We travelled to the factory nearby. It had stopped raining by then but it was beginning to get dark. By the time this was over, we were going to need some food and a good night's sleep. But, first, time to rescue Vadim.

"You ready?" I asked Travis. He nodded nervously. "Alright. Usually we try to sneak in and take as many down as possible before they notice us. So just stay in the back and let us clear the way as much as we can." He nodded again, this time a little less nervously. Though he couldn't see it through my helmet, I grinned at him. "Don't worry. We do this sort of thing all the time for the Minutemen."

"We've got your back," Hancock nodded. Then, to me, "after you."

I opened the door as silently as possible, proceeding with my sniper rifle drawn. Hancock followed, carrying a sniper rifle of his own. There was a room on the right with an electronic clapping monkey that acted as a motion-sensitive alarm system. Hancock snuck around it and managed to rip the head off to disable it. I took out the sleeping raider in the far corner of the room.

Hancock and I then combed the room for anything useful we could use to modify our weapons and gear. There were a few rolls of duct tape lying around but not much else. We proceeded further down the hall but I brought our small group to a halt by stopping dead just short of the doorway. It looked like the majority of the mercenaries were holed up in here.

I motioned for us to go back a little and then proceeded up the stairs to the second story. There was a catwalk there. Hancock and I each began lining up shots and started taking down raiders. We managed to take down four before the others noticed. That took out half of them.

"Now it's time for the fun," I told Travis, switching out my sniper rifle for my .44 pistol. The three of us took down the rest of the guys together until only the one holding Vadim hostage was left. I shot him in the forehead as soon as I walked through the door. Vadim looked overjoyed to see me.

"You came for me!" Then, he noticed Travis. "And Travis! You came, too! How did you get him here?"

"He volunteered, actually. It was pretty brave of him." Travis untied Vadim, who stood and immediately gave me a handful of caps.

"Please, take these for the mess that I've caused. I'd better get back to Yefim, he's probably worried sick. Thanks again, friend! You always have a room at the Inn if you need one!" Vadim left and I turned to Travis.

"Thanks for your help back there, you held your own pretty well."

"Oh man, that was awesome! I can't believe I was so worried about that every day stuff. That's nothing when you've got bullets flying at you and you're fighting for your life," he realized. "Thanks, you really opened my eyes today. If there's ever anything I can do for you, you just let me know. I'll even play a special request for you on the radio if you want."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind, Travis."

Hancock and I got back to Diamond City well after dark. It turns out the place we had cleared out the raiders and mercenaries and rescued Vadim from was a brewery back in its prime. That meant lots of free beer. And our newfound friendship with Yefim and Vadim meant that they would chill them for us for free.

Which brings us to the present time of drinking some beer and whiskey before settling in to head over to Goodneighbor first thing in the morning. Travelling at night isn't exactly terrifying, but it's a lot harder to see at night. Hancock can see a little bit better thanks to the fact that he's a ghoul but that doesn't help me very much. There are chems for it, of course, but they're both hard to make and hard to come by.

So, if we can, we sleep indoors at night or at the truck stop.

"These beers are growing on me," I admitted as I took another sip of the Gwinette stout. "Good thing they held up through the fallout."

"They might not hold up for much longer at the rate you drink 'em," Hancock mused. I smirked, taking another sip in reply. He laughed. "It really doesn't bother you, travelling with me?"

"Not at all," I shook my head. "You're a good guy, Hancock. That's a rare thing to find around here."

"Travelling with a ghoul makes most people squeamish. Even one with my kind of charisma."

"Well I'm not most people. And it's pretty hard to make me squeamish over something like that. You aren't my first companion out here but you are my favorite."

"Oh yeah?"

"You understand my perfect blend of helping people but not being afraid of violence."

"If people need help, we help 'em. If people need hurtin', we hurt 'em."

I laughed. "I'll definitely drink to that." I finished my beer before succumbing to a yawn. "But for now I'm going to get some sleep for the night. It's been a long day."

"That's one word for it." I took off the outer layerings of my armor and placed them next to my helmet near the bed. There wasn't much of a need to wear it while I slept in a place as populated as this. I settled into the inner spot of the bed, relaxing into the soft padding. Perfect for side-sleepers like me. The beds here were well maintained. Vadim might be a pain in my ass, but he and Yefim definitely run a decent inn.

I heard Hancock shuffling around behind me before turning out the light and settling in next to me. A few moments later, he tentatively put his hand over my waist. He was tense. Worried. I reached down and pulled his arm tighter around me. That was all it took for him to relax. And that was all that it took for me to relax and fall asleep for the night.