Intertwined (IC)

[MatrixOne]

"I don't have any friends."
A partial answer... Was she trying to dodge the subject?

Hugo didn't get the chance to inquire more about it because they arrived at their destination.
Fort Mercer was a futuristic facility located near a deep, dry chasm sculpted by rivers flowing through it during the wet seasons. The fort was surrounded by a thick wall - security seemed heavy.

The truck Hugo was driving happened to be the exact same model the hunter took back at the ambush point. Guards took notice of this fact quickly. Besides, it was very uncommon for an outsider to visit Fort Mercer.

A welcoming party consisting of eight armed men approached Hugo and Rin.
Among the soldiers, there was a familiar face.

"Huh. Wasn't expecting to see you again so soon"
Matthews leaned against the truck.
"But hey, friends are always welcome, right boys?"
He turned to face his comrades. They were unsettled by the presence of two outsiders, but trusted the hunter's judgement.
He smiled at Hugo and Rin as the guards were putting their weapons away.
"You two look like you could use a rest"
He thought for a moment.
"Well, the Fort has no hotels... I mean, it's a military facility. But there are private quarters for The Overseer's finest. And I happen to be one of those"
He laughed, and invited them inside the Fort.

The Overseer was leading an organization called Terminus. He was a very influential man, and built facilities similar to Fort Mercer across the whole continent, from California to New Jersey.

Terminus didn't have the best reputation in the States. They were usually going about their business, but when The Overseer wanted something, nothing would stand in his way. He once razed a city to the ground just to catch a fugitive.

Rin remembered it all too well - she was the fugitive her father wanted to capture. And now, she voluntarily entered a Terminus facility.
But she trusted Hugo. She knew he'd keep her safe.

"You guys can sleep at my quarters if you want. I'm too old for sleep"
Matthews chuckled, and patted Hugo on the shoulder.
"It was a compliment, you know"

Despite the late hour, the Fort was very lively. The whole facility was well lit and filled with chatter.
The structure had to be simple - military facilities need quick access to every building should an emergency occur.
Rin looked around. A comm room, barracks, private quarters, a garage and a bar - there was everything a soldier would ever need.

Matthews pulled out a key from his combat backpack, and casually tossed it to Hugo.
"First room on the right. Number's on the key if you get lost... Oh, and if Esteban is reluctant to let you in, just tell him Matthews granted you the power to beat his sorry ass senseless"
He laughed at his own joke.
"Once you guys wake up, come meet me at the bar. My treat. I'd love to hear your story, and if you want to have a chat with The Overseer, you need a high ranking official to vouch for you. And I'm that kind of official who's more inclined to vouch for someone he shared a drink with"

________________________________
Spot all the Mass Effect references... : D
And a Fallout 3 reference.
Oh, and a Red Dead Redemption reference, too ;q
Or two, but one is hard to spot.

[FreedomLivesOn]

Hugo had heard about Fort Mercer, albeit not by name. Settlements had talked about a military base on the east coast that was renown for hosting some of the nastiest types in the country. The aforementioned impression he had gotten was what caused to Hugo be extremely suspicious of Matthew's welcoming nature. He could tell the man didn't possess the normal make-up of a hunter(insanity, brutality, no regard for human life), but even still, there was something off about the seemingly friendly nature of the hunter and the base in general.

Hugo caught the key and nodded at his instructions, leading Rin into the building they were in front of. The interior was stark and metallic, a usual theme seen at most settlements. Materials were hard to scavenge, so most building material was scrapped together from various hunks of shrapnel and other things found in this post-war nightmare land. Hugo found the door and unlocked it, being greeted by a large common area with somewhat worn furniture scattered around the room. The man named Esteban wasn't anywhere to be seen, which suited Hugo just fine; he wasn't in the mood to deal with an irritable hunter. The former detective spotted a doorway on their right, Hugo walking through said doorway to find a decent sized cot and a dresser. He placed his bag underneath the cot before he told Rin:
"I'm going to go talk to Matthews. Get some rest, kiddo; you need it."

[MatrixOne]

Rin took Hugo's advice. She could sense his doubt about the situation, but she was also sure it was misplaced. She sat on a chair, and fell asleep almost instantly. It was a long day.

---

Matthews was quietly sipping his drink in a corner of the bar, away from all the fuss. His face turned serious as soon as Hugo approached him.
"Are you out of your mind?!"
It was obvious that something was wrong with all this.
"Look, man, if this girl had a death wish, this is the place she should visit. They nearly killed both of you at the front gate"

He straightened up in the chair, and asked for another drink.

"I don't know you"
His tone was bitter, but honest.
"I shouldn't be helping you out. I'm risking way more than just my job over this; The girl you're travelling with is the daughter of The Overseer, and she's been running from him for two years already. The official story is - I captured her with your help, and we're waiting for debrief"
He took a deep breath, steadying his voice.

"If I didn't make this up, you'd both be dead. Now, you have two ways out of this - either you talk to the guy and, I don't know, negotiate a temporary ceasefire with her, or you run the hell out of here. And I'd greatly prefer that first option, probably because it doesn't end with my employer putting a price on my head for betrayal. If you have something to aid his case, he will aid your case. He's generous, but radical, so be wary of that"

Matthews was a 'good merc'. He enjoyed shooting bad guys, but he didn't want to help with capturing a defenseless girl...
A rare attitude.

[FreedomLivesOn]

Here now was the real hunter, the one whom Hugo had thought he would be dealing with in the first place. As he listened to the hunter's explanation of not only his personal risk, but that of the link between Rin and this fabled "Overseer", Hugo's mind processed the information as if back in the field, listening to an account of events from a person close to the crime. Every physical twitch of motion, every drawn out and shortened word, every change of tone he observed to see if Matthews was indeed telling the truth and to plan what his next move would be. Once Matthews completed his proposal, Hugo knew without a doubt that the hunter wasn't attempting to corner Rin or Hugo as prey for some dastardly purpose; he was telling the truth, which meant that Hugo had some decisions to make. The natural thing to do would be to hand Rin over to her father, let them reconcile in some kind of heart-warming fashion before he continued his search. However, from what Rin had told him, her father couldn't be trusted. Of course, she COULD have been making it up; after all, maybe she was a runaway who was so ashamed of her disability that she wanted to run off from her father. However, Hugo couldn't just comply and wash his hands of the situation. There was potential for him to make a difference in this wasteland, so why pass up the opportunity?

"Show me to the Overseer. Maybe we can talk things over, get this whole mess straightened out." Hugo's expression softened slightly as he asked:
"Do you have a personal connection with the girl? After all, it wouldn't make sense to help just another random stranger who was wandering the wasteland, let alone one who had a gun pointed to your back."

[MatrixOne]

Matthews smiled.
"And yet, I get the impression you'd do the same in my place. Heck, you're kind of doing it right now, despite... not being in my place... obviously"
He let out a nervous laugh. He was glad Hugo made the right choice.

"Well, I guess you should go to the Comm Room. Just... try not to lie to him too much. He probably has a lot of info on you... And besides, I lied to him already. I bet he's going to find out about that soon, so unless you manage to convince him I acted in good faith, we're both going to have to shoot our way out..."
He got up from the table.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out"
And he left.

***

Turns out the comm room was a big building with "The Comm Room" written on it. Oddly enough, it was spherically shaped, with a large antenna on top of it.

The doors slammed shut as soon as Hugo entered. The whole room was designed in a way that would let The Overseer appear as a hologram, and walk around it freely without having to adjust his behavior to fit in the narrow hologram space.

"Mr. Douglass"
The simple fact he knew Hugo's surname was an indicative of having lots of connections. It also meant that The Overseer knew a lot about him, which was disturbing.

"I must admit, I am surprised you agreed to meet with me. After keeping my daughter from me and turning my best operative against me, most people would probably run away"
The hologram was finally rendered fully, revealing The Overseer's appearance to Hugo.

The straight, confident posture and pre-war business attire could only mean one thing - power. Despite being around 50 years of age, he was one of the most influential people in America.

"But I am in need of a skilled detective"
His body language was calm and calculated, planning every move in order to not show any weaknesses.

"And you are in need of someone who could help find your sister. I think we could strike up a deal"

Suddenly, his voice became cold, almost threatening.

"But before we talk it over... I think you have something of mine. Or someone. I'm surprised; You of all people should know how important it is to help humanity in times of need. And right now, studying Rin's mind could help us uncover means to grant her power to anyone. Think of the possibilities! This chance can not be wasted"

[FreedomLivesOn]

(VERY nice characterization of the Overseer. Loooove it)

Hugo was shocked to hear that this individual knew so much about him; after all, most of his time was spent out on the west coast and news didn't exactly travel at the speed it did before the war. Also, Hugo had stayed low profile for the most part, his detective work after the war helping ordinary people, not anyone of note. Of course, it SHOULDN'T have surprised him totally; after all, if Rin's father was as powerful as he was made out to be, he most likely had access to resources that were unavailable to the ordinary individual. But to know about his sister? What DID he know?

Hugo kept his facial expression neutral throughout the Overseer's schpeal on "helping humanity" through making Rin a lab rat. Once he was finished, Hugo responded:
"It's not my place to get in the way of familial ties; however, I think in this case, I'd be justified in saying that you need to stay away from your daughter. You can't subjugate your child to this kind of treatment. If you really want to help humanity, you would use all those resources I know you have to build settlements, grow food and draw people together instead of building your own private army."

[MatrixOne]

"A naive approach. Founding cities without the means to adequately protect them is a mistake of the ones who made this world into what it is today"
His confident posture suggested he believed what he just said.

"Mind control is the only real way of keeping people in line. Think about it! A world with no conflict. Adjusting minds in order to keep the peace is the pinnacle of human evolution, and our only salvation. If we turn our back on this, this cycle will only keep repeating, eventually leading to ultimate obliteration"

He smiled mockingly.
"But I suppose you'd rather save humanity by building a few cities. I wonder what you'll think when you watch those cities burn and annihilate each other"

"But I don't need you as an advisor. I need you as a detective. Some of my operatives turned rogue. I also have elites sent by other factions to sabotage my operations. As you see, I can't trust anybody from my faction. Of course, it all would never happen if I had the mind-control power... But I think you should see it for yourself. Take Rin with you for your investigation. When you see what she is really capable of, reconsider my offer. I'm sure you'll make the right choice"
He looked Hugo in the eye, waiting for an answer.

[FreedomLivesOn]

Hugo grimaced at the Overseer's offer, knowing that if he accepted this proposal, the former detective would be associated with a man with whom he wanted nothing to do with. He could tell that the man was deluded, only seeing his daughter as a weapon to be utilized; but, he also knew that the Overseer was a pragmatist, seeing the bigger picture rather than focusing on small details. It was a unique quality that Hugo admired. He thought for a few moments, offering nothing but silence, his eyes cast toward the ground as he weighed his options. Hugo knew that the Overseer might have been bluffing about information regarding his sister, but could he take that chance? If he DID agree to this, then he would have to hand Rin over, something he didn't want to do. However...

He had to.

"If I agree, I want half of the data up front and free reign over your entire stock of resources. I want clearance to every essential database you have. Do that and you have my services at your disposal."

[MatrixOne]

The Overseer couldn't help but smile when Hugo presented his demands.
"Certainly. I'll have my best men start searching for your sister as soon as our business is concluded"

"Just as I suspected", he thought to himself. "I can buy anyone. The question isn't their will, but their price"

But still, he was not entirely happy with the price.
"But I think you know very well that I can't provide you with clearance to the most essential databases about Terminus. The actions of my organization that have nothing to do with you or your sister should stay in the dark. I'm sure you understand"

Another psychological trick. The Overseer made sure to be clear that he was in control, not Hugo. He denied him the databases without asking - this has drawn the line of generosity that Hugo shouldn't cross. To even try negotiating it again, he'd need to openly object and stand up to The Overseer, and that would probably be rather foolish.

"One of my operatives went rogue quite recently. He started causing trouble around Terminus operations, and I believe he has a superior issuing orders to him. I want you to track them both down, and use my resources to neutralize the threat, preferably by capturing them. I think you should start the investigation by talking to a former associate of his, Drake Matthews. He's waiting outside. Any questions?"

[FreedomLivesOn]

(Argh! I've been online and looking to see if you had posted by the "search for all posts by" function and it didn't notify me of your post. 0_0)

Hugo shook his head, listening to the Overseer's directive with an air of apathy. Once the Overseer was finished talking, the detective spoke:
"You really think I can trust your claim that Terminus has nothing to do with my sister? Don't get me wrong; I could care less about the inner workings of your organization, but this is a personal matter for me, one which requires I have all the evidence in front of me. If you don't want to give me that, then take your directive and fill it out yourself. I don't have time to deal with petty megalomania." Hugo knew that he was walking on thin ice, but he couldn't allow this man to shut him out of what could be an opportunity to find the only remaining family member he had. The detective had noted that the exit wasn't guarded, so if he had to make a quick escape, the option was there. However, getting Rin out and finding a vehicle wouldn't be as easy.

But, as he had learned early on his career, each scenario had to be taken one step at a time.

He just hoped he was making the right call.