Crossfire - Fallout 4 - [R J MacCready x Sole Survivor]

Chapter 11

It was pitch black.

Then there were lights, blinding and shining directly into their eyes. The familiar whir of a mini-gun trilled in front, and Dawn and MacCready were frozen into place from the threat ahead.

"Stop right there!"

The quick rush of adrenaline made the lights even brighter, and he squinted to see the woman who shouted her firm command. She stood in-between two other guards, one pointing a rifle and the other holding up a mini-gun. Both weapons were aimed at them. The woman, however, showed no weapon drawn but instead held a cigarette. She looked too relaxed, like one would be if they were going for a quick smoke outside, but the hard look in her heavily lined eyes showed no such casualness.

Dawn took the hint and held her hands up in a cool surrender, but MacCready kept his rifle firmly in his grip as he eyed the trio.

The woman puffed on her cigarette, tendrils of smoke surrounding her as she spoke her next words. "You went through a lot of effort to arrange this meeting." Her eyes narrowed, the distrust evident when she squared her shoulders. "But before we go any further, answer my questions.

Who the hell are you?"

Dawn remained calm. "I followed the Freedom Trail looking for the Railroad." She slowly brought her hands down as she spoke. "I'm not your enemy."

MacCready couldn't help but clench his jaw as he watched the exchange in the side-lines. Dawn has this, he told himself. If there was going to be someone who can diffuse a hostile situation through talking, it would be her. But the woman ahead gave no indication of her intentions; would she talk or order their deaths? Nothing in her demeanour gave it away.

"If that's true, you have nothing to fear," her eyes narrowed. "Who told you how to contact us?"

"Dr. Amari told me how to find you." Dawn said as she gave MacCready a quick reassuring glance.

"Very interesting..." Her expression shifted, but a quick gesture from her hand caused the two body-guards to lower their guns. "Last question; why are you here?"

Dawn placed her hand in her pocket, pulling out a small lump wrapped in plastic. She quickly unwrapped it, the plastic discarded to the floor, and held the metal component up in the air to glint in the harsh light. "I have a courser chip."

The woman's façade was broken at the sight of the chip, cigarette in hand now forgotten and dropped to the floor. Dawn quickly pocketed the component as she waited for her response. MacCready involuntarily gulped as the silence seemed to stretch a beat too long. Finally, the woman crossed her arms and spoke. "And so you have. My name is Desdemona, I'm the leader of the Railroad. And you are?"

"Dawn."

His boss smirked as she crossed her arms, the sight of her body language eerily reminded MacCready of himself. Was she copying him? He took note to ask her about it later. From behind Desdemona, an unassuming man with sunglasses sauntered up to the trio. He seemed to be bored based by the way he aimlessly walked around the room, but the amused smile plastered on his face indicated that boredom was not an emotion he was feeling at that moment. The stranger walked up to the far wall and leaned up against it – and though it was hard to tell with the sunglasses, MacCready was perceptive enough to see that the stranger was looking at Dawn.

"I didn't know you were having a party," he said. His voice held a playful lilt to his tone, further adding to his amused aura. Somehow the room was less tense as soon as he spoke, undoing Desdemona's effort of creating an air of unease amongst the two newcomers. "What gives with my invitation?"