Fallout: Rise of the Lone Wanderer: Book One

by M. P. Pubs

  Marcus didn't like the idea of facing the Overseer with his guns holstered, but Amata's touch and the look in her eyes changed his mind. "Alright...as long as he's civil."

  Holding hands, Marcus and Amata followed the rebels into the passageway.

  The Overseer appeared inside the entrance to the medical wing, flanked by four of his security officers: Gomez, Taylor, John Kendall, and Wilkins who took over as Chief of Security after Hannon's death. The rebels stood about fifteen feet down the passageway, and a small stand-off ensued. Marcus and Amata made their way through the crowd until they were standing at the front of it.

  The sight of Amata's arm around Marcus made Alphonse's blood boil. "So it's true. You have returned. Done with the dust and ruins of the Wasteland, are you? Given up looking for daddy? Thought you could just slink back in, like a teen missing curfew? Well that's too bad. You have no future in this Vault."

  Marcus was not about to be intimidated. "I'm here to stop your madness, Alphonse."

  "That's Overseer to you, punk!" Officer Wilkins spat out.

  Marcus stared at the Vault's new head of security. Wilkins was always a hard-ass, and could be as bad, if not worst, then Chief Hannon. The Overseer continued. "Madness! You mean the madness you and your father started the day you tried to destroy this Vault?"

  "Father you know that's not true! Marcus' dad didn't leave to destroy the Vault, he left because..."

  "And you young lady," the Overseer pointed his finger at her, "I cannot believe you have betrayed me like this! For him!"

  "I didn't betray you, father. You betrayed the people of this Vault by..."

  "I AM NOT HERE TO DEBATE WITH YOU!"

  Her father's outburst sent a chill up Amata's spine, and Marcus pulled her behind him.

  "Now I have tolerated your insolents long enough!" the Overseer yelled. "I chalked it up to a case of 'teenage rebellion', but by aligning yourself with him you have gone too far!" He pointed at Marcus. "Look at him! He has been tainted by the Wasteland. Oh he may wear the number 101 on his back, but he is no longer a member of this community. In fact, he never was one of us."

  Marcus tensed up after that last part of Alphonse's rant, and everyone, even Amata, began looking at him. The Overseer noticed this immediately and smirked. "What's the matter? You never mentioned that to my daughter during your meetings?" He spit the last part out. "The truth is he was not born in this Vault, he was born out there! In the filth of the Wasteland!"

  Murmurs could be heard among the rebels, and Marcus looked down into Amata's eyes. "Marcus...is he..."

  Marcus nodded. "It's true. I found out after I'd left and went looking for my father."

  The Overseer felt truimphant. "You see, he admits it! The only reason I allowed him and his father in was because we needed a doctor. Had I known then what I know now, I would've left him to die like the bastard he is!"

  Marcus' fist clenched and his jaw hardened. For a moment he considered activating his VATS and ending the Overseer where he stood. Amata must have sensed his anger and quickly spoke up. "It doesn't matter where Marcus is from, father. It doesn't change the fact that you were wrong."

  The rest of the rebel's agreed. The Overseer took a step forward. "Amata, all of you, everything I have done was to protect you, don't you see that?"

  "Were you protecting my grandson when your men killed him in cold blood?"

  The voice belonged to Lucy Palmer, Jonas' grandmother. The frail woman made her way through the sea of rebels and confronted the Overseer. "Were you protecting my boy when your security chief put a bullet between his eyes?"

  For the first time during the heated exchange, the Overseer showed a small hint of regret. Gathering his composer, he continued. "I am here to tell you that this rebellion of yours is over. If you do not surrender and end this insanity in exactly twenty-four hours, my security detail will retake this section of the Vault by force!" He looked his daughter dead in the eye. "And I have authorized the use of live ammunition if necessary."

  Amata stepped closer to her father. "You can't be serious! You wouldn't!"

  Alphonse didn't flinch. "Your betray has left me no choice." He looked at Marcus. "I will not let him, or anyone, destroy this Vault. Twenty-four hours starting now." The Overseer turned to leave, and his security detail began to slowly back away.

  Butch Deloria jumped to the front of the crowd of rebels. "Yeah well bring it on, old man!" The Tunnel Snakes and most of the rebels began to yell and taught the Overseer. Butch continued with his threats. "We'll be ready for ya! And we'll send your goons back to you on stretchers!"

  The Overseer and his guards left, but Officer Gomez lingered afterwards. He holstered his pistol and approached his son, who was standing with Butch and the rest of the Tunnel Snakes. "Freddie please, I'm begging you! He is serious this time! They will come back tomorrow and when they do, people will die." He held out his hand. "Please, return to me and your mother, and I promise you'll be alright."

  The hurt and anguish in his father's eyes was enough to break Freddie's heart. He looked over at his friends, who were ready to risk their lives for what they believed in, and he shook his head. "I'm sorry Dad, but I can't. You do what you have to do. I will do what I must." Freddie and the rest of the rebels returned to the classroom, and Officer Gomez lowered his head. As he began to walk away, Amata ran up to him and grabbed his arm. "Officer Gomez I'm sorry. I'll try to convince Freddie to go back with you. You've always been good to us and it's the least I can do."

  Gomez stared back at her with sad eyes. Quickly he looked over his shoulder, then leaned in and whispered something into Amata's ear. He turned and left, and Amata stood there with a shocked look on her face. Marcus approached her. "What did he tell you?"

  Amata pulled Marcus into his father's old clinic. "He told me the password to Brotch's cell, and the code to get into the armory."

  Marcus couldn't believe their luck. "We just might be able to end this without more bloodshed."

  "Exactly! If we can get my father away from Wilkins and the rest of those goons, I think I can persuade him to stop."

  Marcus was more then skeptical. "I don't know, Amata. He seemed pretty serious back there."

  Amata shook her head. "I know my father and the truth is he's actually afraid of his security force. He's afraid if he shows weakness there might be a coup. If I can get him alone for just a few minutes we could end this peacefully."

  Marcus glanced down at his side-arms. "I hope you're right, Amata, because one way or another this ends tonight. Now get the other leaders of your rebels and bring them here. I have a plan."

  * * *

  A lone security guard was standing watch outside of the Vault's security office when Amata approached with her hands up.

  "Hold it right there!" The Officer said as he drew his 10mm pistol.

  "Please don't shoot! I'm the Overseer's daughter and I surrender!"

  She approached the guard, who could not believe his luck. The Overseer's daughter was surrendering to him! There would definitely be a promotion for him after this. He took Amata by the arm. "Don't do anything stupid." He entered the code to the security officer door and it opened. Inside was another security officer sitting behind a desk, and was shocked to see who was standing in the doorway.

  The security officer holding Amata lowered his pistol and smiled. "Look what I found..."

  Marcus smashed the guard in the back of the head with his desert eagle, knocking him out cold. The other guard shot out of his seat and reached for his pistol, but Marcus already had him covered with his own. "Don't!" He yelled.

  The Officer froze and took in the scene in front of him. Amata had taken possession of the first guard's pistol and had it aimed at him. Butch, Freddie Gomez, Susie and Wally Mack, and three other armed rebels, stormed the security office. The lone guard knew he didn't have a chance and put his hands up.

  "Tie him up and gag him." Marcus said.

  Butch and Freddie subdued the Officer, while Ama
ta punched in the password to Brotch's cell. The electronic locked opened, and a haggared looking Brotch excited the cell. "I'd heard you'd came back, but I didn't believe it."

  Marcus approached his old teacher and the two men shook hands. "Are you alright?"

  Brotch shrugged. "Yeah - all things considered." He watched as the others began raiding the armory of 10mm pistols, batons and riot gear. "What do you plan to do now?"

  "You and the others are going to take these weapons back to medical. Amata and I are going to find the Overseer."

  Butch walked up to them with a pistol in his hand. "Whoa, whoa what's this about 'waiting in medical'? With all this hardware we can take this Vault!"

  Marcus ripped the pistol from his hand. "That will only lead to more bloodshed, Butch!"

  "Hey what gives, why can't I have a gun?"

  "No offense, Butch, but I wouldn't trust you with a gun of it was World War Four!"

  Marcus began to walk away, but Butch wasn't having any of it. "Hey man, you're not going to make me sit this one out. You owe me that much!"

  Marcus stopped dead in his tracks and turned to his old nemesis. "I owe you?"

  "Yeah, that's right! The day you and your father left my mother died. She was killed by Rad Roaches and I..." Butch's voice seemed to crack, and he fought back the urge to cry. "...I was too much of a coward to save her! I stood there and watched her die!"

  Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and listened to Butch's confession. For the first time in his life, Marcus found himself feeling sorry for the gang leader.

  "I swore I would never be a coward again. So like I said: you owe me this!"

  Marcus regarded Butch for a moment, looking for any hint of insincerity. Having found none, he handed the pistol back to the Tunnel Snake leader. "Only as a last resort, Butch, or you'll answer to me."

  Butch took the pistol and smirked. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say goody-two-shoes."

  Marcus ignored the comment. "I need you to take Brotch and these weapons back to the others and wait. Amata and I are going to give the Overseer one more chance to see reason."

  Butch nodded. "Okay, and what happens if the old man still won't see reason?"

  "We have their weapons." Marcus said. "No matter what happens with the Overseer, this war is over."

  Butch and the others headed back to medical with the stash of weapons, leaving Marcus and Amata inside the security office. "So," Amata began, "how do you plan on getting to my father's office without being seen?"

  Marcus smirked. "The same way we used to sneak around the Vault when we were kids."

  A devilish grin appeared on Amata's face. "Let's go."

  * * *

  The Vault's ventilation ducks were big enough that Marcus and Amata, when they were kids, could crawl through them while being side-by-side each other. Now that they were adults, Amata was in front and Marcus was behind her. Though he felt cramped inside the steel ducks, Marcus had no complaints about the view. Amata must have sensed something, because she stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Like what you see?"

  Marcus reached out and grabbed what he was seeing. "Very much."

  A pleasant sigh escaped from Amata. "Marcus...we have a mission. Besides, it's a little cramped in here."

  Marcus reluctantly removed his hand. "Alright; lead the way."

  It took a while, but they finally made it to the third level of the Vault where the Overseer's office was located. Once they were out of the vents, Marcus drew his pistol. "I'll go on ahead and make sure there your father's alone."

  Amata took a deep breath. "Be careful."

  They kissed and Marcus headed down the corridor. He decided to go through the system room that housed the Vault's mainframe, and from there was a passage that lead straight to the Overseer's office. He entered the room containing the massive servers and slowly made his way past them. Just as he'd passed the last one, he heard the sound of a pistol being cocked behind him and froze.

  "Drop the gun and put your hands up!" It was the voice of Officer Wilkins. Marcus cursed himself for being so careless and did what he was told.

  "Turn around."

  Marcus turned and faced his captor. The new Chief of Security had the look of murder in his eyes. "You never should have left, kid. Now, we'll make sure nobody ever leaves again!"

  A gunshot rang out, and Wilkins dropped to the ground dead. Marcus turned to his left and spotted Officer Gomez standing in the doorway with a recently fired 10mm pistol in his hand. Marcus put his hands down and didn't say a word as Gomez approached and looked down at Wilkins' corps. The Officer shrugged. "I never liked him anyway."

  Marcus couldn't help but let out a laugh. "I guess we're even now." He bent down to pick up his desert eagle, and that's when a frantic Amata came rushing inside.

  "Are you alright?"

  Marcus raised his hand and nodded. "Yes, thanks to Officer Gomez, here."

  "Please, just call me Gomez. He's inside his office. You two go and do what you have to do, I got your backs."

  Marcus was the first to enter the Overseer's office, and it didn't take long to find him. Alphonse was standing in front of the round window which over looked the Vault's Atrium, staring out of it like a monarch looking over his kingdom. "People warned me about letting you and your father in." He said without turning. "They told me it would be a mistake to allow a tainted man and his offspring among our kind. I should've listened to them."

  Amata approached her father. "Dad, Wilkins is dead. We have all of your weapons. It's over."

  A bitter laugh escaped from the Overseer and he turned around. "How could you betray me like this, Amata? All of my life I have done what was best for this Vault."

  "So did I, father."

  Alphonse's jaw hardened. "By siding with him!"

  "By being the leader you taught me to be!" Amata stepped closer until she was inches from her father. "Daddy, look at what has happened. The Vault is tearing itself apart, and in a few generations our entire gene pool will collapse. Don't you see? If we keep the Vault sealed and all you are doing is delaying the inevitable."

  Alphonse stared down at his daughter, and for a moment his face beamed with the pride that only a father could know. He slowly raised his hand and gently caressed her cheek. "I love you, Amata."

  Amata smiled back at him. Marcus relaxed and lowered his pistol.

  The Overseer spun Amata around, held her with his left arm, and drew a 10mm pistol with his right hand. "Which is why I cannot allow this to happen!"

  Marcus raised his desert eagle. "Alphonse stop this!"

  Amata struggled against her father's grip. "Father please..."

  "NO!" Alphonse screamed. "I will not let you turn her against me!" He pointed the gun at Amata's head.

  "For God sake she's your daughter!"

  "I would rather see her dead then end up like you!" He pressed the barrel of the gun against her head, and Amata screamed.

  "Okay!" Marcus spread his hands out. "Don't kill her, kill me!" He slowly placed his desert eagle on the ground. "You're right, everything that happened here was my fault. I'm responsible. So kill me."

  "NO PLEASE!" Amata pleaded.

  Alphonse looked down at his daughter, then back to Marcus. "Fair enough." He aimed his pistol at Marcus.

  Amata managed to free her hand and grabbed her father's wrist. "NO!"

  The bullet struck Marcus in his right shoulder, causing him to scream and stumble backwards. Another gunshot rang out, but this one did not come from the Overseer. Amata was holding her own 10mm pistol underneath her left arm, with the barrel pointing at her father's chest behind her. Marcus could see the shocked look on Alphone's face, and the Overseer released his hold on his daughter. Amata turned, and with her hands shaking and tears in her eyes, she pointed the pistol at her father; who stumbled back against the massive desk. He looked down at the hole in his chest and began couching up blood. He stared at the tear filled eyes of his daughter; eyes that were begging him to sta
y back. Alphonse lunged forward, and Amata fired three more rounds into his chest. The Overseer died the moment he hit the ground.

  "OH MY GOD!" Amata cried as the gun slipped from her hand. She knelt down by the corps of her father. "Please forgive me, daddy!"

  As Amata wept over the body of her father, Marcus examined his shoulder, and found that the bullet had not penetrated the armor plating. 'Thank you, Moria.' he thought. Marcus heard footsteps coming down the hall, and Gomez entered the office. After taking in the horrific scene, he approached Marcus. "Are you alright?"

  Marcus nodded, and he slowly approached Amata and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Amata."

  Amata placed her hand on his. "I guess this was the only way it was going to end."

  "It's over." Marcus said. "We saved the Vault."

  Amata scoffed at his statement. "Did we? Who's going to lead us now? Without a leader the Vault will descend into chaos."

  "You could lead the Vault, Amata." Marcus said.

  Amata turned to him. "Me?" she shook her head. "The faction that followed my father will never accept me as their leader. Many of the people still blame you for what happened, and they know about us." She stared down at her father's body and caressed his face. "My father might have been able to bring this Vault back together...but I...I don't know what to do."

  Marcus stood over Amata and heard what she was saying, and as much as he didn't want to, he found himself agreeing with her. The strife and division in the Vault would not die with the Overseer. He knelled down next to Amata. "There is one thing you can do that will not only show the people that you are the rightful leader, but will also begin to heal the Vaults wounds."

  Amata looked into Marcus' eyes as she pondered what he was talking about. It didn't take her long to figure out what he wanted her to do - and she was horrified. "No! No, Marcus!"