A/N: HEY EVERYONE! Enjoying your Saturday? I know I am :D I'm on Spring Break! WHOO! x3

Hehe, anywho! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :D It feels a little quick at the end, but other than that, I think it came out pretty decent :3

Hope you enjoyed it enough to leave a review!

Happy reading, happ writing!

~Konfessionist out!~

Chapter Eleven: A High-Speed Chase

Day Three

Janny brought her head above water, sucking in deep breaths of sweet air as she swam towards the stairs with long, powerful strokes so she could get out of the freezing cold that surrounded her. She clambered up the metal steps, gripping the railing for support (which was just as cold as the water- if not colder), and looked down a narrow hallway elbowing from the stairs. She pulled her combat knife from her breast wrapping, unsheathing it from its binding and tied it on her hip. Dripping wet and otherwise cold, goose bumps riddling her skin and causing her to quiver, she cautiously walked down the hall, straining her ears for any source of noise- for any source of life.

She stopped for a moment, pressing her back to the cold metal wall as a Mirelurk unhurriedly walked right past her, chittering to itself without even acknowledging her presence as it turned the corner and went away. She released the breath she had been holding and stepped out carefully, sure to not make any noise, and with light footsteps she went down another long corridor.

Janny remembered the first time she had come to the broken bow in search of Pinkerton- unlike now, Harkness forbade her from going there. She knew that it was partially due to the fact that it was dangerous because of all the Mirelurks and traps set out, but also because Pinkerton had installed some sort of program into the commander, causing Harkness to go into a sort of "defense" mode whenever anybody even mentioned Pinkerton. It would ward people off from wanting to go into the bow of the ship. Needless to say, it came in handy at times because of Harkness' position as the head of security and Commander, as it kept people from bothering the crabby windbag scientist.

She desperately hoped the man was still alive- she wasn't lying to Bryan when she said that he may be the only one to answer the questions she had, like who had contacted Zimmer and told him that his android was in Rivet City, still alive and kicking (but deep down, she believed that Pinkerton was the informant). Why tell Zimmer that his android was here but not tell him who it was? Does that mean that the informant did not know the identity of the android? Or did they just want to seem like they didn't know?

Maybe it wasn't Pinkerton, in that case... Maybe he didn't tell- or maybe he thought he'd have the last laugh before kicking the bucket. He seemed to be a crazy old bastard that way.

She shook her head, dripping wet hair sticking to her shoulder blades and back as she did.

Coming across a large room, she recognized it as the room right outside of Pinkerton's hideout. She looked around, making sure no frag mines or trip wires lined the floor as she stepped forward. Even then, she walked cautiously, choosing where she was stepping wisely until-

Click.

Janny ducked down, dropping flat on her stomach and covering her arms over her head for protection as a sizeable block of rubble with rebar jutting out from its sides sailed overhead, dislodged from the wall and attached to the ceiling by a sturdy metal chain. It circled back and forth over her like a bad rain cloud, and she glanced up to stare at it. The wrecking ball would have either knocked her off her feet from the sheer force, or impaled her!

Crawling out from underneath it, she looked back to see that she had stepped on a pressure plate- camouflaged by some strewn about paperwork and she continued crawling on her stomach till she got to the door. From there, she jumped to her feet and pushed the door open, groaning with the strength and force she had to use to even crack it open enough so she could wriggle through. Once completely inside, she replaced her combat knife in its binding on her hip and looked around the room, stepping forward.

Pinkerton's hideout hadn't changed much- it was just a lot messier, and a lot more cluttered than she had previously remembered…

"Hello?" She called, stopping in the center of the room to stare at a workbench covered in welded scrap metal and various tools. "Horace? Horace Pinkerton? Are you here?"

"Huh? What was that?" A shrill voice called, followed by a thumping nose.

Janny looked up to the second floor landing that jut over her head, finding an older than she remembered Pinkerton with thick spectacles on his long nose, wrinkled expression contorted into the ugliest frown she had ever seen in her life. He was hunched over onto a poorly made cane, and it seemed to be the only thing that held him up- remarkably.

"Who- Who the hell are you?" He pointed his cane at her accusingly. "How the hell did you get in here?"

"Nice to see you too, Horace." She replied indifferently, watching as he very slowly came down the stairs at her right. He was slower than a Protectron trampling through irradiated peanut butter!

"How do you know my name?" He asked hoarsely, pulling a handkerchief from his pants pocket to cough wetly into it. "And I'm only gonna ask one more time- how the hell did you get in here?"

"I've been here before," She commented as he shuffled past her to his cluttered workbench, brushing the welded scrap metal off with a swooping arm to clatter onto the floor. "I came here once before to ask you questions. My name is Janny."

"Don't get visitors, but I remember this one girl from long ago..." He announced gruffly, picking up a container of noodles and placed it on the workbench, plugging in a hot plate to place it next to his dry meal. "Nosy one she was… Asking about an android… A synth man, they call 'em!"

She was slightly surprised that he was being so… open. A lot more open than the last time she sought his company. He called her a brat and a few other things she wouldn't care to delve too deeply into once more.

"Yes, that girl was me, Horace. It's been ten years since we last saw each other, and yes, I had asked you about Harkness- the android you performed facial reconstruction and a mind swipe on."

He chuckled dryly, glancing up at her and fixing the spectacles on his face. "In that case, did you use the recall code I gave you?"

Janny nodded, stunned that he remembered something like the recall code he gave her. "I certainly did. You were correct- he remembered the moment I spoke those magic words."

"Ah, technology! So fickle, and at times hard to understand, but so easy to manipulate- so easy to use… Amazing, is it not?"

"I agree." She crossed her arms over her wrapped chest, still dripping slightly. "I'm sure you know that I'm not here for friendly chit-chat."

"Oh, I know." He smacked his lips as he filled a pot with purified water and set it on the heating hot plate. "I made it quite clear the last time you were here that I wanted you to get out, Jenny."

"It's Janny, and I understand. If you cooperate, just like last time, I will leave you to your lunch in peace. I have more questions about Harkness."

"The android?" He laughed hoarsely, which quickly turned into an aggravated hack, and he grabbed his handkerchief to cough into it again. "You know, you're not the only one who came asking about the android- if you are the girl from all those years ago."

"I'm not?" She asked in an alarmed tone. "Who came?"

"A man, asking very curious questions… Wouldn't shut the hell up." He grumped.

"A man?" Her brows furrowed together in question. "Was it a man named Zimmer?"

"Nah- Banner or Brandy, some such shit, Sandy." He muttered as he peeled back the flimsy lid on his noodles with trembling fingers.

"Janny." She corrected him again with a frown. "And Banner or Brandy?…" She mused. She didn't know anybody by either name- but for all she knew it could be someone she's never met before that was working with Zimmer to grab at Harkness.

Pinkerton nodded. "The man came in with another fella. He didn't talk- Brandy-Banner what's-his-name did all the talking, asking questions about your robot friend… Prissy asshole if you ask me…" He grumped again.

Janny's eyes widened with shock. "This man asked for information about Harkness?"

"Of course- but not just questions on the synth, he claims to have heard of my work and asked if it was true that I could perform facial reconstructive surgery! I told him I'd be damned if I weren't able to, and then he asked if I would be able to do a mind sweep as well."

"A mind sweep, huh?..." She muttered to herself, looking back at him. "A mind sweep on who? Himself?"

He shook his head. "Nah, he asked if it could be done on a human in general."

"So how did you respond?"

"I didn't like the vibes I was getting. Told him a damn lie- said that I was only able to do it on an android, as they have an AI- that's artificial intelligence, if you're too dense to know-"

"I'm a lot brighter than you think," She grimaced, interrupting him. "I assume you told him that the human brain was a lot more complicated than that of an android, and that performing a mind sweep on a human would put a lot at risk for the subject being performed on?"

Pinkerton simply "hmphed" to himself, pouring his boiling water into his noodle bowl and clasped the lid down to let the noodles cook.

"I did say that, and in a way it is true. With Harkness' mind wipe, I was able to put the memories behind a door. The door had a key, which is the recall code I gave you, so it could be opened- but it will never be closed after that unless he asks for another conk on the noggin. With humans, the door is actually an impenetrable wall. Once it's set up, whatever memories lie behind it aren't accessible any longer. It's like permanent amnesia."

"Androids are built to obey every order or code they're given, whether they like it or not. Humans are taught to learn orders, but are given the option- the freedom- to ignore them, or comply with them. For lack of a better example, if you yell at a person to remember their forgotten name, it's almost like their brain chooses whether or not the person should remember his or her name. It's a lot more difficult than that, but I'll spare you the details." He finally admitted, holding his cane. "Anyways, the prissy asshole said it was a downright shame, asked a few more questions about the synth and left."

"What other questions did this man ask?" Janny asked, walking towards him steadily.

"Asked what sort of memories I implanted in Harkness so he wouldn't suspect that he was an android, asked if he had some sorta codeword that would trigger certain actions or reactions- asked a lot of questions about codes and trigger words..." He shook his head, clutching his cane even tighter till his bony knuckles turned white.

"What do you mean? Did he ask for specific codes, Horace?" She replied worriedly, brushing back her bangs which were matted to her forehead and damp. Almost clingy.

"He asked for the code that would cause Harkness to enter combat mode. In combat mode, Harkness interacts with his opponent hostilely, whether said opponent is an actual threat or is as harmless as a radroach. It acts as if his body worked but his mind shut itself down. He'd become a shell, essentially." He began in a shaky voice, wiping the perspiration that began to glisten on his forehead. "He asked if Harkness would be able to self-destruct or become a mindless freak if someone knew a code that could completely render him brainwashed! He even asked if there was a permanent shutdown code!"

"What did you tell him, Horace?" Janny boomed in a stern voice, slamming a rolled fist down on the workbench to show that she meant business, spilling the elderly man's noodles onto the floor in the process. "What did you say to this man?"

Pinkerton began shaking more, replying in a broken voice. "The fella that came with him held a gun to my head when I said I wouldn't tell him a fucking thing!" He looked away, brushing a trembling hand over his face and sighed deeply, continuing feebly. "I told him everything I knew about the codes, even the ones he didn't ask for… I was a scared old man… Still am, by God."

"You told him everything?" Her eyes widened in horror as she stepped back, heart pounding in her chest. This wasn't good… Someone on the ship knew Harkness was an android, and knew all of his codes! This had to be the same person who contacted Zimmer, and if that were the case, why didn't he tell Zimmer the android's identity? Why didn't he tell Zimmer that he had the codes? Why? Why? Why? Why?

"Have you ever met a man named Zimmer?" She asked suddenly.

"I- I don't-…" He trailed off.

"You better think long and hard before you lie to me Horace." She warned in an acidic tone, narrowing her eyes to sharpened pin points on the back of his head. "Or you will wish that this man did kill you."

She didn't feel so good about threatening an old man, but she had no other choice. She needed answers to her questions and she needed them now!

"I never met a man named Zimmer before. I only heard about him from Harkness, when he was giving his last testimony before I cracked him open." He answered after some time of contemplation. Or maybe he was searching through his memories?

Either way, he wasn't lying to her.

"So you never told anyone Harkness is an android?" He shook his head. "And what about this mysterious visitor of yours?"

"I never fuckin' told anyone that Harkness was an android! Had no damn reason to, and if you haven't noticed I like keeping to myself!" He grimaced. "When that prissy asshole came down here, he already knew Harkness was an android. He just wanted to know more about him."

"Damnit all to-..." She bit her lip and held her hand to her forehead.

"I- I didn't tell him everything, Janny…" He murmured in that broken, terrified voice as he knelt down in front of a safe in the corner behind his workbench, opening it with shaking fingers and pulled out a leather-bound book, slowly rising to his feet with the help of his cane and turned back to her, handing it over.

"What- What is this?" She asked, clutching it in one hand while she raked her finger pads over it with the other.

"A journal I kept over the years, since I became a scientist and a surgeon- stopped writing in it 'cause of my fucking arthritis… Can't hold a damn pen anymore…" He grumbled. "I wrote down all the codes I could crank out of that tin can opener during the operation. Even though I gave Brandy, Banner- that prissy asshole- a lot of codes, I gave some of the ones he asked for and some pretty useless ones as well, saying that they did something other than what they actually could do. It's like pressing a button on a remote without any labels- when you've been told one button will turn the T.V. off, it instead changes channels. It may not work as a distraction for long if he plans on testing them out on the android, but I thought it could help buy some time for me to set up more traps before he and his friend returned."

"This is good…" She replied, still stroking the cover of the book and nodded. "This is some good news! What happened after you gave him everything he needed to know?"

"Mumbled something to himself 'bout visiting a sea grave… Thought he was nuts, and I told him so. Simply waved me off and walked out."

The first thought that rung in her head was the name of the late Seagrave Holmes. What did he have to do with all of this? As far as she knew, he didn't know Harkness was an android!

Or maye he did...

"I- I need to warn Harkness!" Janny glanced over to the hunched over scientist. "I have to tell him someone's possibly after him, or worse, working with Zimmer!"

A sharp noise ripped through the air past Janny's head, and Pinkerton's head exploded into a fine red mist, showering down chunks of grey matter and flesh and shattered bone. His frail body was thrown against the wall by the impact, blood splattering everywhere, and slumped to the floor with his cane clattering next to his headless corpse. She spun around to find a dark-skinned man standing in the doorway, silenced 10mm pistol in hand, donning a helmet with a protective mask and worn black armor. His uniform looked all too similar to that of Rivet City's security team.

"You won't be telling Harkness anything, because you're not making it out of here alive." The guard smirked, motioning at her with his weapon. "Now put your hands up where I can see them. And no funny business, or I'll shoot your fucking head off like I did to that poor, wrinkled old bastard."

Janny looked back over her shoulder at the unfortunate mess that was Pinkerton, slowly holding her arms up like she had been directed, his journal held in one hand. The guard came over, ripping her combat knife off from her hip and tossed it over his shoulder so it slid to the door. She inwardly cursed, chewing her lip as he continued patting her down for weapons.

Suddenly, an escape plan flickered on in her head. She didn't like it, but it was worth a shot…

"That's all you got on you?" He asked sternly, but all she did was stare at him.

She smirked sinfully. "Sorry- what was that? I was so distracted, I-… I have a thing for a man in uniform. It just gets me so… hot." She ran the tip of her tongue along her upper lip as if to get her point across, eyeing him flirtatiously.

The guard gawked at her strangely, clearing his throat to recollect himself.

"I said, is that all the weapons you've got?" He grew impatient when she, instead of answering, raked her eyes all up and down his body seductively. "Bitch, answer me!"

She made a subtle moaning noise, causing his eyes to snap wide open. "I've got a thing for name calling, too…" She explained quietly when he shot her a suspicious glance.

He smiled a little, and she could see his muscles relaxing. "You're a naughty little bitch, aren't you?"

"Only for the one who's got me bent over a table, fucking me senseless." She replied as sweetly as she could, ending her sentence in a sultry voice.

"Oh, I gotcha baby," He crowed with his smile deepening and he holstered his weapon at his hip, wrapping his arm around her curvy waist. "I gotcha…" He murmured again, running a hand up her thigh to grab her ass.

She moaned against his neck, lowering her arms slightly but not enough for him to notice. She nudged at the protective shield over his face with her nose. He wordlessly obeyed, lifting it up for her. He smashed his lips against hers, hungrily, slipping his tongue into the confines of her mouth and began to knead the pert flesh of her ass. They pulled back, gasping for air, and she smiled again.

"What's your name?"

"What's it to you?" He shot back, running his hand down her thigh to wrap her leg around his waist and grind his hardened arousal between her thighs.

"Well… I don't like fucking guys unless I can scream their name." She raised a playful eyebrow at him.

"Marcus," He answered quickly, licking his lips as his eyes ravaged her wrapped breasts- almost as if they were a present meant just for him.

"Marcus," Janny drawled in a moan against his ear that he'd never get the chance to hear again. "Never let your guard down…"

Lowering her leg from his waist to the back of his leg, she hooked it, smashing her forehead against his face and tightened the coil of her leg, causing him to trip backwards and land on his back. He clutched his broken nose as crimson blood oozed out between his thick fingers, shrieking in agony. She stomped on his throat for good measure and ran towards the door, picking up her combat knife as she ran. Before she could get out, though, another sharp noise ripped through the air, slamming her into the metal doorframe as a sharp pain riddled up and down the bone of her arm. She gazed down, finding a bleeding graze- just a flesh wound- on her bicep.

"Bi- Bitch!" Marcus seethed, completely enraged as he was rolled onto his stomach with his silenced pistol in his clutches, aimlessly shooting off more rounds.

Marcus had missed Janny after the first hit and she took off down the hallway. He quickly scrambled to his feet and gave chase, hand buried into a pocket on his belt to retrieve rounds to feed his gun as he ran after her. She turned a corner and so did he, practically skidding into the wall before recollecting himself and continuing with the chase.

Lungs and injury burning, legs numb, and breathing becoming harder and harder to do the farther she ran, she didn't know if she could keep up for much longer. He would catch her and kill her, and it would all be over! Pinkerton would have died in vain, she wouldn't have found out who knew Harkness' secret, she wouldn't find out the mystery behind Seagrave's trunk, she wouldn't-

"Can't I come with you? Don't go in alone!"

Janny closed her eyes, fighting back the sting of tears and the ache of her legs as she forced herself to take off even faster down the hallway. She told Bryan she'd come back- she promised she'd come back to him, and she wouldn't let him down when he had so much trust and faith in her… Not right when she finally returned to him, after ten years.

She was the Lone Wanderer, for Christ's sake! She's taken down hordes of Super Mutants singlehandedly, cleared out the nesting grounds of Yao Guai and Deathclaws, hero to the innocent and a freaking nightmare on legs for the evil! Some petty security guard couldn't and wouldn't take her down!

With renewed energy and pure will coursing through her veins, she charged on ahead, lashing her blade out at a thick pipe that lined the wall. As she ran, the blade sliced through the pipe, releasing obnoxious fumes into the air. Marcus turned into the hallway just as she turned the corner to find cover.

"Where are you, you sick little whore?" He taunted mockingly, cautiously stepping down the hallway as he finished loading up his weapon. "Come out, come out, wherever you areee!"

Janny had her back pressed to the outer doorway around the corner, panting heavily and trying desperately to calm her rapidly beating heart and to keep from making any noise. Chewing on her lip, she knew she had to find some way to make the guard fire his weapon…

She jumped into the doorway with her legs spread apart in a braced position, journal tucked into the band of her boy shorts as she stared him down with a toothy smirk on her face.

"There you are!" He called, brows furrowing and his lips turning up into a sneer as he aimed his weapon at her head, blood still running from his nose. "You ready to surrender?"

"No, I don't believe so," She replied, fingering her blade timidly. "Are you ready to die?"

"The fuck kinda question is that?" He laughed boisterously. "No, I ain't fucking dying!"

"Are you quite sure of that, Marcus?" She asked, tightening her grip on her combat knife handle.

"I'm fucking sure, bitch, like I'm sure that the only one dying here is you." He grimaced. "Stop playin' twenty-fucking-questions!"

Janny's eyes widened in horror and her body began to shake as she pointed past him.

"Mi- Mirelurk Hunter!" She exclaimed.

Marcus whipped around on his heel to attack the "threat", which was a distraction Janny had roused to keep him occupied. With a skilled outward flick of her wrist, she flung her combat knife at him, watching it sink into the flesh of his calf.

"Fuck!" He cried out as he fell onto his side, snapping his head back with a snarl on his lips as he aimed and fired repeatedly.

Janny lunged out of the way, rolling into a corridor full of water and trash as an explosion bellowed from the mouth of the hallway behind her, flames licking at the ceiling with a BOOM following. She cradled her head in her hands, protecting her ears from the noise of the blast and her face from whatever shrapnel may have been caused from the explosion. She heard a loud clang behind her, followed by the skidding of metal on metal. When she peeked out from between the folds of her arms, a 10mm silenced pistol was sizzling in the water at her side. She slowly sat up with her legs crooked at each of her sides, gawking down at the gun peculiarly and then glanced over her shoulder, watching the flames dance in the hallway.

She sighed, relieved that the chase was finally over before realizing that her busy day was still very far from over. She had to find who this mysterious visitor was that came to Pinkerton for answers (maybe he was the one who sent the "hitman," Marcus?) and how Seagrave seemed to be tied into the entire thing. She still had to get a hold of his belongings, too (finding his computer is top priority right now), go over his medical files, get the toolbox key from Vera, speak with Harkness… She also had to confront Zimmer. She had to figure out the motive this illusive informant had for giving up valuable information about Harkness (from what Horace said, this person obviously knows Harkness' identity...) but not completely divulging everything.

So many questions buzzed in her head- so many things to do; so many suspicions, speculations, accusations, but no evidence to back any of it up with solid support. She had nothing- nothing at all…

Was she fighting a losing battle?

Janny laid back on the watered floor, closing her eyes to rest for a little and collect her thoughts with her thumb leafing through the ripped and wrinkled pages of Pinkerton's worn journal on her stomach absentmindedly.