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You briskly walk up to her, grab her by the chin and give her two quick slaps, not hard, but not gentle either. Just like in the holofilms. She looks at you with a mix of shock and anger. "What was that?"
Still holding on to her chin, you say: "I'd thought I'd join in on the theatrics." You lean in close to her ear, whispering. "Admit it, you're a little turned on."
She shoves you off. "You're a pig," she says, but her cheeks are slightly flushed.
"Guilty as charged," you say, grinning. "But I'm a pig with a plan. Overseer wants me get some component for the vault. Now, that could be a cover to get rid of me for the election, it could be a test, it could even be real. It doesn't matter. The only thing you need to know is that I'll be back here before election day, and that you, dollface, need to stay here to keep our faction from turning chicken."
She looks down at the gun in her hand, as if surprised to see it there, and quickly returns it to locker. Taking a shaky breath, she sits down on one of benches and covers her eyes. She's not crying, just exhausted. You take the opportunity to put your arm around her (difficult as it is with all the hardware you're sporting).
"I'm not your dollface," she says.
"But you'll man the fort?"
She nods, nestling her head into your shoulder. "Promise me you'll come back."
"Cross my heart," you say, and you give her a kiss on the forehead.
The entrance (or in your case, exit) to the vault is on the top most floor, only accessible by the central elevator. Normally the place would be flooded with people, as it was six years ago when Talius, Teresa's father, had gone out (come to think of it, that was also a "scouting mission"), but the overseer has seen to it that only essential personal are present. That apparently doesn't even include himself, because you don't see him anywhere. Guess he doesn't want to be seen fraternizing with the enemy.
In fact, the only people here are the vault medic, whose office is located on the same level, and the chief security officer, who's standing by the controls to open the door.
"Given the length of time, we expect radiation levels to have diminished enough not to pose any serious threat," the medic says, "but there may be pockets of high radiation in select areas. Other than that, dehydration and starvation will be your biggest concerns. We don't expect many survivors, animal or human, so all this firepower is probably unnecessary weight."
"Hands off the equipment, doc," warns the security officer. "Authorized personnel only."
The medic rolls his eyes. "I would suggest traveling during early morning and late evening to avoid the heat. Your vault suit should insulate you from the worst of it, but you'll still need to drink plenty of water. Clean water sources will be few and far between, so ration accordingly. And try to stay out of the sun when resting. Avoid dust storms at all costs. What else, what else?"
"I'll be fine, doc," you say, patting his shoulder.
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