A/N: Here's another chapter. Please read, review, and correct

Fallout Crusader of the Brotherhood

Part I: Chapter 3

Hardin picked up a bucket of water and splashed it in the prisoner's face. The room itself was cold, so the cold water would just add to the prisoner's discomfort. This guy was obviously withholding information.

"Listen," said Hardin, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's your choice…Sentinel." The last word had a hint of animosity behind it.

A single ceiling lamp illuminated Hardin and the prisoner in the center of the holding cell. The lamp casted shadows across Hardin's face, making him look more like a boogieman than a Paladin.

Two guards in full power armor were standing at the door. Hardin himself was also in his set of power armor, but he kept his helmet off. The prisoner was stripped to his under garments and was restrained in a metal foldable chair by a pair of handcuffs.

They were holding the prisoner in the maximum-security cell, located in the basement of Helios I. There were no windows, just single a metal door. Though it was completely cleaned out when the Brotherhood arrived, Hardin deduced that it must have been a janitor's closet before the war.

"I'm telling you the truth," stated the prisoner, the cold water dripping down his face. Despite his current situation, the man's voice seemed neither angered nor distressed.

"Stop lying to us!" demanded Hardin.

He moved his face close to the captive's, who seemed to look more agitated than scared, "You say you're a Sentinel, but that's not a conventional rank. And to be honest, I don't believe you."

The prisoner remained silent as the Head Paladin made his accusations. Hardin got the feeling that the he was up to something. You didn't manage to survive as many battles as he did without developing a sixth sense for danger. Something bad was about to happen, and Hardin was determined to find out before it went down.

"You also say that you belong to the Brotherhood in the northeast," continued Hardin, "even if you were part of that traitor, Lyons, and his chapter, why would he send just one man across the country alone?"

The prisoner looked down at the ground in what appeared to be shame. Hardin backed his face away from the prisoner. It was the first real emotional reaction that he managed to get out of him since the beginning of the interrogation.

"So you don't believe me," said the prisoner, looking back up at the Head Paladin, resuming his usual cool, calm, and collected demeanor.

"Why should we?" asked Hardin, "As far as we know, you stole that technology."

A long silence passed between the two. Hardin was expecting an answer from the prisoner, but he just remained silent, scanning the room with his eyes. Hardin knew he was up to something; the question was: what was it?

Hardin broke the silence, "You know, if you keep this facade up, we're going to have to use more...extreme methods."

"You won't have to,"

The next few moments passed in slow motion Hardin heard the jingle of a few small pieces of metal falling behind the prisoner's chair. He looked over the captive's soldier to see the broken remains of the prisoner's handcuffs and a bobby pin.

Before Hardin or any other of the guards could react, the prisoner picked up the metal chair and swung it at Hardin's head, hitting its mark. The impact knocked the Head Paladin to the ground, putting him out of commission for the moment.

The two men in full power armor drew their weapons as the prisoner approached them with his bare hands.

Veronica was sound asleep until she felt the sensation of freefall. She woke up in mid-air but managed to land on all fours before she hit the ground. It took her a moment to come to her senses and figure out what just happened.

She must have rolled off the flat-topped rock in her sleep. The fall wasn't very high. The rock was only about three or four feet tall, nothing that could cause any serious injury.

As Veronica dusted off her robes, she noticed there was a siren blaring in the distance. She looked in the direction where the noise was coming from and realized it was coming from the Helios I Power Plant.

It wasn't the first time the alarms went off there, but it didn't happen very often. Despite her grogginess, Veronica tried to think of what could be a reason as to why the sirens were going off. Then, it hit her, 'The prisoner.' To Veronica's knowledge, the only thing that could cause those sirens to go off would be if the prisoner were trying to escape.

Veronica's first reaction was to try to offer help to her old family, but then quickly opted not to. Chances are, the Brotherhood would either politely decline, or tell her to get lost. She would probably just get in the way. Besides, trying to take on a stranger who can fight soldiers in power armor with his fists wasn't exactly something she would like to try. Though the Brotherhood had a tendency to be conceited, they weren't stupid. They would probably have this whole ordeal sorted out by morning.

The sirens were close enough that Veronica could hear them, but far enough away that she would be able to go back to sleep with them on. She climbed back up onto her spot on the rock and tried to make it as comfortable as she let the slow rhythm of the sirens hypnotize her mind back to sleep.

The door to the back entrance of the Helios I facility blew open as Hardin rushed through. Half his face was red and was already starting to swell. A Knight was standing there, waiting for him with the bad news.

"Well?" asked Hardin as he turned towards the Knight.

"Sir," said the Knight, his voice made it clear that he was afraid of what the already pissed Head Paladin might do to him after hearing the update, "We lost him. We've scanned everywhere; he's nowhere to be found."

"Son of a bitch!"

Hardin slammed his power-armored fist into the nearby wall, leaving a large dent in the metal. The rest of his face that wasn't already red started to match the swelling side. For a moment, he looked as though he were about to hit the Knight, but then regained his composure.

"Alright tell Paladin Ramos to notify all Brotherhood outposts," commanded Hardin through gritted teeth, "and have him prep and send search parties out immediately. I want updates by the hour."

"Sir," the Knight saluted the Head Paladin and ran off to forward the information to Ramos.

Hardin stormed back into the facility. He was going to get this guy dead or alive.