"Eleanor's condition continues to improve as the treatments progress. However I am…disquieted by how steadily Subject Delta progresses in his quest to reach Eleanor. I remember Mr. Alexander saying that the bond between Eleanor and Subject Delta had been deemed stronger than normal when compared to other Alpha Series and their Little Sisters. He didn't say why but I suspect I know the reason. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that the man who became Subject Delta was the donor of the sample I used to artificially conceive Eleanor. The sample was chosen at random and acquired from one of Fontaine's businesses and Delta was one of Fontaine's plasmid and tonic test subjects prior to becoming Eleanor's protector. Regardless, I shall not let biological bias get in the way of making Eleanor the People's Daughter."
Dr. Sofia Lamb
"Paternity Test"
The bathysphere from Hephaestus surfaced into the docking port at Fort Frolic, the door opening and allowing Jack to exit. He looked around at the Bathysphere station and noticed that the purple curtains that Cohen had set up in the station were all mildewed and tattered. The plastered bodies that once dangled from the ceiling had mostly all fallen to the ground and a couple of them were floating in the water. The giant rabbit mask had also crashed and fallen, with one ear and one eye still visible above the water. Jack quietly left the station, heading for the bathysphere leading back to Arcadia but as he stepped into the station area, he saw the passage leading into the Arcadia Bathysphere station was blocked by debris. He growled in annoyance.
"Sinclair you said that one of my friends would be here." Jack said impatiently.
"I'm not lyin' to ya sport. Fort Frolic is connected to another part of Rapture by way of a conveniently hidden airlock. Head on over to Poseidon Plaza. Your friend's train should be arrivin' any minute now." Sinclair replied as Jack sighed heavily and started to enter the atrium of the abandoned pleasure center. As he approached the entrance, he heard what sounded like a piano playing inside, playing a hauntingly familiar tune. Jack hurried into the atrium and stopped to blink in surprise at how much Fort Frolic had changed over the years. The staircase to the second floor of the atrium had long since collapsed, some of the neon signs having fallen and crashed to the ground and the Quadtych had been thrown off the stage, the plaster bodies lying strewn about the atrium and the photos of Cohen's ex-disciples torn and faded beyond recognition. The stage itself had sunken slightly to one side and a Baby Grand Piano sat in its place. Sitting at the piano was a woman in what was once an elegant white dress but now torn and tattered. Her face was also horribly disfigured due to years of Splicing. The woman noticed him and leapt to her feet.
"What is this?! I am not prepared for visitors! Go away! Leave me alone! I will not see the public now!" the woman yelled in a French accent, raising a small handheld crossbow, firing it at Jack who quickly took cover, holding his tommy gun ready. The woman suddenly turned and fled, running away. Jack gave chase, running after her but he kept having to take cover as crossbow bolts ricocheted off the walls, missing him. He chased her into the Frozen Tunnel but as he approached, one of the bulkheads that had been blocked ten years ago had been cleared, the woman running through into another glass tunnel but this one looked like it had been underwater for some length of time and drained within the past two years, the ground covered with sea sludge and with traces of dead coral and sea life. He chased her through a pair of double doors, beneath a sign that read "Dionysus Park," chasing her into a large ruined area where the remains of a carrousel sat partially sunken in the mud. She ran up a short flight of stairs, Jack firing at her as she ran into what used to be a piano bar. As she ran through the doors of the piano bar, she suddenly leapt towards the ceiling, Jack rushing in but finding no sign of her.
"Damn." Jack grumbled. He then heard his radio crackle to life.
"Mr. Ryan?" a familiar voice asked.
"Eleanor?" Jack asked back.
"I can hear you Mr. Ryan! Where are you?! We must be close enough for our radio signals to be picked up!" Eleanor said as Jack looked around, remembering the sign that he'd run through a moment ago.
"I'm in a place called Dionysus Park. Where are you?" Jack asked.
"Dionysus Park? That's where I am! I'm in the Atlantic Express station! Meet me there!" Eleanor replied as Jack spotted a sign pointing him towards the train station. He quickly hurried into the halls, following the signs while keeping an eye out for Splicers. He soon entered the train station where there was a train sitting at the platform and saw Eleanor knelt inside, an empty watertight tank meant for storage being loaded with an assortment of items from a suitcase.
"Eleanor!" Jack called as he approached, Eleanor sealing the tank and loading it onto her back where the cage usually was on the other Big Sisters. She then rose to her feet and exited the train, her stance and walk indicating some kind of depression.
"Are you alright?" Jack asked as Eleanor shook her head.
"I…I've just lost someone dear to me and learned something that…it's…it's not important right now. We need to press on." Eleanor said, checking the Luger P08 and keeping it handy.
"Are you sure?" Jack asked.
"Positive. Shouldn't you be heading for Hephaestus?" Eleanor asked as Jack sighed.
"It's a dead end. We need to find an alternate method to destroy the city." Jack said as Eleanor gave a nod.
"Yes but first we need to help Elizabeth." Eleanor said.
"Who?" Jack asked.
"Elizabeth. She's been helping me. She's trapped in some kind of control room in Rapture." Eleanor said as Jack gave a nod.
"Alright. We'll help Elizabeth. Any idea where she might be?" Jack asked.
"I'm afraid not." Eleanor replied, turning her radio on.
"Elizabeth, can you hear me?" Eleanor asked.
"Yes, I can. Who's that with you?" Elizabeth asked back, causing Jack to look around.
"She can see us?" Jack asked.
"I have access to some surveillance cameras. I can see you and Eleanor. Picture's not the best but I can still see you." Elizabeth replied as Jack glanced skeptically at the cameras, noticing one hidden away in a sconce.
"I see." Jack said, reloading the ammo in his tommy gun.
"What should we do now Mr. Ryan?" Eleanor asked as Jack pondered.
"I'm looking for some answers but to get those answers, I'll need your help. You can read the memories stored in ADAM, correct?" Jack asked as Eleanor gave a nod.
"That's right." She replied as Jack pointed to his radio, turning it off. Eleanor caught the hint and did the same, pulling her aside around the corner, removing his helmet and motioning for her to listen. She removed her helmet, Jack leaning in to whisper in her ear.
"I think Alex the Great isn't the one in charge. I think he's just a figurehead. Someone else is pulling the strings and making him dance. If we were to bump off Alex's Lieutenant here in Dionysus Park, do you think you could extract their ADAM and read their memories? They might give us a clue." Jack whispered as Eleanor gave a nod.
"I can. But we need to know if there even is a Lieutenant here." Eleanor replied.
"That's the easy part. Elizabeth is in contact with Atlas so we'll ask her." Jack said as Eleanor looked towards Jack curiously.
"How did you know she's in contact with Atlas?" she asked as Jack glanced away.
"Call it an educated guess. One last thing, does the name Augustus Sinclair ring any bells?" Jack asked as Eleanor furrowed her brow.
"Yes, definitely. He was…an 'associate' of my father's." she replied.
"What happened to him?" Jack asked.
"He died two years ago trying to help us escape Rapture. Why are you bringing him up?" Eleanor asked as Jack took a breath.
"Just curious." Jack replied, putting on his helmet and turning his radio back on, Eleanor doing the same.
"Miss Elizabeth, my name is Jack. Eleanor is a friend of mine. I need to speak with Atlas. Is there any way I can do that?" Jack asked into his radio.
"I can patch you through to him if you want." Elizabeth replied as Jack gave a nod.
"Please do." Jack said. There was a brief static before Atlas picked up.
"Mr. Ryan! Miss Lamb! I just heard that the two of you are safe. Glad to hear it. Miss Comstock says you wanted to talk to me." Atlas said.
"That's correct. We want to do you a favor, Atlas. We want to help you retake Fort Frolic and Dionysus Park but we need to know if Alex has any Lieutenants in the area." Jack said.
"Mighty kind of ya boyo. As a matter of fact there are two Lieutenants in those areas. The Lieutenant of Dionysus Park is an old socialite named Mile Blanche de Glace. She doesn't have many Splicers to her name since most of the ADAM in Dionysus was harvested by the Little Sisters two years ago. Even my Sister-bots are having difficulty finding any there. She typically holes herself up in Imago Fine Arts but be careful getting in there. She's hacked the security there and it's a veritable fortress." Atlas explained.
"Alright. What about the other one?" Jack asked.
"The other is in charge of Fort Frolic. Something of a playboy named Oscar Calraca. Ever since Cohen died and Lamb disappeared, Oscar's turned Fort Frolic's Poseidon Plaza into his own private pleasure center. Anyone tries to cause trouble for him or Alexander, has to deal with Oscar and his men. He's one of Alex's bigger fish too. He likes to hole himself up in Eve's Garden, surrounded by his 'kittens' and guarded by his men. He'll be the tougher nut to crack." Atlas explained.
"We just needed the information, Atlas. We'll take care of the Splicers. One more thing. Have you heard anything from Mr. Porter or our other friend Mr. Meltzer?" Jack asked as they started backtracking Jack's path, heading towards the Piano Bar.
"I have. Mr. Porter and Mr. Meltzer were last seen in Neptune's Bounty together. Seems Alex's Splicers wrecked your sub and they're working on procuring a new one. Mr. Meltzer's the one who reengaged the genetic locks on the bathyspheres by the way. From what I can tell, they succeeded in acquiring a new bathysphere, bypassing the locking mechanism, and are heading somewhere. I just don't know where." Atlas explained.
"Mr. Atlas, since we have you on the radio, I feel that…I feel that I should tell you that Miss Holloway is dead." Eleanor said, still distressed about the news.
"I know, Miss Lamb. Miss Comstock told me about it. Thanks for telling me anyway. I'm sorry for your loss. I know you must be grieving. I understand she was like family to ya." Atlas said as Eleanor gave a nod, following behind Jack.
"She was, yes. But I need to focus on the matter at hand. I'll live for her sake." Eleanor said.
"And we'll honor her memory as best we can. If you manage to reach Mr. Meltzer or Mr. Porter, let them know that we're alright." Jack said.
"Sure thing, boyo. And good luck. I'll turn you back over to Miss Comstock." Atlas said as the radio went silent. Jack and Eleanor were passing through the Piano Bar, Jack with his tommy gun ready to fire at a moment's notice while Eleanor lingered behind him.
"Don't suppose you know anything about this area." Jack said as they followed the signs to Imago Fine Arts.
"This used to be my mother's property. I remember father came through here during his mission to rescue me. If father's memories are correct, Imago Fine Arts is indeed a fortress. There are at least three turrets and two security cameras." Eleanor explained as they reached the frozen doors to the gallery.
"Alright. Leave the turrets to me. If I'm right, even hacked turrets contain the programming not to fire on Andrew Ryan or his inner circle, and since half my DNA is Ryan's, they'll still fire but I stand a better chance in there." Jack said as he prepped his Auto-hack tool and raised a fist crackling with electricity.
"What do you need me to do?" Eleanor asked.
"First, is there any other way into this place?" Jack asked but Eleanor shook her head.
"None." She replied.
"Good. I'll go in, get turn the Security against her and hopefully that will either kill her or flush her out into your waiting arms…or needles, however you prefer." Jack said as Eleanor gave a nod.
"And if you're wrong about the turrets?" Eleanor asked.
"Then I'll bail and we'll think up another plan." Jack replied, Eleanor giving another nod.
"Alright." Eleanor said before Jack injected himself with an EVE Hypo for good measure and then charged inside. Delta's memories of the area were spot on. A turret and security camera were the first things to greet him in the frozen gallery. The turret turned and opened fire, the turret twitching as it tried to both hit and miss Jack due to his genes while the security camera locked onto him, the red spotlight turning white and the detection bell ringing. Jack quickly zapped the camera first, ducking to one side to avoid the turret and then zapping the turret, knocking both out temporarily. He quickly plugged the hack tool into the turret, the light on the turret turning from red to green. Jack then zapped the camera again, rushing towards it and was about to plug the hack tool in when he heard the click of a turret turning on. He glanced down the hall and saw a second turret swiveling towards him. He quickly zapped this turret too before leaping up and hacking the camera, turning it to his side before he ran towards the second turret, hacking it mere seconds before it came back on. He then rounded the corner where another turret was sitting and had detected him. Jack again zapped this turret and started running towards it when he saw the red searchlight of a camera swivel into his path. He didn't even slow down as he ran into the camera's searchlight. The camera then spotted him, the detection bell ringing but it was zapped before security could be tripped. Jack quickly hacked the third and final turret again and was about to hack the camera when the doors to the gallery curator's office flew open, revealing Mile standing at the door.
"Get out of my home! I will not see the public today!" she screamed, raising a pair of red hot Spider Splicer hooks and leaping at him. Jack quickly leapt back, hitting her with electro bolt. The turret he'd just hacked suddenly turned and opened fire on Mile, distracting her enough for Jack to quickly hack the camera, holstering is auto-hack tool and raise his tommy gun, firing at Mile who shrieked with fury while leaping onto the ceiling but was caught in the camera's searchlight, instantly triggering an alarm. They soon heard the whistling of the security bots as they flew in, opening fire on Mile who quickly started crawling along the roof, racing towards the entrance.
"Is it time for my debut?!" Mile asked, deranged, evading the fire of the turrets and bots before dropping down onto the ground near the door, rushing out in attempt to escape. As the door to the gallery opened, she saw Eleanor standing ready at the door. Mile froze, a look of surprise on her deformed face before Eleanor suddenly stabbed her through the chest and stomach, draining her ADAM while Mile screamed. Jack quickly ran up from behind with the air grabber and tore her throat open, killing her. Eleanor finished draining Mile of her ADAM, allowing her corpse to fall to the ground. Eleanor stepped back, sifting through Mile's memories.
"Well? Did it work?" Jack asked as Eleanor gave a slow nod.
"She's seen Alexander lately. He's still alive but there is definitely something wrong. Alex seems to be working under the delusion that Fontaine Futuristics has been bought out by another company and that they're following the new CEO's orders." Eleanor explained.
"Any mention of what the new company is called? It might give us a clue as to who we're dealing with." Jack said but Eleanor shook her head.
"Sorry, no." Eleanor replied.
"Okay. It's still a clue but I'm pretty sure I know where we can get the rest of the information. This Calraca fellow in Fort Frolic. If he is one of Alex's more trusted agents as Atlas claims he is, then his memories should hold the information we're looking for." Jack said as Eleanor nodded.
"Right. Lead the way." Eleanor said as they turned towards the passage leading back towards the carrousel but as they did, Jack motioned to pause, staring straight at something. Jack had spotted something that Eleanor had clearly missed as he calmly reached down and pulled out his crossbow. He then suddenly aimed it and fired a bolt at a nearby ballerina statue, the bolt piercing through the statue's head and causing it to fall lifelessly to the ground. It was a Plastered Splicer!
"I knew it." Jack grumbled as Eleanor blinked.
"How did you know that was a Splicer?!" Eleanor asked as Jack reloaded his crossbow.
"Because that statue wasn't there when we came in. Damn Splicer must've come from Fort Frolic! Cohen used to plaster them up. Nearly killed me more than a few times ten years ago. They move silent and are absolutely deadly. We'll need to be cautious. If you see a statue, any statue, destroy it." Jack ordered as Eleanor nodded.
"You've got more experience than I do. I've only got borrowed memories to go on." Eleanor replied as they started heading cautiously back towards Fort Frolic.
"Maybe, but those memories will still help. Don't doubt yourself. I know I don't." Jack said.
"Thank you Mr. Ryan." Eleanor replied.
"And I thought I said to call me Jack." Jack said.
"You also once said I could call you father." Eleanor replied.
"Yeah but I'm not too hung up on that one given your circumstances. Delta was as much a father to you as anyone will ever be. I'm not angling to take his place." Jack said as Eleanor smiled warmly at the memories of Delta.
"He was my father…figuratively and literally."
End Chapter 10.