Chapter 3: Engagements in the Dark
The faded stars twinkled above the streets of Deadwood, giving the already bright moon a more extensive definition across the sky. The lunar light reflected across the tarmac in front of the Police Station just a few blocks from the Town Hall. The lit-up windows announced the success generators' functioning after the centuries since the bombs dropped. A pair of MPs from the NCR were guarding the entrance, absent-mindedly smoking or making small talk with each other about current politics with President Aaron Kimball. He had retired the day prior due to cancer found in his lungs, which left the seat to be taken by Keiran Powell, the former Vice President with mysterious origins. While the guards were distracted, a few figures stalked to a side entrance.
"You two, assault the main entrance in three minutes from the opposite side of the road from us. Doing so would provide a proper distraction and lower the chance of us getting caught." The pair nodded and headed into the dark, away from the team behind. The man turns to his accomplice, who nods and brings up a silenced custom .223 pistol as he starts a quiet sweep of the hall inside the doorway. The accomplice ushers the man in with a wave of his hand, and he complies. As the low-wattage lights from the room illuminated the man's face, he took a deep breath and lifted his knife as he followed the accomplice.
The man disguised himself using streaks of dirt and clay to prevent anyone from identifying him other than those in his group. His tanned skin and brown eyes are the only factors in determining him other than his bald head. His sleek and dark fatigues hugged his form as he investigated the rooms he passed by, taking seconds to scan and move between each door. The accomplice gained his attention again as they made their way to the evidence storage room, where the man took out a set of lock picks to jimmy the lock open. It didn't take too long as the soft click of the lock allowed entrance to the room. The man gently opened the door, letting his accomplice inside.
The man looked at his accomplice, who had garnered his attention with a wave. The person had dark wrappings around their head and dark fatigues over their slender body.
"Good eye, Kidd," The man complimented his accomplice with a gravelly and calm tone, to which Kidd responded with a thumbs up. They then pointed to the room's rear, where wooden crates were sitting beside one another. The pair slowly encroached upon the containers, inspecting the one they believed to hold the psycho shipment. After taking a peek inside, the man confirmed by nodding his head to his accomplice, then they proceeded back through the door after making sure there were no guards in the hall.
Once outside, the pair noticed the exchange of gunfire from the main entrance. The man sighed and looked at Kidd.
"Go take the shipment to the designated location, then have Reese come here to help me break out our guys inside," He ordered. His accomplice then made a quick getaway with the shipment. The man slipped his knife back into his bootstrap, then lifted his Thompson submachine gun from his back as he guarded the door. After a few moments, Reese had made his appearance, wearing black painted heavy combat armor and a riot shotgun with a drum magazine.
"Everything has gone to plan so far. Let's not fuck it up, Specter," Reese said, his soft voice muffled by his closed helmet. Specter chuckled in response and slapped Reese's back to head inside. They turned down a separate hallway, coming up to a pair of iron-barred doors that led to the Jail. Reese peered into the next room and ushered Specter to pick the lock as he covered him.
"Be quick. I can feel the hairs on my neck stand up," Reese complained, replied with a grunt from Specter as he worked his magic. After a few seconds, he unlocked the door and swung it open, allowing Reese to clear the main room toward the cell block. Specter followed Reese further into the Jail, coming upon a long hall of cells as they turned one corner. Specter peered passed Reese and observed MP banging a nightstick against one of the cells.
"Don't touch the bars again," The guard threatened. Specter and Reese looked at each other, then Reese nodded. Specter charged passed Reese, striking the MP in the back of the head with the butt of his gun, knocking him out.
"Oh man, am I glad to see you guys... fuck, this hurts," a voice came from the cell as mentioned earlier. Specter rushed to the cell after grabbing the MP's keys, unlocking and opening the door quickly to allow the occupant to escape.
"Thanks, Specter," the prisoner sighed, his breath hitching from the pain in his shattered hand. Reese walked over with a med-x and handed it to the prisoner, who gladly accepted and used it to dull the pain.
"All in a day's work, Stevenson," Specter replied as he let Reese guide him to the exit while he tried finding the other prisoner. It didn't take long, but it was too late to rescue him as Specter found the man crumpled in his cell further down the hall. From where he was, Specter could see the man with injuries he may not recover. "Fuck." Specter cursed, unlocked the cell door, and dragged the unconscious man out of the cell block. Back in the Jail's main room, another MP entered at the same time he did. Specter sprayed into the man before he could draw his pistol, hoisting the unconscious man on his shoulder.
Reese had come back into the room as Specter was leaving, covering them as they left the building. When they were outside, Reese blasted his shotgun into the hallway a few times as MPs rushed to their area, then kicked the door shut. Specter and his team quickly fled into the night, regrouping with the other team as they reached the rendevous point.
"You guys hurt at all?" Specter asked his teammates, and only one raised his arm weakly. Kidd was nursing a bullet wound in their left arm with a secured bandage.
"I'll live, Specter," Kidd replied with her calm voice, shocking most of his team who thought she was mute, "It was more of a graze than anything." Specter nodded and handed her a stimpack, which Kidd used immediately to help the cellular regeneration. Reese clapped his massive gloved hands together and lifted the visor on his helmet.
"Good work, everyone. Let's get back to base safely." The last member of their group nodded and took off his balaclava, revealing his ghoulish figure.
"Gotcha, boss," Barry replied with a small smile as the group took the alleyways and backroads into a hidden entrance to Pulcini Inc.
In the New California Republic's capital, Shady Sands, the day looks pretty bright and calm despite the heat of the wasteland. A tan-suited figure stood next to a tall window that allowed plenty of sunlight in the round room. His skin practically radiates superiority as he gazes outside, his piercing brown eyes furrowed slightly in the sun's brightness.
"What a lovely day. Perhaps I can have some peace for once," The man ponders, running his hands along the folder's spine. He glances back to his large wooden desk, similar to one he had gotten used to in a much different place. He walks around to the front of the desk, tidying up the arrangement of his lamp, a pencil cup, some papers, and finally, his desk nameplate. "President Keiran Powell. I can hardly believe I am in charge of this country," he chuckled to no one in particular. In his eye, he could see the old American flag on the wall next to the NCR flag, the ends of their poles glinting in brass and gold hues. He smiled as he sat down in his plush red swivel chair, then opened the folder in his hands.
To anyone else, he would simply be reading some current documented reports and news in the nation. Still, he could read the hidden coded messages inside the double speech of the documents. He was starting his terminal when there was a knock at his door.
"Come in," he replied and watched as a secret service agent entered the room first before his guest. He gave a fake but gentle smile to former President Aaron Kimball. "Welcome, Mr. Kimball. Is there something you wanted to discuss?" He asked, curiosity in his voice.
"Yes, Kei-Mr. President," he corrected himself, "I wanted to discuss some things unsaid since the swearing ceremony. Mostly how to run this country, but there are a few personal things I wished to discuss first." He sighed, then took a seat as he coughed lightly into a handkerchief. Keiran frowned, saddened by his predecessor's declining health.
"You know, you don't have to rush yourself, Aaron," Keiran stated, forgoing any formalities which made Aaron more at ease, "You should be getting some rest, but I don't think I could bring myself to force you to." Aaron nodded and looked him in the eye. He waved away the concern in the air.
"As you may know, many areas within the Republic that we still don't have full control of due to Brahmin Barons, well-established raider gangs, and slaver camps cropping back up since we won the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. Due to our heavy losses in military might, we've had to pull back and keep important cities and trade routes protected over the small towns and villages." Keiran Powell could only nod at the information given to him by Aaron Kimball, knowing full well the destruction of several places he knew and wished to save during the conflicts.
"One such place that we may need to worry about is Deadwood, however, not due to raiders and slavers. Do you know what's under that town?" Aaron asked, and Keiran shook his head for Aaron to continue. "There's a complex beneath the town, an old one from before the war that the government used. An informant of mine managed to snag a document on what the Vault," He stated, then handed over a rolled-up paper tied with twine, "Apparently, it is very similar to the Vaults but only used by the government. It may hold power armor, weapons, vehicles, and many energy sources. It's a cache the size of a few football fields, but no one has found an entrance yet." Keiran opened the document, carefully reading it over.
"So, do you think this underground bunker has inhabitants?" He asked, and Aaron nodded.
"It should. We may have to take precautions whether it's filled with ghouls or some remnant of the military or government. Though I fear that it might hold a faction we both know of that was born of those two." Aaron shudders, a cold and distant memory creeping into his mind. Keiran nodded, then laid the document on the desk, humming as he traced his wedding ring on his hand.
"The Enclave," Keiran stated, cold and emotionless, "If they are inside when we crack it open, we'll need several platoons to flush them out." Aaron Kimball nodded, wringing his hands as he looked at the floor. A deep silence hung for a moment between the two, the slow ticking of the clock on the table was damn near deafening. Keiran stood up and combed his fingers through his hair. "We should use a mix of Mechanized forces and veteran rangers to find and scope the entrance. Only those of such high caliber of training can complete this mission unless we call upon that Courier again," Keiran stated, looking back to his former colleague. "However, that operation will have to be put on hold for at least a month or two, as it needs to be assessed by our generals and top senate members." Aaron Kimball nodded, then smiled up at Keiran.
"Guess we have to talk about normal business then, huh?" Aaron asked, making Keiran chuckle.
"Of course," Keiran started, then sat on the edge of his desk, "Guess we should start with the most boring stuff first, economy and taxes." Aaron nodded.
Late one afternoon, Barry had finally upgraded his weapons with the parts he received from the Gun Runners. He was now sporting his .32 revolver more than his other weapons, practically feeling his father's soul watching over him. Barry had to find something in the basement for Mr. Pulcini, so Barry briskly walked to the service elevator on that floor. Once inside, he saw one of the office's interns waiting to get to the ground floor. She waved her hand to Barry, who smiled back at her.
"How are you, Barry?" She asked. Her small country voice had greeted him.
"I'm fine, Cheryl. It's been a good day," He replied, then pressed the basement level button on the control panel, making the elevator move again.
"That's good to hear. I got worried when you were gone last week. Were you on a mission?" She asked, and Barry nodded.
"I can't say much about it, but it was a success," He replied with an unwavering smile. Cheryl nodded, then the sound of the elevator ding captured her attention as the doors opened.
"Well, goodnight Barry. I'll see you tomorrow," she bid farewell.
"Goodnight," He managed to say before the elevator closed again, leaving him alone as it descended to the basement. Once it opened, he immediately walked to a storage room to find what he needed to get, a box full of old documents from Mateo's grandfather's time.
After a few minutes of rummaging through several shelves and backrooms, he found the box in an old wooden cupboard and shelf set. Once he lifted the box, he could see a small hole in the back with a glint of something reflecting the dim light of the room. He paused for a moment, then set the box down on the crate next to him, trying to examine the hole better. It seemed to have some rectangular object behind the wood, so he moved it and looked at the wall behind it. Strangely enough, there was a keypad on the concrete wall. Barry had been down there plenty of times since he served the Pulcini Inc., and he had never seen this.
He was about to leave and ask Mr. Pulcini about the keypad before looking at the back of the cupboard, having seen a set of numbers scratched into it. He looked at the numbers, then spoke aloud.
"1, 0, 2, 3, 2, 0, 7, 7. Wait, October 23rd, 2077? That's the day the bombs dropped..." Barry pressed the numbers, then hit enter. The room shook slightly as the wall split into several concrete slabs pulled to the sides, revealing a metal door typically used in an underground bunker or sewer. Barry blinked in confusion and amazement. Then he quickly entered the code again to close the wall up. He covered the entrance with the cupboard and scooped up the box of documents, rushing back to the elevator.
