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We've got a problem here and to be honest, Father's never taken it as seriously as he should. I'm hoping you will.Justin Ayo

Plugging a Leak is an Institute side quest in Fallout 4. It can be accomplished for the benefit of the Institute or against their interests.

Quick walkthrough[]

Institute side quest: Plugging a Leak 
Speak to Doctor Ayo. 
Access lab terminal. 
Go to Binet residence and access terminal. 
Confront Liam's mother in maintenance room. 
Confront Liam. 
Report Liam. 
Frame Ayo. 
Reward: 200 XP
1000 caps 
Reward: 200 XP
Liam's glasses 

Detailed walkthrough[]

Speak to Doctor Justin Ayo of the Synth Retention Bureau. He suspects that someone within The Institute is helping synths escape. His prime suspect is Doctor Alan Binet in the Robotics department. Go there and access any terminal to read the logs. Additionally, Doctor Binet can be spoken to.

The terminal will lead the Sole Survivor to the Binet residence, where they will find the doctor's son, Liam Binet, and Liam's "mother," Eve. While there, access the terminal and read the logs. Return to the Synth Retention Bureau, access one of their terminals and read the logs.

The Survivor will then be directed to the maintenance room, where Eve will be found acting suspiciously. She claims to have developed a motherly attachment to Liam and has been covering his tracks. Unhappy at being found out, she will point a gun at the player character. At this point, either eliminate her or pass a Hard Charisma check to convince her to stand down.

Whatever the decision, head back to Liam at the Binet residence. When Liam is confronted, one will have two options: Report Liam to Doctor Ayo or frame Doctor Ayo.

Option 1. Report Liam to Doctor Ayo[]

Return to Dr. Ayo and inform him of Liam's actions to receive a reward of 1,000 caps and end the quest. Further to this, Liam will be banished from the Institute.

Option 2. Frame Doctor Ayo[]

Go to Ayo's quarters and access his private terminal. Disable the safeguards and return to Liam to end the quest and receive Liam's glasses as a reward. Justin will then be replaced by Alana Secord as acting director.

Quest stages[]

Quest stages
StageStatusDescriptionLog Entry
400 Investigate the robotics terminalsDr. Ayo of the SRB suspects that Dr. Binet is helping synths escape the Institute. I should investigate the terminals in Robotics for clues.
600 Investigate Alan Binet quartersWhile searching the terminals in Robotics for evidence that Dr. Binet is helping synths escape, I found a remote access entry from Binet's quarters.
650 Investigate the SRB terminalsWhile searching Dr. Binet's personal terminal for evidence of his involvement in the recent synth escapes, I found a remote access entry from the SRB.
700 Investigate the maintenance terminalMy investigation of the recent synths escapes has led me to a computer terminal in one of the Institute's storage rooms.
750 Eve attacks playerWhile investigating the recent synth escapes, I encountered Dr. Binet's personal synth, Eve, who revealed that the real culprit is Dr. Binet's son Liam.
800 Confront Liam BinetMy investigation of the recent synth escapes has revealed that the culprit is not Dr. Alan Binet, as Dr. Ayo suspects, but his son Liam.
1000 Report your findings to Justin AyoI need to report back to Dr. Ayo and tell him that the culprit behind the synth escapes is Liam Binet.
1200 (Optional) Disable the safeguards on Justin Ayo's Terminal - Frame AyoWhen I confronted Liam Binet about his role in the synth escapes, he admitted his guilt and then asked me to help him frame Dr. Ayo. I agreed to his plan.
1400 Return to Liam BinetI've agreed to help Liam Binet frame Dr. Ayo for the synth escapes. I need to let Liam know that I disabled the security safeguards on Dr. Ayo's terminal.
2000Quest finishedQuest completeI discovered that Liam Binet was behind the recent synth escapes, and I informed Dr. Ayo. Now Liam will have to answer for his actions.
2500Quest failedQuest failed

Notes[]

  • This side quest is mutually-exclusive with the Railroad quest line, as obtaining this quest requires completing Mankind - Redefined, which results in failing Tradecraft if that quest has not been completed beforehand. Conversely, successfully completing Tradecraft makes this quest unavailable even after Mankind - Redefined is completed. However, on PC one can manually start the quest if the Railroad has been destroyed. Simply open the console and enter the commands startquest instm02, then setstage 000a8257 400. This will give you the quest at its first stage.
  • Choosing to frame Ayo results in failing Political Leanings, which can be issued before 'Plugging a Leak' and completed after, as the former requires a return to the surface and the latter can be completed in a relatively shorter run around the Institute.
  • A synth component will not be found on Eve's corpse.
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