False face must hide what false heart doth know.
To take even a little more than a cursory glance at the Commonwealth Of Massachusetts' most popular theme park would, at best, reveal only a sliver of what work at it entailed; yet it was not the teenagers and young adults working most of the rides and food and beverage stands and proper meal spots responsible for the most intense work, nor were it the cooking and cleaning staff.
The same as almost all other theme parks, the one and only Nuka World was its most interesting and most tense beneath the grounds guests and their families trodded over every day from six in the morning to eleven at night. While guests and their families enjoyed the grounds where they had been trotting for almost twenty seven years, a small number of the staff working well beneath the park were doing as they had for the past eleven months. The famous 'World Of Refreshment' riverboat above them and almost always packed with patrons, the four working beneath it had, at least, enough depth and distance from it to hear none of what went on above them. Already well at work for several hours, the exhaustion that permeated around the team's members was growing more and more difficult to ignore once again. At the sound of the intercom buzzing, they all stiffened, pausing to see if it continued to buzz. When it did, the team lead – one Dr. Xavier "Rex" Meacham – stepped over to it and awaited a response. He replied to it almost as soon as he heard the end of what was being told to him, and clicked off the intercom to return to his colleagues still trying to focus on their work despite being weighed on by yet another early morning.
Sat at his desk and with report after report from development and testing before him, Dr. Kevin Richard Bennell took his glasses off to rub at his eyes. He probed his forehead for a few seconds when he put them back on; the beginnings of a migraine whispering against his skull. Paying very little mind to his colleagues and, even, having barely noticed Meacham getting up to take the page from the intercom, Dr. Edmund Cole Medford continued his notetaking, comparing as many experiment results as he could at once. He smiled a little, however, in a brief moment of distraction when, her laptop in hand, Dr. Katherine Ruth Leavitt sat down across from him and began to look through some of what he had out already for herself. At the sight of some of the adverse outcomes and the discovery of trace amounts of arsenic in the latest batch of Nuka Orange, her lips flattened into a thin line and her brow furrowed; as disturbed as she was irritated. Bradberton really does think he can play God on his customers sometimes, doesn't he? The thought an unpleasant one she had little desire to dwell upon, she tried to put it out of her mind and focus on the task before her. As it always did, doing so worked remarkably well; time began to feel less and less relevant, until the irritation returned, making itself known once again when the secured doors of the lift to the laboratory opened and two men stepped in, one in the uniform of the Army and one the very man she was directly frustrated by.
Very much unaware of or impervious to the opinions held of him by the employees he had come to speak with, John Caleb Bradberton swaggered into the laboratory. Beside him walked General Corey Lewis Braxton, whose face showed significantly less pleasure but as much glib as Bradberton's, from the turn of the corners of his mouth and his slanting gaze. Dr. Meacham all too eager to greet Bradberton and the General, he snapped his fingers at Dr. Bennell, Dr. Medford, and Dr. Leavitt behind his back while he smiled and shook hands with Bradberton and the General with the other. Startled, Dr. Medford set down his notes and began towards Meacham, Bradberton, and the General only to think better of it and snatch his notes back up for reference. Much more uncertain and misliking Meacham's manners, Dr. Bennell glanced between Meacham and the others and Dr. Leavitt. He stayed where he was working when he realised she was doing the same. Refusing to even acknowledge Meacham's beckoning, or even the arrival of Bradberton and the General, Dr. Leavitt continued to compare what Medford had left with what she had in her notes; soon after, pulling up chemical composites and reaction projection models on the screen of her computer. The voices of her coworkers and their bosses drawing nearer with their footsteps an unpleasant distraction, she forced herself to keep working.
The footsteps stopped and their presence was close enough to be felt. Uneasy at the sight of Dr. Leavitt still refusing to acknowledge Bradberton, the General, Meacham, or Medford, Dr. Bennell stepped away from his work and gave them all a brief, tense smile.
"Come to see the progress we've made on Project Cobalt, I assume?"
"And your official work," Bradberton chortled. "Duty calls first, however."
"It always does," Meacham cordially slid in. "Which is why we're all happy to do our part in supporting the War effort. Soon enough, I hope, we'll see the end as the absolute victors. The liberation of Anchorage just a few weeks ago strikes me as a good sign."
"As it has to everyone," The General said, pursing his lips. "So, I expect to hear the good word on Project Cobalt."
"You won't be disappointed, then, General," Meacham said before turning to Bradberton. "Nor you, Mister Bradberton. In fact, I believe one of our advances on Project Cobalt's research could be applied to our official work in tandem."
"Absolutely," Medford said, easily shaking hands with the General. "However, the militaristic applications are the most exciting. As requested, we've focused on isotopic research for use in salted and dirty bombs, traditional a-bombs, and those suitable for use as radiological poisons."
Kate narrowly glanced up from her computer. "We ceased research into developing radiological poisons due to a lack of feasibility. In what world are we going to be able to get even the best CIA operative into Beijing to get one of our strontium-90 isotopic derivatives or, for instance, polonium-210 into Chairman Cheng's food?"
"We're researching all avenues," Meacham said with a dark look to her. "As asked and contracted."
"Notwithstanding," Kate corrected. "We are contracted to develop soft drink flavours, not weapons of mass destruction for the –"
"Enough, Dr. Leavitt," Bradberton said, looking briefly happy when Kate went quiet though her face contorted. "Your short report indicated you have narrowed down your experimental focus," He said to Meacham. "I assume it surrounds the strontium-90 Dr. Leavitt mentioned?"
"It does," Meacham said, gesturing for Bradberton and the General to follow him. "To be clear – we are not working with only strontium-90, but with its decay product, yttrium-90, and additional isotopes of strontium, including but not limited to strontium-82, strontium-89, and the naturally occurring strontium-88 and strontium-86. Out of all of our research, however, we currently have a synthesised, custom isotope of strontium that, in all notes, is referred to as 'Quantum,' and that is the isotope I find the most promising."
"Unquestionably!" Medford said, stepping over to the doors into secured storage. "Though we have yet to stabilise it in large quantities and concentrations, we have a prototype varnish that, under testing thus far, shows promise for higher than average resiliency to ballistic and radiological damage when compared to the same model of power armour without the varnish applied. What you will notice first about the impact of the varnish on the material, however, is its colour."
At the sight of no apparent curious anticipation on the face of either Bradberton or General Braxton, Dr. Medford paused a few seconds before removing his ID badge from the lanyard around his neck and swiping it through the reader on the wall beside the secure locker. Dr. Bennell warily walked over to join Meacham, the General, and Bradberton; he could not stop himself, however, from looking back at Kate still diligently and irritably working, her lips pressed tightly against each other in a cold frown. Her shoulders, too, where tight and her hands strict on the keyboard as she typed up notes, her stomach beginning to feel unsettled and her heartrate a little spiked. Bradberton might as well own at least half of Massachusetts at this point, but he can't sell us and our work over to a government entity when that is not our job and not what we were hired for. Still refusing to acknowledge Bradberton or the General any further, Dr. Leavitt forced herself to focus and continue working even when she heard the telltale click of the lockers opening and the sound of Dr. Meacham and Dr. Medford cautiously removing one of the pieces of the varnished power armour, walking over to and setting it down upon one of the laboratory benches. At a sharp glance from Meacham, Dr. Bennell went and closed the doors of the secure lockers and swiped his own ID badge to ensure their closure, lingering in uncertainty of his welcomeness with Meacham and Medford's display before joining them regardless.
After all, he reminded himself. None of us – not even, were she more willing, Kate – are capable of completing a project of this magnitude virtually independently.
"Colour appears similar to cobalt," Braxton flatly noted. "Have you used any in the varnish?"
"It looks too bright to be cobalt," Bradberton said dismissively.
"The colour comes from our strontium isotope," Meacham said, a hint of annoyance breaching his voice at Bradberton's tone. "Which is not used in its pure form in the varnish. Regardless, when applied with the fortifying bonding agents, the end result has stood up well against our first two rounds of testing so far, and we're quite pleased with the prototype."
"Because it's not in its pure form, as well," Bennell hesitantly added. "You need not worry about becoming irradiated by interacting with the varnished power armour as we're able to present to you today, though the pure form – a small amount of which we currently have in isolation – is highly radioactive and must be handled with caution and in full and proper personal protective gear."
"For all the funds we've thrown your way so far, it seems you do get results," Braxton said with the air of one still very much unimpressed. "This likely won't be a money pit. Tell me, though – what have you learnt in the process of developing this as a…proof of concept, shall we say, and what do you reckon the feasibility of a final, weapons product will be?"
"As Dr. Medford said, the primary plan is for nuclear devices, though a radiological poison or general toxin could be another avenue for weaponising what we've developed and learnt from so far," Bennell told him upon being discreetly elbowed in the back by Meacham. "Depending on how the rest of the testing on this power armour goes, we might also be able to offer it as a defencive –"
"Power armour doesn't need more field defences," Braxton said curtly. "What we need are weapons, which it sounds as though you at least have solid plans for."
"Research avenues," Bennell nervously corrected. "We haven't yet –"
"Given how many people have died in the field due to power armour failures, General Braxton, I should think any improvement on them should be strongly considered, no matter the source," Kate said, finally closing her laptop and turning to face them from where she was sat. When the General said nothing, she continued. "My fiancé died two years ago because of failures in his power armour, General. I'd like to prevent that from happening to anyone else, and, unless West-Tek are burning the midnight oil to improve existing forms of power armour instead of simply replacing them with newer, still flawed models, we could do that."
Braxton frowned, his eyes narrowing and following every hint of movement in her face and composure. Meacham scowled at her. Bennell began intently looking over the pieces of power armour he had brought out. Medford held back a smirk. Bradberton squared his shoulders and his eyebrows twitched, irritably looking between Kate and the General.
"You make a relevant point, Dr. Leavitt, but the reality is that one varnish – no matter how well it performs – will not solve the issues in our power armour. The issue, unfortunately, is a matter of welding that is difficult to correct with as many suits are in the field today," Braxton said, irritation returning to his voice. "If you need to find someone to blame for that and, by extension, your fiancé's death – for which I am sorry for your loss – then the person you're furious with should be Bud Askins, as he was the one who let that issue slide through under his watch ten years ago so he could get where he is today at Vault-Tec."
Kate raised an eyebrow. "A major Vault-Tec executive whose face we've all seen before on the news or in adverts is the reason behind the issue?"
"Unfortunately, which is why people like you who do your job thoroughly and well are more of a rarity on this end of the defence contracting world than you would think," Braxton said. "So I sincerely hope, in satisfying your curiosity, you'll be more than willing to be more cooperative. I understand why you would like to live as though the world is not in as bad a place as it is, but the fact is that's not possible and it is best for everyone, including yourself, to pull their shit together and get things done."
"'The sooner we can end the War, the better it will be for everyone,'" Kate quoted. "Although I'd have felt better hearing that from someone who, unlike the President, doesn't have the capacity to end the world and not only the War."
Meacham laughed. "And why is that? Have you become a conspiracy theorist, Kate, constantly thinking there are people who believe they have something to gain from an annihilatory nuclear incident?"
"She's not wrong to have that fear, Rex," Medford said, startling himself. "I think most people do, even if they don't say it. There's always a bogeyman in the back of your head, but with the way things are with the War? It's just as easy to see and believe in one being in plain sight."
"And I don't think the President wants to end the world or has anything to gain from it," Kate told Meacham, stiffening and her lips flattening into a thin line. "I agree with the sentiment of the necessity of ending the War, and I hope it will come soon in light of the liberation of Anchorage, but it's not comforting to hear that on television from the one person in this country with the authority to use the nuclear football in between advertisements by Vault-Tec or deep woods survivalists."
"I'll concede, Dr. Leavitt, that there's an uncomfortable level, at times, of open discussion of what could in the worst case be, but it's important people know and are well equipped with their options," Braxton paused at the tone of his beeper going off. "That's the purpose of Project Safehouse – to save as many American lives as possible in the event of the worst, and people need to be in the know enough to save themselves, their families, and their country – and that purpose has remained steadfast since the Project's formal inception in 2051."
"Technically signed into law under President Maddox in the late 2030s, but never acted on until the 2050s," Meacham corrected, bristling when the General shot a dark look towards him. "My second PhD is in history."
"I'm sure it is, but irrelevant," Braxton said, turning to Bradberton. "I expect a full report from them and finished testing of their proof of concept by the first week of April and with no excuses, as well as a fully outlined and executable plan for their continued research. The Pentagon are anticipating initial results in the weaponisation by the end of October."
Bennell looked up at him, startled. "There's almost no chance we'll have a working weapon for the DOD by the end of October when we're already three weeks into February and haven't even –"
"Initial results, prototypes," Braxton irritably cut in. "That is what they'll be expecting."
"And they will get it!" Bradberton said, walking over to shake hands with the General before he headed back towards the lift. "These are the best of the best organic chemists in the world, and I can assure –"
"You're getting your cut," Braxton snapped under his breath to Bradberton, his mouth almost on the entrepreneur's right ear as he moved to ensure only he would hear him. "Give it a rest."
Satisfied by the disgruntled look on Bradberton's face when he let go of him, General Corey Lewis Braxton squared his shoulders, rolled them back, and leisurely made his way back towards the lift. Though she let out a brief sigh of relief and returned to her work, Kate found herself almost laughing when she saw, out of the corners of her eyes, the miffed way Bradberton was dusting himself off and adjusting his suit. Bennell forced down the urge to laugh a little bit at the dissipation of Bradberton's usual temperament; the same as Kate, he looked away to do his best to focus on the notes he was taking and the work before him. The only one of the four scientists to be showing any outward signs of indignance at the General's abrupt departure and lecture, Meacham started to pace between his colleagues, his feet snapping hard against the floor until he stopped to look over each of their shoulders; almost, it seemed, he hoped they would be doing something – anything – wrong.
Kate did her best to ignore him and his presence behind her as she worked.
Bennell began to uneasily chatter about their work when Meacham approached him.
Medford spoke quickly and coldly with him under his breath until Meacham relented and left him to take inventory.
Bradberton stood impatiently in wait for an update on the official work of his best scientists.
Another few seconds passed in silence but, glancing through his email exchanges with Kate, Bennell broke it with the same trepidation in his cadence as when speaking near Braxton.
"What happened to our wage bonuses for working nonstop through Christmas and the New Year?" He paused when Bradberton turned towards him with his brow furrowing and the beginnings of a scowl on his face. "We all have other parts of our lives than work, and there are people in our families – at least, I know in mine – who need as much money as I can give them, which would be much more if I receive my bonus. That's why I worked through Christmas in the first place."
"Heating prices have been through the roof the last three years," Medford said after a moment of his own hesitation, shifting back and forth on his feet.
"Your bonuses will be delivered by the end of the month," Bradberton told him. "The automatic payroll system had to be suspended at the end of last November due to systemic inaccuracies caused by a trojan virus that entered the software it ran on. While that was being fixed, we have had to handle it manually, and, as such, regular pay has been prioritised."
Kate raised an eyebrow. "It's taken a little shy of two and a half months to resolve a software issue? Even a company wide software issue shouldn't take nearly that long to fix."
"In this case it did," Bradberton tersely responded. "The company has, also, had to make up for the need to suddenly and rapidly produce millions of bottles of Nuka Cola in the new, rocket shaped bottles due to the loss in court to Coca Cola on the bottle design patent infringement. It's absolutely ridiculous – I overcame the sales of Coke and PepsiCo almost twenty years ago, and well surpassed them in popularity a decade ago – and I still have lost a lawsuit to one of them on, of all things, bottle design!"
"Between park admissions, drink and merchandise sales, and product placement royalties, it sounds far fetched to suggest there wasn't enough money to pay our bonuses on time," Bennell said, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I'm sure it's not a big deal, just a clerical error, but I thought I should mention it since things are about to get hectic around here. Well, at least hopefully it will for us. I know the park won't get hectic again until April, but –"
"If you're finished with your rambling, Dr. Bennell, I do want to hear about the progress you, Dr. Leavitt, Dr. Medford, and Dr. Meacham have made in your official jobs," Bradberton said, raising a hand to silence him. When Bennell said nothing more, he turned to the others. "I was given to understand your research for Project Cobalt led to a non-lethal, and non-militaristic discovery by Dr. Meacham. Is that true?"
"It very much is," Meacham said smugly, stepping back towards his desk to pick up his tablet. "As you requested we develop a new, 'galaxy blue' flavour, as you called it, to go along with the newest additions to the Galactic Zone, I discovered, much to my surprise, that small amounts of one of the isotopes we have synthesised creates a lasting, bright blue glow to the drink we have already developed. Though it's not the same isotope as Quantum, we believe calling the drink 'Nuka Cola Quantum' and marketing it with an otherworldly theme will be the most enticing to customers."
"Previously, we've referred to it as 'Galactic Nuka,' but Rex insisted on the name change," Kate said, casting a dark look towards him. "We also," She sharply added. "Have not completely agreed on the final formula for product testing. The new guidelines released by the FDA and CDC on food and drink additives and safety are rather strict, and the last thing we want is to have to do a massive product recall shortly after launch, especially when we only finished two flavours for an acceptable base drink back in October."
Medford sighed. "Not to mention the fact there are two ways to achieve the bright, blue glow and only one of them," He hesitantly glanced at Meacham. "Is guaranteed to be completely safe and unable to stroke the ire of the Department Of Health And Human Services."
"What about the drink itself?" Bradberton waved him off. "Your last update said the flavour profile leans largely towards pomegranate, but I doubt that will perform well in product testing. It's far too similar to grape and cranberry, both of which are our least popular flavours."
"The tart flavour of pomegranate should be mostly absorbed by the sugar content, although we have discussed adjusting the flavour towards lychee and/or strawberry for a uniquely sweet and uncommon flavour," Bennell told him, stepping over to and removing two bottles from the industrial refrigerator in the back corner of the room. "We've made prototypes of both, albeit without the two choices for the additive that will give the final product an otherworldly glow. Personally, I favour the lychee and strawberry flavour."
"I do as well, and," Kate said, turning back to her computer to pull up her notes. "It requires less sugar to be added for it to be adequately sweet. The version that tastes much more of pomegranate required sixty grams of sugar for the drink to be sweet, which is double the maximum recommendation for daily sugar intake. It's also twice that of standard Nuka Cola, and that is not even accounting for the fact it also has twice the caffeine and twice the calories of standard Nuka Cola."
"I have to agree," Bennell said with a shake of his head. "Considering the six hundred milligrams of caffeine in the drink is two hundred more milligrams than the recommended daily intake, and that other drinks have needed to be recalled by a lot of companies in the last fifty years for ultimately deadly amounts of caffeine has me worried we could end up having to pull it from the market within a year of launch."
"Twice the calories, twice the caffeine…" Bradberton mused to himself before suddenly snapping his fingers. "And twice the taste!"
Meacham half heartedly laughed. "That could be a good slogan for the drink, Mister Bradberton."
"Setting aside marketing," Kate cut in. "I – and Dr. Bennell – believe it'd be best to scale back the caffeine to the official maximum daily recommendation of four hundred milligrams and reduce the sugar to forty five grams for the FDA, the latter of which could be lowered to be within the thirty gram maximum recommendation if we go with the lychee and strawberry flavour profile."
"The additional sugar is necessary to mask the presence of the strontium derivative that will make the drink glow," Meacham irritably countered. "Without it, there's a higher likelihood of the drink having an unpleasant, metallic taste to it."
Kate narrowed her eyes. "All the more reason to use tonic water – which emits a very similar blue glow under UV light – instead! Adding even a little bit of the strontium-90 derivative in question – a derivative that's radioactivity is what provides the glow and makes it not a relatively low toxicity, stable strontium – could be dangerous and put the consumer at risk for radiation poisoning if consumed frequently and excessively."
"But, if what Dr. Meacham states is true, it won't require UV light to glow and will luminesce longer than anything we've ever made before, including Quartz and Victory," Bradberton said, walking towards Bennell who poured a little bit of each flavour into smaller cups for him to taste them. "The glow is likely to be the biggest selling point of the product, what will make it the most unique soft drink on the market! To hell with a little radiation, you get exposed to that when you go to the doctor or dentist anyways!"
"This is the pomegranate leaning option," Bennell said, handing him the first cup with mildly shaky hands. He stood up a little straighter as Bradberton took his first sip, eyeing him closely as he finished the sample. "As for my thoughts on how to make it glow…I agree with Dr. Leavitt that tonic water is the better option. Using a radioactive substance – even in a small amount – to make it glow could easily make it into virtually consuming a more dangerous glowstick."
"We don't want to risk opening ourselves up to lawsuits over a drink," Medford added.
"The pomegranate flavour is…strange," Bradberton said, reaching for the second cup. "I'm not convinced any amount of sugar can mask the tartness."
"Hence why myself, Dr. Medford, and Dr. Bennell favour the lychee and strawberry flavour," Kate said, raising an eyebrow when Bradberton smiled after finishing that sample. "I take it you agree?"
"That I do," Bradberton said with a chuckle, looking back to Meacham with a smile. "Go with the lychee and strawberry flavour and use the glowing strontium derivative."
Meacham nodded, giving Kate a satisfied smirk when he saw her log out of her computer and stand up, looking at her watch.
"With all due respect, Mister Bradberton, seeing as it's 14:45 and that's the start of my hour long break, I'm afraid I must be going," She said, sweeping up her coat from where she had left it hanging on the back of her chair. "If you have any further questions about either Project Cobalt or our official endeavours, I'm sure Rex will be more than happy to answer them."
Kate swung her coat around herself, forcing herself not to look at Meacham nor Medford nor Bennell nor Bradberton when she started towards the lift out of the secure facility. Her pace quickening with a slow feeling of becoming nauseated twisting in her, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her coat, resisting the rising urge to run. Her left hand wrapped around her ID badge in her coat pocket, and she scanned it on the lift's call reader before quickly dropping it back into her pocket. When the doors opened, she stepped in but did not turn around until after they closed behind her and the lift began its ascent. The near silence of the lift leaving a ringing in her ears, she fumbled around in her pockets until she found her hat and gloves; the distraction did not make it dissipate. A sharp, metallic beep rang out when the lift reached the ground level from so deep below it, and Kate stepped out of the lift sideways before the doors were even all the way open again. She took out her ID badge again to enter the main hallway from the tiny nook the lift to the laboratory was concealed in, keeping it in hand after shutting and once more locking the door behind herself. The sounds of the small bottling plant and the music and narration of the 'World Of Refreshment' riverboat ride growing nearer the farther down the hall she went, she started walking a little faster, turning the corner to the staffroom. With another quick tap of her ID badge, she stepped in and, with one last, retrieved her purse and mobile phone from within their secure locker.
She shut and locked her emptied locker almost as soon as she had her purse and mobile in hand. Going back out the door, she followed the familiar signs guiding employees discreetly out of the building. Finding it to no longer be snowing but the bitter cold leaving fresh layers of ice on the small window in the door to the side exit of the building, she pulled her hat down as far over her hair and ears as she could. She unzipped her purse and dropped her ID badge into it and her mobile into one of her coat pockets just before stepping out the door, swapping them for her lighter and a pack of cigarettes. The cold air less stinging than she expected, Kate walked slowly to light one of her cigarettes, picking up her pace once she had done so and taken a first few draws. The frustration started to ebb away with each draw, and she paid little mind to the people she passed – park visitors and staff alike. Heading for the staff smoker's lounge sequestered from the rest of the large concessions market in the centre of the park, she smiled to herself when it came into view; unbothered, nearly, that she was breaking the rules against smoking in nonsmoking areas. Yet, she startled and dropped her cigarette only a few metres from the entrance to the staff smoker's lounge at the feeling of her mobile beginning to buzz in her pocket, followed by her ringtone.
…thousand voices singing reasons of understanding why it happened…
She took out her mobile and answered the call almost immediately, stubbing out her now smouldering cigarette under her boots.
"Nora? How are you doing? I just got on break, so hopefully you haven't had to call too many times."
Her friend laughed over the line. "No, I remembered your schedule. You mentioned the other night that your last few weeks at work have been hell, and I wanted to see how you're doing."
"Better than I could be, and better than I was," Kate said, reaching the door to the lounge and typing in the access code. "Part of it could be the whiplash from having normal working hours to having to stay well into the night most days the last month and a half, and, really, part of it could be frustration. After seeing what Kevin had found about a week ago, I want to confront Bradberton about the fact he – more likely than not – is embezzling some of our wages for himself, but I doubt he'll take me or even Kevin seriously. Rex probably wouldn't even care. I can't believe who he's become the last few months, but he's not the friend I once knew. Just Bradberton's lapdog now."
"Is there any chance of bringing it to court?"
"Not at the moment, though I told Kevin to keep track of the evidence, just in case," Kate sighed and stepped into the unusually lively smoker's lounge. "It's not just that, though. Stupid as it is, I can't help but feel a little jealous of my brother for doing so well at CIT as a robotics researcher – a subject I hate anyways – while I'm feeling tired and frustrated despite having my dream job. Then again, would he really be Glenn Leavitt if he weren't rubbing it in my face and that he and his wife are able to live their happily ever after in their jobs and with their children and each other while my Drew is dead?"
"I'm not sure he would," Nora gently replied. "But you've still managed, despite the grief, to stay on track and receive your doctorate. Science never has been one of my strengths – your O-Chem especially – but I doubt I'd have been able to do what you have if I were you and Nate had been killed in combat."
"I…" Kate paused to take a long draw on her cigarette. "I can't believe I've lived the last two years without Drew Collins. It…damn it, I still can't shake what happened. I just want the War to end…it and the Reds have made me suffer enough. But…how are you and Nate doing?"
"Alright, though work is…" Nora hesitated. "The case I'm working on is brutal. Jury selection starts this week, and I hope it goes as smoothly as possible, because the son of a bitch we're…well, I probably shouldn't say that, but the man we're prosecuting is –"
"Evil?" Kate surmised.
"To say the least. What he did to his ex wife and child after kidnapping…" Nora sighed. "Sorry, Kate. I shouldn't – can't – talk about it. What I can and will say is between the facts of the case I'm on the prosecution team for and being five months pregnant, it's been hard to fall asleep. Doesn't help Nate's had to go to the base earlier and earlier."
"I can only imagine," Kate said, taking a long draw on her cigarette as she sat down in one of the chairs of the lounge and set her purse at her feet. "Do you want me to come out next week for manicures and pedicures? I think we could both use a day off."
"I do," Nora laughed a little. "Katie actually suggested we do so last night, and can get us into that new, exclusive place in South Boston. With as swollen as my ankles have been lately, getting a leg massage and my nails painted sounds like a dream."
"She wouldn't be Katie Rose Masters if she couldn't wrangle someone to let her in places she might otherwise be unwanted," Kate said, laughing herself. "We love her, and I'm sure she'll do well as a nuclear engineer once she finally gets her doctorate, but she can be intense. It'll be great to see you both. Have you been feeling alright other than the swollen ankles?"
"Mostly," Nora said. "I'd probably be feeling a lot worse if I weren't still swimming most days, indoors, of course. I don't think there's a body of water in Massachusetts right now that isn't frozen over or nearly frozen other than the ocean."
"Good thing you and Nate moved to Sanctuary well before winter set in," Kate teased. "Gave you time to get your pass to the town's rec centre. And, damn it, how do you have the motivation to workout between your job and being pregnant?"
"If anything, it keeps me sane and stops me from focusing on anything too…too much. Nate joins me when he can, which has been more often than we thought he'd be able to lately," Nora replied. "And I know I've said it to both of you already but, really, thank you and Katie for getting me and Nate a Mister Handy as a baby shower present. Codsworth has been immensely useful already, and I still have four and half months before the baby is born. Speaking of…did I tell you Nate and I found out we're having a little boy?"
"Little Shaun instead of little Charlotte, then," Kate smiled as she took a draw on her cigarette. "Although I'm sure, give it a few years, and you'll have a Charlotte running around with him too."
"Maybe, but let me get through one pregnancy first," Nora told her with the same teasing edge. "And a second would be either a Charlotte or an Aidan. I promised Nate he would get his first choice of names if our next baby is a boy too."
"Compromise, the key to a long lasting and happy marriage," Kate started laughing again. "And I'm glad the Mister Handy has been helpful. That's what we were hoping for. You named him Codsworth?"
"We let him choose a name from the book of baby names Nate and I still had because he got so excited when he saw it," Nora said. "He's quite the character – and I mean that in a good way – but even I was surprised at how quickly he and Nate, albeit working together, got the nursery ready, and, seeing as no one has really been able to keep me out of the water or Nate from being outside, I think it's safe to say Shaun will probably scare us at least once going off the high dive or climbing a tree once he gets old enough to do so. We're definitely going to teach him how to swim as soon as he's able to."
"I would expect nothing less from the two of you."
"I like to think, on some level, I'm already preparing him to be a lifelong swimmer," Nora said, her voice hinting at a smile even over the line. "The only thing I haven't been able to do – both because of the weather and my doctor's recommendation – is keep running, so we'll have to encourage that after he's born."
"Of course you, of all people, are disappointed you can't run regularly while pregnant," Kate said with a half hearted roll of her eyes. "How is it, even while pregnant, you're the healthiest of all our friends? Because you're over there working out most days, doing your best with your stupid stressful job, and I'm over here getting annoyed with my boss and coworkers and using my lunch breaks to smoke and eat – mostly – sweets. I'm pretty sure you're healthier pregnant than I have ever been."
"I've always enjoyed sports, you know that, you've known me most of my life," Nora teasingly reminded her. "I just happen to have had a lucky break that one of my favourite activities is one I can do while pregnant because it's relatively low impact. And I'm not the healthiest of our friends. That, I think, goes to Katie. Hell, she's been vegan her whole life because of her mother."
"Katie has also been close to being a skin and bones ballerina as long as we've known her," Kate paused to stub out her cigarette. "But I'll give you she eats healthier – when she eats – than I've ever cared to. And doesn't smoke. Although I don't care about the fact I'm making my asthma worse. I enjoy it."
"Didn't you start smoking out of spite?" Nora said.
"To spite Rex after he decided to start to crawl up Bradberton's ass so soon after telling me he'd be on my side no matter what when he went with me to that B&B in Appalachia to keep me company on the second anniversary of Drew's death a few months ago?" Kate let out a frustrated sigh and pulled out and lit another cigarette. "I did. He's a coward, a liar, or both. I'd punch him, but that's too easy. You could say he's my Keira – a seemingly nice coworker who turns out to be a lying piece of shit."
Nora went quiet. "Do you think…do you think it was still right to –"
"Air out her dirty laundry? Absolutely," Kate said without a second thought. "Nora, not only were you more qualified than her for your job – by your grades, your GPA, your score on the Bar, your internships – but she was dating a known Commie and cheating on her then fiancé! Keira deserves every bit of what she's gotten. If she's on an FBI or CIA or NSA watchlist, now, well, then she's gotten what she deserved."
"Nate said the same thing. So did Katie. The way she put it was 'she got was coming to her in a way she didn't expect but very much deserved. I've had friends stab me in the back before, but what you did wasn't that. It was justice,'" Nora sighed. "And Nate, albeit more nicely, said 'you said what needed to be said because the fundamental difference between you and her is you value the truth, and she doesn't for anyone, not even for herself. You didn't owe her anything.'"
"You don't owe her anything," Kate agreed, flicking some ash off her cigarette. "He's right. If you'd done something wrong, you wouldn't have gotten the job either by reporting her for sleeping with a Commie and, more than likely, going to whatever events Commies go to. You did the right thing, Nora, and you don't owe anyone a damn thing for it."
Nora hesitated. "I'm probably only strung out from work and being pregnant," She eventually said. "I'm sure I'll feel better after this case wraps up – hopefully on time – and I go on maternity leave in May. Getting nails done next week will, I'm sure, help too but I don't know, Kate. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if I did it for the wrong reasons."
"You didn't do it to get your job, Nor. You did it because you value the truth more than anything else, and that's not easy," Kate said, softening her voice further. "You did it for the right reasons, but I know the feeling, just a little. The last few weeks…in some ways I feel I've been living my dreams and nightmares at the same time and, with the case you're on, I think you might be feeling that way too."
"Maybe," Nora conceded. "At the same time, it…"
"It's hard to believe this is the world we live in?" Kate said, stubbing out her cigarette and watching the last bits of it burn up in the ashtray. "I think more and more people are feeling that way and, really, I'm feeling more and more hard pressed to give a damn about the world. It sounds bad…but it's the truth."
