James had been sleeping fitfully, unable to become comfortable on the cot in the tiny room beyond the prison laboratory. Every time he felt as if he were able to nod off, his leg would itch, his nose would dry out, or his fingers would ache from the countless slides he'd examined or knobs he'd turned.
He simply couldn't put Lillie out of his mind; the events of the day had been draining, but exhilarating. His little girl, all grown up... but grown up, on the wrong side of the wasteland.
Why couldn't that damn Overseer have let them in?! None of this would have happened if Almodovar had simply opened that door! If he had been able to raise his daughter, without any barrier and in his own way, she would not be evincing these negative behaviors―
James ran a hand over his beard and remembered how she'd lied. She knew she was lying to him. She was still hidden from him, five years after she'd presumed he was dead, but by her own design. What would cause her to think that was acceptable? That lying to anyone, whatsoever, was something that was done?
And what manner of relationship had Autumn to her, to cause her such concern upon learning of his lie? To think she could have trusted him for even a moment was distressing enough. But understanding she'd trusted him so much, that she was dazed by her inability to continue doing so? How much stock had she put into his words, and just how far had that trust gone?
It was something he hadn't actually anticipated, finding that Lillie had... God, he didn't even want to think about it. Torture for a father who could do nothing to prevent or separate the persons involved. He felt so helpless.
James had all but given up on sleep and was staring miserably at the ceiling of the room, when a commotion outside of the lab made him sit straight up on the cot. After a moment's listening he peeled himself from the canvas and made his way into the lab area, staring at the doorway curiously.
The door opened, and James frowned in confusion as Colonel Autumn stepped into the room. Slumped, really. The man was wounded, but not grievously so; he was bleeding steadily from his shoulder and ear, a stream of drying blood overlaid by fresh down the sleeve of his coat. A bruise spread across his cheek and one eye was bloodied, and his leg pulled behind him in the manner of a cripple. His entire body was limp, and he looked exhausted.
"James," Autumn slurred, and slogged his way over to a chair. "We have a problem."
"What happened?" James asked, taken aback by the man's appearance.
Autumn lowered himself onto the chair, groaning. He rubbed his temple, leaving a streak of blood across his eyebrow, and blinked numbly. "Among... among other things," he began, his voice strained and completely unrecognizable, "your daughter is on the run with a loaded weapon."
"Good Lord―" James moved forward, facing Autumn and frowning deeply. "What the hell, Autumn? Are you―drunk?"
Autumn groaned, moving a hand to lean on his uninjured knee. "I am, but you need to listen to me―"
"What―where the hell is Lillie!?" James' fingertips dug into his palms, terror rising in his chest.
"James," Autumn barked, rubbing his temple again. "Lillie took my weapon and she's gone!"
"Yes, that is true," Eden said, over the intercom.
James raised an eyebrow and slowly turned his head to the wall. "What?" he breathed. He would have panicked. Should have. Witnessing the manipulation of Lillie by Eden and the Colonel, he wasn't as certain that this wasn't some ridiculous attempt to produce the same in him. It could be some deliberate ploy―and James wasn't about to let himself be played by the bastards.
Autumn chuckled under his breath and went limp in the chair, grunting. "Lillie had... a rather unexpected reaction to an altercation between myself and President Eden," he said. "She disabled me and stole my sidearm."
"She was trained by the best, was she not, Colonel Autumn?" Eden asked, amused.
"She was," Autumn said, smiling slightly. As if in memory, a pleasant smile.
James frowned at the man's expression. He did not like this implication, either, which was closer to proving his suspicions. "Good God, man, what in the hell is going on?!"
"I came here to set you loose, to have you go after her," Autumn said, wiping sweat from his brow. "My―plan was not one anticipated necessary, except perhaps―by President Eden―" He grunted, and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Correct again, Colonel," Eden said, the only calm voice in the room. "But I did say that we would have a field test. A combat test, if you recall, Colonel."
Autumn rubbed his temples, wincing in pain. "I recall, sir. And I gave my objections."
"You let Lillie go out there without any sort of protection whatsoever?!" James raged, standing straighter. Autumn opened his eyes and stared at James. James did not want to see the interminable sadness that was in the man's eyes―or think about what that meant―
"I apologize, James," Autumn sighed. "She does have my pistol, one bullet less a full clip. And she's adequately prepared for hand-to-hand combat―"
"I hardly think her ability is proven in that, Colonel," Eden threw in. "She incapacitated an old man who was far too drunk to stand up straight; whom she had previously shot, while completely blind. I believe that you never actually intended to harm her, even when you turned your weapon on her."
Autumn turned his head away. James glared at the man, his patience worn thin. What situation had Lillie―his gentle, sensitive daughter, who had never been violent before―what situation had they put her in! And why?!
"Just what in the hell have you been doing with my daughter, you―"
"I didn't intend to harm her!" Autumn shouted, glaring back at James. "I was put in a difficult position―" he threw an arm out toward the intercom, his wounded arm, and flinched in pain. "Listen to me, James, I did not wish for this to happen! Everything that has happened―was a result of manipulation!"
James was not a violent man. Like Lillie, he was soft-spoken and kind, but when he was cornered he could prove extremely acerbic. Unlike Lillie's reported actions, though, words were his sole weapon. Words with which, he knew how to cut like a knife.
"Is that another lie, like how you told her I was dead?" he asked, icily. "Or am I to understand that you expect me to believe an admitted liar?"
Autumn chuckled, smiling in a pained way. "You can't hurt me with your words, James. I am no wilting flower to your poison tongue. I did not want to hurt Lillie. That―thing―" he swung his arm out again, groaning loudly. Pointing at Eden's intercom light. "That goddamn computer forced my hand, allowed me to imprison you, and has sown the seeds for Lillie to―" He stopped himself, and clenched his jaw together. Didn't say another word, just stared intensely at the floor.
Computer. James lowered his eyebrows, surprised though he might be. That, he thought, made sense. Too much sense, actually. It explained so many disparities, that James could think of no other solution that fit. It also bade so much ill that, as Lillie's only living family, he was actually glad that she was out in the wasteland.
A computer that could behave as Eden did was no ordinary computer. It would be highly dangerous, and able to do whatever was necessary to attain the goal it had set for itself. And that goal―he frowned. It would have the patience to plan over such a long period of time, that no mortal being could understand what it intended.
He turned his head with a snap to the intercom light. "What is the purpose of sending Lillie out in this way?" he asked, calmly.
"Why, James," Eden said, equally calmly, "to gain access to Vault 101, from whence you came. What other purpose could there have been?"
"Wh―" James' eyes opened widely. Lord, he―Eden still thought he and Lillie were from the Vault! If Lillie actually traveled there, she couldn't hope to get inside! And―God, his own position inside of Raven Rock would be compromised. He would surely be executed for treason, once the secret was out―
And Lillie―she was already outside but once the Enclave discovered her true origins she would be betrayed!
"They won't open the door for her!" James protested. "They don't open that door for anyone!"
"If that is so," Eden replied, "how is it that you managed to leave? And, might I add, there have been reports over the years of scouts sent to examine the nearby area. 101 suits are not unknown to the people of the wastes, James. There have been others."
"But―" James gritted his teeth. That was true enough, it was why Moriarty in Megaton had the necessary information to sell to him. Vault dwellers had explored the area, and he'd thought that would mean that the Overseer might be lenient.
"Those people are untouched," Autumn said, slowly. "A base point for humanity to renew itself, in this terrible world. We could rebuild the greatness that the Enclave was, before." He massaged a temple slowly, and James shot him an irritated glance.
"President Eden―" he said, strained. He needed to get out of Raven Rock―to find a way to Lillie before she managed to get to 101 and learned she was not actually of the Vault. "How do you know Lillie will go there? She knows absolutely nothing of the outside world! To think she would remember such a place―she was barely born when we left!"
Autumn sighed, bringing James' attention back to the man. "Lillie was given suggestive cues in training, to teach her the way," he said, tiredly. "It's standard procedure to replicate the wasteland environment in training. I did not see, until now."
"Yes," Eden agreed. "We are the Enclave, James. We have not survived this long by accident. One misstep might cause critical mission failure..." it paused, dramatically. "And that is a misstep we simply cannot afford to take."
Autumn looked up at James with such a tortured face that he couldn't help the sympathetic response he made. "Colonel," James said, as calmly as possible, "you recall my private opinions?"
"I do," Autumn muttered.
"I would like to exercise them now."
Autumn laughed a little. "I am glad to hear you've come around," he said, and he did sound relieved. "But this is one of those moments where a public opinion would be more valued."
Eden cleared its throat, ignoring their conversation. "James, Lillie is on a path to Vault 101 as we speak. When she arrives, she will gain access. There is no other outcome to my actions. I have calculated without error."
Autumn shook his head. James turned his attention back onto Eden. "And if you made a mistake?"
"I do not make mistakes," Eden said. "Colonel Autumn stopped listening to me; the end result was that you and Lillie were used to facilitate my plan. Without Autumn behaving so predictably―" it chuckled, dryly. "The Enclave's goals would not have panned out."
James pressed the issue. "But if Lillie cannot get into the Vault―"
"If, by some odd occurrence, Lillie does not manage to enter the Vault, you will be used to compel her into action. One way or another, the Vault will open to me. I have foreseen it."
"I find it hard to believe," James muttered, "that she would care. You've filled her head with such nonsense―" he growled to himself "You'd be more likely to get a reaction by using Autumn as bait!"
Eden chuckled. "That is true," it laughed in a knowing manner.
James' blood ran cold. The computer had confirmed his suspicions, in a cruel manner. "What the hell does that mean?!" he shouted. "Dammit, I'm tired of all these―unanswered questions!"
"I suggest you educate the good doctor, Colonel," Eden said. "When you are finished speaking with him, you may report to me. Good day, James."
"Eden!" James yelled, throwing his a fist up and slamming it into the table. There was no answer. James turned to stare at Autumn―filthy and bleeding―
"I will explain as best I can," Autumn said, tiredly. "I expect no less than your ire, James. I've been..." he sighed. "I have treated Lillie horribly, and I am paying for it."
James sank into a chair beside the Colonel and stared at him. Everything had gone insane―but he knew where he wanted to start.
"Why don't you tell me why Lillie trusts you so goddamn much," he seethed, staring at the man.