Of all the people Nora had come to know, Gage was the last one she would have ever thought of being kidnappable. When she had first been told he’d gotten snatched, she didn’t even believe it. Who could blame her? The big bad raider, all high and mighty and terrifying as he was, caught with his goddamn pants down.
She’d been told to just leave him out there since he’d been stupid enough to get himself caught. Better yet, without him around watching her all the time, she could easily get out of Nuka-World and back to Boston where she was needed. And yet, she’d dropped what she was doing, packed up her own person stash of caps (Because like hell she was gonna get bitched at for using the parks stash), gotten into her “new” suit of X0-1 Power Armor, that she had just finished painting, and went to get him back.
Why? Because Muka-World would probably die out under her control if she didn’t have him around. But also so that she could rub it in his face that he’d gotten captured in the first place. It was proof that he wasn’t quite so big and bad.
His ransom alone had taken a good chunk out of her caps, and the good amount extra that she had given just to be sure, did help. It was nothing that she couldn’t make back soon enough, though. She stood behind the Gunner Commander with crossed arms, the lights in her helmets eyes shining down on Gages beaten form. When the cell door was opened, Nora almost shoved her aside, but thought better of it.
“Get up, Gage. Time to go.”
Unnervingly enough, there was a delay in the response time from thought to action. He struggled to even push himself onto his knees. Any pressure on his fingers felt like liquid lightning shooting up his joints from open nailbeds.
His entire left side was on fire. It had taken the worst of his initial beating, upon his arrival to the Gunner’s base. A deep, dull pain radiated throughout his body, nauseating him. Bile rose from his throat - he didn’t have the strength to resist - though, thankfully, he hadn’t been given anything to eat since they’d captured him.
“ Ooh, looks like your somebody made a mess,” the commander taunted, leaning against the wall and providing no assistance whatsoever, even after collecting her coin.
“ Here’s hoping you’re strong enough to carry him. Your princess has been through a lot while he waited for you to save him... you know? I don’t think he’s going anywhere on his own. ...Though if it’s too much for you to handle, you can always run back home and get a few of your guys to carry him back. I wouldn’t mind babysitting him for a few more days... ”
