Super Market shootouts and now... a sexy girl! Looks like our boy's luck is changing. The title is a nod to Nirvana, in case you can't tell.
Confessions Written in Blood - All Apologies
I had greatly misjudged how hard it would be to just take a Mart from some brutes. Quickly, I put my knife away and grabbed Sofia, then made my way to the back of the store for cover. Looking through my scope again, I counted four and opened fire on the one furthest to the right. He went down nice and easy, but I didn't have time to get the other three as they hit the ground and I heard an exclamation of "Fuckin' Christ on a stick!"
I quickly got to my feet and rushed in closer, noting that they couldn't see me at for that moment. I tossed a mine into the firing position I had previously. As soon as they recovered from the death of their friend they were on me again. Bullets started whizzing by near where I was previously, and one rushed in stupidly, only to be torn to shreds by my friend Mr. Mine. Number two was about to follow suit but stopped right next to where I was as soon as he saw his friend get blown to kingdom come. Lucky for me, he couldn't see me so I punched him in the temple to daze him and sliced him open when he least expected it.
There was only one left and it was quiet, neither of us was making a sound. I swiftly and systematically started turning off lights again; keeping Sofia up to bear and keeping the sights on where I knew the last one was hiding. That's when I heard her. "You wouldn't kill an unarmed gal like me, would you?" she called out to me in a sweet voice. I frowned ever so slightly. I actually didn't like having to kill girls (non-ghoul ones anyway) but no one could be trusted and that meant no one could be spared. I was just about to get a grenade primed to blow her out of cover until I heard her speak again: "I like your style kid, maybe we could work together."
"Kid? Who are you calling a kid? I just destroyed your entire gang!"
Where the hell did she get off calling me a kid? "I could have done it in half the time babe, trust me. If I weren't unarmed you wouldn't be speaking." I laughed. "If you're so goddamn tough, how'd you get in this situation and why are you paling around with Raiders?" "A girls gotta eat!" she called back. "And I'm only unarmed because one of the pricks I was with managed to break his rifle and I let him take mine instead. I need to play the part don't I?" I wasn't normally so soft, but something about her voice made it hard to want to shoot her. It's hard to say this, but it soothed me. Made me feel all right. "Just get the hell outta cover." I said. "Make any sudden moves and you'll find yourself shot."
She came out of cover with a smirk on her face and a glint in her eyes. She had her hands up and looked at me dead on. I have to say she had more guts than most of the people I faced off against, especially with Sofia staring her right between the eyes. Her stance didn't waver and that grin she had only grew wider. "Nice weapon" she complemented. "A heavily modified Chinese assault rifle. I personally prefer it over the R91 myself, may not be as accurate but it's sturdy, and reliable. Plus, a good marksman could more than make up for it."
This caught my attention, but I refused to show it yet. She looked unarmed, but I wasn't about to take any chances with a possible concealed weapon or explosive. "Down. On the ground. Now." My voice came out firm with a hint of impatience. "I need to check you for weapons. Nothing personal." Thankfully, she complied and I quickly checked her out. It was tough fighting down certain... "feelings" as I made sure she wasn't hiding anything near her chest or nether regions. I then thanked her and helped her up, noticing we were both tinged a slight rouge afterwards. "Sorry for invading your privacy. I've seen some crazy shit out here in the Wastes and you can never be too careful around others." The young woman nodded knowingly at me. "Don't I know it." "Anyway, I like the way you think." I finally told her, impressed that she cared enough to know the difference between the two most commonly used assault weapons found in the DC Wastes.
Sofia was promptly put away and extended my hand to her and I was again surprised when she looked me dead in the eye and gave my hand a firm shake. "Nice to see you're a man of manners." She exclaimed. I couldn't help but grin. "It isn't every day I meet someone of your caliber. What's your name?" "Quinn is the only name I go by. What about you, stranger? You look like a hired gun." I let out a small chuckle. "You could say that. The name's Ace." At the back of my mind I realized I broke my code of not giving out my true name, but somewhere between her looking so beautiful and promising I simply stopped caring. As she and I shook hands, something dawned on me – something that took the grin right off my face. She saw my face fall and was about to ask me what was wrong, but I beat her to it. "You don't happen to have any friends or family left, do you?" "The only person from my past still alive is my step father."
Shit.
The hairs on the back of my neck bristled and I felt suddenly uneasy. I did my best to swallow down my nervousness, finding it odd that I felt so affected by what this young woman might think of me. "Did he, uh, carry around a picture of you – was he searching for you?"
She nodded at me, her blue-grey eyes widening ever so slightly. "Yeah. Obsessed in finding me since I… left, you could say." I looked to the side, avoiding eye contact while rubbing my chin thinking of the best way to say what I now regretted. I decided to be blunt about it, so as to get the situation over with. What was I so afraid of anyway? I was the one with the gun after all. Did I fear I'd hurt her? I'm supposed to be a selfish bastard!
"Your father… stepfather, I killed him. His body's out back next to the front entrance. I'm sorry. I didn't really… think about what I was doing. I swear it was nothing personal." As I said the words, cold and detached, my frigid black heart beat with a dull ache. Funny how now I cared, all of a sudden. Of all the times I've killed for money, personal gain and vengeance, this was the only time I felt truly remorseful and – dare I say it – sad. Quinn looked down in a state of shock and I skillfully resisted the sudden urge to put my arms around her. At this urge I fought off a twinge of ire – to think I'd ever be this sentimental about a person again. I had just met her, hardly knew her but I wanted her to like me. Instead, I went out and killed her dad. She'll hate me for it and want me dead like everyone and everything else. I stopped looking at her, not wanting to see how she was taking it.
Her hand clutched my shoulder I heard her voice come out softly, as if in a whisper. "So, you just shot him?" "He was in my way." It was lame, but all I could manage. My voice came out more hoarse than usual and my face radiated with shame. "Fuck." I thought bitterly, "Just fuck."