SarahIntheSky Thank you so very much for the compliment! It really brightened my day when I received it!

Thrior Oh, wow! Thanks. Yes, I'm glad you liked the fight scene. I really wanted to make it a point that although Nora means well and is true in her heart about the she feels that there are other points of view. I hoped that someone would see the two sides and realize that they were both right and both wrong in this situation. And under the circumstances she was too mentally unstable and upset to really handle it any other way than get upset. If she had it wouldn't have been believable for me. Or for anyone. Nobody's perfect, not even the Lone Wanderer. Also the difference between Charon and the LW is something that will be a huge impact on the story and is one of the big plot designs. As they struggle with her attempts to become stronger and more independent it will also spur changes in the both of them. For Charon it will be mostly emotional and mental in nature. I hope that this story will be not only a look into his past as well as a tale of healing for him.

Rosethorn Glad you like! Thanks for the review!

Chapter Six

Nine-Tenths

Capitol Wasteland, 2220

Daniel Carter was perhaps one of the few men that had actually bothered to read through Charon's control upon procuring it. That by itself was a major step up from the majority of his contract holders. It occurred to the ghoul that it might just be natural for a businessman to ensure he knew every detail of a situation they found themselves in. What was the contract other than another small form of business between the two men? Yet as they sat in the wind-blown silence of the darkening wasteland evening Charon studied closely the way Carter's eyes scanned the paper within his hand, his soft eyes flowing left to right, left to right. Every once in a while he would make a small noise to himself, as if inwardly commenting on parts of the contract. When he was finished he procured it safely on his person and turned to Charon.

"Well, I'm not quite sure of what to say about all of this." Daniel shifted a few inches on the splintering wooden bench outside of the Doc's place, gaze traveling to a faraway point in the distance as one hand lifted to scratch his ear. "Listen, when I say the next thing that comes out of my mouth please do not take this the wrong way. I saw the way you were back there with Decker—" I'm not a slave! Charon's gruff and furious voice worked its way back into his mind, as clear and powerful as if it was happening all over again on some kind of violent loop. "—Which I don't blame you for because frankly he was a prick. I understand the way you consider this." He touched the portion of his jacket that held Charon's contract inside. "Still, I have to be honest with you when I say that while this isn't really slavery it still makes me nervous having a piece of paper that tells me that I can pretty much order another human being around to do whatever and that they can't even argue with me. It seems… unnatural."

At the edge of his vision he caught the telltale swirling of a small dust cyclone. It was nothing to worry about, being nothing more than just a momentary up gust of dirt and debris that was kicked up by a sudden strong breeze. He remembered chasing similar cyclones around the Carter family ranch when he was a child with his sister Rebecca, who at the time called them "baby tornados." What might have reminded him of a more happy memory seemed only to instill a deep sense of omen and symbolism concerning his predicament, as if the wasteland itself was forming from its desolate clay flesh a physical manifestation of his emotions.

In spite of Charon's history of obeying his contract holder his mental capabilities had never been dampened. In fact, it was probably for that very reason that his mind was as sharp as the talon's of hawk and as dangerously perceptive. Listening to Carter speak and watching the minute ticks in his facial expressions told him many things about the young caravaneer. Charon understood even better than Daniel what he was trying to get across. He had actually never come across a contract holder that had any such issues with his state of employment, but he had encountered many other folk in his time that found it a horrible system and tried to convince him that it was not normal and that he shouldn't allow himself to be "owned" in such a way. Always he tried to keep himself from being insulted and politely explained that it wasn't himself that was owned, merely his services. His mind was free to be whatever it wanted to be and he could believe whatever he wanted to believe.

"Mr. Carter, there is no reason for you to worry about our arrangement. This is who I am. It is what I do and have always done. To be honest, it is probably what I will always do." Until the day I die. Unlike others the thought of a life of combat was not a frightening or depressing one. It was familiar. Comforting. This life was one in which he almost always knew what to expect.

"I—Listen, I know that you probably know a hell of a lot more than me when it comes to certain situations, and by that I mean situations in which might get people killed, so I want you to be completely honest with me about everything. I want you to share your thoughts with us, especially if I come up with a stupid plan or am about to do something that would put anyone in harm's way. And if you have an idea about something yourself you are more than free to share it with us. So, more or less I want you to act as not only our bodyguard but also our guide and advisor. If this is all right with you?"

"Very well, Mr. Carter, if that is what you wish." Charon nodded. From the corner of his eyes he could see Rebecca through the curtains, sitting in the doctor's recovery room with their sleeping father. "If I may make a suggestion now?"

"Of course."

"The raiders that killed your guard and injured your father? They seemed to have gotten away with a good amount of your property. You spoke of trying to get it back. I believe tonight would be a good time to hit them. They will be high on their victory and might not expect retaliation." He swept his attention back to his employer's face. "It helps that their type spend most of their time drugged out of their mind so their reactive time might be diminished."

Daniel grinned. "That, my new friend, is an excellent idea."

X-X-X

Stryke lit his third cigarette of the night, sucking delicious nicotine through the filter and into his already blackened lungs. The head rush that came hurtling through his brain made him sigh with pleasure as he leaned back against the warmth of the boulder behind him, his arm lowering to rest upon his bent knee. With half-lidded eyes he watched the orange glow of the prize dangling between his fingers and remembered fondly the carnage of that afternoon. He had thought everyone had given up this little stretch of land into the Capitol Wasteland, but he and his gang had been wrong. It had been Digit that had seen their approach and announced that they only had one guard. One guard!

It had been like taking candy from a baby.

Somewhere to his right he heard Yodel and Lala shouting at one another amidst their moans of passion. "Harder you fuck!" followed by "Maybe if you weren't such a goddamned whore you'd feel it!" Stryke rolled his eyes and took another drag before climbing to his feet and walking over to the occupied mattress where the two were madly humping each other. "Shut the fuck up, you two! Get a fucking room!"

"We're in the middle of a canyon you fuck!" Yodel shot back, turning his head to look over his shoulder at their leader.

"Its not a canyon." Stryke muttered under his breath. Sometimes it really hurt his brain that his companions were so stupid, then again not everyone had the pleasure of being formally educated that took on this kind of life. He'd never been cut out for 'normalcy' and quite enjoyed this lifestyle much better. Out here if someone pissed you off you could just cut their throat open and watch them bleed to death. It was a more convenient way of gaining respect.

"What?"

"I said," Stryke raised his voice, "you're a fucking retard!" He kicked Yodel in the side and threw him off Lala into the dust. He threw back his head in laughter as he walked away, snagging a bottle of whiskey and a couple Jet inhalers as he passed their campfire. Across the camp his eyes caught Digit's, who smiled and disappeared into one of the smaller offshoots of this little pass they'd come to call home. Yodel might have liked screwing his piece of ass in front of the rest of them, but Stryke preferred his privacy. Sticking the inhalers in his pocket he followed Digit into the darkness.

X-X-X

Dead End Pass was not the most creative name Daniel Carter had ever heard for a geographical location, but it was a fitting one. From what he'd heard from the locals the narrow passage between one area into the next had been cut off somewhere closer to this side. The culprit was most likely a rockslide caused by some sort of explosion or soil deficiency. He figured it had probably caved in during the war when all the bombs were falling, given that much of the land passed the rubble was said to be highly radiated. Since nobody traveled the route due to the obvious "dead end" nature of the road it made a perfect place for someone to set up shop. A particular troublesome group of raiders had moved in a couple years ago and had been terrorizing the area ever since. Most had learned to steer clear of the area, but outsiders and travelers still fell victim. That piece of information angered Daniel for he had met and talked to many of the people in this area, had done business before they had decided to push through into the newly developing areas around D.C.'s ruins. The least they could have done was warn them of the danger, but they hadn't. Because of that his friend had been killed and his father hurt.

Yellow-orange flickers of flame bounced along the narrow rock walls below, illuminating the space in a macabre play of light and shadow. Along one stretch hung a heavy chain from grooves within the rock. On hooks from that chain held everything from weaponry from the body parts of some of their more unfortunate victims. Daniel could have gone without the lighting effect in that respect, for it just made the scene look that much more horrific. He was reminded of a Halloween haunted house, except in this case everything was way too real. He ran a nervous hand through his unruly brown hair and set down his pair of binoculars.

Suddenly a tall figure emerged from the darkness and dropped down next to him. For a split second Daniel started until he realized that it was just Charon coming back from his own personal errand. "I set up the mines at the mouth of their hideout," Charon told him, eyes scanning the area below them. "If they try to run they'll find a nice surprise."

Daniel nodded. "I knew that people did terrible things, but I have never seen it. How can humans do that to each other?" He motioned to the grisly decorations the raiders had strewn about their home.

"People that become raiders are the worst of humanity. Between the already sick mind they have present they add drugs and other vices to that. You're luck y that you and your sister escaped. You would have been tortured. You would not want to know what they would have done to her."

Daniel blanched. "They're little more than animals."

Charon made a thoughtful, partially amused sound. "They're more than animals, Mr. Carter. Don't let them fool you. They can have their moments of intelligence. However," he allowed a wicked smirk to pull at the corners of his mouth, "that doesn't mean that we can't kill them like they're animals."

X-X-X

Yodel and Lala were the first to die.

Charon aimed his rifle with careful precision and placed a bullet in the back of the male's head. The woman's scream of surprise sounded more like the yowl of a mountain lion, inhuman and feral. He swung the rifle over a few inches to catch her trying to wriggle out from under her dead lover and caught her straight in the chest. Her eyes went wide as the bullet hit and she froze. For a moment she stayed like that, and then she slumped over, her blood spilling out onto the ground in tiny crimson rivers. He picked off two more unsuspecting raiders as they came to see what was going on. In their drug-induced stupor they barely had time to register what had happened before they were crumpled on the ground.

A shot zinged across the rocks between he and Daniel. "I believe I'll take that as an invitation to go meet them personally."

Daniel lifted an eyebrow in interest at his new guard's bloodlust. Charon seemed to enjoy this like some men enjoyed art or recreational pursuits. Daniel remembered his words, "this is who I am. It is what I do." He watched as Charon vaulted over the small cliff-face and headed down the rocky side towards the raiders. Despite his size and bulk he was actually quite graceful in the way he moved, honed and practiced. He had never seen someone that controlled before.

"Shit, I might just watch you work." Daniel called down.

"If that is what you wish." Charon called back, a touch of humor in his tone.

"Yeah? And let you have all the fun." Daniel climbed over the side himself. Although his trip down was not so graceful. He had to find hand holds and slid more than few times. Luckily the raiders below were more than busy trying to keep up with the mass slaughter that Charon was raining down on them.

One of them came at Charon with a tire iron. He grabbed it and twisted it out of his attackers grip and then tossed it aside before seizing the raider's neck and squeezing. The raider gasped as his air supply was cut off, his nails scrapping against Charon's knuckles in an attempt to get him to let go. He didn't understand that in this battle-fueled adrenaline rush Charon didn't feel it, didn't care.

Another raider aimed a shotgun at him and he swung the raider in his hand around to catch the majority of the flack, causing him to convulse in his hands from the impact. Charon raised his rifle and returned fire on the new threat. A couple shots downed him with little resistance. One to the chest, one to the throat. With little thought he snapped his impromptu shield's neck and dropped him on the ground.

The battleground had gotten fairly quiet and he searched for another target. When they had arrived he had made note of how many raiders there had been and there were still a few missing from the body count. As he turned he saw one of them skidding away towards the entrance of their alcove. Another twisted smirk came upon his lips as he followed him.

"Wait, no! No! Don't kill me!" The raider begged as he walked calmly up to him. He had spun around and threw up his hands defensively.

Charon studied the man for a few moments before taking one threatening step towards him. "Boo!"

The man screamed and stumbled backward, right onto one of the mines Charon had set earlier.

"Hn." Charon turned and walked back to where Daniel had just finally came down off the side of the incline. He arrived just in time to see him smack one of the remaining raiders in the side of the face with his assault rifle and kick him over. The caravaneer nearly shredded the man apart with his shots.

"Yeah, mother-fucker!" Daniel shouted. "They say possession is nine-tenths of the law, but what you didn't count on was that one-tenth. The one where the real owner comes back to claim his stuff and fuck you up!"

"Nice work, Carter." Charon admitted.

Daniel nodded and wiped a flecks of blood off his face. He then spit on the corpse at his feet. "That was for Joseph you scumbag."

"I don't see any more of them," Charon said, "the rest must have gotten away. We should fine your cargo and start hauling it back." He slung his rifle over his shoulder and started to search the area for their prize.

Daniel did the same. He had only killed one of them, and although he wasn't the kind of man to hurt a fly, it had still felt good. These people had it coming; he truly believed that.

"Mr. Carter, I think I found your property." Charon announced, coming across a stack of crates by the wall.

"Charon, one more thing. None of this Mr. Carter stuff. Call me Daniel."

"Daniel." Charon corrected, giving the other man a slight nod. He hadn't been in this man's employ for very long but he decided that he could get used to working for a man like this. It was different, that was for sure.

Suddenly something hit the ground to their left and he had just enough time to realize what it was. A grenade. The other raiders hadn't escaped; they had been waiting. Son of a bitch. It was disastrously close to Daniel. Charon sprinted towards him. The last thing he remembered before blackness was grabbing Daniel by the collar and turning himself so that he was between the grenade and his employer. There was an explosion and a great disorienting ringing sound.

And then there was nothing.

Sorry about the fight scene at the end, for some reason I just couldn't write combat today. I also mentioned in this chapter that Charon had a rifle instead of his shotgun. I have a reason for this and I will be going back and changing that he's had a rifle instead of his shotgun this entire time. In addition I will be doing small edits throughout the chapters, such as spelling and other things, very soon. R&R everyone! Hope you liked.

Next Chapter: Nora finds a way to show her appreciation to Charon for what he has done for her.