Chapter 10

Back in the old woman's house, Lisi had taken her place at the small table within the dimly lit kitchen. The old woman, Abbey, as she introduced herself was preparing a meal for the two of them as evening fast approached.

"Why were they shot?" Lisi asked. The first words spoken out of her mouth since she had discovered her true name.

Abbey looked over her shoulder as she placed the raw mystery meat into the stove. The girl had the right to know everything the old woman possessed. That didn't mean telling the story was easy for her.

"To know why they died is to fully understand how our country was back then," she began. "Canadians were always revered as polite, kind and hospitable people. That didn't mean we liked being walked on. When the war with China broke out and Alaska was captured the Americans at first asked if they could use Canada as their central hub for their assault. Canada refused."

Lisi did not cut in. She simply leaned over the table a little as she pictured in her mind what was being told.

"You see, we knew what this would all lead to. One of Canada's provinces, Alberta had been a very desirable piece of land due to its vast array of nearly untouched resources. Given the desperate needs for these resources it was a very likely the American's had a secret agenda to fight their war and claim Canada for itself. Sure enough, it all played out like clockwork."

"So eventually Canada caved under pressure and the Enclave took control?" Lisi questioned.

"Exactly. Of course right through it all there were those who refused to sit back and watch as our ideologies and culture were stepped on. Canada was not very different from our southern neighbours but we still had our own reputation to maintain. Your father well, he stood up to the Enclave at first entirely on his own. Right from the beginning he voiced his concerns about what was happening all around us. What was to come. We thought he was just paranoid..."

Lisi arched her brow.

"...But as time went on everything he predicted came to be the truth. With your mother supporting him every step of the way he formed a militia to try to disrupt Enclave operations. At first it was all petty but the more the Enclave tread on the Canadian people, the more violent things became. I think your mother began to worry for the family's safety quite early on. Your father painted a target on you all but he did it to try to create a better world for children like you to be brought up in."

"So they assassinated him?" Lisi asked.

"I suppose so. As your father began to really put a dent on the Enclave's presence here they must have decided it was time to seek him out. That's when the two soldiers showed up on your doorstep," Abbey explained.

"How did everyone feel about my parents and what they were trying to do?" Lisi asked.

"They were heroes to us all. When they died no one else opposed the Enclave. It really shook up the entire city."

"So they died for nothing?"

"Well, no," Abbey tried but it was clear to Lisi that her parents work had been in vain and things regressed quite quickly.

Lisi decided it was time for a more pressing matter.

"I saw people being off loaded in Enclave trucks. What is all that about?" she asked.

Abbey looked to the girl with a painful glance.

"It's what the West has become. Every morning at sunrise the capable are picked up at homes and taken to the factories to work. Some are machining shops while others build an assemble Enclave materials. All men women and children," Abbey told her as tears welled in her sunken eyes. "This war has taken something from everyone."

Lisi didn't a word as she saw the woman trying to collect herself clearly struggling with her own nightmares.

The information that passed through her today had been a lot to take in and process. She now understood why no one suggested she travel out here. What was even more clear was that no one could really escape this place. Their only option to get away was to brave the mountains she had crossed and nearly died on herself.

After a long and drawn out silence Lisi finally mustered up another line of questioning.

"Why have the people not taken back the city?" she asked.

"My dear, we are tired. We don't have any equipment to stage any kind of assault against the Enclave. There is a curfew and anyone caught out on the streets is arrested. Sometimes they don't come back. When you have those things weighing on your mind, revolt just doesn't seem possible," Abbey explained suppressed and fatigued.

"Where is the Enclave base?"

"Near the water. They have taken over the island and some of the main land."

With that Lisi stood from her seat.

"Forgive me but I have to be off. I will return later perhaps, if you do not mind," she asked with a cold stern look upon her face.

Abbey stared at the girl wide-eyed as if she knew what she had on her mind all along.

"My dear you can't possibly go out there at this time. If they see you who knows what ..." she tried.

"They won't see me," Lisi explained as she powered on the suit.

Abbey gasped and just about knocked over a pot on the stove. She hadn't seen this technology in over a decade.

"I will be fine," Lisi assured her though it dawned in the back of her mind that she was lying to the woman. She had no idea what to expect venturing out there but she had to see it all for herself.

"Please be careful," Abbey pleaded soulfully.

Lisi left silently through the front door. From across the street she could see her home and decided to pay her last respects if this was the last time she'd ever see it. She moved across the street and up the narrow steps to the front door. She made sure no one was around to see her before she entered the home.

It was pitch black inside. Only the soft dim light of the outside street lamps lit up a few desolate rooms. As she moved towards through the house she picked up on how eerie it was just being here. She felt as though if she said anything, someone was listening to her.

She'd pay one last respect and be off.

Lisi headed towards the kitchen towards the back door. As she turned into the room she threw herself against the back wall in alarm. The armour clad man sat at the dining room table glaring at her with a vacant stare.

"Hello sweetie," Haynes cooed sitting in his place and not moving an inch. He looked as he had when she came across him back in the mountains.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped aggressively.

"I don't like it when we fight. I am sorry for hitting you earlier but you really pissed me off," he muttered in a simple tone.

"No, you're not really here. Just go away. I came here to see my real parents," she insulted.

"Real parents? You mean the ones who put their cause before the safety of their own daughter?" he mocked right back.

"They did what they felt was right for the good of the people here!"

"They were extremists who violently took on the Enclave and their own government at the cost of lives on both sides!"

"And your hands are so clean?!"

"I do not pretend like things never happened but at least I tried to make amends for it!"

"Get out of my house!"

"You think you can change what has happened here? You think that you can take revenge on the Enclave for what happened to your parents? You're about to go out there and get yourself killed!"

"You think I am afraid to die? What do I have to live for, huh? What is so great about my life?! My real parents were killed. Their killer raised me as his own child. I lived in ignorance my entire life and now I am in some God forsaken place talking to the culprit himself!" she hollered.

Haynes didn't reply for a while.

"You want to go down this path? Fine. Give it a shot," he mumbled. "Don't think like you're above me, yourself. You have just as much blood on you hands as I do," he concluded as he stood from the chair and walked past her. When she turned around to discuss him again, he was gone.

Good.

She opened the door and walked into the backyard where the two graves lay. Was Haynes right? Could they have loved her that much to put everything else before her well-being? Were they the heroes Abbey made them out to be or were they radicals trying to disrupt government process? Despite what they were or weren't she looked upon the graves and saw them as they were. They were her parents and whatever ideals they thought to be right, she felt she had to see for herself. Just how bad was it all?

She knew the only way she could see it was to get right in the middle of it. What better way than get arrested?

With one final goodbye she left the grave site and powered off the suit. She stashed the rifle and suit away in a drawer in her old upstairs bedroom. She would have to come back for it all when she got out – if she got out.

One thing was certain. She had to make her display big. Big enough to get the attention of the people. Make it known that she had arrived.

With nothing covering her body other than short tight black performance shorts and a long sleeve black compression shirt fitted to her slim body she wandered down the vacant street with nothing in her hands but a Microfusion Cell. She didn't have a solid plan. Nothing was well thought out but sometimes it was better to wing it than plan it out to an art only to have one factor mess the whole bloody scheme up. All she had to do was follow the lights. The biggest and brightest area of the city had to be the Enclave mainland base.

Every now and then she'd have to duck into the shadows to avoid a couple of patrolling MPs but for the most part she got pretty damn close with no problems. That's when she saw her perfect way in.

It was one of the medium light transport trucks she saw earlier sitting all by itself with no one around. At that moment she was thankful in one way that Haynes had raised her. He sure did teach her some crafty field tactics to get a job done. This one happened to be her favourite. She snuck over to the vehicle and slid underneath. She very carefully removed the bottom case of the cell. It glowed brightly in her hands but she was thankful the cover of the truck prevented its light from escaping. She carefully moved to the side of the truck and opened the gas tank. She slid the round in then ran to get clear.

Turns out she had a lot less time than she first estimated before the truck blew up sending burning pieces of metal, fuel and other kinds of debris in all directions. She was thrown forwards from the blast landing a good twenty feet away. She groaned and rolled to her back feeling as though she had just been beaten for an hour straight with baseball bats.

Her ears were ringing which muffled the nearby voices that called out for help to suppress the flames. The brilliant light from the explosion temporarily blinded her for a few seconds. Everything was a hazy blur and yet she knew when 3 heavily armoured soldiers stood over her talking among themselves. One bent down and grabbed her by the wrist pulling her to her feet. Even if she wanted to stand her legs weren't going to allow for much balance. She nearly crumpled but a second soldier held her up. She couldn't make out what they were saying and yet she forced a twisted smile across her face. Even if they beat her senseless right here it wouldn't matter because that - had been awesome.

The two soldiers half dragged her into the compound muttering things among themselves. In the corner of her eye she could still see the dim light of the flames and those struggling to extinguish them.

A large medal door opened and suddenly she was engulfed in an iridescent white light and gray hallways stretching as far as the eye could see. A deafening alarm was ringing throughout no doubt due to her arsonist act and yet there was very little activity within the halls. Her captors continued to drag her deeper down the narrow passages until they stopped at a large up armoured door that slid open and gave them access with a discreet pass code. Without much consideration she was tossed into a small 4 wall cell and closed in surrounded by darkness.

She was completely alone in here. She felt her way around the room unable to gauge her surroundings. It wasn't a very small cell. Maybe 15X15 feet. At one point she was feeling around the room when she crashed into a long metal platform protruding from the wall. She winced feeling her shin crunch into the hard surface. Her fingers traced along its cool top realizing this was a makeshift bed. When she realized what it was she wondered just how long she was going to be in here. From what she could tell there were two doors to this cell. Why, she wasn't sure at all.

Minutes felt like hours and hours felt like days. The more time she spent waiting in the dark the more she began to reconsider her choices. For all she knew, they would keep her in here until she rot and never know the reason she chose to attack. All she could think about was how she wished she had their attention. She couldn't help but feel eerily calm in light of her predicament.

There came metal scraping followed by a whoosh that caught her off guard. She had been lying on the table when she heard the footsteps. She didn't say a single word despite not being able to see a single god damn thing. Out of nowhere she felt a hand on each shoulder. The sensation both shocked and frightened her. Who the hell was in here?

She felt the strength of the person lift her to her feet and within the second she was thrown against the wall violently. Her head crashed backwards against the iron walls and she groaned feeling as though she had been through the blast all over again. Something wet streamed down her face and she knew she was bleeding. Her eyes darted in all directions to try to see her assailant but in the darkness they remained undetected.

This was one of the best parts about his job. The infrared goggles made it ever so simple to see his detainee and gave him every advantage to strike when necessary. It was all part of the job and he loved it. He didn't imagine this young woman would stand it much longer. He'd broken men twice his own size and with the attitude of a male Deathclaw during mating season. This was child's play. When she punched at the air he couldn't help smirk at her attempt to defend herself. She turned in all directions while he stood perfectly still and watched. When she faced him directly he struck again.

This time he reached out with his hand and grasped her neck firmly in his hand. Her hands flung up to catch his wrist but before she could get any kind of grip he flung her back. She fell backwards stumbling over her own feet and fell to the ground. With eyes wide and frantically looking around she backed herself into the corner. She took short stabbing breaths as she tried to process what was happening here. Who was this person? Why was he doing this? What kind of tactic was this! She didn't beg him to stop. She did not cry out nor did she try to defend herself. She simply sat in the corner waiting for the next strike. When it didn't come she slowly began to stand.

When she was just about fully erect she felt the knuckles collide with the side of her face. Never before had someone struck her like this. One again she was on the floor tasting the warm metallic iron of her blood in her mouth. On the floor and on her knees, she remained still. She knew if she could see, everything would be spinning and she fought back the urge to be sick.

He was content with her current state now. She wouldn't put up much of a fight during her escort to the red room. He removed the goggles as the second door opened once again. This time however, there was a very faint red light illuminating the way for them.

She tried to glance at the one responsible for her torture but he wore a full medium weight combat armour. His entire body was clad in the black outfit, his face included - except his eyes which were covered by the goggles. She couldn't bring herself to look into his face anyways.

His orders had been clear right from the start. The Enclave believed she acted alone out of her own spite towards them. This had been the first crime directed towards them in months of this size which was really just a slap in the face. Truth was the higher couldn't care less about why she had done it. What they wanted to make sure was that it never happened again so fear was the best tactic.

It wasn't common for a female to be brought before him. He enjoyed breaking women once in a while. Usually his work catered towards more internal affairs and high-profile cases versus petty street arson but things had been slow and perhaps the highers felt he needed a bit of refreshing. If that was the case he was going to have some fun with this one.

The girl looked twenty or so. He noted her somewhat unusual attire. Kind of high-tech for a common Van girl. This was stuff the Enclave issued to its recon guys to wear under their armour. How had she gotten a set?

He dismissed the thought relatively quickly as he continued to collect his image of her. She had definitely been banged up tonight. That blast had burned a lot of her skin and blood was matted into her pulled back light blonde hair. She looked as though she'd die at any moment and yet she still clung on to life. Her slender frame, firm looking ass and well-developed bust would have certainly gotten a fair bit of notice from the other guys but he was a professional.

He scooped her to her feet from underneath her arm and lead her down the narrow corridor. She did not protest or dare to fight back. Not yet.

When they arrived at the next door she took a deep breath. The door opened revealing a slightly smaller room with a bathtub like object in the center. Four red lights places in each corner of the room shone down on tub illuminating the contents inside. He led her inside and shut the door behind them. Her attention soon turned to the contents in the tub.

"Just water," his voice explained. He was so calm and yet that made her feel slightly more on edge.

He reached up and pulled the black ski like mask over his head. Curiosity got the better of her as she turned her head to look at her captor. He had a slightly narrow face. His brows were somewhat pointed inwards giving him the look as if he was always angry. His hair was very short, maybe a one or two max with trimmers. His cheeks were sunk in a little with higher bone structure giving him a cold narrow mouth that looked as though it never smiled. His eyes were fixed on her with an intensity she had never seen before. There was something so cruel in his eyes that she couldn't bring herself to look at him for longer than a second.

Despite of his terrifying presence he was an extremely attractive man. Although it shamed her to think this she still was able to stifle such inappropriate thoughts and focus on more pressing matters.

He suddenly reached out and took hold of her. She flinched unexpectedly as he took her arms and pulled them behind her back. She felt the abrasive bond wrap around her wrists pulling them tightly and uncomfortably. She tried to stay composed herself but as he kicked out the back of her legs and dragged her to the edge of the filled tub her heart began to race.

He stood over her at her left side while he held her by her hair and restraints over the tub of water.

"The guys and I like to play a game with you vermin," he began. His voice was menacing yet very low, composed and charming. The contrast sent shivers down her spine. "See, we all pick a ten second block. When you finally give in, we check the time and one of us wins the days bet. I am giving you credit. I have the block two minutes, twenty seconds. If you can count to that number while submerged then die you'd be giving me some cash to spend at the bar tonight," he told her as he pulled her head back.

She stared at him with wide eyes.

It pleased him to see her like this. This way he knew he had all the control.

He had to be kidding.

Suddenly he plunged her head down into the water. She began to kick and struggle against his hold. He held her so firmly and yet she tried with all her might to break herself free. Panic washed over her as she felt him submerge her face in deeper. She tried to break the bonds that held her with absolutely no success. From within she could hear him laughing at her. He was enjoying watching her drown. He was going to enjoy killing her. Every second dragged on as she thought about what time she had left.

Lisi thought about how she accepted her life was over when she had radiation poisoning from drinking from the toxic lake or how she had been lost, nearly frozen out in the mountain storm. All those times seemed like a better way to die. Even the explosion that rocked her body felt better than this. This was helplessness at its best at the mercy of a sadistic man who was more concerned about getting his drink on then her life.

She fucking hated him. She wished their roles were reversed and that she could drown him. Watch him struggle and plead to the water to spare his life. To see his legs give that one final kick as his life flow down the drain with the vile water.

Despite her last moment she thought of Haynes. She hated him more than anything in this fucked up world and yet she just wanted someone to save her at this moment.

Perhaps she deserved this kind of cruel death. She hadn't exactly been the model citizen.

Everything had always been for herself. Maybe Haynes was right when he told her that her hands were just as blood stained as his own. She had hurt the other kids back in Fort Orleans. She was the reason the Raiders shot Teddy. She bludgeoned Canine until his brains decorated the caves.

She didn't deserve her life or a chance to avenge her parents.

Lisi stopped thrashing violently in the water. Who really was the monster in this situation? Was he any different from her when she held Weed's life in her hands? She chose to take it in cold vengeance for her parents.

This interrogator was doing the same thing.

At that moment she stopped thrashing about in the water. She canted her head slightly to the left. Her one eye stared up at him through the water. Despite the weak light in the room he could see her perfectly as the water settled.

He was surprised and yet his face remained expressionless. She was staring at him with just one eye as she remained submerged in the water.

In all his years as the leading interrogator he never had some one look upon him this way. He spent his life reading into people's emotions and displays but this one was way out of context. He even turned her head just a bit more so he could fully grasp the look she gave him.

Her straight line mouth. The way her eyes didn't squint or her brow furrow in the slightest. She no longer look at him with repugnance. When her stare fell away from his he knew what was about to happen. He felt her body tense up as he stomach heaved.

She braced herself with what was to come next.

Just open your mouth. Just let it in. It won't hurt. It's ok. Just breath, she willed.

Lisi could no longer keep the air in her lungs. She had to take the breath. She knew what it meant and despite feeling regret, she opened her mouth and closed her eyes. She breathed in feeling her lungs swell and the end creep in.