Hello everyone! I know, it's only been about two weeks since I posted the last chapter, and I usually take a month to get the next one out. There were a couple factors at work here. I found this chapter easy to write, and I didn't have power for a couple of days due to a recent storm. Let me tell you, a lack of TV and video games is an extremely good motivator for writing. Anyway, this chapter is a turning point in the story. Enjoy, and reviews are always welcomed and appreciated
The room became deathly silent at Mark's proclamation, and everyone, including the normally stoic Boone, had a look of shock on their faces. "What?" Mark asked as he looked around the room. "Do I have something on my face?" Amata smacked him across the face. "OW! Why did you just hit me, babe?" "I-I'm not sure. That was just the first thing that came to mind. Sorry, honey." She gave him a kiss on the cheek that she just slapped. "Better?" Mark grinned. "You can kiss my boo-boos anytime, babe." "Ok, so tell me you didn't say what I thought I heard you say." "Well, if you heard me say that I am going to kill House, then you heard correctly."
"Hey!" Veronica said as the others came back to reality as well. "What exactly did you mean when you said that you were going to kill House?" "Well, by kill, I mean end the life of, and by Robert House, I mean the guy who runs the 38 and wants me to off the Brotherhood. I think it was a fairly straightforward statement." Before Veronica could respond, Arcade cut in. "I believe what Veronica meant by that was how exactly do you plan to do something that would seem to be impossible." The others nodded in agreement.
"Alright. First of all, while no one has actually seen House, he is still human, and can be killed. When I first spoke with him, he told me that he had to make sacrifices to stay alive in the two-hundred plus years since the war." The King interrupted. "Wait, wait, wait, so House was alive before the war?" "Yes, King, he was. That means that he either voluntarily subjected himself to radiation and became a ghoul, or is using machines to keep himself alive. I am inclined to believe the latter over the former, as House likes to calculate odds, and whether you become a ghoul or get killed from overexposure to radiation is a crapshoot."
"House also appears to be invincible, but that is only because he has an army of Securitrons at his disposal, and due to the fact that no one had been inside the Lucky 38 since the bombs dropped. That problem has already been solved by him giving us access to the 38. Don't get me wrong, the man is smart, but I believe that that is his fatal flaw. He likes to predict the future based on what happened in the past, and what he knows of human nature. I do not think that he would expect anyone to be foolish enough to try and take him down, inside his own fortress, no less. That is how I will kill him. He relies on the predictable, so I must do something unpredictable."
"So, on to the actual killing him part. Every time that I've gone up to the Penthouse, I've noticed that there is a computer under a set of stairs that does not appear to serve any purpose. It would seem odd that someone would put a computer underneath a staircase like that, unless they were attempting to hide the computer. In addition, the Penthouse appears to be smaller than it should be, leading me to believe that the computer opens some sort of false wall, either with House behind it, or some passageway that will lead me to him."
Amata stood in front of him, a look of concern on her face. She took both of his hands in hers, and looked directly in his eyes. "Mark, honey, I'm hearing a lot of speculation, and not a whole lot of solid, concrete information. There are a whole mess of things that could go wrong." "Amata, babe, you know me. You know what I've done, and you know that I wouldn't be doing something like this without a good reason. Believe me, I realize that it is a lot of guesswork on my part, but I've done more with less, and this needs to be done."
As they gazed into each other's eyes, Amata realized that he had a point. She didn't know it when she was still in the vault, but a lot of the things that he did in DC, he did based on outdated, incomplete, or next to no information. She had only heard about the end result of his adventures. She didn't learn the full scope of what he did until they came to the Mojave. As much as she didn't want to admit it, he was right. She gave him a small smile and nodded. "Ok, Mark. Go ahead. You have my blessing."
"Wait, 'Mata, yer okay with this?" Cass asked incredulously. "No, Cass, I'm not, but he's right. If I've learned anything about him in the twenty or so years that I've known him, it is that he is at his best when the odds are not even close to being in his favor. My faith in him is unwavering and absolute. Am I worried? Yes, but that worry comes from a place of love, not from a lack of faith." Mark smiled and gave her a kiss. "Thank you, babe." "You're welcome, honey. Now, do you have a plan, or is this one of those times that you're going to wing it?"
Mark hefted his bag on the table and looked through it. "Eh, a little of column A, a little of column B." He pulled out what he was looking for. "A stealth boy?! That's your plan?!" Veronica exclaimed. "Well, do you have any better ideas, Miss Santangelo?" "How about not doing it for one?" Mark sighed. "Veronica, do you want me to be killed?" "What? No, of course not." "Ok, so do you want me to kill everyone in the Brotherhood?" "Again, no." "Well then, what do you propose I do? Despite what I said earlier, I doubt that House is just going to let me walk away. I know too much. It's not the best plan, but short of assembling an army and assaulting the Strip and the 38, it is the best that I can come up with."
Veronica seemed to have an argument with herself, before shaking her head, seemingly resigned. "Ok, I see your point. Just- just be careful, okay?" Mark walked over to her and gave her a hug. "Hey, don't worry. I'll make it through this." "You better. You still owe me a favor." Mark chuckled. "That I do." Mark released the hug, and then addressed the King. "King, I hate to ask, since you've already been a gracious host, but-" The King interrupted. "Say no more. It is not a problem. They can stay while you do what you need to do." They then shook hands. "Thank you, King. You're a good man."
Mark decided that he needed to get going, so he turned back to Amata. "Alright. If you don't hear from me in two hours, assume the worst." "Mark-" Mark put a finger on her lips. "If the worst should come to pass, which I doubt it will, initiate Contingency Plan Z to make sure everyone is safe." Amata's eyes widened. "But that would mean…" "I know what it would mean, but it's a small price to pay. The you-know-what is in my bag." Amata pulled Mark in for a passionate kiss, one that seemed to convey just how much they loved one another, neither caring that they had an audience.
Eventually, they broke away and touched their foreheads together. "You better come back. I need my husband, and you're going to have two kids who need their father," Amata said, her voice barely above a whisper, tears threatening to fall. "I will always come back, babe." "Good. Now go, before I change my mind. I love you, Mark." "Love you too, Amata." Mark switched out his assault rifle for a plasma rifle, and then grabbed his helmet and looked at the rest of the group. He gave them a short nod, before striding out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
In the front room, he found ED-E chasing Abby. When she saw Mark, she ran over to him. "Daddy, are we going home now?" Mark got down to one knee and gave her a kiss. "Not yet, sweetheart. I need to run an errand first, and then we'll all head back." He didn't want to lie to her, but he found it necessary so that she wouldn't worry. "Go on, Abby. I think that your mom wants to see you." She smiled. "Okay. I love you, daddy. Good luck on your errand." "I love you too, sweetheart." As Abby ran in the back room, Mark sighed, put on his helmet, and headed out the door.
Walking back to the Strip, Abby's and Amata's faces remained at the forefront of his mind, giving him the courage and conviction that he needed to actually go through with this. 'You're doing this for them,' he mentally repeated to himself. He proceeded through the gate as he normally would. Once he stepped into the elevator of the 38, he put his plan into action and activated the stealth boy. Once the door opened at the Penthouse, he stuck his head out and looked around. Seeing no Securitrons in the immediate vicinity, he stepped out, and decided to take a roundabout way so that he would come down the stairs under which the terminal was located.
He passed by a couple of Securitrons, who seemed to take no notice of him. He walked as softly and carefully as he could, not wanting to attract unneeded attention, sweating profusely. He kept his hand on one of the pulse grenades on his belt (easier said than done, since he was invisible), just in case. He peeked out of the doorway from the second level and into House's office. There were a couple of Securitrons in front of the monitor, but the monitor itself was blank. He then walked down the stairs and found the terminal. He started typing, each click of the key resonating loudly in the area, or maybe that was just what it felt like to him.
He broke through, and entered 'yes' when it asked if he wanted to open the antechamber. It was then that alarms started blaring, and a section of wall that was next to the computer opened. Mark ran through, avoiding Securitrons that seemed to be unable to detect him while the stealth boy was active. Mark was surprised. He figured that House would've thought of that. The antechamber had a few servers with wires running along the floor. Mark quickly looked around, and found an elevator with another terminal next to it. Under the gun, Mark made quick work of the terminal, unlocking the elevator.
There were only two buttons in the elevator, up and down, so Mark pressed the down button, praying that House didn't disable the elevator, or worse, send Mark plunging to his death. He waited for something bad to happen, but all that happened was the elevator door opening. Mark stepped out and looked around. He had stepped out onto an elevated platform which had a control panel and terminal a few feet in front of him. Beyond that, at the end of the platform were a few servers, and a computer that seemed to be monitoring vital signs. There was also a large, metal chamber with a small window that had a light bluish tinge to it. Looking around the rest of the room, there were pipes running along the wall, and when he looked over the side of the platform, he saw a dark abyss below. What he didn't see was any defenses, so he deactivated the stealth boy.
Mark went to the terminal, and was surprised when there was no password protection. Then he realized that House likely didn't anticipate anyone getting this far. There was only one option on the terminal, 'Unseal LS Chamber,' so Mark clicked that, and then hit 'Yes' to proceed when a warning of a microbial infection risk came up. The chamber began to hiss open, and once it was open, a whirring noise was heard as a platform came up and out, and settled vertically in front of the chamber. What Mark saw was, well, it was not a pretty sight.
Mr. House slightly resembled a ghoul, except that the skin was grey, and none of it was hanging loosely. His arms were scrunched up close to his chest. There was some type of helmet with a tube running from it, likely some type of neural interface. There were also two glowing plates with tubes running from them on his midsection, one running to his heart and the other running to his stomach. There was also what looked like metal underpants attached to where his privates were, also with a tube running from it.
"Gotta be honest, House. I was expecting a bit more of a challenge to get down here." House spoke in a raspy, wheezing voice. "Why…why are you…doing this? I…I gave you…ev…everything." Before Mark responded, he took another look at the computer, and severed House's control of the Lucky 38's systems and the Securitrons. "Well, House," Mark said as he removed his helmet, "first I'll answer that question, and then address that statement. You ask why I did this? I did this because you asked me to kill my friends. That is something that I will never do."
"I believed in what you said House, about restoring Vegas and humanity to their former glories. Honestly, I did. It all started to go downhill when you threatened to harm Amata and Abby. It was then that I became a bit more wary of you. Then you asked me to kill Veronica and Christine. That was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. If you wanted me to kill those two, how long would it be before you asked me to kill everyone else? I couldn't let that happen."
"As for giving me everything? What did you give me, exactly? Money? I already had plenty of that. A place to live? Had that, too. Yes, the Presidential Suite is nice, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret, House: I don't care where I live, as long as Amata and Abby are with me. We could live in a radroach-infested shack, and if they were happy, I would be happy, too. Security? Yes, the Securitrons are impressive, but I have the ultimate safehouse in case things got too bad. So, House, you say that you gave me everything? You gave me nothing." "You…you let mere…trivial things…derail the future…of mankind," House wheezed out.
Mark shook his head. "Once again, House, you are wrong. Love, and friendship, those things are not trivial. They make life worth living. You may still be technically human, House, but you lost your humanity a long time ago." Mark grabbed Maria off his left hip. He looked at it and chuckled. "Ironic, isn't it? This whole sequence of events started with two bullets from this very gun. You know, if you want to blame anyone for this, blame Benny. If he hadn't shot me, I would've simply made the delivery and then headed back to Goodsprings. Oh well. What's done is done."
Mark leveled the pistol at House. "Any last words, House?" "May…you burn…in a cold…Tartarus…hell." "Same to you, House. Same to you." Mark put two bullets in House's chest, and the machine that was monitoring House's vitals flatlined. "Huh. So the great Robert House, alive for over two-hundred years, restorer of Vegas, has been felled by a guy who, less than a year ago, left the vault for the very first time in nearly twenty years of life. There's some irony, or something in there, I think." He shrugged, took one last look at House, and then went back to the Penthouse.
The Penthouse was quiet. The alarms had been silenced, and the Securitrons were still. Mark walked back into what was House's office. The computer only displayed 'connection lost.' Part one of his plan was done. Now it was time Part two. He got back on the elevator, and headed down towards the main floor. As the elevator descended, he thought back to a conversation that had taken place on their first night in Vegas.
(Approximately 2 weeks ago)
"Yes Man, what do you know about this Chip?" "Oh, Benny had me look at it a bunch of times. It's a data storage device, kind of like a holotape, but much more advanced! As for what's on it, well… some of Mr. House's transmissions made it sound like the Chip could upgrade his defenses somehow! That's just a guess, though! The Chip's a proprietary format! You'd need special hardware to read the data on it! There are two locations with non-standard hardware on the network- The Lucky 38 and an underground facility at Fortification Hill. I'd look there!" Mark nodded.
"Ok. What was Benny planning to do with the Chip?" "Oh! He wanted to kill Mr. House to copy my neuro-computational matrix onto the Lucky 38's mainframe. That should give me control over all of Mr. House's defenses, most prominently the Securitrons. Then I guess I just do what I'm told!" Mark began to wonder what was up with this Securitron. "Yes Man, why are you not like the other Securitrons? Did Benny reprogram you?" "Oh no! Benny had some help- a lady friend of his! She said something about living in a Fort over in Freeside, but that's all I remember!"
"What did he reprogram you to do?" Mark asked. "Good question! My function is to monitor Mr. House's data network and decode his encrypted transmissions!" "You seem to be very forthcoming with all of this information." Mark was grateful for the information, but it just seemed odd that he was offering all of it freely. "Oh! I was programmed to be helpful and answer any questions that I was asked. I guess nobody bothered to restrict who I answered questions for. That was probably pretty dumb, huh?" "Yes, that was dumb of Benny, for sure."
Mark decided to go with a different line of questioning. "Yes Man, do you know anything about that courier that Benny shot?" Mark figured that if Yes Man worked with Benny, he would know about it. Yes Man sounded proud of himself. "I know that he was carrying the Platinum Chip, and I knew right where Benny should wait for him! That's why Benny put me here. To monitor Mr. House's data transmissions. They're encrypted, but I am quite the decryptor."
"Did you know that Mr. House spent 812,545 caps hiring salvage teams to find the Platinum Chip-in the last year alone? Of course you didn't! Or that there were seven couriers, but six of them were carrying junk? How about their exact routes? I knew all of that. Pretty smart, huh?" Mark rubbed his scar. "Yes, that was very smart, Yes Man. The thing is, I'm the courier that Benny shot." Yes Man laughed. "Hahaha, I know that's not true, because you still have a head!"
"I'm serious, Yes Man. The scar on my head is the result of those bullets." "That's not funny, you getting shot in the head," Yes Man said, still laughing, although it conveyed a sense of guilt, kind of. "No, it's not, but I'm alive, so…" He trailed off and checked the time, realizing he needed to get back to the others. He put the Chip in his jacket, and then asked Yes Man one final question.
"Yes Man, just out of curiosity, let's say that I wanted to take over Vegas myself. What then?" "Then I'd have to help you! I mean, it seems pretty obvious that Benny wouldn't have wanted me to, but hey, it's not my fault that I can't say no!" Mark smiled. "Thank you, Yes Man. I need to depart, but I may be in contact." "Oh, I can't wait! And I'm not just saying that because I have to!" Mark chuckled, and then departed the room.
(Present Day)
He had kept his conversation with Yes Man to himself. He hadn't even told Amata, just in case House got wind of it and did something drastic. He had never anticipated using that information, at least not until House had threatened Amata and Abby. That was when he seriously began contemplating actually finishing the plan that Benny had started. What he needed to do now was somehow get Yes Man down from Benny's room without anyone noticing.
As he approached the Tops, he was shocked when he found the exact Securitron he was looking for standing outside the building. Mark approached him slowly. "Yes Man? Is that you?" "Oh hey, it's you! Boy it sure has been a while since I've seen you!" "Yes it has, Yes Man. What are you doing down here?" Mark asked, looking around to see if anyone had noticed the odd-looking Securitron. "Oh! Benny gave me strict instructions that if I detected Mr. House ever going off-line, that I was to go outside and wait for him! That order was never counter-manned, so here I am! I've never seen the outside world before! It sure is something, isn't it?"
"Yes Man, listen, I need you to come with me up to the Lucky 38 Penthouse. It's, uh, regarding what we discussed." "Will do! If you want, I can jump into a Securitron right in the Penthouse! Or I can go with you just like this! It's completely up to you!" "Yeah, jump into a Securitron. I'll meet you up there." "Wonderful choice! And I'm not just saying that because I have to!" Yes Man's faced left the Securitron, leaving a normal one in its place. Mark dashed back to the 38 and rode the elevator back to the Penthouse, where he found Yes Man waiting for him.
"Ok, Yes Man," Mark said, "you said that Benny wanted to use the Chip to copy you onto House's mainframe. How exactly would I do that?" "Good question! First, I need to be hard-wired into the mainframe, and once that's done, you need to insert that Platinum Chip, and it will reset administrator privileges. It'll be super easy!" It took Mark about a half-hour, but he eventually wired Yes Man directly into the mainframe. Mark then went to insert the Platinum Chip. "Well, here's goes something."
He put the Chip in, it disappearing into the console. A moment or two later, there was a loud crash as the Securitron that Yes Man was using fell over, his face disappearing from it. Mark waited for a few minutes, getting worried when nothing happened, until he saw Yes Man's face on the giant terminal that once displayed the face of Mr. House. "Wow!" Yes Man said, "Mr. House has quite the setup here! I can access his databanks, and view telemetry on every Securitron on the network!" "So everything went well? Everything uploaded correctly?" Mark asked.
"Yup! Everything is all set and ready to go! This is so exciting!" "Good," Mark said, sighing in relief. He then realized that he needed to call Amata, as the two-hour limit was approaching. "For now, Yes Man, everything is to run normally, as when House was in control. Also, are you able to locate the programming code that makes you answer questions for anyone?" "Let's see…yup! I found it! Nasty little bugger!" "Good," Mark said. "First thing I need you to do is to isolate it. Are you able to self-correct, or does it need to be done manually?"
"Well, now that I'm on the Lucky 38's mainframe, I can do it myself! Isn't that exciting? I'll be going into, well, it's sort of a standby mode for a bit, an hour and forty-two minutes to be exact, so that I can fix it, but don't worry! Everything will run as it should. Mr. House had contingency plans in place to ensure that the Securitrons would act as they normally would, in case something went wrong with his systems!" Mark nodded. "Ok, do it. Once you're done, restrict any question-answering or order-giving to me and my wife, who I will introduce to you later." "You got it!" Yes Man said. "I'll actually be able to refuse to answer something! My circuits are all tingly with anticipation! Going into standby mode in 5…4…3…2…1…"
Yes Man's face disappeared, leaving lines of code running on the screen. With that done, Mark went to contact the others. "Amata, babe, are you there?" "Mark, is that you? Are you okay? What happened? Is it safe to come back now?" Mark chuckled internally. "Yes, it's me. I'm fine, and I'll explain everything when you get back here, okay?" She sounded relieved. "Ok, Mark. We'll see you when we get back. Love you, honey." "I love you too, babe. I'll see you in a bit."
(45 minutes later)
The door to the elevator opened, and Amata, with Abby in her arms, ran into the hallway. "Mark?" she called out. "In the game room," came Mark's response. She walked quickly over to the game room, and saw Mark sitting in one of the chairs, wearing a white t-shirt, khaki shorts, and his combat boots, drinking a beer and listening to music on his pip-boy. As soon as he saw them, he turned the music off, and went to her, meeting her and Abby halfway, giving both of them a hug.
She then looked at him. "Is it done?" Mark nodded. "Yeah, it's done. It was actually a lot easier than I thought, too." He saw the others in the doorway, Boone carrying Mark's bag. "Hey everyone. Why don't we all take a seat, and I'll explain what's going on now." They all sat down, Amata sitting next to Mark with Abby in her lap, Cass sitting behind the bar, and for some reason, Veronica decided to sit cross-legged on the pool table.
"Alright, everyone, so, uh, actually Amata, can you cover Abby's ears?" She did so, with Abby pouting. "Ok, so, obviously, I'm still alive, which means that I've succeeded, and House is dead." "You're serious? House is really dead?" Veronica asked. "Yes, he is. It seems that the Securitrons can't detect anyone under a stealth boy, and I was correct as to where he was. Although, at this point, he was basically a ghoul. Ok, babe, you can remove your hands now." She nodded as she did so.
"So what happens now?" Arcade asked. "Well," Mark said, "right now, the city is being run by an AI named 'Yes Man.' Nothing has changed with how the Securitrons are acting, and any other defenses House had are still active. Essentially, as far as anyone outside of these walls knows, House is still alive, and I'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible." His eyes briefly flicked over to Christine. As far as he knew, she was hardcore Brotherhood, so he didn't know if she would relay this information to them or not. Since she was with Veronica, however, he gave her the benefit of the doubt. "What about Sarah, Mark?" Amata asked. Mark rubbed his chin. "Oh, right. Um, I'll think about that."
"Were did this AI come from?" Arcade asked, continuing his questioning. "Benny had help reprogramming him, and was using him to monitor House's transmissions. I stumbled upon him when I was looking for the Chip on our first night in Vegas. Actually, Arcade, Yes Man said that Benny had help from one of the Followers, a woman if I remember correctly." "Must have been Emily Ortal, then. She's the only one I'm aware of around here that has the knowledge to do that." "Yeah, so this was actually Benny's plan in the first place, to get rid of House, and then put Yes Man on House's network, although I'm sure that Benny had different reasons for doing so."
"Mark," Arcade said "who is in charge of the city, now that House is gone? That is, since I assume that you're not planning to leave it completely to an AI." "I think that's fairly obvious, ya nerd. Our good ol' Captain is in charge now," Cass said. "Yeah," Veronica said with mirth in her eyes, "so what should we call you now? Mr. President? Your Excellency? The Head Honcho? The Big Cheese? The…" "Veronica," Mark said, "I get it. But you won't be calling me any of that, because I have someone else in mind to run the city." There were confused looks directed at him. "Who?" Christine asked.
Mark casually pointed to his right, where Amata was sitting. Even Amata herself was shocked by this turn of events. "Why Amata?" Christine queried. "Because, while I loathe to admit that he actually did something right, her father really did do a pretty good job of grooming her to take over the running of the vault one day. She is a far better choice to run this city than I ever could be." "Mark," Amata said, "I think we need to talk in private." She stood up and plopped Abby onto the chair she was just in. She then walked over to Mark, pulled him off the chair and out of the game room. Mark grabbed his bag on the way by. Once in their room, Mark shut the door behind them.
"Mark, I appreciate the gesture, but you need to be the one running this city, not me." "Babe, this is what you are suited for. Sure, the city is larger than the vault, but the principle is still the same. Besides, I hate playing politics. Today was a prime example of that. You have no idea how many times I got the urge to shoot both Hsu and McLafferty for being idiots. I don't want to deal with any of that crap." Amata sat down, and motioned Mark to do the same.
"First of all, Mark, being Overseer was what I was suited for. I gave that up because I realized that that was not my true calling in life. Despite what you think, you are the one who is suited to run this city. You genuinely care about people, Mark. You did all those things in DC, helped all those people, because it was the right thing to do. It's the same thing out here. You helped out Veronica, Arcade, Cass, and Boone, not because they paid you, or promised you something in return, but because you saw people who needed help, and now those same people are our friends."
"I know that you don't like politics, but look at what you did today. The Followers needed help, and you got them help by convincing the NCR to back you against McLafferty." Mark went to speak, but Amata stopped him. "Look, I know that you're going to say that it was just because you're the Courier or whatever, but I don't believe that. You may not like playing politics, but the fact of the matter is that you are very good at it. Despite what you may think, you are a natural leader. You don't give yourself enough credit, Mark. Everyone here, save for maybe Abby, are here because of you."
"They look to you to be their leader. They believe in you, just like I believe in you. Mark, I have watched you grow from a boy into a man, and I could not be more proud of the man you've become if I tried, and I know that you know that your parents are proud of you, too." She paused. "Mark, do you remember what you said in Goodsprings, when we decided to track down Benny?" "Um, not really, babe. Refresh my memory please." "You told me that going on that hunt felt like it was part of your destiny. Well, your destiny has led you here, Mark."
"You, Mark Franklin" she said poking him in the chest with her finger, "helped shape the Capital Wasteland into a place where people finally have a chance to live in peace. There is no doubt in my mind that you can do the same thing here for Vegas, Freeside, hell, the entire Mojave. You are the one to do it, Mark. You, not me. But like I've said before, I will always be behind you, and I will give you advice," she smirked, "whether you ask for it or not."
Mark smiled and pulled her in for a kiss. "I guess that that old saying is true, that behind every great man-" "-is an even greater woman." Amata finished. Mark chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds about right to me. You are pretty great." "And don't you forget it." There was silence for a few moments, before Mark spoke again. "I think it's time, babe." "Time for what?" Mark stood up and walked over to the framed Revelations quote on the wall. Amata soon joined him.
"I think that it's time to reveal my past. Our past. I'm tired of hiding it. I wanted to keep it hidden because I wanted to be normal, but I've concluded that normalcy will never be in the cards for me. With all of this going on now, I think they all deserve to know the truth. Are you okay with that?" She leaned her head on his right shoulder. "Yeah, I'm fine with it. Besides, it will give them even more reasons to believe in you as a leader. Now come on, Mister Lone Wanderer, let's go tell our friends who you really are so that they may bask in the glow of your sheer awesomeness." They both laughed as Mark took the quote off the wall and put it in his bag. He also took the metal briefcase from under their bed and put it in his bag as well. "I think that Sarah needs to hear about this, too. She is family, after all." Amata nodded, and they both left the room hand-in-hand.
They stopped in the doorway of the game room, and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at them. "Ok," Mark said, "Amata and I have talked. We agreed that I will be in charge of the city. However, I would like you all to be a council of sorts to me. I have no desire to be any type of dictator. "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," is a saying that comes mind. I have seen far too many times what happens when people in power are left unchecked." Mark winked at Amata at that, and Amata sent a mock glare back at him.
"So, what you're suggesting is something more along the lines of an oligarchy," Arcade said. "Yes, Arcade, that is exactly what I am suggesting." "An' what exactly is an oli- whatever tha hell ya just said?" Cass asked. "Cass! Language!" Amata chastised. "Sorry, 'Mata. Answer tha question, doc." "Well," Arcade said, "an oligarchy is a form of government in which the power rests with a small group of people, rather than just one person, which is the definition of a dictatorship, which is what the Legion is, and House was." "Thanks, doc," Cass said. She then looked at Mark a smirk on her face. "So, does that mean we can smack ya if yer bein' an idiot?"
Mark chuckled. "Yes, Cass, in a nutshell, that is what it means." There was silence for a few moments before Arcade spoke again. "The king is dead; long live the king!" the Followers doctor proclaimed. Mark groaned as everyone else laughed. "All hail tha king!" Cass joked, raising a glass of whiskey in a toast. Abby got off the pool table and ran up to Mark, who picked her up. "Are you really a king, daddy?" "No, Abby, I'm not a king. Auntie Cass and Mr. Arcade were trying to be funny." "Hey, I thought it was funny," Veronica said.
"Yes, well, if all of you comedians will follow me, we have something we need to discuss." "Why can't we just do that here?" Christine asked. "Because," Mark said, "my sister needs to hear this as well, and she won't leave the vault, so we need to go over there." Mark and Amata turned and left the room with Abby, leaving the others looking at each other with curious glances, except for Boone, that is.
The sun was setting as the group made their way towards Vault 21. As they walked in, they saw Sarah conversing with a Caucasian man with short black hair, also wearing a blue jumpsuit. Sarah's face lit up when she saw Mark and Amata. She ran over and gave the two of them a hug. "Mark! Amata! What a wonderful surprise! I thought that I wouldn't be seeing you for a couple of days." "We're here to make good on our promise," Mark answered. "Oh goody! I can't wait!" She then saw Abby in between Mark and Amata. "Mark, is this my niece?" Mark grinned. "Yup. Sarah, say hi to your niece, Abigail Celeste Fields. Abby, say hi to my sister, your Auntie Sarah."
Sarah kneeled down and pulled Abby into a crushing hug. "Hi, Abby! It is so wonderful to meet you! You are so adorable!" "Are you really my daddy's sister?" Abby asked. "I sure am, Abby. It was a surprise for sure, but it was a wonderful surprise." "Uh, Sarah," Mark said, "is there somewhere we can talk in private?" Sarah stood back up. She looked disappointed. "Mark, I'm sorry, I just remembered that I'm supposed to watch the front desk now." Mark looked over at the guy who Sarah had been talking to, and then back to Sarah. "Is that the guy you're taking over for?" "Yeah, that's Mikey."
Mark walked over to the man. "Mikey, how many caps do you earn during your shift?" "Fifty. What's it to you?" Mark put his bag on the desk and opened it up. He took out a small bag. "Well, Mikey, I need to borrow my sister for a little while. I'll give you a hundred caps right now to keep watching the desk." Mikey thought it over. "Hundred-fifty," he said. "Hundred-twenty," Mark countered. "Hundred-thirty," Mikey said. Mark nodded. "Deal." He counted out the caps and gave them to him. "Pleasure doing business with you, Mikey." Mark then turned back to Sarah. "Now, Sarah, I'll ask again, is there any place we can speak in private?"
"Um, there is an old conference room on the next level down. Will that work?" "That'll be fine, Sarah. Please lead on." The conference room they entered was spartan in nature, only having a long wooden table with a projector on it, and metal chairs surrounding it. Everyone moved towards a seat. "Mark, what about Abby?" Amata whispered to him. "She can stay. I think that she needs to hear this as well." Amata looked pensive, but nodded. Amata squatted down and spoke to Abby quietly. "Abby, you're going to hear some things that may sound scary, but I need you to remember that your daddy is here and safe, okay?" Abby looked curiously at the two of them, and then nodded. "Ok."
Mark sat down at the head of the table, with Abby sitting in Amata's lap to his right. "Ok. Couple things before we start. Sarah, that woman next to Veronica is Christine Royce, Veronica's girlfriend, and the guy in the white jacket is our friend Arcade Gannon, a doctor for the Followers. Christine, Arcade, this is my sister, Sarah Weintraub." They all exchanged pleasantries. "Good. Second thing. Sarah, I know we promised that we would tell you about our lives in the vault, and you will hear that, plus a lot more." He then opened his bag, took out the framed Revelations quote, and propped it up against the projector so the others could see it. He then began to speak.
"I am Alpha and Omega. The Beginning and the End. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Revelations 21:6." He paused for a moment. "Twenty-seven words from an old-world religious text. Twenty-seven words that have been ingrained in my mind by my father since I was old enough to understand English. For most of my life, I was told one reason as to why he liked it so much. The real reason that he liked it, however, only became known to me within the past year, when the words took on a very literal quality. This passage has been one of the few constants in my life. A life that all of you have been curious about. One that myself and Amata have mostly kept hidden."
"I am…a child of two worlds, you could say. The one I thought I was born into, and the one I was actually born into. Veronica, Cass, I know that you have both heard stories about some heroic figure who came out of a vault in DC, one whom they called the "Lone Wanderer." I'm not sure what, if anything, the rest of you have heard about that, since rumors tend to get twisted and exaggerated. Well, I am here to set the record straight." He looked at Amata, who gave him an encouraging smile. The others bore looks of curiosity, except for Veronica, who smirked at him, likely knowing what he was about to say. He sighed, and decided to just get it out there.
"I am that heroic figure. I am the Lone Wanderer."
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. So, the truth is finally out there, at least partially. Mark and Amata's full explanation of their lives will come in the next chapter. I briefly thought about including it in this chapter, but I figured that this was a good stopping point, and because it would have made this chapter far longer than I am comfortable with. This chapter is over 7,000 words as it is. And before I get any reviews saying that the killing of House seemed too easy, I am aware of that fact, so you don't need to tell me. I borrowed the method from another story that I can't remember the name of. I liked the idea, so I went with it. Just wanted to get that out there. Until next time, and reviews are welcomed and appreciated.