This first chapter's dialogue is mostly straight from the game. I wanted to do it just for Rose and Hancock's first meeting, so from here on out it probably won't be like that lol.
Thanks so much for reading and any comment or critique would be much appreciated!
It was early evening when Rose arrived in Goodneighbor. As the gates shut behind her, she slung her rifle back over her shoulder, not wanting to start with a bad impression. She stood near the entrance and adjusted her glasses, one hand on her wide hips, surveying what part of the town she could see. It didn't appear to be too large or too busy. Not that much of the Commonwealth was anymore, she thought to herself. Most of the people she could see looked worn and a little lost, which she didn't mind in the slightest. If she'd learned anything in her short time in the wasteland, it was that she drew attention, whether it be good or bad. She had a feeling that it wouldn't be too much of a problem here.
The traders in the buildings ahead caught her eye, and she made her way towards them before a bald man stepped in her path. He held up his hand with a cigarette between his fingers.
"Hold up," he began, his expression smug. "First time in Goodneighbor? Can't go walking around without insurance." He patted the gun on his hip casually. She gave him a once-over before staring him directly in the eye.
"You better back off, or you're the one who's going to need insurance," she growled, stepping forward slightly and fingers hovering over the pistol on her own hip. Her temper flared to life in an instant. Having been traveling all day, her patience was already thin. She'd even run into two Yao Guai today, so she was far from in the mood for being hassled by some drifter.
The man stepped back, raising his hands defensively. "Whoa, hey, all right. We'll just, uh, say your insurance is paid up for now, okay?" He stammered, eyes flickering from her fiery gaze to her gun.
His retraction didn't settle the rage boiling in Rose's chest. Very little managed to ever since she made it out of Vault 111. At this point, almost everything was just an obstacle slowing her from finding Shaun. And when obstacles couldn't be avoided, they needed to be destroyed.
"Whoa, whoa. Time out," a voice said from the shadows as she began to slide the gun from its holster. Rose averted her eyes from the frightened insurance man to the figure emerging from the dark. A man -no, Ghoul, she thought, recalling meeting the irradiated humans for the first time and learning what they were after running into a band of traders not too long ago- stepped into the dim streetlight. He wore a battered tricorn hat and red coat that looked straight out of the Revolutionary War, and was by far the most unusually dressed person she'd seen since emerging from the vault. His large eyes were almost completely black and full of something she couldn't quite read. He studied her briefly, a curious look on his face, before turning to the insurance guy. His expression hardened. "Someone steps through that gate for the first time, they're a guest. You lay off that extortion crap," he told him.
The man, looking incredulous, turned to the ghoul. "What d'you care? She ain't one of us," he challenged, taking a drag from his cigarette.
Mock disappointment crossed the ghoul's face. "No love for your mayor, Finn? I said let her go." There was a sharp edge in the ghoul's voice that impressed and even frightened her.
Rose decided she liked this ghoul mayor.
Finn pursed his lips and flicked his cigarette onto the ground. "You're soft, Hancock. You keep letting outsiders walk all over us, one day there'll be a new mayor," he spat.
Hancock shook his head and smiled at the ground, strolling casually closer to Finn.
"Come on, man. This is me we're talking about," he said, and put a hand on Finn's shoulder.
"Let me tell you something."
He patted his shoulder once, and Finn eyed him nervously. Rose's eyes were glued to the pair. Before she could blink, Hancock had slipped a bayonet from his waistband and plunged it twice into Finn's gut. She jumped as a guttural noise escaped him and his blood sprayed in her direction, but she kept her face passive.
Hancock wiped the blade on the man's jacket before shoving him to the ground. "Now why'd you have to go and say that? Breakin' my heart over here," he muttered, as he smeared the blood off of his hands and onto his pants. He stuck the knife back in his belt and turned to face her, stepping in closer.
"Now, I know you had ol' Finn handled back there, but a mayor's gotta make a point sometimes," he began as he lit a cigarette of his own. "You alright?"
She slipped the pistol back onto her waist. "I'm fine," she said, nodding. "Thanks for taking care of him."
Hancock nodded. "Good. Now don't let this incident taint your view of our little community," he said, a stream of smoke trailing from where his nose would be. "Goodneighbor's of the people, for the people, you feel me? Everyone's welcome."
Rose stared at him for a moment, mesmerized by the way the neon of the signs around them made his strange eyes glimmer. Her eyes flickered over to a woman in armor standing a ways back, clearly watching their exchange.
"I feel you," she said, running a hand through her hair, returning her attention to Hancock.
He tapped his cigarette, dropping ash onto the pavement.
"Good," he said. "You stay cool, and you'll be part of the neighborhood. So long as you remember who's in charge." Hancock took a few steps back and began to turn away, but glanced back at her as she wandered towards Daisy's Discounts.
"Didn't catch your name," he called out, cigarette dangling from his lip.
"Rose," she yelled back, and slipped into the shop.
Hancock trudged back towards the Old State House lost in thought, Fahrenheit trailing behind him. Drifters, ghouls, and any brand of outcast had worked their way through Goodneighbor, but he'd never seen anything like this woman before. Besides a long, somewhat fresh gash over her left eye, he didn't think she had the wear from the Commonwealth that weighed everyone down. Her curly black hair was long, free of anything pulling it back, and hardly anyone kept it that way these days. She was heavy-set, but clearly strong. She stood up straighter than the drifters, and her dark eyes were full of a fire that the Commonwealth often had a way of putting out.
He slipped Jet into the hands of one of his Neighborhood Watchmen, and on a whim muttering a quiet order in his ear, before entering the old building he called home. He made his way up the spiral staircase and into his office, where Fahrenheit leaned against the door frame instead of following him inside. She watched as he crossed the room to sit at his desk.
"Everything alright, boss?" She asked.
He scowled. "What? Why do you ask?" Hancock rummaged through the drawer of his desk and pulled out a tin of Mentats.
She raised an eyebrow, confused. "You seem distracted," Fahrenheit said, adjusting her armor.
Hancock popped a few of the tablets into his mouth. He took off his tricorn hat and rubbed his head with a sigh. "I dunno, Farh. I mean, I was tired of that insurance shit with Finn anyway, but fuck, didn't wake up thinking I'd kill him today for some Vaultie." He paused and took a long drag from his cigarette.
"Don't think I've seen anything like her before."
Fahrenheit's mild surprise didn't show. She knew Hancock would never hesitate to kill someone if they deserved it. Finn hadn't done anything to him, though, and Hancock had never seen that woman before in his life.
She'd also never seen her boss look at anyone the way he'd looked at that Vault girl.
"I'll send some of the guys to clean up," she told him simply, and left without another word.
Hancock tapped his fingers on his desk as the Mentats took hold. It wasn't really a big deal, killing Finn. Other people were tired of his bullshit too, Hancock thought to himself. But both he and Fahrenheit knew that's not why he'd done it. There was just something about that woman that he couldn't put his finger on, something that made him bury his bayonet in Finn.
"Rose," he whispered to himself.
He had a fleeting idea of what that was from old books or comics. They were something from before the war, before the fallout destroyed everything beautiful.
He shook his head and put his tricorn back on as he stood. Finn's death wouldn't cause a stir, but the disrespect that caused it nagged at Hancock. It was time to remind everyone who was in charge.
Rose finished counting out her caps and slid them across the counter to Daisy. The ghoul woman scooped them up and handed Rose her purchases.
"Thanks, kid," Daisy said, and slid a bottle of Buffout across the counter after dropping the money in her strong box. Rose started to protest but Daisy held up her hand.
"Nah, take it. They're a gift. Just remember that next time you're looking for someone to trade with," she told her with a wink.
"Thank you," Rose said as she stuffed her belongings into her pack. Daisy nodded as she locked up her strong box, fresh with caps. As Rose turned to leave, she heard the echo of a familiar voice from earlier, calling for the townsfolk to gather.
Daisy tossed the box of caps under the counter and hurried past Rose with a grin. "Mayor's callin'. You should go listen, newcomer," she said.
Rose watched her go, unsure of what to do. She gripped the straps of her pack, torn. She knew she needed to move forward so she could find Shaun, but she needed work. Even though she wouldn't mind slaughtering the entire Commonwealth to get her son back, she knew money could speak louder than violence sometimes. This town was a little rough, sure, but she didn't mind playing merc if need be. It would probably make her the most caps anyway.
"For Shaun," she murmured to herself, and jogged off to follow Daisy.
She found the citizens of Goodneighbor gathered around a small balcony where Hancock stood. He gazed around at his people, and nodded once when his eyes landed on Rose.
"Now, I know you all are doing your own thing," he began, not averting his gaze from hers, "but I don't want anyone to forget what matters."
He paused, his eyes shifting away from Rose. "Hey, Daisy. Glad you could make it," he said, grinning. "How's my favorite girl? Didn't I see you on a date with Marowski the other day?"
Daisy cackled. "He wishes!" The crowd broke into laughter and Rose cracked a small smile. Hancock shook his head, chuckling.
"All right, all right. We're getting off track. What was I saying?" He scanned the crowd again, rubbing his chin in mock thought. "Oh, that's right! What matters..." he continued.
The ghoul leaned forward on the balcony rail, silently reveling in the attention of his people.
"We freaks gotta stick together! And the best way to stick together is to keep an eye out for what drives us apart, you feel me?"
The crowd called out scattered agreements.
"Now, what out there in our big, friendly Commonwealth would want to drive us apart? What kind of twisted, unneighborly boogeyman would want to hurt our peaceful community?"
A drifter near Rose cried out angrily. "The Institute and their synths!"
"That's right! Who said that? Come up to my office later. You've earned yourself some Jet," Hancock said.
He allowed for a moment of brief silence again. Rose couldn't help but think he would've made a decent politician back in the day. One glance around made it clear he had these people in the palm of his hand.
"The Institute!" He continued. "They're the real enemy! Not the Raiders, not the Super Mutants, not even those tools over in Diamond City."
"I don't know, Hancock. I'd sure love to give McDonough a kick in the ass!" Someone shouted, and was rewarded with laughter.
"Hey, we all know I got my own personal beef with that lard-head, but stay focused!"
Those around Rose all quieted down.
"Now, I want everyone to keep the Institute in mind. When someone starts acting funny. When people start doing things they don't normally do. When family starts pushing you away for no reason. We all know who is behind that kind of shit. And the only way to stop it is to stick together. They can't control us if we're not afraid. Now, who's scared of the Institute?"
Vicious denial rang out from almost everyone below Hancock.
"And which town in the Commonwealth should the Institute not fuck with?"
"Goodneighbor!"
Hancock nodded, smirking, and scanned the crowd of his citizens once more. "And who's in charge of Goodneighbor?"
They all cried his name. He held a fist in the air, and his people chanted with him.
"Of the people! For the people!"
The crowd cheered, but Rose kept her gaze on Hancock. Even though she'd just arrived, she couldn't help but be fascinated by the town and its mayor. He'd killed someone -one of his own citizens- in broad daylight, yet here his people were, drunk on his words and chanting his name. He turned to go back inside the old building but caught her eye. He raised one bare brow, his prideful smirk softening, and she grinned.
It was the closest thing to a real smile that crossed Rose's lips since she'd awoken from the vault.