A/N: I own nothing except the laptop I wrote this story on.
The sun was rising over the great ocean, and Piper shivered a little bit as she looked out towards it. There was a lot of activity going on in the Castle, even moreso than usual. And part of the anxiety came from the fact that there were more than just Minutemen troops and caravans in the area.
There were also a few Brotherhood of Steel soldiers walking around the area, lugging with them crates that clearly had some weaponry and other highly-technological stuff that she'd never remember the names of. The ones that had their helmets off were still kind of weird, as though that wasn't their normal state of being. A couple of Vertibirds were parked out beyond the Castle walls, and the pilots were busy running diagnostic tests. Blue liked to compare the Castle on a busy day to something called a "beehive," and whatever bees were (they sounded like Stingwings, but somehow smaller than your finger, if that was to be believed) Piper certainly got an idea of how busy they must be.
"What is on your mind, red coat?"
Piper was snapped out of her reverie by the presence of a very large and very reticent Super Mutant. Strong had been away from the Castle for the past couple of weeks, mostly with some Minutemen raids that were close to Quincy. The Quincy situation seemed to be deteriorating overnight; there were rumors that the city had banded itself a little confederacy, and were pulling in recruits and raiders and Gunners from the south. As of now, things were…tensely quiet. But Piper felt like they were all sitting on a powderkeg that was about to erupt. She hoped that, in the midst of all of this hullabaloo of getting Dr. Virgil out of the Glowing Sea, people remembered the threat that was right to the south.
"Hey, redcoat. Strong talking to you."
Huh? Oh, right.
"Um…nothing, really." Piper said.
"Hmmph. Humans never have anything on their minds. Brains too small."
"Thank you, Strong. That was a wonderful assessment of the human condition." Piper muttered under her breath.
"What is 'assessment?'"
Sometimes Piper forgot that, for all of his "cultured" nature, Strong was still a super mutant. Anything with nuance was gonna go right over the big guy's head. Of course, in classic Strong fashion, when Cait had remarked that everything went over the Mutant's head, Strong replied that his reflexes were too fast and that he caught anything going over his head.
Sometimes she wondered what she had gotten herself into when Blue had offered her a spot on his little adventuring band of misfits all those months ago.
"Daaaad, I wanna go!"
Piper and Strong turned around to see that there was a little commotion going on in the middle of the Castle staging ground. There was Blue, decked out in some mighty powerful-looking power armor (Danse had helped him modify the stuff). That wasn't the particuarlly strange sight. The strange sight was Shaun, literally holding onto Blue's armored leg like Dogmeat might grab a Mirelurk bone. Dogmeat. That little ball of fluff and sharp teeth was currently in Sanctuary keeping Sturges and that old Vault-Tec salesman company, but there were times where Piper missed his impeccable ability to get in everyone's way.
"Shaun, let go of him!" There was Isabel Cruz, trying (and failing) to pull Shaun off of his dad. Whatever annoyance Blue might have had for the situation dissolved at the sight of its absurdity, and he started to chuckle. And then he knelt down, matching Shaun's eye level.
"Shaun, buddy, you know that this is going to be a dangerous mission." Blue said. "I want you to be safe. And keeping you here is safe."
"But I don't want to be safe!" Shaun shouted. He was legitimately angry. "You always tell me that the Commonwealth isn't that bad, and that it isn't anything to be afraid of, and yet you keep me locked up in the Castle! I want to see the world! I can handle myself, and you know it." He crossed his arms in a huff, and Piper had to admire the chutzpah of the kid. Not many people could talk like that to the General of the Minutemen. Blue sighed, as if caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, he did want Shaun to see the Commonwealth. But on the other hand, going to the Glowing Sea was a death sentence for even most of the most experienced soldiers alive.
"General?"
Blue and Shaun turned around. A Brotherhood soldier walked over, fully-clad in armor, towards the arguing father and son. He had a very ornate insignia on his shoulder pad, and the front of his armor had been painted over with a few clearly hand-drawn sayings and logos. The most prominent was the phrase in white paint that had been smeared into the chest piece.
Grub Killer
"Can I help you, Paladin?" Blue asked. Piper was surprised that Blue was able to recognize the guy's insignia and rank just from a cursory glance. Because when the Paladin turned, she saw that there was another saying painted on and over the Paladin's ranking.
Lone Lion
"I heard your little family dispute." The Paladin said. "And if I may, I can see both sides of the argument. On one hand, we got a reasonably protective dad. On the other, we got a kid acting normal and his age."
"Nice to know that Shaun and I fit stereotypes, Paladin." Blue said, a smirk crossing his lips. The Paladin chuckled. Even through the filtered speaker of his helmet, it was a warm sound.
"I wasn't finished. I was thinking that, instead of having you two argue over this thing forever and delay the mission, why don't we solve both problems at once?" He asked. "Why don't you continue on with the mission as planned, and the kid comes with me to Diamond City. We've got orders to head there and check out the garrison as well as trade, and the seam from the Castle to Diamond City is a lot safer than the Glowing Sea. Think that's a fair trade?"
"You mean entrust my son to a stranger?" Blue asked somewhat sarcastically. The Paladin chuckled.
"Nah. I'm a friend. And I promse you that with me, your son will not come to harm. He'll be right by my side."
Blue seemed to think it over for a moment. And then he turned to Shaun.
"Shaun, you listen to every word that this man says. Don't wander out of sight. Don't do anything foolish. And you'll be safe. Promise you can do that for me?" He asked. Piper watched Shaun's eyes and face light up in the most incredible way, and she struggled not to smile herself.
"Really?" Shaun asked.
"Only if you behave." Blue said, both warmly and semi-sternly. Shaun nodded feverishly. With that, Blue turned towards the Paladin.
"Alright. You are responsible with my son's life. I can't stress it enough how important it is that he is returned back here in one piece. Are we clear?"
"Of course." The Paladin said.
"Good." Blue said. "Thank you for your offer, Paladin…" He trailed off, realizing that he had never asked for the man's name.
With a chuckle, the man removed his helmet. His face had a few wrinkles, even for a man that was clearly only in his thirties. Clearly he had been the veteran of countless campaigns. Dark skin, a thick beard, and a scar across his forehead that looked eerily like a Deathclaw slash. The Paladin smiled, a wide and toothy grin. He offered his hand towards Shaun.
"The name's Greg Bear. But everyone calls me Kodiak."
…
There was a knock on the door. Horatio Zwicky sighed, and turned towards his partner.
"You want to answer that?"
They'd spent the past five or six hours or so reviewing the case that had been brought forth against the Institute Remnant by the Commonwealth. Zwicky was thankful that Zinn was with him; the Ghoul knew a lot about the old law of the old United States ("A fat lot of good it was," the Ghoul had commented), and he had spent a good chunk of time expositing to both Zwicky and his wife about some of the finer points. And Zwicky was glad, because as he looked at the charges laid against the Remnant, he found his head spinning.
Conspiracy, Conspiracy to commit kidnapping, false imprisonment, kidnapping, negligent homicide (in absentia, which was apparently from a language called Latin), murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, so many counts of identity theft…It was a wonder that they were charging the group all as one. If they charged every individual separately, then this trial could take forever. Though Zinn had warned that that was a possibility, Zwicky wasn't sure.
"I got it." Zinn muttered, getting out of his musty chair. He opened the door.
"Evening, Detective."
"Zinn. Nice to see you settling into Diamond City."
Zwicky turned to the door to see Nick Valentine. He was holding a sort of briefcase.
"What have you got there, Nick?" Zwicky asked.
"Well, according to the encyclopedia here, back in the day lawyers shared their information and charges with their opponents. Seeing as you've already got that info, I'm really here for a last social call. After this, I can't really interact with you."
"And why is that?" Zwicky asked. Nick chuckled.
"I don't know how much I can say, but I think it's pretty clear that I'll be called as a witness for the prosecution. And that means that I have to lay out the case in front of the jury against your clients. I guess that means you'll be able to cross-examine me, but other than that we have to suspend our friendship for a while. But don't worry, I'll buy the drinks as soon as this is over with." Nick said.
"Well, that's better than nothing." Zinn said with a dry chuckle. "Any news on who the prosecution or, for that matter, the judge is?"
"Well, Mayor McCheese is still finalizing things, but I'm pretty sure that he's bringing in someone from the outside to be the prosecutor. I think it's someone from Vault 81, of all places." Nick said.
"Greaaaat." Zinn muttered. "Just what we needed someone with no connection to the outside world who will have the persecuting nature to boot."
Ignoring his partner's bitterness, Zwicky turned towards Nick.
"And who's the judge going to be?"
"You can call me crazy as much as you like, but it's the gospel truth: It's gonna be Vadim."
"Vadim?" Zwicky asked. "How…why?"
"I'm sure you're thinking cronyism, but let's be fair here. Who has been the best settler of disputes in Diamond City whenever anyone didn't want to go to Diamond City Security under McDonough which, I might add, was all the time?"
"Vadim." Zwicky admitted with a sigh.
"I know that he's a bit…unorthodox, but Vadim is probably the most level-headed person in this city. Mayor Pitt is really trying what he can to give the Institute a fair trial, which is more of an effort than anywhere else would give them. If Diamond City is the 'jewel' of the Commonwealth like it brags, then there's really no other choice."
"That's a fair point." Zinn said. He looked over at Zwicky. "Well, looks like we have to cross off visits to the Dugout Inn for the indefinite future."
"Someone will get you your beer, no worries." Nick said. He turned back towards the door, but right before he left he turned around.
"One last thing before I go: I'm not gonna mince words here. I spent years here in Diamond City investigating the disappearances that were traced to the Institute, as well as everything else that can attached to them. The evidence is quite stacked against them. And they were absolutely capable of some truly awful crimes." He paused. "Having said that, if you two go into this sandbagging it, I'll…be really disappointed." He tipped his hat. "Have a nice day, now." He walked out the door.
"Well, that was encouraging." Zinn muttered.
"He's right, you know." Zwicky said. "Let's give it an hour more, and then I have to grade essays. Edna can help you if you need a partner for the next few hours, but then I'll be back to it."
"Sounds good." Zinn said. He got to reading again, but then looked up. "Out of curiosity, how is the Institute Remnant getting to the city, again?" Zwicky heard this and sighed.
"There's a big caravan coming out of the Castle as we speak. The Brotherhood is supervising the exchange."
…
The Vertibird touched down right on the edge of safety. Piper shivered as she looked out towards the green decay that was the Glowing Sea. She looked around. More than a few of the Brotherhood soldiers that were involved on this mission seemed tense. They were all in their power armor, but there were a few of them that had special hooks attached to their armor. That was for the platform and the main point of the mission.
As Blue had explained it to her (as well as everyone else), part of the problem concerning Dr. Virgil was his current situation. On one hand, he had escaped the Institute, hidden in a low-rad cave in the Glowing Sea, and had somehow managed to reverse the FEV he'd taken to become a Super Mutant. But now, as a human, there was no way that he could get out of the Glowing Sea without a set of power armor. Without help, he was doomed to be trapped in the Glowing Sea, alone, forever. Piper shuddered at the thought.
At least now, there was a platoon of Brotherhood soldiers (and Minutemen who were lucky enough to have their own power armor) that were attempting the mother of all rescue missions. And Blue was on point. This was the sort of thing that he insisted he see through. Mostly because Dr. Virgil would only talk to him.
"General!" One of the Minutemen said to Blue, who was already clad in his power armor. "We've hit the Brotherhood outpost. Any further and the rads are gonna screw with the flight computers. We're gonna have to walk it from here."
"Understood." Blue said. He turned to the others. "Dismantle the X-01 armor from the bottom of the front Vertibird, and get it loaded up. Everyone else? Weapons locked and loaded. There are a lot of things that aren't nice in the Glowing Sea."
As the Brotherhood squad unloaded the power armor and attached it to the platform that the six brave (and strong) men were ordered to carry on their shoulders, Piper finally couldn't resist.
"Blue!"
He turned around, and his helmet collapsed so that she could see his face.
"What's up, Piper?" He asked.
"Just…be safe, ok?" She asked. "I don't like the thought of not being there with you."
"I know." Blue said. "I don't either. But I'd rather have you safe than dead by my side." He said. He looked around, and he lowered his voice. "You're too special to me for that." He then cleared his throat. "You be careful, alright? And make sure that the story you write on this isn't too dramatic. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction." He winked, and then his helmet re-covered his head and he joined the brave group that was to march out to the hole that Dr. Virgil called home. Even if he was still alive.
Piper chuckled. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction? He didn't need to tell her that: after all, she'd reported on the famed "single bookcase" covering of a hole in the Wall, after all. And had been poisoned by reporting on a basic story. She was used to weird. She was unflappable.
…Wait. Did he say that she was special to him?
Either the feeling in her stomach right now were butterflies in her stomach, or food poisoning.
Food poisoning. Yeah, that had to be it. Nothing to it. At all. Right.
…
The caravan moved deliberately. Shaun was sitting right in the center of it all, watching as the Brotherhood soldiers warily kept an eye on anything that might appear on the horizon. There were at least 50 people, all dressed in civilian clothes, being ushered in the center of the mass exodus. There were caravans and Brahmin right outside these "civilians," and then the Brotherhood formed a protective ring around it all. It was a lot of people, so maybe moving deliberately was a good idea.
He was sitting on a Brahmin himself, with the nice Paladin walking next to him. Paladin Kodiak had taken his helmet off, and was carrying it in the crook of his arm. He looked up towards Shaun, who averted his eyes. Kodiak chuckled.
"It isn't that polite to stare, kiddo. If you got questions, go ahead and ask. I don't bite." He said.
"Um…Do you know Elder Maxson?" Shaun asked. Kodiak chuckled.
"Yeah, I know the Elder a bit. He's an interesting cat. Definitely a lot more mercurial than Elder Lyons was. Owyn Lyons, that is."
"He know you?" Shaun asked.
"Yeah, he does." Kodiak said, scratching his beard and smiling. "I mean, I don't cross paths too much with the guy, seeing as he's busy with the politics of being the Elder and I'm just a regular soldier. But yeah, he knows me. He keeps me on the most important missions."
"Like this one?"
"Like this one." Kodiak said.
"I have another question, if that's okay." Shaun asked. Kodiak looked up at the kid and grinned.
"Of course it's okay. Otherwise I'm gonna have nothing to do but walk. You talk, and it gets me talking and not thinking about how much my feet will hurt by the end of this." He said.
"What's that on your armor?"
"My Paladin emblem?"
"No, the writing."
"Oh…" Kodiak looked at it. "A little personal message." He smiled. "I figured writing something in big bold letters on my chest would make the bad guys run. Because there can't be anything crazier than a man who would willingly highlight a portion of his armor. That's just nuts!"
"What are grubs?"
"My enemies." Kodiak said with a smirk. "I let 'em know what I think of 'em, and then they get got." He looked at Shaun. "Uh, don't tell your dad that I'm so into my job. He'd accuse me of corrupting you."
"My uncle Cait likes boxing, cousin MacCready brags about how good of a sniper he is, and Strong can crush a man with his bare hands. I'm used to violence, Mr. Paladin sir."
Kodiak could only laugh in disbelief. This was some kid.
"And what's the writing on your shoulder?"
At this, Kodiak's smile faded.
"That's…a tribute message."
"For whom?"
"I was part of a Lion's pack."
"What's a lion?"
"A brave and mighty creature." Kodiak said, looking up to the sky. "The king of the beasts, and yet noble too."
"What lion pack were you in?"
"Technically, a pack of lions is called a 'pride,' kiddo. And there were more than a couple of us."
"Where are they now?" Shaun asked.
Kodiak paused for a long time.
"I'm the only one left, kiddo."
"Oh…"
"Yeah…" Kodiak said. "I wrote this message on my shoulder as a way to remember them, and to promise them that I'm gonna be strong."
"Do you miss your friends, Mr. Kodiak?"
"Every day, kiddo."
Sensing the depression that Kodiak seemed to be sinking into, Shaun changed topics.
"So if the Lion was the most proud creature in the Brotherhood, what was the most dangerous?"
Kodiak looked nervous for a moment. And then he looked Shaun in the eye.
"You really wanna know?"
"Yeah!" Shaun said with excitement. Kodiak looked back and forth.
"Promise to keep it a secret?"
"Of course!"
Kodiak leaned forward, and Shaun bent over so that he might whisper in the boy's ear.
"The most dangerous animal in the Brotherhood…was the wolf."
…
The sun had set. There was a last vestige of light and color across the landscape, but it would be dark soon. There were floodlights in the airport, but soon those would be the only lights on outside. And the place would be locked down for the night. It was tighter than a drum.
The group was sitting out on the hill just beyond the airport. It was deadly silent. Some of them were fidgeting, looking at either the monster amongst them…or the woman who was sitting off to the side. She had not spoken to any of them. One of the people turned around towards the group.
"What's the plan?" He asked.
"Simple." Another said. "We sneak in, sabotage some equipment. We destroy some documents, and then we cover our exit with some cover fire from the big guy here."
"Really?" The Super Mutant asked, nonplussed. "This is the best plan that you could come up with?"
"It's the Brotherhood, man!" One of the Railroad agents snapped back. "We can't just sneak in there and expect to shake mountains and quake the earth. You have to take these things slow."
Fawkes looked at the Railroad agent, and then his friends. And then he sighed, closing his eyes.
"And we had such high hopes for you."
"What do you mean?" The agent asked. "What are you-" He turned around, and gawked. "Where did she go?"
They all looked around in shock, and then back at Fawkes. He shrugged.
"She does that."
…
Every step was silent, little more than a whisper in the night. The wind was gently rustling what little greenery that grew around the ruined earth. She pulled the bandana up over her lips and nose, and pulled the goggles down so that her eyes were covered. She would be unrecognizable to any of them.
Perhaps that would help her calm her violent rage, and prevent her from murdering everyone in that goddamned airport.
Like leeches, all of them. Latching onto the Commonwealth like they did in the Capital, promising that they came in peace but really gearing up for colonization and exploitation. Her time with them had only showed how deep the rot went. It was only the force of personality that Owyn Lyons and his daughter commanded that had prevented the Brotherhood from embracing their darker impulses.
An image of a brilliant smile, of altruistic and genuine kindness with golden hair to match, filled her mind. She blinked once, pressing her eyelids hard together in an effort to squeeze off the tears. No. It would not do to mourn now. Mourning proper could come later.
Now it was time for work.
She had read their little reports. She had analyzed the intelligence that they had gathered on the Brotherhood. It was amateurish, but it was better than nothing. Most of the questions she had were already answered; she just needed a rudimentary second opinion to confirm it. The Brotherhood had gotten worse. Maxson was still in charge.
Maxson…
She saw red, and then blinked again. She made her way up to the wall of the airport defense line, and sunk deep into the dark grass. The spotlight passed over her and back, and never once did it freeze on her position.
She was one with the dark.
She continued moving through the airfield, years of training and hunting all culminating in this expedition. She hid down behind a Vertibird, and quietly listened to a pair of Knights that were out on patrol.
"God, this rain never lets up, does it?"
"At least it isn't rad-rain."
"Why is the Elder making us drill at this time of day?"
"Since he started fraternizing with those country bumpkins that call themselves the Minutemen."
"I know…that General wouldn't be so high and mighty if he had my laser rifle at his face."
She knelt back, taking it all in. In only a few sentences, they had revealed so much. Even if Maxson was playing nice with these so-called "Minutemen," there were still plenty in the rank and file that were brainwashed into thinking that the Brotherhood's "traditional" methods were the only way for peace to reign in the world.
Peace under a jackboot.
She knew who these "Minutemen" were. They were the ones that had come to rescue the robot detective from the Muties and the Raiders. She'd done their job for them, after all. They were honorable, and their so-called "artillery" was definitely mighty. But if the Brotherhood wanted to, they could unleash hell with-
…No.
She saw the massive figure wired into the superconductors, and swore angrily.
The motherfuckers rebuilt Liberty Prime?
At least in the aftermath of Raven Rock she had cause for hope: the destruction of that mobile apocalypse had meant that future brotherhood missions were far more nuanced and tactical. Those were the kinds of mission that she felt good about. Those were the ones that she remembered why she'd been a Brotherhood Knight, then Paladin, and then Sentinel in the first place. But now they'd rebuilt it. And with it back in the picture, that meant that they might…
No. She mustn't get too far ahead of herself. But she now had a new mission. Far more than just reconning the strength of the Brotherhood in this Commonwealth. Now there was something more…personal.
She waited for the patrol to go back in the direction that it came from, and with the skill of a Deathclaw stalking prey she slipped through the shadows to get to the hangar. There would be more lights in those buildings. But there were still shadows in which to hide.
…
She waited for the doors to open, and buttonhooked inside the metal enclosure right behind a marching Brotherhood squad. It was now the dead of night. The kind of time and place that allowed darkness to reign…and imagination to run wild.
She was hiding in the corner, behind piles of crates and ammunition boxes. There were two Brotherhood initiates that were in the center of the room. Rookies. Good.
"You hear about Liberty's latest power malfunction?" One asked.
"Yeah." The other side. "The Doc is pissed, or so I heard. She and the Proctor got into a screaming match about it. From what I saw, it wasn't either of their faults: Liberty just had some old circuits. It isn't a surprise that he might be a little shaky at times."
"How do you know that?"
"I'm an engie. Tinkerer. Before I joined the Brotherhood I was part of Rivet City in the Capital Wasteland. Had to work on the turrets all the time."
She reached into her pocket, and drew out a small gun magazine. It was empty, but it would still be loud enough.
She tossed it down the line.
"You hear that?" One asked.
"Yeah."
"What do you think?" The first one asked.
"Late at night, outside of hours, and a suspicious noise? Let's go check it out together."
And so they went off in the opposite direction. She looked up to the ceiling, and her heart skipped a beat in a rare burst of excitement.
Rafters. Rafters…and windows.
…
She scurried up to the top of the room, and concealed herself in the rafers and the shadows. And not a moment too soon, as a small group of people entered the room.
A very important group of people.
"And why is Liberty Prime acting up?" Proctor Quinlan asked.
"A fuse shortage." Proctor Ingram grumbled. "Something that I could have noticed if I'd had more time to test."
"We needed a proper diagnostic test." The woman in a lab coat replied huffily. Her hair was greying, and there were a few wrinkles in her cheeks, but other than that…she hadn't changed in ten years.
"We would have had that if not for your incessant need to hit deadlines."
"Deadlines are important, Ingram. Something I guess you weren't concerned with when you were the sole director of the Liberty Prime proje-"
"Enough."
She had to resist the feeling of shock as she heard that voice. The last time she'd seen him, he was reading one of her old Grognak the Barbarian comics. And there he was, right in the middle of them all. He was pretty tall, and he had a nice haircut. A very well-trimmed beard, but the kind that was clearly an effort of a young man to appear older than he was. But the flight jacket was exquisite. She hadn't worn anything that nice in…well, ever.
"I am confused why my co-directors of the Liberty Prime project are arguing over something that even an Initiate would have noticed." Arthur Maxson growled. "There are far more important things to worry about. Such as the fact that as we speak, a contingent of the Onyx Guard is about to enter the Glowing Sea with the Minutemen General in order to retrieve an Institute scientist that may or may not be dead. I am more concerned with their progress than I am about basic maintenance issues that can be fixed without bruising egos over something so pointless." He said. He looked at the two arguing scientists. "Deal with the problem. Figure out what to do so it doesn't happen again, and then apologize to each other and move on. You're grown adults for God's sake. It's high time the two of you acted like it."
She felt a bit of warmth in her heart. He might not realize it, but there were traces of the Old Man in him yet.
"Elder, about my initiative…"
And soon that warmth was replaced by indescribable rage.
"Proctor Teagan, I thought I made it very clear that while feeding the Brotherhood is necessary, I will not resort to extorting the citizens of the Commonwealth to do so." Elder Maxson said. "Find out a way to work with Kessler in Bunker Hill or even the Mayor's office of Goodneighbor. But I don't want to hear about it again. Am I clear?"
"…Transparently." Teagan muttered. Maxson looked at all of them.
"Dismissed. Doctor Li, to my office. I will join you in a moment…I need some coffee if I need to deal with you people." He walked off, rubbing his temples in exhaustion and annoyance.
She watched them go their separate ways, taking note of each. And then she faded into the shadows.
…
Dr. Madison Li opened the door to the office, and sighed. It was dark, because she'd been an idiot and forgot to keep the light on for Elder Maxson. Now she'd start to get tired, and she had no time to be tired. Neither did the Elder. There was work to be done. She turned around to close the door behind her, and hit the light switch. And then she turned around.
She nearly fainted in fright.
It had been ten years. She was covered in dirt and grime and all sorts of unmentionable wasteland garbage, and her clothing was tattered and torn. And her hair was a mess of dreadlocks and ribbons stuck in it. But those eyes…there was no forgetting those eyes.
They were James'.
"…Lucy?" She managed to sputter in shock.
"Hello Dr. Li."
Her face was expressionless, and her voice was almost a growl. Dr. Li wanted to scream. She wanted to run. She wanted to do something…anything to get her out of the room. A thunderstrike in the distance. It was going to be a radrain storm soon.
"What-I…you…what are you doing here? How did you get in here?"
"I came down the chimney." Lucy said, her bored expression unchanging.
"Lucy this…you're a murderer! I should…I should scream!" Dr. Li hissed in anger and fright.
And then the anger gave way to the fear as the woman in the chair casually raised a massive pistol and aimed it right between the doctor's eyes.
"I'm no murderer." Lucy said. "But that changes if you make a noise." She turned off the safety for good measure.
Dr. Li took a deep and shaky breath.
"What do you want?" She asked.
"The Codex."
"…What?" Dr. Li stammered in shock. "Why? What do you need with a rulebook?"
"Not that one." Lucy said. Her eyes narrowed, and Dr. Li felt herself sweating bullets. "The Proctors'. The Elder's. The Black Book."
"I…I don't have the clearance for that information!" Dr. Li said. Lucy shrugged.
"Then you're of no use to me." She raised the gun.
"Wait!" Dr. Li whimpered. Lucy lowered the gun and raised her eyebrow.
"I…I don't have the clearance." Dr. Li said slowly. "But anyone in the High Circle would have it."
Lucy nodded. She looked down at the small telephone on the desk. Dr. Li knew that stare of concentration.
It was the most frightening aspect of Lucy Martel.
…
He sighed, trying to resist the urge to bash his head against the wall. The coffeemaker had been a gift from Goodneighbor, but it was faulty. Much like everything in this damned base. Sometimes he wished that he just could hide up on the Prydwen forever, but Nathanael was insistent that every now and then he get his boots dirty on the ground. He supposed that it made sense, but the childish part of him enjoyed the thought of being in the sky forever. At least it would put some distance between himself, and the arguments of Dr. Li and Proctor Ingram.
He filled his mug of coffee, and took a sip. He was going to enjoy a moment to himself, and then Dr. Li could pester him about the costs of maintaining Liberty Prime.
And then he noticed the blinking red light on the desk.
They'd returned power to the service phone system in the airport, and it had served as a handy method of getting in touch across the base without sending runners all the time. But still, the light was blinking and he reached for it on instinct. Maybe he could enjoy the stammering of some rookie out by the Vertibird field as he realized that he was talking to the grumpy Elder on a coffee break.
"This had better be important." He growled into the phone.
"Hello Artie."
His blood ran cold. He heard a shattering noise: it was the coffee cup that had slipped out of his now-limp hand. His mouth went dry. He opened and closed his mouth a few times silently, but could not get the words out.
"Surprised to hear from me? What, did your death squads assure you that I was gone?"
"…Lucy." Maxson finally managed to spit out. It was his worst nightmare come to life. The most dangerous woman in the world, and she was nearby. She might even be the room with him. He looked around behind him.
"I'm not in the room with you."
"I knew that."
"No you didn't. Getting the drop on you was easy. It was the one thing that Sarah and I never could quite get through to you."
"How dare you bring up her name-"
"Who do you think you're talking to?" Lucy asked, her voice ice-cold. "And who do you think you are, lecturing me on whether I should feel sorry or not about her death?"
"You murdered her!" Maxson shouted.
The line was silent for a moment. Maxson wondered if she'd hung up.
"…Is that what they told you?" Lucy's voice was expressionless. "Is that what the story is? That I murdered Sarah Lyons?"
Maxson stayed silent, seething in rage at the memory of her funeral. It had been closed casket. How dare Sarah Lyons be treated with such disrespect-
"If that's the story, then you're just as naïve as you were when you shot her in training."
Ignoring his hate-strike rising, Maxson took a deep breath.
"What do you want?" He asked.
"To talk. Though that's rather hard, considering you have me pegged for shooting on sight."
"I can put a moratorium on that." Maxson said. "You just want to talk? Fine. I'll talk to you. I want to hear it from you. I want to know why you killed her. I want to hear that from your own lips, and hear your justification for killing the woman I loved."
There was another pause.
"Where are you right now?"
Maxson was thrown for a loop.
"…What?"
"Where. Are. You. Right now?"
"I'm…in my office." Maxson said. "In the airport hangar."
There was another pause.
"…I doubt that."
"Why would you doubt that?"
"If you were in your office right now we'd be having this conversation face to face."
He left the receiver hanging as he ran.
He raced down the hallway, shouting for all available units to join him. A few Knights saw their frantic Elder and raced after him, their weapons drawn in support. He drew his pistol, and kicked open the door to his office. He brandished his weapon, frantically pointing it back and forth.
Nothing.
Dr. Li was curled up in a ball in the corner, sobbing hysterically. One of the Knights knelt next to her, and began to console her. As one of the other Knights started to organize a search party to sweep the perimeter and put the base on high alert, Elder Maxson walked over to his desk.
Everything that had been sitting on the desktop, even the linen cloth, had been swept off and onto the ground. The desk drawers were all forced open, and the contents emptied out onto the floor. But as he got closer, he saw that was writing on the desktop surface.
It was hard to make out, as it had clearly been scratched into the surface with a sharp edge. No doubt a combat knife.
He squinted to read the words, and as he did he felt his heart sink. For carved deep into the wooden desk read the words
NOWHERE IS SAFE
A/N: So apparently Lucy Martel is a cross between Batman and Corvo Attano. She could walk into your most private inner sanctum and filch your most prized possession, only to prove that she could have killed you too, if she wanted.
Also, Kodiak from Fallout 3 returns! Easily one of my favorite characters from that game. Figured as a man in his thirties (assuming he's young twenties in FO3), he's seen a lot of stuff…but still retains some warmth. Especially with kids. He knows how important it is for kids to be safe, considering his rotten childhood in the Pitt prior to being rescued by the Brotherhood. Also, he has a beard now and a nasty scar on his forehead. Because no one survives over ten years in the Capital Wasteland without picking up some battle damage.
See you next time! And I hope this one was worth the weight
