Mohave Chronicles II: Aggregation

by DisclosedBarrel

Sequel to Descension. David Wesker, at long last accepted the horrors of the Nexus Incident, brought upon his family and has come to peace with it into becoming a better man. After some drinks and a brief story on how he came to be, David moved on to a new life with the woman he grew to love. And as an agent of the N.C.R., things are just getting better for the new couple.

1. Family matters

DAVID WESKER (MONOLOGUE)

Well, I didn't make the impact I expected to, I figured I could be a beacon of hope and virtue in this miserable excuse of a future. Pride aside, I made good time getting here with Boone and Veronica backing me up. It's obviously dangerous out here.

Check it. This Mr House requested to see me up in Vegas, which was just a long walk from Goodsprings. Without cars, I couldn't imagine walking there. I'm glad I was able to have some fun along the way, but I'm feeling fucking depressed from when I wake up and go to sleep on some dingy mattress or something.

Every day I miss my family… All these people I pass by and none of them can hold a candle to the people of my time. I miss my mom, my sister, my girlfriend… even the typical family woes. Didn't even have the chance to tell them how much they meant to me…

David felt shitty, woke up late, late morning, nearly noon at 11:41 am. Something about waking almost at noon just fucking sucks. Skipping the gym, sometimes on the web and breakfast time with the wife and kids.

When you feel like killing yourself because you wasted an entire morning in bed, well an average person wouldn't react that way, but it was just a waste of a good time to be had, and David was better than that. Normal people would also see that as dark.

Having already witnessed Freeside's troubles slowly fade away, shortly before the bitter tension between The Kings and N.C.R., Freeside was shaping up for the better. Whoever this courier was or why he was helping, he sure wasn't shy to the public.

After the group had shared a tent for the night David felt there was nothing left for him in Freeside; he fancied Julie although she wasn't around to honestly flirt with - probably had already forgotten about him anyway. He found that it was best to just head straight to 38. He lost most of his thunder with the arrival of that damned courier.

In the fun part of Freeside, alcohol, guns and gambling to a person's heart content. City of Sin. The main entrance to the Strip - a large gambling strip - a paradise for travellers with all of the traditional casinos a person could really want to experience.

Lucky 38 should be the first casino on there. The entrance gate appeared to be guarded by a few Securitrons; they looked like they impersonated the local authorities, a regular police unit. One standing by the gate rolled up to David and company to stop them in their tracks.

Though David did have his wallet, inside was his police identification and driver's license from 2021. David correctly introduced himself, formally and shown the Securitron his badge, and its full honours, along with the note he was given back in Goodsprings. There wasn't much resistance, Mr House was expecting him and company.

The Strip was well lit. A casino and strip bar was in plain sight. It was a brothel with sleazy benefits, Gomorrah, favoured by N.C.R. Troopers, was along the right side near another gate. It seemed the N.C.R. personnel had a fabulous time, with the constant vomiting by the walls, floors and promoters.

Yeah, there was a lot of drunk soldiers. Lucky 38, tall, towering hotel/casino. A prominent element of New Vegas skyline, just opposite Gomorrah. Though the legend of no individual entering for over two centuries, David would be the first one to enter, if Mr House was eager to meet him for whatever reason.

Getting away from the Securitrons and drunks littering the Strip, another Securitron was there outside waiting for him. That suspiciously friendly cowboy from Goodsprings.

"I missed you back at Goodsprings, pilgrim. Boss is waiting for you at his penthouse."

"So you're the one that handed me that typed note?"

"That's right."

"You're lucky I want to see him as much as he wants to see me. Robot, take me to him."

"I must ask your friends to wait outside partner…"

"I refuse to go alone."

"Boss-man's orders."

David raged and turned away to his friends behind him. "Looks like this welcome mat is reserved for just me then. I need to head in alone for now. I'll be back."

Boone sighed as David Left. "This doesn't seem right."

"How about some gambling Boone?" Veronica said, walking towards Gomorrah, away from Boone.

"No," Boone gruffly said.

"Alright. Later dude!" Veronica left quickly.

"Women..." Boone decided to follow after Veronica.

The casino floor had empty tables and slots; no one had a good time here for ages. With that cowboy stalker and two other Securitrons by an elevator, all other life was nowhere. The cashier's desk was empty along with everything else just gathering dust along with it. Going up was the only way to go - such a waste of a decent casino.

The penthouse was the highest calibre in the highest point in the most upper class of all of the Mojave. Outside the elevator down some stairs was Mr House's control centre, where the very man awaits, with a Securitron at his sides standing by.

Mr House wasn't a person any more or less, more of a terminal monitor displaying a clean-cut English Caucasian man in the mid-forties with a strong British accent.

"So we finally meet, this has been long overdue, hasn't it? You've come a long way across the land to get here; I knew you were strong enough to make it here. Before we get started, what do you think of New Vegas?"

"What's not to love? Quite far back in the days, it hasn't really changed much, but here and now it is the very heart of the Mojave and always will. I cannot deny it that much."

"Excellent wordplay Mr Wesker. It seems that we are the only cut above the rest, of a different stripe above the common latter, wouldn't you say? We don't have to dream that we're important because we are."

"Save the pep talk; I'm here to talk business. You asked for me from all the way at Goodsprings to come here, across the Mojave. Now that I'm here, I deserve a courtesy explanation." David sat down on a nearby chair. "I have some questions for you to answer, like this note." He took out the now crumpled note from his rear pouch. The one from the saloon. "Is any of it true?"

"Oh yes it is Mr Wesker, all of it is. I even know how you came into this time of 2281, I recognise more than you would think."

"Really now?" David folded his arms. "How did I get here then?"

"When you destroyed the Nexus Transformer over two and a half centuries ago, the destruction caused deportation of a molecular level. So advanced, it placed you here of all time and places. That's how you got here. Your molecules were broken down and arranged here, in simple speak."

Mr House knew too much that he let on, that was apparent to David. "Wait wait wait… How can you tell!? That was two hundred and sixty years ago! You need to start explaining yourself right now!"

"The Institute has a similar term to what happened to you; they call it the molecular relay. Like how that goes, you were merely disassembled and reassembled here in this time zone, under the same criteria but over a longer period taking well over two hundred and sixty years."

"So that's how it fuckin' happened!" David took short breaths, then hyperventilated. He arched his back and drummed his fingers over his right knee. "You know way too much of this… Why?!"

"Because I was there... We both witnessed the great tragedy that day, the one that would usher America's destruction soon after in 2077."

"Still not getting an answer."

"Let me start by properly introducing myself. I'm not really the Mr Robert House that founded Robco industries, or the Mr Robert House that created New Vegas. Not even the Mr Robert House that civilised the New Vegas tribes. I was never any of them."

Mr House's monitor changes to an extremely aged bearded bald man with thick scars across his wrinkles and glass eye. His accent changed to a thick husky Russian one rather than his younger English one.

David couldn't believe his eyes. "You gotta be kiddin' me..."

"It is I: Victor Romanov. It's been a while, Mr Wesker."

David choked from hearing the words of a delusional madman. The one that countlessly tried to eliminate S.T.A.R.S. back in the day. "Heh, called it. Guess it's no surprise you're still alive, old man. Should I ask or…?"

"No need as its fairly simple. There is more to the Nexus than just the transformer, Mr Wesker. For example, I'm using a Nexus Incubator to preserve my body, that way I can still maintain my health and figure – only at the cost of actually healing me of my pain."

"Aw, you poor thing."

"Let's save the pleasantries for another time, as you can see, the Nexus was a unity, not an individual contraption. To why you're here in front of me, I feel someone ought to inform you of the dire consequences of what happened that day in 2021. I assume I'm the most qualified to tell you that much."

"No shit. Why don't you start to after I went away."

"As you wish. When you and General Savage were ripped from our period, things escalated in ways they should never have done. Most problems were blown out of proportion than they already once were."

"Yeah, I guess the Nexus Incident wasn't exactly a part of your plan to liberate Beverly Hills."

"Unforeseen consequences… Luckily for me, I had a side project prepared beforehand. Before the disaster, I had created two successors to rule Neo-Umbrella, to take my place as its joint directors. I manufactured a set of Ashford twins, using the old T-Veronica virus. Still, at the time the incident happened both Drusilla and Isabella were far too young to take anyone's place."

"You created a set of Ashford twins?" David scoffed. "I never even met any of the Ashfords and even I know that's a fuckin' stupid idea."

"Granted, it was a major regret of mine, but Neo-Umbrella needed a director. There was no other way."

"Regret? Hardly a surprise."

"Drusilla and Isabella were perfect specimens; I loved and cared for them as if they were my own children. In time they felt like they were, like the original Ashford twins were to Alexander. Never had any daughters of my own so I raised them best I could. They took my name and all was well."

"What went wrong?"

"They were too perfect. One year Isabella ran away from Neo-Umbrella and left Drusilla to grow up alone. They were supposed to be raised as equals. Neither of them didn't belong amongst humanity and were best raised together under Neo-Umbrella. Later that year, Drusilla discovered the Ashford lineage, since that day she was never the same. I never wanted either of them to uncover the truth behind the Ashfords."

"Because obviously."

"The sad story of Alexander Ashford manipulating his matriarch's DNA was repeated by me. Only, I used Alexia's, not Veronica's, and they both didn't conspire to kill me. In what should have been a manageable set of twins with a slight disdain for humanity, I've created something much, much worse."

"I'll say… Wasn't Dru involved with the Great War?"

"Very much so. It all began in 2040, phase two. Verkraft Industries intentionally spread a virus across the world, mostly originating in Japan. It was the old T-virus mixed in with a primitive strain of the Forced Evolutionary Virus, crating rapidly-evolving zombies. It was unheard of to witness blind zombies evolve into Lickers, even evolving beyond that."

"So, Verkraft unleashed an efficient strain of the T-virus upon the world?"

"Correct. Over a hundred million lives were lost in Japan alone, then many more around the world."

"Fuck… I know zombies can evolve into Lickers but there was always time to stop it."

"The 'pandemic' only came to an end when some brave high school students filed their witness reports to the right people, however, they did not survive Verkraft's brutal crusade. Once the news got out with all the juicy controversy, Verkraft was loosening its firm hold."

"Is this where Drusilla fits in?"

"Yes. It was during the final climax I discovered her betrayal, and just like that, Neo-Umbrella was finished… I had no one to succeed me and my faith in my own ambition was fading away, I tried to remain hopeful that Isabella would come back and give that glimmer of hope… She namer came..."

"That's… actually kinda sad. What lead to this sudden betrayal?"

"Verkraft convinced it's people, including Drusilla, that humanity was a stain on this great planet and had to be cleansed of all impurities. The biggest impurity men and women shared everywhere was mortality itself. Rather stoop to Spencer's level, Richtofen used his belief to condone his actions, claiming his God would save them."

"Pretty much a warmonger then..."

"Miss Ashford's manipulation took down the U.S. National Security and Neo-Umbrella from within; she worked for both companies while devoting herself to Verkraft's zealotry. She had it all planned ever since she was a teenager!" Victor calmed his tone. "For a short while, STARS and the B.S.A.A. stood alone against Verkraft, but it wasn't until I assassinated her for things to work in their favour. I killed her myself..."

"I imagine it was for the 'greater good'?"

"Wasn't at first, I figured her death would only rally more support, you know, becoming a martyr. But no. She died, and that's when Verkraft's generals started following the same path. Unfortunately, Miss Ashford had already set the Great War's timer during her final hours."

"To think this all started as early as 2040… How much else is there?"

"That was two of three major events that started the Great War."

"Before the final phase, tell me what happened to this Richtofen?"

"After the loss of his generals, he and Verkraft had no choice but to go underground. I was forced to work with your father to locate him, but despite our efforts, we never found Richtofen. Our time wasn't wasted as we put an end to his last general, and just like that, Richtofen was alone."

"You lost him though, didn't you?"

"It was a clever ruse, but that is the truth. We lost Richtofen's trail. We had many disagreements over our next actions to track him down, but after that, your father betrayed me. Never seen him since."

"Not a big surprise; he hated you."

"Drusilla was the one who caused the Great War, like how you started what could be called the prelude of things to come. This is the truth behind what really happened — a truth that no one knows apart from me and now you. What you do with the information is of no concern to me."

"So that was two major events that made up the Great War? The transformer involving me and the pandemic involving Verkraft?"

"Correct."

David sighed. "The more you go on the less I want to know."

"I can sense your desire to understand the truth."

"Yeah but… What?"

"I can read your signature, though the waves of your nervous system, just like any other creature."

"So you were kinda spying on me then? That's sick!"

"I had to be sure you were genuine. It would be wrong not to tell you what happened in your absence."

David sighed. "Let's get this over with. What's the final event that started the beginning of the end?"

"It started when Miss Ashford came back a year later and revived Neo-Umbrella in her own image, calling it Exo-Umbrella-"

"Not even death is good enough for her..."

"Anyway… From 2041 to 2074 Miss Ashford stolen, collected and manufactured weapons of a nuclear magnitude, using Exo-Umbrella's resources. This is what lead me to believe that she was the sole cause of the resource wars of 2052. This was all a desperate attempt to carry on Richtofen's dream to 'save' humanity much like he tried to do in 2040."

David wasn't even surprised anymore, just made him angrier. A single female bioweapon selfishly destroyed his country. "Let me guess… she started launching missiles?"

"Correct. All over the coast, sparking retaliation from all leading countries, leading to the Great War. She died in the process; thankfully, it was permanent. Vault-Tec manufactured vaults to preserve humanity in their controversial ways, and survival was a daily struggle from there on."

"All this blind faith to this Richtofen cunt makes my blood boil."

"Vefkraft believed that they had the power to shape the world in the image of their Madness God. One who will divide humanity and bring salvation by breaking down the barriers between life and death."

"You say that like I'm supposed to know what you mean."

"It means their Madness God would make humanity immortal! Verkfaft's belief was pleasing their Madness God, and when the time was right, their saviour would return and defeat death, leaving only life."

"That sounds like a crock of shit."

"To be noticed, there had to be a huge influx of chaos to attract their Madness God. When a worldwide pandemic didn't work, Miss Ashford had to push harder – nuclear fallout. At the time of the War, her God never came..."

"But she died an Ashford! Wouldn't she want to follow her family lineage over that crap?"

"She had plans of exacting experiments on the survivors after the barriers break. Since they would never truly die, they'd just exist to serve her. Her allegiance was only the means to an end.""

"So in the end, despite being a follower of Verkraft's Madness God… she was loyal to the Ashfords?"

"Yes. She meant nothing to me. No daughter. No follower. No nothing. A bitter accident."

"Well, the world is in a mess, and people are still dying… I'm guessing… she failed. Bad."

"It's good that Drusilla's dead, far too dangerous to keep alive."

"Playing all of you just to have an opportunity to start fresh and live until the end of time experimenting… She really was mad."

"It's her nature. Even I feared her ambitions. She's stronger, faster and far more superior to anything that came before her. Even General Savage pales in comparison, though he was far stable and less influenced with the Ashford's lineage. Hence, why she was strong enough to change the world. She was powerful enough to do the impossible. A feat that puts even my predecessors, subordinates and even me to shame…"

Apart from being mildly angry, David felt partially scared of the unknown. His face ran white, and his knees went weak under his weight. "Oh no… What else did she do?"

"She eliminated STARS."

"What!?" David yelled. "That's not fair!"

David stood up and threw his chair across the room, smashing it in two. In his anger, he punched a hole through the concrete wall behind him. The cobblestone wall was sturdy enough to destroy any human hand, but it only broke a knuckle.

He leant on the wall opposite Victor calmly suppressing his rage with controlled breathing. "She couldn't have destroyed STARS, she… my dad. There must've been something he could've done to stop her. Anything…"

"The Nexus Transformer that ruptured all those years ago infected your father with a lingering virus that limited and drained his power and energy. There was nothing he could have done; he was simply too weak."

"So The Nexus is a disease now? Is that it?!"

"The Nexus Transformer was designed to drain energy from anything able to create it. Mammal, insect, machinery. Anything! Your father could generate limitless power - I wanted all of it. Undisturbed it could have powered all of Mother Russia for decades after mere hours of draining. What is one life compared the future generations of the largest country on our planet?"

"You can't be the one to decide that!"

"Someone had to! When the transformer detonated, all that stored energy released in such short duration was powerful enough to rip a hole in time and space, pulling you and General Savage into it. That event left a lingering disease that infected your father. His power and regeneration were severely limited, all of which was mandatory to defeating Miss Ashford."

"So that's what happened after I was gone? Great…" David wiped his face from tears and more importantly, his rage. "That was the four events that started the War. Anything else you feel that I should know?"

"Along with making nuclear weapons before the Great War, Miss Ashford personally eliminated every serving STARS member, in and out of service, along with most of the Wesker family. To safeguard her ambition, she started with your parents."

David's calm demeanour slowly deflated back into anger as his blood boiled red with rage. His eyes bulged with fury. "No… No! NO! Fuck her! That fucking bitch!" He subdued his wrath by punching the wall behind him again. The bony knuckles in his fist were exposed. The rage-fuelled anger masked all the pain.

"It was in 2054 when Miss. Ashford eliminated your father, then your mother. To save your health and the structural integrity of my penthouse, I should say no more than that. You have my fullest condolences. I… respected your family."

David cried in his hands and sobbed, "Why me? Why… Mom… Dad…" He cried in his hands away from Victor. After all, he was still just a young man.

"Your family's remnants were thankfully safe within a vault shortly after its construction. Vault 76 if I recall, sometime in 2076. Courtesy of your cousin, Joshua."

David breathed calmly after hearing some decent news and wiped his face from snot and tears. He turned around and sat on the floor. He broke all the wooden chairs seconds ago. "At least he lived long enough to get the family to safety. I'm not sure if I wanted to hear all of that. The note also mentioned there was another and I wasn't the first. I'm almost scared to ask who it is."

"General Savage…"

"Of-fucking-course, it is," David said sarcastically. "Is he here in the Mojave then?"

"Yes and no… not at first. I heard of his arrival in the Commonwealth over twenty years ago. I had reason to believe he might have been working within the Institute. There were sights of him roaming the Capital just four years ago; then I recently heard he was in the Mojave. That was early this year in January though."

"As soon as that?"

"Of course. Admittedly I mistook Dorian for you from looks alone, but that didn't stop me from spying on him further. I remained curious if you followed the same path as him, but no, you arrived long after he did. Missed him by a couple of months, I'm afraid."

David took out his medipak; luckily, there was a roll of bandages inside. He wrapped them around his broken knuckles; the blood was sticky and ferocious. "What happened to him?"

"His time in the Mojave was very short-lived. He made enemies with every faction and establishment possible. Degrading humans and killing innocents made him quickly infamous – especially around the N.C.R. and Brotherhood. The last I ever heard of him is when he lead an assault against the Legion in a frenzy; other intel suggests that he was hunted down by assassins and bounty hunters alike. Apart from the sighting in January, I've lost his trail."

"Where ever he is, I know he's still out there. I just know it. That fucker is too persistent to die, let alone give up on his burning hatred for all things human." David sighed. "Why are tyrants like you and him doing this to us? To me, even?"

"I wanted Neo-Umbrella to rule humanity, to liberate them in our terms. To protect our planet and free it from its bondage, not to live in fear under the oppressive nature of humans; we were the lesser of two evils. Things are different now, no STARS, Exo-Umbrella or Verkraft. The only relics of the pre-war era are you and I. We need to make use of our endeavours and wipe the slate clean."

"I see where you're getting at; history doesn't need to repeat itself, not again. I need to know, though… is there any way to reverse this disaster?"

"Unfortunately no. Believe me; I looked everywhere for any possible way to reverse this anomaly, completely exhausted my sources. Alas, I failed. The only hope we have is the one who created the Nexus in the first place."

"Richtofen? But he's-"

"No! His master – the one person who taught him everything he ever knew - Dr Ludvig Maxis. Records of Dr Maxis manufacturing blueprints for the Nexus just didn't exist, and Richtofen never even bothered making any blueprints himself. He murdered Maxis and stole his research; all of the information died with them both." Victor sighed." We all equally fucked up everything."

David felt hugely offended, having the blame put on him just because he wasn't an asshole. "Fuck off! None of that was my fault. I was just doing my job."

"Don't be so naive, boy. I had General Savage personally protect the Nexus Transformer from Verkraft with his life at the time of 2021. You ignored him and then damaged the transformer, unintentionally or not."

"Not. My. Fault. I thought he was talking shit like he always does. You're his boss, have you heard how much shit he talks?! Whatever! What's done is done, nothing to do now but to move on."

"With that out of the way, a word if you please?"

David sighed. "Okay."

"I would like to make you an offer... One that no one else deserves but you. Would you, David Wesker, like to own New Vegas? Have limitless power? Respect? Money? Women? Any of the latter?"

"You got my attention. Even if it did sound like a sales pitch."

"I can usher in new humanity. I just need to enlist the help of a capable protégé to help my control of the Mojave."

"Are you suggesting I be your lapdog like that prick Samuel?"

Victor laughed. "Nardovino? Don't undermine yourself, Mr Wesker, you're too good to be slumped with that oaf. A man chooses, a slave obeys. This is your choice."

"Why?"

"My choice in loyalists are not a reliable judge of character; I admit that each one of them betrayed me to some extent. We may have been enemies a long time ago back in our age, now most of that's changed. I want to give you a taste of the high life, the life I can't take pleasure in myself, it may not solve all your problems, but it's a start. I cannot leave the Lucky 38 to enjoy my status, but you can as my protégé."

"I must say I like your offer up to this point, very convincing."

"To achieve my goals, I need a capable human agent at my side to tend to important matters of mine, and this time, it will not be a bumbling oaf or an abomination. Fate loves irony. Wouldn't it be a tad ironic if two enemies worked together to shape the Mojave for the better?"

"Of course. It doesn't take a psychic to see that."

"Then the future of the Mojave will be decided in due time, here and now. What will it be then?"

David paced around the room, locked in deep thought. It may be a deal with the Devil, but it's for the Mojave. And that's good, right? "Work for you? Hmm…" He stopped pacing and stood by the stairs and massaged the polished bannister with his hand, still thinking until he came to a choice. "You know what... You can take your offer and suck it!" His anger had returned. "It's assholes like you that that caused these problems in the first place! People like me worked our asses off bringing tyrants like you to justice, and now you want my help? I'm not bending over to sell out to anyone, especially the likes of you!"

"You're harder to convince than I thought Mr Wesker. It seems I wasted my time."

"Shame isn't it? I am outta here." David went to go back upstairs towards the elevator.

"What if I told you about your living descendants?" Upon hearing this unexpected news, David halted in his tracks, outside the elevator. "Would that change your mind? Unless you want to spend the rest of your life wondering, I suggest you hear what I have to say."

David went back downstairs to Victor. "You have my attention, so make it quick."

"Be my protégé, and in return, you will be rewarded, equally and handsomely. Just execute one small task for me, and in return, I'll disclose the names and locations of your next of kin, then after we're both happy, we will work it out from there. Hopefully, in time, your senses will be much clearer to comprehend your choices properly. I will even throw in a presidential suite, just for you. What do you say?"

"One job and we'll talk, don't get too greedy. Where do you want me?"

"My old protégé, Benny, stolen something essential to me, a pre-war platinum poker chip. I need you to bring it to me post-haste."

"No problem. How do you want me to deal with him?"

"My only concern it the platinum chip. What happens to Benny is entirely up to you, I don't care for him either way. We can continue with our partnership when you bring me the chip."

"Agreement, not partnership," David corrected. "Where will I find him?"

"His private suite on the thirteenth floor of the Tops, if not there, he'll be lingering around in the casino."

"Okay, I'll go get him then."

"Unfortunately, when you enter the Tops, you will have to hand over your weapons at reception. You might have to reconsider your actions if you intend to use violence.

"Oh, I'm not brave enough for violence," David said sarcastically.

"On a serious note, the Chairmen are not to be trifled with; Benny has at least four of them close by at all times."

"Don't suppose you can put in a good word for me?"

"Funny… It is more complicated than you think. It's a... contract the Chairmen and I share."

"Any suggestions?"

"Benny has a subordinate by the front desk, a gentleman by the name of Swank; he means well. Do your best to convince him you're working under my auspices. He could put in that 'good word' for you. Either that, or you could dig up some evidence of Benny's crimes and show it to him. He could be your only hope of allowing a clean kill. The chip is mandatory, nothing else."

"Is that all?"

"Just a word of caution. Do not listen to Benny's lies - he is not a man to be trusted, even for my taste. He will betray anyone for his personal gain, and he will do the same to you in a heartbeat if it helps save his ass."

"Betrayal for personal gain? Reminds me of Wesker."

"In his youthful days, he was a charming gentleman. Benny is nothing less than a lowly insect."

"Whatever you say... Victor."

"For future references, you must address me as Mr House outside the penthouse. Failure to do so would terminate your employment and your life; these measures must be taken accounted for security reasons. Apologies Mr Wesker. It is entirely nothing personal. Please respect my decision to remain incognito."

"No surprises there."