''Argh! You let me in right now, Danny Sulli-...Hmm.'' She turned around, noticed me mid-sentence, and seemed to ponder something. I honestly wanted to stay out of it, but I have no choice now, I guess. ''You. You wanna get into Diamond city?'' She was rather good looking, wearing a press hat, she looked like the stereotypical journalist. ''It's kinda losing it's appeal now.'' ''Ha, wait till you get inside.'' She leaned back into the intercom. ''Oh, what's that? You're trader from up north? Oh well, it seems like the gates are closed right now-'' ''Wait! Wait!...Okay, I'm opening the gate.'' Whatever the fuck that thing is, pulled the gate up allowing us entrance. I looked towards the girl. ''Ladies first.'' ''Wouldn't have it any other way.''
''Piper! Who let you in?'' ''I would guess the guy operating the gates.'' The man who stormed out of nowhere, sideways glanced at me, then back to Piper. ''You devious rabble-rousing slanderer! The...The level of dishonesty in that paper of yours! I'll have it scrapped for parts!'' Piper waved in his face, tauntingly. ''Oh, is that a statement, McDounough? ''Tyrant Mayor shuts down Press!'' ''Well, that's certainly a headline.'' ''Absolutely. Could put that right next to the funnies.'' ''Screw that, you could put it IN the funnies.'' She laughed, and I smiled wide. She actually seemed like a genuinely nice person. The mayor looked at me. ''Oh, no sir, I don't mean to drag you into this! Why, you look like Diamond city material!'' I looked down at my blue jumpsuit. ''You guys obviously have low standards.'' He sighed. ''Hey, Blue, do you support the news?'' I looked around. Blue? Oh, my jumpsuit. ''Yeah, I always supported freedom of press.'' ''Hear that, McDounough? Guess not everyone's fooled by your con man smile.'' This is actually very entertaining. ''You-...I'm not a crook!'' ''Nixon said the same thing.'' He threw up his hands in defeat. ''Just don't let this muckraker here taint the image of diamond city.'' Fuck is a muckraker? ''I won't Mayor Watergate.'' He cleared his throat. ''Now, is there anything in particular you came to this city for?'' ''Yeah, I'm looking for a detective. Nick Valentine?'' ''You know Nick?'' I turned to Piper. ''Yeah, you know him too?'' She crossed her arms. ''Yeah, and I'll lead you to him. For just one thing.'' ''What's that?'' She smiled toothily. ''You tell me about that outfit of yours.''
''So, what are you REALLY looking for?'' I tilted my head to the side. Should I just tell a random person I just met that I'm on a vendetta? ''That's a long story.'' ''We all have some.'' ''Maybe. Some guy. Hitman sort of guy. Shot-...'' My voice cracked on that word. My mind played back the gunshot over and over and over again. ''My wife. Right in the head.'' She gasped lightly and frowned. ''Oh my gosh, Blue...I'm so sorry-'' ''No, it's not your fault. I found a vault, full of trigger men, and after I cleared it out, I found Nick. And now here I am. Spilling my life story to a reporter.'' She smiled a little. ''A special reporter! Listen, Blue, I know this must be hard for you, considering you lost your wife and all...Maybe...Maybe you'd want me to accompany-'' ''No, I can't make you do that. You have your job here, and your sister you need to care for.'' She bit her lip and rubbed her hands together. ''That's the thing. I'm thinking that she...Nevermind, forget I said anything. But you're not forcing me to come with you. I want to, willingly. It's the least I can do, since you told me about your wife and that. And the fact that you even gave me a interview.'' I really did like Piper, even if we just met, she seems like a nice person. And it is getting pretty lonely stumbling around the wasteland. ''...If it's something you really wanna do, then yes, you can come with me.'' She smiled wide. ''I'll make sure you don't regret it! But it is getting late, so if you wanna stay here on the couch...'' I blushed a little, but kept my head down to hide it. It won't be wrong if I just slept at a friend's place, right? I'm only sleeping on the couch. ''If it's okay with you.'' ''Yeah, uh,...Yeah!.'' ''Mmhm.'' We both stood around awkwardly. ''So, I guess...Just follow me then...''
I laid on the couch, thinking. I took out my 10MM and pulled the slide back and forth. Like a very dangerous stress ball. Death hits very hard. Just one bullet changed my life forever. ''Can't sleep either, huh?'' I turned and noticed Piper standing behind me. ''Huh? Oh, uh, no. Just thinking...'' I sat up, giving her space to sit next to me. ''I know how you feel, Blue. It's terrible losing a loved one. You never really truly understand how much a person means to you-...Means to you after you die.'' I noticed her voice crack as she was talking. ''It's a rude fucking awakening, I'll tell you that much...Was it easy growing up in the wasteland?'' ''Well, not really. I mean, I can see where you're coming from, having to adjust from a normal life, to something like this...My father. Worked for the local militia.'' ''A good soldier?'' ''Very! I swear he could take down a whole encampment of bandits and raiders with just his hands! He was my hero.'' She smiled, and it lit up both the room, and my heart. I could tell her Dad must've meant a lot to her. Her smile quickly turned to a frown, though. ''But one day...He turns up dead...'' Shit... ''Jesus Christ... I'm sorry Piper.'' She smiled weakly. ''Thank you...His captain, an asshole named Mayburn says Raiders must have gotten him on watch, but I knew the truth. Cap sold out. Thought he wasn't getting paid enough, and my dad was gonna call him out. Mayburn got to him first. Lead the gates open one night, Raiders come in to sack the place. I tell the mayor, but he won't do shit. So, what's a girl to do? I covered the town in posters, ''Captain Mayburn; wanted for gross dereliction of duty." Huh, mayor was pretty talkative after that. Town threw him out, and turned away a very surprised group of raiders.'' I smiled to myself. That was extremely admirable of her to do something like that. Took matters into her own hands. ''You're a hero, Piper.'' ''No, the people are the heroes. They knew the truth. But, hey I'm rambling again.'' I waved it off. ''Don't worry about it. I'm sure this town must like you, huh?'' I smiled wide, but she didn't seem to agree. ''Yeah, uh... They don't seem to think so. They're right, probably. I'm just a nosy, annoying, pushy reporter.'' She looked down, and I could tell she believed what she said.
I put my hand on her shoulder and felt her tense up. ''Piper, fuck those people. If they don't appreciate what you've done, don't let it get to you. When I was in the army, I never felt like I was able to fit in with anybody. I was the best soldier in the place, but that only drew them away from me. But, even if I did fit in with them, that wouldn't stop me from taking a bullet.'' She relaxed under my grip and leaned into my shoulder. ''And you're right about what you said. When someone dies, you realize just how different your entire life is without them.'' ''You'll never see them again for as long as you li-live.'' I pulled her into my shoulder, and she started relentlessly crying. It broke my heart to see her like this, so I wrapped her in a hug, and traced circles on her back. We stayed like that, for the rest of the night. It was the one time after coming out of the vault that I felt comfortable. I feel like I belong here.