"Wait for me here. Catch your breath," Jess tells Sawyer as they enter the GNR building. Sawyer gives her a nod and strolls off in search of a bathroom, and a seat.

The guards within were less than those out in the quarry, and paid Jess no mind, but were wary of her new companion.

Jess climbs up the stairs, and overhears Three Dog's excited giggles and mumbles about the now fully functional radio station. She shakes her head and smirks in slight amusement.

So far, he'd been the first person she'd met in the Wastelands that actually had something to get excited about. At least her lethal trip to the museum seemed not in vain now.

'What an asshole,' was her first thought when she'd met Three Dog. There she was, exhausted from the hike all the way from Megaton to the GNR building, which was under attack, by the way! requesting the location of her father. The man refused, and went all 'give to take' on her! You'd think he'd ask for something plausible, apparently to him it was, no! He asked for a needle in a hay stack! That stupid dish in that godforsaken museum inside that hell-risen mall!

…But putting all of that aside, it was done. And she'd come out with quite an odd advantage…or disadvantage. She was unsure what he was to her. She was sure she didn't want him on her leash though.

"Glad to see everything's up and running," she speaks to make her presence known. Three Dog turns from his terminal, and grins at the sight of her.

"There she is! My personal hero!" he exclaims as she pulls down her bag and carefully places it on the floor, listening half-heartedly to his speech. "Thanks to you, now GNR can be heard clear across the Capital Wasteland again. That'll give Eden and those Muties something to think about. You oughta know; you helped with the Good Fight," he pointed out as she turned her attention to him, resting her hands in her pockets. She nods in absent content, though evidently small, like she almost didn't care.

"Good to hear, Three Dog. Now it's your turn to help me," she stated expectantly.

"Yes, of course! Of course!" Three Dog nodded, flopping back onto his wheeled chair. She pulled a seat leaned on the wall and sat opposite him, her foot muscles immediately aching in relief. "So, when your dad passed through here, he and I talked for a good long time. He's a real stand-up kind of guy," he starts, leaning forward with elbows on knees. Jess's heart clenches at his short, simple words, and her face scrunches up in pain. Missing him was terribly painful…and scary… "He mentioned some scientific mumbo-jumbo which didn't make sense to me and mentioned something called Project Purity." Three Dog weirdly says. As if the topic was Greek to her, Jess furrows her eyebrows at Three Dog, as if waiting for him to elaborate. "By the look on your face, I'm gonna safely assume you have no idea what the heck that is," Three Dog states. Almost disappointedly, Jess shakes her head.

Day after day she was discovering more of her father's secrets.

Did she know him at all?...

Three Dog awkwardly nods, disappointed as well, but for a different reason. He was hoping to get the scoop on all that was hot and new in the Wastelands from whatever new sources presented. Seemed this family was a dull one. He resumes. "Well, anyways, he also said something about going to visit a Doctor Li in Rivet City. Then, he left in a hurry," he finishes, throwing himself to the back of the chair. Again, Jess furrows her eyebrows. "Rivet city?"

"Yep."

"Well, where is that, exactly?" Three Dog would have been surprised by her ignorance, had he not already known she was a fresh vaultie.

"South-east of here. If you follow the river south, you should be able to get there, but uhhh…"

"…What?"

"Well, the city isn't exactly the safest of places…and you look pretty worn out."

Jess waves a dismissive hand. "I gotta round back to Megaton first anyways…I'll gather my strengths and be on my way. Thanks, Three Dog," she shortly says, rising to get her bag, her muscles and limps aching in resistance that she ignored. He rose as well.

"No, thank you, my friend!"

"Yeah…" Jess breathes in resent. His gratitude was not enough to compensate her hellish journey, and the information he gave was incredibly vague.

Speaking of information.

As she re-strapped her bag, she called: "Hey," turning to him, then momentarily pausing in debate before resuming, "I don't suppose you know anything about…brainwashed mercenaries," she cautiously lowered her tone saying the last two words in fear of being overheard by Sawyer…mainly meaning to spare his feelings.

At the randomness of the question, Three Dog furrowed his eyebrows. "Uhhh, no…Why?" Jess purses her lips before opting to continue. Of all the informed people in the Wastes, surely this one knew something.

"I have a guy downstairs who's…" Three Dog's eyes widen in sudden interest.

"Really?!"

"Yeah," she shortly confirms.

"W…How did you…W-are you sure?"

"Positive," she rolled her eyes at the past events that proved so.

"Well, I gotta see this!" Three Dog exclaims, heading to move down.

Sawyer, who was done 'catching his breath' was nearing Jess's location out of habitual protectiveness.

As he'd moved about the place, the guards' eyes never left him. They spoke in whispers, some wary, some mocking with the assumption that their power-armor would be enough to kick his ass if needed. He paid them no mind, but was cautious nevertheless.

Without shame, he eared in on Jess and Three Dog's conversation, arms crossed and back leaned against the peeling wall below the stairs.

Jess blocks Three Dog's path, glaring heatedly. "He's not for display," she tells as if stating the obvious.

Rudeness was incredibly dominant in the Wastes.

"Do you know anything, or not?" Jess asks impatiently.

"Well…I don't know…Where'd you find him?" had it not been for the sudden look of deep thought on Three Dog's face, she'd have walked out at 'I don't know'.

"Museum of History, or Underworld…Specifically in a bar called the Ninth Circle." This does not assist Three Dog.

"So…what?...he just tagged along?"

"I bought his contract…Thought I could free him." Three Dog grins at this.

"Well, aren't you everyone's hero!" Both Jess and Sawyer roll their eyes at this. "Okay, so what? You wanna know if he's got any secret moves? Any special skills?" he asks in confusion, wondering what exactly it was the woman was asking of him.

"I wanna know how to free him!" Jess clarifies angrily.

"…You…can't?"

"No!" Jess states as if obviously, clearly regretting opening this with him. Again, Sawyer rolls his eyes.

"…Oh…Well…Yeah…As much as it pains me to say: I can't help you with that," Three Dog awkwardly states.

Jess sighs, shaking her head in disappointment.

Everything was so disappointing!

"It's fine. I gotta go," she dismissively says, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Three Dog hurriedly calls, not wanting to lose this super interesting scoop! Reluctantly, she faced him again. "So is his name like…a number? Like…Agent double-o-seven?" he asks with a grin and a child's curiosity.

'What an idiot,' wonders Sawyer. Irritably confused by Three Dog's words, Jess corrects him with a threat to her tone, having had enough of the way people spoke of Sawyer as if a thing! "His name's Charon."

"Charon. You sure that's his real name? Not like…some code-name?"

…

…At that, Jess's curiosity had been pecked.

"…I don't know…" she replies absently, thoughts roaming around the provocative question.

"Well, we could go ask him!" Three Dog enthusiastically suggests. Sawyer's heart panics, feeling as though his privacy was about to be hostile-y invaded, and was grateful when Jess said:

"Goodbye, Three Dog." She glares, turning again to leave. He follows her down the stairs.

"Is that a 'no'?!" he called after her.

Jess's eyes glimpse Sawyer leaning against the wall, and says: "Let's go." He nods and straightens.

"Wait up!" Three Dog calls again. Inhaling irritably, Sawyer abruptly turns, as if a door had shut in Three Dog's face. Three Dog actually bumps into Sawyer's wall-sized body, and almost falls back. At the commotion, Jess turns. Confused, Three Dog looks up and his expression is immediately replaced by wonder.

He grins.

"So…you're Charon…" he muses. Jess rushes towards them, wary of Sawyer's sudden unusual behavior. As if suddenly realizing he was casually acting as her bodyguard, she utilizes her dominance as his apparent boss for the sake of keeping anyone from getting hurt.

Somewhat firmly, she grasps Sawyer upper arm. He turns to her, and his gaze almost caused her heart to drop to her feet. Intent on her cause, she locks onto his gaze. "Let's go," she repeats in warning. Her gaze withers though, and she immediately looks away, settling to glare at Three Dog, who was still admiring the thing that was Charon, irritably.

The guards had just started noting that something was off when Sawyer obediently started moving where Jess's hand directed, and she let it drop, turning to leave with him by her side, and Three Dog silently, fearfully, and curiously still, watching…

XXXXX