[color=00aeef]FRIEDA RICHTER[/color] - Salem -- dawn

"I lied to you Frieda," Arthur blurted out.

Frieda blinked, confused.  "You -- er, what?" 

After he said that, he began looking around nervously both behind and in front of them, before adding in a much lower voice, "You're not the only one they could be after...we need to talk, but not here. Follow me back to my office."

Intrigued and worried at the same time, Frieda did as he asked.  She glanced up to the apartment rooftop and saw little movement.  He led her through the main floor to the stairwell in the back.  Frieda couldn't help but yawn, herself, at the sight of Summer still passed out.  Arthur stepped into what he had fashioned into an apartment for himself and indicated one of the chairs.  She lowered herself onto it, realizing how stiff and sore her body was after sitting on top of that car all night.

"Wait here." He said simply, and disappeared back behind the doorway leading to the mezzanine.  Frieda merely nodded and rubbed her face with both hands, just as Arthur returned a few moments later with a small pristine white box. Her eyes darted between the box and the doctor, her fatigued mind curious and waiting.  He hesitated for a few moments, but brought it forward with a renewed expression of determination and sat it down on the desk next to her. There was a vaguely familiar vitruvian man seal stamped on it along with the words "Institute", "Assigned Nutrition," and "2110". He opened the box and pulled out a small light brown pill and offered it to Frieda.  

"Its safe, I promise you," He added, "Its an energy supplement. Potent, but not dangerous. It should keep you awake and alert for the rest of the day. No caffeine crash either, and as a bonus, it takes like caramel coffee. Real coffee." Arthur gave a slight chuckle as he sat down, "We always popped these things like candy during final examinations, used to call them Dr. Volkert's study-buddies."

Frieda accepted the pill, rolling it over in her open palm for a moment.  [i]The whole rest of the day?  This tiny thing?[/i] she thought to herself, more in awe than in doubt.  

Arthur then gave a heavy sigh before continuing, "I owe you an explanation Frieda. I'm not...I'm not actually from a Vault. I'm not a Vault Dweller and I never was. I'm an Institute scientist. A head researcher with the Bioscience Division." As he talked, he began slowly tracing his finger over the symbol on the box, "You've heard of us I suppose even if you haven't heard all the stories. The people here call us the boogeyman. They hate us and fear us in equal measure. And, to be honest, they are right to. The Commonwealth used to be our playground and we were..well..in some sense, gods. Materialize and de-materialize wherever we chose to, send our Synths to kill or crush whoever we wished, and puppet the people of The Commonwealth like marionettes on strings. That's what we did: and why we were cast down. The Commonwealth thinks The Institute and everyone in it was all wiped out..but that's not true. I'm here, and I'm not the only one." 

He paused for a moment, and then got up and looked out the window of the church, towards where the Brotherhood were still helping Ace work up the generator, "If The Brotherhood were to learn who I was, they would have me pressed up to a wall and shot without question. In fact, I daresay that if anyone else in this town were to find out then they'd likely do the same. The Brotherhood coming in suddenly today made me realize something. Yesterday....you offered to help guard this clinic, but you need to understand just who and what you're really protecting here. You deserve that much at least, and if you want to reconsider your offer now then I'll accept that too."

Arthur let out another sigh and turned away from the window. Looking back at Frieda,

"I apologize for not telling you before, even after you told me who [i]you[/i] were I still lied. You have to understand though that I know very little about the surface. And even though I was deep in the confidence of The Director of The Institute himself, I have no way of knowing what Father did or didn't keep from me. I know very well he kept terrible secrets from others: I was shamefully apart of those secrets, but for all I know, The Institute and The Enclave were at war and the mere mention of the name would have led you to shoot me."  A thought crossed his mind then. He stood silent for a few moments, contemplating it, before adding, "I suppose that's still a possibility...in which case...I guess I just ask that you kill me quickly."

Frieda had been listening politely and intently while Arthur spoke, rolling the pill around on her hand, and froze cold after he finished.  Her eyes rose to meet his and she stood to her full height, pushing her shoulders back.  "Don't be ridiculous," she replied right away.  "I was once Enclave -- and, sure, a lot of my upbringing and conditioning has made the Enclave a part of my identity."  She paused, then muttered, "for better or worse."  She sniffed, then continued.  "I'm familiar with your faction, but, heh, for what it's worth," she offered a small smile, "the Enclave is at war with [i]everyone[/i].  Institute would have been no exception."

She cleared her throat.  "Sorry, that probably wasn't very...comforting."  Frieda ducked her head to look back out the window, towards the apartment building once more, and still saw nothing.  She took a step closer to the doc, put her hand on his shoulder, and pulled him close.  "I wish you hadn't lied to me, but there's nothing to be done about that, now.  I appreciate that you told me the truth, even at great risk to your life, and safety.  It's one thing for [i]me[/i] to admit I'm Enclave to someone, because I have means to defend myself."  Frieda squeezed his shoulder.  "Your trust is not misplaced.  Everyone's got a past, but the way I see it, you're one of the most valuable assets this dump of a town has.  It was true yesterday, and it's still true, today."

She held up the Study Buddy pill.  "I'm going to do the job I promised to do, partly because I won't back down on a commitment I made, willingly and on my own -- but also, because...well...because..."  Frieda found herself feeling awkward, suddenly, and wasn't sure why.  She held a deep respect for the doc, certainly liked him on an individual level, and had felt an odd sort of kinship over their shared histories of living separate from the world as it was.  ...but, what else?

[i]Must be because I'm coming off an all-nighter.[/i]  She stuffed the pill into her mouth and chewed it before she could say anything more.  Frieda smiled, not realizing she was still holding the doc's shoulder.  "Brotherhood will have to go through me, first, and I don't go down easy."