The Cure For Curie (Complete!)

A Valentine for a Secretary

Laser shots rang in his ears as he ran. His chest burned for rest. There was yelling behind him but he wasn't looking back, wasn't stopping for anything. He had to get back to Hangman's Alley, but he had to shake the Brotherhood of Steel first.

He was desperately looking for place to hide, to lose them. He wished for a Stealth boy more than anything at that moment. He just needed to keep running. Slipping through alley ways, dodging patrols, and clamoring through crumbled buildings, he thought he might have finally thrown them off.

He paused for a moment against the side of a brick building, catching his breath. John looked around a moment trying to find his bearings. He wasn't exactly sure where he was. He could smell the overwhelming stench of the river though, flooding his nostrils. No. He couldn't have gotten that far, could he?

The Sole Survivor moved around the side of the building. An ancient sign painted with the words 'Backstreet Apparel' caught his eye. The words were faint and the paint had long been chipping off, but he was sure. A look around to the front confirmed his thoughts. He could see the water of the wide river standing before him.

He remembered being here before. He had wiped an encampment of raiders out of this place years ago. He hoped it had remained empty, he hadn't any strength left to tangle with raiders. Something more concerning caught his eye though, a boat bobbing along the river bank. He thought for a moment that it looked familiar.

He looked over the railing lining the river for a better look at the boat. 'Liberty Primed', there it was painted in green on the side. He had painted those words. If the boat was here that meant something had gone wrong at Castle. He needed now more than ever to get back to Hangman's Alley to gather any news he could about what happened. He needed to find a provisioner, a Minutemen spy, to tell him what happened. He also desperately needed to find the occupants of that boat. Curie could be in trouble, or worse. Without a second thought, the Sole Survivor turned on his heels and ran as fast as he could back to camp.

It had taken John much longer than he had wanted to reach Hangman's Alley. He burst through the gate, breathless. Piper raised her gun towards the racket, checking for the intruder. She lowered her weapon and joined him at the front of the camp.

"Jesus Blue, where have you been?" Piper asked worried.

"Provisioner." Was all he could manage before collapsing in a heap on the dirt.

"Yeah a few came through. They had some pretty dire news about Castle."

"What did they say? Piper make it quick. It's urgent."

"They all had the same story. Castle was attacked by the Brotherhood of Steel. Some survivors made it out before all the fighting. Said the soldiers were dressed as traders. They slaughtered everyone they could find. I'm so sorry, Blue."

"Where's Curie and Shaun?"

Piper almost winced at the mention of her name. He could tell by the look on her face that she was holding something back. He stood from the ground and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Please Piper. I need to know."

"They're fine. Curie and the others are holed up in Jamaica Plain towards the south."

"Good. I'm glad they made it out. How's Ellie doing? Has she told you where Nick is?"

"Not yet. She wanted to wait until you returned."

John nodded as he turned to make his way across the camp. He found Ellie curled up in a blue patio chair in front of a cooking fire. She smiled when she saw him approach. She stood and embraced the man once more, happy for her freedom.

"Thank you again, John. I honestly thought I would die in there."

"It's okay. You're safe now. The Minutemen and I plan to end this war but we really need Nick's help. You do know where he is, right?"

"Yes. I'm afraid he might not be much help though."

"Why? Ellie what's happened?"

The secretary turned from his questioning eyes. She put her arms around her chest, hugging herself tight. She whispered something that John couldn't make out.

"Please, what's going on?"

"I'm not even sure he's alive anymore." She said only slightly louder.

"What? Last I heard, he went off to some island on a missing persons case."

"That's true. A man needed help locating his daughter on an island called Far Harbor. He found the girl in a synth compound. They had convinced the poor woman she was a synth.

"Nick had been sending communication through Mr. Nakano, the missing girl's father. They had a high powered radio that Nick was using. When he hadn't radioed in for a while I began to get worried.

"I tried to send word to you to help find him but you had gone underground, the war between the Brotherhood just really starting to kick off. I had to use other means."

"Ellie, what happened to Nick?"

John knew the story was growing harder to recount but time was not on their side. He had to press her a little bit if he was to get any answers. She avoided his eyes. He sat her back down in the patio chair and moved to pull another up beside her. She closed her eyes a moment, holding back the tears that were surly there. Finally, she could continue:

"I found a mercenary in Diamond City that was willing to work with me. It had taken the man two full weeks before he could find Nick and bring him home.

"The man had placed a box in my hands and demanded the money owed for returning him. I didn't understand what he meant until I lifted open the lid."

The Sole Survivor put his arm around the poor woman, rubbing gently on her back. Assuring her that she was strong enough to get through it all. That he would do all he could to help.

"What was in the box?" John asked already knowing the answer. He needed to hear it out loud. He needed it to be real, for both their sakes.

"Nick was in the box. Some of him anyways. His head, hat still on it. His eyes staring up blankly at me, no sign of him in them anymore. His head sitting delicately on top of his jacket folded neatly underneath."

John would surely mourn the passing of his dear friend. He felt worse for Ellie though. Those two had been a package deal. He knew the feelings of love and devotion would be hard for her to heal from.

"Jamaica Plain." Piper spoke up from behind them.

"What?" John asked.

"Ellie, do you still have the box?" The woman nodded but said nothing. "Good."

"Piper, what is it? What are you thinking?"

"Jamaica Plain, the settlement took in a bunch of those scientists from the Institute, remember? Maybe one of them can help Valentine?"

"You think so?" Ellie asked hopeful.

"It's worth a shot." John said.