Chapter 6 – The Great Green "Jewel"
Light streamed through the small windows and stabbed into Nora's closed eyes. The sun was fully up and she had overslept. A pained groan escaped her lips. She hurt all over her body to the point she ached in places she didn't know she had. Trying to sitting up, she felt a stab of pain in her side and fell back to the mattress. Prodding at the pained area, she was reminded of the butt of a gun slamming into her in that exact spot.
Nora let her eyes fall closed as a new tear slid out of one corner. This shouldn't be my life. I should be at home tickling Shaun's feet while Codsworth is readying the grill for dinner. The only conflicts in my life should be deciding what Shaun's Halloween costume will be and my next big case at work. This shouldn't be my life. Her hand rose to cover her eyes while her breath shuddered out. Once again she felt a new flash of pain when that hand landed. The eyebrow that was cut, she had forgotten about that with all the other aches and pains.
Another groan and Nora forced her body back up and to a full stand. She hadn't asked for this life, but she was stuck with it and allowing herself to fall into despair was not going to get her baby back to her. With a grunt in her throat, she made she legs take her out of the small room and down the stairs, Dogmeat trailing after her.
She spoke quickly to the two settlers, scrubbed her face in a bucket of cold water, not daring to actually try and see her reflection, and headed south down the tracks to Diamond City, munching on a mutated fruit, or mutfruit she guessed, from Greygarden. Nora didn't want to begin to guess how bad she looked. Her clothes were dirty and stained, her hair falling out of the bun she had pinned it up in, face bruised and scratched, and more than a few holes in her suit all just made her feel horrid. Resolved to not think about it, she kept her eyes on the surrounding area.
Before she knew it, she had made it to the city and was surrounded by its tall buildings. When she hit the big highway, or interstate she didn't think it mattered what she called it anymore she checked her Pip-Boy map and turned east. She made sure was heavily listening to what was around her at this point, her little pistol drawn and ready at her side. Even Dogmeat was moving with caution.
After an hour of walking, she finally made it to the Diamond City she was told about. She had to fight her way through Raiders, feral ghouls, and was almost caught by some Super Mutants, but she made it, with more injuries. In just thinking about that last hour, Nora knew she wouldn't have been able to make it without Dogmeat at her side and briefly regretted leaving Codsworth behind in Sanctuary.
Feet aching, she followed the signs along the green wall of what she realized was Fenway Park. Her father used to take her to the games when she was a child. Rounding the corner Nora was surprised to find a woman pounding on the big metal door of the park, yelling to be let in.
"C'mon Danny! This isn't funny! Open the door!" the dark haired woman was yelling into an intercom that crackled in response.
Nora didn't catch all it, but it sounded like something the woman had done had displeased the Mayor and said Mayor didn't want the woman back in the town. This is when the woman kicked the door in frustration, turned and finally noticed Nora. Nora had already been standing there for about five minutes, swaying from exhaustion and pain.
The woman eyed Nora, quickly assessing the injuries and obvious need to get into the city. Adjusting her red coat and matching news cap, she strode over to the Vault dweller, confirmed by the blue suit, Pip-boy, and fish out of water look, and leaned in close.
"Hey, you're looking ta get into the city, right?"
Nora blinked at her "Uh, yeah," she replied in less than her normal eloquent wording. She was too damned exhausted to care at that moment.
"Good, good, just play along," raising her voice to then be heard by all around her and most likely by those inside. "What was that? You said you're a trader up from Quincy? You have enough supplies to keep the general store stocked for a whole month? Huh."
The intercom crackled "Alright, alright Piper, no need to get mean about it!" and with those words, the gate lifted.
Nora almost toppled over in relief when she tried to step forward. She was thankfully caught by the woman, Piper apparently. "Whoa! Easy there Blue, let's get you inside."
"Thanks, I appreciate it," was all she could gasp out.
Before they could get farther than the entrance, they were halted by a heavily built man in a suit and tie. From what Nora could discern, he was the Mayor and none too happy with Piper and the fact she was entering the city. There was a quick argument with Piper defending her right to print facts and dig out the truth of what was happening in Diamond City.
"What about you Blue? You support the news? 'Cause the mayor's threatening to throw free speech in the dumpster." Nora barely noticed Piper was talking to her.
If it wasn't for the news telling the truth, many more people would have died. "I'm all for freedom speech," was her weary reply.
The man finally noticed her at that point. "Oh! I'm sorry you've been dragged into all this. Welcome to Diamond City!"
Nora narrowed her eyes at him slightly, he seemed slimy, much like the politicians she had to deal with before the world ended. "This hasn't been the friendliest welcome."
"She's got you there, McDonough. Guess not everyone gets won over by that shark smile of yours," Piper swung back at him with a grin.
This earned Piper a glare from the Mayor, "Ahem. Now, was there anything particular you came to our city for?"
Nora really didn't want to talk to him, but if he really was the Mayor of the town, he would know the people in it. "I'm looking for someone, my son. He was kidnapped." Despite her injuries, the pain of her loss shown through her eyes for both parties to see and Piper immediately jumped in.
"Wait. Your son's missing? You hear that, McDonough? Is Diamond City Security just going to stand by while a mother, searches for her infant son, all on her own?"
Nora tuned them out while they squabbled, she just wanted to sit down and rest. She keyed back in when the Mayor said there was nothing he could do to help her, and neither could the cities security team. Isn't that what a security or police for is for? To help people? Nora pondered to herself.
"Look, if you can't help me, who can I talk to that actually can? I don't have time for this nonsense," her voice broke into the argument like a knife made from her anger and annoyance.
The Mayor and Piper both gaped at her until Piper finally remembered the vaultie was injured and really needed help. She moved to the woman's side and through her arm over her shoulder, supporting Nora as she looked like she was about to drop.
"McDonough, if you aren't going to help, move aside so we can get this woman to the Doc," Piper hauled Nora away, Dogmeat following and giving the Mayor a disgruntled look in passing.
Nora didn't have a chance to question where she was being taken before being placed unceremoniously on a table in front of a very annoyed looking man in a white lab coat. Said man subjected her to a cold and quick exam and no bedside manner. A couple of stimpaks and some wound cleaning later, Nora was feeling much better and started actually checking her surroundings.
Diamond City was filled with wood and metal shacks centered around what look like an open market. She couldn't see much of it, but it all looked dirty and ramshackle and not what she hoped. One thing it was though, was full of people, adults and children, all running about for shopping or eating at what seemed to be a noodle stand in the middle. It was not at all what she hoped it would be, but honestly better than the other places she had seen.
She was brusquely dismissed by the doctor, Dr. Sun Piper told her later, after Piper paid the man. Stepping out of the small open shop, Nora stretched her arms up and allowed her spine to crack. She was still sore all over, but not in extreme pain and dripping blood and sweat.
Piper was at her side, eyeing her quizzically, as though debating her next move in chess game. Finally gave a firm nod for a decision made and stuck out her hand. "Since we didn't have a proper introduction; Piper Wright, reporter and all around rabble rouser."
Seeing as the feisty brunette before her just paid a hefty sum in caps that resulted in most likely saving her life, Nora took the proffered hand. "Nora, and as you heard, a woman trying to find her son."
Piper made a grim face, but nodded her head again, "Yeah, I'm sorry about your boy. Why don't you come by my office, later?" she gestured at a building with a sign of "Publick Occurrences" above it. "Give me some time to get settled in. While I'm at it, you should probably try to get your bearings around here. I have an idea for an article you'd be perfect for and maybe we can figure out where to find you some help in finding you kid."
Nora only gave a nod, but that was apparently enough for Piper, who grinned and ran off to the building she gestured to. Nora noted she stopped and spoke to a young girl just outside of it before heading in. Stretching back her shoulders once again, her stomach rumbled and reminded Nora she had only consumed water and fruit in the past day and a half. With this in mind, she immediately strode to the food stand maned by a lone robot, a battered looking protrectron. After some confusion in the fact the bot could only speak one Japanese phrase, she managed to get a bowl and a dusty Nuka-cola.
The old man on the stool chuckled "Don't mind Takashi, he's been speaking that jibber jabber since anyone here can remember. None know what it is, but he gets his point across and the noodles are the best!"
Nora grinned back at him "They are pretty good, especially after traveling." She finished up the last bit of broth, taking the remaining her cola to go; she wanted to savor the sweet drink, even if it was warm and slightly flat. "By the way, that 'jibber jabber' is Japanese."
The man gaped at her as she walked away. In the Vault Suit with a Pip-boy, he had figured she knew very little and would be shy. In turn she walked with a strong purpose, head held high and eyes filled with keen interest and knowledge. He shook his head at her back, "Not many people like that anymore," and ordered another bowl of noodles.
With one goal in mind, finding her son, Nora didn't stop at the other shops and went immediately to see Piper. After a brief discussion with the girl, Piper's sister Nat, outside the building and being given a free issue of the latest paper as she was a newcomer, she made her way in to talk to the eager reporter.
From Piper she learned people disappearing was becoming more common, and the fact no one was really looking for them was just as common. Piper wanted to help her find her son, and also wanted an interview for her paper. "View from the Vault," she called it. A Vault Dwellers thoughts on the commonwealth compared to her time underground. Nora didn't really want to go over the whole story to Piper, she barely knew her, but she also hoped the woman would have an idea on who might have taken her son, so she reluctantly agreed.
Piper was only given a brief breakdown of what had happened to Nora. The expression on her face in learning Nora had actually not lived in the Vault, but was frozen in stasis the whole time for over 200 years was a mixture of shock and excitement. At the end of her story, Piper asked now compares to it all before the bombs fell.
Nora drifted back to her house when it was brand new with a green lawn. She recalled going to the games with her father in this same stadium and rehearsing for plays in high school and college. "Can you even compare the two? The world out here? It's not even close to the one I left."
"Feeling a little homesick, are we? Can't say I blame you," Piper scribbled in her notepad. "Now last question. You grow up in the Commonwealth, and eventually someone is going to get taken. Maybe not someone you know, but someone. So I want my readers to hear what keeps you going. Maybe they'll find a little inspiration. Now, what would you like to say?"
Every emotion flooded through Nora as she thought over the last month after losing her son and husband. After a couple minutes, her face lifted to meet Piper's gaze full force in fury and pain. "No matter how much you want to give up, don't. You have to have hope you'll see them again. Or at least, that you'll know the truth and find who's responsible, and make them pay."
Piper shifted under that intensity. It was one thing to see someone's anger, but to feel it just from one look was intimidating to say the least. If she hadn't been trying to stop the kidnappings for so long, she would have almost felt sorry for whoever took Nora's kid. "A strong note to end on. I'll take anger over apathy any day. Good quote, Blue. Thanks."
"Why do you keep calling me Blue?"
Piper chuckled while tucking her pencil behind her ear and gestured to Nora's outfit. "Blue Vault suit is kinda noticeable. Wearing it like painting target on your back in some places."
"Oh," Nora glanced down at her dirt and blood stained suit. "I guess that makes sense."
"Well, that's everything for the interview. It's gonna take some time to put this all together, but I think your story is going to give Diamond City plenty to talk about."
"I'm glad I could help. Do you have an idea of where I should start for information on finding my son?"
"Hmm, well Diamond City Security isn't gonna help, whether they want to or not. We do have a resident detective though. You should start there. I can come with if you like?"
Nora didn't know the city or it's people, so it was logical to have a local on her side. "I'd appreciate that. C'mon Dogmeat, let's head out."
Though being called a city, Diamond city wasn't very large at all. It was just a few minutes stroll from Piper's down a back alley to the detective's office door. Passing the neon signs pointing the way, Nora remembered Mama Murphy's words before she left Sanctuary. "You find that heart that's gonna lead you to your boy. Oh, it's... it's bright. So bright against the dark alleys it walks."
"What was that, Blue? I didn't catch it."
"Huh?" Nora hadn't realized she spoke the words allowed. "Nothing, just remembered something I was told."
When there was no answer to the knock on the red door, they entered slowly to find a distraught young woman in a pink skirt shuffling through boxes. "Oh Nick…his ties." Her voice was so worried it was almost painful.
"Uh, excuse me miss?"
She let out an exasperated sigh, mumbling "Another stray come in from the rain. I'm sorry, we're closed"
Closed? How can it be too late? It's barely afternoon. "Look, I know you must be busy, but this is important."
The woman huffed out a sigh rubbed head "You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, but it's just... the detective. He's gone missing"
Piper interjected at this point "Nicky's missing? What has he gotten himself into this time?"
Nicky? So his name is Nick Valentine, what a name. Why does it sound familiar? Nora shook the thought away to focus on the task at hand. "Do you have any idea how I could find him?"
The woman proceeded to break down his last case tracking down a kidnapped daughter and someone called Skinny Malone. Last she knew, the detective was headed out to their hideout in an old subway station in the Boston Commons. When Nora heard it also contained an old Vault, she had to suppress a shudder when she thought of Vault 111.
With a nod, Nora promised to bring him back. "What's your name, in case he asks how I found him?"
"Oh! I'm Ellie, Nick's secretary. Nick should be easy to spot. He's always wearing that old hat and trench coat getup. Please, hurry!"
They didn't waste any time in leaving Diamond City; the only stop made was made by Piper to speak with her sister quickly on what was going on. After that, the three, Nora, Piper, and Dogmeat, made their way out of town and east further into the old city of broken buildings.
The walk wasn't far and fairly uneventful. Some radroaches were taken down when passing through the old Police Precinct, the damned things were glowing Nora noticed and she curled her lip in disgust.
"I don't think I'm going to get used to bugs being this large," she tossed over her shoulder to Piper.
Piper in turn looked confused "Large, those were small for radroaches," she replied before recalling the prewar age of her traveling companion. "How big were the things before the war?"
Having not personally seen many non-irradiated roaches, Nora wasn't completely sure "Small enough to trap in a cup for the most part."
"Huh! That would be nice. Must be crazy seeing all the things changed by the radiation."
Nora shook her head with a small smile, but pain in her eyes "You have no idea," and they walked on.
After the roaches, they only encountered a couple Raiders before nearing the subway station. Nora almost didn't recognize the old Boston Commons it was so wrecked. I guess not much in the way of structures survived the bombs.
Piper's voice pulled her out of her thoughts "We're walkin' right into Boston Commons. People don't come back from here."
Nora looked over at her, a question in her eyes. Piper only shook her head and placed a finger in front of her lips to signal silence. Even Dogmeat was moving slow and quiet. Nora followed suit as they round the outskirts of the pond in the center to stop in front of the entrance to Park Street Station.
She ran her hand on the stonework "I used to ride this subway to meet Nate for lunch when I was still in school."
Piper stood a few feet behind living relic of a woman and saw pain and loss and sadness in every movement. "Damn, walking through all of this must be like seeing ghosts for you."
Nora swallowed back the tears and just gave a slight nod. "C'mon, we have a detective to find," and walked down the stairs into the ruins. Dogmeat was at here heels, and Piper trailed after a couple minutes of thought.
The first five men, they looked like old world gangsters thought Nora, went down smooth and she quickly rummaged through pockets and the office for anything of use.
"Really Blue, you have to do that now?"
"One of the first things I learned up here is that the dead have no use for things. I don't like it, but it keeps me alive," Nora shot back while stowing the ammo, caps, and some of the guns she had found. "Besides, look at this little treasure." Nora pulled something out from a shelf in the office she was searching and wiggled it for Piper to see. It was an old, unopened bottle of bourbon. The brown glass was covered in dust, but Nora could see it was a fairly decent type and she tossed it in her bag.
Piper returned the woman's glee with an amused look of her own. "Well, I guess alcohol is always a good find."
Down stairs and section after section they went through the crumbled remains of the station. Nora didn't want to think of each downed man or woman she had taken out. She knew if she hadn't killed them, they would have killed her, but it didn't make her feel better. That bourbon and I are going to become friends later.
Following the tracks down, they finally came to a gear shaped door. Vault 114? How many of these were made? Nora eyed the dusty yellow letters and struggled past memories she wished were equally covered in dust. It was closed. Piper stood in front of it looking for some sort of handle or button, but Nora immediately went to the connected console and hooked up her Pip-Boy. Within a minute, the lights were flashing, the alarm was sounding, and the door started to role away. Nora inhaled slowly, expelling the air in a rush, and stepped into another Vault.
A few rooms, hallways, and a hole later, the two women and dog inched into a room with stairs to the left leading up to a walkway. There was a man on that walkway speaking to someone through a window. "How you doing in there Valentine? Gettin' hungry?"
Nora couldn't hear the words of the response, but the voice sounded annoyed. At the name Valentine though, she assumed they had finally found their man. Thank god. I want to get the hell out of here!
"Three strikes? In the black book? Ah man, I gotta straighten this out!" with those words the man started running for the stairs, right at the party of three already halfway up them.
"Shit!" she muttered under her breath, raising Nate up to fire. Before the sights were fully lined up, Piper's gun fired three times from behind her and the man fell to the ground, three new holes in his chest.
"You looked like you were nearing your limit," was all Piper said at her questioning look. Nora just nodded in response and continued up the stairs.
As she neared the window the voice of the man inside called out "Hey, you. I don't know who you are, but we got three minutes before they realize muscles-for brains ain't coming back. Get this door open." That voice washed over her in a rush of familiarity. She knew that voice, but she couldn't remember from where. It settled in her mind like sunshine on a summer day, all warm and comforting, almost reassuring.
Piper tapped her on the shoulder, holding out a piece of paper from the dead man's pocket and breaking Nora's revere. Apparently the paper contained the password for the terminal that unlocked the door. Accepting the password, she glanced through the window on the way by and almost stalled completely. All she could see was the silhouette of a man in a coat and fedora, and, under that tipped low hat, two glowing yellow eyes. What kind of man has eyes that glow?
She shook it off. Piper didn't seem concerned and they needed to get out of this Vault for many reasons. Suffice to say, Nora wasn't very fond of Vaults anymore. The password was keyed in, the door hissed open, and Nora approached the man as he lit a cigarette, the flame of the lighter bringing his face into high relief.
Holy shit! What kind of man is this? Nora couldn't say the words, something between shock and propriety halted the questions in her throat. His right hand was metal, looking like a skeletal frame almost. The irises of his eyes shone in that heated yellow she previously saw, surrounded by black instead of the normal white. What skin he had was tattered at the edges, most of it missing on his neck showing wires and metal parts underneath instead of veins and muscles. Nora swallowed awkwardly, realizing she was staring.
The man, robot?, smirked at her. "Gotta love the irony of the reverse damsel-in-distress scenario. Question is, why did our heroine risk life and limb for an old private eye?"
She stuttered over her words in her hurried replied "You Valentine, the detective? Your secretary, Ellie. She sent me."
"She did? I should give her a raise." Nick marveled at the woman in blue before him. Of all the people he thought might walk through that door, he never expected it would be a petite Vault Dweller full of defiance, curiosity, and fear and looking as though she had just left the Vault itself.
Nora smiled slightly "I'm looking for someone. I was told you could help."
"Okay, well let's get outta here first and then we'll talk. Nice to see you Piper," the detective, Nick Valentine, breezed past her with a scent of cigarettes and motor oil.
Before leaving, Nora saw some old holotapes on the Overseer desk along with a Vault-tec bobble head. Sweeping these into her bag for later, she jogged after him. He led the way down the stairs, through halls and up more stairs. More men were killed, "Triggermen," Piper muttered in disdain and they kept going.
"More stairs? What was this place designed by a fitness instructor?"
Nora chuckled at the detective's comment despite her weariness. In hearing her, he turned his head slightly with a tip of his hat and winked at her. Such a human reaction for a someone who obviously wasn't, it made her wonder more. It was then he stepped around a corner and Nora saw movement before he did. "Look out!" she yelled at him.
He automatically ducked back with amazing speed, narrowly avoiding a baseball bat to the head. The attacker and his friends were quickly dispatched with little effort. "Thanks for the heads up so I didn't lose mind," he watched as she quickly grabbed ammo and other gear from the dead.
She looked up at him with those deep, deep blue eyes. They're like oceans, so full you could drown in them. He mused internally, and then she smiled. It wasn't a grin, just a small upturn of the lips, but it was so pretty he couldn't help but return it and barely heard her reply.
"We came this far to get you out of here, I wasn't about to let a baseball bat take you out."
He chuckled at her and rubbed the back of his head "Can't say I blame you."
Piper glanced between the two. She knew they had never met before, but they were very comfortable around each other in the way they spoke and moved it was almost creepy. Two relics of times gone by maybe? Maybe I should do a story with more focus on pre-war post-war comparisons? She shook her head. Nah, it would just make people depressed. "C'mon, we should get goin'" she nudged them on.
Before Nora knew it, they were standing in front of the gang leader himself, Skinny Malone. The detective was right, the name is ironic. She mused and glanced over at his girl, the one that was thought to have been kidnapped, but had actually just runaway. The girl looked like every other girl who was from a good family and had fallen for the bad boy on the wrong side of the tracks.
"Darla, listen to me. You have a home to go back to. You don't want to throw your life away with these thugs," she spoke softly, looking Darla right in the eyes, holding her attention with a soft expression.
Darla fidgeted, eyes darting around and then her face broke "I... I... You're right! What am I doing? I've gotten all mixed up!"
"Darla? Wh-where are you goin'?"
"Home, Skinny! Where I should have been all this time. This is goodbye for us."
"Oh, come on, Nicky! You cost me my men, now you and your friend cost me my girl?" Skinny's voice whined out.
The detective replied with how lucky he was and somehow negotiated their way out with a ten count leeway. He nodded glanced back at Nora, grabbed her right hand with his left and they ran, Piper and Dogmeat close on their heels. Through the Vault door and into the tunnels, he pulled her to a rusty ladder, pushed her ahead to go up first, and they ascended back to the street. Nora could hear Skinny counting the whole time, but felt the detective's hand in hers, even after he let go.
They all took a few minutes breath after the mad dash and near death, except the detective who apparently didn't get so easily winded. Does he get winded? Does he breathe? These thoughts ran around in Nora's head, distracting her from her actions taken below.
Nora heard the snick of a lighter as the detective lite a new cigarette. I could use a cigarette right now. She thought, but pushed it aside remembering how much effort she had put into quitting when she learned she was pregnant, and how much she had hid in the smoke after losing Nate.
"Thanks for the rescue; I had been in there for a couple weeks. Now, you mentioned something about a missing person. No trace of where they've gone."
Nora nodded, worrying the ring on her finger "My son Shaun is missing. He was kidnapped, but I don't know who took him, or where they went."
He seemed to take a moment to process this, adjusting the battered fedora on his head. "Not much to work with, but that's usual in this line of work. I want you to come to my office in Diamond City. Give me all the details. Besides, I think you've earned a chance to sit down and clear your head."
She gave him that small smile again "Okay, I'll meet you there."
With a tip of his hat, a farewell to Piper, and pat on the head to Dogmeat, the detective trotted away, his tattered trench coat whipping in the breeze behind him. As soon as he rounded the corner, Nora collapsed, face in hands, shaking all over and hyperventilating.
"Whoa, Blue! You okay, did you get an injury I don't know about down there?" Piper knelt next to Nora, trying to survey for more than just the bruises and scrapes she could initially see.
Nora's voice sobbed out "I was a wife, mother, and lawyer before all this! How many lives did I just take in the few hours since we left Diamond City? I have seen death before, but never did I have to be the one to deal it before waking up just a month ago. I don't know if I can keep doing this." She had started hysterical, but ended so quiet, so pained, and the end it rocked Piper back.
This woman has lost everything and probably feels like the most alone person in the world. Piper slowly reached out a hand and placed it on Nora's shoulder, so as not to startle her "I don't know how it's all gonna play out, Blue, but I can tell you that you're not gonna do it alone. Okay?"
Dogmeat whined in agreement and stuck his head on Nora's other shoulder. A few shuddering breaths later and a scratch behind the mutt's ears, Nora nodded. "Okay. Help me up?"
Piper grinned and hauled the woman to her feet. "Good, let's get outta here," and she led the way back to Diamond City using the same route they had taken going out since she knew it would be fairly clear.
