The story of Novirious

Chapter 17

"You've got some balls, pulling a stunt like that." Mistress K hissed at Viribus, walking him out into the daylight.

The first thing Viribus noticed when he walked out of the bar was the amount of people walking around. The sheer number of people, all without masks, all in various types of clothing, from formal men and women who wore surprisingly immaculate suits, to the more casual and common styles of clothing.

"Keep your cool, V." Kumora told him, noting Viribus's panicked expression. "I know that feeling, but let me reassure you... the rumors about the Junkers are wrong.. they need clean air like you and me."

"Wait.. you mean?" Viribus asked, turning to look at Kumora.

"Yep.. I'm originally from the settlements as well. I'm from Novirious." Kumora told him. "I owned a perfectly legal establishment there. One day, the RMP decided to shut me down because one of the officers got caught in a affair with one of my girls. 'Multiple health violations' was the official report... health violations, my fine ass. They just wanted to save face and not get caught with their dicks out."

"And where does the dickhead come into play?" Viribus asked, following Mistress K down the street, towards a large white building.

"Oh, you mean Alec?" Kumora asked. "He was a patron for some time.... not that kind." She laughed, noting Viribus's raised eyebrow. "He never once touched any of my girls... or me. He was more like a bouncer... that paid me just to drink."

"He.. never... tried to touch you?" Viribus asked, confused.

"Nope. The closest that he ever got to me was when he just crashed in my room for the night. He had no where else to sleep that day, and asked for a favor."

'Interesting.' Virbus thought, before turning his attention to the structure ahead of them. "What's this place?"

"Oh this? This is where we have our operations.. its the closest thing we have to a hospital. It also doubles as our settlement's center. We hold meetings here all the time. The bratva take up residence here as well."

"Brat... va? I'm not familiar with that word." Viribus admitted.

"Its a word from the old world... it meant Gangster back then, but now, its the name of the group that leads us. They had very strong ties to the settlements when things went to hell,acting as a sort of guardian for the settlements against the Ferals and other nasty beasts."

"So... why'd they stop?" Viribus asked, frowning.

"The RMP was made a few years later, effectively rendering any need for outside defenses useless." Kumora explained, walking into the large building. "Come on. Your friend and Gidget is waiting."

"I mean.. they are pretty well armed." Viribus  told her, following. "They've got some pretty good guns, some top notch armor, and the best training."

"If they were that good, then why do they need Mercs like you and Bounty Boys to keep the people in line?" She asked rather bluntly, throwing a look of slight annoyance over her shoulder. "If they were so good, you'd be out of a job."

Stunned by the sharp comment, Viribus followed along in silence, walking past groups of well dressed people, all speaking various variations of Junker, while others carried conversations in English.

"Through here.. Doc should be expecting us." Mistress Kumora told Viribus, pushing through a set of metal double doors. "Oh... and a word of advice... Try not to say anything about the mask."

"What mask?" Viribus asked, following her through the doors.

"You'll see." She replied. "Just remember what I said."

A few minutes went by, and Viribus followed her down bright white corridor after corridor. As they traveled deeper and deeper, Viribus noticed various rooms, all with people in various states of injury, from one room with a single man who  seemed perfectly fine and reading a book, to a young giro who was laying in her bed with a make shift apparatus aiding her in breathing.

"A little different than the usual tales that the RMP feed you, isn't it, Viribus?" Kumora asked, her voice devoid of all playfulness. "Still think they're ruthless scavengers without remorse?"

Staring at the back of Kumora's head in absolute shock, Viribus followed her into a room, the scent of electrical wiring, blood and antiseptics mingling in the air.

"Doc? Doc, I got Viribus!" Mistress Kumora called out. "Are you all finished?"

The room echoed with the sound of her question for a moment, before a man, appearing to be in his mid 20's, walked from around the corner.

The most notable thing about this man wasn't that he had some remarkable feature, but that his features were obscured by a rather unique looking mask: a antique looking plague doctors mask rested on the head of the one known as Doc.

Doc turned his head, peering out of the mask like a predatory bird would its prey, looking over Viribus with mild intrigue, before turning to Kumora inquisitively.

"Yeah... he's the guy... he'll find out when we walk him in." Kumora told him. "Just trust me."

Doc nodded, then approached Viribus, eyeing him and sizing the Merc up.

"Viribus... meet Doctor Odyssey. The wasteland's number one traveling doctor and best medic  this side of the wasteland." Kumora told him, smiling.