I AM EXODUS

That didn’t sound so bad, up until the part where she listed all of a Courser’s additional augmentations. It made things considerably more complicated if they wouldn’t even bleed properly. Not very good sports, these assholes. Still, anything could break. Just had to be clever about it.

He stifled a humorless chuckle. “All in the day’s work, huh?”

With a few looks back and forth between her device and his, he replicated her settings, tuning to the same frequency. It gave him time to mull over everything she’d said. Whatever her personal beef with the Institute was didn’t interest him much. Always the same story, everywhere. If it wasn’t the Institute, it was mutants, ferals, raiders, gunners, a neighbor… The circle of violence would keep on spinning regardless. No, it was what she’d said about what they were looking for here that tickled him. Just something about the way she’d said it. Sounded a lot like she knew exactly what it was. Man, it’d better be good, what with all the Institute attention it got.

“Look,” He clipped the asshole-radar in place. “You’re the expert, and you’re the boss. I won’t presume to tell you how to handle the situation, but if you don’t mind hearing a layman’s perspective… Seems to me that instead of hoping we don’t run into this fucker and get taken by surprise, we ought to verify if there really is one, then draw ‘em out in the open and line up a headshot. That way it’ll be on our terms, and whatever advantage there is to be had will be ours.”

Nixon was busy looking out on the old university grounds below when Rick spoke. As a whole, the plan he suggested sounded like their best option. If they were only up against first and second generation synths, she would have agreed with him, wholeheartedly. The crease on her brow, and how tightly they were knit together, was a clear indication that she wasn’t entirely sold on the idea.

“I don’t know, Rick. I don’t like it,” she admitted eventually and turned towards him. “If this had been... literally anyone or anything else, I’d say we go for it, but,” she gently shook her head and raised her hands slightly for emphasis. “What has me worried is that he can - and most likely will, considering all the heat they’re bringing in on this - call in reinforcements when he knows we’re here. That means there will be more synths we’ll have to fight our way through just to get to him, and by then there is no.. tactical advantage or element of surprise to be had,” she explained while leaning on the edge of the table where she kept her gear. It was clear that she was mulling something over, judging by the somewhat distant look on her face and the way her fingers idly drummed against the table top.

No explicit NSFW, but some could be interpreted that way. Alter as necessary!

SOFT

“Your hands are so warm.”

“Ah, that feels good…”

“Wait… are you braiding my hair?”

“Is it okay if I lean on you?”

“Just hold me for awhile. Please.”

“You don’t mind me touching you there, right?”

“Oh! I didn’t mean to fall asleep leaning on you.”

“Don’t stop stroking my hair…”

“Be gentle with me.”

“Y’know, I could go for a back rub right now. Just saying.”

“Please… Kiss me, even if it’s just this once.”

“I bet I’m strong enough to pick you up.”

“Can I use your lap as a pillow?”

“Touch me. I don’t care how. I just need to feel something right now…”

“I could kiss you all over.”

“That tickles!”

“Mind washing my back for me?”

“I didn’t know you were the cuddling type.”

“I love how soft your lips are.”

“Don’t get up just yet, I’ll miss having you next to me.”

“No one’s kissed me like that in a long time.”

ROUGH

“Ow! That fucking hurt!”

“Keep talking, and I’ll seriously slap the shit out of you.”

“You stepped on my foot!”

“Did you do that on purpose?”

“Please be more gentle next time…”

“Don’t squeeze so tight!”

“Hey, don’t touch me there. It hurts.”

“Did you just bite me?!”

“Next time I’ll hit you like I mean it.”

“Is that the best you’ve got?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I’ll make you bleed.”

“You really can’t take a hit, can you?”

“Hey!! What was that for?!”

“Shit, are you crying? I didn’t mean to do it that hard.”

“That stung a little. Go easy on me next time.”

“Don’t tell me you can’t handle a little sparring.”

“You almost knocked me over!”

“I won’t stop until I hear you scream.”

“That’s gonna leave a bruise…”

Good. Quiet was good. For now, at least. If security proved too tight to slip through, they’d need some kind of ruckus to draw away the bulk of the Institute’s drudges. Wouldn’t be the first time he herded a pack of ferals or lured a yao guai into a target’s camp. Dangerous, but effective most of the time. Not sure if those toasters on legs below would care one way or another.

He followed her up the stairs and shook his head. No, he hadn’t encountered a courser before. Far as he knew, anyway. He had to admit, he was goddamn curious now, for the way people spoke of them. Foolhardy of him, maybe, but you had to be a little bit mad to make it in this line of work.

He put his backpack down against a wall, and was about to get his gear out, when he gave him two pieces of some kind of… communicator? He frowned, but took the two parts and examined them while she explained their purpose. He still frowned, when he lifted his gaze from the device to her eyes, looking for something to read in them, some sign of deception – or worse; sincerity. What he saw looked a lot like the latter. Well, shit.

“You know an awful lot about things that, up until this afternoon, were just a rumor to me. This your specialty? Hunting Institute operators?”

And there it was, the question she’d rather not answer. Well, one of them, anyway. “It a bit more complicated than that, but I suppose it is? Typically I go after lone operators, but this is too big to turn the other cheek to. Whatever they’re looking for here is something I’m not willing to let them have,” she replied with a quick shrug. “I’ve...” she hesitated for a second, “The Institute took... killed, someone very dear to me, now I do everything I can to stop them from doing the same to others.” She was certain he cared very little for her motivations sos he tried to keep it short and need-to-know only. 

With the communicator turned into the right signal she clasped the device to her belt and hung the cord for the earpiece behind her neck. “Another thing,” she held up a finger for emphasis, “I hope we don’t run into him, but if we do? Don’t waste your bullets by shooting at the body. At worst he won’t even feel it, and at best it will just slow him down. A clean headshot is the best way to take them down.” she paused briefly to let this new information sink in, leaning on the table in the corner and crossed her arms as she looked over at him. 

“Agreed.” He inclined his head, and took his caps. Hah, if only every job negotiation went as smoothly as this. People fucking well knew the work he did came with a price tag, and yet there’d always be assholes thinking they could cut costs, wriggle out of an advance, pressure him… The fact that she’d pulled none of that shit, strengthened his suspicion that she had to be in the business herself. Maybe not freelance. Maybe she worked for Stockton’s people exclusively, but only another merc would know what it was really like, and make the offer accordingly. It boded well, at least, for their cooperation.

He didn’t leave for the Fens right away. A number of supplies he could get in Bunker Hill just as easily, at a better price. He browsed the market, and kept half an eye on Nixon while she talked with Stockton. When she left, he went to have a brief chat with the old man, himself. Once he had his confirmation, it was on to Diamond City to stock up on a last few harder-to-come-by supplies and to get his gear out of storage.

There was still daylight left to waste when he came up to the old university grounds. He recognized the building Nixon had mentioned, circled around, staying low and staying on the periphery, until he found the way in. He sneaked in and began to make his way up. The sound of light footsteps stopped him in his tracks, hand over his pistol grip, but it was only Nixon come to meet him halfway. He gave her a nod.

“To the best of my estimation,” he replied, “How’ve things been, here?”

In truth, not much had happened since she arrived, and she told him as much. “It’s been quiet, if you look away from guard rotation and such,” she said, stepping out of the way to let Rick up the stairs

Leading the way up to the top floor, Nixon looked over her shoulder when she talked to him. “Have you encountered a courser before?” She asked him, “If you haven’t.. Actually, even if you have, there are a few things you should know before we go any closer.” Nixon paused talking briefly when they reached the top floor, going to fetch a small device from a table she had used to organize her own stuff. “I hope you don’t mind, but I got you something,” she held the device out towards him, accompanied by a single earpiece. The thing looked like the love child between a ham radio and a walkie-talkie, and that was pretty much exactly what it was.

“Yeah…” He mumbled, preoccupied, peering at the image she indicated. Some old photograph. He memorized the building’s distinguishing features so he might recognize what was left of it when he arrived.

“I’ll need to pick up my gear in Diamond City.“ A bit of a detour from Bunker Hill. If she wasn’t going his way, it might be better to meet up on site. He closed the journal, and handed it back to her.

“I’ll want an advance. Twenty percent, to go towards supplies. The old university is… what? Some five miles from here? Seven, going over Diamond City. I can meet you at this cafeteria by sundown, provided you trust me not to run off and disappear with my twenty percent.”

Diamond City was the opposite way of where she needed to go, which was back to HQ to fetch some of Tom's gadgets and restock her own supplies, meaning it was best to meet up at University Point. "I'll meet you there at sundown, then," She took the journal from him and nodded her head as she swapped the journal for an old lunch box.

"There's three-fifty in here. I was going to offer you a grand for the job, so it's a bit more than twenty percent, but seeing as it's going towards your gear and supplies, it seems only fair. Besides, I doubt you would get many recommendations if you ran off with people's money," she cut herself off to keep from rambling, holding the box out towards him. The tin didn't rattle much, but that was only because Nixon had already stacked the caps in neat rows of twenty to make room for them all, filling it to the brim.

"I've got to talk to Stockton before I go, but I'll see you in a few hours?" She took a tentative step back, waiting for him to confirm what she said before she offered him a small smile and a wave, and headed in the direction of Stockton's shop.

-

Nixon had arrived first, setting up a makeshift camp on the top floor in one of the abandoned rooms. While at HQ she hadn't spoken to anyone, just zipped in, grabbed her stuff, and zipped out before none was the wiser.

Now that she was waiting on Rick she took a moment to put the ballistics vest on - courtesy of a Tinker Tom, now also an energy absorbing vest. The vest bore old BPD badges and had Police written on the back of it, not that it was visible from under her jacket. She had strapped two stealth boys to her lower back, and a small device to her right hip. Every now and then she'd peek out one of the Windows to see if she could spot Rick, and when she finally did, Nixon began jogging down the stairs to meet him.

So long as it was eminently clear that he’d get paid to help her reach the server room in one piece; not to retrieve whatever she hoped to find in there. It wouldn’t be the first time a client got forgetful about the exact terms of his payment when a site didn’t prove out as expected. She didn’t seem the type, though, and a brief chat with Stockton should put all doubts to rest, if she was who she claimed she was.

“Fair enough.”

He leafed through a couple more pages, nodding some more just to himself. He’d need to stock up. Explosives, additional ammunition. He’d need to make a stop in Diamond City, get his gear. Body armor wouldn’t go amiss. Best to pack for a worst case scenario. It sounded like she wouldn’t be hiring help if it wasn’t a shit show already.

“I propose we set up shop somewhere with a vantage point. I want to see this mess with my own eyes, take the time to familiarize myself with the defenses and observe the routines.”

She looked from his face to the pages a couple of times before he started talking again. Nixon nodded, “I agree,” she said. “There’s an entrance on the southern side. A literal hole in the wall, really, but it leads to the old cafeteria where you can see the whole university from the top floor. Last time I was there nobody had touched the building and the doors were still locked. It’s far enough away to keep us safe as well. They won’t see us up there,” she explained, motioning to a building in a picture stapled to one of the pages.