"You let people call you Daddy?!" Dusk shouted at the scientist on the scaffolding. "In public?!"
"Dusk…." James began.
"Oh my God." Ash muttered as he picked his pistol up from the floor. The Brotherhood Knights murmured amongst themselves. Father, visibly upset, looked back to an unseen person and then seemingly back at James.
"So you're the Director of the Institute." James said. His helmet's microphone amplified his voice.
"Yes." Father replied.
"You're a lot older than a thought."
"And you are a lot stupider than I thought."
"I'm flattered that you actually know about me." James smirked. He picked up the man from the ground. "Friend of yours?"
"I have many friends." James eyed all the Brotherhood Knights, weapons poised to fire.
"Well, people say that physical relationships aren't good for the soul. You need some real friends." James said.
"Hmm. You are as annoying as I thought."
"Wow, I managed to meet one expectation of yours. I impress myself." Dusk raised her hand for a high five which James met.
"Really? Now?" Ash asked.
"I'm just stalling rook." James whispered. "I always have a plan."
The roof erupted, flooding the once dark room with bright light. The sound of vertibird blades chopping at the air resounded and echoed within the small room. Three X-02 suits of power armor smashed into the ground beside James, Dusk, and Ash.
"I have a question for you, 'Father'." James said. "What is this anyways?" James threw the man into the machine. Red blood splattered the tube. "Whoops. Guess he's dead for sure now." He smashed his hand through the tube's lining and tore it back out with great force.
"You're making a mistake." Father responded.
"And what is that?" James asked. Ash looked at the tube. It began to glow a harsh red.
"ACTIVATING HYDRA PROTOCOL." A woman's voice on loudspeaker flooded the room.
"Hydra protocol?" Colvin asked. Suddenly, hidden doors revealed themselves and out came men clad in white Institute uniforms.
"This is the next step." Father said, gesturing at the men surrounding James.
"Clones?" James asked.
"You," One of the men growled.
"I'm pretty sure I killed you."
"They have memories?!" Ash asked.
"Thanks to data retrieved from the NORAD facility out West, I managed to recreate one of the President's most infamous experiments."
"Clones." James concluded.
"You know of this?"
"Yeah. For a while actually. I've been there too."
"You are very well traveled."
"Unlike you." James raised his arm. Ash noticed that he was holding a flare gun. James fired it, launching a bright red projectile into the air, as it neared the hole in the ceiling it detonated. A wave of red light overwhelmed the Knights, short circuiting the Brotherhood T-60s. "Eden now." James said quietly. A vertibird smashed itself through the remainder of theceiling. James grabbed X6's head and dashed out of the way.
Dusk maneuvered for a column. Ash looked up and noticed a piece of concrete falling with her name on it. Ash rushed forward and tackled her out of the way. Her helmet rolled off, revealing her cool blue eyes. They landed with Ash on the ground and Dusk on top.
"Isn't this a little fast for us, rook?" Dusk asked.
"Uh…" Ash responded. James grabbed Dusk's helmet and tossed it to her. She caught it and fastened it on her head. She offered a hand to Ash, who took it immediately.
"What's going on?!" Ash shouted.
"This way!" James gestured for Dusk and Ash to follow him to a rope hanging from the air. "Latches on!" he shouted. The vertibird in the ceiling destroyed the scaffold.
"Mark!" Dusk shouted. Colvin reciprocated with Glade and Vargas quickly following. Ash grabbed the rope and slapped his cavaveener onto it. Suddenly he felt himself lifted up into the air. As they rose, he locked eyes with Father's glare. Behind him was a woman that felt familiar to Ash. They flew into the air and Ash passed through the hole in Fort Hagen. The facility collapsed into itself.
"Everyone on board?" the pilot shouted.
"Shut up, Arcade! You know damn well we're still hanging out here." James shouted.
"Retracting line now." Arcade's voice said over the radio.
"What was the Brotherhood personnel there?" Colvin asked.
"Means Maxson's got a couple moles in his organization." Glade suggested.
"What about us?" Dusk asked. Ash frowned. Suddenly, Dusk's demeanor had changed. As if she had suddenly become a pessimist in the presence of the Pride.
"We'll let Eden take care of that." James said. The line reeled back into the vertibird. Dusk got on with Ash right behind her. James reached down and offered a hand. Ash grabbed it and felt himself pulled onto the vertibird. Alarms rang from the sheer weight of the personnel on board.
"James, I think you need to go paleo." Arcade said suddenly. "You've put on a few pounds."
James waved the comment aside and walked into the cockpit.
"Eden, did you track the energy signatures."
"Yes sir. Data suggests Father and all his personnel escaped out attack."
"Damn."
"One more thing."
"What's that?"
"I cross referenced what Father was talking about back there with some old Enclave files. He's right."
"About?"
"Cloning. President George Young did have plans to make a US Army based on clones before Anchorage."
"What a guy." Glade shouted over the wind.
"Any more on that?" James asked.
"no. The rest is POTUS eyes-only."
"Damn."
"So that's it then?" Ash asked.
"What else, rook? We're outta leads." Dusk said. Ash frowned once more. She seriously was a downer.
"No." James interjected. "We're not."
"What?" the personnel exclaimed.
"I know a guy. He knows George." James said.
"how is that possible?" Eden asked.
"You don't seriously think-" Arcade began.
"Yes, I do." James responded. "We need to go back to the Mobile Crawler and get briefed."
"What for?" Glade asked.
"We're going to New Vegas."