Strong and Trevor headed down the stairs into the Third Rail. People, humans and ghouls alike were sitting around on the sofas and cushiony chairs littered around the place, talking and sipping their drinks. Trevor noticed the place was inside a run-down subway station, which was probably the place's namesake.
Walking to the bar, Trevor turned toward the singer on stage and was immediately captivated by her beauty. She had gorgeous black hair. Her dazzling red dress revealed her slender arms and small breasts and hugged her thin waist.
Trevor sat down on the bar stool. Strong just stood and didn't sit, knowing the weak, skinny little stool would buckle under his weight. The Mr. Handy robot behind the bar turned its three eyes to Trevor. With it's Union Jack sticker and bowler hat, it couldn't be more obvious he was British. This must be the Whitechapel Charlie everyone in Goodneighbor mentioned.
"Oi," he said. "We got beer. If you ain't buyin' beer, you ain't buyin'."
"Ya gotta have more than beer, droid," Trevor chuckled. "Got any whiskey?"
"Just an expression, mate," Charlie replied. "Of course we got whiskey."
"Give me a whole bottle." Trevor put a handful of caps on the counter. With one robotic claw, Charlie swept up the caps. With the other, He placed a whiskey bottle on the counter.
"Cheers, mate."
Trevor unscrewed the cap, then threw his head back and took a big, burning swig of the drink.
"Damn." He heard Charlie gasp.
Trevor put the bottle down, and then Charlie started talking again.
"Now that you're all liquored up, I got a proposition for ya. I need a dirty boy to do some dirty work. Blood on the pavement, bodies in the ground, that sort of thing. Interested?"
Trevor always did love dirty work. "Probably," he replied. "Need a few more details first though."
"I got a certain anonymous client who's payin' top dollar for a cleanup job. Three locations, everyone inside. No witnesses. Only catch is they're all here in town so I can't use my regulars. Too noticeable. That's where you come in. Job is two hundred caps. Payment after the job is done. And don't worry. I'll know when it is."
"I think you can do better than two hundred," Trevor replied.
"Alright, guess we can sweeten the pot a little. Two-fifty."
"Okay, I'll get it done, tomorrow."
"You better." Trevor could sense the disappointment in that last line. Charlie was clearly disappointed he wouldn't do the job tonight.
"I'm taking tonight off." Trevor took another swig from the bottle.
He turned back towards the singer. Her voice and song were just as mesmerizing as her looks.
"Who's the singer?" Trevor asked Charlie.
"That is Magnolia," Charlie answered. "The flower of the Third Rail. Anything you want ta know about her other than that is her business." Charlie turned back to the glasses he had to rinse and clean.
Trevor listened to the rest of her song and kept sipping his whiskey. When her song was almost finished, Trevor was working up the courage to speak to her. He took out the black formal top hat from his pack, the one all of his friends said he looked nice in.
"Strong bored!" Strong complained. "Strong want to smash something!"
Trevor shushed him, clearly more interested in Magnolia, much to Strong's annoyance.
At last her song finished, and nearly everyone in the bar applauded. She got down from the small stage and headed straight for the bar, taking a stool just a couple stools down from Trevor.
"Beautiful as always, Mags," Charlie said to her.
"Thanks Charlie," Magnolia replied.
"No need to even ask," Charlie answered putting a glass down on the counter right in front of her. "I always set aside a stash of the good stuff just for you."
"You are such a sweetheart, Charlie. Thank you." She took the glass and sipped it.
Trevor downed the last of his whiskey before finally getting up off his stool and sauntering over to Magnolia.
"Hey there, Miss," he said, trying to sound as cool as possible.
Magnolia spun around on her stool to face him.
"What's the matter, sweetheart?" She asked. "Don't tell me you didn't like the song."
"You kidding? I loved the song," Trevor answered. "It was perfect."
"Strong prefer sound of battle," Strong grumbled.
"Oh well thank you," Magnolia chuckled. "A girl tries her best." She held out her hand. "I'm Magnolia.
"Trevor." Trevor took her hand and kissed it gently. Her hand was soft, yet cold.
"Now there's something special about you, isn't there?" Magnolia continued, taking her hand back and putting a finger to her chin. "Don't tell me, let me guess…"
After a moment of contemplation her eyes lit up. "Ah, you're a survivor, aren't you? I bet the whole world could stand in your way and you'd just keep going."
She took another sip from her glass before continuing. "So what brings a man like you to my part of town?"
"Oh ya know. Just lookin' for a little whiskey," Trevor answered.
"Well, I can tell Charlie already hooked you up," Magnolia giggled. "I think you and I are gonna get along." She took another sip from her glass. "So now it's my turn to answer questions, right? What can I do for you?"
Time to pounce. This was the moment Trevor had been waiting for.
"I was wondering if we could get to know each other better. How about you and me, gorgeous? An evening walk under the street lights?"
Trevor knew behind him, Strong was rolling his eyes.
Magnolia's eyebrows raised a little. "Oh really? And then what?"
This was a critical moment. Trevor had to pick the right word here. "Music."
He was a little relieved when Magnolia sighed pleasantly. "I knew there was something special about you," she whispered. "Let me get my coat."
She headed for the coatrack. Trevor turned to Strong.
"Alright Strong," Trevor said. "How about you head out, go find some raiders to smash or something, and then meet me at Rexford in the morning.
Strong pouted, clearly disappointed that Trevor was dismissing him for Magnolia. "Gah, fine! Strong see Trevor tomorrow." He headed for the stairs.
Magnolia returned wearing her coat.
"Are you ready?" She linked her arm through Trevor's.
"Let's get out of here," he said.
The next morning, Trevor and Maggie woke up in a room in Hotel Rexford, cuddled close together in bed. They both slowly got dressed.
"I hadn't been out on the town in… too long," Maggie said. "Thank you."
"My pleasure, sweetheart," Trevor answered. "Let's do it again sometime."
"I'm afraid though my first love will always be the stage. I hope you understand. I just can't get too attached."
Trevor wasn't really expecting anything long term. He was just looking for someone to have fun with. "Yeah, I totally get it," he answered, sitting on the edge of the bed, lacing up his boots. Part of him though was still a little disappointed that she wouldn't be down for this again.
"You're a very sweet man, Trevor," Maggie continued, walking up to him. She must have read his expression and could tell he was sad this was a one-time thing. "I'm very glad you spent your time with me." She held his cheeks and kissed him atop his head.
"Yeah, I had a great time too," he nodded. "Thanks. See you around."
Fully dressed and all his things packed up, he headed for the door.
"I'll see you around Goodneighbor," Maggie said as he left. "When I'm up there singing, I'll be thinking of you."
Trevor headed downstairs to find Strong sitting on a couch in the lobby, which surprisingly didn't buckle under his weight. Everyone in the lobby was clearly nervous because of Strong's presence, but nobody bothered him.
"Trevor have good night?" Strong asked, standing up from the couch.
"Oh yeah," Trevor answered happily. "Trevor have GREAT night." The duo headed for the door.
"Ha! Strong smash many human raiders. Trevor miss out."