Author's Note: I failed to mention prior to the last chapter that this story now has over 15,000 views. I would just like to thank everyone for your continued support. Enjoy the chapter, and reviews are always welcomed and appreciated.
(Same time, Lucky 38)
Amata rolled over in bed and reached for Mark. When all she came up with was more blankets, she kept feeling for a moment before she realized that he wasn't there. The events of yesterday came flooding back to her, most importantly the fact that Mark and Veronica had disappeared without a trace. She sat up in bed, turned on the light, and checked her pip-boy. There was still no sign of Mark.
She rested her elbows on her legs and put her head in her hands. "Mark," she said quietly, "I don't know where the hell you are or what the hell you're doing, but you need to come back soon." She put her hands on her stomach and looked at it. How long had she been pregnant now? Six, seven weeks? With everything that had been going on, she kind of lost track. She tried to do the math in her head. Doc Mitchell told her that she was about four weeks along. Mark was in a coma for a week, so that would be five. Then there was the three days Amata had taken care of him after he had woken up, and they had been on this whole trip for about a week now, so that would put her at about six weeks.
Regardless, it was more noticeable, at least to her, anyway. Mark would probably be the only other one who could tell the difference as well. It wasn't like she habitually wore skin-tight clothes like the vault suit anymore, where it would be more pronounced. She checked the time. It was a little after 7 AM, so she decided to get up. She got out of bed, went into the bathroom, and threw up. 'Fucking morning sickness,' she thought, 'I could definitely do without you.' After she was sure she had gotten it all out, at least for now, she brushed her teeth, fixed her hair, got dressed, and went into the hallway.
It looked like no one else was up at the moment, which was fine with her. She really didn't feel like answering questions about where Mark and Veronica were at the moment. However, when she went into the kitchen and turned on the light, she realized she had forgotten about the one member of their team that didn't actually need to sleep. Fortunately, he was also the only one who couldn't speak. She jumped a bit when she saw him. "Oh, ED-E, it's only you. I almost forgot about you." She patted him on the chassis, and went outside on the balcony to get some air. ED-E came out with her, and she shut the door behind them. It was a beautiful morning, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon, a wonderful mix of reds, oranges and yellows nearly taking her breath away.
She smiled and shook her head. To think her father almost denied her the chance to see something like this. Then she sighed and hung her head. She stayed like that for a few moments, when her pip-boy beeped. She got excited for a second, thinking it was Mark. There was a message on the screen, and from what she could tell, it wasn't from Mark. All it said was 'Sad?' She was confused. Who else could send her a message, or even see her for that matter? No one else in the 38 had a pip-boy, and she doubted that anyone on the ground could see her, much less know how she was feeling at that particular moment. Then ED-E beeped, and Amata looked at him, a bewildered look on her face. "ED-E, was that you?" He beeped in the affirmatory, or what Amata assumed to be a 'yes.' 'How did he do that?' she thought. Mark had never mentioned that eyebots could do something like that. Then again, she reasoned, from what Mark had told her, the ones he encountered in DC weren't his allies, as much as they claimed to be, so maybe he didn't fully understand what they could do. Either way, this was an interesting development.
She looked back at the sunrise. "Yes, ED-E, I am sad," she said in a depressed voice, "I have absolutely no idea where my husband is, and I am worried out of my mind. I don't even know what I'm supposed to tell the others. I don't want to have to keep lying to everyone, and pretending that everything is okay when it isn't. But if Mark doesn't come back soon, I'm gonna have to tell them the truth." She sighed again. "I knew that I should have put my foot down when he wanted to go on this whole revenge quest. But he had that look on his face like he wasn't gonna let this rest. And he just has those roguish good looks, even with that scar on his face. You would think that I could resist those looks by now, but apparently I can't."
"You know, now that I think about it, maybe I agreed to this because he had all of those thrilling, albeit near-death experiences in DC, and I couldn't be a part of them. Granted, I probably wouldn't want to have done a lot of the crap that he did, but still. There I was, stuck in the vault, not even able to provide him just moral support. Maybe…maybe I just wanted to see the great 'Lone Wanderer' in his element. Now I'm just thinking that his whole thing was a mistake. Don't get me wrong, Cass and Veronica and all of them are great people, and I'm glad that I met them, but it doesn't seem like it's worth it anymore." She looked at ED-E. "Thanks for letting me get that out, ED-E. You are a very good listener." ED-E beeped, and another message appeared on her pip-boy. This time, it looked like a quote:
The better part of one's life consists of his friendships
-Abraham Lincoln
Amata chuckled. "You certainly are a mysterious robot, aren't you, ED-E? Uh, listen, can we keep this conversation just between the two of us?" ED-E beeped a couple of times, and Amata patted him again. "Thanks, ED-E. Let's go in. I'm kinda hungry."
(40 minutes later, Sierra Madre Police Station)
Veronica woke up, sat up, and rubbed her eyes. Christine was sitting at a working terminal, typing, and God was sitting against the cage that he had been locked in earlier. "Good morning, God. Wait, you are still God, right? You haven't switched on us, right?" He chuckled. "Yes, I am still in control. Dog is in the cage." "Good to know," she said as she walked over to Christine. She appeared to be reading some terminal entries that were left there by the security staff. Veronica stopped reading and looked around the room, and realized that she didn't see Mark. "Christine, have you seen Mark?" Without looking up from the terminal, Christine pointed to the front door. "Wait, he already left? How long ago?" Christine gestured.
"He left forty minutes ago, and you didn't bother to stop him, or at least woken me up so I could stop him?" Christine shook her head. "Why the hell not?" Veronica said angrily. Christine gestured. "I don't give a damn that he's not Brotherhood. He is my friend, and you should have realized that." Christine gestured again. "Yes, Christine, I know what the Codex says about outsiders. The thing is, I'm not so sure about the Codex anymore." Christine looked a bit taken aback.
"Christine, you know how I feel about the path we're on. Mark, he talked to McNamara for me, because I thought he could get through to him. All McNamara did was confirm what I knew all along. Without any new members, eventually we're going to die off, and then the Codex won't mean a damn thing. You know what else, Christine? Mark has a pregnant wife waiting for him. Now, I've only lived with them for four days at most, I think, and what I've seen is a love between them that far surpasses any love we have or had for each other. Now, granted, they're from DC, and they've both been kind of dodgy on the details about what happened with them out there, but whatever happened between them, their relationship came out stronger on the other side. So the fact that you would just let him leave, when all of our lives are tied together, is not only stupid, but it's also extremely irresponsible of you."
Veronica turned away from Christine. Christine got up from the desk and put a hand on Veronica's shoulder, but Veronica shook it off. "No, don't touch me. I don't even want to look at you right now." Christine looked dismayed as she sat back down. Veronica walked over to where all of their salvaged equipment was, and put on the other bulletproof vest. "I would advise against what you are planning to do," God said. "Well, I'm not just going to stay here and do nothing while my friend's life is in jeopardy."
"You should," God said. "This place, it has many twists, turns, and traps. Your friend at least has that device to help guide him to his target. You have nothing of the sort. As much as you may not like it, we will just have to wait, and hope that your friend is capable enough to traverse this terrain and return intact." Veronica sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She had no idea where he would be at this point, and no idea of where that last collar was. The fact that their collars hadn't blown yet was the only indication that he was still alive. She was just going to have to have faith in him to get the job done.
Using the partially created map on his pip-boy, Mark was able to retrace his steps to avoid any speakers, although he did run into another one of the creatures that was carrying a spear. After encountering these creatures, and being able to study how they move, he was able to dispatch it without much of an issue. He found himself back at the fountain where they had woken up in the first place. The hologram of the woman in the dress stood stationary atop the fountain. The hologram looked incredibly lifelike, and if it wasn't blue, Mark may have mistaken it for an actual woman.
Mark sat down on the edge of the fountain. It probably wasn't the best idea he ever had, but the creatures seemed to avoid the area, or they would have been attacked when they were first brought here. Maybe it was something to do with the hologram. He looked at the gate that led out of this place, and for a fleeting moment, he considered making a break for it, but quickly dismissed it. Even if he could make it out before Elijah detonated his collar, he would be basically condemning Veronica and Christine to death, or at the very least an indefinite imprisonment, until Elijah could find someone else. Mark didn't know how many people Elijah had lured here, but Mark was damn sure that he and Veronica would be the last.
He switched through the frequencies, just to verify which one was Elijah's. He stopped on one: "…You know what else, Christine? Mark has a pregnant wife waiting for him. Now, I've only lived with them for four days at most, I think, and what I've seen is a love between them that far surpasses any love we have or had for each other…" Mark switched it off. Hearing Veronica say that made Mark tear up a bit. Even with her occasional snooping, Mark now had no doubt that she was a loyal friend, that she had his back. He wiped away the stray tear and flipped to the highest frequency. "…damn arthritis…," Mark heard. Bingo.
"Hey, Elijah, you there?" Mark asked. "What? Have you found the other collars?" "Almost," Mark responded. "I'm on my way to get the last one. I just wanted to talk, man to man. It's just me here. Veronica's back at the police station with the other two collars. Incidentally, one of the collars that you sent us to collect just happened to be the woman that you separated Veronica from. You know, Christine Royce? Although I don't see why it was necessary to rip out her vocal cords." "Don't be stupid. I didn't rip out her vocal cords." "Forgive me if I don't believe you. Regardless of whether you did or not, Christine isn't exactly thrilled with you at the moment, and neither am I, to be honest. Your only saving grace right now is Veronica, 'cause she's the only one who thinks that you can be saved from yourself."
"Ah, Veronica," Elijah responded, sounding a bit smug, "I could always count on her. I taught her everything that I know. As for Christine, that was…necessary. I knew about their relationship long before I separated them. Veronica eventually started losing focus, and I needed her full, undivided attention. That left me no choice but to separate them. I honestly couldn't care less that she is gay. I needed Christine out of the way." Mark tried to keep his cool, but was having trouble. "So, you made Veronica think the person that she loved more than anyone in the world had left the Brotherhood, and may have been dead for all she knew, because you thought she was losing focus? You're even more of an asshole than I thought. I don't think you know Veronica as well as you say that you do. Either that, or you have never been in love. Love makes everything in life better. Knowing you always have someone to talk to at night, to share your problems with, it can't be compared to anything else."
"You sound like you speak from experience," Elijah said. "It is of no matter. Once my plan is in motion, Veronica will fall back in line." "And what is your plan, exactly? I've seen the technology here. Impervious security guards, vending machine that can make something out of nothing, not to mention the bomb collars and the Cloud. This wouldn't have anything to do with your failure at Helios, would it?" "I didn't fail at Helios. I just…ran out of time. But my plan is far too complicated for your tiny mind to comprehend." "Try me," Mark said, "I've dealt with my fair share of megalomaniacs with convoluted plans." "You have now, have you? Alright. The NCR, the Legion, they are both rehashes of a failed world. The NCR controls technology they cannot possibly hope to understand. They took what was rightfully mine, and they will pay for their crimes."
"The cloud, once I know what it is made of, how to control it, I will unleash it on the NCR and Legion. I will wipe the slate clean." "So, basically, you plan to commit genocide. Then what? What about the Mojave? You gonna enslave them?" "Exactly. The collars, they force compliance. Human nature can be defeated, controlled. The guards, throw one emitter in the middle of a battlefield, and you become unstoppable. The vending machines are the pinnacle of pre-war technology. With those under the Brotherhood's control, people will look to us for everything, relying only on us. The Brotherhood will rise again, and this time for good."
"You know," Mark said, "I didn't think it was possible, but you're even crazier than I thought. What do you think Veronica's gonna say when I tell her all of this?" "I molded Veronica. She won't go against me. Now go. I wouldn't want you to die, and have this be all for naught." "I will not die this day, Elijah. The same cannot be said for you." Mark cut off the transmission before Elijah could respond. Mark knew that all of that information could come in handy. He just had to pick the right time to reveal it to Veronica. Mark stood up, and continued on his way to the third collar.
(Same time, Lucky 38)
Thankfully for Amata, she was able to eat breakfast with only ED-E for company. She wasn't ready to face anyone else yet, if only for no other reason that she had yet to come up with a viable excuse as to why Mark and Veronica had yet to return. So, for the time being, she went down to the gym to try to distract herself and work off some of the nervous energy that she was currently full of. She was running on a treadmill that was near the large windows that overlooked the Strip, listening to Radio New Vegas and enjoying the view. She found that Mr. New Vegas had quite the suave voice. She wondered where he was, because she would definitely be interested in meeting him in person. True, he wasn't as exciting as Three Dog, but he had his own charms. She wiped a stray strand of hair out of her face. "…in other news," Mr. New Vegas said over her pip-boy, "tensions are brewing in Freeside between the ruling gang known as the Kings and a large number of NCR squatters seeking refuge there. The leader of the Kings, who would only identify himself as 'The King,' voiced his displeasure, calling NCR citizens, quote, "the devil in disguise." He added he didn't want to see any NCR in the ghetto, and called for a mass, quote, "return to sender.""
'Did the King really say that?' Amata thought, 'He seems like such a nice man. I'll have to talk to him the next time I see him.' "And now," Mr. New Vegas continued, "I'd like to play one of my favorite songs for you. Here's Dion and the Belmonts with, "The Wanderer."" When Amata heard the name of the song, she tripped over herself and nearly fell off of the treadmill, but was able to right herself.
"…who will never settle down,
where pretty girls are, you know that I'm around
I kiss 'em and I love 'em, cause to me they're all the same,
I hug 'em and I squeeze 'em, they don't even know my name,
They call me the Wanderer, yeah, the Wanderer…"
Amata hopped off the treadmill and turned off the radio. Tears started to well up in her eyes, and she started to feel a bit weak, so she sat down on a nearby weight bench. She started to sob uncontrollably, thanking whoever that she was here by herself. The tears flowed freely, the worry for Mark becoming too much to hold in. As much as she tried to tell herself that Mark was okay, she couldn't dismiss the thoughts that ran through her mind. The thought that he was lying dead somewhere, the thought that their child would never know its father, the thought that her only tie to her life back east, the love of her life, would never again hold her in his embrace.
She didn't have long to dwell on these thoughts, however, as she heard the elevator ding open from across the room. Suddenly having to try to cover up the fact that she was crying, she took a bottle of water she was saving and dumped it over her head to make it look like she was just cooling herself off. She then took a nearby towel and wiped her face. She sniffled a bit, looked up, and saw Cass walking over to her. "Hey, 'Mata," she called out. "Cass," Amata replied. "'Mata, do ya know where Mark is?" "He's- I'm sure that he's around here somewhere. Why?" "Well, ya said that they would be back late, but I haven't seen him, and I jus' checked Veronica's room, an' she isn't in there." "Cass," Amata said as she continued to wipe off her head, "I'm Mark's wife, not his mother. He's a grown man. I don't need to constantly track his every movement. As for Veronica, I couldn't tell you. I do know for a fact that they both came back last night." "Well, could ya check where Mark is on yer pip-boy? I need ta ask him a question." Amata panicked a bit. "Uh, yeah, my pip-boy isn't working properly right now. I'm gonna have to have Mark take a look at it." She shook it a couple of times, just to try sell it.
Cass sized her up, and Amata was hoping that Cass would buy it. "Yer lyin'." "What?" Amata said nervously, "Cass, I'm telling you-" "Save it, 'Mata. I've caravanned up an' down California, Nevada, Oregon, an' I've met a lot of different people, and ta stay in business as long as I did, ya gotta be able to read people when yer negotiatin', an' I've gotten pretty good at it. Yer eyes are red an' puffy. You've been cryin', and I'm guessin' it has somethin' ta do with Mark. It's jus' us girls here. Tell me what's goin on."
Amata remained motionless for a moment, but then she fell to her knees, and the tears started to flow freely again. Cass came down to her level, and hugged her in an attempt to comfort her. "I-I have no i-i-idea wh-where Mark is," Amata said through the tears, "He-he just disappeared." Cass rubbed her back. "'Mata, why didn't ya tell us? We're yer friends." "I-I-I didn't want to wo-worry you." "'Mata, we're a team. If ya have a problem, we all have a problem. Look, I'm sure wherever they are, they're fine. Mark's a tough bastard, and Veronica's no slouch herself." She paused for a moment. "Look, Boone went out, an' Arcade's in tha lab, so maybe we could take a walk." Amata continued to cry, not responding.
Cass was trying to be patient with her, but she wasn't really the comforting type. She broke the hug, grabbed Amata by the shoulders, and forced Amata to look at her. "'Mata, look at me. Look at me." Amata lifted her head up slightly. "They-will-be-fine. Yer a strong woman. Mark doesn't seem like the type ta be with someone who wasn't strong. Right now, ya need ta start actin' like the strong woman that ya are, 'cause honestly, I'm itchin' ta smack ya." Amata stopped crying, although she continued to breathe heavily. "There we go. Just breathe. Now, Mark said somethin' about business with tha King. Let's go fer a walk, see what he wants. Try ta take yer mind off things." "O-Okay, I guess," Amata said, cracking a smile. Cass smiled back, and helped Amata to her feet. Cass put an arm around Amata's shoulders, and led her back to the elevator.
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I apologize for the lack of action in this chapter, but we will get back to it in the next chapter. Until next time, and reviews are welcomed and appreciated. H