29. Calling- The General is summoned
"Your hair is getting long." Hancock whispered. Nora kept her eyes closed but hummed in response so he knew she heard him. She could feel him playing with her hair, running his fingers over her scalp and down to the end of her waves. She stretched, making a show of pressing her body closer to his and dragging one hand up from his waist to rest on his chest. His free hand came up and held her wrist, feeling her pulse. "I like it." Hancock added.
"I'm glad." Nora mumbled into his side.
"Course, I like a lot of things you do." The hand that was wrapped around her squeezed her closer. Nora gave a tired chuckle and nuzzled closer, throwing one of her legs over his.
"I wish we could stay like this." She whispered as they settled into a position that was comfortable for them.
"I mean, no one says we gotta stop this." Hancock shrugged. Nora smiled. There was a knock at the door. Nora began to sit up, but Hancock caught her arms. She looked at him, wide eyed without her glasses on. "Maybe if we're quiet they'll think we're not home." He breathed. Nora silently giggled and pressed her forehead to his.
"It could be important." She reasoned.
"It could be no one." Hancock countered, he pulled her down for a kiss when there were three more sharp knocks. Hancock quietly groaned as Nora smirked against his lips. She pulled away, slipping from his grasp with ease. She slung her coat over her shoulders, but didn't bother with her armor. She tiptoed to the door and opened it just enough to peak out.
"Deacon!" She tried to clear the sleep from her throat. "What are you doing here in Sanctuary?"
"General, I am so sorry," Preston was behind Deacon, "I tried to tell him you didn't want to be disturbed, but—"
"Yeah, yeah, you gave your best effort. four stars, two thumbs up—look, Professor. We've got a problem."
Nora could feel Hancock come up beside the door. He was hiding from view, but not in a shameful way, more of a eavesdrop-y way. Nora didn't look at him. "What's going on?"
"Synths. Helluva lot of them. Dead."
Nora's heart skipped a beat, "Dead? Bu-what? How?" Were they trying to escape? Why would Shaun resort to killing and dumping a massive amount of synths? It was sloppy, it wasn't like him. She raked her nails over her scalp, gripping her hair in frustration.
"Not dead, but destroyed, really." Deacon clarified. "Heaps of them, just tossed. Profesor." Deacon swallowed hard. Nora panicked. Something had him spooked. Deacon never got spooked.
"What?" She urged him.
"They look like you."
Nora gripped the door tighter. "What?" She raked a hand through her hair again and swayed on her feet. What would have possessed Shaun to do such a thing? Sure, she had made it clear she wasn't interested in joining him in his vision, but she still made an effort to see him, still made an effort to be in his life. It wasn't possible and yet—
"Show me."
Nora had promised Hancock she would come straight to Goodneighbor once she was done with The Railroad. He hadn't seemed happy, but had accepted her kiss and wish goodbye, so she wasn't too concerned about his jealousy. Underneath the Old North Church Nora stared at the five destroyed synth bodies.
One had no head, or hands.
Another was missing its legs.
One was riddled with several bullet holes and missing its jaw.
The fourth had a huge hole in its midsection.
And the final one looked perfectly human, save for its black, vacant eyes, and silent screaming expression. Even with Deacon's warning, Nora had audibly gasped when she first descended the stairs into the crypt. They had cleared the space in the back left corner for the bodies, which Nora paced around with her index knuckle clamped between her teeth.
Desdemona flicked her cigarette away and crossed her arms. "Any idea why The Institute would do this?" She asked.
Nora kept her arms tight around herself. "No." She answered honestly. Her blood ran cold the second she saw the bodies. All passably human, with the exception of wires coming from their damaged parts.
"Can I?" Tinker Tom raised a finger.
"No, Tom." Desdemona immediately stopped him.
"I don't understand." Nora whispered. This didn't make sense. This wasn't supposed to happen.
"Maybe they're trying to replace you?" Deacon suggested.
"Maybe they already have." PAM suggested.
Deacon groaned and rubbed the back of his neck, "ahhh, ever the optimist, huh, PAM?"
"Professor, I—"
"Can it, Tom." Desdemona warned him. "Do you think it's safe to send her back in?" She turned to Deacon.
"Hard to say, boss." Deacon shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Is it even safe to send her back out? What do you think, Prof?"
Nora stroked her chin, stretching her jaw one way until it popped. "I don't know." She answered honestly. She was numb.
"Maybe PAM is right, I mean, do we know this is OUR Professor?" Drummer Boy asked.
"Of course she's our Professor, I went and got her myself!"
"Your track records indicate you get a job done correctly on team missions, with a success rate of 98.2 percent. While solo missions have a success rate of 52.7 percent—"
"Thanks for the morale boost, PAM."
"Deacon, be serious, are you absolutely this is Nora? That you didn't bring an Institute spy into our midst?"
"Professor!" Tinker Tom blurted over the noise of the room. Everyone looked at Tom in shock. "It's the birds."
"Oh boy," Deacon grumbled.
"Tom," Desdemona groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration, "not this again."
"What?" Nora asked.
"The birds!" Tom climbed over the back of his chair to stand before the group. "Think about it. How come crows are the only non-irradiated animal on the surface? The Institute uses them as cameras."
There was a beat of silence where everyone processed what Tom had just suggested.
"Yeeeeah, anyways, crackpot conspiracy theories aside," Deacon began, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter.
"No," Nora held up a hand to silence the room once more, "that...that might be it."
"Excuse me?" Desdemona shifted her weight and laid her hands on her hips.
"When I was down there, they showed me a lab where scientists were creating synth animals as a way to repopulate extinct species and reintroduce them to the surface world." Nora explained. She began to pace. "It isn't too far off to think that maybe a project involving birds was developed into a spy system. But the only places I've seen non-irradiated birds is—" Nora felt a chill run down her spine.
"Is where, Professor?" Desdemona urged.
"Diamond City, and my home." She admitted.
Desdemona processed what she had just said before straightening up. "Alright, everyone. The Professor will be staying here for a few days. I need anyone who goes out on missions to check up on her people, and under no circumstances are you to trust the Professor outside of these walls."
"You can't keep me here, Des." Nora argued. "I'm General of the people of the Commonwealth. You can't just—"
"With all due respect, Professor," Desdemona lit a new cigarette, "we can't take any chances."