It was high noon when Lane walked into the old farmhouse, the sun was devastating outside and all he could think of was getting a glass of water. He turned on the one working faucet and grabbed a stained old glass from the counter. The water running from the sink looked dark, almost greenish. It tasted slightly of copper and dirt, a horrible combination, one he had grown accustomed to over time here in the wastes. He was so preoccupied getting a drink that he hadn't realized that Jerico had already returned from his most recent chase. He turned around to walk to his cot in the back room of the house and almost choked on the water he was drinking.
Jerico sat with his legs crossed and propped up on table in the far corner of the room. His chair slightly leaned back against the wall and his old cowboy hat brought down over his face. His dark brown leather duster was resting over the chair next to him and his repeating rifle he had dubbed Peacemaker was in the corner, he still wore his .44 Magnum on his hip however. He was always ready. That's why he was the best Regulator around. You couldn't get the jump on this man….not even in his sleep.
"You get your mark?", Jerico's muffled voice asked from under his hat.
"Naw, I lost the trail in Point Lookout…" Lane trailed off, suddenly pretending to be interested in something outside the window.
"I told you that woman wasn't gonna be easy. She used to be a scout for the Talon Company mercs. You may as well have been chasing a ghost.", scoffed Jerico as he sat up and tipped his hat back. He stood up rubbing his eyes and walked over to the window where Lane acted as if he hadn't heard Jerico's last statement.
"What's so damned interesting out there?" he asked inquisitively, knowing full well Lane just didn't want to admit he was right.
Lane knew from the start that accepting the contract on Analyse Simmons was a bad idea. She had killed the last four regulators who had went after her. And she barely ever left the slightest clue of her whereabouts or where she had been. The only thing that kept his chase going was tales from bars and run down shanty towns. She was a ghost. But he had wanted to one up Jerico. He always seemed to be the better of the two and Lane hated it.
Just as Lane was about to answer Jerico they felt a sudden shake in the ground that almost knocked them off their feet. Following directly after a harsh wind that seemed like it was about to blow the farmhouse over hit with a wailing scream. And then they heard the explosion. Both men completely dumbfounded at what could have blown up that was of that magnitude ran outside. They looked south towards the sound of the blast and the wind. The whole sky was orange with fire and the air smelled of copper and dirt. Fallout. Suddenly Jerico realized exactly what had happened… The atom bomb that had lane dormant in Megaton had finally blown up. All those people….gone.
"Damn! Lane we need to get there and see if there is anyone left. We gotta help if we can."
"Shouldn't we wait till everyone else comes back from that chase up towards Old Olney?", asked Lane with a slight quiver in his voice. Being the youngest of the Regulators, Lane wasn't quiet sure how he should handle this. He had never seen the immediate aftermath of an atom bomb. Hell he had never even seen one blow up.
"There isn't enough time!", snapped Jerico. "Grab your gear, we're headin out as soon as possible. We can make it there in two days time. We'll move in under the cover of darkness on the third day and set up camp a mile or two away. After something that big blowing up, theres sure to be a lot of people who are interested in what happened. And I doubt any will be friendly or lookin to help any survivors."
It only took the two about twenty minutes to gather the supplies they would need and to write a quick note on some old paper to leave for the rest of the Regulators to find when they returned from their chase. The note was simple, "went to Megaton, bomb blew up, send help A.S.A.P."
The journey from the farmhouse to what remained of Megaton was long and tiresome for Lane. Jerico's unwavering pace and determination was enough to put the toughest man through his paces. On the second day they were walking through a patch of rocky hills and under a broken down old overpass when they heard a loud rasping breathing coming from the other side of a large pile of rocks in front of them. It sounded like air being forced through an an old crack in a rock.
"Sshh… I think theres something on the other side of these rocks." Jerico whispered as he motioned for Lane to get down and be quiet.
Jerico slung Peacemaker over his shoulder and slowly made his way up to the rocks. Quietly he peeked up over the top and saw what lay beyond. There under an old piece of sheet metal lay a giant of a super mutant. He had propped up the metal on the rocks to create shade and had promptly passed out in the afternoon warmth. Totally unaware of his surroundings.
Jerico found this as a prime opportunity to rid the wastelands of one more abomination. He slowly and quietly drew his combat knife from under his duster and crept around the rocks to the mutants head. As he moved in for the kill the mutants eyes opened. And the last thing he ever saw was the rugged face of a man whose only purpose in life was to rid the world of evil and the eight and a half inch long blade that came stabbing down in a long arc straight into his throat.
Jerico twisted the blade in the mutants throat and pulled it hard left to cut out his jugular vein as well as the rest of the side of his throat. Blade dripping with blood, Jerico calmly walked back around to where Lane stood in shock.
"You just killed a super mutant with a knife… Either your crazy, or all the stories Sanora told me about you are true.", Lane exclaimed with a bewildered and half terrified look on his face. He simply couldn't fathom that someone could ever take down a giant like that with just a knife. He had heard stories of super mutants ripping men in half with their bare hands. Jerico acted as if it were something he had done many times. Lane decided it would just be best if he acted as if the whole encounter didn't bother him.
As the pair continued towards Megaton across the hot wasteland Jerico spotted someone out in the distance walking towards them. It appeared to be a man in black coat and leather pants carrying a backpack slung over his left shoulder and what appeared to be a ten millimeter pistol slung at his right hip. He wore a pair of sunglasses and his hair was long, brown, and shaggy. He walked with a purpose. His head held high and a strong stride. The only thing that made him suspicious, was that he walking straight from the direction of Megaton.
Jerico and Lane settled up in a small crag in the rocks off the side of the road. The lone wanderer was still a good six hundred meters away. Jerico got into a good stable shooting position.
"Jerico, I want to go down and confront him. See what he knows about what's going on in Megaton. We aren't really going to just let him pass are we?" questioned Lane. "I mean, he may have some good Intel on what's happenin down there."
"It wont matter either way Lane, we are going no matter what. If you want to waste your time talkin to him then go ahead.", Jerico replied as he lit up a cigarette and inhaled deeply.
"Ok, just watch my back… he looks like he could be dangerous.", Lane said and patted Jerico's shoulder and started walking down the slope to the road the wanderer was traveling along.
The wanderer was only about thirty feet away when Lane shouted for him to stop. Slowly the man looked up from the ground and cocked his head to the side. "What do you want…?", inquired the man as he slowly dropped his hand to his pistol.
"Don't even try it partner.", snapped Lane as he drew his own gun. "I'll shoot ya dead right here. I've just got a few questions I'd like to ask you. And you can be on your way."
An evil smile played across the mans face. And in an instant his gun was in his hand and he was rolling out of the way of Lane's first shot. As he made it back to his feet he unleashed four rounds directly into Lane's chest. His body crumpled to the ground with a thud. In that instant Jerico let loose a round from the Peacemaker but the wanderer had the fastest reflex's Jerico had ever seen. He must have heard the hammer slam forward right before the round fired. The wanderer dove right and the bullet impacted his left shoulder. At a dead sprint the man ran and jumped off what appeared to be a shear cliff into a small gorge. By the time Jerico got there, there was no sign of him anywhere. The only thing left of the man was his backpack that he dropped when he rolled right before he shot Lane.
With that thought Jerico raced over to his partner to see if there was anything he could do to help him… but by the time he got to him, Lane was already dead. Jerico felt a pang of regret. He let Lane go down to confront the man. It should have been him.
"I'm sorry I let you down kid… you deserved better then that…", Jerico promised the fallen Regulator. "I should have been down there instead of you. I could have handled that situation."
Jerico took the rest of the afternoon to burying Lane and marking his grave. After a few moments of silence, Jerico gathered up his things and the contents of the wanderer's bag so that he could try to find some clue as to who the man was and where he went, and set off again. He only had a little farther to go. And he had no idea what was waiting for him up ahead. But he would be ready for it. The Wasteland is a harsh place. And only the strong survive. He wouldn't let his partners death cloud his mind. There was Justice to be served for the deaths of the people in Megaton. And here in the wastes, he is the judge, jury, and executioner.