Fallout 4: AR

50. Rogue Asset

He walked determinedly down the nearly sterile hallways, swiftly passing a crossroad junction lined with a colored bar. I noticed the color shift from dark gray to red at the junction, continuing on to the next branch. Other people, I couldn't tell if they were human or Synth, stopped to let my abductor pass without interfering. He crossed straight through a central cataract, a beautiful circular atrium of flowing water and lush green vegetation, into an automatic door framed in blue on the opposite side. The area beyond was sparsely populated with people- scientists, based on the blue-trimmed lab coats. Striding confidently into the very back room, he slung me off his shoulders into a firm restraining hold to present me to a slim Asian lady in a lab coat who looked very surprised.

"X6-88?" she said in an aggrieved tone. "What is the meaning of this? Why are you here? Who is this?"

"Dr. Li," he said in a completely expressionless voice, "I have retrieved our rogue asset. Father will be most interested in her."

"Let me go!" I yelled, having gotten my breath back. My arms were held fast in his wickedly strong grasp. I tried to kick him, but he was too quick. "You have no right to hold me like this!"

X6-88 grasped my neck in one large, strong hand, exerting just enough pressure to my carotid to cause me to gray out, barely holding on to consciousness. "I suggest you restrain her while in the examination room."

"Fine..." she snapped, her voice tight with fury. She might have had more to say, but the grip on my neck tightened just a fraction further and the world faded to black.

-0-

The next thing I remembered was fighting back into full awareness in a cool, sterile while room. I was firmly but not painfully strapped to an examination gurney, draped in a clean white sheet. In fact, I too was clean, scrubbed to the point of exfoliation. A white hospital gown covered my modesty, and I looked around the room to get my bearings.

The room itself was bordered in ceiling-high computer equipment, additional diagnostic machines neatly lined up against one wall. A cluster of examination lights glowed overhead, currently dimmed to a gentle ambiance. A wheeled metal cart stood in the corner, loaded with my pack and neatly folded clean leather jacket. I almost missed the Courser standing guard in the corner next to the cart, he was so still and his black uniform blended almost perfectly with the shadows. When he noticed me looking at him, he gave me a stiffly silent nod of acknowledgment and I tensed in reaction. Why am I here? Why is he still here? What's going on?

The scientist, Dr. Li I recalled, entered the room, gesturing sharply to my silent watcher. "I'll take it from here, X6. You are dismissed." She stood with her arms crossed, annoyance and impatience written in every line of her form until the Courser bowed slightly to her and departed. Only then did she turn and approach the gurney, extending a small hand scanner. "As if I didn't have enough to do," she grumbled.

Well excuse me for being kidnapped and brought here against my will, I thought sarcastically. "You could always let me go, you know." I said hopefully.

Dr. Li snorted, not deigning to respond at first. She very thoroughly scanned my entire body, the tool in her hands whirring and beeping in turns as she fiddled with the controls. "I am sorry, but no," she finally replied, a little reluctantly. "You and that rather special device on your arm were supposed to have arrived here several months ago, but something went wrong and you were assumed lost to us, a very essential rogue asset. Now that you're finally here, we can move forward with our program. Father will be very pleased to meet you at last."

I flexed my arms and legs, testing the restraints. "Um, aren't you forgetting something?" Damn, these are secure. I can barely move my hands.

"No, I don't think so." She extended the interface cable on my Pip-Boy, attaching it to one of the computer banks. A light electrical buzz whispered along my body, an almost invigorating feeling compared to the Brotherhood's examination techniques. "Ah, there we go. You need to be awake for this. Just lie still." Her manner was one of assumption that I belonged to these people, and it made me angry. No fear, just anger.

"I don't want to be here! Your Courser abducted me!" I wish RJ was here. He'd get me out of these restraints in no time. My chest contracted at the thought of my partner, and I had to fight to keep from breaking down. "Why won't you let me go?"

Li pointed to the Pip-Boy on my arm. "You put that on, didn't you?" She didn't bother to wait for my answer. "Wearing the Pip-Boy indicates consent to the terms of the contract." Ignoring my confused spluttering, she confirmed my bindings were still secure and left the room, taking the handheld scanner with her.

"Wait, what?" I struggled in vain to free myself, craning my neck to try and catch a glimpse of her. Only the slight whir of machinery answered me. "Hey, come back! What contract?!"

I wracked my brain, trying to remember. There was the chest, yes. Inside was the letter, nothing about a contract there. What else? It's been so long since that night. Closing my eyes to try and remember, all I could call up was the vision of a warm, lean form, a pair of crystal blue eyes, thick brown hair, and a sly smile framed by a sparse goatee. That's not helping, I sighed sadly. "Oh, RJ..."

No. I need to concentrate. The cathodes, yes. Pip-Boy in a box. Instruction manual... and a bunch of other papers. Oh no! I remembered setting aside a small packet of papers in my eagerness to open the box. Was it in there?

What does it matter? I thought angrily. I was transported without my knowledge or consent. My very body invaded by foreign technology. I'm currently being held against my will! This 'contract' excuse is pure bullshit.

Raising my voice, I yelled out, "You have no right to keep me here! No contract on Earth allows you to do any of what's been happening to me!" When that was met with silence, I continued in a futile effort. "What about breaking your contract? I paid for a goddamn virtual game, not this reality of pain and blood!" Taking a final deep breath, I shrieked, angry tears washing out my vision, "You owe me answers, dammit!"

When I blinked the moisture from my eyes, a tall, dignified-looking older man stood before me. His hair and neat beard were steel gray, face only lightly lined with age at odds with his demeanor. He was wearing a pristine lab coat, opened to reveal a green knitted sweater underneath. Smiling gently, he nevertheless gazed intently at me with a covetous expression I didn't quite trust. His voice when he spoke was kind, but I was in no mood to be soothed.

"If you're looking for answers. I think I can help." He patted my hand, an action that should have been comforting. "I am the Director of the Institute. Call me 'Father'; it's kind of an ...honorary title."