Radiance Ch. 80

Chapter 80: Breaking In and Out.

Fuller and Glory finally finished their long trek to the staging ground where they met the other Railroad heavies who were waiting on their arrival in a HQ that had been hastily set up on the top floor of a bombed-out building that overlooked the raider compound at a distance.

"What's the situation?" Glory asked as the pair finished greeting the other heavies and were escorted to the command table by a large grizzled man who was called Bear who screamed veteran to Fuller, he was either ex-mercenary or ex-military and by the look of him, it could quite possibly be NCR.

"Not good in the slightest Glory, from the latest intel we've managed to gather coming out of this place it sounds like they've managed to figure out what they've got their hands on and from what we've heard they've been in contact with the Brotherhood," Bear said.

"Fuck! When are they arriving?" Glory said slamming her hands onto the tabletop in frustration.

"A couple of hours, so we have to hit them now but this op is going to draw a lot of heat Glory, if the Brotherhood figure this out then they are going to start hunting us and given what I've heard on the airwaves that they have been calling in heavy reinforcements because of the losses they keep taking with that little war they got going with those Avian tribals to the north pretty soon this place is gonna be swarming with those tin soldiers," Bear said.

"Avian tribals?" Fuller asked.

"Yeah there's some non-human tribe of what looks like bird people that live towards the north in the hills, for the most part, they are peaceful as long as you leave em alone and don't enter their territory without an invite, hell our people have even traded with them on quite a few occasions, they have a have a love of fruits that don't grow up there and they have a real talent for scavaging and repairing things, right little tinkers that lot and they seem to have a talent for laying their feathery hands on high-end weapons which we put to good use," Bear said.

"So what's the Brotherhood's beef with them?" Fuller asked and Bear shrugged.

"Typical tin-pot dictators with a heavy emphasis on the tin part, they believe they can go where they want when they want even when that happens to be right into someone else's backyard, well the Avians didn't like it one bit and if I can tell you one thing about that lot is they seriously know how to fight, scary bunch, to say the least, no idea who taught them but I'd love to talk shop with them sometime," Bear said.

Fuller couldn't help but wonder if Seven's team might be sniffing about in that area given their perchance for helping non-humans out but he kept that thought to himself.

"Well then if the Brotherhood is involved then we are going to have to up our game plan," Glory said and Fuller shook his head causing her to raise an eyebrow and look at him questioningly.

"Well we had a plan in place to leave a message to the raiders not to fuck with us again, but for my money, I think we could simply easily modify said plan to make it look like another raider crew hit em and took the synths, for my money that would be a double win, because not only do we take the heat of ourselves but we send the Brotherhood after the raiders which will take the pressure of the normal people of Boston by having the tin brigade wipe out one of the raider clans in the area," Fuller said thoughtfully.

An evil smile broke out on Glory's face and was instantly echoed on Bear's, "I like the way you think new guy, your a fucking crafty one to be sure, that could work nicely but you got anyone in mind?" Bear asked.

"I do, I know a group that has been giving both Diamond city and Bunker hill grief for a few months, now normally I wouldn't give a fuck about Diamond city as they can take care of themselves but they are harassing our caravans out of Bunker hill, we've lost a couple of good heavies to them so this is a good opportunity to use those tin soldiers to exact some revenge for us," Glory said.

"Well alright then, so what's the plan?" Bear asked and both Glory and Fuller outlined what they had in mind for them.

Fortunately, nightfall was only an hour away when both Glory and Fuller had arrived so when they finished outlining their plan it had fully fallen and it was pitch black outside when the heavies reemerged into the open air.

To his surprise Glory gave Fuller a kiss on the cheek as well as a hug before they separated, she'd also told him not to die, a sentiment that he had echoed back to her but now as he crawled along the drainage trench that led into the pipes he was going to use to infiltrate the base he couldn't help replay it over in his head, along with the thoughts that had been plaguing him ever since he'd started this mission.

Never in his life had he experienced such care and tenderness among his comrades but he could see it plain as day among the Railroad people, they genuinely cared not only about one another but about the non-human lives they took it upon themselves to defend.

Plus having experienced the very distinct joys of one of those said non-human lives himself having spent the last couple of days with Glory he felt like the very fabric of his world was beginning to come apart at the seams.

Having gotten to know her the way he did Fuller was truly beginning to see exactly why Seven and his people did what they did, they were right and there was no way he could actually deny it to himself anymore, he also knew that if the Railroad encountered Seven's people on hostile footing they would get their collective arses beat into the ground as Seven's team's reputation was a fearsome one given their ability to punch far above their weight.

He truly didn't want that to happen he also knew that if they encountered them on friendly terms there was a good chance that they would become strong allies given their belief in pretty much the same goals, goals which in essence the people he was fighting for opposed rather violently.

Now on the surface, the Enclave said they opposed slavery but in reality, they completely embraced it, doing everything from press-ganging entire towns into service to either provide cannon fodder soldiers or even food and supplies.

In essence, they were no better than the raiders, just much better organised and equipped, hell even the Brotherhood were better than them, at least they tried to protect people for the most part and wouldn't go out to either enslave or attack civilians, they at least had morals.

But given the very nature of the mission that he was out on now he realised completely that his people had none, this also led him to the realisation that his own team would put him down without a single second of hesitation should he rebel against them, or worse they'd probably put down the people around him like Glory to force his co-operation.

He had to end it, he had to break away from the ESF and to actually free himself of the Enclave, but the real question was how?

Fuller knew deep in his heart that if he tried to remove the sub-dermal implants his team would likely storm the place thinking that he had been killed and to remove any trace of his existence including anyone who had met him, sterilisation and plausible deniability were two of the cornerstones of the ESF.

There was also a very good likelihood that the sub-dermals themselves were booby-trapped with some kind of trigger that would either cause them to explode or release some kind of poison into his bloodstream if he tried to remove them with a very exact procedure, that's the kind of thing he would fully expect from the Enclave now.

He needed a way out and what's more, he needed a way to prevent them from actually being able to broadcast what he was saying and his location so that he could have time to remove them, question was, how?

But these were thoughts for another time, right now his Railroad team were counting on him and he had to get his head in the game, he had a hostage rescue to pull out of his arse, so without further distraction, he began to crawl head first through the pitch black narrow pipes into the compound.

After a few yards, Fuller came to his first obstacle, a large metal grate that was designed to stop anything larger than a rat from passing through between the bars, with a bit of wiggling he removed the plasma cutter he'd been carrying between his teeth and aimed his red light head torch at the bars.

Fortunately, he'd remembered to bring his anti-flash goggles which were like a pair of welder's goggles with lenses that reacted to bright light by turning black in a split second protecting the wearer's eyes from getting arc eye from the bright light as well as protecting them from the sparks as he cut through the metal.

The heat from the torch was incredible and he could feel it washing over his face as he cut through the bars like butter with the plasma, the cut ends of the bars glowed white hot as he sliced through them so he was going to have to be real careful when he crawled on through or he was going to seriously burn himself though he had filled a canteen with water to cool them for just this kind of instance.

Once through he cooled the metal and slowly picked his way through the stumps which were surprisingly sharp around the edges, it was like crawling over a series of hot knives.

Once he was clear he began to crawl in earnest again until finally, he reached the inside of the tank inside the old pump house that would lead the prisoners to freedom, he pressed his head against the metal and listened hard but he couldn't hear anything close by outside, the most he could hear was a few muted voices that sounded pretty far away.

So taking a deep breath and checking his suppressed pistol he fired up the torch once more and began to cut through the outside of the heavy metal tank.

Fuller cut the metal in such a way that when the cut section fell it would make less noise by not slamming right into either the tank or the floor, he did this by holding a heavy wadded piece of leather against it so he could take the weight and lower it inside, though even through the scorching leather he could feel the heat the torch had dumped into the metal itself.

But finally, the circle he'd cut was complete and he took the weight of the thick steel disc he'd cut and lowered it slowly into the tank, though there was no way to make it a completely silent operation given that he simply couldn't hold the thing properly given how hot it was and he simply wasn't carrying enough water to cool it to the point where he could hold it.

So there was a deep metallic thud as he got it to the floor and the reaction was almost instant, "What the fuck was that?" a voice from outside exclaimed.

"No idea but we'd better check it out," another voice said and Fuller moved like a man possessed.

Quick as a flash he was out of the tank and into the pump house, he instantly saw the door and the old pump, he quickly dashed around the pump and doused his torch, quickly swapping the cutter for his suppressed pistol just as the door was unlocked and a torch beam lanced into the darkness.

"I swear to fucking god if those goddamn mole rats have gotten into the pipes again I'm going to drop some fucking plasma grenades in there with them to keep 'em company," a gruff voice growled and the second voice laughed.

"Yeah man or maybe pump a canister of that Buffjet spray that Clips makes in there and watch 'em tear each other to fucking pieces, we could take fucking bets," the second voice said making the first one chuckle.

"If it wasn't a waste of good Buffjet I'd fucking do just that, probably make some good caps on taking bets," the first guy said.

Fuller tracked their progress through the small pump house by watching the shadows moving and once he was sure they were at the spot he'd just cut he moved out silently.

"What in the name of fuck is this!?" the second guy said exactly one second before Fuller's knife blade emerged through his throat causing him to gurgle in pure fear and panic not to mention pain.

The other guy began to turn only to come eye to eye with a large cylinder of Fuller's suppressed pistol which with a deep thud ended his life before his brain had had the chance to comprehend what his eyes had actually seen.

Both men collapsed to the floor and quick as a flash Fuller began to move them by pulling them both behind the pump, he also quickly relieved them of their weapons and ammo, they might be pretty shit but it would give the synths at least a chance to defend themselves once he sprung them.

Fuller stuck his head out of the door and looked around the compound and to his relief most of the raiders were either passed out drunk or just asleep so they had barely any reaction at all when he fired the flare gun hed been carrying into the sky to signal the attack to begin.

The response was instantaneous, with a crash like thunder the main gates blew inwards as the demo charges that they had rigged up went off and brought them inwards followed Immediately by the heavies.

Right in the centre of the group toting her trademark minigun was Glory and she wasted no time opening up on the barracks as raiders began to fall out of it in their stupored haze.

Under the cover of the heavy automatic gunfire Fuller dashed forwards towards the hut that they knew was holding the hostage synths, just as he was pulling out his torch to cut the locks the door opened from the inside to reveal a man that had obviously been charged with guarding them he was obviously not expecting to find Fuller on the other side of it though to be fair Fuller had not been expecting him either and given he had no time to draw his pistol before the man raised his rifle he did the only thing he could, he clicked the plasma cutter on and pressed it right into the man's eyeball.

With a soul-shattering scream, the man dropped both his gun and fell to his knees as his eyeball boiled and vaporised in his head thanks to the superheated plasma that had just been sprayed into it.

This gave Fuller the time he needed to pull his pistol and pop a single shot into the top of his head ending his torment before stepping over his body and into the room beyond.

The first thing he saw was a cage that had been crudely welded into the corner of the room and beyond the bars, he saw the terrified synths clustered together for protection.

"Don't be frightened, I'm with the Railroad and we're here to get you out of here," Fuller said stepping up to the gates.

"The Railroad!? You found us!?" a man exclaimed lifting his head to look at Fuller as he brought the torch to the lock and chain holding the gate shut.

"Shield your eyes!" Fuller exclaimed before cutting right through chains causing the gate to swing open.

"Ok, let's go stick to me like glue!!" Fuller yelled and he began pulling people out of the cage before he shepherded the group towards the pump house.

"Ok once we inside you're going to need to crawl, I've cut into the drainage pipes, now it's tight but don't worry you'll fit, if I made it through with all of this gear you can too, so when you are on the other side there will be one of us waiting for you so let's go people move like you have a fucking purpose!!" he exclaimed.

The freed synths didn't need to be told twice and they positively bombed head-first right into the hole into the tank and only moments later he could hear the telltale sounds of people crawling for their lives.

Once they were clear Fuller moved onto phase three, he quickly exited the pump house to join the fight and headed right for his next target pausing only to shoot at any raiders that presented themselves in his path though this time he was using his rifle so the hits were far more dramatic.

As he reached the middle of the compound he very quickly saw the armoury where there were two people inside handing out weapons and ammo to those who had made it that far, quickly pulling the chain from his bag he pulled a single pin and wound up this throw.

The chain spun through the air like a lazy propeller blade before hitting one of the armourers in the chest and wrapping itself around him and making him fall backwards into the room, the man barely had time to look down at what had wrapped itself around him before he vanished in a cloud of ionized green plasma gas that ignited everything explosive inside the armoury.

The explosion was tremendous and sent a fire-filled mushroom cloud hurtling skyward that Fuller had only just enough time to dive clear of before it rocketed into the sky.

The explosion took out most of the rear side of the compound and if Fuller hadn't released the hostages first there would have been a bit of a problem freeing them now given that the shed they had been secured inside of now ceased to exist.

As did the vast majority of their force who had been pretty closely clustered around the armoury itself as with all raiders they fight to protect their stash rather than each other.

The rest of the fighting was incredibly short-lived as the heavies had been expecting the explosion so they weren't rattled by it going off, in fact, they used it as an opportunity to push home their advantage and to wipe out the remaining pockets of resistance dotted around the camp.

Fuller remained in the camp and helped with the cleaning until only the Railroad personnel remained, "We lose anyone?" he called as they finished sweeping the compound and Glory approached him grinning all over her face showing her obvious joy that their plan had gone flawlessly.

"Nope, all people accounted for and all hostages freed not a single loss, couldn't have asked for a better outcome if you ask me," she said grinning all over her handsome face.

"How long till the Brotherhood get here?" Fuller asked and Bear checked his watch and as he did Fuller saw his face darken.

"Not long, we'd better get a move on," he said.

"Alright people let's move like we got a purpose, extraction team, you get the hostages moving and clear of the AO, the last thing we want is the Brotherhood picking up heat signatures on their sensors when they arrive, the rest of you with me and Glory we'll get this place looking like the Raiders fucked it seven ways from Sunday!" Fuller called before he and Glory got everyone organised into work teams and moving.

They could only afford half an hour before they had to bail out and make it to a safe distance, the last thing they did was make a set of heavy signs heading towards what Bear said was the direction of the Raider clan they'd framed camp.

Once that was done they all split up and vanished into the night, scattering off in as many directions as they could in order to prevent pursuit, as for Glory and Fuller they retreated to building about a quarter of a mile away where they set up to watch the show on one of the upper floors.

They'd barely had time to settle in when the telltale sound of Vertibird engines cut through the night, in the silence of the world now engines really did tend to stand out among either the silence or the simple nature sounds of the wastes.

As the pair watched, the Brotherhood Vertibird swung in now over the compound and Fuller could see the two power armoured Knights manning the door guns as the large craft lined up and put down among the burning ruins.

They'd done a pretty convincing job of raidering up the remains with both strung-up bodies and even clan signs painted in the blood of the deceased, not exactly an enviable job to be sure but a necessary one, little touched like that would go a long way to convince the Brotherhood that the raiders they had come to see had been wiped out by a rival clan who then had made off with their prize.

With any luck the knights would do one of two things, either fly over and hit the other Raider clan in the hope of recovering the captured synths who were currently known to them on their way out of the state with the extraction team hidden amongst a caravan, or B simply head home having been convinced of the loss of the prize.