Note - I suppose I should have left a note on the last chapter but I didn't think about it! This is the first thing I've written in years. So if you find anything that is wrong please tell me. I'm hoping to have the chapters longer each time I put a new one out once I get my writing muscles in shape! Thanks for the follows and reviews so far!
Live music! The warm and coy tones of a woman's voice filled the whole place over the chatter of the patrons, lighting a mix of dull sparsely placed bulbs. The whole place had a nice hole in the wall club feel. Fay grinned as she took a bar stool and stowed her pack under her feet. This place was great. She'd have to come here for a drink whenever they passed. Lord knows she could only take the repeated songs on the radio for so long. Fresh new live music was impossible to come by with all the violence of the world. Hancock swung into the seat beside her and slapped both hands on the counter.
"Whitechapel, my man! Get a drink for me and my new friend here. And whatever grub you've got that's actually hot," he called out to the Mister Handy down a ways. The robot tipped it's tiny bowler hat and went to work. He turned his stool back to her. "What brings you out this ways, Vault girl? You seem like the type to be huddled up in Diamond City."
The Handy slid an uncapped beer to her and she threw back a drink before answering. "I'm looking for someone," she breathed out and ran her tongue over her teeth. "Diamond City is not my kind of place. Too much tension. Plus that bald joker they call a Mayor rubs me wrong."
The ghoul let out a cackle and slapped her back. "I knew there was a reason I liked you, sister! That man is scum, let me tell you."
Fay coughed at the sudden attention to her back and sat up straight. "I can imagine..." she grumbled and drank more. The beer didn't taste bad. It was actually cool, compared to the hot bottles she managed to scrounge up around the wasteland. It had an odd aftertaste though. Probably radiation if anything. "Can I ask you some questions, Hancock?" His own drink was a big bottle of whiskey and a semi clean crystal glass. Perhaps that would be better right now then a beer. The glass made a pleasant clink as he set it down and leaned his head on his hand.
"Ask away. I'll tell you what I can. Though a man's got to keep some secrets. Need to keep that mysterious vibe to draw in the ladies," he replied with what was becoming his signature grin.
"I'm sure," she said with a snort. "Have you seen or heard of anyone coming through here with a baby?" His brows lowered as he though. Fay could almost hear the gears turning in his head. Who knows the amount of people that come in and out of this place, much less the information he gets through his many connections. Finally her answer was a shake of the head. "I thought as much." Another dead end until she found this Valentine man.
With the weeks she'd been on the road, diving into raider dens, taking out hordes of feral ghouls, and all the while worrying about her baby, her nerves were at a breaking point. Where was Shaun? Was his being taken care of? She could almost hear his cries. The rest of her beer went down with a growl and then she leaned over and grabbed the whiskey bottle. A swig of that went down like boiling water and she gasped.
"Hey, man. Take it easy on that stuff. I had trouble finding it," Hancock murmured and took it from her. Fay glared at him and pushed her glasses up. She could feel her face warming up from the alcohol already. "Charlie, get me a bottle of the other stuff for the lady." Of course he would still be set on getting her drunk. "There's obviously something more chewing at you. Spill."
"Why the fuck do you care?" There we go. She could feel her control breaking like the strings on a guitar. The new bottle was set in front of her and took a quick few gulps. Shit. What a way to get new connections, you tit! "Sorry. I've just had a lot of shit dropped on my plate." Fay rested her chin on her fist and glared at the wall. "I'll tell you something I haven't really told many other people if you promise to keep your yap shut about it. Okay?"
"Cross my heart. You can trust me, doll." He leaned a bit closer and pushed his hat a back as to not jab her in the face.
"I'm not from here. Not technically. I'd say time travel but that's not correct." A sigh escaped and she looked up at the dark, almost black eyes surveying her. "I'm over 200 years old, Hancock. I'm old enough to be anyone here's great great grandma."
Her stomach clenched as he leaned back and frowned. That look was one for multi-headed creatures that glowed in the dark. "You look pretty damn good for someone prewar. You don't look like a ghoul either." His whole body tensed up, posture changing just enough, brows lowering. It was like someone had flipped a switch and turned on the authority. This man looked like a mayor, like he knew how harsh the world was. "Am I going to regret letting you into my town, Vault girl?"
"I have a name you know," she hissed, sitting up and poking a finger at his chest. "It's Fay, you tit. And no, you won't have any issues unless you start something first." More of the whiskey went down her throat and she hunched over again. "It's hard to believe, but yes. I'm prewar. The vault I was in, they were brewing up some scheme and didn't speak a word to any of us about it. What they told us was just a simple decontamination was something completely different. Cryogenics." The dread and anxiety from the memories started to darken the edges of her vision and she closed her eyes. Deep breaths. Just take deep breaths and it'll be fine. "They froze everyone but only I made it out alive from what I saw. I've only been thawed out for a little over a month."
"Shit. Vault Tech is fucked up, man." Hancock took a sip from his glass and grimaced at the thoughts. "That's a lot to deal with. What about the person you're looking for?"
"My son," she whispered. "My husband was holding him when we were frozen. The only thing I can remember is suddenly waking up once before the final time. People were getting into their pod, trying to take Shaun away. My husband refused, started fighting. Some man just shot him and they snatched my baby up." Tears threatened to fall but she blinked them away and took another draw from the bottle. "He called me the back up just before the froze me again though I have no clue what that means. But I have to find Shaun. He's not even a year old." The pain was a bit duller, the alcohol taking affect.
The ghoul growled and finished his glass in one gulp. Whitechapel scooted up and dropped a bowl of sugarbombs and a stick of cooked meat, mole rat from the smell. "This world is harsh,"Hancock said, drumming his fingers on the counter. "You weren't raised in this hell hole. I don't know how you've managed so far, but it's just going to get harder." There was a pause and a click of teeth. "I'll put out feelers for you. See what information I can get. But you'll need to do something in return for me. You dig?"
Help? He was willing to help her? Her heart settled in her throat as she thought it over. The chance to get actual help, not just some half ass hint that lead to a wild goose chase. It was almost too good to be true. "What kind of something are you needing?" she asked and swiveled her stool to face him completely, bottle nestled in her lap.
"Nothing you can't handle. A little recon, take out some bad eggs. I already have someone set up to do it, but you can both tackle it. Fast results," he answered, pulling an inhaler of Jet out and taking a quick hit.
Her eyes followed the bright red plastic in his hands like a crow to a shiny piece of metal. She hadn't even touched a chem in years. Not since college and meeting Nate. It was so very tempting right now. Anything to take her mind off of everything that was happening. Hancock chuckled and she locked her eyes onto his as he raised a brow at her. "Sounds good. I can handle a fight. Is that…?" Her mouth went dry as he took her hand and placed the inhaler in it. "You sure?"
"Go for it," he almost purred. "I have plenty more where that came from. I might even share if you ask nicely." That grin on his face was so shit eating, so confident, so damn infuriatingly charming. Fay took the plastic in her lips, pressed, and breathed deep. Tingling in her nerves led to numb and her muscles relaxed to a degree that hadn't been achieved in...well, over 200 years for her. Her head lulled back as she sighed loudly. All the buzzing thoughts, the tension, just gone. It was pure bliss.
Then the scent of the roasted mole rat meat hit her. She turned back around, grabbed a piece, and went to town. The ghoul laughed and filled his glass with more whiskey. Too soon her food was gone, the whiskey bottles empty, and the last puff of jet inhaled. She could feel herself sway a bit from the lax muscles and she leaned on Hancock's shoulder to keep from tipping over. "So, buddy, you still up for more o-of this?" she mumbled, waving the inhaler under his nose.
"Suuuure thing, doll. C'mon. Let's head back to the old place." Together, they struggled up the stairs, around the corner, and up even more stairs inside the building to the large room Hancock used for what she guessed an office, but also party space. Fay flopped down onto a couch and lazily watched the ghoul as he shuffled about to grab random things from tables. Soon he joined her on the rickety couch. "How ya feelin' now?"
Fay just hummed and closed her eyes, enjoying the now fading lightness in her limbs. "Good, but I could be better." Something small landed on her lap and she cracked an eye to see another inhaler. She felt like she was moving in slow motion as she picked it up and took another hit. She'd have to do this more often, just relax and shut off her mind. At this point, it seemed a necessary evil to keep herself from loosing her mind. Her eyes roamed the room, taking in the disrepair, litter of drugs and booze, and was that a pair of ladies underwear? Was this man for real? Her head lulled to the side and she squinted at him, trying to puzzle him out. He says he's mayor, but what mayor does...this! "Do you treat all your new comers like this, Mr. Hancock?"
Said ghoul threw an arm over the back of the couch and leaned closer. "Nah. You just had such a bangin' entrance, I felt the need to introduce myself. We could use more people like you around here, helping me keep the rabble in place." Her nose twitched at his whiskey breath.
"Charmer." He laughed at her comment and slide closer. "And apparently not short on ladies," she grumbled and pulled another pair of underwear out that peaked out from the seat cushion. Before she could really think, Fay snatched the hat from his head, laid the white pair on in it's place, and shoved the old leather tri corner onto her own head. "I suppose I can see why."
There was more laughter from him as he flicked the cloth from his head. "I've got that whole 'King of the Zombies' vibe, doll. It works well enough." His eyes locked onto her and she felt the numbness turn to tingles. "What do ya' think?"
"Judging by the trophies around the room, yeah. Do you even have the right equipment for that though? I mean-" She stopped and felt the over whelming urge to just shove her foot right into her mouth. Why the fuck had she gone and said that?! Of course he did, but even if he didn't, it's not her business to say jack shit, specially with him offering to help her. "Shit, I'm sorry," she yelped and struggled to sit up. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm just not used to being around people with your...condition and-and uh..." She trailed off once she realized he hadn't stopped staring her down and was actually a bit closer. The tingling grew a bit stronger.
"Did you just apologize to me?" Hancock asked and she nodded and shrunk down a bit. "Well shit. That's a first." Fay's jaw dropped open as he chuckled and pushed his hat down a bit more onto her head. "Don't sweat it. I can tell you didn't mean it. I'm used to it anyhow." She relaxed a notch and bit her lip. He was still staring at her though. Damn, she felt like a zoo animal. If he kept examining her like a freak at a carnival, she's knock his teeth out, help be damned.
The couch gave a slight shift and before she could look up, he had her cornered in the arm rest. The hat fell off and hit the ground as her head leaned half over the edge but all she could do was sit stiffly. His arms caged her in place on either side of her head and his legs straddling hers. Her whole mouth went dry and she vainly tried to swallow. What as he doing?! Oh god, he was warm though. Radiated warmth like a space heater. She opened her mouth to say something but the words died on her tongue as he leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Would you like to check if I have the right equipment, Vault girl? I can guarantee it's in perfect working condition but inspections are always welcome."
A shiver shot down her spine and she stiffed up. He was coming on to her! It felt good. No, he felt good, but anger started to burn through the haze in her head. How dare he! "Are you serious right now?" She shoved him off and stood up. "You've got some nerve, buddy!" The anger set the tension right back and her arms shook with rage. "Once again, I have a name so fucking use it. And no, I do not want anything like that. I'm married." She threw her pack over her shoulder and turned to go. But before she left, she scooped up his hat and threw it at him. "I swear, men will never change. Not even 200 years is enough. Ugh!" she shouted and stormed out. The echos of his laughter slipped out the boarded windows and followed her to the hotel. Who in the world had she just gotten tangled up with?