Evelyn gave a startle as a raspy voice crackled through the overhead speaker system.
"You goin' to fuckin' lie there all damn day?!" Her eyes shot wide open, and she bolted upright, turning her face to the blinking camera. "Yeah, I see you. Get your ass up here. You sure as shit don't want to make me come and get you."
David appeared just as surprised as she was, and he hesitated for a moment too long. Evelyn's fingers were already curled around her collar, and it snapped as she cracked it in half. She shakily stood, wincing at the burning sensation under her skin that tingled down to her toes.
The bounty hunter had come for her…he had come back.
David merely crossed his arms in a studious stance, and he had a look of amusement.
Another click of the P.A. as the merc's voice continued to drift down to them, "And you, I'm goin' to make sure you stay dead this time-"
David gave an irritated glance to the camera. "Oh, for God's sake."
"-you fuckin' piece of shit- "
"This is giving me a headache," David simply said.
The camera blew into a display of white sparks and wispy smoke. Evelyn spun her head back to her captor, and he hid a pistol back under his lab coat.
"Now I'm fuckin' pissed."
The com clicked off, as the viewers upstairs were rendered blind to her position.
"You are perhaps the densest person I have ever met," Thomas quipped from the side, mildly aggravated at the developing situation. "Please, continue with your negotiations."
Cross just snarled in reply.
There was a whoosh as the door opened, and Charon decidedly made his leave.
Cross shot his fellow mercenary a look. "Keep an eye on her right this time." He then jabbed a finger in the air at Lydia's stubbled head peering warily over the monitor. "And you, stay fuckin' put."
Campbell gave a curt nod. "Come back in one piece."
The merc muttered under his breath as he strode out the door. Evelyn was still pretty pissed at him. "No guarantees."
Charon released a frustrated growl. He was stalking carefully down a hallway, armed and alert for any sign of danger. There was movement in his peripheral, and he instinctively raised the barrel of his shotgun, aiming at the merc on the other side of a viewing glass that separated their corridors. With a grunt, he lowered it.
The bounty hunter glowered at him. "Don't worry, I'll make sure she stays put this time," his muffled voice rasped sarcastically.
Heavy footsteps echoed at the end of the hall. A certain blue ghoul paused in the doorway momentarily, a Sentry Bot at his elbow.
"Hostile- DETECTED."
"I'll tell her you put up a good fight." Cross left his field of vision, and Charon turned his attention back to his new threat.
Cross shook his shoulders as he gave a brief pause in a hallway, turning to stare at a creature fixated on his movements. He gave an ugly, mean glare in return before moving on and spinning circles at a four-way intersection. A gloved fingertip flicked the brim of his hat back, and he scratched puzzlingly at his forehead.
"Hey!" he called out at the nearest blinking camera. "Which way?" He waved his arms at the silent lens. "I know you're watchin' me up there, ya damn, glowin' fu-"
The sound of static crackled. "A left, I think." It was Penny's voice, and he gave her a mock salute as he began to trudge down.
"No, no, sorry, your other left."
"Jesus," Cross muttered under his breath, and he could be seen on the display monitors crossing back through the intersection to proceed the right (left) way.
Charon blinked in surprise as the ghoul evaded the gunshot- for his size, he was fucking fast.
The Sentry Bot took the blow instead, and the ferryman was grateful he had reequipped his normal stock for some specially crafted rounds he himself had devised over a year ago, when his brief contracted service to Moira Brown had had its perks. There was a hiss as the acidic-based components of his rounds began to eat away at the metal plating of the bot, and smoke began to curl from internal circuitry damage. Another gunshot blew, this one aimed for the head, and the bot began to operate erratically.
"System-H-H-Hostile-"
Roman dodged a sudden laser fire from the fitful bot, keeping low to the ground in a half-crouch as the sound of shotgun blasts rang out. The Sentry Bot was quickly rendered useless- a pile of blown gears and fumes. Charon unloaded the empty stock to the floor with a clatter. A click, and Roman's gun was being raised at his chest with a finger ghosting the trigger, waiting for the chance at a clean shot.
Fing! The empty stock was propelled at rapid speed from the toe of Charon's boot, flying past the blue ghoul's head by a mere inch. Roman's eyes grew wide at the unexpected projectile, and his flinching reaction to the side was enough bought time for the ferryman to bump in his reloaded stock.
Bang bang! Charon gave his signature two-tap, his first shot blowing through the ghoul's right shoulder and his second missing entirely. Roman had dropped the gun- his right arm rendered useless- and ducked to burst into a sprint straight toward his contracted counterpart.
He was really fucking fast.
Charon grunted as he quickly snapped his head back from the blade in Roman's left hand that came to be in the space where his jugular previously had been. He sucked in the air between his teeth as the blue ghoul quickly took a step to the side, dodging the kick that was aimed at his kneecap. Charon raised the barrel of his gun again, but miscalculated the timing as Roman had already recovered his stance and sunk the blade to its hilt in his shoulder muscle, missing its intended mark of the carotid artery.
Bam!
Roman flinched from the missed shot made from behind the ferryman. He sidestepped swiftly to the right, drawing back into the hallway and closing the door.
Charon gave a muttered curse under his breath as his fingers wrapped around the hilt and yanked the blade free. He then turned around to view his surprising backup, and Penny gave him a rather stiff smile.
"Should we give chase?" she rasped upward at him, and he shook his head.
"He is not my concern." As much as he wanted to feel the ghoul's dying pulse under his bare hands, the priority of Evelyn's safety was both a contracted obligation and his internal wish to be fulfilled. The combat knife was sheathed, and he rotated his arm in its socket, ignoring the lance of pain and flow of blood.
He's fared worse.
Well, Cross was sure he had found the right passageway. The silent hum of the Sentry Bots around the corner told him as much. The merc groaned in his hands and rubbed at his eyes vexingly with the heel of his palms. He didn't have enough rounds to take them both, and even though the bots didn't have good aim, they didn't need it- their large spray pattern was enough. He clasped his hands behind himself and paced for a few minutes, ignoring the whir of the camera as it tracked his movements. He then scoped a few rooms, looking over the blinking machinery for anything that may help him with his rescue efforts, until he found a panel shiny with screens and knobs. An idea popped in his head (ding!), and his palm was soon hovering over the biggest red button labeled EMERGENCY.
Thomas growled from the control room, "What are you-"
The merc just gave a wide grin and a shrug- boop!
An alarm began to blare. Everyone on every level was engulfed in an inky blackness as the power momentarily shut off, and then the red fluorescents of emergency lighting clicked on. There was the loud venting sound of steam, and every door opened.
Cross glanced down the experimental hallway. "Oh, fuck."
Upstairs, the room became a whirl of chaos.
"Damn, what'd you do?!" The wiry mercenary spun around as their monitors along the wall turned black, and the door to the main control room opened.
Lydia already had her hands raised in the air, a horrified look on her face. "It wasn't me- I swear!"
"That fucking idiot!" Thomas snapped as he slammed his hands on the audio panel. The merc was always a wild card. "It appears he has activated a failsafe of sorts."
Campbell came to Lydia's side as she was furiously typing away. "Can you hack it?"
Her luminous, red-tinted eyes were full of shame, and she slowly shook her head. "It-it's way out of my league...sorry. It looks like it needs a six-digit code."
He shifted the weight of his gun in his callused palms. "Well, let's hope those bots can take care of those things before they make their way up here."
Thomas was rubbing at his brow, still internally aggravated that his second lieutenant had left despite his order to stand down. "Alright. They're going to need our help down there. Squad 3, you remain here while the others come with me."
Somewhere within the depths of the Vault, Roman heard the alarm, automatically performing a 180 swivel on his heel to run down the hall. It signaled the failsafe protocol, to which his previous assigned order meant an automatic failure, and there was no use in its completion now. He took a left and jumped down a stairwell, his boots making a rather loud smack against the landing, and he groaned as his wounded shoulder jarred. Bypassing around the second-level Experiment section would add a few minutes of time to his route, but it was either that, or the chance of dismemberment upon meeting one of the few rejected trials.
"Whoawhoawhoawhoa-!" A rasped, shouting voice drew his attention down the other hallway. He snapped his head to the sound, and he spied the bounty hunter making a leap over some fallen equipment, narrowly dodging the massive, snapping jaws at his heels. "Get the fuck away from me!"
They both disappeared down another stairwell, and the blue ghoul turned in a different direction. If they were already this far through the Vault, then he would perhaps be safest making past the Infirmary. His right arm was as good as useless until he sought aid, and he did not wish to draw himself into an unnecessary fight that would cost him his life.
Evelyn, on the other hand, immediately took a few steps back as the entire wing opened, including her own.
David went to scramble between the two Sentry Bots as they fired missiles and bullets alike at the multiple creatures leaving their reinforced cages, shouting over the inhuman screeching and roars, "Eradicate them all! That is an order-!"
The monster that had been waiting so patiently across the hallway from her room leaped out with its jaws opened much too wide, snapping him in half at the waist. Her eyes widened, and she drew herself flush against the back wall of her cell, standing as still as humanly possible.
The bots sprayed erratically and without concern for her well-being as they lit up the hallway like a fireworks display while the creatures swarmed them, their chunks of flesh raining everywhere as they battled with sheer strength and numbers alone. David's killer shook its head and turned its head away from the carnage to her, slowly encroaching inside her cell with a rumble low inside its chest. It turned its head to stare at her with one eye, its shadow five times her size, and then grinned.
Evelyn cracked a hand into a fist, and smiled in return.
Holyfu-
Cross skidded around a corner. A snap in the space where his head just was. He didn't dare look back, if he were to slip up for even just a split second-
A whish of air, followed by a squeal as a disfigured Sentry Bot went flying and crashed head-on into the creature's skull. Bits of bone and brain matter spattered in a small radius, and the monster gave a few shudders before lying completely still. He spun his head around, catching the tail end of a brutal slaughter just down the other end of the hall.
"GET BACK HERE!" Evelyn roared, taking the literal tail-end of a creature (that had a pulpy mess for a head) and swinging it around like a ragdoll before she sent it flying at the others. It narrowly missed the remaining creatures as they quickly scurried to disappear within the Vault, and it instead made a giant splat against the wall at the far end.
She was okay. She was alright. He had made it.
"Evelyn!" Cross called over, and he took off at a run.
She turned, her eyes growing wide as she raced to meet him. "Cross!"
The merc had his arms outstretched to grab her, to pull her into his arms and smother her in kisses. "Baby-!"
A fist drove into his gut instead, driving him to his knees and bulging his eyes.
"You FUCKER!" she tearfully growled, throwing another fist at his chest.
"Ow..." he wheezed. "Think you cracked a fuckin' rib-"
"Good. You're an asshole," she snarled. "I should just crack your entire fucking ribcage, you fucking-"
"Nononono-" The merc held up one hand in a sign of surrender, holding onto his side with the other. It fucking hurt. "You'll fuckin kill me."
"I should." Regardless of her threat, she pulled him by the collar of his duster and smashed her lips to his. In spite of the stabbing pain it caused, he gladly returned the affection before she thrust him back with a breathless, "I knew you'd come back for me."
Those gray fingers cupped around the sides of her face, and Cross was busily smooching her all over. His lips were then on hers, and he kissed her for so long she started to fidget in her spot.
"We are goin' to make this up every, single, day." Another kiss, and their breathing was beginning to grow heavy and hot. "Jesus fuck." A laugh: it was rough. "Holy fuckin' hell." Gloved fingertips stroked her lips and gently traced the curves of her face. "You are never leavin' me, ever, ya hear me? You're goin' to be mine, forever, whether you want to or not, so get used to it."
He grinned as he kissed her again, his fingers dipping into her underwear while the other groped a breast. She squeaked, her palms cupping around the ghoul's chin and pushing him back.
"Really, right now?!"
He impatiently sighed. "Can we fuck, and then talk?"
She returned an exasperated, weary laugh. "Can we talk, and then fuck?"
A pause. "We fuck, talk, then fuck again. Everyone's a winner."
There was a slight narrow of her eyes, but then she said, "Fine", and before she could blink, he had unlooped her belt and shoved her pants past her ass as he spun her around to lean up against the wall, his dick making great strides back and forth between her thighs and up her clit.
"He-here?!" she yelped, and then his hand dove through her hair to yank her head back to look up at him.
"Here."
Eight Months Ago
"So, you want the good news...or the bad news?" Evelyn smiled sheepishly at him, nervously wringing her hands together.
Charon only blinked at her and waited for her to continue.
"O-kay, uh- so! Good news-" She gave a false, wide smile, hitching her thumb dramatically at him. "-is that we finally have a lead!"
"..."
"U-uhm-" The smile faltered, and she childishly looked down to her feet, rubbing a toe through the dirt. "-the...the bad news-" She tapped her index fingers together, her voice growing small. "-is that...we were going the wrong way."
"..."
A nervous chuckle, and then she narrowed her eyes at him, suddenly growing angry at his lack of...anything. "Are you fucking deaf?"
"No."
"Are you mad at me?"
A slight hint of bewilderment. "Would you like me to be?"
"Ugh!" She threw her hands up in the air, fuming. "Charon, if I just gave you your contract back, would you return to Megaton?"
He thought for a moment. His past employer was there, so it was the logical place to return to. "Yes."
"Do you want to?"
Another thought. Did he? "...no."
She froze, studying him with her scrupulous stare. "Why?"
He shifted his weight uncomfortably. "I...enjoy, your company," he said honestly. Megaton was repressive. He gave an awkward scratch of his arm, looking off into the distance. "I would like to stay...if that is what you wish."
She had tinged pink again, and she bit her bottom lip and furrowed in thought. "Well, I hope you enjoy my company enough, cause it's going to be a long trip."