Chapter Six
Jewel of the Commonwealth
As I walked nearer to the entrance to the stadium, I found myself wondering whether this was a good idea at all. The sun had already risen, but the gate to the stadium- the city, I corrected myself - was still closed. I thought about how sad (and, in an ironic way, funny) it was that the biggest civilized settlement in the Commonwealth was inside what had been only a concert hall back in my day. Paladin Danse was right - humanity had fallen.
I didn't know how to get inside. Was Diamond City even open for travelers? I decided that it was, because there was an intercom on the wall next to the gate, and there was a young woman talking through it.
I walked up to her, wanting to make the best of the occasion that somebody was going to get the gate open for me.
"-is not fair!" I heard her shout as soon as I got within hearing range. "You've got to let me inside!"
I stopped next to her, not sure what to think.
"I'm sorry, miss Piper, I really am." A tinny voice came from the intercom. "But the mayor was really upset about that article you wrote in the paper, said it's all lies..."
The girl rolled her eyes. "Well of course he would say that."
"...and he said you're not allowed to get inside under any circumstances."
She gaped at the intercom (which looked kind of funny). "Excuse me?! I live here! You can't keep me out!"
She looked around with clear exasperation and finally noticed me standing a few meters away. She broke into a grin.
"Play along," she whispered. "Oh, what's that you say?" She spoke directly into the intercom. "You're a trader up from Quincy?"
"What-" I began, but the girl put a hand over my mouth.
"Wow, you've got enough supplies to keep the general store running for a month?! What a shame the city gate's closed!" She grinned widely. "You... You hear that, Danny? You wouldn't want to miss out on a golden opportunity, right?!"
"Gee. Alright, Piper." The security guard sighed through the intercom. "I'm opening the gate." There was an electronic beep and the red light next to the microphone went out.
Piper took her hand from my face.
"Thanks." She said with a smile that was so friendly it was almost out of place.
"You didn't give me any choice," I pointed out, but I somehow couldn't prevent myself from smiling. "Just give me a moment to accept that somebody just used me in their masterplan to illegally gain entrance to a city they had been banished from."
She laughed.
"I think I'm going to like you." She offered me a handshake. "Piper Wright, head editor and reporter of Publick Occurences."
"Nora Smith." I said dryly. I was getting tired of people introducing themselves with their job. Then again, this was good. Not only was there a radio, there was also a newspaper. That had to be good.
"Oh, look." The journalist nodded at the large metal gate as it rose up, finally granting us entrance into Fenway Park. "I think you had better get inside the city before they catch up on the bluff. After all, you're... kinda innocent in this." She laughed. "And it's not like they can do anything to me. Not really."
I sighed. "You already dragged me into this. I might as well stick with you."
"Yes!" She squeed happily. "Thank you!" I looked at her, slightly surprised by the childish reaction. How old was she, anyway? Younger than me, that much was clear. She wore strong makeup, I noticed - to make her appear more mature? At least, that had been what girls used to do back in my time...
Ugh. I mentally slapped myself. I really had to stop thinking in terms of 'back in my time'. It made me feel old.
"Piper!" A middle-aged man dressed in a neat suit was standing just inside, an angry frown on his face. Oops. We were in for it. "What is the meaning of this?!" He looked at the young security guard who had talked with us through the intercom. "I thought I ordered you not to let her in!"
Oh, great. So that man had to be the mayor. My first five minutes in Diamond City and I had already angered the mayor. I glanced at Piper. I really had to choose my allies better - so far my amazing socials skills only got myself shot at on various occasions, nearly dead by falling from height, not to mention that last feral ghoul... I shuddered at the memory. And now I was getting into low-key politics as well. Amazing.
Should have watched more movies, I thought sarcastically. Never side with the journalist.
"I'm sorry, Mayor McDonough." The boy was actually ashamed as he looked down at the ground. The oversized baseball outfit made him look even more skinny than he actually was.
"What's the use of your sorries? This woman is not to be let into my city!"
I stepped forward. I couldn't bear him treating the poor boy that way anymore.
"It's not his fault," I said in a steady voice. They looked at me as though they hadn't noticed my existence before - which was kind of rude of them, because I was standing right next to the object of their conversation. "I convinced him to open the gate. I didn't know it was wrong."
The mayor's attitude changed diametrically as he looked at me with a nervous laugh.
"Oh! No, no worries, ma'am. No worries." He gave Piper an angry glare. "Please, don't let the... um, less lawful citizens fool you, Diamond City is an amazing place - the place just right for you, if I may say so."
I wasn't sure what to say to that, so I settled for a diplomatic "Thanks."
Piper snorted, exasperated.
"A great big Diamond City welcome from the mayor," she said sarcastically. "Feel honored yet?"
"Piper." The young security guard - I recalled his name was Danny, though I wasn't clear on how I had learned that -said in a warning tone, but it sounded more like he was afraid for her than of her.
"Oh, no. Don't let me be a bother." The journalist pointed at Mayor McDonough with a finger. "Let me just say, the truth always comes out... Sir."
"Piper," Danny repeated, his tone nearly pleading now. "Let go."
"You are a scourge of this Wasteland, Piper!" The mayor gave her a dark look. "You and the likes of you. Why can't you understand people don't want the truth? They want to be happy. To be safe. That is what Diamond City provides."
"Oh, they deserve the truth!" She exclaimed, offended. "Right, Blue?"
I stirred when she looked at me, clearly expecting an answer. What had she just...? I looked at the two of them, slightly uncomfortable that I had been pulled into this argument.
"Well, I always believed in freedom of the press," I said finally, smiling at the journalist. She gave the mayor a triumphant look.
"Don't think this is over, Miss Wright." He took a step forward - in our direction. "If you step out of the line again..."
"What's that?" Piper leaned in to me theatrically. "Sure thing, Blue. I'll show you around." She grabbed my arm and gave it a friendly tug. "Diamond City is an amazing place, I'm sure you'll love it!"
"Wait, what-" I began, but she elbowed me. "Ouch! What is wrong with you?"
"Terribly sorry, Mayor, but it seems my new friend here needs to go to the doctor's. I had better show her the way." She gave him a charming smile. "But I'm sure we can finish our fascinating conversation sometime later."
She pulled me deeper into the stadium, passing the angry mayor and confused security guard.
She gave a sigh of relief once they were out of earshot.
"Thanks, Blue. You're a lifesaver."
"No problem..." I answered absently, looking around the stadium in wonder.
People had built entire houses in there - lots and lots of them, even with actual streets. There was even a sort of market with several stalls standing around. So what if the buildings were all made of rusty metal and wood? This was the most civilized thing I had seen in the Wasteland so far.
Piper noticed me looking around.
"The great green jewel of the Commonwealth, huh?" She intoned, then huffed. "More like a giant on clay feet. Looks amazing and all, but only on the surface."
"Why do you hate this place so much?" I asked, confused. "I thought you live here."
She led me down the stairs to the pitch - which was now the market and most streets. I tried to take in as much as I could. Was this what life was like now?
"Look, I understand you're from a Vault so you can't get it, but life in the Wasteland isn't all about choosing whatever's most comfortable." Piper stopped by a lamppost. I looked at it, surprised that I hadn't noticed it earlier - there were even lampposts in here. So they even had electricity!
"I'm not actually from a Vault..." I began, but drifted off when I caught sight of something going on in the market. There was a small crowd gathering around something.
"Oh no." Piper quickly walked over to where everyone was. I didn't know what else to do, so I followed her.
I pushed my way through the crowd to get to the front and see what was happening. Two men were arguing, and one of them was threatening the other with a gun. That alarmed me, but I slightly relaxed when I noticed that no one else was bothered by that fact. Of course, nowadays no one left their house without a gun - to them, it was completely normal. Even if the argument was rather heated.
"Come on! I'm... I'm your brother!" One of the men raised his arms in a defensive way. The other - the one with the gun narrowed his brows.
"Of course you would say that!" He exclaimed. "Then why don't you prove it somehow?!"
"Please-" The younger brother sounded like he was about to cry. "I'm not a synth!"
I remembered what Paladin Danse had said about synths. How they resembled human beings so closely they were practically identical.
I took a step forward, but someone grabbed my arm. I looked up at the journalist, slightly surprised.
"Come on," she said seriously. "You don't want to see this."
I shook my arm free from her grasp.
"I-" I began, but was cut off by the single gunshot that filled the air. I turned around in a matter of seconds, but the young man was already lying on the ground, dead.
I took a step back, shocked at how quickly it had ended. Everyone began murmuring among themselves, but the crowd was quickly scattered by several security guards.
I let Piper drag me away from the market. She seemed more tired than anything.
"Like I said, welcome to Diamond City." She muttered in a sarcastic way. "Where you need to trust nobody but yourself because suspicion can save you the trouble."
"Wait," I stared at her in shock. "Something like this has happened before?"
"Something like this happens all the time," she explained. "Usually doesn't end in fratricide. Thankfully. The last thing humanity needs is people jumping to each other's throats at every occasion." She looked at the ground angrily. "It's bad enough as it is."
"It's not what I had expected," I admitted. "But it can't be that bad. You've got electricity and running water, and the protection of the wall... It's the best place I've seen in the Commonwealth."
"It is the best place in the Commonwealth," she gave a bitter laugh. "That's the worst part of it."
I adjusted the strap of my sackpack on my shoulder. I had to admit I was a bit tired - I had spent the whole night roaming around old ruins with Paladin Danse, and now my body was in a desperate need for some rest. But most important of all, this was an actual city - I could finally begin to somehow fit in in this world.
"What's there to do in Diamond City?" I asked. "Is there some job... Like... an easy way to earn a lot of money in a short time?"
Piper laughed.
"You sound desperate," she noticed. "Short on money?"
"You have no idea. I'm completely lost. I don't even know what I'm looking for." I clicked my tongue. "Well, technically I know. I heard there's a detective agency in Diamond City that might help me. You know where that is?"
"Valentine Detective Agency is the place you're looking for, as far as I'm concerned. Since it's the only detective agency in the Commonwealth, it's kinda hard to mistake it for something else." Piper looked around. "Listen, I know it's probably none of my concern, but... You really look lost. And, to be completely honest, not everyone is as nice as me - you're gonna get taken advantage of soon if you continue to be this trusting."
"Thank you," I said. I took those words for heartfelt advice. "I'll keep it in mind."
She arched an eyebrow at me.
"Do you know how long you're staying here in Diamond City?" She asked.
"Probably not longer than a few days..." I shrugged. "I have no idea. I'll probably find some source of income and rent a room at a hotel or... I don't know. I need enough money to pay for hiring a private detective. I need a job."
Piper gave a heavy sigh.
"You're not fit for the kind of work you can find here. You'd be exhausted, physically and emotionally after the first hour. And no way am I letting you rent a room at the Dugout Inn. Trust me, you wouldn't want to. You're staying at my place."
"Oh." I didn't know how to reply. She didn't even know me and yet she was so eager to help... That kind of people was rare even back in my time - now, in such cruel times, it seemed even more impossible to be nice to each other. "Thanks." Then, after second thoughts, I added "Are you sure it won't be a bother?"
"It's fine. There's loads of space, and I only live with Nat."
"With who?" I repeated, still kind of surprised by this act of kindness.
"Nat. Natalie Wright," she explained. "My little sister."
"Oh." I repeated. For some reason, I hadn't even thought that the people here have families too. I had been so focused on reuniting myself with my own that I hadn't even considered anyone else. This girl didn't have to look out only for herself, but also for a younger sibling... She hadn't mentioned any parents, but that didn't surprise me nearly as much as it would have before the War. Death was just a painful truth I, like everyone else, had to be aware of. There wasn't anything I could do to change it.
"Come on." Piper offered me a friendly smile which I tried to return. "Uh... I know how this is gonna sound, but would you mind if I maybe interviewed you for my newspaper? I've had this idea for an article for a while now, and you might just be the perfect person for it."
"Well... Sure." I was surprised for a moment, but then I reminded myself that with how scattered humanity was nowadays, it shouldn't surprise me that outsiders were a rare thing.
"Great. You're Gold, Blue."
At that point, I was pretty sure she had some kind of obsession with colors.
We walked back up the main street, almost to the city gates. I figured Piper's house had to be the last one on the right (or the first one on the left, depending how you looked at it) because it had a large neon which clearly said 'Publick Occurences". Of course, she worked at the newspaper - that made sense.
"Piper!" An overjoyed female voice called out and not much later than a second later, my new friend was tackled by a young girl - maybe thirteen years old. Piper happily embraced her little sister, raising her a few feet above the ground.
"There you are, sweetie." She laughed. "Almost thought I wouldn't find you."
The younger girl crossed her arms with a pout.
"Funny. I recall you were the one who went outside the wall and left me with all the sales to manage. To your knowledge, I sold a whole hundred issues in just two days. You owe me."
"Gee, Nats." The journalist laughed nervously as she put her sister on the ground. "Fine, you win. You have to embarrass me in front of a stranger?"
Nat looked at me judgmentally.
"Hi." I smiled and waved at her. "My name is Nora. Your sister said I could stay at your place for a few days."
"Well, she's not in charge," she shrugged. "I believe in democracy."
"Democracy won't work with just two people," I noticed. "Every time you disagree, you'll just get equal votes amount."
"She's smart, I'll give her that." Nat nodded her head. I felt silly being judged like that by a little kid, but I had to adjust to the fact that this was how the world worked now. Children had to grow up more quickly in order to survive.
She realized that I was still waiting for her to say something. "Fine, you can stay." She laughed. "I wouldn't have any problem with that anyway. At least Piper doesn't bring in any boys. Yuck."
I laughed. That reminded me of myself back when I had been her age. So maybe not that much had changed - kids will be kids.
Piper winced.
"I'm starving," she said, then looked at me. "I don't suppose you have any food?"
"She'd be lost without me." Nat rolled her eyes and pushed a small pouch into her sister's hand. "Yesterday's incomes," she explained. "Should be enough for lunch for three people and some to spare."
"It's fine, I'm set." I said. "If you're fine with two hundred years old canned food, that is."
"The pre-War ones are the best," Piper said, then looked at me. "...Which you probably don't know yet, Blue."
"Stop calling me 'Blue'. I have a name, you know." I put a hand to my forehead. "Why are you even calling me that?"
"Because you're a Vault Dweller?" She answered as if that was supposed to be obvious. "The blue jumpsuit may even be a coincidence, but the Pip-Boy and that fish-out-of-water look?" She laughed. "Dead giveaways."
"It is this stupid jumpsuit," I groaned. "How many times do I have to say that I'm not from a Vault?"
"My reporter's instinct tells me otherwise."
She was right, in a sense. But she couldn't possibly know just how complicated the truth actually was... I grinned widely.
"You said you were looking for a story?" I asked. "I've got a better one. Story of the century. Of the millennium."
Piper looked at me suspiciously, but there was a glimmer of excitement in her eyes. She opened the door and motioned for me to go inside the house.
"Go on..." She said. "Surprise me."
"Fine." I looked around the room I found myself in, only to decide that it was absolutely cramped. "You might wanna sit down, though."
"Alright." She took the place on one side of the small desk which stood in the middle of the room. I sat down across her. "Shoot."
"You're not wrong when you say I'm from a Vault. I did live in a Vault. But I only spent there a few hours. Well, at least that's what I thought. Then when I left the Vault, it turned out I had been there for a little bit longer than I thought." I gave an amused huff. "Like... two hundred years longer."
Piper dropped the cigarette she had been intending to light.
"Holy shit," she whispered. I got a strong feeling of enjoyment just looking at the disbelief painted all over her face. "No."
"Yes." I smirked.
She stared at me.
"But that... That changes everything!" She reached into the inner pocket of her red duster coat and pulled out a small notepad. Then opened the drawer of the desk and produced a pen. "Tell me everything!" She exclaimed, excitement shining in her eyes.
"Whoa... Hey." I laughed at her eagerness. "I'll tell you everything, okay? Just hold your horses a bit. One at a time."
"The war," she decided immediately. "Tell me about the war."
"I'm not sure there's a lot to say. It was... cold war, mostly. You didn't feel that there was an actual conflict going on." I thought about Anchorage. "Well, most of the time at least. Though I suppose that the end was much worse than what anyone had feared."
"No, but... Those aren't the things I need." Piper looked me straight in the eyes. "We don't understand it. We, people nowadays. What was it about?"
"...War?" I asked carefully. What was I supposed to say? That it was pointless? That so many had died because the leader of one country had a problem with the leader of another? No way was I telling those poor people something like that. "It was..." I hesitated. "It was about protecting democracy. The American way of life. Because it was threatened."
Piper scribbled something in her notebook with a frown.
"Protecting a way of life," she repeated and shook her head. "It was that important?"
I could see it in her eyes that she desperately wanted it to matter.
"It was," I said firmly. "It still is. Freedom is always worth fighting for."
"So. A survivor of the War," the reported said to herself. "She survived the end of the world. But how?" She turned to me. "How did you survive, Blue?"
"Vault 111," I explained. "Turns out the whole place was some kind of a social experiment, monitoring the human behavior after a prolonged cryogenic stasis. So... As you've probably guessed, we were frozen all that time. I only thawed out recently and..." I stopped mid-sentence and put a hand over my mouth when I remembered those terrible first moments after waking up. "Everyone else is just... They're dead, all of them."
"The sole survivor," Piper muttered quietly. "Might even use that as a headline."
"No," I shook my head. "I wasn't the only one. There's another - my son, Shaun. But he's only one year old."
"Where... is he?" Piper looked around, almost as though expecting to find a baby somewhere.
"Well, that's the reason I came to Diamond City in the first place. He's been kidnapped - by the same people who murdered my husband. But I'm trying to find him."
Piper nodded her head sympathetically.
"A lone mother searching for her son," she said. "The tragedy of daily life in the Commonwealth. Most would just give up... Can you tell me, for the article, what keeps you going in this hard situation?"
I almost didn't register her question, fixated on the words that followed it.
"Hold on." I opened and closed my mouth for a moment, unable to make a sound. "People ignore kidnappings out here?"
Piper sighed.
"You never know what happened. Maybe it's raiders and your loved one is gone, maybe it's slavers and they're being treated worse than animals at the moment, or maybe it's the Institute... Sometimes it feels like it's better not to know."
"That's terrible," I decided.
"That's what life is like in the Commonwealth."
"Well, not gonna happen to me. I promised I would get my son back and I'm not intent on breaking that promise. Come what may, I'll fight the odds."
She offered me a sad smile.
"You know... There's something inspiring in you." She cleared her throat. "Now, this is something new, but I want you to make a statement to Diamond City directly. What would you say to someone who's lost a loved one and is afraid of looking for them?"
"I would..." For the first time during our conversation, I realized my words were going to be printed in a newspaper. People would read that. I took in a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. "Whoever you are, whatever the situation... Never lose hope. Never. Take it day by day, try to live on. That's pretty much the only thing you can do."
Piper closed her notebook.
"Nothing more true than that," she said seriously. Then, she noticed the way I was staring at the desk sadly. "Hey. Cheer up, Blue. You're looking... well, blue." She laughed at her own joke. I cracked a smile as well. "Tell you what." Piper stood up and practically pulled me up from the chair. "Nick Valentine, the detective, is a friend of mine. Maybe I can convince him to give you a discount or something."
"Didn't you say he was out of town?" I raised an eyebrow doubtfully.
"Well, so was I for a few days. Maybe he came back and I don't know yet." She gave me a bright smile. "You said it yourself, you have to live on."
"Yeah." I smiled. "You're right, Piper. Let's go."
She held the door shut.
"Oh no. Sorry, Blue, but you probably misunderstood me. I didn't say 'let's go right away'. I'm not letting you out while you still look like a hopeless Vault Dweller. And don't even let me begin on that thing on your shoulders. Is that a backpack?"
"It's my sackpack," I said, then realized that she couldn't know the word I had made up. "A backpack I've made from a sack."
She looked like she was convinced I was a lost cause. "Heavens, Blue. You're even more hopeless than I thought."
I crossed my arms on my chest defensively. She eyed me from head to toe.
"Huh," she said. "You look about my size, don't you?"
Not more than ten minutes later, I was dressed in strengthened denim trousers, a surprisingly comfortable grey shirt and a thick leather jacket. I knew that nowadays clothes had to be as much useful as they had to look good, so I figured this wasn't nearly as bad as it could be. Piper didn't have a spare backpack, so much to her despair I had to keep my old sackpack. Which was fine by me, since I was still proud of myself for crafting it.
"Righty-o. You look like people, even if you're still wearing that Pip-Boy and the however-you-called-that. You'll do."
I gave an exaggerated bow.
"Why thank you, lady Wright. If it were not for your kind help, I would not have found myself such fine garments." I laughed. "Seriously though, thanks. I've no idea how to repay you."
Piper absently tapped her notepad against the desk.
"The interview was more than enough, trust me. People will kill to buy an issue of the Publick once word about you is out." She gave a nostalgic smile. "Tell you what though, we can arrange for another meeting and you can tell me what normal daily life was life way back when. I'm sure everyone would want to learn about that."
I nodded hesitantly. I wasn't entirely sure about that - being vague was fine, but I wasn't sure I would bear describing what my old life had been like and knowing there was no way to return to it.
"By the way, Blue." Piper opened the door, shouted to Nat that she was leaving and held it open for me to walk through. "Forget all about canned food. I'm treating you to the real Wasteland special."
It turned out that she was talking about noodles. There was a noodle stall in the middle of the Diamond City market, ran by a reprogrammed Protectron robot. It had been reprogrammed to make noodles, apparently.
"Actually," I said, trying to figure out how to use the chopsticks I had received along with the bowl of food, "this isn't that bad. For something that's been made in the Wasteland."
"Told ya." Piper grinned at me from over the table. "Good food."
After we finished eating, she showed me around the town - which was a rather futile process, because I got lost in that whole maze of alleys and lanes after taking the second turn. The highlights of my tour of the city were the mayor's office, where Piper did not want to go, the Diamond City Radio headquarters (just a boxcar with a door) and finally the Valentine Detective Agency. The neon signs for the latter were all over the three or four surrounding streets - a cliché picture of a heart with an arrow in it. Valentine Detective Agency. The signs looked kind of cheesy - I found that endearing.
"So you said this guy, Valentine, runs the business by himself?" I asked my reporter friend. She nodded.
"Kinda, yeah. Not easy to find a private detective in the Wasteland, even harder in the Commonwealth. I've told you, people don't usually want to get into any kind of trouble." She nodded at the door. "So?"
"Yeah, let's go." I nodded and knocked as loudly as I could without sounding desperate.
"Come inside!" A female voice called out from inside of the building. Me and Piper exchanged glances, but I opened the door and we walked inside.
The room was even messier than Piper's office - and that was saying something.
Papers were lying all over the place. On the desk, on the cabinets... Thankfully not on the floor. There was a young woman, at a guess older than Piper but younger than me, nervously pacing around the room.
"Sorry, we're not open for business at the moment," she said as soon as we entered the room.
"Are you sure?" I asked. She looked up at us, slightly surprised.
"Oh, hi Piper. Listen, I'd love to help, but as of now, there's not much I can do."
"You're the detective agency?" I asked. "You're supposed to help. I'm looking for a missing person."
She sat down on a chair and put a hand to her forehead. "I'm sorry, Piper. And you are...?"
"Nora." I introduced myself quietly. The girl looked rather heartbroken.
"Hey." Piper put a hand on her shoulder. "It's fine, Ellie. She's looking for her kid. You could help out."
"I'm not a private detective." Ellie shrugged. "I just run the office. Keep the paperwork in check. You know Nick hasn't come back for a while, right?"
"I noticed," Piper nodded. "Has something happened?"
"I don't know. But I think so. Like two weeks ago, we got this case." She took out a file case and put on the desk for us to see. "Just your regular kidnapping - a girl got snatched away by a couple of gangsters, concerned parents come calling in. So Nick accepted the case, obviously, and being himself, he didn't even consider asking for someone's help and just went straight for it... Since he hasn't been back for a fortnight by now, I don't think it all went well."
"Great," I muttered under my breath. "Do you think something happened to him?"
"Oh, you don't know Nick Valentine, Blue." Piper laughed quietly. "He's not that easy to bring down."
"If he hasn't come back in two weeks don't you reckon he's in trouble?" I raised an eyebrow at Ellie. "I don't know, I would have reported this or..." I drifted off when I reminded myself that this wasn't the United States of America. This was the Commonwealth. There wasn't anywhere you could just report a missing person - there was only a private detective, a whole one of them. And oh irony, he was missing.
"If you think I should go look for him, you clearly haven't read enough spy novels," she parred.
"Yeah," Piper chimed in. "That's your key to disaster: one person gets in trouble, another one tries to save them and as a result the third person has to save two people."
"This isn't some kind of book," I said in a flat voice. I sighed. "Fine. I'll try to find him."
"I didn't say that I wanted you to," Ellie protested.
"But you thought it," I gave her a charming smile. She looked down, a pink blush on her pale cheeks.
"Alright." Ellie put her hands on the desk in a businesslike gesture. "If you bring Nick back here alive, I'm even willing to pay you for that trouble."
"What?" I laughed. "No no, I'm not taking any money from you. I just want you guys to look into my case."
"You mentioned a missing kid?" Ellie's frown softened. "I'm sorry to hear that. Seems no one is safe nowadays. Okay." She took in a deep breath. "Okay. Here's the file for that case Nick was investigating." She pushed the folder into my hands. I opened it reluctantly, not very eager on feeding my brain with tons of unnecessary details.
"Can't you tell me something more concrete?" I asked. "Where did you last see your boss?"
"Here in the agency, of course. Nick mentioned he was going to look around Park Street station - apparently, there was some kind of fallout shelter or something there. He didn't mention what he was hoping to find, though."
"Of course he wouldn't." Piper put a hand to her forehead. "Well, thanks for everything, Ellie. Come on, Blue."
She opened the door and looked at me suggestively.
"We're going already?" I asked, surprised. "It's barely noon."
"And you've still got a detective to rescue." Piper practically dragged me outside, then gave Ellie a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. We'll find him."
She closed the door behind me the instant I was outside.
"Alright, Blue. Here's the deal: getting old Valentine out of whatever he's gotten himself into is as much of my concern as it is yours. So whatever your opinion on this may be, I'm only letting you leave this city if you let me come with you." She crossed her arms on her chest.
"How old are you, Piper?" I asked quietly. She seemed surprised by that question.
"Twenty-two, twenty-three? I don't have the time to keep count of something like that."
"Alright then, so you're a fully responsible adult. Fine. Now, how old is your sister?" I tried not to make it sound criticizing. Piper opened her mouth to answer, but closed it almost immediately. She looked down at the ground without a word. "If something happened to you, Nat would be left alone."
"She can take care of herself..." Piper said, but it sounded as though she was excusing herself. "Jeez, Blue. You know how to make a point."
"I lost my son. I don't want to see any other kid put in harm's way." I blinked to get rid of the tears that were building up in my eyes. I shook my head. "Okay, Park Street station. At least this time it's something concrete. I wonder..." I brought up the map on my Pip-Boy, praying for it to be true. "Wow. Yes!" I smiled widely. I hadn't been expecting this.
"What wow?" Piper tried to look over my shoulder to get a look at the screen. "What is it?"
"This thing here has a map with built-in GPS," I explained, showing her the Pip-Boy. "And you won't guess what, Park Street station is actually one of the places marked on it. I can just launch the navigation and we're home." I laughed. "Thank the Wasteland for the small favors when you get them."
Piper arched an eyebrow with a friendly smile.
"You sure you don't want me with you on this?" She asked. "I'm being serious, Nat can take care of herself for a few hours."
"I'm not taking responsibility for anyone else if I'm not sure I can keep myself alive. Maybe we can travel together when I feel more secure about my ability to survive."
"Fine." She shrugged. "I'll just walk you to the gate, I guess."
I yawned, then quickly covered my mouth. I blushed deeply.
"On second thoughts though, maybe I could use some shuteye before I go."
"That's better," Piper patted me on the back with a small laugh. "Now you're beginning to actually look out for yourself. The first step to surviving in the Commonwealth."
I couldn't tell if she was being serious or sarcastic, so I didn't answer.
It turned out that Piper and Nat only had one queen sized bed to share at their home, and I couldn't sleep on the couch because the couch was currently used as a shelf for some cardboard boxes, so I would have to actually use that. I was overjoyed, even though I tried not to show how desperate I felt. A real bed! Finally.
When I went to sleep, it was noon. I woke up at three, feeling much better now that I had had a decent meal, a good night's (or rather, day's) rest, and perhaps most important of all, I had found a friend. Also, I knew what to do. I had to find this private detective, Nick Valentine, or find out what happened to him (though I was hoping he was still alive. That would make matters easier for everyone), and then get him to help me look for Shaun.
I said goodbye to Piper and Nat, yet again giving the former my most sincere thanks for everything she had given me, and eventually just left Diamond City. It was a strange feeling, walking out of there so soon after arriving. With how high my expectations and hopes for this place had been, it felt just wrong to leave so soon. Still, I knew that I wouldn't get any closer to finding Shaun if I continued to idly sit by and watch.
I glanced at my Pip-Boy to confirm I was going the right way. The station was relatively close, nothing like the distance me and Paladin Danse had had to cover between Cambridge and Boston. If Nick Valentine was still there, the whole thing shouldn't take me to long.
I cried out when I felt something sharp impale itself in my back. I staggered forwards, surprised by this attack. What the hell?! I had barely just left the city and I was already being attacked by someone?
I turned around, but couldn't see anybody. With a terrible feeling of dread, I reached to my back and found something sticking out of the thick material of Piper's leather jacket. It hadn't penetrated, and I was eternally grateful to the journalist for having given me the clothes. I took the object into my hand and took a look at it.
I felt weak. It was an arrow bolt. Not even an arrow - an arrow bolt. Which meant there was somebody with a crossbow somewhere around here...
Pushed by instinct, I ducked just in time to see another bolt fly over my head. My eyes widened.
"Does everything in this cursed Wasteland want to kill me?!" I screamed. My patience was wearing seriously thin. Just when I was beginning to think things were finally going well.
"I hate this world," I muttered and decided to just leg it. If I couldn't see my opponent, what use was there in fighting?
I sprinted for the next several hundred meters, then reverted to just a simple jog. The person with the crossbow either didn't want to kill me badly enough to bother themselves with a chase or, the possibility which I didn't like as much, followed me silently.
I looked around. Boston was pretty much a wreck nowadays - but then again, everything in the Wasteland was. The city area was actually in quite a good state compared to the suburbs - many of the buildings here were still actually standing.
I sighed, for the first time regretting that I hadn't let Piper come with me. I was getting lonely already. I really shouldn't stay alone for too long - bad things happened to me in the Commonwealth while I was alone. Alas, bad things happened to me while I was with people too, but it was easier to bear then.
I continued on much more warily, now that I had been reminded that the Wasteland, and everything that dwelled in it, hated me wholeheartedly. The slow run was actually paying off more than the quick walk I had been using before. Jogging would be my choice of transport from then on - because as far as I was aware, cars weren't an option anymore. I hadn't seen a single working one through all my journeys across the Commonwealth.
"What the heck?" I muttered to myself when the buildings began to thin out and I obviously entered a suburban area of Boston. I glanced at my Pip-Boy, but the compass insisted that I should continue on forwards. That was strange - I had been expecting the train station to be in the city... There was, of course, the question of whether I trusted that technology to guide me properly to my destination, but I decided to give the Pip-Boy the benefit of the doubt for now. It seemed to be the most impressive thing I owned. Sturges had said so, then later Paladin Danse. Pip-Boys were rare, useful and, as Paladin Danse had put it, 'inspiring'. I trusted it.
"I don't trust it," I decided aloud after another thirty minutes of walking forward without any train station in sight. I had practically left Boston by then and I still haven't reached wherever the Pip-Boy's guide system was leading me.
I angrily brought up the map, but the name Park Street Station was still highlighted. I furrowed my brows. Then how come... What?! Park Street Station was the highlighted location on the map, yes... But it wasn't my destination.
"What?!" I hissed, this time aloud. I was sure I hadn't chosen that place, whatever it was, at any point... Then how was it that I was now going there?
I tried to look around the Pip-Boy for answers - and found one soon enough, in the form of a hastily-written text file. I was not only suspicious, but also surprised, because I hadn't let anyone near the Pip-Boy...
Hold on. I had. Even more so, I had only let one person use the Pip-Boy, so it wasn't much of a guess who was to blame. "Of course." I put a hand to my face. I could really be stupid sometimes.
I opened the text file.
i hope you forgive me
I stopped reading to laugh quietly. Alright, he had expected my reaction. One point for the Brotherhood of Steel.
for using your kindness like this but after you told me about recon squad athena i couldnt help the feeling that the case isnt closed yet. this is just a guess, but you could check the place ive marked on your map. thank you again and i hope its worth your trouble
paladin danse
ps: im ready to compensate for any trouble you encounter
I wasn't sure what bothered me more - that he hadn't used punctuation or that he had obviously set me up for something. And, as I glanced at the map, I angrily realized that I was actually closer to the place Paladin Danse had chosen for me than I was to Park Street station.
"Fine," I muttered. I took my hunting rifle into my hands and quickened my pace a bit. Now I had two things to cover in one day, but I wasn't going to let that bring me down. Helping out others first, then helping myself. (Then again, helping myself this time included rescuing a third party, so it kind of counted as helping out others too.) "You win."
Half an hour later, I was standing in front of a closed door. It was a bunker. Of course it was - it fit into the pattern. And if Paladin Danse was right, this would also be the final resting place of Paladin Brandis.
Except the metal door that led inside the bunker was closed - and even more so, didn't have any convenient lock I could just pick. There was no handle, either. Remote controlled, I estimated. So there had to be a way to get it open.
My eyes caught sight of a terminal planted on the wall nearby. Bingo. I turned it on and waited until the screen lit up in a pale green color and the computer demanded a password from me. This time I was prepared - I had heard the soldiers talking on the holotapes, after all. The code will be our callsign.
I grinned - it worked! I quickly pressed 'disengage security lockdown' and just lightly pushed the door. It swung open without any trouble.
"Nice," I said to myself before walking inside.
I froze when I saw an old man aiming a laser weapon at me.
"Don't take another step-" he warned me in a shaky voice "-or I swear I'll blow your head off!"
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. That escalated quickly.
I narrowed my brows - I had to think fast. The man was sixty years old at best, though the wild grey beard made him look even older. But the important thing was that he was wearing a dark grey jumpsuit - except for color identical to the orange one I knew as the uniform of the Brotherhood of Steel.
"Paladin Brandis?" I asked, shocked.
He nervously pointed the hull of his weapon straight at my face. Wow, he was even more jumpy than Paladin Danse. I was just hoping he wouldn't shoot me.
"How the hell do you know who I am?!" He exclaimed. "Who... Who sent you?!"
I tried a diplomatic approach. I raised my arms to show that I was unarmed.
"Easy, Paladin," I said. "I'm with the Brotherhood. Just lower your weapon... And we can talk. Like civilized people."
"No, no..." He muttered to himself. "The Brotherhood? They wouldn't send you..." He eyes me suspiciously. "Or would they?"
"They did," I replied. Technically, that wasn't entirely true, but I wasn't about to say that to someone who was pointing a weapon at me. "I'm Initiate Nora Smith." Not a lie. Keep it up, Nora. "I've been investigating the story of your squad for the last two days. The trail lead me here, to you." That wasn't true - if it weren't for Paladin Danse, I would never have found this place.
Paladin Brandis seemed to be finally convinced by that, because he lowered his laser rifle, although he didn't turn the safety on.
"The others... What happened to them?!" He demanded. I carefully took a step in his direction. This man was emotionally unstable - I didn't want to make this harder than it already was.
"They're dead, sir. I can..." I reached into my pocket to pull out the soldiers' dogtags, but I found nothing. Of course, because I had already given them to Paladin Danse. And now I didn't have anything I could give him, nothing left from his soldiers. He deserved something, but what could I offer him now? Nothing. Except...
I quickly searched my Pip-Boy for the appropriate file and played it without thinking.
"Knight Tara Astlin, Brotherhood of Steel Recon Team 429-Alpha. It's been three hours since I set my distress pulser. There's been no word from the Paladin or Faris..."
oooOOO***OOOooo
"Thank you," I said quietly, taking the cup of tea Paladin Brandis had offered me. I knew I didn't have the time for that, but he still didn't seem entirely stable and I didn't want to get on his bad side. The tea itself was actually quite good, even if I didn't want to know what it was actually made of.
"No no, no need to thank me, child." I slowly exhaled, ignoring how annoyed I was by the fact that he had called me 'child'. "I'm the one who should thank you. You've sacrificed so much time on this... I owe you something."
"Yes..." I set down my tea on the table. "About that... It's been three years, Paladin. I think it's about time you returned to the Brotherhood."
"What?" He laughed nervously. "Oh no. No, no. I'm old... They wouldn't want me."
"They would," I assured him. "Believe me. You're a veteran, you've survived in the Commonwealth for years, all on your own. Your knowledge will be useful for the Brotherhood of Steel. Besides," I added pointedly, "if you don't fight, the sacrifice of your squad will be in vain. They will have died for nothing."
"No... I can't let that happen..." He clenched his fists. "You're right, Initiate. I just need to pack my things... I'm coming back."
I nodded my head.
"Glad to have made that clear, sir." I stood up. "Do you need me to escort you to...?"
"No, no." He waved a hand at that. "I may be old, but I'm not helpless. I can still find my way around."
I nodded and mentally ran over my to-do list: find Paladin Brandis and convince him to return to the Brotherhood of Steel, check. Now just had to run this over to Cambridge Police Station and have a little word with Paladin Danse on how he should ask me for permission before setting me up for some kind of rescue mission. Then, get to the actual Park Street station, find out what had happened to Nick Valentine and if necessary, rescue him. Persuade him to help me look for Shaun. I didn't have any plans for what to do after I find my son, but I supposed that would become clear once I did.
I took a look around Paladin Brandis's hideout. I had to admit that the old soldier had made himself quite a cozy base in this old military bunker - he had running water, some food, a bed... And the amount of weapons and technology he had gathered was just impressive.
"Ah," he said as he noticed me looking around. "You see, this is all going to get cataloged as soon as we tell the Brotherhood of my situation. But it's not fair that Scribes should have all the fun... If you see anything you like, just take it."
I smiled.
"Thanks," I said honestly and immediately lay my eyes on the large military rucksack in the corner. I was hesitant to part with my sackpack, but I had to face the facts: not only did it look unprofessional, it was neither sturdy nor capacious.
I took the backpack into my hands - strengthened, of course. Like nearly everything in the Wasteland. But, in contrary to most things in the Wasteland, this rucksack was actually nice to look at - it was dark blue in color, with the symbol of a sword over three gears embroidered on top. I ran my thumb over it, feeling the structure of the material.
I wonder if that's the logo of the Brotherhood of Steel.
I quickly packed everything I owned - which, I had to admit, wasn't much - into the backpack, grabbed several ammo clips for my automatic laser pistol and threw them inside as well, and... And then I saw it - a beautiful, rust-colored combat armor chest piece, with the same symbol painted in the middle.
By now I knew how important armor, or at least protective clothing, was in the Wasteland - and this seemed more than convenient. It was even pretty - for armor, that is. The only thing that worried me was its weight - something like that was surely designed for someone stronger than a five foot six woman.
I tried picking it up - and let out a surprised gasp when I realized that I actually could. The material used to create the armor wasn't any sort of metal I knew - it seemed sturdy, but lacked the heaviness or roughness of steel. To the touch, it felt like some kind of polymer.
"I'm taking this," I decided immediately.
Strapping the chest piece onto myself proved a bit harder than I had expected, so it was another ten minutes until I finally left the bunker. When I did though, the comforting weight of my new military backpack on my back and the strange feeling of something protecting my chest were only reminders of how useful the small derail had been. Darn it, now I felt like I had to thank Paladin Danse. Not only had I rescued Brandis (although in all honesty he hadn't required much saving), I had also acquired some much-needed supplies. I remembered the police station, where the three soldiers had set up their camp. If I went there now, I would get my own assignment of supplies now that I was a member of the Brotherhood. Besides, I sort of had to report this all to Paladin Danse anyway.
I looked at my map - Park Street station and Cambridge Police Station weren't that far away from each other... But they wer far from where I was - Recon Bunker Theta, as my Pip-Boy had cataloged the place. I glanced at the time - it was half past three. I had spent the better part of the day in Diamond City anyway, but now I had to choose where to head first...
I shook my head. Every day I spend procrastinating is a day Shaun has to spend with those bastards who kidnapped him.
I set off in the direction of Boston, my decision made. I was done with being an errand girl - time to do something for myself. Private detective or not, there was a man out there who needed my help.
I was going to provide it.
Level up.
New perk: Armorer - protect yourself from the dangers of the Wasteland with access to armor and power armor modifications.
