman turning to look him over.
"Hey, you." She gave back in a way that was far more flirtatious than the man had greeted her. She proceeded to grin at the snarl that cursed his face, only serving to irritate him more "Such a cute snarl, you know, I have friends in Andale that would just love you." She teased, getting to her feet and approaching him "Bill would just eat you up." She invaded his personal space, moving so close their noses almost touched "I would just eat you up" She said on a low, dangerous voice. She suddenly smacked him in the chest, sending him reeling as she walked past "I guess Doctor Li is back." Without the need for an answer, the 'pirate of the wastes' was gone; vanishing into the depths of the rusted tub known as Rivet City.