Goodneighbour
July the 21st, 2288
20:00
In the over forty years since she had begun work as a doctor, Dr. Madeline Rebecca Amari had never once been asked to handle any parts of a corpse other than on the rare occasion of having to perform an autopsy. Being asked to do so almost completely out of the blue was, understandably, far from ideal.
Ensuring one last time the doors into her laboratory were locked, Amari walked over to where, still in the cryogenic storage box it had been brought to her in, Kellogg's head was sitting on top of a table. Discomfort taking hold of her body, she pulled on a pair of nitrile examination gloves and, cautiously, began to unlock the box. Her nose wrinkled at the scent of death emanating from the head and, delicately, she lifted up and turned it to take a look at the state of the man's skull and, within it, his brain. To little surprise though to her disappointment, a few bullet holes were visible in the skull through the scalp and neck. Trying not to dwell on the fact the head had been severed from the neck down, Amari pursed her lips and, picking up a small surgical drill, began to drill a few holes in the top of the head to make removing parts of his skull easier. As she carefully removed pieces of his skull, she set them aside in a container marked Biohazard and, eventually, she was able to get a good look at what was left of the man's brain inside his skull. More of it than she had expected remained, though significant degeneration was still present. What caught her attention, however, were the cybernetics attached to his brain, as had been told to her.
"I don't know if I should say this is better or worse than I anticipated," Amari finally said, turning to where Nora and Nick were anxiously standing a few feet behind her. "On the one hand, the preservation was sufficient in keeping what you had from degenerating further, but, on the other, the degeneration is still significant and, most importantly, irreversible. I practise neurological medicine and science, not fantastical whims, never mind what Irma and her…interesting décor choices would have you think."
"But do you think there's any way to work with what we have?" Nora said, her voice wavering. "I know it's desperate, and I wish there were more but I…"
"These cybernetics are remarkable and do appear to have had a part in preventing degeneration of the brain matter they're connected to," Amari cut in, glancing to Nick. "This appears to be a neural interface. Institute technology, of course."
Nick frowned. "Those circuits look awfully familiar."
"I'm not surprised. From what I've seen, all Institute technology has a similar architecture," Amari said, examining the brain. "As I said, the decay on the brain matter it's attached to is significantly less than what the interface isn't attached to, which means the tech is probably preserving the tissue, injecting some kind of compound into it to keep it stable. However, there's no way to access anything within it – memories or not – without a compatible port."
"You talking about me? I'm an older model synth, so, if the Institute built me out of similar parts, we might have an in," Nick said, surprised. "Is there a chance you could remove it from the merc's head and connect it to mine?"
"What?" Nora exclaimed, turning to him, horrified. "Couldn't…wouldn't doing something…couldn't it kill you?"
"There's plenty of room in my head," Nick dryly replied. "Why not?"
"For one thing, there could be long term side effects," Amari pointedly informed him. "I don't even know where to begin with listing the risks, considering I'd be wiring something to your brain."
"Don't worry about me, Amari," Nick shook his head. "I'm well past the warranty date anyway. Your hands are the safest place a brain can be."
"Nick, there's…" Nora fell silent, unsure of what to say. "Do you really think this will work?"
"No idea," He admitted. "But we got a missing kid on the line, and that's worth the risk."
Amari pursed her lips, looking between the two of them.
"Fine," She said after a minute. "Mister Valentine, if you would, please sit down on the chair over there near my computer. And Miss…Norwich, yes? You can either sit on the couch or you can stand near Mister Valentine but, please, do not touch anything."
"Understood," Nora said, shivering a bit in the heavily air conditioned room. "Nick?" She said, stepping over to where he had sat down. "Thank you. I appreciate this more than I…more than I can say."
"You can thank me when we find your son," Nick told her, glancing at Amari, who was carefully removing the parts of Kellogg's brain attached to the interface. "Ready whenever you are, Amari."
"I hope so," She said, taking a moment to examine the interface and what she had removed from the rest of Kellogg's brain. "Alright. Here we go."
"If I start cackling like an old, grizzled mercenary, pull me out, okay?" Nick half jokingly said when she approached him. "That's all I ask."
"You're certainly more willing to be lighthearted about something so drastic than I am," Amari noted, stepping around him, removing his hat and handing it to him, and examining the back of his head. "Let's see here…" She mused, attempting to align the implant with the ports visible at the back of Nick's head. "I need you to keep talking to me, Mister Valentine," She warned as she carefully began to attach the ports of the interface to ones which appeared to coincide with those at the back of Nick's head. "Any slight or sudden change to your cognitive functions could be dire."
"Got it," Nick said, then swearing under his breath. "Shit."
Amari hesitated. "Are you feeling any different?"
"There's a lot of flashes…static," Nick said, his hands and arms twitching a bit while she finished attaching the implant to his head. "I can't make sense of any of it."
"That's what I was afraid of," Amari sighed. "The mnemonic impressions are encoded. It appears the Institute has one last failsafe. There's a lock on the memories in the implant."
"Tell me you have a way past this," Nick said, swivelling in the chair to face her. "You're the most brilliant person I've ever met, and I've met quite a few bright minds over the years."
"You're asking me to take an even further, drastic step," Amari sharply informed him. "The connexions appear stable, and I can remove it safely when we are done. However, what you are asking me to do is to get around the interface's failsafe. Its encryption is too strong for a single mind, but could – potentially – be accessible if we used two."
Nora stared at her in disbelief. "Have you…ever done that before?"
"A couple of times, yes, but I will not disclose the personal information of my patients," Amari replied, crossing her arms. "This would require loading you, Miss Norwich, and Mister Valentine into the memory loungers and running your cognitive functions in parallel to permit him to act as a host for your consciousness to drive through whatever memories we can find."
"Then, let's get this show on the road," Nick said, standing up and walking over to the memory lounger closest to him and sitting down. "Memory simulations can feel like you're free falling all the time," He cautioned Nora, who hesitantly sat down in the other memory lounger, guided by Amari. "But it'll be alright. Just be careful when you're cruising through Kellogg's mind. I'm hooked up to it, after all."
"I will be," Nora said, trying not to panic when Amari pulled back her hair and attached nodules to her head. "I just hope this doesn't lead us to another dead end."
"Keep your fingers crossed," Amari told her, stepping over to her computer terminal and lowering the screens of the loungers. "I have no clue what we'll see in there, as we don't have access to the whole brain through the interface. I doubt it'll be cohesive."
Taking a look over the information displaying on her computer, Amari walked over to Nick and attached a few, additional nodules to his head. Checking him and Nora one last time, she returned to her computer terminal, and started the programme. I suppose the development of this additional programme with Glory, Deacon, and, now, Desdemona is a good thing for this endeavour but, still, this is far from… Letting out a heavy sigh, she pulled over her desk chair and sat down in front of her computer, beginning the process of syncing Nora and Nick's cognitive functions with a great deal of trepidation. Closing his eyes, Nick calmly surrendered himself to the process, though he was well aware his heart was beating faster than usual, writing it off to natural anxiety. Nora, feeling sick to her stomach, began wrapping and unwrapping her fingers around each other. Then, everything turned white, then black, then blue, and, suddenly, she was standing in the middle of a room with a rusty bed, upon which laid a thin, ratty blanket and two equally ratty pillows. A small dresser was nearby, and a few posters were plastered on the wall. A boy was sitting on the bed, reading comic books, and, by a chair a few feet away, there was a woman fussing with a radio on the nightstand next to the bed. Trying to ease the panic suddenly gripping her, Nora tried looking for her hands only to see nothing, though she felt herself jump, frightened, upon hearing a distant voice enter the room.
"Good. The simulation appears to be working," Amari's voice said, breaking through the simulation. "The memories are quite fragmentary, but I'll run you through each of the intact memories the best I can, in order. Let's hope one of them will give us some clue to the Institute's location. This is the earliest intact memory I can find, but, remember, you are experiencing these memories as Kellogg, which will be, I'm certain, disorienting."
"I…" Nora gasped, hearing not her voice but Kellogg's. Wrapping her arms tightly around herself or, at least, trying to without being able to see herself at all, she tried to focus. "God…"
"And that makes it official, folks," A voice emanated from the radio once the woman got it on. "The final vote count from the Hub is fifty five percent in favour of joining the New California Republic. The addition of another –"
"Jesus Motherfucking Christ!" A voice bellowed through the door out of the room. "Turn down that goddamn radio! I'm trying to sleep!"
"Keep taking the Lord's name in vain, and I'll make it louder," The woman muttered to herself, though she did turn the volume down significantly before going to the chair and looking over at the boy. "I hope you've read your Bible passages for the day, Connie, before you started reading those comics."
"Yes, mother," He said, and Nora took a step back. "Do you need a recitation? I read Ecclesiastes today, as you told me to. Twelve, one through eight partially reads 'men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road. Remember him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed. Then, the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.'"
"Good, Connie. Your memory never ceases to impress me," She shook her head. "Remember, for me – 'there is nothing you can say or do to separate you from the love of God who made you just exactly as he made you, and you cannot imagine all the places you'll see Jesus, but you'll find him everywhere you thought he wasn't supposed to go, so go.' Don't you remember those words from my favourite song?"
"From the only disc thing you own, yeah," He shrugged. "But didn't dad break it or something?"
"He did, but he can't break what you already know in your heart," She said, going over to the dresser and taking something out. "You're ten, nearly eleven, now, Connie," She said, handing him what she had removed which, to Nora's shock, was a gun. "This is the one great equaliser in the world. Use it if you need to."
"I will," He said, not noticing as Nora approached him. "Thanks, mom, for –"
Nora leapt back when his words stopped upon her reaching out to touch him, and she tried not to begin panicking again when things faded, a little, and Kellogg's voice broke into the silence, musing.
"I was such a dumbass, back then. What did I know about how the world worked?" A pause. "I think, now, she wanted me to kill dad. I should have but, instead, I ended up running away. Told myself I wanted to find somewhere out from under the thumb of the NCR and all their damn rules but, really, I was running from the guilt. Of not protecting her from dad. He killed her. Brutally. I found out when I was seventeen, because the NCR arrested him, probably executed him. He definitely deserved it. But she didn't deserve to be disembowelled and beaten to death with a fire poker."
Shaking, the words all but sticking to her, Nora ran over to the woman and tried to touch her, only for Kellogg's voice to begin its musings again.
"You knew how it was, mom. You sure as shit weren't soft, but you loved me, in your way. Never quite did get the religious shit, but it made you happy. Better than a cult, I suppose. If God were real, though, then why didn't he protect you? Guess it doesn't matter now. You protected me from dad, though, and it was…strange. Got you beaten. Don't know why you bothered. I don't know why you were with him, either. Doubt he ever wasn't a complete asshole; the son of a bitch was either drunk or not around. Still don't know what he did, and –"
Fumbling, hoping to stabilise on anything, Nora reached for the table, still unable to see any pieces of herself, stumbling into the radio and, scaring her, Kellogg's voice stopped only to begin again.
"People always hope for something better, and, most of the time, they usually end up with something worse."
Wanting to scream but unable to get any sounds out, Nora closed her eyes tightly, hoping for the returning feeling of falling to stop. When she opened them again, she heard Amari's voice, still distant and hazy, telling her she had been loaded into another memory. Finding herself sitting on the floor though still unable to see herself, Nora leaned back against a kitchen cupboard, shaking a bit before managing to pull herself up and take a look around. A kitchen. She was standing in the kitchen of a small, rundown apartment. Outside the window, her breath hitched when she saw the Golden Gate Bridge, still formidable but more tarnished than she had remembered. Nate, you…you proposed to me in front of the Golden Gate after I won a surf competition, and… Unsure if she were crying or, even, able to, Nora swallowed hard and tried to focus again on her surroundings. A small table and chairs, a few cups of coffee, a coffee pot, and a few sandwiches on top of it. A woman was cleaning dishes in the sink, a man leaning back against the counter beside her and, then, there was a baby. Her body feeling heavy, Nora hesitantly approached the crib and looked down at the baby giggling in it, staring up at her mobile. Desperate, almost pretending the little girl was Shaun, Nora reached down to try and lightly wrap her hand around one of the baby's, only for Kellogg's rough voice to begin its musings again.
"What the fuck made me think a guy like me should have a daughter? I never deserved her. Not for one second. And my kids…I really fucked them up. But that's the thing about having a happy life, even briefly, even a few times because the thing about happiness is you only know you had it after it's gone. I mean, you may think to yourself you're happy, but you don't really believe it. You focus on the petty bullshit, or the next job, or whatever. It's only looking back, by comparison with what comes after, you understand what happiness felt like."
The voice stopped. Nora stepped away from the crib, and, slowly, walked towards the man and the woman. Kellogg. The mother of his child…she would be, wouldn't she?
"Come on, Sarah," He said, raking a hand through his hair. "You've got to give it at least a chance. I've finally got steady work with a good outfit. Not much like that in the NCR these days."
"Are you sure these guys know what they're doing?" She said. "They seem kind of…green."
"I know," He cockily replied. "But that's where I come in."
"I'm not saying this was a mistake, I'm just…" She set the colander she had been cleaning aside. "I'm not sure what I ought to want. Could be the coke talking, but –"
"Listen, it's going to be great," He said, pulling out a gun to show her. "And see this? This is what's going to keep you and Mary safe. I promise. Just wait this out. In a few years, I'll be running my own crew, as soon as I can make the connexions I need. Then, I can give you anything you want, and little Mary too. Toys, books for her, and coke and money for you."
She sighed. "Guess I never worried about you before. Must be my mama instincts kicking in. Who knew I had those, right?"
"Oh, come on, you're great with her," Kellogg said dismissively. "And you don't need to worry about me. Most of it's just running for security for the Shi, a lot of standing around looking tough."
"They picked the right person for the job, then," She said, bending over to pull something out from under the sink and flashing him her bright green thong and tramp stamp reading 'live for adventure.' "You know how to have fun scaring people shitless. It's –"
Bumping into her by mistake, Nora began shaking when Kellogg's voice broke in again.
"I was the worst thing that ever happened to her. If she'd never met me, she'd have stayed in the Hub, maybe hooked up with someone who didn't enjoy killing, didn't enjoy being a violent sadist. She probably would have been happier than she was with me. Almost certainly would have lived longer. I thought San Fransisco was our chance to start fresh, and I rolled into town with the world at my feet. Everybody knew I was the one who'd shot Valdez, and I could write my own ticket to any outfit in town. It worked out pretty damn well for a while. Wish it had been more fun, though…"
His voice suddenly fading, Nora slid down against the back of the cupboards, wrapping her arms around her knees. The room began to fade and spin and blur. Voices began to pass her by. One was harsh, taunting. How did you think this was going to end, Kellogg? You thought you could just fuck with us, and we wouldn't fuck with you? Just so you know, they died like dogs, and you weren't there to help them. Kellogg's voice came back, a shout. I wasn't lying when I said I like killing. And I've gotten damn good at breaking people's necks, even with my bare fucking hands. A woman's voice jumped into the fray. I can't wait for the day we get the news you died. She's a momma's girl, after all. Squeezing her eyes shut and praying for the voices and the sensation to stop again, Nora's eyes suddenly opened when she felt herself slam down onto concrete. Rubbing at her head, still unsure of what was real and what was not in her body whilst unable to see any of it, she forced herself off the ground, and looked over her surroundings again. This time, Kellogg was sat at a table, smoking his damned San Fransisco Sunlight cigars, eating caviar, and drinking vodka straight. Two men approached him, and, on the other side of the room, a bartender was spraying and wiping down counters.
"Mind if we sit down?" One of the men said.
"Suit yourself," Kellogg said with a shrug.
"So," The other man said as he and his partner sat down across the table from Kellogg. "We hear you'll take care of people's problems. That right?"
Kellogg took a sip of his vodka. "If you pay me."
"Oh, we will pay you," The first man said. "But you'll do this all by yourself?"
"That's right," Kellogg nonchalantly replied.
"We'll pay you when the job's done," The second man told him. "That okay?"
"If that's the way you want to do it," Kellogg said, setting down his vodka and propping his elbows up on the table, clasping his hands under his chin. "So. Who do you want dead?"
The first man chuckled. "Well, it's like this. There's this family, lives down the creek a ways towards –"
Everything faded and spun and blurred again. Nora shut her eyes and tried to cover her ears with her hands, though it did nothing to stop the noise and the voices. One of them was Amari's, distant and fainter than before, reassuring her and continuing to guide her through the simulation. The others were unfamiliar apart from Kellogg's. This time, when she landed, she did not crash into the ground, but a sinking feeling in her body began to grab at her. Seeing Kellogg smoking another cigar, Nora stepped as far away from him as possible in disgust, but this time much more careful not to touch anything, even by accident. Suddenly, she noticed the skeletal, unnerving synths. Three of them. Just like the ones we had to shoot through when we finally figured out where the son of a bitch was hiding. At a desk, a woman was sat, looking at information on a tablet. When she looked up at Kellogg, her lips flattened into a thin line which quickly turned into a frown. Casting aside and stubbing out his cigar, Kellogg stepped towards her, spinning his gun in his hands with a smirk. The disdain did not leave the woman's face and, after looking back at the tablet for a minute, the disdain on her face was equally present in her voice.
"Mister Kellogg. I'm glad you decided to meet with me," She said coldly. "I'm Dr. Crusara Anders, head of the Institute's Advanced Systems Division and second only to Director John Rockwell Jamison and Assistant Director Anne Kelly Leavitt."
"So, you're the real deal," Kellogg said, almost amused. "I wanted to see for myself if you really existed."
"We do, as you can see," She said, her voice no warmer. "We're quite real, as it happens."
Kellogg rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"
"It has come to my attention you've been rather disruptive to our operations of late," She venomously told him. "This must stop."
"I do what people pay me to do," Kellogg said, a flippant and arrogant edge to his voice. "If that's a problem for you, I can see only one way out."
Crusara's eyes narrowed. "And what might that be, Mister Kellogg?"
"If I'm working for you, there's no more problem," Kellogg responded with a smirk. "From what I hear, you can afford me."
She scoffed. "I don't think you fully understand the situation you're in."
Kellogg laughed. "I think I do."
"Very well," Crusara said, picking up her tablet again. "B7-48, A9-56, G2-95, initiate elimination sequence."
The synths lunged at him.
Kellogg wrapped one arm around the neck of one of the synths, knocking its gun out of its hands.
He fired his pistol with his free hand, shooting down the other two synths.
They fell to the ground, dead, circuits shorting out.
He wringed out the neck of the first synth and shot it in the head, blowing it clean off.
Crusara eyed him closely, caught between amusement and approval.
Kellogg reloaded his pistol and stepped towards her.
"Impressive," Crusara said through pursed lips. "We may have something to talk about after all."
Everything went up in smoke again, and Nora stumbled backwards, a sudden feeling of dizziness taking over her. Amari's voice did not come in this time as everything began to change. Feeling as though she had begun falling, Nora felt about ready to vomit when she began to hear Kellogg's voice again through blurry sights and, then, the automated voice systems of the Vault. She could have sworn she screamed though it was silent. Everything felt awful, and she couldn't tell if she were beginning to cry. The voices were too much. A gunshot rang out. Shaun's cries reverberated all around her, Nate's mumbling before quieting. A scientist saying they drugged him. Kellogg's sneer and taunting words. At least we still have the backup. Nora fell to her knees and began curling into herself or, at least, feeling as though she were though she could not tell, no part of her able to be truly sensed. Things began spinning. Voices began again. Just keep talking if you can, I'm afraid this may be rather painful, but anaesthetic would lower your blood pressure too much and I need you to remain conscious. Suddenly, Kellogg's voice replied. You already explained all that. It's going to be worth it, right? The first voice returned – most definitely. These implants are much more advanced than anything you've had before. The Directorate are very pleased with you. The third generation synth programme is finally making progress thanks to the genetic material you recovered. Kellogg laughed darkly: You're talking about the kid we got from the Vault? The voice returned again – yes! A perfectly unspoiled DNA sample. Things kept dissipating. In and out.
It then stopped and she was standing in a room, a man sitting nervously behind a desk, and a second man standing next to a teenage girl, his hands tightly clasped around her shoulders. All three of them were staring at Kellogg, in various states of shock, horror, and fear.
"Look, I'm a reasonable man, but the Institute wants that data," Kellogg said, spinning his pistol in his hands. "You've got two days to get it for me, then we do this the hard way."
"If you want the data, then prove you're with the Institute," The teenage girl sassed. "I'm not handing anything over without proof."
"Jacqueline!" The man holding onto her shoulders gasped. "This –"
"Think you're tough, kid?" Kellogg said, approaching her when she pulled herself out of the grasp of the man holding onto her. "You do understand the Institute doesn't ask nicely, don't you? Haven't you seen our synths? What are you going to do? Out run them? Out run me?"
"I'm not stupid, asshole," She said, childishly stomping one foot against the floor. "I want proof, and I want to meet an Institute scientist, and I want a good reason to hand over something I could make money selling. You might be all fancy rich, but most of us here are poor…including me and my dad."
"Gerald, control your daughter," The man behind the desk said. "This could –"
"You know what?" Kellogg suddenly snatched her by the collar of her shirt. "Let's see if the Institute thinks you're worth not doing this the hard way. But don't expect this to go your way. We want that data, and you – and everyone here – are expendable and –"
Anger coursing through her, Nora almost instinctively ran at Kellogg, trying to force him to let the girl go, only for his voice to break through again, time seeming to slow.
"Jacqueline Spencer. The girl had no filter. Maybe she's what Mary would have been…and maybe that's why I decided to wait before going back to kill all of them. But the old man said no, had two of his 'Division Heads' go to retrieve the data and ended up bringing the girl back too. August 2285. Ended up being the most boring month that year. Still don't know why he gave a damn. But after over twenty years of being Director? Maybe he'd started to go soft."
Things began to fade in and out again, and the last thing Nora saw was the girl pushing herself away from Kellogg, wrenching out of his grip. Her hands wrapping around her hair, clasping onto her head, Nora tried to steady herself on her feet and wait for things to slow down, wait for things to stabilise again. Amari's voice slipped back in, but she couldn't tell if it were nearer or farther away than before. We're running out of brain here…hmm...ah! There's a memory appearing to be mostly intact. Connecting now… Nora swallowed hard, letting her hands out of her hair only to wrap her arms as tightly around herself as she could. Being unable to see herself or fully feel or sense anything about herself was less and less uncomfortable, but never close to normal. Things began to ease again, and, to her surprise, she found herself standing in Kellogg's home, the same one Cait had found a way to get them into, the one he had, according to most of Diamond City, only lived in for about a year. October 2286 to August 2287. Startled, the first thing she noticed was a young boy no older than ten sat on the floor, reading comic books. Near him, Kellogg was sat on a chair near his desk, oiling his gun. A radio was playing music quietly in the background, and, on the television, a movie was playing; had a DVD disc been inserted into it? How? Did the Institute have…
"Are we going to do anything fun today, Mister Kellogg?" The boy said, turning around to look at him with wide eyes. "I was hoping to get to have lunch at the Power Noodles stand."
Kellogg chuckled. "Not today, Shaun."
Shaun.
Her heart sunk. Even though she couldn't feel herself normally nor see herself, Nora knew she was beginning to sob.
Kellogg hadn't been lying. Shaun was still alive, but he wasn't a baby anymore.
And it had been around a decade since he and Nate had been taken.
She screamed through sobs, or, at least, could have sworn she had.
Around ten years after then, Vault-Tec's systems had failed.
Shaun.
Her son was alive, but she must have missed nearly all of the first ten years of his life.
She collapsed to the ground and began to curl into herself, only to startle when a man entered the home without warning, and Kellogg stood up to briefly threaten him.
"I have new orders for you," The man said, handing Kellogg a thick folder. "One of our scientists left the Institute last year, and we now know he is hiding somewhere in the Glowing Sea. Here's his file."
"Wow," Kellogg said with a low whistle. "Some heads are going to roll for this. Capture and return or just elimination?"
The man smiled. "Elimination. He was working on a highly classified programme, and another one of our scientists died in a lab accident we believe he caused to create enough commotion to leave without being immediately noticed."
"Damn. This was one of the top Bioscience boys? Shit," Kellogg paused, setting the file down. "So…I guess you're taking the kid back with you."
"Affirmative," The man said, and, shaking, Nora forced herself to stand up and try to look at the file Kellogg had dropped on his desk. "Your only mission," The man went on. "Is to locate and eliminate the rogue Dr. Brian Virgil."
"Are you taking me back to the Institute?" Shaun said, standing up with the comic books in his arms. "I'd love to get a snack first."
"I can't grant you that," The man said. "Now stand next to me and hold still."
"Bye, Mister Kellogg!" Shaun said, waving excitedly. "I hope I'll see you again sometime."
Kellogg sighed. "Bye."
Two bolts of blue light rang out. Then, Shaun and the man disappeared. Nora stepped back, startled, then reaching for the desk to hold onto, trying to grab onto the file.
"If anything like this had ever happened before, I'd never heard of it," Kellogg's voice began musing again. "Maybe it was a sign the old man was losing his grip. Finding someone in the Glowing Sea wasn't going to be any picnic, but I never expected an Institute egghead to spend well over a year giving me so much trouble. Made me miss being settled down with the kid in the middle of Diamond City. I'd thought it was a terrible idea, but I ended up kind of liking it. May have been one of the old man's pet projects, but it ended up better than I'd expected. I knew it was just temporary, and it would be back to normal business before long. Still, me and the kid being like a happy little family? It was nice…strangely nice."
Nora felt her hands clenching into fists or, at least, she could have sworn she was doing so. Anger overtook her again, and she tried to grasp onto and strangle Kellogg, only for his voice to break in once more.
"My first thought when she found me with the fucked up lady and the scrap metal synth was a realisation: the whole setup in Diamond City had been part of some elaborate plan of the old man's, and we were bait for our old friend from the Vault. The timing couldn't have been an accident. It's not how the old man works…I wonder if he outsmarted me in the end. Another loose end tied up."
Letting out a frustrated, angry sigh she was unable to hear but felt in her chest, Nora tried to kick at the desk only to be unable to and, instead, tumbled over it and in front of the TV where the movie was still playing.
"This appears to be a recent memory, from what I'm reading on my computer terminal," Amari's voice calmly slipped through from the silence. "So, good news, I think. But teleportation...now it all makes sense. Nobody is able to find a primary entrance to the Institute, because there is none. I'm pulling you out, Miss Norwich. Just try to stay calm."
Light began to emanate from the television. The room began to become enveloped in it. The light feeling almost blinding, Nora shut her eyes, beginning to shake badly. She began to feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Sensation, true, tangible sensation clawed at her, pins and needles stabbing at her. Something jabbed into her, followed shortly after by another. Her ears began painfully ringing, and a throbbing began at the back of her skull, painfully similar to the migraines she recalled, almost out of the blue, as having during her pregnancy with Shaun. Shaun. He was the only one left. He had to be. Kellogg hadn't been lying when he said he killed Nate, he couldn't have been, he hadn't been lying about what he did to Shaun, where he sent him, and was made his surrogate father after he got bored, after he eventually succeeded in killing Nate? Why? What was the point? The ringing in her ears abated and she heard herself scream, followed by a broken sob. Her eyes snapped open, and the screen of the memory lounger had been pulled up from hanging over her. Two steady arms reached out and held onto her, helping her stand up. Things began to come back into focus, the bright, painful light thankfully gone. She felt herself being slowly walked over to a couch and sat down, and Amari's face came into focus, kneeling down in front of her and handing her a glass of water.
"I unplugged Mister Valentine first, and removed the implant while you were waking up," She said, waving Nick over. "He was disoriented at first, and had a brief, negative reaction as the implant was removed, but he seems stable now."
"I feel fine, Amari," Nick assured her, turning worriedly to Nora who was sipping at the glass of water, trembling. "Nora," He said slowly. "How are you feeling?"
"I injected you with a stimpak and a painkiller while I was pulling you out," Amari told her when she began rapidly blinking, tears starting to fall. "Are you…ready to talk about what happened in there?"
"Am I?" Nora said, her voice shaking in anger. "I saw Kellogg's life, the man who ruined my family, the man I –"
"I know," Amari calmly said, setting an almost motherly hand to her shoulder. "And he was a human being, just like the rest of us, and had reasons for being what he was, however cruel. How does…how does that make you feel?"
"Are you kidding?" Nora shook her head, her hands tightening painfully around the glass of water. "I know now, for sure, I did the right thing. And I would kill the son of a bitch again if I got the chance. After everything he did? To so many fucking people? Maybe he even deserved a worse death than we gave him."
Nick and Amari turned to each other, taken aback.
"Nora…" Nick hesitantly began. "Do you know what you're saying?"
"I damn well do," Nora snapped. "How many people had he killed? There's no way what we saw was anywhere near what he truly did. And he killed my husband, stole my son, and did God knows what else! I –"
"We're getting off track," Amari calmly intervened. "The important thing is we discovered the Institute's greatest secret, teleportation. The only question is what are we to do now?"
"Find the scientist Kellogg was supposed to track down," Nora bitterly said. "If he's out there, there's no way in hell he doesn't know how to get in and out of the Institute and, more than anyone else, we need that information. I need that information."
Amari sighed. "I know," She paused in deliberation. "I can't believe I'm doing this but come back in a few days. I need to talk to a few people…people I think may be able to help you in this, or, at least, want to help."
The Commonwealth
July the 22nd, 2288
14:17
A bit too chipperly, Rowdy all but skipped towards the main doors of the former Beantown Brewery, Travis Miles, Lisanna Branson, Scarlett Wiehle, and Cait Felgate only a few feet behind her. When they reached the entrance, she grinned and took out her P50, reloading and cocking it with a sassy flip of her hair. Scarlett eyed her strangely but nevertheless took out her 10mm, its weight still feeling odd in her hands. It's been what, at least a year since I've last had to shoot anything? This is weird. This is so weird. Just as uncomfortable with a gun in his hands, Travis' shoulders were shrugged up to nearly his ears, anxiety all over his body. Much more relaxed and having gotten a little bit of target practise on some aggressive animals that had jumped them, Lissy reached into her purse and reloaded her .44 pistol, then adjusting her large, red rimmed glasses, her long, hot pink ponytail and bangs waving in the wind. Her equally near deathly pale counterpart, Cait, was perhaps in the best mood of all apart from Rowdy, absolutely excited to get to test out her new knife and shoot down more raiders. Worst assholes in the Commonwealth. Her deep, reddish brown hair looked even messier as it became more and more windswept, and her green eyes were glinting with mischievous excitement. She half flirtatiously winked at Scarlett, who looked almost like a pre-War model with her blonde hair fluttering delicately in the wind, only for Scarlett to stare at her, confused, before jumping back a bit when Rowdy fired a shot from her gun into the air to get their attention, smirking when they all looked at her.
"As an ex-raider myself, I'm glad to be the one leading the charge to get Dimy back," She said before gesturing to Travis with her gun. "But he's the one who's got a real plan, so tell us what you know, Lonely Miles."
Travis grimaced. "Flattering nickname," He said dryly. "Alright," He said, taking in and letting out a deep breath. "Odds are, if they've got Vadim, he's inside. I don't…I don't really know much about this place other than Vadim telling me at one point this is where their gang hides out. There shouldn't be too many of them, though. I…I've never actually fought anyone with a gun before, so…let's just get in there before I totally lose my nerve."
"Fuck yeah," Cait said, taking out a bobby pin to fiddle with the lock on the doors into the brewery, only to find them unlocked. "Sweet of them to leave the doors open for us."
Rowdy snickered. "Well, remember: raiders ain't exactly the brightest, buster."
The five of them pushing open and through the doors, to their surprise, no raiders were waiting for them right away. Instead, a few were on the floor, already dead.
Cait swallowed hard, taking out her shotgun and trying not to think too hard about the fact many of them had rather obviously died from a drug overdose. Quickly following after Rowdy and Travis, Cait began running, Scarlett and Lissy a little ways behind her as the group made their way up a flight of stairs. When they reached the top of the stairs, they walked into a small office, quickly stepping onto the first of several catwalks snaking around the facility above the factory floor. Hearing the noise, several raiders ran out from a large room on the other side of the catwalk from where the group stepped onto, making their way towards the group. One of them ran out them with a tire iron, which Rowdy, quick on her feet, wrenched out of the crazed woman's grasp, hitting her over the head with it, and then shooting her a few times, knocking her over the edge of the catwalk and down to the factory floor below. Slipping past and ahead of her, Cait cocked, aimed, and fired her shotgun on several raiders who kept running out of the large room. His hands badly shaking, Travis carefully and worriedly aimed at one of the raiders, terrified of accidentally hitting one of his companions. A few shots later, none of his companions hit by him, and Travis felt a bit more confident, eventually shooting down a raider himself. He screamed and leapt back when Scarlett got shot in the leg and began violently swearing, her gun going off when she fell over but thankfully only hitting an already broken light on the ceiling above them.
Trying to help her, Travis holstered his gun and knelt down, trying to help her stop the bleeding. Sliding past them, Lissy shot at the raider whose gunshot had hit Scarlett, and just barely ducked out of the way of a shot at her shoulder, though she slammed into the wall, letting out an angry shout of pain. Near her, Rowdy reached down and grabbed her arm with her free hand, shooting down another raider and pulling Lissy back up from the floor of the catwalk. The numbers of the raiders continuing to thin, Cait suddenly pushed past a few of them, snatched out her knife, and stabbed one of them a few times in the neck before hitting another with the butt of her shotgun. She let out a guttural shout when a bullet discharged from one of the raiders' guns and into her lower right arm. Angrily dropping her shotgun, Cait lunged at the raider who had shot her and tackled him to the ground, knocking his gun out of his hands. The two of them began to wrestle on the ground, and Rowdy, Lissy, and Travis, who had become sure Scarlett would be okay now she was sat up on the catwalk and out of the way of further gunfire, fired on the remaining raiders. When they eventually fell to the ground dead, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief, only to be startled when another gunshot rang out, though it turned out to have been fired by Cait, killing the raider she had been wrestling with. Soon enough, things went quiet. Then, familiar laughter began ringing out.
Turning around, Travis let out a cry of relief upon seeing Vadim in the corner of the room, safe albeit tied up on the floor. Running over to him, he quickly began to undo his binds, falling to his knees, and, when he finally got him free, he tightly embraced him. Just as happy to see him, Vadim embraced him too and, after a minute, cupped his face in his hands and kissed him, the two of them taking a minute to calm down, reunited.
"Thank God you're alright!" Travis gasped, barely noticing when Rowdy and Cait left the room. "What the fuck was wrong with those guys?"
"Very much," Vadim said, though he began laughing. "You know," He said, a joking twinkle in his eyes. "I didn't know if anyone would come. I thought, perhaps, this is the end."
"Vadim!" Travis gasped. "That's not funny!"
"Sorry, sorry," Vadim said, chuckling and stretching himself out as he stood up, then helping Travis back onto his feet too. "But these idiots, they just have caps and chems laying around. They did not notice, before they tied me up, when I filled my pockets."
Travis managed to weakly laugh himself. "What are we going to do with those? Sell the chems to Solomon?"
Vadim winked. "I like how you think," He said, then cheering when he saw Cait and Rowdy helping Scarlett into the room. "It is good to see all of you, my friends. But Scarlett! What did they do to you?"
"Shot me in the leg, obviously," She said, rolling her eyes with a faintly amused smile. "I'll be fine, just need to…wrap it up and take some painkiller. Although the sooner we get back to Diamond City, the better. I'd like to have Dr. Sun take at least a quick look at it."
"Alright, alright," Vadim said, dusting his hands off. "We can go soon. You are a good woman. All four of you women, actually. And true friends. But, really – how did you rope Travis into this?"
"They didn't rope me into it," Travis said, affectionately swatting at his arm. "Rowdy and Cait didn't even have to threaten me. I wanted to help. You really think I'd leave you with the assholes who threatened me in the bar? It…I don't think I'd ever shot a gun to…to fight people before but…I'm just glad you're safe."
"I am glad to be safe too," Vadim said with a grin. "I'm taking you out, when we get back to Diamond City. Nice dinner, you know?"
Travis beamed. "I'd like that a lot."
"I know," Vadim teased. "So let's get out of here, and, maybe, you'll show me even more surprises."
Cait, Rowdy, and Lissy snickered.
"Define surprises," Lissy remarked.
"Oh, I think I have a few guesses," Rowdy said, smirking. "And it involves a certain word beginning with the letter 's' and ending with the letter 'x' with a certain vowel in between."
"Giving a basic etymology lesson, seriously?" Cait said, jokingly flipping her off. "We all know what you mean, Rowdy, and, trust me, I very much believe you."
Travis blushed. "Can you guys not embarrass me?"
"Sure, sure," Cait said, waving her hand with a wink. "But only just for now."
The Institute
July the 24th, 2288
11:39
"Our most recent intelligence suggests the Brotherhood have not returned to University Point but, with their army here and making their presence quite obvious throughout the Commonwealth, I doubt they'll remain away from the town for long."
Doing her best to mask her worry and irritation, Dr. Madison Li evaded the ever suspicious gaze of Dr. Justin Ayo on the other side of the long table in the Directorate's primary conference room as he continued to give the week's report from the SRB. Rather exhausted from the already long meeting, nearly three hours, she reckoned, now, Dr. Allison Filmore reviewed a few of the files in front of her with a frown. Still dismayed to have to put the third generation synth programme on the back burner, Dr. Alan Binet almost monotonously answered Dr. Ayo's increasingly aggravated questions regarding the recently implemented Courser upgrades, upgrades which, in Ayo's mind, had come far too and unreasonably late. Nervously wringing his hands in and out of each other, Dr. Clayton Holdren listened closely to the reports from his colleagues, every so often sharing a tired look with Dr. Filmore. Calmest of them all, however, was the Director's father. Glancing over the members of the Directorate, Nathaniel Jonathan Norwich found himself, as he often did, enjoying observing everything from their mannerisms to the way they spoke. When he looked at his son on the other end of table, directly across from him, however, he forced himself to restrain his worry for his son, especially with the results of the most recent blood draws.
Dean did confirm Shaun's condition is stable, of course, but after two years of this, two years of having to fight the cancer? I'd have to be the worst parent in the world to not be constantly worried about him, no matter how well he says he feels.
"Do you have information on how the upgrades have impacted X6-88 as he continues his postage at University Point?" Alan said, expectantly staring at Justin. "Considering how important he has become to our operation there, of course."
"The upgrades have increased X6-88's reaction times significantly," Justin said, his eyes narrowing at Alan. "But, I ought to remind you, X6-88 and, frankly, all of our synths are not people. Your personification of the unit – and all synths – is wearying."
"Not this again," Allie said under her breath. "How many times do they have to go at it?"
"Well, I'm glad to hear the upgrades have been effective," Alan said, unfazed by Justin's comment. "I think that makes the developmental delays ultimately worth it."
"It does," Shaun said before Justin could dispute him. "Speaking of our synth programmes, have the bug fixes in the first and second generation synths been able to make them easier to put in the field long term, for now, considering the issue of the Brotherhood's…determination to get their hands on more of our third generation synths?"
"The bug fixes seem to be working as intended," Alan reported. "We've received only a few reports of malfunctions in the field this past month, which I believe to be a good sign. Certainly an improvement."
"Yes, that is," Shaun paused in thought, then turning to Clayton. "Dr. Holdren. What's the current status of work out of Bioscience, particularly with the changes to the cybernetics programme since Kellogg died?"
"We've had no shortage of volunteers for the cybernetics programme, actually, much to my surprise," Clayton replied. "We're in the process of adjusting what we learnt from Kellogg to begin the new trials. Despite being unable to recover his body to remove his cybernetics, the Division's documentation over the nearly sixty five years of his being an Institute asset has been consistently thorough, so, even though only the last ten years have been under my direction, we've had no issues in recreating and starting the process of fine tuning new cybernetics for the upcoming, small scale trials."
"Certainly a relief," Nate noted. "How many have signed up for the trials and completed their informed consent forms?"
"Fifty scientists – across all Divisions – have done both, and I expect there'll be many more. Currently, we're entering the information into a matrix to randomly sort them into the control versus the experimental group," Clayton said. "All in all, though it's too early to make any projections, it seems there's a good chance for this programme to be successful, at least, from the position we're in at the outset."
"Good," Shaun said. "Any other updates out of your Division?"
"The Synth Zoological Initiative remains slowed in order to conserve power ahead of the completion of Phase Three," Clayton said, looking rather saddened by the situation. "As for our medicinal and food growth programmes, both of those continue to be highly productive and successful."
"Thank you, Dr. Holdren. Now," Shaun turned to Madison. "What's the status of Advanced Systems, Dr. Li?"
"As requested, we've shifted resources off of other projects, like the child synth, to focus on Phase Three," Madison said, still doing her best to avoid Justin's critical gaze. "Dr. Watson has been working through pre-War information and reactor research to either find a way to locate, claim, and implement pre-War technology to speed up Phase Three or to maximise the output of our current, primary reactor for as long as possible while we continue to work on solutions to the reactor's limited power capabilities."
"We may have a lead on reactor research, although it's quite far up north," Allie told her, and Madison shortly nodded. "Dr. Moseley is accompanying a team of third generation synths to ensure the research is properly retrieved. What we in Facilities have been given to understand is the research is inside a former US Military submarine currently inhabited by members of the Church Of The Children Of Atom. Dr. Moseley and his team are going to be in and out without letting the Children learn of their presence. The last thing we need is a surface conflict."
"Yes, I'd tend to agree," Madison said, briefly falling silent. "Overall," She said, looking back to Shaun. "Things are running as well as ever in Advanced Systems, and our collaborative efforts with Facilities have been by and large successful."
"Understood," Shaun said. "Well. That is all we needed to discuss for today. Dr. Filmore, Dr. Ayo, thank you for giving your reports swiftly at the start of the meeting. I understand this has been longer than much of ours have been recently, but things are quite dire. All of you, thank you. You're dismissed."
With one last glare at Madison, Dr. Justin Ayo stood up quickly, and left the room first, irritably heading back to work where, more than likely, she suspected, Dr. Secord would be getting an earful. In a much better mood, Dr. Alan Binet and Dr. Clayton Holdren left together, going through information on their tablets and jovially discussing the work in their Divisions. Looking exhausted, Dr. Allison Filmore left soon after them, letting out a tired sigh when she logged into her tablet again to see a plethora of notifications. Standing up herself, Dr. Madison Li, however, did not leave and instead waited until everyone else had gone. Surprised she felt the need to stay after, Shaun stood up to close and lock the doors into the Directorate's primary conference room again. Nate eyed her closely, observing every movement she made. Of all the members of the Directorate, Dr. Li is perhaps the most enigmatic. More than capable, dedicated, and brilliant, but also guarded. It really does make you wonder what the Brotherhood did to her. Not letting her demeanour betray any of the uncomfortable feelings rising in her chest, Madison waited, a minute, before speaking.
"Jacqueline Spencer has been doing quite well, and I suspect her doctoral thesis will be quite a fascinating read once it's completed," She began, choosing her words carefully. "She had a good visit home earlier this month, as well. I do, however, have an…interesting proposal for you, regarding something I learnt while there."
Shaun nodded. "Of course, Dr. Li. What's on your mind?"
"Back in the Capital Wasteland, I was quite close with a woman and her husband, who was himself a member of the Brotherhood. Unsurprisingly, he has since left. Surprisingly, I came across him and his wife while at University Point with Jacqueline," Madison said, briefly expecting either him or Nate to say something. When they did not, she continued. "Back then, I had been training their son in particular in science. He was a young boy at the time, but had quite the proclivity for it, and specifically biochemistry. It turns out, he – now, if I recall his birthday correctly, nearly nineteen – spends most of his time in Diamond City's Science! Centre working on a variety of projects ranging from fairly benign to complex."
"Interesting," Nate said with a slight hum. "May I assume you're proposing he may be a good candidate to bring into the Institute?"
"Yes, I am," Madison confidently replied. "For now, I figure we should monitor him before making any decisions, but I still thought it was worth mentioning."
"It very much is, thank you, Dr. Li," Shaun said, shaking her hand. "I'll send orders for M7-62 to monitor the situation closely. What's his name?"
Madison smiled. "Emmett Derek Branson."
The Commonwealth
July the 27th, 2288
12:22
"Thanks again for all your help. We didn't expect you would be able to stop by, but we appreciate it nonetheless. You Minutemen really are getting things back together, aren't you?"
"Hoping to make things right as rain, Mister Tanner. Just happy to extend a hand."
Sitting down at a table in the house the young family had been able to reconstruct, Preston Garvey gave the father, mother, and three young children a gentlemanly tip of his hat. With him, Derek Branson shook hands with them and then sat down as well. Outside, with a few friends of the family and Codsworth, Sturges was humming to himself and working on the construction of a defencive system. The day was hot and sunny, but not overbearingly so; truly, a typical weather day for high summer in the Commonwealth. Inside the home, a few ceiling fans were running, and one of the children was happily skipping about, his long and slightly shaggy hair flying out behind him as he chased his older sister up and down the halls. The youngest of them was sat in his father's lap, nervously sucking on his thumb and staring between his parents, siblings, and the Minutemen with wide eyes. The mother affectionately ruffled the small boy's hair, and the father kept his arms securely around their little boy, him and his wife conversing lightly with the General of the Minutemen and his right hand man.
"We've been farming here for the last seven years but moved in and began work on the home about twelve years ago," The man said, sharing a smile with his wife. "We'd been keeping this together just fine all this time – helps to have a lot of friends in the area – but knowing the Minutemen are back and able to alleviate some of the burden of defending ourselves is a relief, especially with the kids."
"Alex, here, is only two," The woman added. "So, as I'm sure you can imagine, Luke and I have been under a lot of stress, especially since the arrival of this 'Brotherhood Of Steel.' And here we were, thinking the only people wanting to try and control the Commonwealth by force were the Institute."
Preston nodded. "Have the Brotherhood been giving you any trouble?"
"No, thankfully not," Luke said, though he soon after shook his head. "But we've seen 'em around a lot more lately. Probably because that old military installation is just about across the street from us, which is why it's a concern. We've heard a lot of talk, including from nearby families, of the Brotherhood demanding tribute or some crap like that. Swear they think they own whatever land they walk onto, not giving a f –"
"Luciano!" The woman sent him a pointed look. "Not in front of the kids!"
"Sorry, Polly, it's just," He let out a long, irritated sigh. "They don't care about the fact we have no reason to trust they have the 'best interests of the Commonwealth' in mind when they waltz in here with their gargantuan zeppelin and expect us all to just trust 'em because they say so. I mean, they clearly think the only people who are worth their time are the ones who think and look like them. It's frustrating and makes me sick."
"It's not the right way to go about things, to put it lightly," Derek said, adjusting his glasses. "While it might not put you at ease, more likely than not, the Brotherhood members you've seen patrolling nearby and going in and out of the old…training facility for the National Guard, wasn't it? More likely than not, the Brotherhood members going in and out of there are Scribes looking for information on pre-War technology. Scribes don't typically get involved with settlements, towns, or cities, so, while unsettling, they're unlikely to bother you."
"Good to know," Polly said, glancing at her two older kids, still chasing each other through the halls of their home. "We'd been getting the sense we wouldn't have much to worry about unless some of their more…overtly armed members came knocking. That's what we heard from the Finches, anyways. Heard you helped bring their son home to them, too. Good on you. Can't imagine doing so was easy."
"At the end of the day, it's part of our job," Preston replied. "We're glad to be back on our feet and able to serve the people of the Commonwealth again. Slowly, we're hoping to be able to unite the Commonwealth one day."
"A seriously admirable goal," Luke said with a chuckle. "If I were a little younger and didn't have a young family to defend, I'd join you myself. Regardless, what you're doing is good, and seeing people join up and start to stand with and help defend other people's homes is great. And especially, like I said, with the Brotherhood now trying to stake a claim here."
"They're, if we're being completely honest, frightening," Polly added. "It's not only the sheer size of their army or what we've seen of their capabilities so far. It's the way they approach the people of the Commonwealth with entitlement, and the lack of trust. If they want us to believe they have our best interests in mind, then they need to be willing to be honest with us about why they're here rather than keeping it all insular and expecting us to all believe them at their word."
"No clue what things were like back where they're from, but people here need more than just some empty words to believe them," Luke said, his voice darkening. "The Commonwealth's had to contend with the Institute since the start, and after the Broken Mask down in Diamond City a couple of decades ago? We'd all have to be dumb as rocks to take anyone with their kind of resources at their word."
"The people of the Capital Wasteland had been defended by the Brotherhood since the War, and specifically defended by the Brotherhood from the remains of the United States Federal Government, which had begun to call themselves 'the Enclave,'" Derek explained. "They'd built up two centuries of rapport with the people of the Capital Wasteland, and successfully put an end to the Enclave about a decade ago. From what I can tell, they seem to have mistakenly assumed the people of the Commonwealth would feel the same way about them, not realising the trust of the people in the Capital Wasteland had been hard earnt."
"Arrogance, in short, then," Luke said, rubbing his two year old son's back when the little boy rolled over and started to fall asleep in his lap. "It's a shame. If they were willing to have an honest conversation with the people of the Commonwealth and build up trust, then maybe we would be much more willing and eager to help them, if they really are here for our benefit."
"Far as I can tell, they're just as secretive as the Institute," Polly snorted. "Only difference is they hoard technology out in the open and the Institute have the 'manners' to do so while by and large keeping to themselves. Their synths may be a menace, but at least the Institute aren't running around declaring they're the ones who are going to save the Commonwealth, the ones who are going to keep us safe from God only knows what's out there. Luke, his brother, and both of our parents had to fight off some gunners a year or two ago. It was one of the bloodiest fights I've ever seen, and we're lucky none of them died. Gunners haven't come back, but it's only a matter of time. That's always the way with people like them. No better than raiders, I'll say."
"In some ways, I'd say the gunners are worse than raiders," Preston said, sombrely hanging his head for a minute. "We gave them a hell of a fight in Quincy, but we never really stood a chance. There were just too many of them, and too few of us. They were ruthless, indiscriminate with their violence but also methodical. Not crazed, not disorganised like raiders. Every time we come across them, even now, they're just as they were then. It's disturbing, and, hopefully, I'll live to see the day where we can drive them out of the Commonwealth for good."
"Think we can all agree on that," Polly said, briefly frowning. "I'll never understand how people can be so selfish. We all have moments of selfishness and weakness, of course, but the kind raiders and gunners possess? And now, from what we've seen and heard, the Brotherhood? Or the Institute? No, selfishness on a scale as pathological as theirs is endemic, and it's not just an occasional moment. It's an innate quality of them, and it's nothing short of awful. There's no point to it, there really isn't."
"There really isn't," Preston agreed with a sigh. "But, I suppose, some people are just wired that way, wrong as it may be."
Diamond City
August the 1st, 2288
11:11
"Fuck…" Piper groaned, slamming the door to her office shut behind herself in frustration. "Missed the asshole again. I swear, at this point, McDonough is doing everything in his power to throw me off and, unfortunately, he's succeeding."
Checking to make sure the door was locked behind them but just as annoyed at the situation, Robert Joseph MacCready shook himself and his hat out from the downpour of rain outside and nodded, unsurprised when Piper began swearing under her breath again. Taking off and hanging up her jacket, Piper irritably kicked off her shoes, hanged her hat up next to her jacket, and stepped over to the sink, wringing some of the water out of her hair. It's been a great day, such a great damn day. We miss McDonough's mysterious courier by ten minutes and get soaked in the rain for pretty much nothing. At least Nat likes the rain, someone might as well enjoy this shit. When she was satisfied her hair was dry enough to not annoy her any more, Piper stormed over to the fridge and pulled out two Nuka Colas, one of which she tossed at MacCready, who swiftly caught it with one hand. Slamming the fridge door shut almost as hard as she had slammed the door into her office, Piper let out a short, aggravated yelp and, then, feeling a bit better, waved MacCready over to the small kitchen table, sitting down on one of the four chairs, him across from her. For a few minutes, the two of them simply sipped on their Nuka Colas and listened to the sound of the rain pouring down outside but, quickly, the two of them found themselves uneasy sitting in silence.
"You know the story behind the jacket over there next to yours?" MacCready said, smirking a bit when Piper shook her head. "She never told you?"
"I never asked," Piper admitted with a shrug. "Lissy's got multiple leather jackets, I just figured she thought the snake on it looked good."
"She definitely thinks that," MacCready replied. "I got an earful about how she ended up with the jacket shortly after she and I became friends. I'd been in Rivet City about a few weeks, was fifteen at the time, and my…the woman I'd go onto marry, Duncan's mother, Lucy, was sixteen. Anyways, the second Hadley found out her daughter had two new friends, she insisted on us coming over for dinner. We get there, and the first thing we hear is Ada teasing Lissy about getting into fights."
Piper laughed. "Still happens, you know," She told him. "Guessing it was with some kid whose parents were in the Brotherhood."
"That's how she ended up with the jacket," MacCready said, laughing himself. "Way I heard it was, when she was around fourteen, she got in a fist fight with a boy in the Brotherhood who was two years younger but constantly grating on her nerves. The two of them fought it out a lot, actually. Anyways, the fight got broken up and some guy who was a gang leader had witnessed the fight and gave Lissy his jacket, telling her he thought she should have been allowed to finish the fight. Only stipulation was, if anyone asked about it or she won a fight, she had to yell 'Tunnel Snakes rule!' Funniest thing ever, I swear."
Piper rolled her eyes. "And you were surprised the Atom Cats gave her one of their jackets after helping them cause mayhem with fireworks and firecrackers shortly after she and her family arrived in Diamond City. But, hey," She said, a mischievous look in her eyes. "I got to ask – what have you been up to? I know you've been getting to spend a lot more time with your son. How's he doing?"
"Duncan's doing pretty well," MacCready said, letting out a sigh of relief. "He got a cold the other week, but got over it pretty quickly. I think his immune system is finally bouncing back, now he's no longer sick. He's been so happy, and I've never been prouder of him. The kid's gone through a heck of a lot, and he's still standing. He's been playing with some of the other kids around Goodneighbour now, too, and he hasn't stopped trying to read everything he can get his hands on. Like I've said before, a lot of kids would have just…given up, but he fought it out, and, honestly, I think his love of reading, even if he can't always understand what he's reading, has helped a lot."
Piper smiled. "You're such a softie," She teased, reaching across the table and knocking his damp hat off his head. "Don't look at me like that," She said when he scowled at her and leaned over to pick his hat up off the ground. "You treat me like I'm just about your sister these days, so I'm going to treat you like you're my brother, annoying traits and all."
"Bold of you to assume I won't find a way to annoy you back," He half jokingly replied. "I've got some tricks up my sleeve, Piper."
"Bet you do," She replied with a grin. "Now, come on. Tell me how you're doing and what's been going on with you and your 'friend.'"
MacCready tinged a bit pink. "I'm…I'm doing fine. As for Annette…things have been good. I took her out for her birthday. We danced, had drinks, dinner, a few cigarettes," He stumbled, a bit embarrassed. "She loved the bracelet I got her, never takes it off. And Duncan had a really sweet present for her, too. Took me by surprise, honestly, but…"
"But…?" Piper pressed. "You don't get to say that and then leave me with nothing!"
"He had a small, carved wooden toy soldier…his mother made it, for me, years ago," MacCready said, rubbing at his neck. "Duncan said it's what protected him and made sure he got through being sick and he said he wanted Annette to have it to protect her too. She keeps it in the window of her apartment in Goodneighbour. Honestly…it's really sweet."
"No kidding," Piper said, taking a few sips of her Nuka Cola. "And adorable."
"It…it is," MacCready said, falling silent. "So," He began, a bit nervously. "I know we didn't catch the man today, but, out of curiosity, how'd you first realise McDonough's a synth and working for the Institute? Since we're trying to intercept the courier and get proof of it and all."
"I saw, a few years ago, him with technology, something which looked a lot like what people before the War – from what I know, at least – called cell phones," Piper set down her Nuka Cola and stood up, walking over to and pulling some things out of a drawer. "I managed to get some photographs of the device, and what seemed to be a serial number. Take a look."
MacCready raised an eyebrow, picking up a few of the photographs on the top of the pile.
"This is crazy," He said, going through a few of the others. "How'd you figure out it's Institute technology?"
"It was just an educated guess, for a while," Piper admitted. "But, after Nora, Nick, and Cait came back with Kellogg's body, some of the things on him – including a knife Scara and Duff had retrieved from an Institute weapon a little while back – had the same type of serial number. The things inside Kellogg's body, well, other than the things in his head Nick and Nora needed preserved, couldn't have been from anywhere but the Institute. And after the autopsy? After Scara and Duff were both able to confirm he must have been born between the 2170s and the 2180s? It told us all we needed to know."
"Explains how he looked so young despite, from what you and Cait told me, being well over fifty," MacCready remarked, setting down the photographs. "What isn't the Institute capable of, at this point?"
"I have no idea," Piper said, sitting down across from him again. "Wish I knew what Nick and Nora had to talk about with Dr. Amari. All I know is they were trying to see if they could get anything of value out of the shit stuffed in Kellogg's brain by the Institute, but I haven't heard from them since, other than they're finally coming back to Diamond City tonight and want me to come with them for something. I guess Amari told them something important, but they have to wait to tell me in person."
MacCready looked up at her, surprised. "Really? No guesses?"
"Other than maybe something or someone who could help us find out where the Institute actually is?" Piper paused, lost in thought for a minute. "No, other than that, I have no idea but, either way, I'm dying to know what happened. If Nick doesn't want to say anything just over the radio waves to his office, then it's got to be either really big or really bad, and I just have to know what it is."