Nick Valentine sits comfortably at his desk. It is late, and rather quiet in the agency. All that breaks the silence is the sound of Nick's pen scribbling on paper and Ellie occassionally flipping the pages of a book she is reading. Nick looks up from the file he's working on closing, his glowing, golden eyes shifting towards the clock.
"Why don't you go home, Ellie?" he suggests, spinning his chair to face his secretary and close friend. Ellie looks up from her book, and her eyes drift to the same clock Nick has just checked. She chuckles softly.
"Didn't even realize the time." she admits, then stretches. "I was sticking around to file that for you."
Her eyes fall on the case file Nick has in his metallic hand. Nick lifts the paper and shakes his head. "No need. I'm sure I can handle putting this away in the right drawer." he says, giving the woman a small smirk.
"If I let you do that," Ellie says as she closes her book and stands, then strolls slowly to Nick's desk, "then what will you need me for?"
"Oh, don't you worry." Nick laughs. "You know I couldn't run this place without you."
"I know." Ellie winks and grabs an empty coffee cup from Nick's desk. She walks it around the wall, where the kitchenette is. "Are you going to stay up much longer? At least let me make you a coffee before I leave."
Nick smiles and turns back to his desk, setting the paperwork back down carefully. He grabs his pen again with the hand that is still mostly covered in synthetic flesh; his grip is far better with that one, after all. "Yeah, you know what? Coffee sounds good. Thanks, Ellie."
It is quiet again, except now the sounds of page flipping are replaced by the sound of water rolling as it boils; of a metal spoon clinking gently on a ceramic mug as Ellie dumps the coffee into it. Then, the soothing sound of hot water filling the cup, followed by... the harsh sound of the door to the agency being thrown open and crashing against the wall.
Both Ellie and Nick look up, brows furrowed, and make quick eye contact before they both stand in time to see Rosa Quinn descending the stairs rather rapidly.
Rosa is a tall, slender woman. She has tawny hair, pulled back into a messy ponytail. Her hazel eyes are both fierce and tired simultaneously, and presently, she carries with her an air of determination.
"Ms. Quinn!" Ellie greets the woman, hurrying out to her desk but not before she places Nick's prepared cup of coffee on his desk. "It's awfully late, is everything—"
"Maggie." Rosa says, cutting Ellie off.
Ellie isn't expecting the interruption and it catches her off guard. She stammers for a moment, before her brow furrows. "Maggie? ...Did something happen?"
Nick narrows his eyes as he steps forward, interested to see where this is going. Rosa's eyes flick between the two of them, and she whines lowly in her throat. "You have to reopen her case. You have to."
A sigh escapes Nick's lips. "Look, Ms. Quinn. I hate to tell you this, but... Well, it's been eight years." he says solemnly. "Eight years since she disappeared, and six since we've had any developments. I'm afraid that she's probably—"
"No!" Rosa cuts in again, brimming with anxious energy. "No. No, no. She's... She's alive, I know she is. I can feel it. Please..." Tears are pricking at her eyes, now, and her arm crosses her body. Nick sighs.
He remembers the case well. Two relatively young and wealthy upperstands residents, found brutally murdered in their homes; their daughter, Maggie, gone without a trace. And to this day, neither she nor the murderer have ever been found. It is a cold case that bothers Nick often – but it has been nearly a decade, and the likelihood of Maggie being alive, he knows, are unfortunately slim to none.
Ellie hurries to bring a tissue to Rosa, which she takes and uses to dab at her wet eyes. "Please, I know... It isn't much, but... I just..." Rosa draws in a shaky breath. "I need to know... That my niece is okay."
"Nick's right." Ellie says sympathetically, her warm hand on Rosa's arm. She rubs it comfortingly. "The case went cold. There hasn't been any new evidence in years. We have no leads."
There is a heavy silence, and Nick nods once. "I'm sorry, Rosa. I did what I could. Some cases..." he trails off, looking away in self-reproach.
Rosa chews her lip, then quickly wipes a tear from her cheek. "I don't know if it's anything, but..." she begins, prompting Nick to look back up at her with anticipation, "... It's... It's happening again."
Nick tilts his head. "What's happening again?"
"My posters... Someone's taking them down."
Ellie and Nick exchange a look, and the synth steps forward. "Someone is ripping your 'missing person' posters down?" he asks for clarification, and Rosa nods. "Well... are you putting them up in places where people might not want them to be?" Now, Rosa shakes her head.
"All the same places as before. Just... posts, empty spaces on walls, that sort of thing... But they're going missing, and then I go print more and put them up, and they come down, too. Like someone is deliberately following me and ripping them down." She appears distressed.
"When did this start?" Nick asks, glancing to Ellie who quickly gets the hint and hurries for her notepad. Rosa is visibly relieved that they're now taking her seriously, that they're hearing her out. She waits a moment, until Ellie has her notepad and pen ready, before she answers.
"A couple of weeks ago." She picks anxiously at her nails. Ellie writes this down hastily.
"Alright, and how frequently would you say you've noticed this happens?" Nick crosses his arms thoughtfully. Rosa frowns.
"Almost every other night, they're gone." she says, "I've replaced them five times now."
Nick takes a moment with the information, before he says, "That's definitely strange. Seems like someone is pretty adament about those posters coming down." His metallic fingers come up to stroke at his chin. "But who would go through all that trouble? Maybe somebody devoted to preserving the uniformity of our streets," he says sarcastically, "Or, maybe someone involved, somehow, who can't stand the guilt... Have you noticed any other posters missing, or just yours?"
"Just mine."
"Huh." Nick can feel a fire surging in him now. This is a new development, a new lead in this case that has haunted him for years. "Tell you what. Let me look into it, see what I can find. Alright?"
"Thank you, Nick. Thank you." Rosa says as another tear falls from her eyes. "Please, you have to find her. Even if she's... Gone... There needs to be justice for her and for my sister."
Nick makes a mental note of how she chooses to leave her brother-in-law out of her sentiments. "I couldn't agree with you more. Why don't you let me work on the justice part. You head home, and I'll get to work."
Rosa bows her head in gratitude, then turns. She can be heard sniffling the entire way up the stairs, until she has stepped back into the cold, dark Diamond City alleyway. When she is gone, Nick turns to Ellie, and she can see the spark in his eyes.
"Guess that coffee was a good idea, huh?" she laughs, and Nick does too.
"Guess so. Thanks, Ellie." he says, and grabs his coat from the back of his chair.