"You fucking son of a bitch!"
Rose glared up at the ceiling as Kellogg's voice faded over the intercom. They had just battled their way through an entire building full of synths; thankfully they were all Gen 1's or Gen 2's, which were little more than thoughtless metal skeletons. If there had been any Gen 3 Coursers present, it was unlikely they would have survived.
They were in some kind of office. Kellogg- who had apparently been watching their progress since the moment they walked through the door- had just finished informing them that he was waiting on the other side. Rose was ready to burst in with gun blazing, but Hancock held her back.
"Hold up there, Sunshine," he said. "That fucker's counting on you running in there angry."
"Angry doesn't begin to fucking cover it!" she snarled. Dogmeat growled next to her, echoing her sentiment.
"Rose!" Hancock grabbed her by the shoulders. "We're gonna make this asshole pay for taking your son, but you gotta be smart about this! He's a professional killer, and if you run in there outta your mind with anger, he'll drop us both."
Rose knew he was right, and reluctantly stilled herself. She took a few deep breaths and tried to force her fury to the back of her mind; she had been doing it for months, but now that Kellogg was only a few yards away, the effort felt astronomical.
"That's better," Hancock said, satisfied that she was back under control. "I'm right behind ya, Sister. Let's go bury this fuck."
Rose nodded and brought up her shotgun, kicking the door open so that she could keep her gun ready. Hancock stayed about two feet behind her, but Dogmeat walked right next to her side, hackles raised and teeth bared. Kellogg stood about twenty feet away, surrounded by another three or so synths. He regarded her calmly, with an air that was almost like a parent or a teacher dealing with a child in the middle of a tantrum. It was infuriating.
"And there she is," he said; his gravelly voice pinged through her memory, threatening to engulf her in flashbacks. "The most resilient woman in the Commonwealth."
"Where is my son?" Rose growled, careful to stop six or so feet back, out of his reach. "Where's Shaun?!"
Kellogg shrugged. "Hmmph. Listen, lady, I'm just a puppet like you. My stage is just a little bigger is all. Shaun's a good kid… a bit older than you expected, am I right? He's doing great. Only… he's not here. He's with the people pulling the strings."
"The Institute." Rose spat out the words like they left a bad taste in her mouth. "Goddamn it, you mercenary motherfucker. You will tell me where to find my son or so help me God-"
Kellogg remained maddeningly calm. "What's the cliché? 'So close, and yet so far away?' That's Shaun. But don't worry; you'll die knowing he's safe, and happy. Safer than you could keep him in this wasteland, certainly. At least he has a loving home."
"You call the Institute loving?" Hancock scoffed. "How many times they brainwash you to make that stick?"
Kellogg ignored him, keeping his attention focused on Rose. The man looked exactly the same as he had ten years ago, when he had taken her baby and killed Nate in cold blood. He also looked… tired? Like this was a dance he had done one too many times. No doubt he had ruined countless lives in his career. But it was all going to stop now.
"Tell me where to find the Institute, Kellogg," Rose demanded.
"You don't find the Institute, lady; the Institute finds you." He cracked his knuckles and let his hand rest on the butt of his gun. "But I think we've talked long enough. We both know how this has to end. So…" He met her gaze unblinkingly. "You ready?"
"Burn in Hell."
Rose fired, but Kellogg was already moving, ducking behind one of the cubicles that were littered throughout the room. Rose started to follow him but Hancock yanked her back, pulling her behind cover just as a barrage of laser beams flashed through the air where her head had been. Dogmeat crouched next to her, inching towards where the mercenary was hiding. Tracking Kellogg for so long had put the canine on a one-track mind, and Rose kept a hand on him to make sure he didn't jump out and get shot.
"I've got the synths," Hancock said, leaning out to nail the closest one with two shots in the chest. "You get that bastard."
Rose nodded, and moved to the other side of the cubicle to poke her head out. Kellogg was waiting for her and shot his heavy .44, missing her face by centimeters. She fired a blast from her shotgun and took advantage of the second he pulled back to move forward. When he peeked around the corner again she stood against the back of the cubicle, intending to blow the back of his head out. Somehow he anticipated her attack and moved with a nearly inhuman reaction time, rolling back and out of the way of the shot. Dogmeat lunged and grabbed his arm, holding Kellogg long enough to get him clipped in the leg. Kellogg cursed and kicked the German Shepherd off with his good leg, diving behind a desk before Rose had a chance to squeeze off another shot.
Rose made to jump towards him, but he reached around and unloaded another two shots, forcing her to change direction and duck behind another desk. She yelped when a stray laser beam hit her armor, sending painful jolts along the metal bits. She turned to deal with the synth but Hancock was already on top of it, bashing the thing's head in with the butt of his double barrel.
She saw Kellogg move out of the corner of her eye and fired, just barely missing. With the injured leg he couldn't make it far, and collapsed behind another cubicle. He stood at the same time Rose did, and they both fired; his shot grazed her arm, powerful enough still to tear through her armor, but hers missed. At that moment Dogmeat darted between them like a furry lightning bolt and latched onto Kellogg's arm, viciously thrashing his head back and forth. It gave Rose just the opportunity she needed; her shotgun boomed, hitting him square in the chest. He fell back, and without hesitation Rose ran forward and emptied the rest of her magazine into him, firing long after he was clearly dead.
Rose stood over his body, a white-knuckle grip on her shotgun. Her entire body was shaking. Kellogg laid at her feet, much of his body now a pulpy, bloody mess. Dogmeat lingered, still growling as though he didn't trust the mercenary to stay dead.
A feeling of panic and helplessness started to rise up inside of her. She had come all this way, fought so many enemies, and for what? She was no further now than she had been. All Kellogg had done was confirm what she already knew.
"Leave it to you to take out the most dangerous man in the Commonwealth," Hancock said, stepping over the synth wreckage to come up next to her. "Remind me to never piss you off."
Rose didn't answer, glancing around instead to see if there were any clues left behind. One computer was untouched by lasers or bullets and seemed to be running; she knelt in front of it, her fingers rapidly tapping out a hacking sequence.
"Hmmm," she murmured, scanning the documents that opened up before her. It seemed like some sort of report log, with details on her and other targets around the Commonwealth. One report spoke about delivering Shaun to the Institute, and setting up camp here in Fort Hagen to prepare for the "renegade" – which meant her, if she assumed correctly. But there was no information about where the Institute was located, or how to get in. After deactivating the security lockdown, she shoved away from the desk in disgust. Of course Kellogg wouldn't have left anything that sensitive on an open terminal… he was a scumbag, but he wasn't stupid.
She stood and walked back over to search Kellogg's body. She palmed his gun and what ammo he had left, and paused when she noticed something odd attached to his skull above his ear. With some effort she got a decent grip on it and yanked it out, trying not to gag at the bits of brain matter that came with it. It looked to be some sort of cybernetic implant. Thinking that it could prove useful at some point, she carefully wrapped it in some fabric torn from Kellogg's shirt, and stored it away in her pack.
With no other clues or information to be pilfered, Rose and Hancock made to leave Fort Hagen. They would have to make the trek back to Diamond City to tell Nick about what they found – or didn't find. But Rose decided to take them into Sanctuary first. It was close by; they could resupply there and maybe get a decent night's sleep in actual beds before going on their next crusade.