Chapter 9
At the Crossroads

Deacon's ominous statement came true not too much later. Kalyna had to return to Virgil, and from him, she got the schematics for a molecular relay that would teleport her to the Institute. Deacon insisted that Tinker Tom could build it, and she was tempted to believe that was the case. She was also sure that the Brotherhood of Steel was capable, or even the Minutemen. But whoever she worked for would want something in return: to infiltrate the Institute, to turn spy for them. Her choice was who to do it for.

Her own mind pulled her in several directions. The Brotherhood would probably build the safest relay. The Railroad was in the most dire need. And the Minutemen … the thing was, they were hers and not the other way around.

Kalyna found Sturges at the workbench. She tapped his shoulder and passed him Virgil's notes. He blinked at the handwriting. 'Is this for real? This is pretty crazy.'

'It's real, Sturges. It'll get me into the Institute.'

'I mean … It looks ingenious. That, or insane.' He looked up at her. 'You need space. And several things … but wait.' He started digging in a box by the workbench. 'Yes. Yes. That, too. You've brought back so much crazy tech I don't need much else.' He tapped the notes with a finger. 'This is going to take me some time. You can build the Stabilised Reflector Platform … this, there's the schematics … in the meantime. You need a wide enough open space. Ideally on even ground. Like one of the torn down houses' foundations.'

'Good. Thanks. And don't tell Deacon I asked you.'

'That platform is going to be pretty hard to hide.'

Kalyna grinned at him. 'I don't plan to hide it, I just have to be the one telling him.'

Sturges scratched his head. 'Oh. Of course. Now I'll need a bit to make anything of this scrawl.'

'Point taken. I'm getting out of your hair.'

Ϡ

Kalyna found Deacon in the house across from hers. He'd claimed a space in there for himself, a small room she'd put a single bed, a tiny desk, and a chair in when she'd first started furnishing rooms for settlers. Somehow she had a feeling he slept with a knife under his pillow, but she resisted the temptation to check. 'Deacon? I've got to talk to you.'

'You look like it's bad news.'

'Depends. I just asked Sturges to build the teleporter.'

'And now you think I'll do what? Yell at you? Weep a little?' He shook his head. 'Hey, no worries.'

'I just want to tell you why. I know I don't have to, but I want to.' She sat on the edge of his bed. 'You said I have to make a decision. Deacon, I don't want to. I love you guys. I think what you do is great and necessary and I'll help you out here as much as I can. But … this is about my kid. It always was. And if I go and work for you in there, too, I'll get side-tracked.'

'And don't think for a second I don't understand you, Whisper.'

'Do you?'

'Of course. And in a way … how should I say that. If you were going to betray us, you'd have pretended to do this for us.'

'So in essence, you still don't trust me.'

'That's too harsh. You see, you have us by the balls. Now I don't mind much, but … Oh, boy, that came out so wrong. Stop grinning!' He smiled. 'What I was trying to say is, you have a lot of power over us, so mistrusting you would be a bit of a problem. And I'm not disappointed or angry. I get it.' He looked at her over the rim of his shades. It was the first time she really saw his eyes. They were bright blue and gentle and made her throat go tight with something she didn't want to consider. 'Kalyna. Don't worry. It will be fine. You will find your son, and if you can find intel, too, that's wonderful. But of course this is about your kid. I wouldn't believe you if you told me anything else.'

Ϡ

Deacon's knees were weak. Standing on top of the C.I.T. did that to him. Maybe to someone else, this was a nice view. To him, it was torture. Sturges had pressed a tape into Kalyna's hands before she went to the Institute, asking her to run it. It would feed information back to him. Then the entire relay had exploded, and Deacon was sure that Kalyna was dead.

Of course, losing an agent wasn't fun. But something in him had cracked apart in a way that wasn't normal. He'd stood frozen, staring at the smoking remains of the molecular relay, willing it to come back online and bring Kalyna back. It didn't, of course.

Before he could scream at Sturges that he had murdered her, Deacon had walked back into his room and curled into a ball of misery. Even now, here on the roof, he still had no idea why he'd been so shaken. She was just a relatively green member of the Railroad. Agents died. It shouldn't get to him like that.

Nick had informed him soon after that somehow Kalyna was alive since Sturges was getting data from the Institute, which meant she'd started his dratted tape. And now … now he was waiting. She had to arrive here. And he felt the powerful need to be there when she did.

He went through the umpteenth circle of thinking that there was an excellent chance he'd miss her because he couldn't sit on a roof for eternity; that there was an equally excellent chance that he already had missed her. He hadn't come here immediately, after all, had gone to HQ to inform the rest that she was on the inside, and had only after a while resolved to try and intercept her. Also for the umpteenth time, Deacon decided that it was probably wisest to wait for her in Sanctuary. So he picked himself up from his sitting position, dusted himself down, and headed towards the entrance.

But what if she was about to arrive? What if she had Shaun with her and they sent a courser after her and she was alone with her kid and no help in sight? Deacon swore and returned to his position. He resigned himself to the fact that he was losing his mind. Dez would ask him if he was insane. She'd probably be right.

And then the air in front of him flickered. He drew his weapon and ducked behind a crate he'd brought up from the highest floor for that purpose. If this was not Kalyna, he didn't need to be seen. But the figure that materialised was so familiar he dropped his gun immediately and rushed towards her. 'Whisper!'

She spun and stared at him. 'What on earth are you doing here?'

'Waiting for you.' He was so close to her that he could see every little pore on her face. 'Are you all right? Are you … actually you?'

'No. I've been replaced by a synth spy, idiot.' She said all this without any venom. 'God, Deacon, you've got no idea. Shaun … Father … I was so wrong.'

'All right. One thing at a time. Did you find your son?'

'Yes. Боже. Щоб тебе качка копнула.'

Deacon blinked. 'I didn't catch that.'

Kalyna gave him a level look. 'I said, I hope you get kicked by a duck. And no, I'm not lying.'

He smiled at her. 'That the worst you can swear?'

'Deacon, I'm beyond swearing.'

'All right. One step back. You say you found your son. That's good, right?'

'No, it fucking isn't.' Her hands were clasped in front of her, and Deacon saw that they were shaking. 'I wasn't refrozen for ten years. I was put back on ice for sixty. Sixty years in which my son grew up in the Institute and became their leader.'

'Well, I'll be … Fuck.'

'Yeah. That.'

'Whisper, are you … No. No, you're not all right. How could you be? What … are you going to do next?'

'I'll pretend for as long as I can without bashing my own face in. That I'm working with them, that is. And while I'm doing that, I'll do all that I can to bring that man down.'

'Are you sure?'

'What other options do I have?' She hugged herself and turned away. 'Maybe I'm the worst mother ever, but I can't let him hurt people. Like Virgil, like the synths … My son is a slave monger. Oh God.'

Against his better judgment, Deacon stepped close to her and put his arms around her form. He felt her lean into him, felt her warmth, and closed his eyes. He should back off immediately, but he couldn't find it in himself. 'Kalyna. I told you that before, but this time … this time I mean it. You're not alone. Whatever happens next, I'll be there with you. Me and Nick and all the rest of your eleven apostles.'

Kalyna turned around. Her eyes were overly bright, but she wasn't crying. God knew where she took the strength from. Instead, she leaned up and pressed her lips to his left cheek. 'Thanks, Deacon. And that's a good metaphor. It's going to get even better. See, we had no Judas. This oversight is going to be corrected. I'm going to be given my own personal courser. Isn't that fun?'