At The Precipice Of Something New

Something Taken

Diamond City
March the 1st, 2288
13:14

"Hopefully you've rested up well. Seemed you really needed it."

Nick Valentine stood up when he heard the windchimes on the door into his office ring out, offering Nora a smile when he saw it was she who had entered, alongside Piper and Lisanna. Nora managed a small smile back, and sat down across from his desk after a moment of hesitation. Turning around from where she had been organising closed and current case files, Ellie waved happily to Piper, who winked before walking over to stand on one side of Nora, her wife on the other. Lisanna was almost absentmindedly looking around, every so often pushing her glasses back up and her bangs out of her face. The office was (unsurprisingly) quiet and (surprisingly) impeccably organised, months with no ability to run cases having left the detective's secretary with little to keep her mind away from worrying other than organising over and over and over. Anything to keep the hands moving. Things having been so draining in the aftermath of returning from the Vault with the curious and elusive missing detective, Nora anxiously waited for Nick to return to his desk, apparently rummaging around for something. Soon enough, he found what he was looking for, and sat down at his desk. He set down the notebook he had retrieved before pulling out a pen, briefly testing its ink flow, and writing down the case number and type. Almost transfixed, Nora closely watched the way the detective wrote, surprised by his near calligraphic cursive. When he seemed to have finished writing, he looked up, meeting Nora's curious gaze.

"I know it's been hard on you, would be for anyone," Nick said, holding his pen, ready to write. "If you're feeling well enough to talk about things, I'm ready. Last thing I want is to put you through more pain than you're already facing."

"Thanks, Nick," Nora said, pausing for a few seconds. I'm ready. I'm ready to do this. I can. I can talk about what happened. I have to. "I appreciate it, but I'm alright."

"Alright, then. I hate to say it, but, when you're trying to find someone who's gone missing, the devil is in the details" Nick nodded, glancing at her worriedly as he spoke. "Tell me everything you can, no matter how...painful it might be."

"We're...looking for my husband, Nate, and my son, Shaun," Nora said, her voice briefly wavering. "My son, Shaun, is less than a year old, though his first birthday is coming up in July, July ninth. Why would anyone take them, but especially Shaun?"

"A good question. Why your family in particular, and why only the father and an infant?" Nick's brow furrowed in thought. "Even if they didn't separate them, a baby needs a lot of care, even with one of their parents. What else can you tell me?"

Nora swallowed hard. "There was a man, a woman, and a few others. I couldn't tell much about them, and none of them said much...but I remember the man...he called me 'the backup.'"

"'The backup?'' Nick blinked, surprised. "Not sure what that means, but it sounds like we're talking a small team, professionals, the kind who know to keep their lips tight when they're on the job. Where did this happen?"

"In the Vault," Nora said, a hint of bitterness entering her voice. "Vault 111. It was some kind of cryogenics facility. Vault-Tec...they used us as test subjects. I think...well, maybe everyone else was released when my husband and son were kidnapped, but it didn't release me then, and only released me this last October, as an error. The systems didn't say when everyone else had been released but...but it couldn't have been too far apart. I still don't understand...why did they do this? Why would Vault-Tec do this, and why would anyone take my husband and son?"

"I can't speak to Vault-Tec's motivations, but I agree they must have been released shortly before you. After over two centuries, you're right. Vault-Tec's systems must have malfunctioned to not release you with everyone else," Nick shook his head. "The most important thing, though, is not only the fact you were on ice, but the fact you were, also, underground. Sealed up. And that's a lot of obstacles to get through just to take two people, even if you leave everyone else to fend for themselves. Hopefully everyone else were alright when they got out and to the surface. I doubt the people who kidnapped your husband and son were particularly interested in helping everyone else in the Vault."