Deacon nodded. Acknowledging the question, the decision to leave, the offer of support with a false hand on his shoulder. A reminder that Miller lost even more than Deacon did when his base went down.
"The Institute. Our OpSec was total crap back then. The Institute Coursers--they're the Institute's dedicated hunters and killers. When an escaped synth needs retrieving or an enemy needs eliminating, the Institute sends Coursers--anyway, they tracked a synth we were helping to one of our safe houses. Too many people knew too many secrets and someone at the safe house squealed. And just like that the Institute knew everything, all our safe houses, location of HQ, our operating procedures and pass codes, everything. They kicked down doors and came in shooting...."
That was it. That was all he could say before his voice started to crack. It was twenty years ago, but the feeling that he was living on undeserved borrowed time never went away. And it was twenty years ago at the Museum but it was also the Hall fourteen years ago, the Farm six years ago, Bolthole four years ago, the Switchboard just a few months ago. They'd gotten better at having escape routes, the casualties were never again as high as they were at the Museum, but every time the Institute found them a few more people he knew died and somehow he never did.
no subject
"The Institute. Our OpSec was total crap back then. The Institute Coursers--they're the Institute's dedicated hunters and killers. When an escaped synth needs retrieving or an enemy needs eliminating, the Institute sends Coursers--anyway, they tracked a synth we were helping to one of our safe houses. Too many people knew too many secrets and someone at the safe house squealed. And just like that the Institute knew everything, all our safe houses, location of HQ, our operating procedures and pass codes, everything. They kicked down doors and came in shooting...."
That was it. That was all he could say before his voice started to crack. It was twenty years ago, but the feeling that he was living on undeserved borrowed time never went away. And it was twenty years ago at the Museum but it was also the Hall fourteen years ago, the Farm six years ago, Bolthole four years ago, the Switchboard just a few months ago. They'd gotten better at having escape routes, the casualties were never again as high as they were at the Museum, but every time the Institute found them a few more people he knew died and somehow he never did.