FFF - Ch78

Jane’s bedding is ruined when it’s over as the three of them, sweaty and fragrant, are splayed out on it, two of them with oozing creampies. Shell’s legs move occasionally, and she has her hand on her belly. Jane’s chest rises and falls as Curio looks as though she could be sleeping.

Finally, Curio sighs. She opens her eyes and sits up.

“Ladies,” she says.

“Hmm?” Shell moans.

“Shall we?”

“Shall we what?” Jane asks.

“Conclude our business here.”

Jane sits bolt upright. Good sex and a heavy afterglow distracted her.

“It worked?”

“Yes,” Curio replies, leaning forward and gazing at the ceiling where they know the hidden camera is. “I’ve got control of all the systems that matter. Annette’s no longer in charge.”

“She can’t hear us right now?” Shell asks.

“She can,” Curio replies. “And see us. But she can’t do anything. She had to be dealt with out of necessity, not cruelty. There’s no need to blind and deafen her. I’m not a monster.” Curio gets to her feet. “I think there’s time for us to clean up and eat before we proceed, but we shouldn’t linger. It’s not out of the question that the Deathclaw was only a sort of scout.”

Shell’s eyes flash; she doesn’t like not being in charge, but she knows when she’s not the one holding the cards.

“OK,” she agrees.

It’s a strange feeling once they’re clean and dressed, eating in the dining room, knowing that Annette is watching helplessly. Curio is setting the agenda; Jane is just along for the ride, and she appreciates that enormously. The hardest part about life on the surface wasn’t pulling a trigger or staying alive, it was trying to decide how to proceed with no guidance. Jane understands Vault life best; the surface is so alien.

She winces and looks away; another vision of Daisy’s smile lingering behind her eyes. It’s a reminder of why she’s here, but things have changed. The D.I.C.K. device? It doesn’t matter anymore. Enclave. Curio. Shell’s Sisterhood of Steel. And then there’s… Chastity and QT as well. Jane hasn’t forgotten the two of them. And Melody? What did she do when Jane didn’t come out of this place?

“How do we get that formula?” Shell asks Curio directly. “That thing you used on me. If Enclave wants to destroy it, I have to save it.”

Curio takes a folded paper from her pocket and spreads it on the table. It’s a hand-drawn layout of the facility full of Curio’s notes.

“Nice to be able to do this in the open,” Curio muses, using the handle of her fork to point. “You can see from this perspective how the perimeter has moved inward. That Deathclaw isn’t the first thing to show up here. Trouble has been eroding Annette’s defenses for a while.” She points at the center. “Then there’s this area. You’ve noticed it as well. She keeps us away from that. The doors are all sealed. That’s where we need to go.”