It was another hard trek, but the Citadel hove into view around midday, turrets dumbly watching the river and a few knights on patrol around the perimeter. The morning had been dull and grey and seemingly lifeless; if Charon had been superstitious he would have seen it as a bad omen for sure. But as it was, the lack of breeze and dampness in the air would probably become a thick fog which would be ideal for stealth if the Brotherhood could be convinced to make the move today.
"So what do we do when we get in there?" Lee asked. They were walking around the extremely long concrete wall of the Citadel itself and had a few minutes before they would reach the main gate.
"I think we should talk to Madison first of all. She'll be able to put together what we can tell her about the situation and present it to the Elder better than we could."
"Yeah, probably. I doubt they'd listen to a nobody wastelander and a ghoul, anyway. Dicks."
Charon smiled a little sourly. Very true.
They rounded the corner of the massive structure and came up to the several-ton gate and the guardsmen outside with their sentry bot backup. No matter how many friendly sentries he saw, Lee always got seriously creeped out by them. It just seemed so easy to get a rocket or machinegun fire in the back as soon as you turned away. He eyed the thing suspiciously as Charon talked to the guard on duty. The guard radioed inside and waved them through the gate as it ground upwards to admit them. Lee jumped a little as the sentry's synthesized voice sounded behind them, "Have a nice day."
They found Dr. Li having lunch in the mess hall with a few junior scribes, looking out of place among the sea of young faces in red robes. The low murmurs of the room quieted as the people eating turned to look at the two outsiders standing in the doorway, Madison among them. She finished her bite of food and quickly rose to join them, beckoning them to follow her. As they moved through the hallways to her room she muttered, "It's so hard to get any privacy here but the room they put us up in will have to do." They reached it and stepped inside, closing the door against listening ears and prying eyes. Dr. Li looked like she'd aged a few years in the days they'd been gone; she looked tired and there was definitely a new line or two around her eyes. But her voice was crisp and businesslike as usual.
"So, you're back. Please tell me you've got some good news. Did you find the GECK? The Enclave have been extremely active at the project with these huge force fields the past few days, did you see when you came back?"
Charon and Lee glanced at each other with a grimace; good news wasn't something they had much of at the moment. Lee took a seat on one of the low cots and started telling her what had happened since they'd left the Citadel. Making it out to Vault 87, getting inside and finding the GECK, the Enclave ambush and being taken to Raven Rock, the GECK being delivered and installed at the purifier, the two of them meeting Eden and destroying the base, and Autumn's escape to the memorial.
Her eyes grew wider as the story continued, her hand covered her mouth as she said, "Oh my god... and you made it out..." She closed her eyes and sat on the cot next to Lee, giving him a sidearm squeeze. "I'm glad you're alright, both of you." Lee smiled. She always acted severe, but it was good to see the Auntie Madison side come out every once in a while. "Well, I suppose that explains all the movement at the memorial, but why haven't they activated it yet?" She frowned and stood up to pace the room. Lee started to speak, but she answered herself instead. He could almost see the click as she realized what the problem was. "The code... they don't have the activation code." She paused and looked back at Lee, "But in time they'll be able to brute force the console, no matter how many safeguards James put into the system."
"Right. That's what we need your help with. Come with us to talk to Elder Lyons. We need to get over there today and retake the purifier. Autumn's already had almost three days to work on it and I don't know how much longer our luck is going to hold out. Lyons will listen to you, right? You're friends with him."
Dr. Li shoved her hands into the pockets of her lab coat and made a sarcastic half smile, "Of a sort, yes." After a quick moment of thought she dropped her hands again and made for the door. "No time like the present if he's there now. I don't want the Enclave mucking up my lab worse than they have been."
Lee bounced up off the bed and the two of them formed up like an honor guard, escorting the slim woman through the halls toward the Elder's chambers. As they walked, Lee remembered an issue that'd been brought up before by Charon. In a low murmur, he asked Dr. Li, "The Brotherhood is probably going to want partial or complete control of the purifier in exchange for what we need to get it back. Is that alright with you? Do you mind sharing Project Purity with these people?"
Madison shrugged and turned to speak over her shoulder. "Honestly I just want this over and done with. If it means finally seeing that mechanical island doing what it was supposed to for the last twenty years, I'd work with a talking molerat. So yes, it's fine. Some of the people here I wouldn't at all mind working with."
They were silent the rest of the way there, the only sound the muffled thumps of their boots and the muted clack of Madison's low heels through the halls. Lee was starting to get nervous again. Would the Elder even hear them out? Could they give the Brotherhood a good enough reason to throw their soldiers at the memorial? A cold sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead and he shivered. He glanced up at Charon, still silent beside him. The ghoul looked calm to the point of being bored, as always. He noticed the look Lee was directing at him, and he gave him a barely perceptible nod and the faintest of winks. Lee turned forward again. If he's not worried, then I won't be either. He smiled to himself and rolled his eyes. I am calm. I am at peace.
Considering the circumstances, the meeting went extremely well. The assault on the memorial was planned for an hour past nightfall, both for tactical reasons and because Lyons needed time to coordinate with the paladins and get the troops ready for battle. Dr. Li had explained the situation with the purifier and how imperative it was that they retake it as soon as possible, and Lee and Charon had interjected a few times with smaller details they'd picked up while at Raven Rock. The plan was risky, but seemed sound. With luck, they could completely eradicate the forces still at the memorial, and the Enclave would be unable to regroup.
For the time being though, Charon and Lee were once again given free rein of the compound until the time for attack came. The corridors were mostly empty; many of the soldiers had left to the courtyard for, assumedly, some kind of strategy meeting. Those that remained were tense and the nearly deserted hallways felt thick with the anticipation of the assault. The two had hours to kill, and the non-action was already wearing on Lee; he was practically storming around with impatience. He burst through a side door and was greeted by a startled yelp.
"Hey! What are you do... Hey wait, you're those two outsiders aren't you? The ones who came over from the Jefferson Memorial?"
The room belonged to a young kid. He'd been sitting at his desk reading a datapad and was now twisted around in his chair staring at them curiously.
Oops. "Uh, yeah, I guess we are. Sorry about barging in like that, didn't know this was someone's room." Lee started to close the door and back out.
"Uhh... wait!"
Lee stopped, face questioning and Charon waiting solidly behind him.
The kid's eyes shifted around, looking a little embarrassed. "If you're not busy... do you wanna hang out?"
Lee glanced back at Charon. The ghoul shrugged and asked, "Got anything to do around here for a few hours?"
And that was how they ended up playing poker and exchanging stories with Arthur Maxson. The three of them crowded around Arthur's small writing desk and held fans of cards from an ancient, dog-eared deck. Charon was good, Lee was terrible, and after a bit of coaching, Arthur was turning out to be a surprisingly apt player.
"So how'd you know who we are?" Lee asked, looking at his cards with poorly concealed disgust.
"Oh, I hear lots of stuff when I walk around the base. I'm in training to be an initiate, but I guess no one thinks to watch what they say around me." He fumbled the cards around in his small hands, narrowly keeping them from spilling them on the table. "Almost everyone's marching on the memorial tonight to beat the Enclave... are you going too?"
Charon tossed three cards back and picked up his new ones. "You're looking at the entire infiltration team right here."
Arthur looked surprised. "Wow. You guys must be good. Not just cuz there's only two of you, but I didn't think Elder Lyons would trust outsiders to do something like that. He'd usually send a recon team for infil... uh. Infiltration."
Lee frowned and exchanged two cards. "Yeah, this is kind of a special case. We had to argue a bit to get him to say yes, but he let up in the end. Two people can sneak over to the island, slip in, and take out their leader and remove any immediate threats to the purifier inside. 'Sneaking over' is going to involve a lot of swimming through freezing water, so I'm not looking forward to that, but we gotta do it." Charon nodded as he rearranged his hand. Lee laid his cards down. "Pair of tens and pair of fours," he declared triumphantly.
Charon snapped his down, "Three sevens."
Arthur shuffled his around some more and lay them out. "Full house?"
Lee grabbed his head and howled at the ceiling while the other two laughed and pushed the cards together in a pile. Charon dealt, and Lee mumbled, "I would destroy both of you in slapjack." He rolled his eyes and dug into his backpack, bringing out an extremely odd device. It was a small black box with a switch on the side and a dish-shaped reflector sticking out the top. "Know what this is?"
Arthur picked it up and traced a fingernail over the lightning bolt symbol engraved on the bottom. "Yeah, it's an EMP device from the scribes in the lab, right? Is it for those big glowy force fields over there?"
"Yep. We're gonna find the faulty one and deactivate it with-"
The light in the room flashed red and a low siren blared out. An electronic voice followed shortly, "All troops meet in the courtyard for imminent deployment. Repeat. All troops meet in the courtyard for imminent deployment."
Charon stood and dusted off his hands. "It's time."
Lee felt zing of fear, or maybe excitement, as he stood as well, stuffing the EMP back in his bag. "Already? Better get out there then."
The two moved towards the door and were surprised when Arthur followed them into the hallway. "You're not going out there are you?" Lee asked. He said he was in training but I hope they're not that zealous with it.
"Me? Oh, no. I'm gonna go up to the balconies on the roof and watch the whole thing from there." He turned away from them and hurried down the hall, stopping once to call back, "Good luck! Come back and play more cards with me sometime!"
They waved, and quickly walked the other way to the exit doors. They weren't going to be part of the group, but they needed to leave the compound and let Lyons know that they were on their way. They stepped out of B Ring and into the spot-lit patio of the courtyard. The sky was dark now, and there was indeed a light speckle of mist in the air. The Brotherhood soldiers were queued up into teams, and they were all conspicuously standing away from the circular silo doors in the center of the area. Curious. They threaded their way through the squads, receiving a few nods and quick taps of laser rifles to helmets in a kind of salute. Lyons stood at the forefront and they raised their hands to him as they made their way out the front gate. He gave an imperial nod and turned back to begin addressing his troops. The gate shut behind them, and Lyons' words were cut off. They looked at each other and started making their way towards the first checkpoint.
They walked along the road next to the riverside, trying not to stare at the memorial, but the eye was always drawn back to the electric blue walls rising around the building. They made it to a little chunk of land stretching into the water towards the memorial island. This was the best spot to swim across. Both of them took a minute to eye the glassy black water. It looked really damn cold. Charon nudged Lee. "Better get started, we're on a time limit." Lee sighed and they both started shucking their armor and clothes off. This was going to be tough enough without the added weight of swimming with clothes on, plus the good chance of hypothermia if they went around in wet stuff afterwards. Lee dug in his pack and brought out something that had been called a 'fluid insulator package' by Elder Lyons during the meeting. The package, two stealth boys, and the EMP were given them by the scribes in the lab as their equipment for the mission, and Lee had burst out laughing when he saw what was being handed to him when he asked for the thing. It was a large, clear plastic bag. Very useful item to have right now, but Lee couldn't help but feel Lyons had been having a little fun at their expense. They dropped their clothing, guns, and Lee's pack into the bag, and Lee bound the top tightly with a scrap of twine. Now all their heavy equipment was a balloon they could float along behind them in the water. They would've looked very odd if anyone had happened to be paying attention at the moment. He turned to Charon and made a helpless grimace.
"Sooner we get this over with the better," Charon answered, not looking very happy either. "Just hope our chattering teeth don't give us away."
They stepped into the water, river mud squelching under foot, and the water feeling like it was burning their skin. Calf-deep, and Lee felt like he would never be warm again.
"H-holy moley." He poked Charon with his free hand. "Race you over there, y'g-goddamn ghoul."
"Ugh." Charon took another step forward and got ready for immersion. "You're on, smoothskin. Quietly."
They sank into the water and sucked in a breath at the horrible shock of the cold surrounding them. Lee's vision swam and he shook his head, pushing away the wave of faintness. He trailed the bag of stuff behind him and silently stroked out toward the land ahead of them. Between breaths he mumbled, "Watch, by the time we get over there the water won't seem so bad. That's how it always is."
Charon just grunted and they kept on moving. The chill of the water threatened to make their muscles cramp and seize several times, but if it happened, they just stopped and treaded water for a moment to rub some life back into the protesting limb. Thankfully the river current wasn't strong here so there wasn't anything to fight against. A few agonizing minutes later, and they shuffled up out of the water and stopped against the outer memorial guard wall. There was only a light breeze, but it felt like a gale of ice-cold wind on their dripping bodies. "Gaaaaah," muttered Lee under his breath. Keeping the rustling down to a minimum, he dug some thin blankets out of his pack for them to dry off with. Soon they were re-dressed and feeling considerably more cheerful. Maybe not warm, but not feeling like a walking glacier anymore, and they'd made it to checkpoint two. Now they had to wait for the signal. It wouldn't be long in coming, so Lee emptied and re-folded the 'fluid insulator package' and replaced it, bringing out the stealth boys and EMP. He gestured to Charon, and they slowly snuck forward to get a view of the access bridge.
Their timing had been good, and the wait wasn't long at all. A few minutes had gone by, and then a distant crunching thump could be heard. Again. Again. Like footsteps.
"Oh my god. Look at that thing," Lee whispered breathlessly.
An enormous robot was walking up the street past the bridge. Lee couldn't begin to guess how tall it was, but it dwarfed everything around it. Lee had thought the dark would make it hard to know when their cue was, but the Brotherhood had really gone all out on the distraction. The troops behind the robot were firing lasers and carrying portable spotlights, and the robot itself was tossing some kind of explosive and trumpeting loud enough to wake the dead. They could hear shouting beyond the wall and realized the Enclave were awake and responding. Now was the time.
They both activated their stealth boys and each laid a hand on the other's shoulder. Lee whispered, "Let's go get that fucker." Charon squeezed his arm and they set off.
The battle roared at the bridge. The Brotherhood had been instructed not to fire haphazardly towards the memorial so the two of them wouldn't be hit. Most of the Enclave forces had been drawn towards the bridge, and it looked like the robot had managed to severely damage the force field directly between the two groups, so the battle was raging in earnest. They had to hurry and get inside before Autumn realized something serious was going on and did something to damage the purifier. Lee figured he wouldn't be above a 'if I can't have it, no one will' attitude.
They scooted over to the damaged energy pylon, easily recognizable from the flicker of the shield every few seconds. Lee set the EMP on the ground facing the dish at the small generator on the pole and tapped Charon's shoulder. He got a tap back, and flipped the switch. The two backed away and waited for the device to work. After a few seconds, a high-pitched whine came from the force field and it flickered once more before dying completely. Lee turned off the box and pocketed it again. The way forward was open. It didn't seem any Enclave had hung back to guarddog the sides or back of the island, so they moved forward, keeping to the shadows. The door was soon in front of them, and Lee reached out to open it, feeling a twinge of sadness at the memory of coming here only weeks ago on better terms. He pulled it open and they were inside.
It was dead silent on the inside. Laser-fire, the heavy chop of vertibirds, and the booming thud of large artillery could still be heard outside, but it was muted and distant. They walked down the halls, fully expecting armed guards to burst out at any moment. But there was no one. Charon began to feel nervous, but all they could do was move forward towards the rotunda and their goal. Lee's heart thumped as they walked, the few seconds spun out into long, syrupy things that took forever to complete and begin again. But here they were in view of the rotunda door. And it was standing wide open. Autumn faced away from them, standing in the middle of the floor watching the column of water before him swirling and glowing to the sound of an engine below them. Lee's anger at everything this man had done out of selfish greed came whistling back as he looked at the lone figure waiting in the room.
He tapped Charon's nearly invisible shoulder and pointed at Autumn, then mimed grabbing him. Charon tapped him back and they glided forward into the glowing green room. Charon darted at Autumn and grabbed him in a half nelson to keep him still and his hand away from his gun.
Autumn jerked from being startled, but his voice was calm when he spoke, "I wondered when you would show up."
"I don't want to listen to whatever evil speech you have saved up." Lee's hand dropped to Charon's belt and yanked the big hunting knife he carried out of its sheath. "Cheat your way out of this one, you slimy bastard." And he sank the blade deep into Autumn's lower back, twisting it and pulling it back out.
Charon let go and Autumn slowly sank forward, dropping to his hands and knees. Blood pattered onto the floor as he knelt, looking black in the ghostly green light. Autumn coughed and retched, but spoke in a fevered voice from his spot on the floor, "I knew you were coming. Heh. If you don't turn this thing on, it's going to blow sky high." He sighed. "I'm not sorry for what I've done, only sorry I couldn't give this machine to the American people." His strength ran out, and he slumped forward, last breath passing his lips.
"Not sorry. You fuck." Lee spat on the floor next to the corpse. He wiped his mouth and stepped past Autumn to the ramp leading to the central chamber. Charon followed, turning around to watch for anyone following them. Nothing there. Just the pulsing machine before them. They walked into the middle ring and as Charon was about to warn Lee of the radiation he suddenly felt, the airlock door shushed closed behind them, sealing them inside. Charon pounded a fist against the glass, but it was double layered and several inches thick.
"Don't bother. We're trapped in here," came Lee's voice. "This must be why he stayed behind, vindictive asshole. Someone's rigged the door to shut, and if he was telling the truth, for this thing to explode if it isn't activated soon." True enough, once the doors had shut, the engine noise below them began to get louder.
"You'd better activate it then. An explosion in here will kill us, plus there's quite a bit of radiation seeping out from this center tube."
Lee looked blankly at the console in front of him. A pad of numbers, 0-9, plus an enter key. He'd mocked Autumn once for not having the code, but honestly, he didn't know what it was either. They'd come solely to get rid of Autumn; he wasn't prepared to actually activate it.
Charon's voice was starting to sound worried now, "You... know what the code is, right?"
Lee squinted his eyes shut and covered his face with his hands. "Ahhh. Shut up and let me think for a second."
The engine had gotten louder and now seemed to be thrumming faster than before. He could faintly hear the hundreds of gallons of water in front of him rushing through the tube. The code, the code. A numerical code. The code to the purifier. The code to water. Clean water. The water of...
His hands dropped down. Feeling oddly serene, he said, "I know the code, sure I do." He shut his eyes again and listened to the voice that spoke up. A soft, faintly-accented voice that he'd heard all his life; instructing, reassuring, disciplining, loving, guiding.
(It was your mother's favorite passage.)
Lee smiled and held out a hand to Charon. The stealth boys had worn off, and Charon could see tears leaking unheeded down Lee's face. He was feeling panicked at the amount of time that had gone by, but Lee seemed to have figured out what they needed. He reached over and took Lee's hand in his own. "I don't know what's going to happen, maybe activating it will blow us up as well. But we've gotta try, right?" He turned back to the console and stretched out his other hand to the buttons. "He always liked telling me about that quote. 'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.'" Pressing the buttons as he spoke, he finished the phrase, "'Revelations twenty-one six.' Enter."
As he pressed the final button, the water in front of them turned a blinding white, and the noise below them rose to a scream. It cycled louder and louder, followed by a hollow thud, and a wave of radiation washed over them. Within seconds, the two fell to the floor, hands still clasped.