Chapter Three: A Meeting

Jae started to back slowly down the hall towards her way out. In her haste-she didn't notice the metal bucket against the wall behind her. Her foot collided with it's surface, sending it clattering a few feet down the hall. Ffffuuuccccckkkk...

"What the fuck was that?" An angry voice sounded out. Jae was suddenly filled with panic. She heard footsteps coming from somewhere above her.

"Stay here-I'll go check it out." Another voice answered. Fear gripped her every muscle and she found she couldn't move for a few seconds. As the footsteps reached the stairwell she shook herself from her frozen state and turned to run. Whoever it was must have heard her and suddenly hollered: "Who's down there? Show yourself!" It was a man's voice, and he sounded far from friendly. Her eyes darted around for a quick escape, the way she had come in was too far down the hall. She'd have a bullet in her back before she even reached the doorway. Her only option was the broom closet she was just in. She ran inside just as the man upstairs rounded the corner and started down towards her. She pushed the door closed gently and ducked back as far as she could in the small room.

"Come on out-I won't hurt ya..." she heard. Yeah-right. She thought as she leveled her rifle at the closed door. Her heart pounded hard against her ribs and her hands were shaking as she crouched near the back of the room. The footsteps were getting closer and she tried like hell to steady her breathing. She knew that whoever came through that door-she was going to have to defend herself. While she waited, she felt something close by her in the dimly lit room. Before she could react-she felt a hand clamp down on her mouth from behind and another pull her down into a sitting position. She squealed a little in surprise as she fell back; her gun slipped from her fingers as she reached up and grasped at the hands holding her still.

Jae panicked, and quickly looked up at the face of her captor. He was familiar...brown hat...worn jean jacket...Holy shit! The guy from the market! What the hell was he doing here? He stared at her steadily in the pale moonlight and pressed a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. She was terrified but she obeyed; and he slowly removed his hand from her mouth. The footsteps outside had slowed and were getting louder-any minute now and they would be discovered. The stranger reached down to retrieve her weapon and placed it back into her hands; pulling his own at the same time. He looked at her seriously and she nodded-seeming to understand what he was telling her. The man from upstairs stopped right outside their closed door. Time seemed to stop. Then, the stranger suddenly pulled out a Stealth Boy and drew her close up against him. She caught her breath and he activated their shield just as the door was roughly kicked open.

Jae found herself staring up at the grizzled form of a man covered in makeshift metal armor. She immediately knew he was a Raider. Her blood ran cold at the sight of him and she instinctively shrank back. The stranger's arm pulled her tighter against him. She was so close she could hear and feel his heart beating; and she was surprised to realize it was quite a bit slower and calmer than hers. She watched as the Raider aimed his gun and scanned the room. Her heart almost stopped as his gaze passed over their invisible forms and fell on the still open safe to their right.

"Ahh...Fuck!" He cursed loudly, then turned quickly and stalked out the door. He called out as he made his way angrily down the hall. "Hey Red-bastards got to the safe! They took everything!" Just then their shield flickered out and the stranger looked down at her accusingly; then his eyes darted over to her pack. She shrugged slightly and looked away. Jae couldn't be sure-but she swore she heard him chuckle a little.

The footsteps slowly retreated towards the upper floor and the stranger motioned for her to stand up. He made his way silently to the door with her trailing along behind him. Once he verified the coast was clear, he led her out into the hallway and towards the exit. She felt like she had been holding her breath the whole time; but they were able to make it out the window and down onto solid ground without being detected. Now that they were out in the open; they sprinted down the alleyway and back towards Bunker Hill. After a few minutes she stopped to catch her breath and leaned up against a burned out car.

"Thank...you..." she gasped out as he stood there scanning their surroundings. "Really...thank you. I'm Jae by the way. Jae Hendricks." She extended her hand but was met only by a blank stare. He was quiet for a long time before he spoke.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He sounded almost angry and Jae realized this was the first time she had heard him speak.

"Excuse me?" She ground out, instantly on the defensive.

"You could have got yourself killed! You could have got us both killed!"

"Hey-I don't remember inviting you!" She spat back. Then it hit her. "Were you following me? Why?" He glanced away and shook his head.

"I saw you sneak out. I figured you were up to something." She glared up at him. With his height he was able to take a very condescending stance over her as he spoke. "It's a good thing I did too-otherwise you would have been a nice little treat for some Raiders." He finished. Jae was livid. Who the hell did he think he was?

"Well-I already thanked you for that." Jae crossed her arms and looked at him defiantly. "And if you want, I can compensate you for the Stealth Boy you used on my behalf."

"Don't worry about it." He muttered, half to himself. Then he turned quickly and walked away into the night. Jae stared after him for a minute, then followed.

"Wait! You never told me your name!" She chased after him as he rounded a corner. But when she caught up-he was gone.