16. Breath: The Commonwealth can breathe a little easier.
"Now is not the time to be hacking." Hancock hissed through his teeth to Nora from the bottom of the stairs. Nora kept herself hunched over the terminal, occasionally glancing up at the screen to figure something out.
"Is somebody there?" A mechanical voice called. Hancock swore under his breath. He jumped up the stairs, grabbing Nora by her belt and pulled her away from the terminal back down the stairs.
A new mechanical voice joined the chorus of synths. "Citizens who comply will not be harmed." A protectron voice grinded out. Hancock pulled Nora around the landing of the stairs to keep them from being spotted.
Nora shook with anticipation as the synths and protectron dueled it out at the top of the stairs. "Hey," Hancock whispered. She looked at him with wide hazel eyes. He cautiously wrapped his arms around her waist to secure her to him, "I'm here this time. We'll find Kellogg and kick his ass."
Nora nodded. She looked at his chest, grabbing the lapels of his frock and fingering with the edges. Her Minutemen's general hat shielded her eyes from him, but he knew she was staring through him rather than at him. An explosion of shots and shredded metal knocked them back into the situation.
"Area secure." A single synth voice said.
Nora fiddled with something on her Pip-Boy, "one left." She whispered, her breath hitting the exposed part of his neck. Hancock let her go, allowing her to creep up the stairs first and take out the patrolling synth.
Fort Hagen was in full lockdown. Synths, turrets, hell Hancock wouldn't be surprised if he found an assaultron in the building.
"If it isn't my old friend, the frozen TV dinner." A man's voice, who Hancock assumed to be Kellogg, crackled out over the PA system.
Nora stopped dead in her tracks, gun down at her side, body trembling. "Kellogg." she whispered. Her body began to convulse. She threatened to fall to her knees, her body starting to go limp. Hancock stepped over a pile of boxes.
"Hey, babes," He laid a hand on her shoulder, "It's okay." Nora seemed to relax a little in his company. She squared her shoulders and raised her gun, ready for whatever was coming around the corner.
The two easily took out a handful more of synths, hiding behind collapsed ceilings, overturned desks, and thick walls.
"Never expected you to come knocking on my door." Kellogg's voice came over the PA system once more. "Gave you 50/50 odds of making it to Diamond City. After that? Figured the Commonwealth would chew you up like jerky." At least the guy was a realist. "Though it seems you made a detour to Goodneighbor while you were out." Hancock didn't like the fact that this bastard knew him.
Nora seemed to ignore Kellogg as she slammed her fist down on an elevator button.
"It's not too late. Stop. Turn around and leave. You have that option. Not a lot of people can say that." Kellogg warned her, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.
Nora stepped into the elevator and gave Hancock an expectant look ."Shit," Hancock grumbled, "I don't like this." He entered the elevator, "this feels too much like a trap."
"It's no trap," Kellogg's voice came on over the speakers once more. "The synths are standing down. Let's talk."
Nora was out of the elevator before the doors could completely open, and Hancock was right behind her. She hurried down the set of stairs, completely focused on the end goal. If Hancock wasn't terrified for Nora's life he would have thought her fiery determination to be sexy. Who knew what this bastard was truly capable of? "The mayor stops there." Kellogg's voice said once they reached the bottom of the stairs. He was no longer on the PA system. Hancock could hear his voice from the room at the end of the hall. Nora glanced at Hancock, before she could say something back two gen-1 synths marched out of the room and down the hall. Nora kept her gun raised at one and Hancock stared down his shotgun at the second.
"You lay a finger on her and there will be hell." Hancock growled.
"I'm shaking." Kellogg deadpanned. He still hadn't poked his head out of the room and every instinct told Hancock to book it back home.
"Alright, Kellogg. No guns. We just talk. Good?" Nora raised her voice enough so it would carry down the hall. She lowered her weapon once she realized the synths were no threat.
"Sounds good to me." Kellogg's voice dripped venomously. Nora glanced once more at Hancock before walking down the hall with the synths flanking her either side. The door swung half closed and Hancock started down the hall, ready to stand guard just incase.
"Hancock, it's okay." Nora's voice came from inside the room. "Just wait there." Hancock let out the breath he'd been holding.
Too often Hancock found himself observing when he'd rather be involved. He paced the width of hallway, absentmindedly twirling his knife in his hands. After a few minutes of making himself dizzy Hancock sat on the bottom stair and kicked his legs out in front of him. He fished around in his pockets and found a hit of jet. He glanced at the door, he could hear hushed voices, so he knew Kellogg didn't just snap Nora's neck, but he wouldn't risk taking chems incase things got hairy. Hancock leaned back on his elbows, rolling his neck and closing his eyes. He was starting to grow bored.
"John?" His head snapped up, "You okay out there?" Nora asked, her voice level, but quiet.
Hancock silently rose to his feet, "yeah." He answered as he crept forward as silently as he could. Something was off. He raised his shotgun, all of his senses were on high alert. "You okay in there, Sunshine?" He asked.
"I'm fine, John." Nora answered flatly.
Hancock now stood before the door, he could see the synths patrolling along a caged off part of the room, but Nora's voice seemed to come from the middle of the room. "You sure?" Hancock asked again, he was thankful his hands weren't sweaty as he adjusted his grip on his gun.
"Yes, John." Nora repeated.
Hancock kicked the door open with a new burst of energy. Several things happened at once. Hancock saw Kellogg standing over Nora, one boot pressed to her right wrist, the other pressed to her chest. Nora craned her head around, blood covering half of her face. The synths immediately raised their rifles to point at him.
"Hancock! No!" Nora's screamed ripped through the air as Kellogg and the two synths started firing. Hancock easily took down the two synths.
Kellogg jumped away from Nora as he reached for the grenade bouquet at his waist. Hancock kept firing at Kellogg, but the old bastard wouldn't drop! Nora rolled over onto her stomach and crawled to her discarded pack.
Kellogg threw one grenade at Nora and the other two at Hancock. Hancock ducked under the closest desk and turned it so he was shielded from the blast. He peeked out and saw Nora, legs bleeding, face bleeding, wrist twisted the wrong direction, grab something from her pack and roll over onto her back. Hancock felt a sting in his shoulder and turned back to Kellogg who reloaded his gun. Hancock took the few seconds of distraction to fire off a few shots at Kellogg.
Nora fired off a single shot and Hancock watched in slow motion as the missile hit him square in the chest and knock him back.
For a tantalizing breath everything was still. Nora dragged herself to her feet, Hancock saw how she swayed and jumped over the desk to run to her. "Nor-" she held up a hand to stop him. Staggering, dripping an insane amount of blood, Nora made her way over to Kellogg where they could still hear him wheezing, clinging to life.
"Where is he?" Nora seethed through her teeth.
"Y-you're to-too late." Kellogg spat blood up on her feet. Hancock walked around the several desks and piles of debris to stand on Kellogg's other side.
Nora bent down and ripped his gun from his hand. "How do I find the Institute?" She pointed the gun at him.
Kellogg barked out a laugh, "Haven't you learned? You don't fi-find the Institute. The Institute finds y-you." He attempted to sit up but Nora raised one foot and slammed it down on his shoulder.
"I'm not done yet." She growled. Hancock glanced at her. Face beaten black and blue, legs nearly blown off. Even though she had been swaying, she now stood stiff as a tree. "How did they find you?"
"Wouldn't you like to kn-know?" Kellogg taunted. "What's the phrase?" His head rolled to the side to look at Hancock, "'so close yet'," he turned back to Nora, "'so far'?"
Nora didn't flinch as she fired a single shot between his eyes. Kellogg's head fell back limp, brains splattered on the floor. Nora swayed and Hancock stepped over Kellogg to catch her.
"You came." She clutched him. He lowered her to the ground, leaning her back against the nearest wall.
"Yeah, well," He searched the room and eventually found her pack discarded where she had left it, and found her hat a few feet away. He wandered back over and put himself between her and the wall, settling her between his legs as he leaned back "You called my name." Hancock dug around in the pack. He found a bandana and some purified water. "Seemed weird that you called me 'John', so I figured you must have needed a dashing prince to save you." Hancock tried to make light of the situation.
"I did, let me know when he gets here." Nora rested back on Hancock's chest, allowing him to crane her neck back to clean her face off.
"Ouch, babes." Hancock playfully nudged her with one leg. "You wound my soul."
Nora let out a single amused hum. He looked away from the gash over her left eye. A twin scar to Kellogg's. Hancock's stomach churned. He meticulously worked to get as much blood mopped up as possible. He gave Nora two stimpacks and sat back as the medicine did its job. His back ached from all the creeping, jumping, and hits he had taken, no doubt. Nora's head turned and Hancock winced and held his shoulder.
"Hancock?" Her voice was distant as he fished out another stimpack and jammed it into his shoulder. "You got hit." Nora observed, she sat forward and twisted her body around to look at him with concern.
"Ain't like it never happened before." Hancock rolled his shoulders, working the medicine in. He felt a little better, but stayed seated with Nora. She just watched him, her eyes wide with worry. He raised his arms for an embrace as if proving to her that he was fine. To his surprise, Nora leaned back into his arms. She guided his hands to hold her around her midsection, lacing her fingers with his. Hancock was sure his chem laced heart would explode from his chest.
He listened to her breathe and nuzzled his face into her hair. Subtly, Nora's breathing slowed. Her slumbering breaths were soon matched by Hancock's, who wouldn't let her go until they woke again.