The Prydwen
May the 24th, 2288
7:22

Annapolis, Maryland. Having once been a city home to one of the largest military academies of the United States, to say the resources left behind were of interest to the Brotherhood would have been an immense understatement. With the need to adjust a few final systems aboard the Prydwen, too, it was the perfect place to stop.

With multiple teams of Scribes below and going through, first, the remains of what had been the United States Naval Academy proper, the majority of the staff still aboard the Prydwen were Squires, Initiates, or Knights. Even Proctor Marshall Quinlan had descended to the surface to explore, collect, and log information, documents, supplies, and weapons. In his own office, Elder Arthur Maxson continued to go through what information had been able to be gathered about former Brotherhood members they suspected or knew were in the Commonwealth. The results had been disappointing. In the majority of cases, the former members had either since died, left the Commonwealth with no further information regarding their whereabouts, or had otherwise gone missing. Frustrated, he turned back to the information he had sent back to Reconnaissance Squad Gladius upon Danse's request for information on a woman they had come into contact with during an investigation which had, much to their annoyance, resulted in a dead end. A bit surprisingly, the information they had on her had been relatively substantial, especially after having received confirmation from Reconnaissance Squad Gladius they had, in fact, correctly identified the woman. Taking a quick glance at the file, the East Coast Brotherhood's Supreme Commander checked to ensure the update of her location had been logged which, as expected, it had been.

Davis, Dr. Annette Christine – Civilian, Citadel Medical Student Assistant Under CD-440KC
Date Of Birth – July the 13th, 2258
Eye Colour – Grey
Hair Colour – Brown
Ethnicity – Irish, French, and Nordic
Blood Type: B Positive
Complexion – Pale White
Sex – Female
Height – 5'4"
Last Known Location: Vault 101, unseen since 2286 but found in the Commonwealth in a town called Covenant in January 2288. Urgency for re-recruitment is minimal.

Ensuring the file and its most recent updates were saved to the Brotherhood's database onboard the Prydwen, Maxson began to go through the list again. Tediously, having to mark file after file as a closed case for one reason or another, he went down the list. So many of these people would still be alive if my forebearers hadn't let them go. Lyons' death really did throw us into abject chaos. Lyons. He had, so far as Maxson was concerned, been the best leader for the Brotherhood to carry them through the last few years of the war with the Enclave. Lyons leadership and ideals had fractured the Order, but they had also been instrumental in reinstating and maintaining order in the former Capital. Yet, for as brilliant a tactician as he had been to be the one leading the final victory against the Enclave, he had also been a little too lenient once the Enclave were gone. To a lesser extent, that had been the case with Dr. Davis, who, he was sure to be bitterly ironic, had been taken back to the Vault she had spent most of her life in by Dr. Madison Li, whom herself soon after left not only the Brotherhood but the former Capital entirely. And, now, she's exiled herself to the Commonwealth with no other purpose but to make contact with the Institute. More than anyone else, she should not have been permitted to leave. She was too valuable an asset. Annoyed, he pulled up Dr. Li's file, his eyes narrowing the further down it he read.

Li, Dr. Madison Brianne – Registration LI-119K
Date Of Birth – July the 21st, 2229
Eye Colour – Brown
Hair Colour – Black
Ethnicity – Japanese and Korean
Blood Type: O Negative
Complexion – Medium Dark
Sex – Female
Height – 4'11"
Last Known Location: Massachusetts Commonwealth. Suspected to be in the Institute as of 2280, confirmed to be in the Institute as of 2288. Urgency for re-recruitment is critical due to Dr. Li's intimate knowledge of major projects within the realm of combat robotics, and plans for resurrecting one of her greatest creations.

A bit amused by the wording he was sure had been from Proctor Quinlan, Maxson checked to ensure the file on Dr. Li had been listed as top priority in the database before returning to the navigation and scrolling through the list again. He paused suddenly, however, upon hearing a quick knock at his office door, followed by the door opening. Assuming it was his wife, he quickly stood up and turned around to greet her, surprised to see not her but Proctor Ingram, carrying a welding mask under one arm and an electronic tablet in the other on which she seemed to have pulled up multiple files of schematics from the Brotherhood's internal database. Frassled, Ingram pulled up the functioning and active status reports on the Prydwen's internal power systems, which were much more strained than she was comfortable with. The reactor we've been using for years seems to have finally given out, or, at least, is close to it. I suppose it makes sense. It was the best we had access to when began construction. Still… When she handed the tablet to Maxson, she wiped the sweat away from her brow, exhausted and less than thrilled for the command meeting scheduled for late in the afternoon. The stop in Maryland had proved to be worth the delay, if only because of the information being obtained, but finding an unexpected problem in the systems of the Prydwen was not only aggravating but concerning.

"We're about four hundred and twenty four miles away from our destination at the former Boston Logan International Airport," Ingram said as Maxson began to read through the report. "The efficiency of the Prydwen's current reactor is dropping consistently below fifty percent, and, if we're going to make it to the Commonwealth in good time and without unnecessarily draining resources, we'll need to replace it."

"Do you have a proposal about how to do that?" Maxson said, looking up from the report. "This looks as though it could get to the point of a complete system failure if it's pushed to get us to the Commonwealth on schedule."

"The good news is, even in the case of a system failure, backup power will be able to get the Prydwen safely to the ground, and the current reactor won't go into meltdown," Ingram said with a slight frown. "The bad news is the…question of how to obtain a new reactor."

Maxson raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Because we'll need a new, updated fusion plant to get to the Commonwealth on schedule, Teagan has made the proposal to requisition one from Rivet City, the one central to the city's power," Ingram replied. "Quinlan and I disagree, from a logistical standpoint, especially considering the fact the information his teams have found in the former Naval Academy have given us the locations of multiple reactors of the same calibre and type as the one in Rivet City, two of which have the potential to be of even better quality than the one in Rivet City."

"I'll sign off on that. You're right, Rivet City would be too much of a logistical nightmare," Maxson said, handing the tablet back to her. "People over there would cause far too many casualties for us, even if we tried to take it. Some might even try to sabotage the system entirely. It would be too much of a risk."

"In that case, I'll let Teagan know," Ingram smiled. "And congratulations on such a strong start to our mission so far and, of course, congratulations you and Karissa are expecting. Seems everything is on the Brotherhood's side so far, and that's a damn good place for us to be in, seeing as we're heading into somewhere as troubled as the Commonwealth."

"It is," Maxson agreed. "We might as well be heading into the heart of darkness itself."

The Institute
May the 25th, 2288
11:43

"Did you hear the news? Father has officially approved the date for my presentation on the synth sentience conjecture!"

Much to his surprise, when he stepped into Advanced Systems and, then, Dr. Li's laboratory, Dr. Alan Binet was not met by an irritated scowl from the ordinarily irritable Division Head. Rather, she looked more so confused as to why he was there, something he quickly realised he had, in his excitement, forgotten to mention. After a moment of searching for it, he pulled out the thumb drive and the physical copy of the latest report on S9-23, much to her surprise. Despite the ramblings, he really did it. How the hell did he turn this around so fast? Setting the report down on her desk and plugging the thumb drive into her computer terminal to download the information, she looked up in surprise to see he hadn't left and was, somewhat anxiously, rolling back and forth on his feet. When he realised she had noticed, he began to speak only to cut himself off when the door to the laboratory opened again. This time unsurprised, Madison only sighed when she saw the look on Dr. Allison Filmore's face, knowing, if she were visibly agitated, it meant nothing good was happening.

"Have a look at this and tell me I'm not losing my mind," Allie said, handing Madison her tablet. "There is no way this much power consumption can be coming out of Bioscience."

"Didn't they have safety and efficiency inspections earlier this week?" Madison frowned when she nodded. "Then I don't know why it's reporting this. I'm assuming there's no technical issues with any of the machines taking the readings, so why would…"

"I had several members of my staff test to ensure everything was running as it should, then had them take the readings and analysis manually. Nothing is off kilter," Allie said, exasperated. "I also spoke to Clayton this morning, and he was just as shocked."

"Is the current primary reactor having trouble?" Alan hesitantly suggested. "It's far from my speciality, but could the reactor be giving a false reading due to strain?"

"The reactor is running fine," Madison told him. "In part due to us pulling from sources on the surface at the moment. If the problem were with the reactor, it wouldn't be showing an unusual and unexplained spike in energy consumption for only one Division. That, in most scenarios, wouldn't even be possible because the amount of energy the reactor could produce without shutting itself off would drop significantly."

"What's most concerning about it is Clayton took a look at the systems in Bioscience with me, and none of them were registering anything beyond what they should," Allie went on. "He also, temporarily, shut down the power to the Synth Zoological Initiative, and doing so barely changed the readings at all."

"Did it spike when he turned the power to it back on?" Alan said, surprised when she shook her head. "I wonder if this has anything to do with the FEV lab still not having been completely scrubbed."

"I was wondering that myself, but the FEV lab is completely offline," Allie said, pulling up the information when Madison handed her tablet back. "The only power near that area is the security barrier to keep people out, which is accounted for. As it happens, everything is accounted for except for this spike, and it has been consistent for three days, now, which means it is not just a one time anomaly."

"It's not," Madison agreed. "I'll have someone go down to check the reactor later today, but the last check came back the same as it has been for months."

"Which is incredibly frustrating," Allie said, tiredly running a hand through her hair. "I brought the matter up to Shaun yesterday with Clayton after a preliminary look at the systems statuses in Bioscience, and he was surprisingly unbothered by it. I might simply be exhausted, trading off with Nathan to care for our newborn daughter and only being a week past recovering from having her, but I was starting to feel he was deflecting the more we pressed him on the matter."

"Did you mention the possibility of it coming from the FEV lab?" Madison's eyes narrowed when she nodded. "Well. That's certainly interesting."

Alan eyed her strangely. "In what way?"

"If you must know, after Dr. Virgil was killed in the laboratory accident, I wanted to help with the investigation," Madison said, crossing her arms. "The way Father has handled the incident has never sat right with me, and, any time I've asked him about anything remotely related to the FEV lab, he's been at best evasive. Him telling the Directorate about Kellogg being in the field to recover research of Virgil's a synth stole while decontaminating the lab? That's the most I've gotten out of him on the subject in quite a while."

"Very little about how the FEV accident was handled makes sense," Allie said, glancing through records on the lab's activity. "The last time anything was recorded as entering there was when the crew of five synths were sent in to decontaminate the lab, one of which stole and ran off with Virgil's research, and that was –"

Hearing the door open again, Madison swore under her breath, though she paused, surprised to see it was only Quentin, who all but ran into the room. Alan smiled and waved at the young boy, who eagerly waved back. His mother, however, sighed, almost afraid to ask what he was doing before a sudden pang of guilt hit her. Damn it. How did I forget spring break starts today? I… Startled when he saw any hint of annoyance suddenly leave his mother, Quentin, albeit nearly tripping over Dr. Li's desk, ran over to awkwardly hug his mother. In part out of concern he'd break something and in part out of concern something was wrong, Allie kept one arm wrapped around her son even after he let her go, scrolling down a few pages on her tablet before handing it back to Madison with access to the history of FEV power consumption loaded. Seeing the way Madison's gaze darkened as she began to look through the data for any anomalies, Alan uncomfortably looked between the three of them, unsure of what to say, and rather taken aback by seeing Quentin, for once, seemingly out of trouble.

"So," Alan finally said. "I know you like mind benders, Quentin. What do you think synths dream about?"

"What do synths dream about?" Quentin repeated. "I mean…maybe numbers and equations? Why?"

"He gets to tell the Directorate and several other senior Institute scientists about what he's been obsessing over with synths and whether or not they dream in a few months," Madison said, briefly glancing up from what she was reading. "If you're confused, then that's a good thing. I think I speak for just about everyone when I say I find it perplexing."

"Don't listen to her," Alan said, waving a hand dismissively. "Every question is an avenue to new research! We wouldn't be very good scientists if we didn't explore every possibility!"

"Dr. Binet, for the last time, please," Madison sent him a sharp look. "Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. I'm still waiting for you to provide a grounded reason for this line of research going beyond satisfying your personal curiosity."

"I have given you that. You only refuse to accept it because you refuse to accept we can learn from the synths," Alan said before turning back to Quentin. "Some synths have dreams surprisingly similar to our own," He eagerly continued. "Humour me – what's the strangest dream you've ever had about the surface?"

Quentin considered that. "I had one the other day about Lily riding a pig. Except the pig had a saddle, and was guided by her holding a carrot on a stick in front of its face."

Allie laughed. "Your baby sister can't even sit up on her own, how could she guide a pig around with a carrot on a stick?"

Quentin shrugged. "That's why it was weird. Funny, but weird. Do you think Dr. Holdren will let her try that with a synth pig in a few years?"

"God, I hope not," Allie said though she smiled. "As for you, Alan," She said pointedly. "Do us all a favour and bring up the issue of the unaccounted for power spike out of Bioscience with Father."

"He can't ignore all of us," Madison put in, suspiciously glancing back at the data. "And if he's willing to deflect me, Allie, and Clayton, then I, for one, want to know how far he's willing to take it if this really does have something to do with the FEV lab."

Diamond City
May the 26th, 2288
18:27

So far as Piper Courtney Wright was concerned, Geneva Alexa Walters was one of the worst people in Diamond City, and not only because of her impassioned defence of McDonough.

Seeing a complaint in her inbox about her newspaper she was certain to be from Geneva, then, unsurprisingly pissed her off.

Swearing as she read through the ever growing list of complaints, Piper let her mind wander, ways to respond beginning to float through her mind. Some of them, she knew, would have to remain nothing more than personal responses but the others were publishable. Somehow, seeing a complaint from someone whom she knew had to be Geneva amongst the rest, among the usual complaints, plucked a nerve. Telling you what I'm really thinking would serve you right for calling me, my wife, and Mack replaceable, and for, because of course you did, taking McDonough's side when he made fun of and tried to discredit me as a journalist just for being Italian American. Even if you don't think he's a synth – which he is – McDonough is a bad person either way…a detail the Institute surprisingly got right about the real one. From what Hancock has said, although he's not always the most reliable source, he was never a good person even before he was swapped out by the Institute. Trying to set aside her anger about the other comments the mayor had made about her wife, her wife's family, Mack, and Cait for being Irish Americans, Piper narrowed her eyes at the screen of her computer terminal while she tried to turn the screen brightness up. With several of the lightbulbs in the office burnt out (again), the usual, somewhat low light of the screen made it too difficult to read without all but shoving her face into the screen. Once the keys unstuck and the brightness was raised, she reached over for her notebook and pen and began jotting down nearly every thought which came and went in her mind as she scrolled through the complaint she knew was from Geneva. She groaned when she clicked out of it to find a pile of other complaints in her inbox, and, slowly, began to go through them by date received.

27. March. 2288 –

"Your recent article comparing Goodneighbour to Diamond City made a gross attempt to characterise Goodneighbour's mayor as better than our Mayor McDonough. Considering Goodneighbour is haven for junkies and their mayor is more than just a little bit known for his drug use –"

30. March. 2288 –

"Continuing this synth nonsense is doing nothing. If the Institute is really out there, then there's no point in playing into their game and letting them be the Commonwealth's –"

"Another day, another round of the same complaints," Piper muttered. "No one gives a shit about the fact I write articles about other things, about generally interesting or fun things, just…"

21. May. 2288 –

"If you learnt to be less aggressive in both your writing and in person, perhaps people would take you more seriously, even if you continuing to hurl accusations against the mayor while providing scant proof based on your own judgements. You should be ashamed of yourself for the example you're setting for your impressionable little sister. At the very least, shame could keep you from getting arrested again."

"Sweet of you, Geneva," Piper sighed, briefly rubbing at her eyes. "You and McDonough keep talking, it's all you're good for."

Setting down her notebook and pen, she looked back up at her computer, and opened up a text document simply labelled Personal Responses. Piper laughed a bit at some of her old responses as the long document loaded. Then, she made the long scroll down to the most recent page, typed in the date, and, realising she was angrier than she thought, began writing a response. She started but then backspaced and then started again a couple of times. Start. Back. Repeat. When she was finally satisfied, she read it back, resisting the urge to make it the published response. Thank you for your concern. I hope you get snatched. There was something about the way Geneva spoke which got under her skin. Falsely soft, sweet and feminine voice. Assuming she was better than everyone else just because of her ability to get favour after favour from people because people bought into her ass kissing. Do I think you're sleeping with McDonough to get ahead? Oh, believe me, I do. About to write more, she suddenly turned around and stood up, the door to her office being all but ripped open, followed by several sets of footsteps taking her by surprise.

"Hadley, it's not –"

"Lisanna? Lana Marie? Addison? Are –"

"Lissy's at the Dugout," Piper called down, leaning a bit over the balcony separating her bedroom from the rest of the office below to see them. "Ada and May are being a good influence on Nat and teaching her how to draw detailed scenery…and we all know where Emmett is and what he's doing."

Hadley sighed. "Damn it."

"So…" Piper raised an eyebrow when she saw the front door to her office open again, even more surprised to see it to be by Preston. "I'm guessing this is something to do with the Minutemen?"

"Not today," Preston said, holstering his laser musket. "Although you might still be interested. You know the Brotherhood Of Steel? They're apparently closing in on the Commonwealth."

Piper grimaced, looking between her mother in law and her father in law.

"Well, that explains…this," She said, hopping onto the banister and sliding it the rest of the way down the stairs. "What happened?"

"The Brotherhood are coming to the Commonwealth with a great deal of their personnel and nearly all of their leadership here on the East Coast," Derek calmly explained, taking a moment to clean off his glasses. "I received mail this morning I wasn't expecting, which was a formal summons to meet with their leadership upon their projected arrival in the Commonwealth in just over a week, and, specifically, meet with their new Elder aboard the Prydwen, the Brotherhood's airship capable of travelling long distances and housing a sizable army."

"I can't believe you're going to respond to this the way they want!" Hadley said, crossing her arms. "You left the Brotherhood for a reason, Derek, one you've been more than willing to discuss for a damn –"

"I'm responding to the summons because it's common courtesy, Hads, for God's sake, could you not blow this out of proportion?" Derek fell silent when he saw she was shaking, her glasses fogging while she began blinking back tears. "I know this is unexpected, but I'm simply doing the right thing and –"

"Do you really think they aren't going to force you back into a life you left behind for the sake of your family and values?" Hadley exclaimed before sitting down on one of the couches and leaning forward, still trying not to cry. "You and Preston were just telling me yesterday about how the two of you, Sturges, and the Minutemen brought a boy home safe to his family, gave him the chance to repair –"

"I'm not going rejoin, Hads," Derek said, struggling to keep his voice calm. "How could you even think –"

"Because they're the motherfucking Brotherhood Of Steel!" Hadley broke down sobbing, barely noticing when Piper came over, sat down next to her, and embraced her. "And because their new Elder is Arthur, and, you know as well as I do, you always thought of him as though he were our own son!"

"He's a twenty one year old boy, Hads," Derek irritably reminded her. "If I can handle our teenage son acting out, or Lissy's manic episodes, or May's depression, or Ada's damn near dangerous curiosity, I can more than handle Arthur."

"That's not the point!" Hadley snapped through sobs. "You're giving him power over you! Have you forgotten what the Brotherhood did to us? To our kids? Because, the way I remember it, we had no choice but to leave because the then-Elder was convinced we'd poison the people of the Capital against the Brotherhood! And that doesn't even account for how traumatic the move here was for our kids! May is now terrified of heights, Lissy's developed severe claustrophobia, Emmett can't tolerate loud and sudden noises, and Ada has nightmares just about every damn –"

"Hadley," Preston gently cut in. "We all know how much you and Derek care about your kids, and how much strain the move put them under, but…from the sounds of it, they weren't the only ones who've been deeply traumatised by the ordeal."

Hadley swallowed hard and shakily looked up at her husband.

"I can't lose you, Derek," She said softly. "Not them, not you…haven't the Brotherhood controlled us long enough?"

"I'll be fine, Hads," Derek said tiredly. "I can more than handle this, and you of all people should know just how important honour, courtesy, and respect are to me. They're why I have to do this."

Goodneighbour
May the 27th, 2288
1:39

"How's he doing?" Annette's face fell when she saw the exhaustion and tension MacCready had in his gait when he stepped into the kitchen. "Oh, God…"

"He finally fell back asleep," MacCready said, turning on the stove to boil some water for coffee. "Thanks for coming by on such short notice…I think the medication helped the swelling on his back reduce enough for him to sleep comfortably."

His mind spinning and a bit foggy, it took him a minute before he remembered where he had put the coffee beans. When he found them and pulled the tin out from the cabinet next to the sink, he paused when he realised his hands were trembling. Trying not to think much of it, he steadied himself, stood up, and closed the door with his foot before setting the tin down next to the stove. Herself anxious, Annette reached into one of her coat pockets for her cigarettes, only to quietly swear when she realised the pack was empty. How many have I had today? I could have sworn… Dropping the empty pack in the rubbish bin, she picked up her purse from the counter and began rummaging through it, letting out a sigh of relief when she found a spare, still mostly full pack. Seeing the worry still etched on his face, she pulled two out and handed one to MacCready, who gave her a small, grateful smile and quickly took the lighter from her too once she had lit her own. Slowly, the shakiness in his body began to dissipate but his mind did not relent. Duncan crying, both from nightmares and the itchiness and pain, almost broke him every time, and keeping himself calm for Duncan's sake had, this time, been near impossible. His free hand a bit unsteady, he pulled the lid off the coffee tin and scooped the beans into the now boiling water with the spoon always kept inside the tin. Then, as it boiled, he turned back towards Annette, taking a short, unsteady draw on his cig.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," He said, his voice unusually quiet. "If I lose…"

"I know," Annette said softly. "Is…" She took a draw on her cig. "Is there anything more I can do?"

MacCready hesitated. "You've already done so much," He sighed. "I don't forget shit – sorry, I…I mean things like that. You don't have to –"

"I want to," She gently cut in. "I can't just stand still and let him suffer. He's your world. You need him as much as he needs you, and, if there is anything I can do to help him, I want to. There has to be something we can do."

"There's…" He fell silent, taking another draw on his cig. "I feel horrible asking for more of you, but…God, where do I…"

"It's alright," She said, worried when she saw he was shaking again when he sat down on the couch on the other side of the room. "Take your time," She turned off the stove, and leaned back against the wall near where he sat. "I can't even begin to imagine what this has been like for you."

"It's been almost three years since he first got sick," MacCready barely got out. "We were staying at the farm of one of my old friends from Lamplight, where I grew up, and he was just playing like any other toddler one day and then came down horribly sick the next. I almost didn't bring him with me when I came up to the Commonwealth because of how weak he was but…but there was no one else who could take care of him like this. I had hoped it would eventually get better, even hoped it had been something he caught when his mother…when Lucy…"

"When she died?" Annette surmised, finishing off her cig shortly after he weakly nodded. "He really is all you had for a long time, isn't he?"

"He is," MacCready quietly agreed. "The…the only chance I think I might have to completely…to completely cure him is…well, over the last…year and a half, I've been trying to break into a place called Med-Tek Research. I've managed to get in a few times, but they…they never ended the way I'd hoped."

Annette reached over to her purse and pulled out and lit another cig.

"What happened?"

"First two times I barely made it past the entrance," MacCready dejectedly replied. "I didn't try again for a while because…I got the information about this place from another former gunner. Sinclair. I…I thought he was wasting my time until he told me his husband broke out in blue boils, couldn't believe, really, someone else had caught the same kind of disease."

Annette blinked, surprised. "Really? So, there's got to be some cure, then?"

"I…I don't know," MacCready said, taking off his hat to run his hands through his hair. "Sinclair's husband died before they were able to break into the facility. All I really got from them was the building's lockdown and access codes. But, the third time I managed to get inside, I thought I was getting close, but had to leave after I broke one of my ankles falling down a flight of stairs in there. A few months later, I went back again but…"

"It didn't go well?" Annette shakily took a draw on her cig when she saw the pained look on his face. "How bad was it?"

"I nearly died," MacCready went silent, almost embarrassed. "I don't remember much of what happened, but, when I managed to stumble out of there, everything felt foggy. I started to make my way back to Goodneighbour and, on the way, ran into Cait – she's a friend of Piper's, and can probably tear up just about anyone in a fight – who dragged me back into town. I was confused, dazed really, for most of it, didn't really understand why she seemed so scared."

Annette swallowed hard. "Concussion and massive blood loss?"

"Something like that," MacCready shook his head. "The next thing I know is I'm waking up in a lot of pain in the basement of the Memory Den, with Amari hovering over me and checking just about everything, and then I heard Cait say something about how she had never seen so much blood before which is when I…when I realised why I was there. Whatever happened, it almost killed me. I…I couldn't even bring myself to face Duncan for nearly three months after, and how could I? How could I explain that to him? I nearly fucking – I…I'm sorry, I mean…"

"It's alright," Annette hesitated when he waved her over, stubbing out her cig before, slowly, stepping over to sit down next to him. "And…if it helps, you don't have to stop yourself from cursing…honestly, it's good for the soul."

MacCready laughed a little. "Oh, believe me, I know," He said though his face quickly fell. "It's…when I left the gunners, I didn't just do it because I couldn't take it anymore. I did it to…after seeing Duncan almost…after seeing him almost die, it put a lot of things into perspective. I realised I…I needed to be a better parent. So, I…I left the gunners, promised him I wouldn't swear anymore, promised I'd be around more because I…if I'm a terrible parent, then who does he even have who cares?"

"He has you," Annette said, taking his hands in hers. "And Bobby? You are a good father. He knows you are. Anyone who has ever seen you around him knows you are. You'd do anything for him, and you are every damn day."

"I'm trying," MacCready said, managing a faint smile when she reassuringly squeezed his hands. "I can't believe what…what they told me was a coincidence," He said quietly. "Med-Tek has to be the right place."

"And, if it's there, we'll find it," She said, surprised when he suddenly tightly embraced her. "You okay?"

"I can't believe you're willing to…" MacCready sighed as he let her go. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I am," Annette said, unsure, for a second, before softly kissing him. "When I promised you I wouldn't say or do anything I didn't mean, I meant it. Whatever there is to do to help your baby boy recover, I'll help you do it."

"Then I guess we should figure out how we're going to do this," MacCready said, putting his hat back on when he stood up. "And let Daisy know…God, I…I hope this works. For Duncan's sake this…it has to."

The Commonwealth
May the 28th, 2288
21:12

Fort Hagen.

Stepping farther into the town built around what had once been a major US military installation, Nora faltered, and, hands unsteady, zipped up her leather jacket and crossed her arms, the wind a bit cold from the rain. Rain. Much to her relief, it had only been a normal storm, albeit a long one. The little bit of rain still falling clung to her hair, and she tried to put aside the exhaustion she felt. Rain. It wasn't the only thing leaving her feeling sick. Fear cloying at her, Nora tried to push it away, focusing on taking in their surroundings. It didn't help. How…what…did the command here know the War would end the way it did? Or were they just as much in the dark as the rest of us? Almost frantically, a sudden need to run slammed into her, and she ran to catch up to Cait, who was knelt down in front of what seemed to be several discarded, bloodied bandages just outside the old gas station. Dogmeat furiously sniffed and prodded at them, before growling and sprinting across the street to the largest building in sight. Cait all but leapt up to follow after him but stopped in surprise when she saw the building Dogmeat had begun circling. Her eyes widened, she set her hands to her hips, and then glanced between Nora and Nick, the aged detective stepping out from within the old gas station with another small bag of evidence. Seeing him, Cait scooped up the bandages and tried to toss them to him but missed, and instead started swearing when she realised some of the blood was still fresh enough to feel faintly sticky.

"Well, shite," Cait said, recoiling away from the bandages now back on the ground. "If this ain't where the son of a bitch is shacking up, I'll be damned. I'd rather not have touched those for nothing."

"Knowing what I do about Kellogg, an old military base would be a good place to call home, even temporarily," Nick frowned. "Even if the previous owners didn't leave much behind, he could certainly make use of the place, especially if he were able to get any of its old defence protocols back online."

"Define defence protocols," Cait said dryly. "Because, by the looks of it, just getting in there will be a real shite show."

"For one thing, some of those turrets look active, and, more to the point, new," Nick sent her a pointed look. "Don't get reckless, Cait. If Kellogg's really in there, he's not one to take lightly."

"Guess we shouldn't be surprised he spared no expense," Nora said, whistling for Dogmeat to come back over to them, which he quickly did. "Although, if I remember correctly, Hagen is divided into three sections. Nate received most of his orders from superiors out of here, and I've been inside a couple of times, albeit for social events and not as military personnel."

Cait turned to her in surprise. "What should we expect in there, then?"

"Assuming nothing has changed, the first floor is, at least past reception, just offices and meeting rooms. Second floor had a ballroom for socials, as well as the medical bay and cafeteria," Nora said, pausing in thought. "The basement…it was the command centre or, at least, part of it, if I remember correctly. I was never allowed in and, as far as I know, even Nate had never been let in but…"

"It would be a damn good place to hide out in if you're Kellogg," Nick mused. "I don't doubt he could get inside, either. Even if some of the pre-War security had been in place to prevent people from entering, Kellogg is more than capable of finding a way to trick, bypass it, or both. I wouldn't be surprised if someone important had dropped their ID if they were rushing to get out when they heard about the bombs, either."

Cait snorted. "If they were so important, I reckon they'd have known what was coming. That command centre must be where all the top brass hung out while the soldiers were dying on the surface."

"Maybe it was," Nora said quietly, wrapping her arms tighter around herself when the wind began blowing again. "The more I think about it, the more I start to think we never stood a chance."

"It's a damn shame," Nick said, looking worriedly at her. "You need a minute?"

"No, I don't," Nora said, briefly startled by the harshness of her voice. "If he's in there, we have to snag him before he can get away again."

"Yes, we do, but still –" Nick sighed when he saw the look of pained resolution on Nora's face. "All things considered, I'd put real good money on Kellogg being in there, not only because of the security and some of it seeming new but because a place like this is somewhere you could call home long term, and, most importantly, off the grid. Don't get the sense he's getting many visitors out here."

"Good," Cait said with a slightly sinister smile. "Should make things easier for us."

"Easy or not, if he's in there, I don't give a damn what it takes," Nora said, reaching for and reloading her revolver. "He's going to get the nastiest surprise of his life."

"Damn right!" Cait said, taking a few steps back to look and try to get a handle on the massive building. "Think there might be a way in from up on the roof?"

"More than likely there is, but we should take that as a last resort," Nick said grimly. "Getting up there'd be enough of a challenge on its own."

"Shit…" Nora sighed. "We may be stuck with that, but, if it's even accessible, there's a back entrance for personnel in the old parking garage. If we can get through to there and enter from that door, we'll probably have a better chance at cornering Kellogg before he can escape."

"Then let's get to it," Cait said, taking Nora's hand, and she grinned when the woman smiled at her. "It'll be me pleasure putting a bullet in the guy who kidnapped your son, although I can't promise to stop at just one."

About to say something, Nick cut himself off nearly the moment he looked over towards Nora, briefly unsettled by the look of angry resolution on her face. Kellogg is a cruel, dangerous man. The thought of him hurting someone you love would upset and wear anyone too thin. Hopefully getting answers and finding her husband and son will let her close the book on this. Holding onto and living in anger and fear isn't healthy. A sudden feeling of guilt running through his entire being, the aged detective pushed his thoughts and judgements aside. When he turned to look at Nora again, he saw she had already started off towards the old parking garage, Cait walking beside her. Trying to shake off his worry, Nick snapped his fingers to get the attention of Dogmeat, the creature having begun to play with the dirt almost as soon as Nora had called him back to them from where he had run off to behind the former military base. Eager as ever, Dogmeat jumped up, almost as though he were a soldier standing at attention, and dutifully followed after the detective as he picked up his pace to reconvene with the lawyer and the former cage fighter. Soon enough, he found them waiting for him just inside the ground level of the old parking garage. Cait took a minute to sweetly ruffle Dogmeat's fur around his ears, and, then, stood back up and cracked her knuckles, beginning to weave in and out of the rusted out corpses of cars never returned to or driven home, Nora and Nick no more than a few steps behind her.

Hearing the sounds of the rain beginning to grow more intense again outside, Nora shivered, relieved to, for at least the time being, be in relative shelter. Though wind drafted into the rest of the parking garage from the roof upon which just about nothing was left, it was far less disorienting and deafening. The rain no longer able to pour down on them, too, was a welcome reprieve. Still, her head beginning to ache and her body feeling far more weary than she liked, Nora briefly closed her eyes, praying they were close, uncertain if her will would be exhausted should they lose Kellogg, should he escape, should they be too late. Almost in a trance, she walked as closely behind Cait as possible, Nick never more than a few feet behind her with Dogmeat at his side. It was Cait letting out an excited war whoop, however, which drew her fully back into her body and mind. Climbing over a few of the otherwise impassable cars, careful not to injure herself on the frayed, melted, or otherwise long since deteriorated vehicles, Nora let out a sigh of relief when she found Cait waiting for her, Nick, and Dogmeat in front of a door. As soon as they were all together, the former cage fighter all but slammed herself into the door in an attempt to get it open, but instead nearly fell back onto the concrete. Nora swiftly grabbed her hands and pulled her back up to help her steady herself. Dusting herself off, Cait watched Nick closely as he tried to get the lock open, nearly succeeding a few times before taking a step back in frustration.

"Let me give it a go," Cait said, kneeling down to be eye to eye with the lock and pulling out a handful of bobby pins and a screwdriver from her bag. "I don't like to brag, but getting into places I'm not wanted is a talent I've acquired over the years."

"I don't doubt it," Nick half jokingly replied. "Between you and Piper, nothing is safe from being found out or gotten into."

"She's a damn good lass," Cait said, humming to herself as she worked. "One of these days, I need to teach her how to do this. Picking locks is a skill I think goes hand in hand with eavesdropping."

Nora laughed a little. "Piper doesn't know how to pick locks?"

"Not well," Cait said, swearing under her breath when a pin broke. "Oh, for fuck's sake."

"Wouldn't be Kellogg's current address if he didn't have something to hide," Nick wryly remarked, pulling out one of the evidence bags and removing a cigar from it for Dogmeat to get another whiff of. When he began barking aggressively, weaving around Cait as she kept fiddling with the lock, the aged detective resealed the bag with the cigar inside before slipping it back into his inner coat pockets. "Well," He said. "Let's hope Dogmeat's instincts are good. Almost –"

"Aha!" Cait hopped up nearly the second the lock clicked, and, in her excitement, almost ran backwards into Nick. "Looks like we've got it."

"That we do," Nick said, slowly turning the knob and opening the door to the inside, where only a few lights were flickering near a stairwell at the end of a poorly lit corridor. "Suppose we shouldn't be surprised the maintenance team never showed back up to work."

"Doesn't matter," Nora said, taking out and ensuring her revolver was loaded. "If there's a chance the son of a bitch is in here, then we're going."

"Yes, we are," Nick said, giving the garage and the outside one last glance before following after Nora, Cait, and Dogmeat into the building. "God knows he's evaded justice for any number of crimes long enough."