Chapter 37

Cait's Save

Conspiracies didn't sit well with her, as some would become convoluted for no reason, when all along people could have made things more simple with a couple of bullets. No reason, no rhyme...just a bunch of shite that made things harder than they should have been.

Could she blame Delta for making them come out this far? And following a man who was deemed dead as well as taking them, like he suddenly declared he was King Dick or something. At least she could tolerate Old Longfellow, whom with the robot Ada, took them up to Arcadia, the home of runaway synths.

She imagined them all wilfully cowering away, at behest of their own protection and at perhaps at any given moment, twitch and switch and murder each other. Nah, that would be too easy.

She didn't understand synths nor did she want to. Considered the worst creation in all of the Commonwealth. Yet, they were going to a place full of the bastards...all due to this one old fart stating there was a lead for Delta.

Cait shouldn't have been surprised. It wouldn't be the first time Delta's helped synths. Hell, she was a member of the Railroad, idjits more concerned about fake robots then their own kind. Hypocritical at the best of times, she believed.

She wasn't fearing them though. No, she was more concerned about the radioactive fog that surrounded them. They had tech that repelled sections of it, but Longfellows talk about it would rot your brain if you hung around it too long was a warning well headed. Common sense really.

Dependance of Chems made it better or worse, either case...there were many things that could affect your noggin.

The Islands chilly atmosphere made her shiver but she pushed on, not wanting to show weakness around the group. She trekked alongside them as they made their way upwards, in the shadows of the trees and the fog. She wasn't feeling that cold however...it was just that inner feeling of something or someone not wanting them there in the first place. They eventually came across a domed building, something Longfellow described as a old observatory. Still creepy as fuck.

Cait didn't realise that half the time when they'd come across someone suspicious, that she'd be the first one up there, forcing the end of the barrel into their face.

She had to. She just had to. Especially when it was a dumb ass synth...another dumb ass synth...a weird lookin' one at that, moreso than Nick.

"Now calm down. No one needs to hurt anyone here, I know why you're all here. You're looking for Delta, are you?" DIMA noted, his annoying voice dull and calm. Cait was curious if he ever got really angry, to hear a heated pitch.

"Yeah we are you miserable pile of metal. Where the hell is she?" Cait roared.

She heard Piper sigh next to her as she through a palm to her face. The man known as Faraday had his gun out too, if not for DIMAs ushering him to standing down, pushing his gun downwards and staring at each other, with the synth shaking his head.

"Not now Cait, not until we determine him as a threat."

Nate stepped forward, as Cait watched the man striding with confidence that irked her somewhat, still wanting to plug him with a few.

"We needn't fight you. It's just a question." He said calmly, though his words were purposefully condescending in a way...to Cait herself. What ever boiled within would have be a mild temperature for now. If she could force it that way.

"Thank you. Now for the location of Delta...she could be anywhere...last time I saw her was a while ago. I've heard from her allies on the Island about her disappearance, but no word of her whereabouts." DIMA replied.

A woman in black clothing stepped away from the shadows nearby, interrupting their discussion as she stared at Nate, weapon drawn and eyes focused. Like everyone else here, Cait didn't like her one bit. It was more akin to people she's mildly seen before, those that had lurked for a moment in the corner of her and vanished.

"You're a Vault Dweller?" She asked.

Cait could only watch as she saw the man smile. Was there anything this man did that didn't outright piss her off? Who was the lesser evil here?

"I'm more than that. I could have been the guy that she married you know..." Nate said jokingly, forcing a vibration of hate up her spine.

They roused up yet another conversation about Delta, in a way that was beginning to bore her. Perhaps it was Delta herself who made this more complicated that it seems. She couldn't hate Delta. She couldn't hate the woman who saved her from herself. She put her gun away and watched carefully, seeing MacCready next to her, as he looked at for the brief moment, before observing. She could tell from the look in his eyes, that his caution was justified.

"Huh. She did mention family in one of our previous conversations. Though I had the implication that you were dead." DIMA continued. He was a worse version of Valentine.

Nate gave out one of his irritating, smug looks...she could do with a cold glass right about now.

"Yeah well he's here. So if you're not gonna answer our question, could you at least give us a lead?"

Cait said, almost surprising herself with those words. No more than she wanted to plug a person to an extent, the amount of self-control came with experience. Delta would be proud.

"My associate Chase normally does the tailing. Anything out there?" DIMA noted, asking the woman in black.

She too had lowered her weapon, though to Cait's insight, her black leather outfit looked a little familiar the more she examined it.

"My only lead is a woman that looks like Delta, though she had another woman with her that referred to her as Sandra so I highly doubt that was her." Chase mentioned.

Irregardless, it was a sign. But Cait knew of Sandra, a settler from Sanctuary.

"I know her. What the hell does she to do with this?" Cait inquired.

Chase and DiMA looked at one another. They were hard to read with their damnable stone faces. But Cait knew instantly that they were hiding something.

"Sandra's not who she...says she is." DiMA mentioned.

Chase looked away for the moment, as if in deep thought. Then looked back at DiMA and sighed, then turned her eyes to Cait.

"Delta helped DiMA with...some issues revolving stored memories. Sandra approached him asking about stored memories. I know because I was nearby, eavesdropping on their conversation."

Chase admitted, with DIMA's expression changed as one of his hands moved to the side of his face.

"Despite Sandra desiring our conversation to be private. Sandra's...different. The way she spoke to me. Its clear she's highly educated." DiMA continued.

Cait could care less about Sandra's intelligence. But she'd been suspicious. Not like suspicious of Delta's motives to begin with but rather DiMA implying something else. Something worth looking into.

"My only advice is to seek out Dalton Farm to the North...where more secrets lie..."