A Rose Among Thorns

18 | The Nuclear Option

She returned to Sanctuary to pick up Nick, then they went to Valentine Detective Agency for her hazmat suit for their trip back into the Glowing Sea. Virgil was extremely grateful she remembered their deal and immediately injected the serum. He told them it might take a few days for the serum to work, so he suggested they return later to see if it worked. They left him and headed back for Sanctuary to see if Sturges was done.

As they headed for the Tinker's usual haunts, Preston met them on the road—he looked excited. "Sturges broke the code and found a way in; come on." He walked with them to find Sturges, reading something on a terminal.

"Preston told us you found a way into the Institute," Briar Rose began.

He turned. "That's right. I was hoping I'd find something worthwhile after all that time spent cracking the encryption. And I did. One of the things in the data you stole was a plan of the whole Institute complex—including the older sections that used to be part of C.I.T. Turns out, they're still using an old water pipe that runs out to the river—brings in cooling water to their reactor. Its entrance is underwater but is blocked by a security grate. Also, the whole pipe is labeled 'high radiation danger'."

Nick skewered him. "You don't believe that warning's real?"

He shook his head. "From what I've read, no; it's a way to keep out trespassers. There isn't any other way in that I could find, so it's this or nothing. I did manage to pull the code to open the grate. So all you have to do is to survive the trip." He pulled out another holotape. "Soon as you get in there, you need to access the main Relay control and use this holotape to teleport everybody into the Institute."

She looked at the holotape in his hand, waiting for her to take it. The surrounding men remained quiet, understanding her hesitation. Taking it finalized her decision to destroy the Institute and killing Shaun. Her son. Her flesh and blood she has fought so hard to find. Could she do this?

She didn't really have much of a choice. Shaun had destroyed lives through the Institute and with the way he looked down on the Commonwealth like they were better, meant he had no intentions of stopping. He said the Institute had the Commonwealth's best interest at heart... but to her, it seemed like they wanted to wipe them out. Just because he was her son didn't mean he could have a free pass—like any other criminal, he had to pay for his crimes.

Briar Rose took the holotape from Sturges and looked at him. "Where do I need to go?"

***

Sturges' directions led them East along the Charles River. She and Nick looked down at the murky water hiding the pipe providing entrance into the Institute—they had left Dogmeat behind in Sanctuary with Mama Murphy. Once the Relay was opened, Preston, Sturges, and a slew of Minutemen would teleport in. Then the fight for the future of the Commonwealth began.

Nick looked at her after observing what stood in their way. "Ready, Flower?"

After thinking it over, Briar Rose sighed heavily. "No, but I can never be ready to kill my son."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't think of this as that."

She looked at him. "But that's what I will be doing, right?"

Nick couldn't respond; Briar Rose looked back down at the water. "Let's just get this over with."

She launched over the railing and fell a few feet before hitting the polluted water; Nick splashed beside her not a second later. After re-emerging, Briar Rose was careful not to swallow any of the foul water as she gulped in some air and dunked under.