It's the End of the World

Chapter 32

"Okay, you can come in now."

Doctor Chase nodded to me. I shifted my weight and followed her into the room. She spoke as she led me to Deacon's bed. When he saw me, he sat up as much as he could.

"He's lucky, it was only skin deep. We removed all of the shot we could find. He should make a full recovery. Although I do recommend cautio-"

I ran forward and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Ow!"

I pulled back quickly, remembering he still had fresh wounds.

"I'm sorry!"

"Good news, boss. I didn't die!"

I laughed and shook my head.

"I would have killed you if you died on me."

I kissed him on the forehead, then turned back to Doctor Chase.

"And what about the other me?"

"She's in critical condition. The parts she needs replaced, well, we simply don't have them on hand."

I shook my head. I knew there was something that could be done.

"If I get you the parts, can you fix her?"

"Well, yes. But where would you get them? As an older Gen, it'll be next to impossible to find parts anywhere. Especially with the Institute gone."

"Leave that to me."

...

I came back about two hours later, with a bin full of synth parts. I set it in front of Chase.

"Will these work?"

Chase inspected them, then nodded.

"Where did you get them?"

"Believe me when I say, you don't want to know."

She looked at me, her expression concerned. Her gaze went back to the parts in front of her. She picked one up and looked it over carefully. As she set it back down, she shook her head in disbelief.

"No. You didn't."

"It's too late for him. It isn't for her."

I looked her in the eyes as I waited for her decision. She sighed, nodding slightly .

"I suppose you may have a point. Who else knows?"

I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Kasumi. She took the parts out. No one else knows where they came from."

Chase looked over at the synth laying still on the bed beside her.

"I can take care of this. Go spend some time with Deacon. I can only imagine how much of a toll this lifestyle must have on you two."

I nodded my thanks to her as I left her to her work. I did want to spend time with Deacon, but there was something else I needed to take care of.

I took the stairs down to the boiler room where Kasumi was working.

"Kasumi."

"Yeah? What else can I do for you?"

I leaned against the wall as I looked down at the talented mechanic.

"I need you to make DiMa presentable. No one else can know we took the parts from him. Can you do that?"

She nodded.

"I can."

"And one more thing."

Kasumi looked at me expectantly for me to continue.

"Thank you for all you've done. It means a lot to me, that you trusted me even when I had a task that seemed to have an ulterior motive."

She smiled a bit.

"I figured there must have been a reason for it. I'll have DiMa ready in half an hour."

"Thank you. I'll be in the infirmary."

I left the boiler room and made my way back upstairs. I reached Deacon's room, only to find the door was closed. I decided to knock anyway.

"Door's open."

I pushed the door open and walked in.

"How're you feeling?"

I asked as I took a seat on the edge of Deacon's bed.

"Like someone decided to use me for target practice."

I smirked.

"It can't be that bad if you're still cracking jokes."

Deacon leaned back into the pillows with a grin.

"I'll live. But for now, I'm milking this for everything it's worth. You think they've got any Proust here?"

He glanced around the room, searching for a magazine rack.

"I can ask around."

"Thanks. In all seriousness, how's alternate you?"

"I found parts for her to be repaired with. Unfortunately, they came at a cost."

Deacon furrowed his brow.

"What happened?"

I took a breath, wondering how much to tell him. I decided he deserved the truth.

"DiMa was badly damaged in the battle. So was my synth self. They were both damaged in different ways. Since they're the same gen, they use the same parts. So it came down to a decision of which one to bring back."

"And you chose-"

"To use DiMa's parts. Yes."

"That's a lot to take in, boss."

I nodded.

"I know. It wasn't easy. But I didn't have time to consult others on it. I went with my gut."

Deacon placed his hand on mine.

"I'm sure you made the right call. DiMa wasn't perfect. He had his secrets. And they weren't exactly your everyday gossip kind of secrets either."

I looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"When I was here before, I overheard DiMa and Faraday talking. They were planning to wipe out Far Harbor with nuclear codes DiMa had stored away."

I widened my eyes.

"He was going to destroy the town... I guess that means I did make the right choice."

"Your instincts are spot on, boss."

I nodded slowly, considering what steps to take next.

"With DiMa gone, they'll want a new leader. We have to break the news of DiMa, and make sure a fight over leadership doesn't break out."

"Actually, I think I have an idea of what to do. Do you trust me?"

I paused. Of course, I trust him. But that doesn't mean he always had the best ideas. 

"Yes. I trust you."