Silence. Numbness. He opened his eyes. There was a strange tingling over his whole being…like he had been submerged in irradiated water. Knox pried his cheek from the floor to stare at the ceiling. He swallowed, tasting lifejuice at the back of his throat. He blinked. His vision seemed to be clouded over by lapses of white before it became normal again. Still the tingling didn't leave. Knox shifted his body. It obeyed him. He sat upright and looked down, observing his utter bloodiness. His torso was covered in his own blood. Fuck. What a mess. Knox felt down the grooves of his body before he felt it – the open wound was on his navel, slightly to the left of his body. He pushed a finger in to see the extent of it. It was just a flesh wound now.

Fuck. Charon. Doc.

Knox scrambled up from his position on the floor, slightly winded by the sudden gush of strength. He took deep breaths before crawling over to the door. His pip-boy was still working; that's a relief. He noted the two red ticks on the radar somewhere to the right, noting enemies. He heard their voices before he saw them. How long had he been out? He hoped his companions were safe. He gritted his teeth. As he exited the freezer, he caught sight of the combat knife on the floor. A grin made its way to Knox's face. Time to unleash hell on these fuckers.

The mercs didn't make much noise as they slumped onto the ground, throats ripped out from their bodies, eyes bugged out in shock. Knox stole their laser rifles and ammo. He slinked in the shadows in search for his companions. Every red dot that appeared on his radar disappeared when he encountered them; he left a trail of red behind him. It was on the second floor that he heard the low murmuring of a raspy voice.

Doc Barrows.

His pip-boy told him they were in the next room where light spilled into the dark corridor.

"Stop–"

"And why should I, zombie? As soon as I turn around, you'll eat my brains." A sickening thud and a pained yell signalled the impact of a blunt object to skull. Knox growled low in his throat. They were fucking up his Doc. He went into the room and slashed the one guard, pushing the blade through his zygomaticus major, the upper cheek. Blood spurted out from the wound when he wrenched the knife out. The guard let out a frail scream which was cut short when Knox shot the laser across his neck, decapitating him. The body flailed in after-shocks of energy before going limp next to the ashen head.

"Smoothskin? You're alive? I saw you get shot. I saw you –"

Knox pushed the rifle into Doc Barrow hands and shushed him. He locked the room behind him, hearing the smooth, sleek voice of a sleazy bastard down the corridor.

"I wish 101 had killed you instead. He was a finer sight than you." A chuckle travelled out the door. "You hated him, didn't you? The way you went at him… It was excellent… I almost feel sorry for him, to be killed by his own slave –" Knox winced at the word. "Still, he deserved it for foiling my plans. I wanted Megaton off the map… It was my life's work but he foiled it. Oh…I did promise him I wouldn't set the bomb off if… he let me have a taste of vault purity…And my, was it pure…" Another dark chuckle. "He was extremely sensitive to touches…even pain…yet he soaks it up and asks for more… What a delectable morsel." A chair scraped against the floor. "Did you have a taste as well, ghoul?"

Okay that's it. Burke had hell to pay.

Knox sneaked into the room, watching the way Burke ran the butt of a combat knife along Charon's skin. He gritted his teeth feeling a flare of…something just under his chest at the sight. He wanted to break Burke's hands. Gut him for misusing his fucking bodyguard like that. There was obvious distaste in Charon's pale eyes. Knox could almost hear him growling. Of course, dumbass Burke had no idea that Charon was bristling. Then Charon's pale eyes suddenly fixed on him. Knox thought he felt the gunshot through his body all over again. He swallowed the aftertaste of Charon's blood, recalling every smash of a huge fist on his body.

With an inhuman shriek, Knox pounced and plunged the knife into Burke's back. Burke shouted as he dropped the knife he held. Knox busted his knees with a hard kick to the man's legs. He pulled out the blade as he shoved Burke onto a desk beside them. Burke attempted to grab him but Knox was slippery with blood. Burke's dirty fingers made trails on his skin. Growling, Knox pierced Burke's thigh muscle, right beside his crotch. Burke shrieked. Knox broke a couple of his teeth with a strong punch. Knox took this opportunity to pull out the crumpled contract from the unbuttoned coat.

"Fucker, let me tell you my plans." Knox slipped the blade out from the wounded thigh and pressed it against Burke's throat, staining the pale skin with red. "I'm going rip out your heart –"

"You're going to butcher me?"

"Oh, of course you'll be dead, by then," Knox said, imitating the pompous way Burke spoke. "But I'm not gonna be the one to end you." Knox slid the knife off the skin. He felt his bodyguard tremble with the anticipation. Fuck, yes. HIS bodyguard. It felt insanely good to address him like that again. "This kill doesn't have my name on it." Charon wasted no time in obliterating the evil bastard. Just a pump and a deafening bang and Burke bled all over the floor. Knox handled the cadaver with less respect than he ever had for any other dead body. When the echo of the shot died down, Knox flayed the body open, aiming straight for the heart. It surprised him that Burke even had one. As promised, he ripped it out, dripping crimson onto the floor. Myocardium. Even evil bastards had a heart. But so far, all evil bastards he knew had dead ones.