Whew! That took me longer than expected. What was originally one chapter has now become three, now sitting above 8,600 words between them all. It was worth it though, I expanded some important dialogue for starters. Next ones coming up soon. Already rewrote the bulk of it, just the cap off remains.
Enjoy!
Chapter 15: When the World Comes Crashing Down
"Director…" I growled through my teeth.
Ilya quickly ducked behind me as I reached for my gun, but before I could even graze the handle, the Protectron had fired off a warning shot at my feet, stopping me dead in my tracks.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said through the cold static of the speakers.
We stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity, no idea what to do. I could barely wrap my head around the reality of it all. It seemed only moments ago we were celebrating our first major breakthrough in this whole ordeal, and now, we were facing down the barrel of a gun. None of this made any sense… The Protectron had been completely under Ilya's control only moments ago, so what happened? It was one thing for the Director to speak through his own creations, but all the Old World machines were limited to small local networks, so he would need a direct uplink into the system, wouldn't he? I may not have been as tech-savvy as Ilya, but I did know the Brotherhood had conducted dozens of experiments with remote hacking technology, only to find the whole concept completely untenable. So, how? How was he doing it? How had he found us and how was he here now?
The Director watched us carefully, a dark sense of fascination as he analyzed our every move. His stiff robotic frame tilted curiously to the side as if he were examining a pair of particularly interesting specimens, right before slicing them open on the operating table.
"Why Jacob, what's the matter? Aren't you happy to see me?" The Director said in a mocking tone, "After everything we've been through? I'm hurt, Jacob, truly. After all, the last time we'd met, you had only just destroyed one of my most extensive experiments to date, throwing away years of hard work and careful planning in the process… And you really thought it would be that easy to escape? Honestly, I don't know which offends me more, your lack of vision or your complete and utter stupidity."
"H-how…? How are you even here?" It was all I could muster in the moment, pathetic as it sounded to my own ears.
"Oh, Jacob…" The Director chided with a wag of his robotic claw, "Don't you get it? Have you really not figured it out? My dear boy, I am not here at all… but rather I am everywhere, and nowhere, all at once." Another mad laugh echoed off the walls and I felt Ilya grip my hand so tight I could no longer feel my fingers.
"I have eyes and ears all over the Commonwealth, in ways you couldn't even imagine. There is nowhere you can go that I cannot follow, nothing you can say that I will not overhear, and nothing you can do that I would not already know about. The truth is… you never even had a chance. It was hopeless from the start."
"You know, it's funny…" the Director continued, a self-satisfied smile dripping from every word, "To think that I have never so much as set foot in this wretched Wasteland, and yet, I stand alone as the most powerful man it has ever known. Why, the very mention of the Institute is enough to strike terror into the hearts of men, so much so, that none dare even speak its name. Of course, I still hear a hushed and hurried whisper every now and again, but what amuses me most is how little they actually know. Had they any idea how much control I truly had over their pathetic little lives… their tiny, inferior minds would simply explode. And you thought you could pose a threat to me? Please, Jacob… you can't even touch me."
"Now then, enough of this idle chit-chat," the Director spat as he raised the gun even higher, "It would seem you have something that belongs to me, and I think it is high time I take it back. The device, Jacob… Hand it over. Now."
With no other choice, I slowly reached into Ilya's pocket and retrieved the peculiar contraption, hesitating for only a moment before handing it over to the robotic monstrosity before me. The Director grasped the device carefully between his powerful pincers, holding it up to the light before he began scanning the item into his database.
"Interesting…" he said to himself before turning back to us once again.
"You know, I really should be thanking you for all the trouble you've saved me. Not only did you manage to solve all those ridiculous riddles, but you couldn't have made infiltrating the security systems any easier for me if you'd tried. I mean, resetting the protocols? Had you learned nothing from your time in the mine, Jacob? Regardless, I do suppose a debt of gratitude is owed, so truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you…" He added with great relish before turning to the girl cowering behind me.
"Now then, Miss Astor, if you'll kindly come with me, we can finally be on our way…"
"What? No!" She yelled as defiantly as she could, "I'm not going anywhere with the likes of you, you'll have to kill me first!"
"Oh, please, spare me the histrionics, my dear. I have a busy schedule to keep and I've already lost far too much time thanks to you and your little stunt at Diamond City. After all, Jacob said it himself… You are clearly the key to this entire conundrum, and the only one who can uncover the truth. Now, get moving. Before I'm forced to shoot dear Mr. Burns in the head just to prove a point," he added coldly before waving the girl over to his side. He turned to me once again, a smirk evident in his self-assured voice.
"I don't know if you're a much of a man of science Jacob, but I do hope you enjoy this laboratory, as it will be your tomb," he said as he pulled out the key to the bookcase above, the implications not lost on me.
"Wait a minute," Ilya cried out, "You can't just leave him down here, he'll die!" But the Director simply ignored her as his robotic claw clenched tightly around her arm.
"No, stop it! Let go of me! JACOB!" Ilya screamed.
I was numb. Paralyzed. My mind seemed to be at a complete loss even as my eyes darted frantically around the room, desperately trying to piece together some kind of an escape plan, but there was nothing… Nothing I could do but watch as the Director dragged the girl away. My hand ached for my gun like never before, but it was no use. The risk of hitting Ilya was far too great and the bastard knew it. My world was spinning, a panic rising in my chest, and as my mind came to a point where it had exhausted all other thought, I was left with nothing but to tilt my head to the heavens and whisper a short, desperate plea.
As I opened my eyes, however, it became clear that no divine intervention would be needed after all.
"Hey, jackass!" I yelled as I raised my gun, but not at the robot. No, instead I pointed straight up.
The Director turned around, gun at the ready, that was, until he saw where I was aiming. I allowed the realization to sink in before firing off several quick shots.
I held my breath as the lasers flew through the air, terrified of the consequences should I miss. At last, one managed to pierce right through the central support of the galactic model above us, a heavy metal chain hanging from the middle of the ceiling. Almost as if in slow motion, we watched as the great structure began to buckle beneath its own weight. Cable after cable snapped as the ancient framework tore from the ceiling, the tremors sending the heavy bronze orbs crashing to the ground like cannon fire falling from the sky. Finally, the galaxy gave way.
Ilya and I dove for cover, but the slow, outdated Protectron never had a chance. As the heavy frame collided with the floor, it struck down with a thunderous crash that exploded into a firestorm of flying gears and burning steel.
When I looked up, the room was in ruins, and quickly filling with smoke. The beautiful marble had been shattered beneath the smoldering mass of bronze, the Protectron itself completely unrecognizable amid all the destruction. The lab had been utterly destroyed, the fanciful instruments smashed to pieces, and the computer databases reduced to rubble beneath the heavy bombardment.
As I looked around, I realized I couldn't see Ilya anywhere. I clamored to my feet only to spin around in circles, until, at last, I caught a glimpse of that Vault-Tec blue suit beneath a sheet of metal debris.
No!
It was all I could think as I raced across the room and lifted the metal off of her unmoving body. I began to shake her with all my might and to my great relief, she sputtered out a deep cough as she came to. She may have been a little disoriented and scraped up to all hell, but she was ultimately unharmed, and that was all that mattered. As I tried to help her to her feet, however, she pushed me away.
"The Oculus!" She suddenly cried out, "He shoved it into my hands at the last second… Where did it go?!" But before I could answer, she was scrambling along the floor, digging through the debris even as the heavy black smoke quickly culminated around her. Dammit, we didn't have time for this! I grabbed the girl by the scruff of her neck, hoisting her to her feet with the full intention of evacuation, when she suddenly squealed with delight, pointing towards a small glint of gold peeking out from beneath the console. I scooped up the device in one hand and checked my gun in the other.
"We've got to get out of here, now!" I said as I began to cough as well, the smoke becoming thicker and more toxic with every passing second, "Before the entire building comes down!" Without another word, we both raced through the flames and up the stairs, my senses tingling and my gun at the ready.
As soon as we burst into the library, however, I could tell we were already in for the fight of our lives.
"HOSTILES DETECTED"
The robotic voice announced as a hail of gunfire suddenly rained down upon us. Instinctively, I ducked behind one of the bookcases with Ilya in tow, my heart pounding in my chest. As I looked around the corner, I had expected to see another broken-down Protectron, but instead, it was the plastic face of a Gen 2 synth that was quickly bearing down on us, and unlike the Protectron, this motor could move. I narrowly dodged a bullet to the head, but before I knew it, the synth had me pinned against the bookcase, knocking our guns to the floor and grasping for my neck with those cold, inhuman hands.
I raged against the machine, lashing out with everything I could, but my strikes seemed only to glance off of his polypropylene armor, leaving my hands bloodied and bruised. I bucked off the wall, sending us both crashing to the ground in a flurry of fists, but before I knew what was happening, the creature was on top of me, raining down blow after blow like a jackhammer to my skull. A galaxy of stars exploded behind my eyes, my head swimming in a daze as my vision began to blur. Suddenly, I felt those metallic fingers clench tight around my throat and I shot up. One look into his cold dead eyes and I saw it, a spark of consciousness shining just beyond his optical sensors…
The Director was watching. Watching me as I died.
I struggled and gasped for breath as the machine squeezed tighter and tighter, but the darkness was already closing in, my tired and beaten body no longer able to hold out against the onslaught. I flickered in and out of consciousness, my only thoughts of Ilya and what would happen to her without me. As the thundering of my own heartbeat began to slow, I cursed myself for being so weak. I had failed my brothers and now, here I was, failing again…
Suddenly, I heard a loud CRACK smack over the creature above me, his vice-like grip releasing as I sputtered out a cough and clamored to my feet. As my vision slowly returned, I saw Ilya, holding what was left of an old wooden chair like a club and slowly backing away into a corner, the synth looming over her with every step.
I staggered forward, grabbing the machete from my belt and with one fell swoop plunged the blade into its mechanical heart, Ilya's scream echoing throughout the hall as the blood-oil spewed from his chest.
As the creature fell to the ground, I grabbed Ilya off the floor and we ran.
Back in the main lobby, more synthetic faces were appearing out of the dark, coming at us from all sides. Almost as if from thin air, their skeletal hands grasped for us at every turn, their yellow eyes gleaming with malice even as they left their weapons at their sides. Lucky for me, they seemed too afraid of hitting the girl or the device to shoot, but as we ducked down the grand staircase and back towards the main entrance, we were met with about a dozen more crawling out of the annex we'd entered so long ago. I thought we were cornered for sure, when Ilya suddenly grabbed hold of my hand.
"This way!" she cried out, and with that we ran madly down the hall, passing through another exhibition room and dashing through a small door hidden off to the side. As soon as the metal door shut behind us, Ilya latched the deadbolt before winding a set of heavy chains around the handle for good measure.
As I looked around, I could see we were standing in a dark stairwell, one that led into an abandoned underground subway. Ilya wasted no time with explanations, leading me straight down the steps and over a set of rusty turnstiles before the tunnel opened up into old Copley Station. Even after all this time, suitcases and newspapers were still strewn about the room, the lonely remnants of long forgotten travelers destined never to return home. The train itself sat cold and dead on the tracks, a large blast door blocking the only way out. As I searched the surrounding area, I had hoped for another entrance that opened out to the street, but every path was blocked, every exit caved-in. As I turned to Ilya, I could hear the synths banging on the door above, their lasers sure to make quick work of the aging metal.
"What now?" I asked, but Ilya just ignored me as she raced across the platform and towards an old maintenance hatch. There, just beyond the window glass, was the control room and our ticket out of here. Without another word, I watched as Ilya began to hack into the security terminal and within a matter of seconds, she had the door open. She raced towards the console and began to boot up the system, but as soon as the screen flickered on, I watched as her face fell.
"Oh," she said, suddenly looking very lost.
"What are you waiting for?" I said frantically, "Hurry up and get these gates open, we ain't got all day!"
"No, you don't understand…" Ilya replied, a terrified look upon her face, "It's this system… I've never seen anything like it. I mean, don't get me wrong, I can hack my way into just about anything, but this? This doesn't even run on the standard UOS or use any of the basic coding I'm familiar with. You might as well be asking me to read Chinese! Just look at this company… Have you ever heard of it before? Because I know I haven't," she added as she pointed towards the screen where large blocky letters flashed in a bright fluorescent green: "JANUS SYSTEMS".
"Well, that just sounds like some kind of Poseidon Energy offshoot, doesn't it? Those corporate bastards had always thought themselves gods, after all. Why else would they name every product and subsidiary they ownws after them? What is it, a Greek god of war or something?" But Ilya just shook her head.
"This is Roman, Jacob, not Greek… But honestly the name's origins hardly matter at this point, because all it really means is that we're stuck here!"
"Well, you've got to try!" I yelled at the girl, the commotion above getting louder and louder with every passing second, "Unless, of course, dying at the bottom of a hole is an option for you, then by all means, let's just sit this one out," I added snarkily, but Ilya only glared. Without another word, she turned back to the screen, typing furiously into the console.
I left the girl to her work as I raced back out into the subway, the noise now rising to new heights as they neared breaking through the door. I spotted a gate near the bottom of the steps and pushed it into place, but found only a rusty broken padlock that refused to close shut. Even so, it would buy us some time at the very least. I rushed back to the office where I found Ilya cursing at the screen, but before I could even ask, I watched as things took a turn for the worse.
"What!?" She suddenly cried out, "Oh no… No, it didn't… Oh God, it did! It locked me out! The security protocol defaulted the controls back to its parent server, there's absolutely nothing I can do! Oh I knew it, I knew I didn't know what I was doing… and now, we really are stuck here with no way out!" She cried as she looked up at me with her bright blue eyes, and I could suddenly hear my last words to her coming back to haunt me. I looked at my gun, my last energy cell over half depleted, and I knew.
We weren't going to last two minutes.
As that horrible reality began to sink in, I could feel myself go numb. This was it. We were done for. There was simply nothing I could do. Hell, even if I secured the control room right now, how long would it actually hold? Ten… maybe fifteen minutes? And how long after that before we were overrun? One synth had almost been enough to do me in, so what hope did I really have against a dozen more? I swallowed the lump in my throat as I took out a flask from my pocket and unscrewed the cap. After a long hard pull, I put it away, stared at my gun, and cocked it.
Well, If a last stand it was going to be, then I sure as hell wasn't gonna go out without a fight.
But before I could finish that thought, something miraculous happened. An automated tone chimed throughout the station, echoing off the walls as the prerecorded voice of a woman began reading off the train schedule. The screen before us suddenly flickered on, a mad string of code flying across its face as it enacted some kind of boot-up sequence, and before we knew it, the entire subway had come to life once more.
Our excitement, however, was short lived. Not long after, we quickly realized the controls were still in lockdown and our commands useless. The gate before us remained firmly shut and as a dull static began to fill the underground, a hollow pit began to form in my stomach. As I looked at Ilya, it was clear neither of us knew what to make of it all, and so, we sat there and just braced ourselves for whatever was to come next.
Suddenly, a voice spoke. One I had never heard before in my life.