If you want to read 20 Chapters ahead and more, be sure to check out my P-Tang12!!!
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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!
Also everyone I have a new novel named "From Couch To The Inquisitor", be sure to check it out and I also could say that my Fallout 4 novel have ended (in the P-Tang12))
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Cambridge was being fortified, and now the Republic had eyes on Boston Airport.
Then the following day began with an almost deceptive sense of normality inside Freemasons Republic Headquarters.
The headquarters was busy from early morning.
Clerks moved between offices carrying folders. Communications personnel sat behind radio consoles, listening to reports from the Castle, Cambridge, and the various patrols operating throughout the Commonwealth. Quartermasters argued over shipment schedules. Engineers submitted requests for steel, concrete, ammunition components, and replacement machinery.
Outside, Sanctuary continued its daily rhythm.
Vehicles came and went through the gates.
Soldiers changed shifts.
Workers carried crates between warehouses.
Nothing about the morning suggested that anything was wrong.
And yet, by midday, everything would change.
Sico sat behind his desk, surrounded by paperwork.
One report concerned the latest supply allocation for the Castle.
Another contained requests from Cambridge.
A third outlined ammunition consumption across several Republic positions.
He had been reading for nearly an hour when he rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
There was too much paperwork.
There was always too much paperwork.
The war had created an entire second battlefield inside his office.
Every captured position created new supply requirements.
Every patrol generated another report.
Every wounded soldier required medical records.
Every vehicle required fuel and maintenance.
Every road required security.
And now the Brotherhood was being pressured by both the Republic and the Institute.
Sico picked up another report.
He had barely reached the second paragraph when there was a knock at the door.
Three short knocks.
Sico looked up.
"Come in."
The door opened.
A member of the kitchen staff entered first.
He was carrying a tray.
Behind him came a Republic soldier.
Sico recognized the uniform immediately.
The kitchen worker smiled politely.
"Lunch, sir."
Sico glanced at the clock.
He hadn't realized how late it had become.
"Thank you."
The worker walked toward the desk.
The soldier remained slightly behind him.
Nothing appeared unusual.
Sico returned his attention to the report.
The tray was placed carefully on the corner of his desk.
Steam rose from the food.
The kitchen worker stepped back.
And then Sico noticed something.
The soldier behind him had his hand too close to his weapon.
Not resting.
Ready.
Sico's eyes flicked upward.
The soldier's gaze met his.
For one fraction of a second, neither moved.
Then the soldier drew.
The kitchen worker did the same.
Sico reacted before either man could fire.
He threw himself sideways.
The first shots shattered the quiet office.
Bullets tore through the chair where Sico had been sitting only moments earlier.
The tray exploded.
Food, metal, and fragments of wood flew across the room.
Sico hit the floor behind his desk.
Another round punched through the upper portion of the chair.
He reached beneath the desk.
His fingers found the pistol taped beneath the wooden surface.
He pulled it free.
The disguised kitchen worker stepped around the desk.
Sico fired.
The first shot struck him in the chest.
The man staggered.
Sico fired again.
The attacker collapsed against the edge of the desk before falling to the floor.
The disguised soldier immediately dove behind a filing cabinet.
"Damn it!"
He fired again.
Sico ducked.
The bullet struck the wall behind him.
Dust fell from the plaster.
Sico crawled lower.
He could hear shouting outside.
Then more gunfire.
Not one weapon.
Several.
Someone screamed in the corridor.
"Protect the President!"
Another voice shouted,
"Get him out!"
Then came another burst of automatic fire.
Sico froze.
That wasn't his security team firing.
They were being attacked.
He pressed himself against the side of the desk and listened.
Boots thundered through the corridor.
"Move!"
"Get down!"
"Contact! Contact!"
The disguised soldier fired toward the office again.
Sico waited.
He knew the attacker had to reload eventually.
The rifle stopped.
Sico rose just enough to fire over the desk.
One shot.
The attacker flinched.
Sico fired again.
The man tried to move.
A third shot ended it.
The office fell silent.
But outside, the battle continued.
Sico stared toward the doorway.
His security personnel were trying to reach him.
They were being held back.
That meant there were more attackers.
A lot more.
Sico moved quickly.
He stepped over the fallen soldier and grabbed the rifle.
He checked the magazine.
Enough ammunition.
He moved toward the doorway.
Outside, Republic soldiers were exchanging fire with men wearing Republic uniforms.
That was the terrifying part.
They looked exactly like Republic soldiers.
Same armor.
Same clothing.
Same weapons.
But something was wrong.
One of them fired toward a genuine Republic guard.
Sico immediately raised the rifle.
He recognized the guard being targeted.
"Down!"
The loyal soldier dropped.
Sico fired.
The impostor fell backward.
Another disguised attacker appeared farther down the corridor.
Sico fired again.
The man disappeared behind a doorway.
A genuine Republic soldier shouted,
"President! Stay back!"
Sico shouted back.
"They're inside the headquarters!"
"I know!"
"Don't shoot our people!"
"We're trying!"
Another burst of gunfire ripped through the corridor.
Sico leaned against the doorway.
He had never imagined that he would have to identify his own soldiers by their movements in order to know who to shoot.
But the attackers had deliberately chosen uniforms that made hesitation deadly.
A Republic soldier sprinted across the corridor.
Sico recognized him.
"Go!"
The soldier moved toward the stairwell.
Another figure followed.
Sico watched.
Wrong posture.
Wrong movement.
The man wasn't moving like a soldier protecting the headquarters.
He was hunting.
Sico raised the rifle.
One shot.
The attacker collapsed.
Another appeared behind him.
Sico fired.
The corridor fell briefly quiet.
Then someone shouted from farther away.
"Clear the east corridor!"
"Push forward!"
The genuine Republic troops began advancing.
Sico remained near the doorway.
He could hear their boots getting closer.
Then a disguised attacker stepped from behind a support column.
Sico saw him first.
The man raised his rifle.
Sico fired.
The attacker fell.
Another soldier appeared behind him.
This one was genuine.
Sico lowered his weapon.
"Come through!"
The soldier rushed forward.
"Sir!"
"Secure the corridor!"
"Yes, sir!"
The soldier signaled to the others.
Republic troops poured toward Sico's office.
Within seconds, the remaining attackers were either dead or had been forced down the corridor.
The gunfire slowly stopped.
Silence returned.
Not the peaceful kind.
The stunned kind that comes after violence has suddenly ended.
Sico lowered the rifle.
His breathing was heavy.
Smoke drifted through the doorway.
His office looked nothing like it had thirty minutes earlier.
The desk was scarred by bullets.
Papers were scattered everywhere.
The lunch tray lay broken on the floor.
Blood covered part of the carpet.
A wall had several fresh bullet holes.
The doorframe was splintered.
Sico stared at it.
Someone had almost killed him.
Not on a battlefield.
Not during a military assault.
Inside his own headquarters.
A Republic medic rushed through the doorway.
"Sir!"
Sico turned.
"I'm fine."
"Let me decide that."
The medic immediately checked him.
"Any pain?"
"No."
"Dizziness?"
"No."
"Bleeding?"
Sico looked down at himself.
"No."
The medic checked his arms and shoulders.
Then his neck.
Then his head.
"Nothing."
He exhaled.
"You're lucky."
Sico looked toward the body of the kitchen worker.
"I know."
Around them, loyal soldiers were securing the room.
Weapons were collected.
Bodies were searched.
The disguised soldier was dragged away from behind the filing cabinet.
The kitchen worker's body was removed.
The other attackers were being identified and separated from the genuine Republic personnel.
Someone began wiping blood from the corridor.
Another soldier carefully collected spent ammunition.
An officer stood near the doorway.
"Sir, we've secured this section."
Sico nodded.
"Lock down the headquarters."
"Yes, sir."
"No one leaves without authorization."
The officer hesitated.
"Understood."
"And find out how they got in."
"Yes, sir."
The headquarters remained tense.
Nobody knew whether the attack was truly over.
Then hurried footsteps came from the corridor.
Sarah Lyons appeared first.
Behind her came Magnolia and Albert.
Sarah's expression was hard.
She crossed the room immediately.
"Sico."
He turned.
"I'm alright."
Sarah ignored the reassurance.
"Are you wounded?"
"No."
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
She looked him over herself.
Then her eyes moved toward the destroyed office.
"What the hell happened?"
Sico gestured toward the floor.
"They came in disguised as our own people."
Sarah stared at the body being carried away.
"The kitchen staff?"
"One of them."
"And the soldier?"
"Also an infiltrator."
Magnolia stepped closer.
"How many?"
Sico looked toward the corridor.
"We don't know yet."
Albert crouched near one of the discarded weapons.
"They came prepared."
He examined the rifle.
"These aren't standard Republic weapons."
Sarah immediately looked at him.
"What?"
Albert held it up.
"Modified Brotherhood-pattern weapon."
The room became silent.
Sico's expression hardened.
"Brotherhood?"
"Possibly."
Albert shook his head.
"I said possibly. We need to examine everything before we make that conclusion."
Sarah nodded.
"Agreed."
Magnolia looked around the damaged office.
"How did they get through security?"
Nobody answered.
That was the question.
The most important question.
Sico walked toward his desk.
He looked at the bullet holes.
Then at the broken lunch tray.
Then at the doorway.
"They didn't force their way in."
Sarah's expression changed.
"No."
"They walked in."
That realization seemed to weigh more heavily than the gunfire itself.
They had entered because someone had allowed them to enter.
They had known the routines.
They had known the office.
They had known when Sico would be there.
They had known that lunch was delivered.
They had known what uniforms to wear.
This wasn't a random attack.
It had been planned.
Carefully.
Sarah folded her arms.
"We need to know everything."
Sico nodded.
"Agreed."
Magnolia looked toward the corridor.
"Who had access to the kitchen schedule?"
Sico looked at her.
"I don't know."
"Who knew which soldiers were assigned to headquarters security?"
"Several people."
"And who knew your office routine?"
Sico was quiet.
"Too many."
Albert stood.
"We need to isolate everyone involved in those systems."
Sarah nodded.
"Kitchen staff."
"Security personnel," Albert continued.
"Quartermasters."
"Communications."
"Administrative personnel."
Magnolia added,
"Anyone with access to personnel rosters."
Sico looked at all three.
"Do it quietly."
Sarah raised an eyebrow.
"You don't want a panic."
"I don't want the infiltrators to know how much we know."
That stopped her.
Sico looked toward the corridor.
"If someone inside the Republic helped them, we need to find that person before they have another chance."
Sarah nodded slowly.
"And if nobody inside helped them?"
"Then we find out how they got the information."
Magnolia's expression became grim.
"And if this is connected to the Brotherhood?"
Sico looked toward the recovered weapon.
"Then we have a completely different problem."
Sarah stepped closer.
"You think they could have organized this?"
"I don't know."
Sico shook his head.
"But Brandis and the Brotherhood know we have headquarters here. They know where I am."
Sarah looked toward the destroyed office.
"And now they know they can get close."
Sico stared at the bullet holes.
"That's what worries me."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Outside the room, soldiers continued cleaning the corridor.
The smell of gunpowder still lingered in the air.
Someone carried another damaged chair away.
The ordinary machinery of the headquarters was slowly returning.
But it wasn't ordinary anymore.
Every uniform suddenly seemed worth examining.
Every visitor might be questioned.
Every delivery might be inspected.
Every routine might have to change.
Sico looked at Sarah.
"Get me the security records."
"Already being collected."
"Kitchen access lists."
"I'll have them."
"Personnel assignments."
"Done."
"Communications logs."
Magnolia nodded.
"I'll make sure they're preserved."
Sico looked at Albert.
"And those weapons?"
"I'll have them examined."
"Find out where they came from."
Albert nodded.
"I will."
Sarah looked at Sico again.
"You should move somewhere else."
Sico almost smiled.
"Because someone tried to kill me in my office?"
"Yes."
"That seems reasonable."
"You're taking this surprisingly well."
Sico looked around at the destroyed room.
"I don't think I'm taking it well."
Sarah's expression softened.
"You're alive."
"Because I was suspicious of a lunch tray."
Sarah gave a grim smile.
"Then be suspicious of everything for a while."
Sico nodded.
He looked through the doorway toward the corridor where the last bloodstains were being cleaned away.
The attack had lasted only minutes.
But those minutes had exposed something the Republic had not been prepared to face.
The enemy didn't necessarily need tanks.
Didn't necessarily need artillery.
Didn't necessarily need to attack a wall.
Sometimes all they needed was a uniform.
A forged identity.
A weapon.
And an opportunity.
Sico turned toward Sarah.
"Lock this place down."
"It already is."
"Then make it tighter."
Sarah nodded.
"Consider it done."
Sico looked once more at the shattered remains of his lunch.
Then at the map still sitting beneath the scattered papers.
The Castle.
Cambridge.
Boston Airport.
And now this.
The war had just entered a more dangerous phase.
The Republic had been fighting enemies outside its walls.
Now someone had managed to bring the war inside.
And until they discovered who had opened the door, Sico knew there would be no such thing as a routine morning again.
Then Sico looked once more at the shattered remains of his office.
Then he turned toward Sarah.
"Take it."
Sarah frowned slightly.
"Take what?"
"The investigation."
There was no hesitation in his voice.
"I want to know exactly who let them into this building."
Sarah's expression hardened.
"And who sent them."
"Both."
Sico pointed toward the corridor.
"This was too organized. They knew the kitchen schedule. They knew my security arrangements. They had uniforms that passed inspection. They knew exactly where my office was and when I would be here."
Sarah nodded.
"So someone gave them information."
"Or someone gave them access."
"Maybe both."
Sico met her eyes.
"Find out."
Sarah gave a single, firm nod.
"I will."
"And Sarah?"
"Yes?"
"Don't decide who did it until you have proof."
She understood immediately.
"No assumptions."
"No assumptions."
Sarah glanced toward the bodies being removed.
"Even if everything points toward the Brotherhood?"
"Especially then."
That answer stayed with her.
The Republic had enemies everywhere outside Sanctuary. The Brotherhood had every reason to want Sico dead. The Institute had its own reasons for destabilizing the Republic. There were raiders, mercenaries, spies, opportunists, and people who simply hated what the Republic was becoming.
But none of that mattered if they arrested the wrong person.
Sarah turned toward Magnolia and Albert.
"You heard him."
Magnolia nodded.
"We'll start with access."
Albert looked toward the recovered weapons.
"And I'll start with those."
Sico walked toward them.
"One more thing."
All three looked at him.
"I'm leaving headquarters."
Sarah immediately objected.
"No."
Sico raised an eyebrow.
"That sounded remarkably quick."
"You're not staying here."
"I wasn't planning to."
Sarah shook her head.
"Good."
She looked toward the corridor.
"Until we know how deep this goes, Headquarters isn't secure enough for you."
Sico nodded.
"I'll stay somewhere else in Sanctuary."
"I'll arrange the security."
"No."
Sarah looked at him.
"I'll arrange it," Sico repeated. "But I want your people."
"My people?"
"A dedicated detail. Loyal soldiers whose assignments you personally approve."
Sarah considered it.
Then nodded.
"Eight?"
"More."
"Twelve."
"Fine."
"Twenty."
Sico smiled faintly.
"You were negotiating against yourself."
"I know."
Sarah turned toward a nearby officer.
"Find twelve soldiers from units that were nowhere near this building during the attack. Senior personnel where possible. Nobody with connections to kitchen operations, headquarters security, or administrative access."
"Yes, General."
"And nobody leaves their assigned position without authorization."
The officer saluted.
"Understood."
Within minutes, preparations began.
Sico gathered only what he needed.
A pistol.
A small medical kit.
Several personal documents.
A radio.
Nothing more.
The sight of him leaving his own headquarters unsettled the soldiers watching.
He noticed.
At the bottom of the stairs, one young guard looked at him.
"Sir?"
Sico stopped.
"Yes?"
The soldier hesitated.
"Are you coming back?"
Sico looked at him for a moment.
"Yes."
The answer was simple.
Certain.
"When this is finished."
The soldier nodded.
Sico continued outside.
Twelve Republic soldiers formed around him immediately.
Two ahead.
Two behind.
Four on each side.
They weren't marching dramatically.
They were simply close enough that nobody could approach Sico without being noticed.
The gates opened.
Sico looked back once at Freemasons Republic Headquarters.
The building had survived.
But it no longer felt completely familiar.
Then he stepped into the waiting vehicle.
The convoy moved toward the safe house.
Behind them, Sarah returned to the headquarters.
And the investigation began, as the first hours were deliberately methodical.
Sarah refused to let anyone rush.
She stood in the main security office with Magnolia and Albert while officers brought stacks of records from storage.
Kitchen schedules.
Security assignments.
Visitor logs.
Personnel rosters.
Radio transmissions.
Vehicle entry records.
Supply deliveries.
Even cleaning schedules.
Everything.
"If somebody changed a duty assignment," Sarah said, "I want to know."
An officer nodded.
"If someone signed for a delivery they shouldn't have, I want it."
"Yes, General."
Magnolia opened one of the kitchen records.
"The lunch schedule was normal."
Sarah looked at her.
"Normal?"
"According to the paperwork."
"That isn't the same thing."
Magnolia nodded.
"I know."
She turned the page.
"The meal was prepared at the usual time."
"Who prepared it?"
"We're checking."
"Who approved it?"
Magnolia paused.
"That's more interesting."
Sarah looked over.
"There are two signatures."
"Two?"
"One from the kitchen supervisor."
"And the second?"
Magnolia studied the handwriting.
"An administrative authorization."
Sarah's eyes narrowed.
"Why would administration authorize lunch?"
"They didn't."
Magnolia looked up.
"That's the problem."
Albert arrived with a weapons case.
"I've got something."
They gathered around him.
He opened the case.
Inside were the rifles and sidearms recovered from the attackers.
Albert picked up one of the rifles.
"This isn't standard Brotherhood issue."
Sarah frowned.
"But you said Brotherhood-pattern."
"Pattern, yes. Origin, unknown."
He turned the weapon over.
"Parts have been replaced. Receiver markings removed. Some components are Republic-compatible."
Magnolia looked concerned.
"So someone built these specifically to blur the trail."
"That's what it looks like."
Sarah folded her arms.
"Institute?"
Albert shook his head.
"Too early to say."
"Brotherhood?"
"Possible."
"Republic?"
Albert hesitated.
"Also possible."
That answer was uncomfortable.
Sarah didn't like it.
But she nodded.
"Keep going."
By evening, the headquarters had changed.
Guards stood at every major corridor.
Nobody entered without identification.
Kitchen workers were escorted through controlled access points.
Deliveries were inspected twice.
Personnel badges were checked against physical rosters.
Even senior officers found themselves answering questions from security staff.
Nobody complained.
Not seriously.
Everyone understood why.
The attack had demonstrated something frightening.
The headquarters had not been breached by force.
It had been bypassed through routine.
The enemy had used ordinary doors, ordinary uniforms, ordinary schedules.
That was what made it so dangerous.
Near midnight, Sarah stood over a table covered with records.
Magnolia rubbed her eyes.
"We've checked thirty-seven personnel files."
Sarah looked at her.
"Thirty-seven?"
"Thirty-eight."
Albert corrected her.
Magnolia sighed.
"Thirty-eight."
Sarah looked at the clock.
"Go sleep."
Magnolia gave her a tired stare.
"You first."
Sarah almost smiled.
Albert shook his head.
"You're both terrible at this."
Sarah looked at him.
"You're still here too."
"Unfortunately."
They returned to the paperwork.
Nobody laughed.
Not really.
⸻
The next morning brought no attack.
That almost made things worse.
Sanctuary continued functioning.
Children walked between secured areas.
Workers repaired vehicles.
Traders unloaded goods.
The Republic flag moved above the headquarters.
But beneath the normal routine, everyone was watching everyone else.
Sico remained at the safe house.
The twelve soldiers guarding him rotated every few hours.
He received regular updates, but Sarah deliberately kept the details limited.
Not because she distrusted him.
Because information was now a weapon.
The fewer people who knew what the investigators had discovered, the fewer people could warn anyone still involved.
Inside headquarters, Sarah, Magnolia, and Albert continued.
They traced the kitchen delivery.
They checked the soldier assigned to escort it.
They discovered that the genuine escort had been reassigned approximately twenty minutes before lunch.
The replacement had appeared on the duty roster.
But the change had been entered manually.
Sarah stared at the document.
"Who authorized this?"
Magnolia pointed toward the bottom.
"That's what we're trying to determine."
Albert examined the signature.
"It's legitimate."
Sarah looked at him.
"You're sure?"
"Compared against the officer's other records."
He placed several pages beside it.
"Same handwriting."
Sarah's expression darkened.
"So the officer really made the change."
"Yes."
"Who?"
Magnolia answered.
"Lieutenant Marcus Vale."
The name hung in the room.
Sarah knew him.
Not personally.
But enough.
Vale had served at headquarters for months.
He had been reliable.
Quiet.
Professional.
Never involved in disciplinary problems.
Never questioned.
Sarah looked toward the security officer.
"Where is he?"
The officer checked his tablet.
"He's assigned to administrative security today."
Sarah's eyes narrowed.
"Find him."
The officer hesitated.
"He isn't at his post."
Sarah's expression changed immediately.
"Where is he?"
"We're checking."
Albert stood.
"General."
Sarah looked at him.
"The access records."
He held up a folder.
"Vale's credentials were used at the eastern service entrance shortly before the attackers entered."
Silence.
Magnolia slowly closed her folder.
Sarah stared at the record.
"By him?"
"We don't know."
Albert pointed to another entry.
"But his badge was physically registered there."
Sarah's jaw tightened.
"Find him."
This time there was no hesitation.
"Now."
Then they found Lieutenant Marcus Vale in a storage annex on the northern side of Sanctuary.
He wasn't running.
That almost made the arrest more unsettling.
Two loyal soldiers entered first.
Weapons raised.
"Lieutenant Vale."
He turned.
"What is this?"
"Step away from the table."
Vale looked toward the door.
Then toward the soldiers.
"You've made a mistake."
Sarah entered behind them.
"No."
Vale's face changed slightly.
"General."
"Hands where I can see them."
He obeyed.
Slowly.
Sarah approached.
"You're under arrest."
"For what?"
"Helping infiltrators enter Republic Headquarters."
Vale stared at her.
"I didn't do that."
Albert stepped inside carrying the records.
"Your credentials did."
Vale said nothing.
Magnolia followed.
"The duty reassignment was authorized under your name."
Still nothing.
Sarah looked him directly in the eyes.
"We have your access records, your authorization, your communications activity, and the delivery schedule."
Vale's expression remained controlled.
"You're interpreting records."
"No."
Sarah stepped closer.
"We're connecting them."
The soldiers placed restraints around his wrists.
Vale didn't resist.
That made Sarah even more uneasy.
"Take him to secure custody."
The soldiers escorted him away.
Sarah watched him disappear.
Magnolia stood beside her.
"He didn't even fight."
Albert nodded.
"That doesn't mean he's innocent."
"No," Sarah said.
"It means he knows something."
The interrogation room was small.
Concrete walls.
One table.
Four chairs.
A single lamp.
Vale sat with his hands restrained.
Sarah entered first.
Magnolia followed.
Albert closed the door.
Sarah sat opposite him.
"You know why you're here."
Vale looked at her.
"I've been told."
"You provided access."
"No."
"Your credentials were used."
"I didn't use them."
"You authorized a duty change that created the opportunity."
"I authorized a legitimate reassignment."
Magnolia placed the kitchen records on the table.
"Then explain why the replacement soldier was an impostor."
Vale said nothing.
Albert placed photographs beside them.
Weapons.
Uniform fragments.
Access records.
Communications logs.
"Explain these."
Vale looked at the photographs.
His expression barely changed.
Sarah leaned forward.
"Who recruited you?"
Silence.
"Who gave you the instructions?"
Nothing.
"Who supplied the uniforms?"
Vale looked down.
"Were they Brotherhood?"
No response.
"Institute?"
Nothing.
"Someone inside the Republic?"
Vale remained silent.
Sarah's patience began to wear thin.
"Was there another team?"
Nothing.
"Are there other infiltrators in Sanctuary?"
Vale finally looked up.
His eyes were cold.
"You're asking the wrong questions."
Sarah stared at him.
"What does that mean?"
Vale said nothing.
Magnolia leaned forward.
"Was Sico the only target?"
Silence.
Albert watched him carefully.
Then he looked at Sarah.
"He's trained."
Sarah frowned.
"You think?"
"He's controlling his breathing."
Vale looked at Albert.
Albert continued.
"He's deliberately refusing to react to specific questions."
Sarah's expression hardened.
"Conditioned?"
"Possibly."
Vale gave the faintest smile.
It disappeared almost immediately.
Sarah saw it.
"So somebody trained you for this."
Vale looked away.
She stood.
"Who?"
Nothing.
Sarah slammed her palm against the table.
"People died today because of you."
Vale didn't respond.
"Your own people were almost killed."
Still nothing.
"You were prepared to let yourself die rather than tell us who sent you."
His eyes finally met hers.
"Yes."
The word was quiet.
But it changed the room.
Magnolia leaned back.
Albert looked toward Sarah.
Sarah's frustration became visible.
"Who?"
Vale said nothing again.
They tried everything.
Reason.
Pressure.
Appeals to loyalty.
Questions about his family.
Questions about his career.
Questions about the Brotherhood.
Questions about the Institute.
Questions about whether another attack was coming.
Vale answered almost nothing.
When he did speak, it was vague.
Never enough to build a conclusion.
Hours passed.
Eventually Sarah left the room.
She closed the door harder than necessary.
Magnolia stood beside her.
"We're getting nowhere."
Sarah rubbed her forehead.
"I know."
Albert looked through the observation window.
"He's not improvising."
"What do you mean?"
"He came prepared to stay silent."
Magnolia's expression darkened.
"Which means this assassination may not have been the whole operation."
Sarah looked at her.
"You think there's more?"
"I think we should assume there is until proven otherwise."
Sarah looked down the corridor.
Behind the reinforced door, Vale remained seated.
Silent.
Waiting.
Sico was still at the safe house under heavy guard.
The headquarters remained locked down.
The Castle was secure.
Cambridge continued building its defenses.
But Sanctuary no longer felt like the safest place in the Republic.
Not completely.
Because somewhere inside their own system, someone had opened a door.
Someone had provided information.
Someone had helped an enemy get within feet of Sico.
And now they had a captured officer who knew the truth and refused to speak.
Sarah looked toward Magnolia.
"We keep digging."
Magnolia nodded.
Albert folded his arms.
"And we assume there are still pieces we haven't found."
Sarah looked once more toward the interrogation room.
"Then we find them."
Outside, the sun was beginning to disappear behind the Sanctuary hills.
The headquarters settled into another uneasy evening.
Guards changed positions.
Doors were checked.
Weapons were inspected.
Every delivery was searched.
Every unfamiliar face was questioned.
And at the safe house, Sico sat beside a window overlooking a quiet street, protected by soldiers he trusted but unable to see the investigation unfolding around him.
He didn't know exactly what Sarah, Magnolia, and Albert had discovered.
He didn't know that an officer was sitting in custody refusing to reveal who had recruited him.
He only knew that someone had tried to kill him inside the heart of his own Republic.
And he trusted Sarah to find the truth.
For now, that had to be enough.
Back at headquarters, Sarah stopped outside the interrogation room.
Through the small reinforced window, Marcus Vale sat perfectly still.
Not frightened.
Not angry.
Not pleading.
Just silent.
Sarah stared at him.
Whoever had sent those men had known exactly what they were doing.
They had known the Republic's procedures.
They had understood its weaknesses.
They had found someone willing to betray his uniform.
And they had nearly succeeded.
Sarah finally turned away.
The Republic had spent months learning how to fight enemies outside its walls.
Now it had to learn something much harder.
How to recognize an enemy standing inside them.
And somewhere beyond Sanctuary, hidden behind the confusion of a Commonwealth already consumed by war, the people responsible were still waiting.
______________________________________________
• Name: Sico
• Stats :
S: 8,44
P: 7,44
E: 8,44
C: 8,44
I: 9,44
A: 7,45
L: 7
• Skills: advance Mechanic, Science, and Shooting skills, intermediate Medical, Hand to Hand Combat, Lockpicking, Hacking, Persuasion, and Drawing Skills
• Inventory: 53.280 caps, 10mm Pistol, 1500 10mm rounds, 22 mole rats meat, 17 mole rats teeth, 1 fragmentation grenade, 6 stimpak, 1 rad x, 6 fusion core, computer blueprint, modern TV blueprint, camera recorder blueprint, 1 set of combat armor, Automatic Assault Rifle, 1.500 5.56mm rounds, power armor T51 blueprint, Electric Motorcycle blueprint, T-45 power armor, Minigun, 1.000 5mm rounds, Cryolator, 200 cryo cell, Machine Gun Turret Mk1 blueprint, electric car blueprint, Kellogg gun, Righteous Authority, Ashmaker, Furious Power Fist, Full set combat armor blueprint, M240 7.62mm machine guns blueprint, Automatic Assault Rifle blueprint, and Humvee blueprint.
• Active Quest:-