There was a sudden explosion of gunfire down the hall to the left. With a lack of caution unlike her Calli hurtled into the hall. Nathan was trapped behind an upturned table, taking fire from an open doorway. Calli dived in beside him.
"Calli!" Nathan looked shocked at the distinctive battle gear. "What are you doing here?"
"Who the hell are you?" she demanded. "And what are you doing here?" She fired off a volley in the direction of the doorway.
She noticed Hawk crouching in a doorway next to them, motioning toward another room. He rose and fired a volley in the direction of the entrance where more men immediately took cover. The boy responded to her question without thinking.
"Nathan." He answered. "Nathan Halliday. I expect I'm here for the same thing you are. The prototype." The helmet briefly turned in his direction, then whipped back as she let loose another volley.
"Aren't you the brother of Scott Halliday? The man who insists he's going to kill me?", she asked.
Nathan swung his rifle and fired off at a man trying to sneak into the back of the hall.
"Yes", he admitted reluctantly.
"Well, Nathan Halliday, what are we going to do now? It seems you've sounded the alarm. You planning on killing me?", she demanded.
"Not at the moment", he said grimly. "I'm a little busy. How are we going to get out of here?"
"By working together." She pointed at the room Hawk had indicated. "I'm going to cover you and you get into that room. Then you cover me from the doorway." He nodded. Calli motioned to Hawk, then let out a volley of fire. Hawk opened on the other position as Nathan rushed from his place into the empty doorway.
Nathan whirled and crouched behind the doorway, firing rapidly at the hall entrance as Calli dove for the door. She slid in on the other side.
"Over there", she said, pointing with her chin as she kept her hands on her weapon. "On that long table. See it?"
Nathan looked where she pointed. Sure enough a strange looking weapon lay on the table.
"I'll keep them out, go get it", she ordered.
Nathan glanced at her, firing out the doorway, then hurried over to the workbench. He snatched up the prototype and hurried back.
"Got it", he said. "What do we do now?"
"Hold on, I'm almost out of energy cells. I'm sure there's some in there somewhere. Hold the position", she said and before he could offer to get them she took off for the other side of the room. Busy holding off the guards, he didn't see her break into the computer and download the schematics to her Pip-boy. As she had suspected it hadn't been well protected so it only took a couple minutes.
"Now we leave", she said, coming up behind him. "I'm going out. You stay right behind me. Hawk will join us and we'll be able to cover all angles while we retreat. Believe me, this isn't going to be easy, but stay between us whatever you do."
Nathan nodded. They broke cover and headed for the door. The bodies of a few guards lay in the hall entrance; others broke cover in a desperate attempt to stall their flight. Calli tried to stop as many as she could without killing them, but battle doesn't leave many options. They burst through the front gate.
"Run", she yelled, and Nathan ran, the sound of weapon fire behind him letting him know they were covering his retreat.
Nathan stopped running, breathing hard, and turned to look back. And froze. Calli was close behind him, not breathing hard at all, and her laser rifle was pointed directly at him. Hawk stood close behind her, his mini gun held lightly upward.
"Don't", she said, as he started to raise his rifle. He stopped.
"Drop the prototype on the ground," she demanded, her voice cold and hard, "and the rifle."
He slowly bent down, laying the weapons on the ground. He should have known she wouldn't leave without the prototype. He straightened to look at the hard mask with the hard amber eyepieces.
"Calli", he began, but she interrupted him.
"Turn around. With your hands where I can see them", she demanded coldly.
He raised his hands and turned his back on her. He had never been so scared. He could feel the cold shivers running down his spine, waiting for the blast. He started to tremble, but held himself as tight as he could, his back stiff, trying not to show her his fear.
Calli felt sorry for the boy, but kept her voice hard as she said, "I didn't target your brother, Nathan Halliday. He chose to be a soldier and if he died in combat then he died a soldier's death. Some men died tonight that didn't need to because of you. I could have gotten in and out of there with no one the wiser. Don't turn around!", as he started to turn to say something to her.
He froze. For what seemed a long time, but was probably only seconds, he waited, then the voice came again, seeming further away, "I've given you back your life tonight, boy. Make something good of it."
He turned around quickly. They were gone, but not 15 feet away, side by side on the ground, lay his rifle and the prototype.
Calli and Hawk were slowly making their way through the wasteland toward Arhome.
"How much damage did you sustain?", Hawk asked, not saying, but she felt the rest of the question "protecting that boy with your body?" Hawk had never understood her obsession with the Halliday men. She wasn't sure she understood it herself, but one thing she was sure of now. Any obligation she had felt toward them had long since been paid.
"Enough. I'm tired, Hawk, let's spend some time at Arhome healing, then I think we should see if Aaron will take us north on the Tradewind. We can visit your people for a while and see how Halnet is doing." Hawk grunted. Mutant males really weren't the best of mates but he did rather miss her sometimes.
"Aren't you going to sell the schematics?", he asked.
"No. The bosses are sure to hear I staged the raid so they'll suspect I might have them. There will be plenty of rumors about the boy, though. No, I think we'll stay out of sight for a while. They can figure we've holed up somewhere treating our wounds. It'll give the boy a chance to unload his prototype at a good price. Then I'll sell the schematics to Sergei for a discounted price. It'll help level the playing field for him and help cement our business arrangements. I know his weapons and custom ammo business has been down some since they came to town. Besides, I really do need a break. I think it's going to take a while to heal from this one.", she said tiredly.
He nodded. He had suspected she was hurt more than she was admitting, though not badly enough to regenerate. Regenerating might be quicker but it was a lot more dangerous.
Calli sauntered into Dr. Bening's office. She moved easily but it didn't fool his practiced eye.
"What have you been up to now?", he asked. "Let me take a look at you."
She shook her head. "Not necessary, Doctor, I'm healing all right. That's not what I came for. I want to discuss an arrangement about Nathan Halliday."
The doctor considered, tenting his hands and watching the little woman. She had removed her helmet and looked almost like a child with her wide eyes and pixie face but he knew it would be a mistake to underestimate her.
"I talked to the boy. I'll consider taking him on. I'm going to need full support for him, though.", he said to start off the bargaining.
Calli nodded. Her trader's blood was raised at the prospect of bargaining, but she quelled the impulse. She smiled at the doctor. "Of course, but I expect him to get the best training and tools. I'll also subsidize anything he needs, and I want him to have a wage of 100 caps a week, as well as full room and board. I will pay for all of this, but there are a few caveats."
The doctor hadn't expected otherwise. He was actually surprised at her generous terms and was willing to abide by any reasonable requests.
"The boy must never see me without my armor", she said firmly. "I don't care how you arrange it, send him out on a mission, to a clinic, or lock him in his room, whatever it takes. But that is an inviolate request. He's Scott Halliday's brother, and I don't trust him where I'm concerned. If he ever sees me the deal's off and all subsidies stop. I don't want him anywhere near me or Hawk. When we come in, we're vulnerable."
Dr. Bening interrupted, "But he doesn't have any grudge against Hawk. Why would he want to hurt him?"
Calli shrugged, "I don't take unnecessary chances. Who knows what Scott would do to get to me? That part of the deal is not negotiable. Also, he isn't to be kept here in the Citadel. He needs to keep his wasteland skills because once his training is finished I want him out in the wasteland helping people, not locked up in here just to take care of your soldiers. I don't want him to know who his benefactor is since he might be inclined to reject the offer. Are these terms acceptable?"
Doctor Bening quirked an eyebrow. "Tell me, Calli, why are you doing this for this boy?", he asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
"Because he's an exceptional boy and he'll be an exceptional doctor. We need people like him. Now, what about the terms? I'll leave 2000 caps for a retainer and come by periodically to see what is owed. If I can't come I'll send someone to take care of it.", she replied.
"The terms seem fair enough," the doctor said, knowing full well they were extremely generous. "I'll send for the boy in the morning and see when he can start."
Nathan was an exceptional student. During the next four years he trained hard and excelled in his studies. During his infrequent deployments with Brotherhood units he became fascinated with the mutations that occurred with regularity throughout the wasteland. After his graduation he started working in the clinic outside the citadel gates when he wasn't with a unit. Once a month he would make rounds in the wasteland. He spent much of his time in research on the FEV when he wasn't working as a field doctor.
Over the next three years his reputation continued to grow. His brother would often harass him to help him hunt Calli but he would always refuse. He often heard stories of the partner's exploits but he never saw Calli. To his dismay she continued to avoid him. Even the young novitiate Marcella never came out into the wasteland anymore. He kept hoping he might see her again. There had been something about her that had attracted him as no other woman had since. He was no saint. He had his share of women but even though he was already 23 years old he hadn't found anyone he wanted to be with the rest of his life.
